A Real Book by a Fictional Author: Books I Read in 2025, Vol. XII

 

DRIVING HEAT
Richard Castle

“Nikki Heat, the NYPD’s top homicide detective, has been promoted to captain just in time to face a thrilling case with a very personal twist. In this gripping follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Raging Heat, Captain Heat’s job is compromised when her fiancé, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Jameson Rook becomes a distraction at best, and an obstacle at worst, as their parallel lives not only cross, but collide.”

Once upon a time, there was a dramedy TV series on ABC titled “Castle” about a mystery novelist named Richard Castle who was “attached” to an NYPD homicide squad to aid in his research. (He was friends with the mayor.) He, of course, was not a silent observer, and actually ended up helping several cases get solved…and fell in love with the implausibly beautiful and high-heeled leader of the squad. In the show, it all resulted in a best-selling series of novels about an implausibly beautiful and high-heeled Nikki Heat and an investigative journalist, Jameson Rook (chess players will get the joke).

[Take a breath.]

This book is, supposedly, one of those novels. And it reads pretty much like an episode, or more appropriately, several episodes of the TV series. Same witty repartee, same bursts of action…but with the addition of (unnecessary, in my view) several instances of PG-13 language (and just enough instances of the F-bomb to bump it to R).

All that said, I really enjoyed this and will be browsing the library for more titles in the series.

First Line: The last thing Nikki Heat expected when she received her promotion to captain of the NYPD was how much the proud expression on Rook’s face in the audience would make her want him.

Page 56 / Line 5: When was the last time you fired one of your weapons?

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: Detective Ramey laughed. “Jealousy’s an ugly thing, Randall.” “Which explains your face,” said Ochoa.

Last Line: All in

Local Free Spirit Tells All: Books I Read in 2025, Vol. XI

 

OLD SHORTS AND POETREE: Book One
Ron Runeborg

“An anthology of short stories and poetry; some factual, some fiction, and some trueish." From Bookscape: "[This book,] published by Lulu Press, stands as a beacon of knowledge and inspiration. With its insightful content and engaging narrative style, this book transcends genres, offering something valuable for every reader." From the back cover: "Ron Runeborg writes for the love of the craft. He lives in Lakeville Minnesota where his lovely wife Linda and little dog-child Montague work tirelessly to appreciate his many eccentricities."

This guy's self-description and a quick glance at the contents persuaded me to spend the quarter (library book sale!) and take this home. It's a wide-ranging collection of short stories, poems, smatterings of thoughts, and autobiographical verbal sketches. As to be expected, some are amusing, some are disturbing, some are thoughtful, and some are absurd. There's a bit of PG-13 language widely scattered throughout, but not enough to make me go "Eww." I'm giving it 3 out of 4 stars.

First Line: This book is an anthology, a smattering, a hodgepodge, a text melange of the stuff that wanders around in the dark recesses of my rather odd brain.

Page 56 / Line 5: Jack started waving his arms as he did every time he had a light bulb.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: The guy never knows what he's sayin'; he just babbles off some story like his lips are a nail gun and he's building a house.

Last Line: Once comes my reawakening, I'll tell you all I've known.

Whateverrrrr: Books I Almost Read in 2025, Vol. X

 

UNSCRIPTED: A Novel
Davis Bunn

“Line producer Danny Byrd is well known in Hollywood for being someone who gets things done on time and under budget. But when his reputation takes a beating after his partner  -  and former best friend  -  makes off with their investors' money, Danny has one chance to redeem himself and restore his ruined career.

" LA lawyer Megan Pierce has sacrificed years of her life proving herself to impossible bosses, only to find herself disgusted at their snobbery and specious business practices. When an opportunity to actually make a difference comes her way, she knows she has to grab it."

I really tried to get interested in this Nicholas Sparks wannabe, but I had a hard time keeping straight which name belonged to which character. I was THAT uninvested. There seemed to be little-to-no known motivation for any of the main characters to be doing the things they did or feeling the way they felt. I finally gave up a little past halfway through.

I bought this at the library for 25 cents, and it was worth every penny.

First Line: The entire Beverly Hills jail was nonsmoking and air-conditioned.

Page 56 / Line 5: She did without a private life.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: That's not a car; it's a health hazard with four tires.

Last Line: Then she leaned toward the microphone and said, "The award for Outstanding Television Movie goes to..."

