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| Art Knapp's Garden Center |
Yesterday was one of our nicest days so far this spring. It was still cool mind you. Jo and I visited Art Knapp's Garden Center and picked up our hanging baskets for the front door step. We do it every spring and the pots last pretty well all summer long. It's a lovely place. We also went to my surgeon's office so he could make sure my hernia op went well. He's kind of an unassuming guy but he seemed reasonably satisfied and said I could start driving again and begin walking. I'm sore today mind you because, of course, he pressed on the spots where he'd put the mesh and now they are sore.. LOL. But I feel so much better. Going to take the car out for the first time, in a bit, to go get a haircut. Jo is staying at home chatting with some friends back home.
Anyway, let me update my last few books read, along with reviews, the newest books I'm reading and my latest purchases.
Just Finished
1.
Burning Questions - Essays & Occasional Pieces, 2004 - 2021 by
Margaret Atwood (2022).
"Over the years, I've enjoyed the work of [author:Margaret Atwood|3472]. My first exposure was during my university days, when I tried Surfacing, The Edible Woman and a collection of poetry, The Circle Game. I stopped reading her books until 1974's The Handmaid's Tale and since that time I've been sampling her work on a much more regular basis; The Blind Assassin, The Penepoliad, her Oryx & Crake trilogy and other poetry collections.
Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004-2021 is her latest work, a collection of essays and other non-fiction articles, published in 2022. I don't often read these kinds of works, although I have been trying more and more non-fiction of late. I do find myself drawn to Atwood for some reason. Is it because we are both Scorpios, both born in November? Who knows. I just like the way her mind works, her way of writing, her stories. And even her poetry, a genre with which I do struggle works for me. (Not always, but I do enjoy making the effort.
Burning Questions is a follow-on book to two earlier collections of essays. This collection covers the period 2004 - 2021 and is broken into five sections; 2004 - 2009, 2010 - 2013, 2014 - 2016, 2017 - 2019 & 2020 - 2021. Each section purportedly has a theme but I think you'll find that they do track throughout each segment, just that there are also particular essays that were written during each particular period.
I have to say that my particular favorites cover other writers, especially writers with whom I'm familiar. Atwood talks about Alice Munro (a couple of times, actually), LM Montgomery, Ray Bradbury, Ursula Le Guin, Stephen King, Doris Lessing, etc. In some cases it's in reference to a particular book, King's Doctor Sleep, Bradbury's The Illustrated Man, but even in those cases, Atwood delves into the characteristics and writing of the authors. Some are remembrances of specific authors, case in point, her memories of Ursula Le Guin, on her death. Her comments did make me want to read more of these authors or to explore their works.
Atwood does also explore various themes. The threat to the environment is an ongoing thread through each section and she especially talks about Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and other works and the way that efforts were made to discredit Carson, to silence her. Atwood's highlighting her Oryx & Crake trilogy is another environmental theme.
Another theme is the efforts of autocracies to silence writers and to control women. This is explored so very well, in speeches, essays. Of course, she also uses The Handmaid's Tale and her latest The Testaments as thematic elements in this discourse.
I found a portion of the last chapter, the essays talking about her husband, fellow author Graeme Gibson, who passed away in 2019. Her discussions on his writing was especially poignant.
There is so much in this collection to enjoy. I've found myself ordering other books by Atwood, even though I still have 3 of her books on my shelf to read. I enjoy her writing style. She's a wanderer, moving along and changing tack in the middle of an article, sometimes not finishing her original thread, but it doesn't matter. There is humor, thoughtfulness and an eminent readability. The essays flow from one to the other and are a pleasure to read. I loved it and my try to find her other essay collections. (4.5 stars) (How can you even rate it????)"
2.
Stowaway to Mars by
John Wyndham (1935).
"I've enjoyed so many of John Wyndham's Sci-Fi novels. The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos are some of my all-time favorite Sci-Fi novels. Over the past few years, I've discovered his earlier work and tried them as well.
Stowaway to Mars was originally published in 1935 (also under the name Planet Plane under the pseudonym John Beynon). It is more a typical space adventure, the journey to another planet, this time being Mars.
Dale Curtance an intrepid English adventurer is head of a rocket plane company and is building a ship to compete in a contest to be the first to land on another planet. When his rocket finally takes off, with a crew of five, they discover a stowaway, a woman Joan, who has snuck onboard for her own particular reasons. This will, of course become apparent.
The story is relatively simple, the build-up to take-off, the actual take-off, the outward journey, the landing and what they discover... and, well, do they successfully return??? For you to discover.
As I mentioned at the beginning, unlike Wyndham's later efforts, this is a simpler, more straight-forward story. If you enjoy space adventures, classic Sci-Fi, you'll like this. While it's not as perfected as the later works, it's still entertaining, well-paced and just a fun story. (3.5 stars)"
3.
