# Books Recommended by our Members (December 2011)



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

For the list of recommendations in November, look here:

November Recommendations

If you are an author or publisher, please do not 'recommend' your own books. Instead you may start a discussion/promotion thread in the Book Bazaar.

Generally, this thread is for quick recommendations. You know, you're sitting with a friend at dinner and you say, "Hey, I just finished this book and I think you would love it!" That kind of thing.

If you've got a book review or other site and would like to regularly share reviews with us, we invite you to start a thread in the Book Bazaar for your site and periodically post links to reviews, subject to our posting rules for authors and bloggers.

Also, please use generic links, or, even better, the Link-Maker to make KindleBoards affiliate links. But please do not link through another site.

Please see Forum Decorum for guidelines.


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## Sunset (Nov 10, 2010)

So much excitement in one book.


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## djgross (May 24, 2011)

Fun, fast-paced paranormal romance/fantasy


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## Mike Tino (Nov 9, 2011)

Not sure if anyone is into Military non fiction but i found: First into Action: Dramatic Personal Account of Life Inside the SBS by Duncan Falconer a great read.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517cJmogtQL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg


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## Judy Powell (Sep 25, 2011)

Love Jade Lee! If you love historical romance, check this out.


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## normcowie (Jun 21, 2011)

I'll put in my vote for The Detachment by Barry Eisler. I think this might be the book where he turned down a half million dollar book contract to put it out himself, but I might be wrong because the ebook was a bit more expensive than I expected.

The Detachment (John Rain)

As to why I recommend the book, I think perhaps for me it was the political implications I liked as much as his character John Rain's action scenes. I four starred it when I posted a review, but that's only because it was only slightly less enjoyable than his previous books in the series.


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## marywest (Dec 6, 2011)

Chiles Rellenos by Katherine Reid:
Rellenos is a fictional novella, in diary format, full of humor, sorrow, and self awakening, a true book for the soul. It was only $2.99 on Smashwords.com, just in my price range. 
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/110970

I found that if you view the online sample (free 25%) choose the HTML file, not the JAVA file. You can also download the first 25% of the book for free directly for your Kindle. I love Smashwords!!!


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## tahliaN (Nov 6, 2011)

I'm reading a lot of short stuff at the moment and a lot of it is really good (not to mention free or 99c) One short story I really liked was Le Cirque de Magie by Marsha A Moore. It's a 99c delightful fantasy and a good taster for the author. I'm going to read more from her.

http://www.amazon.com/Le-Cirque-De-Magie-ebook/dp/B006C96WYQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1323213099&sr=1-1


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

FANTASTIC ENGROSSING read but make sure you have tissue handy


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## djgross (May 24, 2011)

Not my usual read. I obtained this from my library and was blown away. A terrific book set primarily in 1938 New York.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2011)

I just read (devoured, really) Girl Over the Edge by Amy L Kinzer. I LOVED it. Posting a full review to the forums


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## valleycat1 (Mar 15, 2011)

Nonfiction:

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt - not just about finding an ancient text, but a lot about the history of books as well as about the history of humanism. I'll be reading The Nature of Things by Lucretius next.... 


Then Again, a memoir by Diane Keaton


Wow! I made my first Amazon links!


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## DianeAmy (Dec 11, 2010)

Strangers on a Bus, contemporary romance. Loved it!! Read it twice and laughed and cried my way through it each time. Great short read that I recommend for a nice holiday gift.


And by the same SP author...

Don't Go There! A Robblogger Look at Travel

Crass hilarious humor!! I can't say enough about how hard I laughed. Also recommended... beware of lots of sexual innuendo jokes.


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## tahliaN (Nov 6, 2011)

The End Game and other stories by David Wisehart. Excellent stories with a delightful twist to make them memorable.








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## Robert S. Wilson (Jul 21, 2011)

I can't wait to read this one. J.T.'s one of my favorite indie horror writers.


