Reading Update and Author's A - Z

This is the first day I've sat out on the deck this year. Still need some cleaning to do as we had more high winds and every time it gets windy the deck... (roof, driveway etc.) gets a new coating of pine things... not needles but seeds of some sort I guess. I probably won't be out here too long as it is quite warm today. At least for the moment the deck is in shade. We've got the England / Tunisia on the TV but I think the missus will soon be turning that off as she just can't bear the pressure. I don't have to worry about that because the odds of Canada ever having a team in the World Cup are slim to none.

You should read this one next, Daddy

Bonnie went to the vet today as a follow-up to her last check - up. She still has dry - eye in her right eye but everything else is great. Clyde wasn't as upset as he normally is when I go out with Bonnie and don't take him.

I don't like going to the doctor, Daddy! They aren't nice.

As to the little Mister, Clyde had a dental cleaning on Friday. Unfortunately he had a loose molar and had to have it taken out. Poor little guy. He was very sad when he got home Friday and is just starting to feel his normal self. Medicam works wonders.

I have to say I'm very proud of Jo. We've been reading about the tariffs that the f***-wit at the White House has been imposing on Canada and other countries. So when she went for groceries yesterday, she made a conscious effort to buy Canadian or goods from anywhere else but the US. She had to get a few American made items but even bought French's Catsup instead of Heinze as French is purported to use Canadian tomatoes in their process. It may seem like a small thing but you don't know how much she likes Heinz Catsup. So she bought veggies and fruit from Canada, Mexico, Peru, etc. Everybody should do it!

Anyway, on to my normally scheduled broadcast; an update on books I've finished and new ones I've started since my last entry and my continuing Author's A - Z.

Just Finished
I've finished two books since my last entry.

1. To the Devil - A Daughter by Dennis Wheatley. This was my first attempt at English writer, Wheatley. I quite liked.








"I first heard of English writer Dennis Wheatley when I saw him listed in a book I'd read by horror James Herbert. It peaked my interest and I checked him out to discover more about him. He was a prolific writer of adventure and occult books, one of the world's best-selling authors from the 30's to the '60s. That interest lead me to find a few of his books. To The Devil - A Daughter belongs to his occult Molly Fountain / Colonel Verney series.
Molly Fountain, a successful mystery writer, lives for most of the year on the French Riviera, in a home purchased by her late husband. While working on her latest novel, she meets a mysterious young woman, Christina, who has rented the villa next door. The girl is shy and naive and refuses to leave the villa, for reasons she can't or won't tell Molly. Molly discovers that Christina is hiding out on the instructions of her father, although Christina doesn't know why. Molly and her son, John, who comes for a visit, befriend the girl and try to help her out. They discover that Christina is quite different at night than she is during the day and Molly believes that she might be possessed. When Christina is threatened by an old school acquaintance of John, Molly calls her old friend Colonel Verney, an English spy that Molly worked with during the war, for assistance.
So that's how it all starts out. What follows is a fast-paced adventure where Colonel Verney (known as C.B. to his friends), John and Molly try to protect Christina (whose real name is Ellen) from kidnappers and Satanists who want to use Christina for a devilish purpose.
The story moves from the Riviera back to England and ends with an explosive climax back in Southern France. It's definitely an entertaining story, not really scary but the occult aspects made me think of those Hammer Horror movies. In fact, as I checked out the book further, I wasn't surprised to discover that it was turned into a Hammer movie starring Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee and Natasha Kinski. The story line is quite different from that of the book and it appears that Wheatley was so upset by the production that he refused to let Hammer make any more movies out of his books. For the book, don't expect a classic of the horror genre, but expect an enjoyable page turner, sort of Gothic lite. I will continue to explore Wheatley's books. (4 stars)"

2. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.









"I read The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame because my UK Book Club had chosen Children's stories as the June reading genre. It's a book I'd never tried before and thought it might be worth trying.
I'm glad I did as it was well worth checking out. It's a collection of stories featuring four animal friends who live near the Wild Wood; Mole, Water Rat, Toad and Badger. Not every story features the four; the majority are about Mole and Water Rat, but each offers a wonderful characters, lives and adventures. It starts with Mole taking a break from spring cleaning and deciding to explore his country-side and discovering the river side and meeting Water Rat who will become his life long friend.  He explores with his friend Rat and meets Toad, a gadfly who can't focus on one thing and gets into endless trouble, even finding himself in prison. Badger is one who shuns society but can be an honorable, faithful friend.
The stories are lyrical and at times very poetic, featuring wonderful descriptions, songs and poems. The adventures are fun and some filled with action, especially those related to Toad. There are thoughtful stories as well, I particularly refer to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Wayfarer's All. Quite a different collection of children's stories, all excellent and a pleasure to read. (4 stars)"

Currently Reading
I've since started the two books below.

