Reading log: September 2012 | The David Allen Blog

Books acquired: “Zorro,” Isabel Allende; “Taco USA” and “Ask a Mexican,” Gustavo Arellano; “Silent Visions,” John Bengston; “Record Store Days,” Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo.

Books read: “The Man in the Maze,” Robert Silverberg; “A Maze of Death” and “The Man in the High Castle,” Philip K. Dick; “The Trail of Fu Manchu,” Sax Rohmer; “Lost and Found” and “Lost and Found 2,” Elizabeth Pomeroy.

I must have felt a little aimless during September, as the titles make clear. I seem to have been wandering trails and mazes near a castle, finding myself both lost and found. Or something like that.

The “Lost and Found” books compile dozens of two-page capsule histories of notable sites in the L.A. area, centered in the San Gabriel Valley and many of them parks or historical society-managed properties. Some are even out our way, like adobes in Chino and Pomona and the original San Antonio Hospital. Recommended for local history buffs.

The two Philip K. Dick novels were among his best. “Maze of Death” is about a bunch of misfits sent to a remote planet for reasons they have to figure out for themselves; “High Castle,” from 1962, imagines a world in which the Allies lost WWII, with Japan controlling the western states and Germany the east. A very thoughtful book about the ramifications and subtle changes in society that might ensue.

“Man in the Maze” is about a former American ambassador who (after an alien encounter) physically repulses people and who, disillusioned and betrayed, exiles himself to a maze-like world. And then he’s sought out by his country for a mission only he can perform. I really liked it.

“The Trail of Fu Manchu” is the seventh in the series (of 14) and among my favorites so far.

So, six books finished in September (the “Lost and Found” books had been read over a period of months), and I was enthusiastic about all six. I’m up to 66 for the year.

As for where they came from, “High Castle” is one I’ve owned probably 20 years or more; the others are comparatively recent purchases. “Man in the Maze” was bought earlier this year.

Currently I’m reading “Zorro” by Isabel Allende, the novel everyone in Pomona is supposed to be reading, and liking it. In October I’ll be reading other, semi-related novels of larger than life heroes.

What about you? What have you been reading?

Bob House

Second time in a week you’ve led me to something I must do or have. Just ordered Lost and Found and LaFII. You’re like a personal Daveapedia.

[Heh. The Lost and Found books are a good purchase. The prose is terse but graceful. Elizabeth Pomeroy wrote the pieces originally for the Pasadena Star-News. -- DA]
Doug Evans

Now comes the part where I have to confess that I didn’t make it through any books in September! I blame the start of the fall semester. I did read a couple of Doctor Who comic books so if comics were allowed I would count those. But they’re not. So.

However! I remembered after contributing to last month’s reading log that I’d left a book out! So even though I read this in August, I get to include it here:

*”Field Gray” by Philip Kerr. Another in Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series, about a police officer/private detective (depending where you are in the series) in 1930-40′s Berlin. Sort of like sticking Philip Marlowe into a Nazi setting… These detectives always have their own moral code that they follow, but Bernie Gunther is trying to do his job and keep his soul intact while his whole country turns to evil and eventually genocide around him. So an intriguing concept! This particular outing, though, was rambly, hard to follow, and told mostly through flashbacks that I couldn’t keep straight. An ambitious way to approach the story that just had me lost. I’ll keep reading the series, though. Good stuff!

I’ve read Philip K. Dick and Robert Silverberg, though not the books mentioned above, and I’ve really enjoyed them. O to have more time to read!

Fun checking in! Happy reading, everyone!

[Good thing you forgot to list one book last month, Doug, or else what would you have commented about this month? Actually, you're an ingenious guy, so I bet you would have come up with something. -- DA]
Will Plunkett

Only three:

Krull Movie Adaptation by AD Foster (it was on cable quite often, so I wanted to see just how bad it was in print form; I was not disappointed to find it was as bad)

Fletch & the Man Who by G.McDonald (I had it on my shelf, and it read fast; not bad nor great)

A Fistful of Collars by S.Quinn (newest Chet & Bernie mystery; not as great as the previous books in the series, but still fun)