I belong to several Facebook groups for books, and this author was recommended as a possible series for me to read. Although it’s not my preferred genre, I have really been enjoying fiction police thrillers. I have read all the Alex Cross books, Michael Bennett books, and just finished all the Women’s Murder Club books…
Author: Mark
Another Mother’s Day
Well, I have written many many many many ODES TO THE WIFE here, and I am going to repeat it again, but she really is the BEST MOTHER. Mother’s Day needs to be celebrated daily, as moms everywhere are awesome and deserve more than just one day of pampering. If you have been living in…
Women’s Murder Club – by James Patterson
Now that I finished all twenty-five books in the series, what am I supposed to do now? Can I get a table at Susie’s Cafe and wait for Lindsey, Claire, Yuki, and Cindy to arrive? I really enjoyed the series, and each member of the club could easily have their own series of books. I…
My 9th Birthday
As soon as my dad’s birthday was over , I told moo (that is what I call my mom and I have no idea why), that I wanted a vanilla cake with lemon frosting and strawberry filling. I wished I had watched her create it from scratch on Thursday, because if so, I would have…
My Next Breath: A Memoir – by Jeremy Renner
I don’t typically read memoirs like this, but I was drawn to Jeremy Renner’s story after hearing about his devastating accident on New Year’s Day 2023. This book is his raw and deeply personal account of that day and the long, painful road to recovery that followed. Renner doesn’t shy away from the trauma—nothing is…
48 Candles
Last Wednesday, I celebrated my birthday and I am very glad that the cake Nina made didn’t have 48 candles on it, because, honestly, I don’t think I could’ve worked my way to blow out 48 candles. That’s a lot of work and, also, I don’t like fire. The cake was homemade with chocolate frosting,…
The Dad Speaks – UPDATES
In July of 2011, I shared my thoughts on the high school football games I worked as a stastician, posted photos, and of course there were stats, stats, and more stats. I would often compare my stats to the official newspaper stats, and I was always very close to them! When Nina (my wife) and…
Niko and Percy Jackson
A few nights ago, I opened ChatGPT and requested a story about Niko and Percy Jackson. Niko has actually been reading and listening to the series both at home and at school. He really likes it, and pays attention to what is happening. For me, I zone out and read my book. It’s also not…
The Women’s Murder Club (books 2 through 9) by James Patterson
I am fully vested in this series, and have been really enjoying it. I like how Patterson and whomever is helping him write it describes in fantastic detail the action and sometimes it’s pretty graphic. The research for it must be a lot and it makes it sound real. I like that each member, Lindsay,…
The Apple Keyboard Crisis
Last Saturday at Best Buy, I bought an Apple Keyboard Folio for Niko’s iPad. It’s basically a case and a keyboard. Its was not cheap, and Niko asked me why are Apple products expensive and I replied, it’s because of the brand, the technology, the fact that they all work very well together, and the…
Walking
I finished my rehab on March 31st. Since I was the only one that graduated that day, I can add valedictorian to my mighty titles! Although I don’t have the equipment at home that rehab has, I am walking outside and have even walked a few times on the treadmill at the neighborhood fitness center….
The Mogul: Eddie Gottlieb, Philadelphia Sports Legend and Pro Basketball Pioneer – by Rich Westcott
Last November, I read two basketball biographies about Abe Saperstein and Red Klotz, and in both, Eddie Gottlieb was mentioned. I was intrigued about Gottlieb and everything he did for the NBA as well as Negro baseball. He played, coached, and owned the Philadelphia SPHAS, one of the best semi professional basketball teams way…
New House – Part 2
Last week, Nina was in the Minneapolis area house shopping. She saw something like 25 houses. On our Realtor list, we had several that we really liked and I thought one of those would be the one. Well, new ones were being added through another app, and we liked them better. Nina did a…
Reflections On…Sports and Spurs
Before Niko was born in 2016, I was a huge NBA basketball and San Antonio Spurs fan. Football and baseball, were not on my horizon. I could watch those two sports, but I wasn’t enamored like basketball. If anything, I liked basketball first and high school football second. Why high school football? Well, from 1997…
Roll With It: A Trip Back To The 90’s – Gen X Style – by Brad Porteus
I saw a substack review from allsportsbookreviews.substack.com, and thought I would give it a read. The author, Brad Proteus, got a job with the San Jose Rhinos, a professional roller hockey team. He ended up becoming the GM of the team. He was in his mid 20’s, and this was the mid 90’s. In his…
1st to Die (Women’s Murder Club, #1) – by James Patterson
I have read all the James Patterson Alex Cross and Michael Bennett books and wanted to try this one by him. I have also read all the Jesse Stone and Spenser books by Robert Parker. As you can see, that is a lot of macho men and I was ready for a change and that…
New House
This morning, Nina left us for Minneapolis where she is looking at houses and hopefully, for one of them, we will buy. Yes, that means we are leaving Texas (we are tired of the weather, construction, and traffic) and Minnesota is a very safe choice. I am not at all worried about snow and cold,…
Heartbreaker: A Memoir – by Mike Campbell
I saw this book as a new release, and although I was halfway interested in it, I scrolled past it and moved on. Then, a few weeks later, Mike Campbell was one of the musicians featured on the FireAid concert in L.A where the proceeds helped the victims of the wildfires. So, that is when…
Michael Bennett books 1 through 17 – by James Patterson
So, I finished reading all the Michael Bennett books, and enjoyed them. Although, about halfway through, I almost stopped completely because I was tired of reading about bad things happening in New York City. But, I trudged on. Even though, I knew Bennett would solve the cases, how he got there was the whole point…
Spring Break
Niko has been on Spring Break, and he goes back to school tomorrow. We didn’t do anything exciting. Nina took him to the cold pool once but it was too cold for her and I took him once as well and although I got in, I got out quicker than you could say Super Mario! …