It's Friday and a Beautiful Day. Let's do an Update

Just Finished

1. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle (Fantasy).

"I had only previously read one book by Peter S. Beagle, that being The Last Unicorn from 1968 and I enjoyed it well enough. A friend had recommended another, A Fine and Private Place (1960) and while I do have it now on my bookshelves, I instead decided to try another, Tamsin, originally published in 1999.

Simply put, this was an excellent fantasy story, rich, interesting and peopled with fascinating characters, both human and ghostly (and others). Jenny lives with her mother Sally in New York. She is relatively happy with her life; has good friends and gets to see her itinerant father when he's in town. Sally has fallen in love with Englishman, Evan and they are moving back to England. Jenny is very unhappy about this and determines either to stay with her father in New York (that ain't going to work) or make sure her mother is miserable for forcing her out of her comfort zone. 

So taking along her pet, Mr. Cat (who will be in quarantine for six months), Jenny, Sally and Evan pack up and move to England. The initial plan was to live with his sons, Julian and Tony in London. But the plans change, when Evan, an agriculturalist, is offered a job and estate in Dorset. When they all arrive, they see a decrepit estate that needs to basically be rebuilt and a farm that will need major work if it is to survive.

So begins Jenny's life in Dorset, getting established in a new school (she will make a great friend in Meena there) and also try to get accustomed to the quirks of Dorset and her new home. She will also find that Dorset is rich in supernatural beings; the Pooka (a sort of goblin), the Oakmen (who haunt the oak forest), the Black Dog (who watches over and provides warnings), etc. Oh, yes, the Wild Hunt will make appearances. Of most interest to Jenny is Tamsin Willoughby, the spirit of a young girl who died on the estate (it was her family estate) and who Jenny becomes very close to.

There is a mystery surrounding Tamsin and Jenny will be called upon to help solve it, to try and save Tamsin. This is the core of the story and Beagle makes his way through the beginning, slowly and caringly until it builds to a very exciting climax; a battle for Tamsin's spirit against an evil that is truly scary. It's a rich, well-crafted story. The characters are all interesting, even down to those who play minor roles. And there are nice surprises in some. It's a growing up story for Jenny as well and that is also handled lovingly. I didn't mind taking my time with this at all. It was easy to put down but also easy to get back into Jenny's life and her story with Tamsin. Excellent. Just loved it. (4.5 stars)"

2. Space Boy, Omnibus #1 by Stephen McCranie (Books 1 - 3).

"I had only previously read one book by Peter S. Beagle, that being The Last Unicorn from 1968 and I enjoyed it well enough. A friend had recommended another, A Fine and Private Place (1960) and while I do have it now on my bookshelves, I instead decided to try another, Tamsin, originally published in 1999.

Simply put, this was an excellent fantasy story, rich, interesting and peopled with fascinating characters, both human and ghostly (and others). Jenny lives with her mother Sally in New York. She is relatively happy with her life; has good friends and gets to see her itinerant father when he's in town. Sally has fallen in love with Englishman, Evan and they are moving back to England. Jenny is very unhappy about this and determines either to stay with her father in New York (that ain't going to work) or make sure her mother is miserable for forcing her out of her comfort zone. 

So taking along her pet, Mr. Cat (who will be in quarantine for six months), Jenny, Sally and Evan pack up and move to England. The initial plan was to live with his sons, Julian and Tony in London. But the plans change, when Evan, an agriculturalist, is offered a job and estate in Dorset. When they all arrive, they see a decrepit estate that needs to basically be rebuilt and a farm that will need major work if it is to survive.

So begins Jenny's life in Dorset, getting established in a new school (she will make a great friend in Meena there) and also try to get accustomed to the quirks of Dorset and her new home. She will also find that Dorset is rich in supernatural beings; the Pooka (a sort of goblin), the Oakmen (who haunt the oak forest), the Black Dog (who watches over and provides warnings), etc. Oh, yes, the Wild Hunt will make appearances. Of most interest to Jenny is Tamsin Willoughby, the spirit of a young girl who died on the estate (it was her family estate) and who Jenny becomes very close to.

There is a mystery surrounding Tamsin and Jenny will be called upon to help solve it, to try and save Tamsin. This is the core of the story and Beagle makes his way through the beginning, slowly and caringly until it builds to a very exciting climax; a battle for Tamsin's spirit against an evil that is truly scary. It's a rich, well-crafted story. The characters are all interesting, even down to those who play minor roles. And there are nice surprises in some. It's a growing up story for Jenny as well and that is also handled lovingly. I didn't mind taking my time with this at all. It was easy to put down but also easy to get back into Jenny's life and her story with Tamsin. Excellent. Just loved it. (4.5 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin (2003). One of my all time favorite actors.