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

Loved the narrative voice and characters in Diana Estill's _When Horses Had Wings_:



Soon as I'm finished with my current book, I'm looking up more by Estill.


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## lnealreilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Just finished Here Comes Your Man by Derek Gentry. I don't usually read contemporary romance, but I liked the twist of a male narrator (who also happens to be a geek, my favorite type of guy ;-). It was witty, but it also had some depth.


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## Meka (Sep 8, 2011)

I recommend "All For One" by Ryne Douglas Pearson. A very good read!


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## nigel p bird (Feb 4, 2011)

My top 5 reads of the year have just been posted by Luca Veste over at his blog, Guilty Conscience:

http://www.lucaveste.com/2011/12/nigel-birds-top-5-books-of-2011.html

One of them is a classic in the making.


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## Herzwords (Dec 4, 2010)

Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone - Incredible


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## Ben Reeder (Jun 28, 2011)

I don't normally go in for self-help, but this one had a lot of elements I liked in my fiction, namely, a crime (the author got swindled out of her life savings in a Ponzi scheme), and the victim turning the tables on the bad guys. Plus, she shows the tools she used for overcoming the problems she faced. So yeah, I definitely like that, since it actually happened.

http://www.amazon.com/Rising-Ashes-Discover-Adversity-ebook/dp/B005XKWSLG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1323133151&sr=1-1


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

Alright Paranormal lovers, if you haven't tried Maria E. Schneider's Moon Shadow series you are seriously missing out.
The first book Under Witch Moon was fantastic but her new release, Under Witch Aura, is A.MAZ.ING.

Seriously wonderful book by a very talented author and right now it is only $2.99 which is a STEAL!

Here is my review on my blog: http://myguiltyobsession.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-under-witch-aura-by-maria-e.html


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

FYI: Mentioned on several threads as one of the scariest Vampire books ever, I am Legend is finally ava for Kindles! So excited! I started it a few days ago and so far it has not disappointed.... all that clicking paid off!


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## nigel p bird (Feb 4, 2011)

You may have seen ‘One Too Many Blows To The Head’ listed as one of my Top 5 novels of the year.  Set in the boxing world, it’s a book that really does pack a punch.
That was co-written with JB Kohl, so I was curious as to how Mr Beetner would fare as a lone wolf. 
In my opinion, he managed extremely well.
Dig Two Graves is essentially a story about revenge.
Val has come out of prison a confused man.  It’s about the same way he went in.  
Inside, he discovered the joys of Ernesto’s mouth as an antidote to sexual tension.  Thing is, he has feelings for the man, not that he’s prepared to admit them.  It means that he gets stuck somewhere between his wife and his male lover.
It’s a situation he’d most likely have stuck with until his arrest for a bank robbery.
Because he’s become such a careful planner  (‘Planning.  A good bank hit takes planning and, even more than that, humility.  All the big names – Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger – they all had the same M.O.: go in big, scare the s**t out of them, take as much as you can carry.  What else did they all have in common?  Died in a hail of bullets.’) that he knows there’s only one way he could have been pinned for the job – his partner in crime (Ernesto) has ratted him out.
Val is taken in handcuffs across town by a silent cop.  When they arrive, Val and they’re met by Val’s wife who’s waving a gun.  She’s not too happy to have heard about her husband’s extra-marital activities and takes a shot at them.  Blows a hole in the cop.  Takes another shot and misses them both.
Thankfully, she calms down at that point and decides to help Val to escape.  Maybe she shouldn’t have bothered.
From here on in, this becomes a quest for revenge.  Val’s targets are Ernesto and the big cheese in the local crime fraternity who happens to have it in for Val for having an affair with his wife many years earlier.
We follow Val through church meetings, gay bars and slums as he keeps his nose to the ground in his quest for blood.
There are a number of times when his rational self considers leaving town and finding safety.  At least that way he’d get to stay free.
Instead, his hot-headed-self wins out (‘Everything from here on in counted as borrowed time anyway.  Might as well make it count’).  
Truth is Val is happiest when the adrenaline is pumping and he’s in the thick of violent or dangerous situations.  As we get to know about him, we realise his past hasn’t been so much chequered as all black squares.
The plot moves with energy and tension from one scene to the next and the excitement Mr Beetner stirred in me was palpable.
His characters are written beautifully from Val’s perspective and the settings had everything I need.
Best of all, though, is the voice of the book.  It has the hard-boiled edge of another age.  The sarcasm is heavy, the wit sharp as shark teeth and the humour laugh-out-loud.  
One of the effects Mr Beetner’s style has is to throw my sense of time and place.  That may seem like an uncomfortable place for a reader to occupy, but I love the way it happens.  I found myself transported to a world of the black and white noir movie, all mist, darkness, caricatures, hats and long coats until I’d be shaken from the moment by a Tweet, the mention of a song or a tongue-piercing.  It’s something I fully enjoyed, a juxtaposition of two eras that works extremely well and with great originality.  Takes me back to when certain things just didn’t happen even within my lifetime.  How things change.
One thing that hasn’t changed is my respect for Eric Beetner as a writer.  Next on my card is the sequel to ‘One Too Many Blows…’ – ‘Borrowed Trouble’.  I know already, I’m really going to dig it.


