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Book Reviews EMT Book Health and Wellness Products

2020 Book Log (updating)

I kept a book log in 2019 and will strive to do the same in 2020.

  1. The Guardians – a John Grisham novel about freeing innocent men and women from prison for crimes they did not commit.
  2. Pre-print of a physician written auto-biography – patient cases, poems and self-reflection.
  3. Confessions of a Curious Bookseller: A Novel – the story of a bookstore owner seeking meaning told through emails, Tweets, blogs posts and an occasional journal entry.
  4. Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood by Drew Magary – I have read two parenting books. This one and a book by Alan Thicke. This one is better.
  5. Every Last Secret – high-end, abusive relationships and personal scandal.
  6. Station 11: a Novel – a pandemic flu story, mostly told 20 years after the apocalyptic death of 99% of humanity.
  7. The Testaments: A novel – the sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale. Written 35 years after the first book.
  8. Killing Season: A Paramedic’s Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Opioid Epidemic – I had the honor of reading the uncorrected page proofs of Peter Canning’s new book. It is excellent. Pre-order now or set a calendar reminder to purchase on April 6, 2021.
  9. In a Dark, Dark Wood – murder mystery at a Hen (bachelorette) party.
  10. The Cipher (Nina Guerrera Book 1) – retired FBI agent turned author writes about an FBI agent tracking down a serial killer. With an EMS twist.
  11. Trust No One (Devlin and Falco book 1) – buddy cop, double homicide mystery.
  12. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) – an 18-year-old manifests the character traits and flaws that will make him President Snow.
  13. Super-Charge Your Stress Management in the Age of COVID-19 – a practical guide to stress management from Mike Taigman, EMS expert, resilience and quality guide and former paramedic.
  14. Into the Fire – Book 5 in the Orphan X series.
  15. Interference – this is a novel that asks if Schrodinger’s cat is alive or dead.
  16. The End of October: A Novel – an eerily predictive novel about a global pandemic that was written just before COVID-19.
  17. The Handmaid’s Tale – dystopia future America (this book was published in 1986, but Hulu series, which I haven’t watched, launched this book into our modern consciousness)
  18. Whiteout: A Thriller – indeed a crime thriller set in rural North Dakota.
  19. The Cartel – a powerful, violent and disturbing follow-up to The Power of the Dog.
  20. Nobody’s Heroe’s – fictional cop stories from real-life cop Lt. Dan Marcou. Lt. Dan is a regular and long-time Police1 contributor and gave me a signed copy of this book. Thanks Lt. Dan.
  21. The Power of the Dog – Don Winslow’s first book about the futile war on drugs.
  22. The Institute – a Stephen King thriller about good kids and bad adults
  23. The Last Star – final book in the 5th Wave trilogy
  24. The End of Killing – non-fiction futurism, predicting and speculating that technology can significantly reduce deaths from war and crime violence. By Rick Smith, CEO of Axon (maker of the TASER)
  25. Infinite Sea – 2nd book in the 5th Wave trilogy
  26. The 5th Wave – continuing my tour of post-apocalyptic young adult fiction. The first book in a three-book series.
  27. After the Flood – post-climate change, apocalyptic fiction.
  28. Your Perfect Year: a Novel – perhaps COVID-19 makes escapist fiction a little easier to read.
  29. In an Instant – fast-moving recovery for a family nearly destroyed by a tragic and deadly motor vehicle collision.
  30. The Chain – crime inspired by the awful chain letters of the 1980s.
  31. The Impossible First – Colin O’brady crossed Antarctica alone in a grueling test of mental and physical endurance.
  32. Thief River Falls – a suspenseful, psychological “who done it” in far northern Minnesota.
  33. The Nickel Boys: A Novel – year to date this is my favorite book. It’s an outstanding look at a segregated juvenile detention center just before the Civil Rights Act.
  34. Out of the Dark – the fourth book in the Orphan X series. More rip-roaring action in the style of Jack Reacher, Jack Bauer, Jason Bourne and James Bond.
  35. Hellbent – the third book in the page-turning Orphan X series. Fun, quick reads of totally implausible secret agent tech, tactics and combat.
  36. It’s the Manager – a collection of Gallup organization essays into the importance of the manager for business success.

By Greg Friese

Greg Friese, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an author, educator, paramedic, and marathon runner.

Greg was the co-host of the award winning EMSEduCast podcast, the only podcast by and for EMS educators. Greg has written for EMS1.com, JEMS.com, Wilderness Medical Associates, JEMS Magazine, EMSWorld.com and EMS World Magazine, and the NAEMSE Educator Newsletter.