The Incredible Shrinking Man by
Richard Matheson (1956).
"In 1957, Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay for The Incredible Shrinking Man, a favorite Sci-Fi movie of mine. In 1969, it came out in book form and is every bit as entertaining, scary and surprisingly, thoughtful as the movie.
The story starts with Scott Carey, the size out on a boat with his brother. His brother is sleeping below deck and Scott experiences a tingly fog. Move to Chapter 2 and Scott is racing across his basement floor being chased by a black widow spider. *shudder* We move to Scott's past to a segment entitled 68" and we realize that Scott is informing his wife Louise that he seems to be shrinking.
The story moves back and forth between Scott's present, with him trying to survive in his basement, being the size of a spider and then into his past as he remembers events that bring him to his current position as resident of Louise's basement.
It's a fascinating story and Matheson portrays Scott's emotional turmoil excellently; his anger at his situation, his frustration at doctor's not being able to help him, his desire to be with his wife but the realization that his increasingly shrinking size makes that impossible. There is also well-crated terror as Scott tries to find water and crumbs of food in the basement, at the same time avoiding the spider which hunts him. (There are also other situations that are so well presented throughout the story).
Scott's emotions are so well described, even his sexual frustration, his finding comfort and companionship with a 'little person' one night. It's a surprisingly rich story, the concept fascinating and the depth of the story so well crafted and described. Well worth reading. Try the movie as well as it is quite excellent. (4.5 stars)"
4.
The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner (Jo Beckett #2).
"The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner is the 2nd book in the thriller series, featuring forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett. If you are looking for non-stop action, this is the series for you. If you don't mind farfetched a bit, that is.
Ian Kanan, security specialist for a California company, returns from South Africa, infected with some sort of nano-technology that affects his memory. He can remember his past up to the time he was infected but from that point onward he can only remember things in five minute snatches. Every five minutes his memory is scrubbed clean.
As his plane lands in San Francisco, Kanan becomes panic - stricken and tries to open the emergency door. Jo Beckett is called to the scene and assists in over powering him and taking him to the nearest hospital. Some people on the flight are also infected and this will impact future events. At the same time, Kanan's family seem to have been kidnapped and the kidnappers want something from Kanan. The difficulty is Kanan's deteriorating memory.
This is the intro to a complex, high octane, entertaining thriller. The story jumps from Beckett to Kanan to Beckett's new boyfriend, Gabe & to police Lt Amy Tang. As far-fetched as it all seems, Gardiner makes it all very interesting and creates a taut, suspenseful story. There are a number of entertaining characters, even down to relatively minor ones like Beckett's strange neighbor, Ferd and his monkey.
Sometimes it's fun to just sink yourself into an entertaining story, submerse yourself into action and suspense and just forget about your normal routine.. Mind you, nano-technology.. Eeeps! (3.5 stars)"
5.
The Child Garden by
Geoff Ryman (1989). For the 3rd time in April, I gave up on a book. Getting more impatient in my older age, I guess.
"Another strike out for me I'm afraid. Maybe my patience isn't quite what it was in my earlier days. Anyway, I didn't finish The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman. The concept of the story is interesting. A future world, set in London. Children are raised in the Child Garden. They are injected (somehow they are 'read' by viruses) which kind of control their lives. There was a reason for this; something to do with cancer cures in the past. The virus educates the children and they grow up quickly and also die quickly.
Milena can't be read by the viruses. She doesn't know much about her childhood. She works for a dramatic company. The parts are basically taught by the viruses???? She meets a polar bear named Rolfa. Bears are sort of, um..... looked down on. They don't have the viruses. They work in Antarctica.. Well, Rolfa is a singing bear... and Milena falls in love with her. Yeah... ok, you see my problem?
Rolfa disappears. Milena .. well. that's the best I understood it, I'm afraid. I love Sci-Fi, but some times I don't get it. And I didn't get this. Scrolling through the reviews, they are quite varied, from 1 star to 5 stars. Check it out and see what you think. No rating from me as I didn't finish. (NR)"
6.
Planet of No Return by
Poul Anderson (1956).
"Ah the classic space adventure. You've got to love them. Planet of No Return by Poul Anderson, published originally in 1956 is such an entertaining story.
7 years before, the explorer ship De Gama went out into space to see if the planet Troas was suitable for habitation by Earth. It never returned. After much finagling, a new ship, the Henry Hudson, heads out to discover what happened to the crew of the De Gama and to finish the mission.