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## Rook (Sep 6, 2011)

_Confessions of a D List Supervillain_ by Jim Bernheimer-- this was the first book I read on my new Fire (my wife had it loaded for me when she gave it to me). It's short, but it's extremely fun and delightfully inappropriate.

The title says it all.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Fantastic novel. I have never been more surprised by the last sentence of a book.
deb


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## Mutiny (Dec 27, 2011)

drenee said:


> Fantastic novel. I have never been more surprised by the last sentence of a book.
> deb


What was the last sentence?


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Mutiny said:


> What was the last sentence?


It would ruin the book if I told. 
deb


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## Mutiny (Dec 27, 2011)

Sunset said:


> So much excitement in one book.


Great book!


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## acellis (Oct 10, 2011)

I can honestly recommend any of Ron Leighton's suspense books. His blog is at http://ronleightonauthor.blogspot.com/.

And, of course, there's always R. S. Guthrie. His web site is at http://www.rsguthrie.com


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## A.D.Seay (Dec 24, 2011)

I don't know how many people here like reading nonfiction as much as I do, but one book I definitely recommend is Andrew Sorkin's Too Big to Fail. I haven't finished it yet (school and writing has kept me tied up), but I'm about two-thirds of the way through. I've found it to be quite riveting, personally. Disclaimer: If you're not interested in the causes of the financial meltdown, then save your money.


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## JimCrigler (Aug 8, 2011)

Just finished Ted Dekker's _BoneMan's Daughters_ (B0023SDR0M). It was a good tale skillfully told. Anyone who enjoys watching _Criminal Minds_ will appreciate this, and will appreciate the fact that the story is not limited to 44 minutes of actual air time. This story spends a fair amount of time crawling around inside the minds of 3 main characters, so it qualifies as serial killer psycho-thriller with very little humor. The writing is tight and constructed around the outline and many high points of a most older story. It's not the kind of thing I normally read or write (traditional mysteries), but it is a fun read.


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## trodgers71 (Dec 28, 2011)

Fun book by a new author... and only 2.99

http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Creek-Waters-ebook/dp/B006O3VBSC/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_4


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2011)

The first book I ever read on my one and only ever kindle: Alice in Deadland. Great action packed read based off of the famous Alice in Wonderland story


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

JerichoxBarrons said:


> The first book I ever read on my one and only ever kindle: Alice in Deadland. Great action packed read based off of the famous Alice in Wonderland story


I've read some of Mainak Dhar's books and just picked up this one. I like that he skips around to different genres ... if you liked this one then you might want to try one of these:


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