Hi everyone and welcome to halfway through November!

Very sad to hear of the passing of Wilbur Smith over the weekend. His Courtney, Ballantyne, and Ancient Egypt series are extremely popular and well worth reading if you haven’t.

Last year I started working my way through the entire Harry Bosch Universe, written by Michael Connelly.

Not including short stories, there are 35 books within that universe I believe. I was reading about 3-5 per month then earlier this year I just stopped, with 4 to go.

I’m not exactly sure why I stopped. I remember starting Dark Sacred Night and I just couldn’t get into it. I stopped reading a few chapters in. Maybe I was burnt out. Maybe I just didn’t want the series to end. Some may theorize it was the new character Renee Ballard,

Whatever it was – I’m motivated right now to add as many authors as I can to my “read all their books” list. I decided to start reading Dark Sacred Night and it got its claws into me right from the beginning. The break did me good and I couldn’t put it down.

I know a lot of people weren’t Ballard fans but I have to say – the combination of her and Bosch is magic. Both work different hours of the day, one case to tie them together while working separate cases, etc. It’s just something that really works. I finished that, and then read The Night Fire within a day or two.

I moved right into the next one on the series, Fair Warning. This is a Jack McEvoy story. I’m almost finished it and it’s a great one. After this, there are two more books in the Bosch Universe to go and I’ll be completely caught up.

I finished listening to Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby. Excellent book. As I said in the November 1st newsletter – this is one I would really advise listening to over reading.

I will listen to Blacktop Wasteland by the same author and narrator soon but I wanted a bit of a palette cleanser.

I listened to the short story collection The Egg and Other Stories by Andy Weir. Really enjoyed it. Only one hour long but some great stories in there.

It got me in the mood for short stories and I decided to listen to Skeleton Crew by Stephen King. Honestly, I couldn’t stand the narrator of the first story. Reminds me of when I’d sometimes read to my kids at night when I was very tired or just couldn’t be bothered.

I’d still read to them – but just no passion in the reading, etc and practically rushing through it. I’ll maybe give that one another try, however on a whim I decided to see what John Grisham books were available at the library in audio format.

There are still a few books by John I haven’t read yet. The Summons is on there and that’s one I haven’t read yet so I’ve started that. Good so far, and a solid narrator.

Each month we give away 5 prizes to 5 random subscribers of $25 each in the form of Amazon gift certificates. To win all you have to do is be a subscriber. Nothing more! When we go to hit “Publish” we take a list of all of our subscribers, throw them into a random draw and those are the winners.

Our winners this month are:

Pat S. from Farmington, WV
Dee from Farmingdale, NY
Arden from Walnut Creek, CA
Chuck from Pekin, IL
Sue O. from Champlin, NC

All of you have been e-mailed. If you don’t see anything, check your junk folder or contact me.

Graeme
OrderOfBooks.com

Quote of the Mid-Month

“War is the game played by old men with the lives of the young”

– From River God by Wilbur Smith.

Book / Series Recommendatios

In this section I give book or series recommendations. They can be old books, they can be new. But either way – I recommend you read them if the type of genre they are in appeals to you. Feel free to e-mail suggestions to site@orderofbooks.com as many of the suggestions each month are from our readers. If you wish to add a description for the book around the same size as the ones below that’d be great too!

Courtney Series by Wilbur Smith

The first book in this series was published in 1964, called When the Lion Feeds. It is a family saga that expands hundreds of years.

It spans from the beginning of the 18th century all the way through to the end of the 20th century.

I should note the current first book in the series in chronological order is Birds of Prey. Most people I know who are fans of this series recommend reading it in chronological order.

Highly recommend checking them out.

Nicholas Linnear/Ninja Cycle Series by Eric Van Lustbader

Don wrote in to recommend this series. Here’s what he said:

“I would like to make a recommendation book series to all of your fans – read Eric Lustbader “The Nicholas Linnear series or better known as the Ninja”.

