For Janice - Books Part 3

Lovely bright sunshiny day today. I'll continue with my look at my bookshelves then take the puppies out for a nice walk.

Left side

So today, I move to the end of the extra bedroom. Now that I look at the photos, I'll do this in 3 posts; left, center and right sides. How thrilling, eh?

Let's start at the top and move to the bottom. Fair enough?

Left Top - Mostly mysteries as you can see, but the first book is one of the Poldark series by Winston Graham. Loved the TV show and the first book. A mixture of mysteries with the next 3, Hag's Nook by John Dickson Carr, The Fleet Street Murders by Charles Finch and Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson. The next four are from the Birder mysteries by Steve Burrows, about a Canadian police inspector who moves to England. On the right are the complete collection of the Mortdecai mysteries by Kyril Bonfiglioli. I've read two of them so far.

2nd from Top - These are all Jo's books, a collector's edition of the Jane Austen books. The magazines are an English collection from Country Homes.

3rd from Top - As you can see, the left side bookshelves contain mostly mystery series. From the left you've got Oliver Potzsch's The Poisoned Pilgrim, one of the The Hang Man's Daughter historical mysteries set in Germany. Then there are three books in the Grantchester mystery series (another favorite TV mystery series of Jo and I). Then two young adult mysteries featuring Maddie Hatter by Canadian author, Jayne Barnard. There are 4 of Craig Johnson's Longmire mystery series, another excellent TV mystery series. And finally just a mix; Peter Robinson's Wednesday's Child, Henry Chang's Year of the Dog and Charles Willeford's Burnt Orange Heresy.

4th from top (or if you'd rather, 2nd from bottom 😎) Part 1 - Other than the bottom two, which are archeological mysteries by Kate Ellis, this shelf contains all Soho Crime books, a neat collection of authors. I basically like the covers and of course, the mysteries too.) They are from all over the world, really. The James Benn books are set in WWII and feature a GI assigned by Eisenhower to look into crimes. Cara Black's series is set in Paris. I highlighted one of Eliot Pattison's books in my last post. Rebecca Pawel's series is set in Spain during the Civil War. So as you can see, a fair variety. Now onto the next side of this shelf.

4th from top Part 2 - I do like the covers, a nice mix of color. From left to right, you've got Cara Black (France), Colin Cotterill (Thailand and Laos, depending on which character, Gary Disher (Australia), David Downing (spy thrillers), Timothy Hallinan (Thailand), Jassy Mackenzie (South Africa), Magdalen Nabb (Italy), Stuart Neville (Northern Ireland), Akimitzu Takagi (Japan), Janwillem van der Wetering (Netherlands) & Jacqueline Winspear (Historical mystery). (bored yet? Well, next is the bottom shelf. 

Bottom Shelf Part 1 - This is a catchall containing a variety of mysteries. They are all alphabetical and contain new mysteries and classics, from Belinda Bauer to Ann Cleeves, Howard Engel, Frances Fyfield, etc.

Bottom Shelf Part 2 - In this photo, we go from H -  R, including books from Susan Hill, Jo Nesbo, Richard Osman, Lori Rader Day, etc. S - Z will be found tomorrow in the Center portion.

I hope you're all finding this somewhat interesting. I do like reading, buying and talking about books. Enjoy the last two days of 2023!

For Janice - Books Part 2

Before I get into part 2 of the book shelf saga, here is a review of one of the last books completed in 2023. If I'd made my Top Ten List today, it would have made the list. Excellent book.

Just Finished

1. The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison (Inspector Shan #1 / 1999).

"I have to say that The Skull Mantra, the first book in the Inspector Shan mystery series by Eliot Pattison was a nice surprise. It's been sitting on my bookshelf for a few years and I kept bypassing it, but I finally decided to give it a go. 

It took me awhile to get into the flow, partly because I had a few other books on the go at the same time and also because it took me some time to get used to the names, the cultures, the political aspects, etc. But once I did, the story became a fascinating look at the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the story was a tense, exciting thriller.

Inspector Shan was a veteran investigator in Beijing who had been found guilty of crimes against the nation and was banished to Tibet where he finds himself amongst Buddhist monks held prisoner in a work camp. Shan has been there for a few years now and works on the same work gangs as the monks building a road into the mountains. As the story commences the crew finds a headless body near their work site. When the body is discovered to be that of a local Chinese prosecutor, Shan is brought in by Colonel Tan, the local security chief, to conduct an informal investigation. Shan is assisted by a Tibetan civilian, Yeshe and a Chinese Army Sgt, Feng.

