This book is a bit different than the others I read, instead of the pictures and text telling the same storyline together, this time the text and pictures follow two different stories, in two different timelines, until they eventually meet.

The story has many surprises and some twists which kept up my interest to the end.

Twelve year old Hugo shoulders a lot of responsibility for his age. His parents are dead and his caretaker is his drunkard uncle, tender to the train station’s clocks, which one day simply disappears.

Son of a watchmaker, Hugo who loves to tinker with mechanical toys takes it upon himself to maintain the clocks while hiding in the hidden world of the train station. One day he finds an automaton, a mechanical man, which was cherished by his late father.  Hugo restores the toy using his father’s notebook as a reference, he gets his parts by stealing them from the old man who owns a toy kiosk in the station.

The storytelling is not fast, but not crawling either, a pace I would imagine Texas moves to and always has been. The author captures the time of the country abided by its own unwritten laws, enforced by rough quite men.

This book is a comprehensive look at Jobs’ life, not just his time in Apple

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z – M – Macbeth by Jo Nesbø – A retelling of the Shakespearean tragedy, set in a small European town as a police drama. Maggie’s Wars by Phil Pisani – A novel about Mag­gie Hogan is a strong woman, an ace report who just wants to be treated fairly. She fights, and sleeps, her way through the bat­tle­fields, the Nurem­burg tri­als and the after­math of the World War II, includ­ing the cold war. Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin – An autobiog­ra­phy of the famous astronaut. Malinalli of the Fifth Sun by Helen Gordon Heightsman – A his­tor­i­cal fic­tion novel tak­ing place in South Amer­ica dur­ing Hernán Cortés’ time focusing on native woman Mali­nalli who was an impor­tant per­son in Cortés’ entourage who have been vil­i­fied through­out the ages. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick – A historical fiction which imagines the axis winning World War II. Man At a Machine by Stef Wertheimer – An autobiog­ra­phy of the Israeli indus­tri­al­ist and statesman. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman –…

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z – M – Mac Donald, Elizabeth A Matter of Interpretation – A historical fiction book, taking place in the 13th Century following Michael Scot, a scholar and translator working for Emperor Frederick II. MacDonald, Alexander The Private Life of Victoria: Queen, Empress, Mother of the Nation – A non-fiction book, about the Queen’s personal relationships before, and during her reign Macintyre, Ben Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain’s Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War – A non-fiction book about the founding and early years of the British Special Air Service (SAS). MacKenzie, Alastair Pilgrim Days: From Vietnam to the SAS  – A memoir of the author who served in the special forces of several countries over his life, documenting his life from serving in the New Zealand Army in Vietnam, to the SAS, South Africa, Oman, and finally as a private security agent. MacLean, David Stuart How I Learned to Hate in Ohio – A novel which take places sometime in the 1980s about…

I was lucky enough to read many good books this year. I could not narrow it down to just ten of fifteen, it simply seemed unfair, too hard and frankly, not much fun. You’ll notice the list includes some classics, some older books as well as new ones; self-published indie books as well as ones by major publishing powerhouses; fiction, non-fiction and everything in between including a children’s book. Basically a list of books I read this year, not necessarily those that were published in 2012. So without further ado… Fiction     The 100-Year-Old Who Climbed Out Through the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson       The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs     The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Pegasus Falling by William E. Thomas The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen Sikander by M. Salahuddin Kahn Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada     Shadows Walking by Douglas R. Skopp     Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander   Non-Fiction The Liberator by Alex Kershaw     Andrew Jackson:…

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn’t Help by Benjamin Wiker – A non-fiction meditation by the author about books which he believes are influential and popular but are actually full of bad ideas. 100 Parks, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do (2019 Edition) by Joe Yogerst – A travel book published by National Geographic about the American National Parks. 100 Drives, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to Do, What to See (2020 Edition) by Joe Yogerst – A National Geographic book detailing 100 journeys through all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The 100-Year-Old Who Climbed Out Through the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson – A fic­tional book which fol­lows the adven­tures and mis-adventures of its centenarian pro­tag­o­nist in a hilarious romp through the 20th century. 108 Rock Star Guitars by Lisa S. Johnson – A book fea­tur­ing pho­tographs of gui­tars (and gui­tars only) of famous gui­tarists. The book took 17 years for Ms. John­son…