An excellent result from the England game this morning. Unfortunate that the Iranian goalie went off in the 1st half after colliding with one of his own players. Still, it was a competent effective effort on the part of England. Now enjoying the Senegal - Netherlands game.
I finished another book since my last update; it was a quick mystery. I'll provide my review of that plus the synopsis of the next book I'm starting. I'll also continue with my ongoing look at Women Authors I'm enjoying. Oh yes, I'll also continue with my look at possible 2023 Reading Challenges.
2023 Reading Challenges
So far, I've taken a look at my 12 + 4 Challenge - Finish Some Series & and also at my first Individual Challenge - Start a Series. Next will be another Individual Challenge - Next Book in a Series. I hope to make further progress on ongoing series. Below are a few possible selections for your consideration.
"Iraq War vet Ellie McEnroe has a pretty good life in Beijing, representing the work of controversial dissident Chinese artist Zhang Jianli. Even though Zhang's mysterious disappearance has attracted the attention of the Chinese authorities. Even though her Born-Again mother has come for a visit and shows no signs of leaving.
But things really get complicated when Ellie's agrees to help out an old Army buddy with his search for his missing brother. Ellie finds herself entangled in a conspiracy that may or may not involve a sinister biotech company, eco-terrorists, an art-obsessed Chinese billionaire, and lots of cats—a conspiracy that will take her on a wild chase through some of China's most beautiful and most surreal places."
"When Barbra Delaney comes into Grace Smith's office, looks her in the eye and announces, 'I'm filthy rich and I've decided to make a will leaving the lot to a complete stranger. I've chosen you...', Grace thinks she may be hallucinating. It is, after all, the stuff of which daydreams are made. That is until Barbra hands Grace the photographs of three complete strangers, and tells her to find their names and addresses so that she can will all her dear departed husband's worldly goods to them. But, as Grace tracks down the lucky legatees, she discovers that they all have their own reasons for not wanting her poking around in their lives. When a series of increasingly violent events culminates in a very nasty death, it seems that someone will stop at nothing - not even murder - to stop Grace finding out the truth ..."
"Saturday 09:11 Hours: A blast rocks a London hospital, and thousands are dead or injured… 10:09 Hours: Joe Ledger arrives on scene to investigate. The horror is unlike anything he has ever seen. Compelled by grief and rage, Joe rejoins the DMS and within hours is attacked by a hit-team of assassins and sent on a suicide mission into a viral hot zone during an Ebola outbreak. Soon Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences begin tearing down the veils of deception to uncover a vast and powerful secret society using weaponized versions of the Ten Plagues of Egypt to destabilize world economies and profit from the resulting chaos. Millions will die unless Joe Ledger meets this powerful new enemy on their own terms as he fights terror with terror."
Just Finished
"I've enjoyed the Inspector Maigret series very much. Maigret at the Crossroads is the 7th book in the series by French author Georges Simenon. It's an interesting story which basically revolves around a very closed setting, the Crossroads. It's a very small location, 3 homes sitting on the crossroads of two main roads.
A body is found in the car of insurance salesman Michonnet. The car is found in the garage of newcomer to the area, Danish designer Sorensen. The other residence is a busy garage run by Mr. Oscar. Sorensen is the obvious suspect, and he spends 17 hours being interrogated by Maigret and Sgt Lucas in police headquarters in Paris. They end up releasing Sorensen and Maigret makes his way to the Crossroads to do his own investigating. Another body will turn up, murdered right in front of Maigret.
It is a fascinating story, and each resident seems to have their own secrets and interest in the investigation. Sorensen with his strange sister, who he locks up in her room when he is away. Nervous Michonnet whose wife watches everything from behind her shutters. Mr. Oscar is always friendly, with his garage open all hours.
Maigret is his grumpy self and even more irascible as he finds himself running up against one roadblock and another. There seems to be more action in this story than I recall from others I've read, and I was kind of surprised by it, not in a negative way, mind you. It's an entertaining mystery with a surprising solution. Always entertaining this series. (3.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"In the debut mystery featuring Lieutenant Kramer and Detective Sergeant Mickey Zondi set in South Africa, a beautiful blonde has been killed by a bicycle spoke to the heart, Bantu gangster style. Why?"
Women Authors whose Work I've been Enjoying - Ursula K. Le Guin
 |
| Ursula K. Le Guin |
"In this fourth novel in the Earthsea series, we rejoin the young priestess the Tenar and powerful wizard Ged. Years before, they had helped each other at a time of darkness and danger. Together, they shared an adventure like no other. Tenar has since embraced the simple pleasures of an ordinary life, while Ged mourns the powers lost to him through no choice of his own.
"Sita Dulip has missed her flight out of Chicago. But instead of listening to garbled announcements in the airport, she’s found a method of bypassing the crowds at the desks, the nasty lunch, the whimpering children and punitive parents, and the blue plastic chairs bolted to the floor: she changes planes.
Changing planes—not airplanes, of course, but entire planes of existence—enables Sita to visit societies not found on Earth. As “Sita Dulip’s Method” spreads, the narrator and her acquaintances encounter cultures where the babble of children fades over time into the silence of adults; where whole towns exist solely for holiday shopping; where personalities are ruled by rage, where genetic experiments produce less than desirable results. With “the eye of an anthropologist and the humor of a satirist” (USA Today), Le Guin takes readers on a truly universal tour, showing through the foreign and alien indelible truths about our own human society."
"A world shared by three native humanoid races - the cavern-dwelling Gdemiar, elvish Fiia, and warrior clan, Liuar - is suddenly invaded and conquered by a fleet of ships from the stars. Earth scientist Rocannon is on that world, and he sees his friends murdered and his spaceship destroyed. Marooned among alien peoples, he leads the battle to free this new world - and finds that legends grow around him even as he fights."
"In one of her most deeply felt works of fiction, Le Guin explores the dreams and sorrows of the inhabitants of Klatsand, Oregon, a beach town where ordinary people bring their dreams and sorrows for a weekend or the rest of their lives, and sometimes learn to read what the sea writes on the sand. Searoad is the story of a particular place that could be any place, and of a people so distinctly drawn they could be any of us."
Le Guin is someone whose work you should explore. She is imaginative, well-spoken and her stories are always entertaining, to say the least. The complete listing of her works can be found at this link.
Have a great week. Enjoy a good book or two.
No comments:
Post a Comment