The Drunkard's Walk How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow

Interesting ideas, but the author backs them up with long, and not always riveting stories. If this book were 1/5 the size it would be fascinating. Even so, its worth wading through because the ideas expressed are consistent with how the world actually works.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Enjoyable long yarn.

The Sanctuary Sparrow The Seventh Chronicle of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters

Seven books into this series the formulas are becoming clear and predictable, but even so, I look forward to the next. PW: Barely four weeks past Easter of the Year of Our Lord 1140, with Shrewsbury and all its region secure within the King's peace, the conventual peace of Matins within the great Abbey church of St Peter and St Paul is suddenly and most rudely shattered. Hunted and hounded by an angry mob into the comparative safety of sanctuary within the House of God, a terrified young man, accused of robbery and murder, and closely followed by his accusers and would-be executioners, disturbs the midnight office of the good monks of Shrewsbury. And so starts the seventh Chronicle of Brother Cadfael, in which the mediaeval sleuth finds himself with yet another wrong to right, by once more putting his mind to the solving of one of Shrewsbury's small mysteries. In this particular case, the mystery is no greatly complex affair but it is, in any case, largely subsidiary to Ellis Peters' painting of a finely detailed picture of life in twelfth century England, and more especially here, within a moderately wealthy family household. There are some unexpected twists and developments along the way, though, and there is certainly nothing predictable about the way the story works itself out, although the ending is no particular surprise either. In some respects, this is one of the best of the Cadfael books. Its opening pages contain some of Ellis Peters' finest writing, with her descriptions of the running to ground of young Liliwin and the reactions of Abbot Radulfus being quite hair-raising in their potency. The tale unfolds at a sure and steady pace thereafter, too, ensuring that it is always difficult to put the book down, right up until the final exciting, and rather tear-jerking, denouement.

This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

Just too depressing to continue listening. Not my bag.

The Drop by Michael Connelly

Always good to be reading about Harry, hope it's not too long till the next book. PW With his retirement looming, LAPD's Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch takes on two seemingly unrelated cases. The first is a botched DNA test from a 1989 rape and murder, which has been pinned on a convicted rapist who was only eight years old at the time of the crime. Harry's pursuit of that case is interrupted by the apparent suicide of a councilman's son. A former police chief and no fan of Harry's, the councilman insists that Harry investigate his son's death. In pursuit of the truth, and an elusive killer, Bosch and his partner uncover secrets and a political conspiracy deep within the police department. Connelly's aging hero is a flawed, haunted, and unforgettable character; his creator is a master craftsman.

How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper

Smart, funny and quirky. PW: Even in Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble.

For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question.

If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Interesting perspective but a little to sic fi for my tastes. PW: It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people--a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic--who become the rebel movement's leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

This is the first book in the Amelia Peabody series, and my first book as well. Peters style is fun and engaging though the plot was a little boring. I'd try another from this series. PW: Elizabeth Peters's unforgettable heroine Amelia Peabody makes her first appearance in this clever mystery. Amelia receives a rather large inheritance and decides to use it for travel. On her way through Rome to Egypt, she meets Evelyn Barton-Forbes, a young woman abandoned by her lover and left with no means of support. Amelia promptly takes Evelyn under her wing, insisting that the young lady accompany her to Egypt, where Amelia plans to indulge her passion for Egyptology. When Evelyn becomes the target of an aborted kidnapping and the focus of a series of suspicious accidents and mysterious visitations, Amelia becomes convinced of a plot to harm her young friend. Like any self-respecting sleuth, Amelia sets out to discover who is behind it all.