Here’s the birthday illustration I made for my father this year. Reading a Mike Shayne mystery novel inspired me to combine the detective with the frog. This is a watercolor painting, 11″ x 14″.

Below is a photo of my father on his birthday caught in the act of retrieving a glasses case from his shirt pocket with his requested steakburger ready for consumption.

Above are the last 9 books I read through November and December. I went to simpler fiction to get to the 52 number. Quite different from the start of the year where the bulk of my reading was non-fiction. I’m aiming for 55 in 2010. Let’s see if I can make it.

A rather varied collection read through the past few weeks. Ronald Kessler’s The Bureau is a follow-up to his earlier book ‘Inside the FBI’. It’s a very good history of this government department.

‘She Woke to Darkness’ is a Mike Shayne entry with Mike making a trip to New York. The difference is that most of the story is told through the eyes of Brett Halliday, A.K.A. David Dresser in real life. Not one of the best stories Cresser assembled. The bad guy is a bit too obvious.

Former Mayor Carl T. Langford’s 1976 book, ‘Hizzoner the Mayor is probably the best book I read this year and certainly is one of my favorites. Full of wit and wisdom, I’ve not read a book that has better to lay out the needs to be a politician and a leader. Langofrd, as is his style, doesn’t mess around and tells it like is it. It’s sad that it’s so hard to find that today.

Two more Florida based mysteries read. One of Mignon Eberhart’s Tampa Bay novels and a later Miami-based Mike Shayne mystery. Eberhart writes of a fictious Florida County on the east coast with a pretty good understanding of the area. The Shayne novel is after the actual series by Dave Dresser. This one stays pretty true to the original series, just with curse words. I veered into one of Vince Flynn’s latest, ‘Protect and Defend’. Another good thriller.