My second post today. (Thrilled aren't you) I finished a book this morning and have started a couple. Plus I dropped off a few books at my local used book store yesterday and bought some as well. I'll let you know my new books, provide the review of the one I completed and also the synopsis of those I'm about to start. I'll get back to my look at my favorite authors in my next entry.
New Books
"Dana Stabenow once again returns to Alaska, America's last frontier, where her unforgettable Aleut investigator, Kate Shugak, faces one of the most painful cases of her reluctant career. Kate was formerly the star investigator of the Anchorage D.A.'s office; now all she wants to do is enjoy the first weeks of autumn on her isolated homestead. Alone. But duty calls, in the form of Ekaterina Shugak, Kate's grandmother, the imposing matriarch of her extended family. It's the week of the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, and everyone who's anyone - as well as a few nobodies - has gathered in Anchorage for a week of shopping, gossiping, bragging, and more than a little wheeling and dealing. But there's more happening this year than what's on the official agenda. A vote is coming up on the future of tribal lands, and the arguments are heated. Heated enough to raise suspicions about the recent death of a Native Association board member. Kate has always refused to get involved with tribal politics. But the dead woman was a relative, and the one true weakness Kate Shugak has is for her family. Reluctantly agreeing to investigate, she is drawn into a whirlpool of deceit, lies, and secrets; she is torn not only between the modern world and the traditional, but also between opposing factions within each group. And the more Kate investigates, the more she discovers how deeply she is tied to the land, and to what lengths she will go in order to protect it..."
"Decker Roberts was born with a gift: he always knows when you're telling the truth. Over time, however, that gift has become a burden. Struggling to find his way, Decker has retreated into isolation in Namibia. But a man like Decker can only live off the grid for so long before someone comes looking.
When Decker's estranged son, Seth, is kidnapped, it sets in motion a chain of events as unstoppable as it is mysterious. Held captive by WJ, a man incapable of emotion, and desperately tracked by Yslan Hicks of the NSA, Seth is the key to everyone's plans. His inherited gifts are more powerful than his father's, and there are some who will do anything to control them.When Seth's trail runs cold, Yslan turns to Decker's old friends for help in locating both father and son. Soon they find themselves confronting an ancient conspiracy as they are inescapably drawn towards a conclusion that will change both themselves and the world around them. But what is the end of the road for some may be only the beginning for others."
As she expertly dodges exposure, Dominika deals with a murderously psychotic boss; survives an Iranian assassination attempt; escapes a counterintelligence ambush; rescues an arrested agent and exfiltrates him out of Russia; and has a chilling midnight conversation in her nightgown with President Putin. Complicating these risks is the fact that Dominika is in love with her CIA handler, Nate Nash, and their lust is as dangerous as committing espionage in Moscow. And when a mole in the SVR finds Dominika’s name on a restricted list of sources, it is a virtual death sentence…"
"It always starts with a small lie. That's how you stop noticing the bigger ones.
After his friend suspects something strange going on at the launch facility where they both work - and then goes missing - Martin Hepton doesn't believe the official line of "long-term sick leave"...
Refusing to stop asking questions, he leaves his old life behind, aware that someone is shadowing his every move.
The only hope he has is his ex-girlfriend Jill Watson - the only journalist who will believe his story.
But neither of them can believe the puzzle they're piecing together - or just how shocking the secret is that everybody wants to stay hidden..."
Just Finished
"The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life by Jeopardy host Alex Trebek was one of those books I approached with trepidation. He's been a part of my life and my wives for years now and the thought of him not being there is distressing. It's probably strange to have these feelings about someone I've never met, but like one of the chapters in his book.. The Answer is Comfort, he's been a comforting part of our lives for so very long, it's difficult to think of him not being there. One of the snippets that rung true with us is when one of his contestants said that they knew not to call their mother between 7:30 and 8:00 pm weeknights because Jeopardy was on. Jo and I have told our daughter the very same thing. It's an ongoing joke.
Anyway to the book itself. It's one of those books you can read in one sitting or just pick up and read a couple of chapters to help you relax and then put it down. Each chapter is two or three pages long and they are photographs / snippets of Trebek's life, of his thoughts on life, nice little stories. Some were particularly enjoyable for me, especially those about his early upbringing in Sudbury Ontario (I lived just down the road in North Bay) and his mentions of working for CBC. I never saw him on Canadian TV but I did grow up with the network. For the first 12 years of my life or so, it was the only channel we even got.
Alex is a common man, I guess, a very successful one I might add. But his upbringing, growing up in Northern Ontario, not rich, is a story the vast majority can relate to on many levels. He seems like a normal guy, but one who lived to enrich his life, and I don't mean via wealth, but through learning, traveling, experiencing events and culture. I particularly liked his chapter, The Answer is Education. He may not have intended it thusly, but when he said,
"Now, am I going to use that knowledge? Probably not. But even if you are learning facts that you are not going to be able to use in your daily life, it enriches you - the fact itself enriches you as a human being and broadens your outlook on life and makes you a more understanding and better person."
I couldn't help but relate that to the current situation in the US where there is a President who seems to revel in not knowing anything, in a major party of proud 'know nothings'. And the people who support this attitude. It's a distressing view of a country. And the US isn't alone, I know, it's just so unfortunate that people look down on people who are educated and want to use it to help people. Oh well, my rant of the day.
The book is interesting in many ways. We learn a bit about Alex. He provides tidbits about his show and how the got there, tidbits about favorite contestants, like Ken Jennings. A particular poignant snippet deals with Cindy Stowell, a contestant who died of cancer shortly after her successful run on the show. Alex also deals with his own pancreatic cancer, its effect on him, his family and decisions he has had to make. Very powerful and told very matter - of - factly. (the main reason I approached this book with trepidation.) But all in all it's a most enjoyable read and I am so glad that I did read it.
Oh one other little factoid. Kudos to Alex for his Robert Heinlein (unintentional maybe) reference. In his chapter on Retirement, he talks about God and it made me think of Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land; "We are God, and God is us". I'm sure that's a Heinlein reference. Small point anyway. Excellent book, touching and humorous. A must read for Jeopardy fans. (4.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"From her hiding place in Downtime, Evelyn Marcin risks her fugitive anonymity for a curious glimpse of the next shift.
What she witnesses sparks a chain of events and a journey that could decide humanity's fate. Helped by mysterious allies she unpicks her old reality, uncovering the self-interested manipulations of her superiors - and the real origin and purpose of the echo loop.Questioning their motives and beliefs though, she must also question her own. Her place in history is unwanted, inescapable, and inevitable - like the choice that has fallen to her."
From the moment they left their homestead unguarded on that scorching Texas day, Martin Pauley and Amos Edwards became searchers. First they had to return to the decimated ranch, bury the bodies of their family, and confront the evil cunning of the Comanche who had slaughtered them. Then they set out in pursuit of missing Debbie Edwards. In the years that follow, Amos and Martin survive storms of nature and of men, seeking more than a missing girl, and more than revenge. Both are driven by secrets, guilt, love, and rage. Defying the dangers all around them, two men become a frontier legend, searching for the one moment, and the one last battle, that will finally set them free…"
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