"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."

New Books

1. Saga, Vol 3 by Brian K. Vaughan (Books 13 - 18 / 2014). I've kind of gotten hooked by this graphic novel series.

"The Eisner, Harvey, and Hugo Award-winning phenomenon continues, as new parents Marko and Alana travel to an alien world to visit their hero, while the family's pursuers finally close in on their targets."

2. Mother Finds a Body by Gypsy Rose Lee (1942). I read another mystery by this Lee. It was neat.

"In this steamy sequel to The G-String Murders, Gypsy Rose Lee's noir thriller reads as if it's ripped from her own diary pages. When her mother finds a dead body in Gypsy's trailer during her honeymoon, Gypsy realizes that no one is who they seem to be, and everyone is worthy of suspicion."

3. Skyscraper by Faith Baldwin (1931).

"Lynn is an ambitious young woman who loves her job in the gleaming new Manhattan skyscraper. Soon, Lynn also loves Tom, the young clerk down the hall. They are so in love that if they don’t get married, something improper is bound to happen. But her company has a strict new policy: Any woman who marries will be immediately fired. First published in 1931—the same year the Empire State Building opened its doors—Skyscraper marks the advent of a new kind of romance plot, and Lynn a new kind of heroine. Lynn is facing choices that will determine the course of the rest of her life, but rather than just choose between suitors, Lynn and other working girls like her must decide whether to abandon their careers—or abandon their men. They can’t have both—or can they?"

4. Freedom's Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970 by Lynne Olson (2001). I've read two other of Olson's history books and enjoyed immensely.

"A collection of profiles of some of the fearless, resourceful female leaders of the Civil Rights Movement documents the accomplishments of Ida Wells, who led the protest against lynching; Pauli Murray, who organized the first lunch counter sit-in; Jo Ann Robinson, who helped launch the Montgomery bus boycott; and others."

5. The Case of Miss Elliot by Baroness Orczy (Teahouse Detective #2 / 1905). I liked the first book in this series. Interesting mysteries.

"Every crime has its perpetrator, and every puzzle its solution.

In the corner of the ABC teashop on Norfolk Street, Polly Burton of the Evening Observer sets down her morning paper, filled with news of the latest outrages, and eagerly waits for her mysterious acquaintance to begin. For no matter how ghastly or confounding the crime, or how fiendishly tangled the plot, the Teahouse Detective can invariably find the solution without leaving the comfort of his café seat.

What did happen that tragic night to Miss Elliott? Who knows the truth about the stolen Black Diamonds? And what sinister workings are behind the curious disappearance of Count Collini?

The police may be baffled, but rare is the mystery that eludes the brilliant Teahouse Detective."

6. The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer (Enola Holmes #1 / 2006). I read a graphic novel based on these books and thought it would be good to try the original books.

"Meet Enola Holmes, teenaged girl turned detective and the younger sister to Sherlock Holmes.

When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly embarks on a journey to London in search of her. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits. Because when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her shrewd older brothers—all while attempting to piece together clues to her mother’s strange disappearance. Amid all the mayhem, will Enola be able to decode the necessary clues and find her mother?"

7. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer (Enola Holmes #2 / 2007).

"London January 1889. Enola hides from worried brother Sherlock, until Dr. Watson consults her imaginary identity, Perditorian Ragostin. As Mrs Ragostin, Enola seeks Lady Cecily, vanished in nightgown, leaving ladder at window, bold charcoal sketches and mirror-writing diaries about East End poor. Was store clerk suspect, Alexander Finch, just a friend?"

8. Beatrix Potter, the Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter (1986). I found a beautiful copy of the complete works at my local UBS.

"This handsome edition brings all of Beatrix Potter's twenty-three Peter Rabbit tales and verses together in one book. The texts are complete and unabridged, and all the original illustrations, both color and black and white, are included. The stories are arranged in the order in which they were first published to enable them to be read in the proper sequence for, although each story stands on its own, several are linked together by events and characters."

9. Dragon Day by Lisa Brackmann (Ellie McEnroe #3 / 2015). I really enjoyed the first book in this series very much.

"Ellie McEnroe is an Iraq War vet living in Beijing, where she represents the work of  cutting-edge Chinese political artists. She has one bum leg, a taste for dumplings and beer, and an evangelical mother and a sweet-tempered rescue mutt for roommates. She also has Chinese Domestic Security on her tail and a dwindling number of Percocets to get her through her bad days.

