2015 Book Roundup - What I've Read So Far

These last few years, I've made an effort to read more. While enjoying contemporary novels, I've also made it a point to read books I've been meaning to read for a long time - classics, books that have been sitting on my shelves forever, etc - but have just kept putting off.

So here's what I've read so far in 2015 (and if you click on the titles, they'll take you to their Amazon page through my affiliate links in case you want to take a look).

In no particular order:

Peter Straub's Pork Pie Hat

Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes

Stephen King's Carrie

Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry

Ford Maddox Ford's The Good Soldier

Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle

Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose

James Lee Burke's Crusader's Cross: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

Whitley Strieber's The Wolfen

George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)

George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2)

Simone Wood's The One That Got Away

H. TerrellGriffin's Blood Island

Mercedes M. Yardley's Beautiful Sorrows

Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

New Release! A Wrinkle in Crime; 10 Stories of Foul Play, Murder & Revenge

My newest release!

In the Midwest, the saying goes, “Revenge is a hot-dish best served cold” – or something to that effect. In Joel Arnold’s new short story collection A WRINKLE IN CRIME, revenge is also served at a lakeside resort, in an outhouse, at a state fair, on a camping trip in the Gallatin Mountains, and along a snow-swept lonely highway.

In these 10 stories of foul play, murder and revenge, you’ll meet:

A man who takes advantage of an unfortunate accident to pull off a perfect crime.

A woman whose only refuge against a knife-wielding assailant is a fiberglass outhouse.

An elderly gay couple who come face to face with murder – and their past – at a cozy lake resort.

A sister whose dark secrets reside in a beautiful pearl.

A man who poses as an old woman’s personal assistant in order to murder her at the Minnesota State Fair.

These plus five more stories will keep you up late at night, turning the pages!

"Joel Arnold is, hands down, one of my favorite short story writers.  This collection is impressive, diverse, and always great fun!” - Ellen Hart, author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenway series. 

Available on:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Google Play

Smashwords

Kobo eBooks

Apple iBooks

TOC:

The Opportunity

Taking Care of Katrina

Mercy

Hole in the Fence

Leave No Wake

Occupied

White Crosses

The Cheater

Blue-Eyed Mary

Mississippi Pearl

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Visit Joel's Amazon Page!

2013 - My Year in Reading

The past bunch of years, I haven't been reading nearly as much as I'd like to, so I made it a point to get a lot of reading in this year. My goal was to read at least 40 books in 2013, and I ended up reading 42.

One of the things I wanted to do this year was read a lot of books that I've been meaning to read for a long time, but haven't gotten around to. So I did! Plus I read some new ones, and others that I found lying around the house that have been calling to me for a while.

So, without further ado, here's what I read in 2013:

Some classics:

Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (I actually finished the year on this one. Took me most of December to read. An amazing novel.)
Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles 
Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows
Robert L. Stevenson's Treasure Island
Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage
Thomas de Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater

Some modern classics:

Frank Herbert's Dune
Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian
Dashiel Hammett's Red Harvest
Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye
Miller's A Canticle for Liebowitz
George Stewart's Earth Abides
Lois Lowry's The Giver
Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Some horror:

Stephen King's Dr. Sleep
Stephen King's Joyland (this was really more a mystery. Good book, though.)
Clive Barker's Books of Blood, Volumes 1 & 2
Ronald Malfi's The Mourning House
Kealan Patrick Burke's The Turtle Boy
James Newman's The Wicked
Dan Simmons' Song of Kali
Joe Hill's NOS4A2
C. Dennis Moore's The Third Floor
Christopher Golden's Horseman (The Hollow #1)

Some sci-fi:

Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley
Mike Resnick's The Soul Eater
Hugh Howey's Wool

Some mystery:

J.K. Rowling's The Cuckoo's Calling (writing as Robert Galbraith)
Susan Koefod's Washed Up
Jan Dunlap's Murder on Warbler Weekend
Pat Dennis's Murder by Chance
Agatha Christie's The A.B.C. Murders
Robert Crais' Best American Mystery Stories 2012

Some non-fiction:

Kenneth Carley's The Dakota War of 1862
Gary Clayton Anderson's Through Lakota Eyes
S.C. Gwynne's Empire of the Summer Moon

And even a couple westerns:

Louis L'Amour's Dark Canyon and The Quick & the Dead (I've always wanted to try a Louis L'Amour book or two, and they were better than I thought they'd be.)

What's in store for 2014? I'm going to try to read another 40 - some old, some new - hopefully another nice variety!

What were some of your highlights for the year?

Happy reading!

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Visit My Amazon Page

Fun Bookish Photo Contest

I’m running a photo contest. It’s fairly simple. What I want is a photo of YOU reading a BOOK in an unusual location or setting. It does NOT have to be one of my books. All I ask is that you hold the book in a way so that it looks like you’re reading it AND in a way so that the cover is clearly visible (I want to be able to see the title). Email a jpeg of the photo to:

joelarnold@mchsi.com

In sending me the photo, you’re basically giving me permission to post it on my blog, Facebook, twitter, etc. at some point.

Remember, the more interesting the setting, the better. However, please use common sense and don’t do anything illegal or put yourself in any danger to get the shot.

At the end of 2013, I’ll pick my favorite, and that person will get a prize of some sort. (I haven’t decided what, yet, but it will be more of the fun, silly variety than something you can put your kids through college with.)

You can use your Kindle or Nook or other ereading device, but that will be a bit of a challenge, since I want to see the book's cover. 

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing your pictures!