Before the ship even takes off, there is an explosion that almost destroys it. The crew is a group of people who are at each other from the get-go and the crew psychomed Ed Avery seems ineffectual at getting them to work together. On arriving at Troas, a portion of the crew heads down to the planet to explore and discovers local inhabitants. This could impact on Earth's ability to populate the planet. A small group of the Hudson's crew goes with a party of locals to see what's what.
There you go. That's the crux of the story. When I was back in high school in the late 60's I used to love reading these Sci-Fi stories. They were always entertaining, explored new worlds, explored mankind and what it might become; neat ideas, neat mysteries, sometimes scary, always page turners. Anderson has crafted an enjoyable story. It's short, but he gets his ideas across, has interesting characters and I think, makes his point as well.
Interestingly, the idea was to have 3 Sci-Fi authors; Anderson, Isaac Asimov and James Blish (or Blish's wife) each write a story set on this world. Only Anderson and Asimov actually created their stories. Must try to find Asimov's. Anyway, most enjoyable. (3.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
1.
The Nemesis from Terra by
Leigh Brackett (1961). I read one of Brackett's noir mysteries and enjoyed very much. This is my first attempt at her Sci-Fi.
"Rick Urquhart was going to conquer the turmoil-ridden planet of Mars. He was penniless and unknown, but there could be no doubt that he would rule the Red Planet--the ancient Martian mystic had made the prophecy, there was no way fate could cheat him of his prize.
But there were powerful interests on both Earth and Mars who didn't believe in prophecies--and they were going to undo Rick's future before it had a chance to begin . . ."
2. The Suez Crisis - 1956 by Derek Varble (2003). This is a piece of history I've been interested in for awhile.
"In July 1956 Egyptian President Gamal Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, causing immediate concern to Britain and France. They already opposed Nasser and were worried at the threat to maritime traffic in the Canal. This book traces the course of subsequent events. Together with Israel, Britain and France hatched a plot to occupy the Canal Zone and overthrow Nasser. Israel attacked Sinai, and Britain and France launched offensives throughout Egypt, but strategic failures overshadowed tactical success. Finally, Britain, France and Israel bowed to international pressure and withdrew, leaving the Suez Canal, and Egypt, firmly in the hands of President Nasser."
3. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (2021). Sort of an interesting combination of events and themes in this story; homosexualism, the Red Scare in the US and treatment of Chinese - American citizens and their culture.
"A story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Red Scare.
“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day."
4. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (2016). My first look at Crouch's work.
""Are you happy with your life?"
Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.Before a man Jason's never met smiles down at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.Is it this world or the other that's the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined--one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe."
4. The Chelsea Murders by Lionel Davidson (1978). I've read a few of Davidson's books, some I've enjoyed and some not so much. This one is interesting so far.
"A terrifying, grotesque figure bursts into a young art student's room. Head covered with a clown's wig, face concealed by a smiling mask, it wears the rubber gloves of a surgeon. The girl is seized, chloroformed, suffocated and - horrifyingly - beheaded. This is only the beginning of a series of murders terrorizing London's fashionable bohemia. The police target three avant-garde filmmakers. One of them is mocking the other two, and openly taunting the police as well. But which of them is behind these appalling crimes?"
New Books
Just back from my haircut and I do look great, if I do say so myself.... and I do. Stopped at Books4Brains after my haircut and bought a book I've been looking at for awhile. So I'll include that in the list which follows. At the moment, I'm watching the Blue Jays and waiting for Jo to finish chatting. Lunch is basically waiting; salad and left over chicken curry.
1. Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert (China Bayles #1). I've read one of her Victorian mysteries written under the pen name of Robin Paige.
"Nominated for both an Agatha and an Anthony Award, Susan Wittig Albert's novels featuring ex-lawyer and herb-shop proprietor China Bayles have won acclaim for their rich characterization and witty, suspenseful stories of crime and passion in small-town Texas.
In her first mystery, China's friend Jo dies of an apparent suicide. China searches behind the quaint facade of Pecan Springs and takes a suspicious look at everyone. Though she finds lots of friendly faces, China is sure that behind one of them hides the heart of a killer."
2. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (1997). Jo pointed out Sedaris's work to me. A humorist that I want to try. I've bought her a couple of his other books and am looking forward to reading one.
"It's hard to describe David Sedaris to those who've never read him. Mixing autobiographical details with sharp sarcasm and social commentary, Sedaris can probably best be described as a '90s version of brilliant humorist Jean Shepherd (who did his own scathing take on the holiday season with the film A Christmas Story). Sedaris' essays and stories are at once hilarious, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking. His new anthology, Holidays on Ice, collects three previously released stories and essays and offers three brand-new ones; all revolve around Christmas. "SantaLand Diaries," which originally appeared in "Barrel Fever," leads off the collection and may be Sedaris's best-known work. A laugh-out-loud-hysterical look at Sedaris's experiences working as an elf in SantaLand in Macy's, the story is a wickedly funny slicing-and-dicing of the holiday season and the good cheer that supposedly accompanies it. His dark humor is exactly what you need when you're getting sick of all the fuss about Christmas."
