It was a voice that could never quite disentangle itself from the text or remain truly omniscient in spite of the mocking detachment.

18.

Supergods by Grant Morrison - I used to love Grant Morrison's comics and then I didn't and then I did again. This is part memoir, part history, and part treatise. He has some weird ideas and a bit of an ego. I am not sure it really works, but there are some crunchy bits. They are just harder to find than they should be.

I reread it several times, but had no immediate revelations as to its meaning...

19.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - Vacation Book! If you grew up playing video games in the 80s this the book for you. If you know what a TRS-80, an Atari 800, or Zork is then this is the book for you. If you are a geek or a nerd then this is the book for you. This is a fun fast nerdy speculative hero tale that has a little bit of something for everyone, but the cultural touchpoints may be too much for some.

There would have been no compatibility issues either.

20.

The Enemy by Lee Child - Vacation Book! And No. 8 in the Jack Reacher series. Something light for the trip. It is a flashback book, showing us an episode in Reacher's past. Pretty good thriller although a little predictable. Series is still quite fun.

The book fell open to the page she knew it would: the crease in the spine was permanent.

21.

The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont - I love pulp. This is probably one of the truest things said about me. I have owned this book for years and finally got around to reading it. Basically, it is the story of three famous pulp writers and their pulp adventure. It is pastiche, without a doubt, but the fact that the author took the time to write each character's adventure like that author would write was endearing. Lots of cameos too.

All of that - the measurements of alcohol in the brain, the injuries, the behavior, the full context of those deaths...

22.

The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum - Bookclub book! Well researched and well written short history of the birth of New York City's Medical Examiner's Office in the 20s and 30s. Blum paints a vivid picture of the two men that shaped the science that has almost become common place today and documents some of the more intriguing cases of poisoning they investigated.

Now that it was over, it made him feel bad.

23.

Who Dares Wins by Chris Ryan - How do you describe a thriller that isn't thrilling? Plotting that harkens back to the worst of 80s straight to video actioners. Or as Luke would say, "What the hell!?! He boinked a reporter and blew up some missles." When I told someone at work I was reading a Chris Ryan book he said, "My Dad read one. He thought it was rubbish."