Reading "The After Series" box set by Scott Nicholson. Brought to my attention by BookBub. A post-apocalyptic story. It's not bad. I normally don't go in for the zombie type stories but these people that were negatively effected by the disaster are a bit zombie like. Not my favorite parts of the book, but we do usually like post-apocalyptic stories and alternate reality, science fiction, etc. Even some fantasy for me, but not my husband.

Welcome @TheGoodSoil. We love new members! My dad enjoys Westerns, so he loves the Larry McMurtry books. I haven't tried them. Would I like them if I'm not a fan of Westerns?

Hi Connie! The Kenneth Scholes series I'm reading is also post-apocalyptic, but thankfully no zombies. The current zombie craze leaves me scratching my head. Anyway, it seems like you might like it. The series is The Psalms of Isaak.

@TheGoodSoil thanks!

Liz, my dad is gone now, but he absolutely loved westerns. He always had one he was reading. He loved Zane Grey and Larry McMurtry. It was always easy to buy him new books.

@LizDTM It's a great piece of literature! I haven't read a western before but this one has me all about them. But it's got a little bit of everything, so I would recommend! That being said, it's over 900 pages so it's a marathon, not a sprint haha!

@TheGoodSoil, you sold me! I will put it on my list!

I finished Antiphon, the third book in the Psalms of Isaak series. I have the 4th book, but I'm holding off because the 5th and final book doesn't come out until December. So I started What If by Randall Munroe, the talented cartoonist behind the XKCD web comic. I didn't realize that Munroe was an NASA scientist before quitting to go full time as a cartoonist. This book presents science questions that have been asked by his readers and he answers them with his unique blend of science, sarcasm and humor. The first question was "What would happen if the world stopped spinning?" and I almost couldn't sleep when I finished reading his answer! Let's hope that never happens, but if it does, the moon will be our best friends. I think I'm really going to enjoy this book!

I took my Kindle to dinner and read a short story, "Beekeeping for Beginners" by Laurie R. King. This is related to the Mary Russell series. If you aren't reading this series, you're missing something special. Mary Russell is a young woman who becomes an apprentice to Sherlock Holmes. She is his intellectual equal and they have many adventures together. The books are all told from Russell's POV. In the first book, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Russell is just 15 years old when she meets Holmes. This short story tells that story again, but this time from Holmes POV. It's quite lovely.

I'm reading 'Gate of the Dead' by David Gilman (book 3 of 4) set during the Hundred Years War. Surprisingly, this author is about as good as Bernard Cromwell.
Recently read:
Oliver Potzsch's 6th book in the Hangman's Daughter series set in 17th century Germany.
'Change Agent' by Daniel Suarez -speculative, high tech sci fi thriller.
My favorite author(s) are the team of Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston, especially the Pendergast series. First book I read of their's was 'The Relic' of which a movie was made.

jmorth said:I'm reading 'Gate of the Dead' by David Gilman (book 3 of 4) set during the Hundred Years War. Surprisingly, this author is about as good as Bernard Cromwell.
Recently read:
Oliver Potzsch's 6th book in the Hangman's Daughter series set in 17th century Germany.
'Change Agent' by Daniel Suarez -speculative, high tech sci fi thriller.
My favorite author(s) are the team of Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston, especially the Pendergast series. First book I read of their's was 'The Relic' of which a movie was made.

The Gilman books sound interesting. Are they historical fiction or are they non-fiction?

I read a sample of the first book in The Hangman's Daughter series and it didn't grab me. Sounds like you are enjoying the series though. Tell me what you like about it and why I should take the plunge and read it.

I'm putting Change Agent on my list! I love spec fiction. The description at Amazon sounds fantastic. Thanks for sharing it!

I downloaded a sample of Relic and also the first book of one of their other series.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Gilman's books are historical fiction with a firm basis in history.
Hangman's daughter is more about said hangman than the daughter. The setting in Germany, I guess kind of captures my imagination being German and a history major with emphasis on medieval Europe. Some of the themes are more complicated mysteries than others.
I've quite enjoyed all of Suarez's offerings.
Child and Preston are in a class by themselves. Their respective single authored books are also pretty good, some non-fictional, some science fiction, near future.

I should relate my all time favorite author is H P Lovecraft.

I may retry a sample of The Hangman's daughter. Thanks!

I started Sacred and Profane by Faye Kellerman. This is the second book of a series, but each book can be enjoyed on it's own. Peter Decker is a lieutenant in the LAPD. Decker is assisted in solving homicides by his Orthodox Jewish girlfriend Rina Lazarus. Ironically, while I was waiting for the dentist today, I was reading a chapter on forensic odontology.

I finished The Zookeepers Wife by Diane Ackerman. It's a WW II era novel and I had heard something about the movie, but hadn't seen it. The book is excellent, based on real people and events. It seems really hard and scary...the family's life after the German invasion. I can't imagine how people can live under such circumstances. They were so gutsy, to help the Polish Jews, even though if the Germans found out, all of them might have died. Actually, I wish the author had kept the story going longer, to really show how things turned out after the Russians moved in and the war in Europe ended...although in one chapter toward the end of the book the author briefly summarizes the aftermath for the characters.

Sounds good, Linda. I'm putting on my list to read. What's up next?

Finished Valley of the Horses by Jean Auel today. Fantastic book. Can't wait to read the next in the series!

Finished 'Viper's Blood', 4th of 4 by David Gilman set during the Hundred Years War. Excellent historical fiction. 5th comes out in January 2018.

I forgot to say that thanks to @TheGoodSoil 's recommendation, my next lunch book will be Lonesome Dove. I found a copy of it in our resident library and I checked it out!

Deadliest Enemy by Osterholm (epidemiologist) and Olshaker, non fiction, reads like a novel.
Germs, germs and more germs...great read! Policy and science interact.

Sounds good. DD talked of being an Infectious Disease doctor years ago, before she settled on another specialty.

Ooooh, that looks good! I just ordered a free sample for my Kindle. Thanks!