What Colonel Tan hopes will be a simple investigation that will indict Buddhist activists becomes a far - reaching, complex investigation, that involves American mine owners, other Chinese functionaries and maybe even Tibetan demons, Tamdin by name.

Pattison provides a fascinating, rich description of the lives of those in Tibet, the Buddhist prisoners, the Chinese overlords and everyone else in between. There is a great deal of spiritualism involved in the story and it makes the people more complete and interesting. The politics involved as well, is well described and shows how complex a path Shan must follow to get to the truth. His assistants are both well presented and slowly they both come to appreciate Shan's work and his honesty.

As the story builds, the tension mounts and mounts and you become more invested in what is going on. The ultimate solution becomes a logical, well thought out conclusion, totally believable and the ending is poignant, sad in some ways, but also leaves you feeling positive and hopeful. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this series, but now I'm really looking forward to trying the 2nd book. (5.0 stars)"

Books Continued - The Extra Bedroom

The Original Room

When we first moved into our current home, Jo had many great ideas for updating and renovating. One of the rooms that got a major do over was the extra bedroom, over the garage.

A bit of a change eh?

This is what it looked like after the work was finished.

Bookcases on left and right side of room

As you can see, there are lots of books in the room. I'm going to start with those at the opposite end, in two small bookcases we have there.

1. Left side as you look at the door. The books on the top shelf are Jo's Anne of Green Gables collection, a Xmas prezzie from me a few years back

1a. Left side middle shelf. From left to right you have Jo's Jane Austen collection, then a variety of graphic novels I've been collecting - Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe, the Sandman graphics by Neil Gaiman, Saga by Brian K. Vaughn, Sin City and a variety of graphic novels in the Hard Crime series.

1b. Left side bottom shelf. More graphic novels, the Space Boy series. A collection of Hard Crime novels and graphics from Max Allan Collins - Ms. Tree, Quarry and others. Finally a variety of non - fiction and mysteries; Suez by Keith Kyle, How to Stand up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa, mysteries by Anthony Horowitz, Val McDermid, Louise Penny and a few other books you can see by clicking on the picture.

1c. Left side overflow. Mostly Young Adult adventure series, Enola Holmes, more Space Boy and #2 in the Edge Chronicles.

2. Right side as you look at the door. Mostly paperback spy books and some newer hard covers.

2a. A slight closer picture. You've got Adam Hall's Quiller spy series, Adam Diment's Philip McAlpine spy series, James Leasor's Dr Jason Love books, and other spy stories by Victor Canning, Gavin Lyall, James Mayo. Some of the other books include Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go, CA Fletcher - Dead Water, Leigh Bardugo - Hell Bent, Justin Cronin - The City of Mirrors and a few others.

So there you go, a few other books for you to check out. How do you like our book shelves so far? We explore the other end of the room next, then head downstairs.

For Janice - Books Part 1

The other day I posted some of my new books and a friend of ours, who happens also to be our pharmacist, commented that she would like to browse my bookshelves some day. I told Jo and she said, 'why don't you post photos of our bookshelves.' So, here you go Janice. For the next few days, you can browse our bookshelves. Today I'll start with some upstairs.

Top of the stairs.

At the top of the stairs is a wicker cabinet that Jo brought over from England when she moved here, 20+ years ago.. Wow! Hard to believe it's been that long, time has flown by. Anyway, here are the books in the little book stand on top of the cabinet.

There is a mixture here - the Moomintroll books I bought for Jo one Christmas, a couple of St Trinian humour books an some mysteries and classics; The Razor's Edge, Anthony Trollope, The Phantom of the Opera.

Master Bedroom

I store books in two places in the bedroom, a little bookstand that Jo and I found in a thrift shop one day and in my bedside cabinet. I've got a variety of science fiction, fiction and mysteries in this bookshelf. It stands beside our main dresser.

Sci Fi

Top Shelf. John Blackburn, John Brunner, Clifford Simak, etc.

A Bit Blurry I'm Afraid

2nd Shelf. Clifford Simak, David Niven biography, Plant Guide.

Sci Fi space adventures

3rd Shelf. Bart Somers, the Legion of Space, Undersea adventures.