Different Strokes for Different Folks: Books I Read in 2025, Vol. IX

 

SACRED PATHWAYS: Nine Ways to Connect with God
Gary Thomas

“In this updated and expanded edition, Gary Thomas details nine spiritual temperaments and--like the Enneagram and other tools do with personality--encourages you to investigate the ways you most naturally express yourself in your relationship with God. He encourages you to dig into the traits, strengths, and pitfalls in your devotional approach so you can eliminate the barriers that keep you locked into rigid methods of worship and praise. Plus, as you begin to identify and understand your own temperament, you'll soon learn about the temperaments that aren’t necessarily "you" but that may help you understand the spiritual tendencies of friends, family, and others around you. Whatever temperament or blend of temperaments best describes you, rest assured it's not by accident. It's by the design of a Creator who knew what he was doing when he made you according to his own unique intentions. If your spiritual walk is not what you'd like it to be, you can change that, starting here.”

I found this while browsing at the library, but wow, it perfectly fits in with the long-term discussion we Valley Christian Church elders are having about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and how, as a church body, we can create them. I really appreciate how the author stressed that one of the spiritual temperaments isn't any better or More Correct than any of the others. Different people are just wired differently by an infinitely creative creator. No sense to EVER say, "You don't express closeness to God the way I do. You need to change."

For the record, my top three ways to connect with God, as described in this book, are Intellectual, Enthusiast, and Contemplative. Naturalist is a close 4th, with a noticeable drop in score for everything else on the list.

First Line: Valuable lessons about spirituality can come at the strangest times.

Page 56 / Line 5: Once we are truly humbled, God enlightens us as to what we can do, and this gives us a new sense of dignity.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: I am not here to offer you a mind-blowing "date" with God. I want us to talk about how to be married to him.

Last Line: There is no greater end in life than this.

To 100K and Beyond

 

Congratulations to our 2017 Kia Sportage!

Neither Beloved nor I can recall ever reaching the 100,000 mile milestone with any of our previous vehicles.

That's a lot of trips from Minnesota to Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wyoming, and Arkansas.

Alex Cross Catches a Killer Casanova: Books I Read in 2025, Vol. VIII

 

KISS THE GIRLS
James Patterson

“In Los Angeles, a reporter investigating a series of murders is killed. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a beautiful medical intern suddenly disappears. Washington, D.C. detective Alex Cross is back to solve the most baffling and terrifying murder case ever. Two clever pattern killers are collaborating, cooperating, competing  -  and they are working coast to coast.”

The strange thing is, I KNOW I've seen the movie that was based on this book, but I don't have a single memory of it. In reading Kiss The Girls, I never once thought, "Oh, I remember how they did this in the movie." One thought I DID have, though, was, "How twisted does James Patterson have to be to even make up this kind of deviant behavior?!!?" The good news is, his prose is engaging and one turn of the page leads to another and another and another.

First Line: For three weeks, the young killer actually lived inside the walls of an extraordinary fifteen-room beach house.

Page 56 / Line 5: Ruskin got in the driver's seat.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: His body looked like polished rock.

Last Line: This one is a honey, Alex.

Marty: Low-Key Best Picture

 

Seventy years after it was made, I finally got around to watching 1956's Best Picture Oscar-winner, Marty. I had always avoided it because I figured that it had to be some kind of super-dramatic, earnest, issue-banging snoozefest. Ernest Borgnine even won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

I mean ... just look at that poster. Something serious is going on there, right?

But when you read the Wikipedia plot description, it seems to soften up a bit:

Marty Piletti is an Italian-American butcher who lives in The Bronx with his mother. Unmarried at 34, the good-natured but socially awkward Marty faces constant badgering from family and friends to settle down, as they point out that all his brothers and sisters are already married, most of them with children. Not averse to marriage but disheartened by his lack of prospects, Marty has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood.

After being harassed by his mother into going to the Stardust Ballroom one Saturday night, Marty connects with Clara, a plain high school science teacher, who is weeping outside on the roof after being abandoned by her blind date....

The movie ends up being a simple, slice-of-life tale with an open-ended ending full of hope.

I can't believe it won the Best Picture Oscar, having gone up against Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Mister Roberts, and Picnic.

And look at the list of Best Actor nominees in addition to Mr. Borgnine!

• James Cagney
• James Dean
• Frank Sinatra
• Spencer Tracy

And yet, the man who would become a sitcom icon in McHale's Navy just 7 years later walked away with the trophy.

When you watch this little gem (and you should), look for Gomer Pyle, USMC's Sgt. Carter, The Dick Van Dyke Show's Jerry Helper, and the uncredited screen debut of Jerry Orbach (Law & Order and the voice of Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast).

Climactic quote:

You don't like her, my mother don't like her, she's a dog and I'm a fat, ugly man! Well, all I know is I had a good time last night! I'm gonna have a good time tonight! If we have enough good times together, I'm gonna get down on my knees and I'm gonna beg that girl to marry me! If we make a party on New Year's, I got a date for that party. You don't like her? That's too bad!

5 stars!