1. Think Fast, Mr. Moto by John P. Marquand (Spy / Mr. Moto #3).









"Much more than a crooked roulette wheel is at stake at the Hitchings Plantation gambling house in Honolulu - and Japan's most clever, charming, and capable spy has arrived on the scene to protect the interests of his emperor. Wilson Hitchings, a solid young innocent, must make an ally of his renegade cousin, Eva of the violent eyes and flaming hair, if either is to survive their unwitting involvement in international intrigue. Without the help of Mr. Moto, they may still be lost..."

2. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (AKA J.K. Rowling) (Cormoran Strike #1). I've wanted to try this for awhile. 

"When a troubled supermodel falls to her death from the balcony of her London home, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts and calls in private detective Cormoran Strike to investigate.
Strike is a war veteran--wounded both physically and psychologically--and his private life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model's world, the darker things get and the closer he comes to terrible danger."

New Books
Oh, I just remembered that one new book came in the mail last week. It's one of the Henry Gamadge mysteries.

The House Without a Door by Elizabeth Daly (Henry Gamadge #4).












"Mrs. Vina Gregson should be sitting pretty. Acquitted of murdering her husband, she has inherited all his money, and can afford to dress in the height of 1940s style. Unfortunately, her fashionable clothing and coiffure go unseen, and much of her money unspent, as the Widow Gregson remains essentially a prisoner, trapped in her elegant New York apartment with occasional, furtive forays to her Connecticut estate. A jury may have found her innocent, but Mrs. Gregson remains a murderer in the eyes of the public, and of the tabloid journalists who hound her every step. Worse, she has recently begun receiving increasingly menacing letters – letters written, she is certain, by the person who killed her husband. Taking the matter to the police would only heighten her notoriety, so she calls on Henry Gamadge, the gentleman-sleuth known both for his discretion and for his ability to solve problems that baffle the police."

Bill's  Author's A - Z

Raymond Chandler

1. Raymond Chandler. American crime writer, Chandler, lived from 1888 - 1959. He is noted for creating private detective, Philip Marlowe. He wrote 7 novels during his career. I've purchased 2 of his books so far and read one of them, which was excellent.

a. The Big Sleep (#1).

"The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler is my first exposure to this excellent writer of the noir genre. Chandler created Private Investigator Philip Marlowe, who worked the streets of San Francisco. There was a movie made of this story starring Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe. I think I've seen it but will now have to watch it again.
Marlowe is hired by a wealthy San Francisco family to try to sort out a black-mailing situation. The wealthy senior of the family has two wild daughters, especially Carmen, who is the subject of 'personal' photos. The investigation moves Marlowe into the criminal underworld and into close contact with various criminals and also murders. It's a nicely confusing plot, with many twists and turns and enough action to keep you very interested in the story.
Chandler has a way with telling his story. His characters are so well-described that you can picture them clearly. They have unique personalities and you do find yourself drawn to some and repulsed or afraid of others. His story telling is straight-forward, with a touch of humour and also a nice flair for the written word. I love this line, "I went back to the office and sat in my swivel chair and tried to catch up on my foot-dangling." I know it's just one small sample but it's so perfect and the story is filled with such perfection.
You don't necessarily get to know a great deal of Marlowe's past but you definitely get a feel for the type of character he is. Even though a private eye, he's got friends in the police force who respect him. He's similar to Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer, John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee, a loner private eye with standards. I don't know that I see Humphrey Bogart as Marlowe but I'll have to think more on that subject. I do know I am looking forward to reading the other books in this short series. Excellent and for lovers of great mystery, must-reads. (5 stars)"

b. The Lady in the Lake (#4).

"Derace Kingsley's wife ran away to Mexico to get a quickie divorce and marry a Casanova-wannabe named Chris Lavery. Or so the note she left her husband insisted. Trouble is, when Philip Marlowe asks Lavery about it he denies everything and sends the private investigator packing with a flea lodged firmly in his ear. But when Marlowe next encounters Lavery, he's denying nothing on account of the two bullet holes in his heart. Now Marlowe's on the trail of a killer, who leads him out of smoggy LA all the way to a murky mountain lake."

The other books in Chandler's Marlowe series are -
-- Farewell My Lovely (#2 / 1940)
-- The High Window (#3 / 1942)
-- The Little Sister (#5 / 1949)
-- The Long Good-Bye (#6 / 1953)
-- Playback (#7 / 1958)

Henry Chang

2. Henry Chang. Chang is an American crime writer who grew up in New York and has written Detective Jack Yu series. I've purchased the first book in the series and am looking forward to trying it.

a. Chinatown Beat (#1).