” Raised in Japan by a British father and a Chinese mother, young Nicholas Linnear felt at home only in the dojo, where he gave himself over to mastering ninjutsu—the ancient art of the ninja. Over years of training, he ascended to the highest ranks imaginable—until a confrontation over the very meaning of ninjutsu changed his approach to martial arts forever, sending him on a journey that would take him across the globe.”

For more details, see our Nicholas Linnear page.

Nina Borg Series by Lene Kaaberbol & Agnete Friis

This is a four book series by two Danish authors. The first book was very popular and was the 2008 best crime novel at the Harald Mogensen awards.

Nina is someone who can’t ever say no when asked for help. An acquaintance gives her a key to a train station locker, and when she opens the locker she founds a three year old boy. He is alive, but naked and appears to be the victim of child trafficking. The acquaintance is then murdered, and Nina realizes both her and the boys lives are in danger as well.

Ruth wrote in to recommend it. She listened to it and it was great – that “The narrator does all the voices and creates tension, excitement, and fear. ”

For more details, see our Lene Kaaberbol page.

November Charities

While I appreciate all offers of donations to show your appreciation for the site and newsletter, I’d much rather you do that by supporting some great causes.  Each month I pick a few select charities broken down by our most popular countries that you can support instead.   Thanks!  And please note you’re not restricted to the country you reside in of course – pick any you wish to support!

USA: Breast Cancer Research Foundation

UK: DementiaUK

Canada: The Boundless School

Australia: Guide Dogs

Top Horror Books / Authors

I asked readers on our Facebook page for horror books, series and authors. The responses were quite low compared to previous posts. Feel free to add to this list by commenting and I’ll update it on the website.

November 2021 Book Of The Month (16th-30th)

Go Tell The Bees That I am Gone – by Diana Gabaldon

The last two weeks of November is absolutely loaded when it comes to great books coming out.

One I know many of our readers will be excited about is the latest novel in the Outlander series.

Ignoring short stories, Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone will be the 9th book in the series, and first in five years.

This one comes out on November 23rd, 2021.

Pre-Order Now.

10 More Notable Books Releasing Nov 16-30

Random Top 10 of the Month

Cozy Mystery Series!

Winter is here for many of us. Why not cuddle up with a blanket and hot chocolate and read some cozy mysteries? Here are 10 popular series – had to link quite a few on our sister site as they’re not on OrderOfBooks.com yet.

I also want to give a shoutout to the amazing The Cozy Mystery List Blog – an excellent resource for fans of cozy mysteries.

Your Thoughts:

This month’s question is testing the ol’ memory banks:

What new-to-you authors did you discover and enjoy this year?

If you didn’t read any new authors that’s okay – just let me know what authors kept you busy this year with reading.

I’ve discovered many new authors this year but I will just list a top 5:

Bentley Little: Discovered him at the beginning of the year and really enjoy him. I rarely read the horror genre but he has been the most memorable for me this year.

Rob Hart: Only read the one book The Warehouse but loved it. Bought a few copies for people, recommended it to others etc. Looking forward to reading more by Rob.

S.A. Cosby: As mentioned in the opening of the newsletter.

Peter Swanson: I listened to one of his standalone thrillers and the next month was taken up by me listening to the rest of them. Love Peter!

Louise Penny: I’ve only read the first two books in the Gamache series so far, but I am looking forward to revisiting Three Pines. It feels like the perfect series to read at Christmas.

What about you? What new-to-you authors did you discover and enjoy this year?

E-mail us your feedback to site@OrderOfBooks.com or just reply to this post, and we’ll pick the best comments and feature it in next months newsletter. Five people will also randomly win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.

Book Notification
Order of Books » Newsletter » November 2021 Mid-Month Newsletter

2 Responses to “November 2021 Mid-Month Newsletter”

  1. Michael S Barry: 3 years ago

    I need your help. I am a Thomas Perry fan and I am trying to locate one of his novels. I can’t recall the title but the book is set in Florida during & after a hurricane. The main character is a rookie insurance adjuster who uncovers a murder. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply

    • Graeme: 3 years ago

      Hi Michael – would that be Death Benefits?

      Reply

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