Booknotes 2.2 — Blog

First, by Evan Thomas. Great biography of Sandra Day O’Connor, who I didn’t know much about before this. Learned a lot about SCOTUS. I miss the days of a more balanced Supreme Court. Mildly surprised to read that O’Connor once got a priesthood blessing from Bill Marriott and also read the Book of Mormon.
James Patterson, by James Patterson. An “ego-biography,” in his words, which seems about right. I haven’t read any of Patterson’s books and I’m not sure I will (thrillers are too stressful for me, so I avoid them most of the time), but this was an easy, entertaining read. Not as much about writing as I’d been hoping for, though. Still, the little bit about outlining was something I needed to hear, and the perspective on co-writing was interesting.

Taken, by Benedict Jacka. Third in the Alex Verus series. A fun, popcorn read. I think I liked this one more than the first two. Sort of like Dresden but without the problematic bits. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie. Whew, content warnings galore on this one. Much more graphic than the First Law trilogy, at least in my memory. After filtering out all the grimdark grit, though, it was a compelling vengeance tale, and my brain really liked the prose.