Jack’s Books: Breezing Through Summer

“The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library,” said Albert Einstein, who knew much more than that.

While reading is a year-round pleasure, there’s always been a strong association for me between books and summer. More free time when you’re a student, beach reading, poolside lounging, airplane rides for summer vacation.

That having been said, and with the nearest library securely-located, here’s what I’ve been reading of late:

“Travels With Charley” by John Steinbeck (1962) A lot of you may have read this in an English class, but I don’t think I did. The famous author buys a pick-up/camper combo, provisions it, and drives himself and his poodle around the country during the 1960 election. Light and chatty, if dated, it made me think that someone needs to re-create this experience for today. Not me, though, I like hotels better than RVs.

“A Hooded Crow” by Craig Thomas (1991) This is a fantastic end-of-the-Cold-War thriller in Thomas’ series featuring British spymaster Kenneth Aubrey and his incomparable team. Thomas never disappoints.

“The Dark Hours” by Michael Connelly (2021) Two of his most popular serial characters, retired LAPD legend Harry Bosch and current nightside LAPD detective Renee Ballard, form a team of mutual admiration, and necessity, as an old case Bosch can’t let go of crosses paths with one Ballard doesn’t want to let go of. Each of these series is top-notch. Having Bosch and Ballard together is a treat.

“It’s A Battlefield” by Graham Greene (1934) While he’s best known for later novels like “Our Man in Havana”, readers of this blog know I’m going back and reading all this author’s stuff, in order. In this darkly humorous novel, Greene introduces us to British communists rallying around a bus driver named Drover, who’s about to hang for killing a policeman. Greene called this his first “overtly political book” and it holds up very well almost a century later.

“The Ophelia Cut” by John Lescroart (2013) I’m a big fan of this San Francisco based author’s “Dismas Hardy” series, and I think this might be the best one I’ve read in the line-up. Spoiler alert: there will be major disruption in the universe of Hardy characters, and you’ll only understand the title on the last page of the book, but otherwise all the ingredients are here: political intrigue, police investigatory procedure, courtroom drama and maneuvers, and unforgettable characters.

“The Battle of Leyte Gulf” by Adrian Stewart (1979) By almost any measure, the Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines) in October 1944 was the biggest naval battle in history, and yet, it was largely incidental to other events. For the US, it was a necessary precursor to regaining control of the islands, and to the Japanese, it was a must-win, or else their empire would never have sufficient oil to stay in the war. On a personal note, it was the engagement my WW2 naval veteran dad talked about the most. Stewart is a British barrister/historian who wrote an economical and readable account from all sides.

Please let me know if you read any of these, and what you think of them. Or feel free to recommend: [email protected]