This Will Be A Real Quick One

Difficult to believe Jenn was ever this small

Jo is out running a couple of errands; depositing a rebate cheque from our provincial auto insurance company (two years running now) and then renewing our Auto insurance for another year. We'll be talking to our daughter Jennifer as well in a bit, to wish her a Happy Birthday!

She was the hard-nosed central midfielder on our team. LOL!

Today, just a quick look at the latest books I've finished and what's next on my plate (of books that is) and also a couple of new books that arrived since my last update. 

Let's go!

Just Finished

1. ExtraOrdinary by V.E. Schwab (Villains 1.5). I enjoyed Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic, very much. I saw this graphic novel in one of my local book stores, Books4Brains (you can see why I shop there, by the shop's name, right?). This was also enjoyable.

"This is my second look at the work of V.E. Schwab, the first being her A Darker Shade of Magic, the first of the Shades of Magic series. ExtraOrdinary is a graphic novel, which I gather is part of her Villains series. This is the first graphic novel.

So with that long, boring preamble, I enjoyed this story. It centers on high school student Charlotte Tills, who is in a school bus that is crashed into by a big truck. Charlotte dies but is brought back to life in hospital. When she awakens she can see how the people around her are going to die. She begins to find this unbearable, sitting at dinner with her family and seeing their deaths reflected in their glasses, spoons, reflective surfaces. Then she sees a man in her mirror and recognizes his threat and that she believes she needs to kill him.

Flash to Eli Cardale, the man who she saw in the mirror. While at university, Eli tried an experiment, having himself killed then brought back to life to see if he will be changed. He discovers he cannot die and decides that god has set him a mission to destroy all EO's (ExtraOrdinary's like Charlotte). In prison he now works for a government agency whose mission is to seek and destroy all EO's who are perceived to be dangerous to society.

Charlotte hooks up with two others, both with their own powers and decide to break into the prison which holds Eli, in an effort to save Felix's girl friend Mia. So for a short graphic novel, there is lots to offer and it does deliver. It's an interesting story with neat characters, great artwork and thoughtful action. I will now have to check out the initial novels in this series. Oh, there is also an interesting short story at the end about another EO. (3.5 stars)"

2. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (1925).

"Over the past few years, I've read 5 books by W. Somerset Maugham, a mix of novels, horror, spy stories and short stories. I first discovered a copy of The Razor's Edge in an antiqueish store and ended up reading it over the weekend. Since that time I've enjoyed the other books very much. I rank his writing up there with another favorite author of mine, that being Nevil Shute. They both have understated ways of telling stories, each with his own unique style, but both present stories that, while understated, deal with great emotion.

The Painted Veil was initially published in 1925 and is set in Hong Kong and also in a Chinese town in the interior. Kitty Fane is married to microbiologist Dr. Walter Fane, a man she doesn't love. She has found love with a married British diplomat stationed in Hong Kong, a handsome man, one Charles Townsend. Her husband discovers the relationship; this comes out right at the beginning. He offers Kitty two options; he will divorce her if Townsend agrees to divorce his own wife or he offers her the chance to accompany him to the town of Mei-Tan-Fu.

A cholera outbreak has struck Mei-Tan-Fu and the English doctor treating the people has died and Walter agreed to go and take his place. He will work with the Chinese leadership and a convent of nuns, trying to find a cure for the outbreak. Kitty discovers that Charles Townsend will not divorce his own wife for her, so she goes with Walter, even though she is terrified of dying from cholera.

The 2nd half of the story deals with their life together in Mei-Tan-Fu, of Kitty's voyage of self-discovery. All in all, it's a fascinating story. Both Walter and Kitty each have their own issues but the remain interesting characters whose lives you want to follow to see how the story ends up. There characters are fleshed out by other residents of the town; Mother Superior and the local customs agent, Mr. Waddington. Kitty remains the focus as she tries to sort out her feelings for Walter and what she wants of her life. Tragedy will put another spin on things (I'll let you find out that).

Maugham creates a fascinating story, interesting characters and wonderful descriptions of the setting and surroundings. It's a stark place and you get the feel of it from his writing. All in all, another excellent story from a talented story - teller. (4.0 stars)"

Currently Reading

(ExtraOrdinary was a throw-in so I've only started one new book since my last update.)

1. While the Patient Slept by Mignon G. Eberhart (Sarah Keate #2 / 1930). Eberhart is a new author for me. I'm looking forward to seeing how she writes.

"On a blustery February day Sarah Keate arrives at a gloomy mansion to nurse old Adolph Federie, bedbound after a stroke. Meeting the patient sets off an alarm inside her, but fleeing the house is impossible. The redoubtable red-haired nurse is stuck there with a strange coterie and a black cat named Genevieve. Originally published in 1930, a year after her debut mystery novel The Patient in Room 18, While the Patient Slept strengthened Mignon G. Eberhart's hold on fame."

New Books

1. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers #1). I enjoyed Chambers' first book in her Monk & Robot series and now have the second book in that series. I also wanted to see if this series is as good.

"Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe. "

2. The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu (2008). Earlier this month I read a graphic novel about Patricia Highsmith's start as an author. (This link.) In that graphic novel, The Ten-Cent Plague was mentioned as follow-on reading. It does sound interesting.

"In the years between the end of WWII & the mid-1950s, the popular culture of today was invented in the pulpy, boldly illustrated pages of comic books. But no sooner had comics emerged than they were beaten down by mass bonfires, congressional hearings, & a McCarthyish panic over their unmonitored & uncensored content. Esteemed critic David Hajdu vividly evokes the rise, fall & rise again of comics in this engrossing history."

Once again, I won't continue with my ongoing look at Women Authors whose works I've been enjoying. I will continue with it in a future post. Keep looking.

Tonight is the final (in this portion anyway) public hearing of the US January 6th Committee hearing. I hope America is watching in growing numbers. It's so important, right up there with Watergate. Take care.