And she’s about to have some bad days. The immensely powerful—and occasionally homicidal—Shanghai billionaire Sidney Cao has asked Ellie to investigate Marsh Brody, his son’s suspicious new American business partner. Ellie knows she can’t refuse, and is grudgingly swept up into the elite social circles of Sidney’s three children: debauched Guwei, rebellious Meimei and social climber Tiantian. When a waitress is murdered at one of Tiantian’s parties, the last thing Ellie wants is to get sucked into a huge scandal involving China’s rich and powerful. But Ellie quickly becomes the most convenient suspect and realizes she’ll have to figure out who really did it—and even that might not be enough to save herself."

10. Space Boy, Omnibus #2 by Stephen McCranie (Books 4 - 6). I'm sort of hooked on this series.. LOL!

"To Amy, everyone has a flavor. Well, almost everyone...Just as Amy is finally feeling that she's made a true connection with the mysterious, flavorless Oliver, their entire relationship is rattled--possibly forever.

After a crushing confrontation, Amy hunts for a way to reconnect with Oliver, but each new lead to his identity leaves her with more questions than answers and rising tension with her friends. As relationships shift, Amy learns that even if she can't fix everything for her friends, it still means something to be there with them. And an extra credit project might just help Amy discover answers to some of the mysteries surrounding Oliver.

A sci-fi drama of a high school aged girl who belongs in a different time, a boy possessed by emptiness as deep as space, an alien artifact, mysterious murder, and a love that crosses light years.

Collects Stephen McCranie's Space Boy volumes 4-6."

Women Authors Whose Works I've Enjoyed - Louise Penny

Louise Penny

Canadian author Louise Penny was born in Toronto, Ontario and is the author of the Inspector Gamache mystery series set in Three Pines Quebec. It's been turned into one TV movie by the CBC and also is now a TV series on Prime Video. I've enjoyed 5 of the books so far. Thus far she has written 15+ books in the series. She has also co-authored a thriller with Hillary Clinton. I have two books sitting on my shelf awaiting my attention. Let's look at my most recent read plus those two that I haven't read yet.

1. The Brutal Telling (#5 / 2009).

"The Brutal Telling is the 5th book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series set in Three Pines, Quebec. As all of the other stories in this book, this one was rich, complex and fascinating. 

Let's see. The haunted Hadley house from previous stories has been purchased by a retired couple and the son's mother. They plan to turn it into a Resort and spa. This will be direct competition to Olivier & Gabri's B&B and restaurant. As the story progresses there is evident friction between Olivier and Marc Gilbert, owner of the Hadley House. The tale starts with a body being discovered in Olivier's restaurant by Myrna, owner of the used book store. This brings Chief Inspector Gamache and his two assistants, Inspectors Beauvoir and Lacoste to their favorite town outside Montreal. They are assisted by young local inspector, Paul Morin, who proves to be quite useful.

It's a fascinating story as the team tries identify the victim, find out where he was murdered (apparently not in the restaurant) and to discover the murderer. As I mentioned earlier, this is a complex case. It will take Gamache and team into a Czech community in Twin Pines, involved research into antiquities and even involve Gamache traveling to Haida Gwai on Canada's west coast. Everyone seems to be keeping secrets and this is making the case more difficult. As well, we have the normal cast of characters from Twin Pines, artists and spouses Peter and Carol (interesting little side theme involving Carol), slightly mad poet, Ruth and her duck Rosa. We also get to meet a new inspector, art crime expert Therese Brunel. 

All in all, it's a pleasure to read. The ending is not quite satisfying, mainly because ... well I won't get into that. Just check out the latest mystery from Twin Pines. You'll enjoy very much. (4.5 stars)"

2. Bury Your Dead (#6 / 2010).

"As Quebec City shivers in the grip of winter, its ancient stone walls cracking in the cold, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache plunges into the strangest case of his celebrated career. A man has been brutally murdered in one of the city's oldest buildings - a library where the English citizens of Quebec safeguard their history. And the death opens a door into the past, exposing a mystery that has lain dormant for centuries . . . a mystery Gamache must solve if he's to catch a present-day killer."

3. A Trick of the Light (#7 / 2011).

"But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow's garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara's solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems. Behind every smile there lurks a sneer. Inside every sweet relationship there hides a broken heart. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they've found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light."

The complete listing of Louise Penny's work can be found at this link. Have a great weekend.

Midweek Music Medley

Some R&B musical groups for your midweek music medley Wed 26 Apr 2023.

Midweek Music Medley

1. American R&B group, The Three Degrees - Woman in Love (1979)

2. American Motown group The Supremes - High Energy (1976)

3. American R&B band Say She She - Fortune Teller (2023)

Enjoy the rest of your week.

