The Bible Salesman

Title: The Bible Salesman

Author: Clyde Edgerton

Pages: 5 discs

Genre: Fiction

Grade: C

Synopsis: Henry Dampier is a 20-year-old naive Bible salesman traveling around the south when he is picked up by Mr. Clearwater, who claims to work for the FBI in the post-WWII era. His is allegedly infiltrating a car theft ring and using Henry to help him transport the stolen cars.

My Review: This book is a folksy story where everyone came across as a little dim-witted. As one review from Goodreads reads: "A dim religious doofus is conned by a murderous car thief in the South of the early fifties. Brief but pointless. The backstory parts as especially inessential, but really, there's just nothing on offer here." I'm not sure that I could put it any better myself.

A Nice Little Town

Title: A Nice Little Town

Author: Robert D. Christensen, M.D.

Pages: 159

Genre: Memoir

Synopsis: Dr. Robert Christensen writes about moving from Chicago to the small town of Layton, UT as a very small boy. In the 1940 census, Layton only had about 600 residents. The book feels like a collection of memoir-like essays about growing up in Layton, attending Layton and Whitesides Elementary Schools, Central Davis Jr. High and Davis High School. His father was the town Dentist at the old Tanner Clinic and many of the long-time city residents are featured in some of the stories.

My Review: I'll not give this book a grade as I'm going to treat is as a book of stories that a grandfather may like to leave for his posterity. There were a great many of unfortunate spelling errors that made the book feel less like a published work and more like a family collection. That being said, the stories were funny and enjoyable and I especially enjoyed learning about the city/town that I grew up in and I recognized many of the locations and people that were part of the book. Generally, I'm quite certain that native Laytonites will enjoy this book far more than non-Laytonites.

2010 Books in Review

I've been meaning to do a wrap-up of the books I read at the end of each year, but this is the first time that I'm actually making it happen.

In 2010 I read 53 books (which I'm very pleased with, although in 2009 I read 64 books).

30 of these books were paper copies, while 23 books were 'read' while listening to them in my car during my short commute.

I read a total of 10,347 pages in the paper copies and listened to 246 cds (which translates into 9,940 pages) for a total of 20,287 pages. The average length of the books I read was 398 pages.

The average grade that I have given the books is approximately a B, while the most common grade given is a B+.

I read 27 fiction books (including science fiction, fantasy and mystery), 9 non-fiction books, 11 biographies/memoirs/autobiographies and 3 religious books.

2 books received an A grade - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (fantasy) and The Death of a President (non-fiction).

5 additional books received A- grades - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (fantasy), The Mormon Way of Doing Business (non-fiction), The Book Thief (fiction), The Return of the King (fantasy) and Bonk (non-fiction).

I am currently reading A Nice Little Town and The Bible Salesman, but I'm always looking for good recommendations!

And Then There Was One

Title: And Then There Was One

Author: Patricia Gussin

Pages: 302

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B-

Synopsis: Katie and Scott Monroe are a bi-racial couple who have nine-ear-old identical triplet girls. Scott used to catch for the Yankees and Katie is a child psychologist, often testifying in child abuse cases. The family is torn apart when two of their daughters are kidnapped from a movie theater leaving one sister behind. The book follows the search for clues and the search for their daughters.

My Review: This book preys on a parent's fears. I enjoyed the book, but too much of it just feels fabricated. It feels like the author was trying to cram everything bad into the book that they could. Too many coincidences for my liking. In addition, the book was poorly edited with spelling errors throughout and questionable grammar in places as well.

Disclaimer: While there is no description of child abuse, there are allusions to it and some language that may be disturbing.

Voltaire's Calligrapher

Title: Voltaire's Calligrapher

Author: Pablo de Santis

Pages: 149

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Dalessius is a 20-year-old calligrapher in France in around 1762. At the time, France is split between Enlightenment, which is championed by Voltaire and his writings, and the Church, peddling miracles that often turn sinister. Dalessius is trained in calligraphy at one of the best schools but is stuck taking shady jobs until he is sent to Ferney where he ends up as Voltaire's calligapher. Voltaire is getting quite old and sends Dalessius to be his eyes and ears on the ground and to try and infiltrate the Church. He befriends a retired executioner and is exposed to all sorts of creepy mechanical automatons as he attempts to expose the Church.

My Review: As I'm sure my synopsis shows, I had a hard time grasping this book and I found it a little bit confusing. I really enjoyed the style and the story and have added Pablo de Santis other novel, The Paris Enigma to my list.