Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You by Eli Pariser

Have you ever imaged that same search term by different person will bring back different search results? It is happening every day now. All the behavior data that we generate by using the internet has come back as a tool for business to re-target us. A wonderful book to examine all the major media, the business sector, and the internet companies, even ourselves have built a large filter bubble of our daily lives. Highly recommended.

304 Pages

Bad Night at Dry Creek by Cameron Judd

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Outlaw Noah Murphy thinks the sheriff knows the location of the stolen bank money.  The Murphy gang attacks the town, they want to burn it. Defense of the town is divided between the sheriff and a local gambler who hates him.  

Audio:  5 hrs. 46 min.

Print:  191 pages.

The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

The Prophecy has been fulfilled and Rand al'Thor hold Callandor, The Sword that Cannot be Touched. With it the whole of the world knows that he is the Dragon Reborn, the reincarnation of the ancient hero Lew Therin Telamon come again to save and destroy the world. In the fourth volumn of the Wheel of Time, Rand now rules over the nation of Tear and must unite the fractured desert warrior clans of the Aiel behind him if he is to fulfil the next part of the Prophecy of the Dragon.

Meanwhile his two friends, Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara, must discover that they too have a place in the Prophecy. Mat, seeking answers, travels through a pair of ancient doorways to eerie other worlds to understand his destiny to die and live once more, to marry the Daughter of the Nive Moons, and to give up half the light of the world to save the world. Perrin must travel back to their home village to rescue it from terrible danger.

This book continues to greatly expand on the previous three. Most of the minor characters get a lot more plot development than they did before. The villians also start becoming much more active and the forces of Shadow begin to take on a much more sinister nature.

Pages: 1008

"Marked" by Elisabeth Naughton

This novel features characters from Greek mythology starting with a descendent of Heracles (Hercules) trying to save the half-human daughter of his king.  Theron, the current leader of the Argonauts, must leave his kingdom to track down Acacia, the half-sister of the heir to the throne of his homeland, Argolea.  But Acacia has no knowledge of this other world and its inhabitants; she only wants to live a quiet life running her late grandmother's bookstore.  Although Theron is loyal to his king, when he takes Acacia to his homeland, secrets are revealed and deals are made that put everyone's lives in danger.  Oh, and Theron and Acacia have the added complication of immediate mutual attraction.  This is book one in the Eternal Guardians series, and I'm looking forward to reading the others.  321 pages.

11th Hour by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Lindsey Boxer has two high profile cases, and her friends are there to help her solve them.  Drug dealers are murdered, and decapitated heads are found. Police are accused of murder, some are innocent and some are not. 

Audio:  8 hrs. 25 min.

Print:  416 pages.

15 Seconds by Andrew Gross

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

After a Florida plastic surgeon is framed for killing a policeman, he has to prove his innocence and save his daughter from a murdering madman.

Audio:  11 hrs.

Print:  324 pages.

Grandad, There's A Head On The Beach / Colin Cotterill

This is the second book by Cotterill I've read, with a different set of characters this time.  Set in a small coastal town in Thailand, a band of misfit friends, neighbors and relatives set out to right an injustice uncovered by the discovery of a severed head on the beach. Along the way, crime reporter Jimm Juree helps out a fugitive mother and daughter and reunites her brother with her family.  Very witty, snappy dialog and utterly charming!  322 p.

Star Bright: A Christmas Story by Andrew M. Greeley

Jack Flanigan finds Christmas a trial to be endured - especially where his dysfunctional family is involved. Then he meets a lovely Russian woman, Odessa, who reminds him that Christmas should be a spiritually uplifting time bringing warmth and love with the focus on Jesus. Can Odessa bring that message and her calming influence into the Flanigan family? A gentle romance and spiritually uplifting Christmas story. 128 pages.