A Mid-Week Reading Update

Since my last update, I've finished one more book. I also received a couple of books in the mail. So let's do the normal update stuff. 😁

Just Finished

1. By Cecile by Tereska Torres (1963).

"By Cecile is my second effort by Tereska Torrès the first being Women's Barracks, often described as the first lesbian pulp novel. By Cecile was originally published in 1963. It tells the story of young French woman, Cecile and is set at the end of WWII and the years afterward. 

Cecile was moved by her parents from Paris to live with an aunt in a small country town to keep her away from the war. Her parents are sent to a 'prison' and she awaits the end of the war, hoping they will return. A family friend, Maurice, a man who is basically a literary agent+, comes and gets Cecile and brings her to Paris, to live in her parents' apartment. He eventually marries her and the majority of the story is their life together.

Cecile is a free-spirited child, imaginative, full of life. Maurice introduces her to sex and to the artistic life in Paris. (The sex is more hinted at than graphic). Cecile isn't happy with Maurice and begins to fall in love with Henriette. Maurice discovers a story that Cecile is writing and decides it needs to be touched up (that is his specialty; he's not a writer, rather an editor) and by touched up, he means more detailed exploration of sexuality.

Everything sexual is described very mildly, more by intimation than actual action. It's a very French story. I can see it as a movie by Jean Luc Godard or Francois Truffaut. The story is very well-written, provides an excellent picture, and is very thoughtful. It's a slow-paced story, but that is necessary and it helps present Cecile's character and describe her growth. Thoughtful and interesting. (3.5 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Return from the Stars by Stanislaw Lem (1961).

"An astronaut returns to Earth after a ten-year mission and finds a society that he barely recognizes.

Stanislaw Lem's Return from the Stars recounts the experiences of Hal Bregg, an astronaut who returns from an exploratory mission that lasted ten years--although because of time dilation, 127 years have passed on Earth. Bregg finds a society that he hardly recognizes, in which danger has been eradicated. Children are "betrizated" to remove all aggression and violence--a process that also removes all impulse to take risks and explore. The people of Earth view Bregg and his crew as "resuscitated Neanderthals," and pressure them to undergo betrization. Bregg has serious difficulty in navigating the new social mores.

While Lem's depiction of a risk-free society is bleak, he does not portray Bregg and his fellow astronauts as heroes. Indeed, faced with no opposition to his aggression, Bregg behaves abominably. He is faced with a choice: leave Earth again and hope to return to a different society in several hundred years, or stay on Earth and learn to be content. With Return from the Stars, Lem shows the shifting boundaries between utopia and dystopia."

New Books

1. Hell House by Richard Matheson (1971).

"For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. Its shadowed walls have witnessed scenes of almost unimaginable horror and depravity. Two previous expeditions to investigate its secrets met with disaster, the participants destroyed by murder, suicide or insanity.

Now a new investigation brings four strangers to the forbidding mansion who are determined to probe Belasco House for the ultimate secrets of life and death. Each has his or her own reason for daring the unknown torments and temptations of the mansion, but can any soul survive what lurks within the most haunted house on Earth?"

2. Enola Holmes, Book 2 by Serena Blasco (Vols 4 - 6 / 2022).

"In Book 2 of the series, Enola is back on the case, deciphering clues and developing leads in each of three new mysteries. What she doesn’t know is that she, too, is being pursued—by her own brother! Once again, Sherlock Holmes’ brilliant, strong-willed younger sister takes center stage in this delightfully drawn graphic novel based on Nancy Springer’s bestselling mystery series.

London, 1889. A woman is being held prisoner while she awaits a forced marriage. Another has been kidnapped, and yet another disappears…

As Enola seeks to rescue the three women, her brother embarks on a quest of his own. When Sherlock receives a mysterious package, he knows he’ll need Enola’s help to decipher its meaning. In the end, the three Holmes siblings will have to work together to answer the question that started it What happened to their mother?
 
Book Two contains three engrossing The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline, and The   Case of Baker Street Station."

3. The Good Companions by J.B. Priestley (1929).

"Probably the most popular of Priestley's novels, The Good Companions was an instant best-seller when it was first published in July 1929, and, while JBP came to feel its success subsequently overshadowed many more important works, the book has remained popular. It was his third novel and it is certainly well-written and very readable. It is, too, an enjoyable romp, all about a stranded theatrical group the Dinky Doos rescued by Miss Trant and converted into the Good Companions, and involving their adventures with such characters as Jess Oakroyd, the middle-aged joiner from Bruddersford, who breaks free from his miserable domestic existence, Susie Dean and Inigo Jollifant. It is the sort of long, colorful novel which was one of Priestley's hallmarks, and it is clear that Priestley enjoyed himself writing it. He regarded the job as not so much a task, more a kind of holiday."