"Detective Jack Yu grew up in Chinatown. Some of his friends are criminals now; some are dead. Jack has just been transferred to his old neighborhood, where 99 percent of the cops are white. Unlike the others, confused by the residents who speak another language even when they’re speaking English, Jack knows what’s going on.
He is confronted with a serial rapist who preys on young Chinese girls. Then Uncle Four, an elderly and respected leader of the charitable Hip Ching Society and member of the Hong Kong-based Red Circle Triad, is gunned down. Jack learns that benevolent Uncle Four had a gorgeous young mistress imported from Hong Kong. And she is missing.
To solve these crimes, Jack turns to an elderly fortune teller, an old friend of his, in addition to employing modern police methods. This debut mystery power-fully conveys the sights, sounds, and smells of Chinatown, as well as the attitudes of its inhabitants."

The other books in the series are -
-- Year of the Dog (2007)
-- Red Jade (2011)
-- Death Money (2014)
-- Lucky (2017)

C.J. Cherryh

3. C.J. Cherryh. Cherry is an American writer of speculative fiction. I've seen her books for many years and never thought to try one. When I did a recent series of entries which included a listing of annual book awards, Cherryh was one of the winners of the Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction novel. I've since tried one and enjoyed immensely. I've now got two more of her books to try.

a. Downbelow Station (1981). This is the first book in her Company War series and it was excellent.








"My first comment about Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh is Wow! I've never read anything by Cherryh before. I was aware of her books when I'd rooted through the SciFi section of my book stores but I'd not tried anything. Recently, I was running through the years in my BLog and for each year listing various book award titles. Downbelow Station won the Hugo Award for best SciFi novel in 1982. So I thought I should check it out... So with that preamble...
This is such a fantastic book! I readily admit that it took me a few chapters to start understanding the various people, worlds, etc but once I got into the flow, it just got better and better.
How to summarize? Over centuries Earth began to expand into the stars to keep Earth's economy moving. They set up stations floating around various worlds and from there continued their expansion outward to the Fringes. Downbelow Station circles the planet Pell and it is sort of the hub between Earth and the stars. On the planet are the Downers, beings sort of like Ewoks or Fuzzies (from H Beam Piper's Fuzzy books). Earth men work the planet in concert with the Downers, passing supplies up to the station for the stations use and trade.
War is brewing between Earth's old fleet run by a hard leader, Mazian and the fringes, Union and Pell finds itself caught in the middle, trying to be neutral but at great risk. Throw in the Merchanters, those ships that travel between the stars and you've got an interesting mix of great characters.
Pell is run by various families with the Konstantin's one of the main ones and they also provide the major characters. This family must tread carefully and try to keep Pell safe from all. Stations all around are being destroyed and refugees flocking to Pell and overloading the station. There are plots and subplots galore. I found myself being drawn into the characters and the excellent story. It starts a bit slowly but then moves along at breakneck speed until the excellent, satisfying ending. I truly loved this story and world that CJ Cherryh created. I can't recommend the story more. (5 stars). I'm looking forward to exploring her work more now."

b. Rider at the Gate (1995) (Finisterre Universe #1).









"Stranded on a fertile, ore-rich planet, human colonists appear to be in paradise, but unseen horrors threaten their survival. All the native animals communicate by telepathy, projecting images which drive the humans mad. Only Nighthorses, who can form telepathic bonds with their human riders, stand between civilization and insanity."

c. Visitor (2016) (The Foreigner Universe). 









"The human and atevi inhabitants of Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, have picked up a signal from an alien kyo ship telling them that the ship is inbound toward Alpha. Five thousand of the inhabitants of Alpha are human refugees from the now derelict Reunion Station. They have seen this scenario before, when a single kyo ship swooped into the Reunion system and, without a word, melted a major section of Reunion Station with a single pass. These refugees, who were rescued through the combined efforts of an allied group of humans and atevi and brought to safety at Alpha, are now desperate with fear.
Bren Cameron brilliant human emissary of Tabini-aiji, the powerful atevi political leader on the mainland below, and also the appointee of the human president of the island nation of Mospheira is the obvious choice of representative to be sent up to deal with both the panicked refugees and the incoming alien ship.
As a member of the space-faring delegation who rescued the refugees, Bren has talked to kyo before and even won their trust by saving one of their kind from a Reunioner prison. Because of his remarkable diplomatic and linguistic abilities, Bren managed to communicate with that grateful kyo individual on a limited basis, and he has evidence that that same kyo is on the ship heading to defenseless Alpha Station.
But no one can predict what an alien race might do, or what their motivations could be.
And Bren Cameron, the only human ever to be accepted into atevi society, is now the one individual with a hope of successfully interacting with the crew of the incoming ship. But Bren knows it will take putting himself in the hands of the kyo.
Can Bren count on the gratitude of one individual alien to save his life and the lives of thousands on Alpha Station?"

Authors like Cherryh have re-ignited my past interest in reading Science Fiction.

So there you go. Take a break from the awful news that is the current White House and its administration and read a good book. You need to be able to take a breath. 

Have a great week.