3. The Moai Murders by Lyn Hamilton (Lara McClintoch Archaeological Mysteries #1). I've tried a few books in this series.
"How many people put a visit to remote and mysterious Easter Island on their life to-do list? Lara McClintoch and her best friend Moira share a yearning to hug one of those famous giant carved heads. But when they get to the island, someone is bumping off members of a strange congress gathered to study local culture. Who has murder on their bucket list? Lara must figure out what the victims have in common as she races against time to stop the killing."
4. Moghul Buffet by Cheryl Benard (1998). This is a new author for me.
"An American businessman visiting Peshawar, Pakistan, vanishes from his hotel room. The only clue is an enigmatic message in blood scrawled on the Coke machine. A series of murders follows. But in a country where half the population is hidden beneath chadors, tracking a murderer can be difficult."
5. The Book of the Dead by Elizabeth Daly (Henry Gamadge #8). One of those entertaining mystery series from the Golden Age of mystery. I have enjoyed the books I've read so far.
"The hospital sees nothing to question about the death of the reclusive Mr. Crenshaw, and it's not as though he had any friends to press the issue. He did, though, have one casual acquaintance, who happens to pick up Mr. Crenshaw's battered old edition of The Tempest and happens to pass that book on to Henry Gamadge. Gamadge, of course, is not only an expert in solving pesky problems but also an expert in rare books, and his two sets of expertise combine to uncover the extraordinary puzzle of Mr. Crenshaw, which began in California and ended on the other side of the country, at a chilly New England rendezvous."
6. Siren of the Waters by Michael Genelin (Commander Jana Matinova #1) This is another new series I want to check out. It was listed at the back of another crime novel I'd enjoyed.
"Jana Matinova entered the Czechoslovak police force as a young woman, married an actor, and became a mother. The regime destroyed her husband, their love for one another, and her daughter’s respect for her. But she has never stopped being a seeker of justice.
Now, as a commander in the Slovak police force, she liaises with colleagues across Europe as they track the mastermind of an international criminal operation involved in, among other crimes, human trafficking. Her investigation takes her from Ukraine to Strasbourg, from Vienna to Nice, in a hunt for a ruthless killer and the beautiful young Russian woman he is determined either to capture or destroy."
7. Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland (Emily Tempest #1). Another new series, set in Australia, two books in it so far.
"Emily Tempest, a feisty 29-year-old half Aboriginal woman 'with a fast mouth and a strong right hook' investigates the untimely death of an old friend.
8, Black Money by Ross MacDonald (Lew Archer #13). MacDonald is one of my favorite writers in the hard-boiled detective fiction sub-genre. Along with his wife, Margaret Millar, they've written some of my favorite mysteries.
"When Lew Archer is hired to get the goods on the suspiciously suave Frenchman who's run off with his client's girlfriend, it looks like a simple case of alienated affections. Things look different when the mysterious foreigner turns out to be connected to a seven-year-old suicide and a mountain of gambling debts. Black Money is Ross Macdonald at his finest."
9. The End of All Things by John Scalzi (Old Man Wars #6). I've been collecting this series but have yet to try the first book. But I hear such good things about it.
"Humans expanded into space...only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement...for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more.
Now the Colonial Union is living on borrowed time-a couple of decades at most, before the ranks of the Colonial Defense Forces are depleted and the struggling human colonies are vulnerable to the alien species who have been waiting for the first sign of weakness, to drive humanity to ruin. And there's another problem: A group, lurking in the darkness of space, playing human and alien against each other-and against their own kind -for their own unknown reasons.In this collapsing universe, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson and the Colonial Union diplomats he works with race against the clock to discover who is behind attacks on the Union and on alien races, to seek peace with a suspicious, angry Earth, and keep humanity's union intact...or else risk oblivion, and extinction-and the end of all things."
... and the book I bought today. (Yes I do know that I've got too many books on my shelf. But hey, choice is a wonderful thing. LOL)
10. The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (2020). I have at least one other book by Robinson on my bookshelf. I've seen this one a few times and it sounds interesting. Without knowing anything about it except for a scan of the synopsis, it sort of makes me think of War Day by Whitley Streiber. Of course I may be totally wrong about that.
"The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us. Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of the year, this extraordinary novel from visionary science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson will change the way you think about the climate crisis."
OK, there you go. I hope you get some reading ideas from the above. Enjoy the rest of the month.
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