Midweek Music Medley

It's Wed 19 Apr and I'm about to feed the pups and then wake up Jo so she can get ready for work. Here is your midweek music medley to help get you through the rest of this week.

Midweek Music Medley

1. English indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs - How 2 Dance (2022).

2. English rock band The Who - Pictures of Lily (1967).

3. American rock band Paramore - Running Out of Time (2023).

Enjoy the rest of your week.

A Mid-April Reading Update

It's Sunday and we're watching Bullitt. No point watching the Blue Jays game today. If they come back in the last 3 innings, we'll maybe watch Blue Jays at 30. Yes, I admit it, I'm a fair weather fan. 

It's mid-April and so far this month I've read 7 books, the majority of them were fairly short. Since my last reading update, I've completed 5 books. I'll provide my reviews of them, plus the other normal stuff. 

Just Finished

1. Saga, Volume 2 by Brian Vaughan (Chaps 7 - 12 / 2012).

"OK, I admit it, I love this graphic novel series. Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, which contained Books 7 - 12, was every bit as enjoyable as Vol 1. The story is funny, sexy and full of action and the artwork is clear and bright and colorful. The story follows the continuing adventures of the star-crossed lovers, Marko and Alana and their child Hazel as they try to stay alive and avoid bounty hunters and Alana's race.

You see Marko and Alana are different species; different in that Marko has horns and Alana wings. But obviously they can have sex and children. In this series of stories, they face an even more dangerous enemy, Marko's parents. Marko and mom go into a ghost world to find Izabel, their ghostly baby-sitter. And Alana spends quality time with her father-in-law, a real homebody. But it's not all fun and games as the bounty hunters are on the way and bigger danger is about to be born.

There is so much going on and the story does jump back into back stories of the main characters that I won't get into it too much. Just know that it's entertaining, a page turner and filled with interesting characters. Volume 3 is on order (4.0 stars)"

2. Skull-Face by Robert E. Howard (1929).

"Many years ago, in a previous lifetime (ok, that's not true but it sounded appropriate), I enjoyed Robert E. Howard's Conan books. I still have the series sitting on my bookshelf. Anyway, a couple of years ago, I ordered another of his early books, Skull-Face, a novella originally published in 1946. 

The story reminded me of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu fantasy thrillers; being that an ancient being, aka Skull-Face, threatens the world by rousing the ancient forces of Africa and Asia against the western world. The story focuses on an American WWI veteran, Stephen Costigan. Suffering from war injuries, both physical and mental, Stephen has succumbed to world of hashish, his mind slipping into a dream world. His money spent, he is 'cured' by the Master of the hashish den, a skull-like figure who he only sees in a cloud of smoke.

The cure Skull-face provides is instantaneous and Costigan feels a debt of gratitude to the mysterious individual. But of course, all is not as it seems. Skull-face wants Costigan for his secret aims; firstly to impersonate an English spy and later to kill an archeologist. At this point, Costigan's basic humanity begins to take over and he determines to foil Skull-face, even at the risk of his own life.

With the help of Gordon, an English agent and also of Zuleika, a beautiful woman, also under the thrall of Skull-face, but willing to assist Costigan, the story moves along quickly, as the forces of good battle the forces of 'evil'. Who is Skull-face? Well, read this story and you'll find out. You'll also find out who it all ends up. (Note. There are racist stereotypes in this story.) Still, an action-packed, drug fueled fantasy adventure. (3.0 stars)"

3. Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (Ray Carney #1 / 2021).

"Harlem Shuffle, the first of two Ray Carney stories by Colson Whitehead is my first attempt at this writer. Set in the '60s in Harlem the three stories within this novel feature furniture salesman Ray Carney, as he tries to build his local business and support his growing family.

Ray comes from a shady past. His father was a local gangster, a tough man. Ray has cleaned up his act but still finds himself being pulled into the criminal side of life; fencing goods for local criminals and even family, especially his cousin Freddy. There are three short stories in this novel. In the first Freddy involves Ray in the robbery of a hotel. In the second, Ray searches for a way to get revenge on a local banker who has taken Ray's 'donation' to get into a businessman's club and then been rejected. In the final, once again Freddy gets Ray involved in his activities.

It's a unique set of stories. Whitehead is an excellent story teller. He presents Harlem as a living breathing entity. The people are interesting, colorful. The incidents are developed slowly and caringly. I've never been to New York and definitely not during the period covered in his stories so it's neat to try to picture it. The racial tension between white New York and black New York is highlighted, two interconnected  but divided areas. 

