A State of Disobedience

Title: A State of Disobedience
Author: Tom Kratman
Publisher: Baen Publishing Enterprises
Copyright: 2003
ISBN: 0-7434-9920-4


I recommend “A State of Disobedience”.

What if the Democrat Party took control of all branches of government? What if they held strong majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate? What if they won the Presidency? What if they owned the Supreme Court? What if the media would be their mouthpiece regardless of policy or action? What if they decided that all future elections would be rigged so they would never lose power? What if they simply ignored the Constitution?

Who would stand against them? If one state rebelled would the United States Military obey the orders of their Commander-in-Chief or would they obey their oath to defend the Constitution?

This is the world of “A State of Disobedience” where Texas just can’t take it anymore.

This first novel, written in 2003, by Tom Kratman started out a little choppy but in the second chapter he found his rhythm and held my attention through the end.

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Twitter Power

Title: Twitter Power
Author: Joel Comm
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Copyright: 2009


I highly recommend “Twitter Power”.

Twitter Power is the best “how to” book I have ever read. Every chapter in my copy has sections that I found useful underlined. Much of it I implemented immediately. Twitter Power changed me from a neophyte into a serious Tweet in a single reading.

You can follow me at www.twitter.com/clarkmel

Joel Comm writes clearly with a style that maintained my interest throughout the book’s 228 pages. The information he presents is both timely and actionable.

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Persuader

Title: Persuader
Author: Lee Child
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Copyright: 2003


I recommend Persuader.

Persuader is an action-thriller featuring Lee Child’s signature protagonist Jack Reacher; a no holds barred ex-military cop who free-lances seemingly without need of money. Reacher is a dark hero with old west ethics and the skill to back them up.

It is a fun read – no politics and little moralizing. Just suspense, action, and satisfaction.

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Max: A Maximum Ride Novel

5th Book in the Maximum Ride Series
Title: Max: A Maximum Ride Novel
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
1st Edition 2009

I recommend “Max: A Maximum Ride Novel”.

I’m not really a James Patterson fan. I’ve read a couple of his Alex Cross detective novels. I enjoyed the first enough to read a second but then he lost me. Nevertheless, I just finished the 5th volume in his Maximum Ride series after reading the other four in order over the past two years. I anxiously await number six.

This series was intended for the young adult audience but I love it. It is science fiction and action adventure with Max, a charming adolescent girl with wings, as the protagonist. Max is the leader of a flock of six genetically engineered bird-kids who finds herself responsible for saving the world.

James Patterson uses this series to pander to the environmental movement. The antagonists are all evil corporations intent on world destruction through environmental devastation. I would normally put down a story with this political intent and setting after reading the back cover.

That I keep reading his Maximum Ride stories is a tribute to the enchanting characters he has created in Max, Fang, Angel, Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy – the flock of bird kids. They are adorable and confused and fierce and determined.

I recommend reading them in order as shown below:

1st Book in the Maximum Ride Series
Title: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
1st Mass Market Edition 2006
The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1)

2nd Book in the Maximum Ride Series
Title: Maximum Ride: School’s Out Forever
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
1st Mass Market Edition 2007
School's" Out - Forever (Maximum Ride, Book 2)

3rd Book in the Maximum Ride Series
Title: Saving the World and other Extreme Sports
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
1st Mass Market Edition 2008
Saving the World (Maximum Ride, Book 3)

4th Book in the Maximum Ride Series
Title: The Final Warning
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
1st Edition 2008
The Final Warning (Maximum Ride, Book 4)

5th Book in the Maximum Ride Series
Title: Max: A Maximum Ride Novel
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
1st Edition 2009
Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5)

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The Kite Runner

I recommend “The Kite Runner”.

A friend handed me her copy of “The Kite Runner” telling me I should read it. “It’s a good book – take a long as you like.” she said.

I did not expect to like this book. I expected it to be political anti-war propaganda. It’s not. It is a straight forward story of redemption with the tribulations of Afghanistan and its people as background.

In the beginning, the protagonist, Amir, is an unlikeable ignoble character. For this reason I might have abandoned this novel but Khaled Hosseini is a very good writer. His account of life in Kabul through the eyes of a child made the Afghan people and culture real to me and so I kept turning his pages.

I’m grateful to my friend Pat for coaxing me into reading it. I would not have chosen it on my own.

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