Ray's successful business grows throughout the period. There are nice descriptions of his store, his family, his friends; Freddy and Pepper stand out. Nice little touches like his descriptions of the furniture lines he's selling and interested in. The activities he gets involved in on the more criminal side are quite different. There is a conflict between his past, his more criminal side and his successful, family-loving, successful businessman side. It's so well portrayed. Ray is a three-dimensional, nicely portrayed character. Whether you like him or not, he is sympathetically crafted. Each story is a slow build but well-rounded and closed out very nicely and satisfactorily. A setting and life outside my comfort zone but enjoyable and entertaining. (4.0 stars)"

4. Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright by Chris Riddell (Goth Girl #3 / 2015).

"The Goth Girl series by Chris Riddell is a favorite YA / children's series of mine. When I want a light, entertaining, superbly drawn story to make me feel good, this is one series I choose. Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright is the 3rd book in this series. I now have one book left to enjoy in this series. 😞😟😢

Christmas is coming. Ada Goth is waiting for the return from boarding school of her best friend, Emily Cabbage and her brother William Cabbage. Ada misses Emily very much and wishes she could go to school with her, but has mixed emotions. If Ada goes to school, her nanny, Lucy Borgia would have to leave, and she loves Lucy.

Many guests will arrive for Christmas as her father, Lord Goth, is hosting the Literary Dog Show. It will bring famous writers and their dogs to the Goth estate to take part in a dog show. As well, Emily and William are also bringing guests; the Vicarage sisters, Emily, Charlotte and Anne (ring a bell, perchance) and their brother Bramwell. Also crashing the party is Flushman, a fellow student of William and Bramwell.

Mysterious goings on also taking place at the estate; monkeys on the prowl, stealing books and bananas; strange howls at night, shoes chewed on, food disappearing.. All very exciting.

So lots of action for you to enjoy, lovely characters, wonderful artwork, an all-around fun, entertaining story. What will I do when I finish this series? Continue with Riddell's Ottoline books and start his The Edge Chronicles. Woo hoo! (3.5 stars)"

5. The Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Brackett (1949).

"I've previously read two books by Leigh Brackett, a noir mystery, which I quite liked and a Sci-Fi adventure, which was ok. The Sword of Rhiannon is a fantasy adventure set on Mars. It seems to be a popular setting with Brackett. Like the previous one, The Nemesis from Terra, I thought this adventure to be much in the vein of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars books, even more so than my first attempt of an adventure on Mars. (Did I make sense there?

Matt Carse is an Earthman on Mars. He is persuaded to go with an acquaintance to go to an ancient ruin to find artifacts, an 'easy' money maker? When the two enter the cavern, Carse is betrayed and pushed into a dark sphere, and he comes out of it, years in Mars' past; when Mars still had seas and green space. He also arrives with an unexpected passenger... You'll find out.

Thus begins an action packed adventure, where Carse finds himself first a slave of one nation, forced to man the oars of a galley. He will eventually be perceived as a god, but let's leave it at that. It's an entertaining story, an interesting setting and lots of action. Relatively light and a good read. (3.0 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Heart of Red Iron by Phyllis Gotlieb (Dahlgren #2 / 1989). 

"In Heart of Red Iron, Dahlgren's son Sven - who had been genetically altered by the ergs to punish his father - returns to the planet Barrazan V. He is part of a colonizing mission funded by Sir Frederick Havergal, Havergal has a different agenda which Sven will uncover. With Sven are his wife Ardagh, a physician; his mechanical twin Mod Dahlgren, a survivor of the erg war; and two alien cultures, the Meshar and the Yefni, both suited for life in the climatic extremes of Barrazan V.

And there are the Crystallines lodged in a volcanic crater that will destroy them, frantically communicating with their only hope; a brain-damaged girl whose sole talent is her ability to hear them."

2. Golem100 by Alfred Bester (1980).

"In a mega-city of the future...

They were nice ladies, really. Just bored. And they never expected to succeed. But intoning ancient rituals to raise the devil, they unwittingly began a rampage of rape, torture and murder. For they concocted a new devil, Golem100. And the Golem continues to grow...

Tracking the monstrous path of depravity are three super talents: Gretchen Nunn, beautiful, black master of psychodynamics; Blaise Shima, her brilliant chemist lover; and the shrewd policeman Subadar Ind'dni. Their hunt takes them into real and subliminal worlds of dazzling intensity, through the heart of the collective unconscious and beyond...where they battle for their souls and for the survival of humanity.

But even these three super intelligences are up against their limits. For now the Golem has acquired a new identity. And the Golem continues to grow..."

3. Death at Dawn by Caro Peacock (Liberty Lane #1 / 2007).

"The year is 1837. Queen Victoria, barely eighteen, has just ascended to the throne of England, and a young woman named Liberty Lane has just had her first taste of true sorrow. Refusing to accept that her gentle, peace-loving father has been killed fighting a duel, she vows to see justice done. . . .

The trail she follows is a twisting and dangerous one, leading the spirited young Englishwoman into an intricate weave of conspiracy. Contacted by secret agents, she is asked to pose as a governess in order to infiltrate cold, rambling Mandeville Hall and spy on its master, Sir Herbert Mandeville, who is at the center of a treasonous plan.

Nothing at the hall is what it seems, and every turn reveals another deceit, another surprise, another peril, leaving Libby to wonder who to trust and embroiling her in a deadly affair that could destroy the young queen and place Libby herself in mortal peril. . . ."

New Books

(Shock of shocks! No new books since my last update! What the heck is going on here???)

Women Authors Whose Work I've Enjoyed - Baroness Emma Orczy

Baroness Orczy

Baroness Emma Orczy lived from 1865 - 1947. She was born in Hungary and died in England. She was an author and playwright who was most known for her books featuring Sir Percy Blakeney, aka The Scarlet Pimpernel. She was a prolific writer. I've managed to enjoy two of her books so far, with one more sitting on my book shelf and one more on order. I'll highlight those books I've read so far and also the one I currently own.

1. The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905).

"The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy, originally published in 1905, is an entertaining, exciting adventure. Set during the French Revolution, when the Revolutionaries are executing French noblemen and their families, the story is about the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel who with a band of intrepid followers works to spirit out as many of these people as possible to safety in England.

The French desire to find and destroy this Pimpernel. Is he a Frenchman or English noble? They send one of their representatives, the implacable Chauvelin, as their ambassador, to find out who is the Scarlet Pimpernel. He blackmails one of the most popular women in England, a French beauty, married to Englishman, Sir Andrew Blakeney, to assist in uncovering the Pimpernel's identity. He threatens to have her brother executed if she won't help him.

This begins a fast-paced, non-stop adventure, journeying from England to France as Lady Blakeney tries to save both her brother and the Pimpernel from the clutches of this evil Revolutionary. It's an easy read, a real page-turner. I think the title is somewhat misleading, as the focus is on another, but that is a small detail. The Scarlet Pimpernel follows the best traditions of the swashbuckling adventure, tension, action and a happy ending. (4 stars)"

2. The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel (#6 / 1922).

"It is Paris, 1794, and Robespierre's revolution is inflicting its reign of terror. The elusive Scarlet Pimpernel is still at large - so far. But the sinister agent Chauvelin has taken prisoner his darling Marguerite. Will she act as a decoy and draw the Scarlet Pimpernel to the enemy? And will our dashing hero evade capture and live to enjoy a day 'when tyranny was crushed and men dared to be men again'."

3. The Old Man in the Corner (Teahouse Detective #1 / 1908).

"The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Emma Orczy was a little gem. I'd read her adventure, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and had enjoyed quite a bit. While I was reading it, my wife mentioned that she remembered a radio series she'd listened too many years ago, which was based on Orczy's book about The Old Man in the Corner. It sounded interesting and so I decided to see if I could find a copy; which I did at The Book Depository (one of their print on demand books).

Basically, the book is a collection of short story mysteries. They remind me somewhat of Isaac Asimov's books about the Black Widowers, in which a group of older men, meet regularly at their club and meet someone who explains their circumstances (normally involving a crime) and then without leaving their club they try to solve it (usually with final words from the waiter). The Old Man in the Corner features a similar situation. Newspaper reporter, Polly, meets regularly with The Old Man at a local café (an A.B.C shop as it's called) and the old man details a recent court case; a robbery, a murder etc. Polly basically listens while the old man tells her the story and then solves the case, a case that has continually befuddled the police and courts.

There are a variety of stories in the book and each is interesting as is the Old Man's solutions. I enjoyed each case and the Old Man's quirks (he is impulsive about tying a string in knots as he goes through each case). Once solved he basically disappears until the next meet. The stories are short and grab you right away and the solutions are also interesting. What I particularly enjoyed was the final case and Polly finally getting in the last word. It was a surprising ending that actually had me laughing out loud in amazement. I enjoyed this book very much and recommend highly. (4.5 stars)"

The complete listing of Baroness Orczy's works can be found at this link. Enjoy.

Another Music Related Post

Big Foot Donuts Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I will get back to my book posts but as I was out driving Bonnie to the Vet, some songs I really enjoy popped up on my USB. Oh, I also stopped at Big Book Donuts for their April specialties. Jo had the Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (she loved it). I had the Peanut Butter Fudge.

Big Foot Donuts Peanut Butter Fudge

A brief political aside. I readily admit being a US political junkie. I fear for Canada's political health sometimes as some politicians, especially those belonging to the Conservative Party, emulate those ideas and activities of right wing fanatics in the US. Anyway, for the last while, the Governor of Florida, one Ron DeSantis, or as Donny Trumpy seems to be calling him, Tiny D, has been trying to outdo any fascist policy that Donny wants to institute. 

Ronny wishing he could go full Go-Go girl

He seems to have passed a law (coz he's got such a snowflake ego), requiring bloggers to register if they dare mention his name in their blogs, or even mentions GOP house members. I presume that only applies to Bloggers in Florida, but what the heck. I'm not registering there. (Enough of that. Time to take Clyde for a walk before I continue with this entry.)

Anyway, back to music. Over the years in this Blog, I've provided lists of favorite artists. Based on some of the songs I listened to today, I've decided to provide a list of the Top Ten Female artists whose music I've been enjoying since I met Jo and started the Blog. It's a mix of current artists and some who put out songs more than a few years ago. 

Top Ten Female Artists

(not in any particular order)

1. Mabel. Mabel Alabama-Pearl McVey, aka Mabel, is the daughter of music producer Cameron McVey and singer / songwriter Neneh Cherry. Since I first heard her music, I've enjoyed pretty well every song of hers that I've listened to. I'll provide one of her songs, one of the first that I enjoyed and when I run always makes me run a bit better when I hear it; Fine Line (2018).

2. Georgia. Georgia Rose Harriet Barnes, aka Georgia, is an English record producer, songwriter, singer. She also comes from a musical family. Her father, Neil Barnes, is the cofounder and keyboardist for the English electronic music group, Leftfield. The first song that I enjoyed, About Work the Dancefloor (2019) was so good and I really liked the simplicity of her video. Enjoy.

3. Halsey. (yes, they do seem to like performing under one name, eh?) American singer / songwriter Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, aka Halsey, is a New Jersey girl. Jo and I saw her on Saturday Night Live a couple of years back and really enjoyed her. She seemed like such a nice person, also very funny, and her songs are neat. A nice mix of a sweet voice with edgy song lyrics. Gasoline was initially released in 2015 and is an excellent example of her songs.

4. Sandi Shaw. I'm going back to the 60's with my next artist. English pop singer Sandi Shaw was one of the most successful British female pop singers of the 60's. I only discovered her music more recently and I like her easy voice and pop sensibilities. And she performed in bare feet. Can't go wrong with that eh? Her first number one single was There's Always Something There to Remind Me was released in 1964.

5. Belinda Carlisle. I first enjoyed American singer / songwriter Belinda Carlisle when she was a member of the punk pop group, The Gogos. She embarked on a successful solo career later on and so many of her songs have been favorites of mine. Most recently I discovered In Too Deep a single from 1996.

6. Dua Lipa. English / Albanian singer / songwriter Dua Lipa has put out so many excellent songs. I haven't really heard one that I haven't enjoyed. Excellent pop music. Levitating was originally released in 2020.

7. Rita Ora. English singer / songwriter Rita Ora was born in Yugoslavia and had been very successful in the British charts. She's been a mentor on The Voice (UK) and also a judge on The X-Factor and The Voice (UK). Let You Love Me was originally released in 2018. The video is from her performance at the 2018 Victoria Secret fashion show. It was a great performance.

8. Elkie Brooks. Once again I'm going back a few decades to the 70s and 80s with English singer Elaine Bookbinder, aka Elkie Brooks. She is another one that I've only recently discovered; mainly from BBC 2's radio shows. I really like her voice. Sunshine After the Rain came out in 1977.

9. Anne Marie. English singer / songwriter Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson, aka Anne-Marie, is another of the newish performers whose music I've begun enjoying. I find her songs a bit edgier than some of the others (a bit anyway.) The first song I remember hearing was her vocals for Clean Bandit's Rockabye. I listed Sad Bitch (2023) in my most recent midweek music medley. So let's look at another today. Kiss My (Uh-Oh) came out in 2021.

10. Hailee Steinfeld. American actress and singer / songwriter Hailee Steinfeld is multi-talented and has put some excellent songs. She started out in movies, winning a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in True Grit. Jo and I have also enjoyed her performance in Pitch Perfect 2. Jo's favorite song of hers is debut single, Love Myself, released in 2015.

I hope you enjoy checking out these artists. Have fun.