George Revelli & Nevil Shute

4th Shelf.

Poul Anderson, Bart Somers, Alistair MacLean

5th Shelf.

Sue Grafton and Michael Connelly

6th Shelf.

Bedside Table. We bought this at a craft / antique fair in Chemainus many years ago

Front View.

One of my not so secret stashes of books.

Open Wide.

Clive Cussler / Jeffery Deaver

Right Side. I'm being a bit lazy here but there are 3 rows of books in this cabinet. You get the front row.

Patrick Tilley, Pip Williams, John Lescroart etc

Left Side. You get to see the front two rows here. 😂😃

Upstairs Bathroom. When Jo had the bathrooms redone, our contractor put a lovely set of shelves at the foot of the tub. Some of my books are on one of them.

Updated

Shelves as of Dec 2023.

The Wycliffe mysteries

Left side. One of my favorite mystery series, W.J. Burley's Wycliffe mysteries.

A mixture.

Right side. The bottom two were part of a box of books we purchased at the auction in Cumberland, when there used to be one. Mornington Crescent is Jo's book. When we first met, she sent me a mixed tape which included an episode of a radio show, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and Mornington Crescent was a nonsensical game they played. Hence the book. Lemon in the Basket  is by Charlotte Armstrong, another enjoyable mystery writer.

So there you go, Janice and anyone else interested. More to follow.

2024 Reading Challenges

It's drizzling today, so we've had a bit of everything in the past 3 days; high winds and torrential rain on Xmas Day, balmy conditions yesterday (even though we did lose power for about 3 minutes in the early evening while we were watching It Happened One Night. I think it might have been turned off for a reset, but that's just speculation on my part) and then drizzle (so far) today.

I'm going to take the dogs out for a quick walk shortly but first, here are my Reading Challenges for 2024 and possible first books to start them off.

12 + 4 Reading Challenge - The Books of Ursula K. LeGuin

I've been enjoying LeGuin's writing piecemeal for a few years now and have been building up a collection of her books. So I hope this year, Earthsea fantasy series and the Hainish books, plus some others of her writing. I've selected 16 books I have on my shelf and plan to start with, Rocannon's World, the 1st book in her Hainish series.

1. Rocannon's World (Hainish #1 / 1966).

"This debut novel from preeminent science-fiction writer Ursula LeGuin introduces her brilliant Hainish series, set in a galaxy seeded by the planet Hain with a variety of humanoid species, including that of Earth. Over the centuries, the Hainish colonies have evolved into physically and culturally unique peoples, joined by a League of All Worlds. Earth-scientist Rocannon has been leading an ethnological survey on a remote world populated by three native peoples, the cavern-dwelling Gdemiar, the elvish Fiia, and the warrior clan, Liuar. But when the technologically primitive planet is suddenly invaded by a fleet of ships from the stars, rebels against the League of All Worlds, Rocannon is the only survey member left alive. Marooned among alien peoples, he leads the battle to free this newly discovered world and finds that legends grow around him as he fights."

Series - Start One, Work on One, Finish One, All of the Above!

Obviously, I'll be working on some series specifically during the year (see the LeGuin challenge above or my Monthly Focus still to come) but this will be my catch-all for all other series; some I hope to start, or to continue or maybe even finish. My first book will probably be a carry-over from 2023 as I don't think I'll be able to finish it this year.. But we'll see.

1. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (Oxford Time Travel #1 / 1992). I'll record only those pages completed in 2024 for my 2024 stats.

"For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.

But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin--barely of age herself--finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.

Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering, and the indomitable will of the human spirit."

Non-Series of any Genre

This is wide-open, basically any book that's not part of a series. Simple, yeah?

1. The Fall of the Sparrow by Nigel Balchin (Mystery / 1955) I read Balchin's The Small Back Room a few years ago, about WWII bomb disposal men and thought it was excellent. I hope this is as interesting.

"What made Jason Pellew - a sensitive man whose unconscious charm excused many failings - turn to a career of sordid crime?

Son of a peppery colonel who died in a lunatic asylum. Sensuously dominated by elder boys at public school.

An amiable eccentric at University. A breaker-up of fascist meetings. Volunteer in the Spanish Civil War.

Lover of a Jewish girl tortured by the Gestapo. Recklessly gallant combat officer. 

Brilliant cloak - and - dagger boy. Married to a wealthy nymphomaniac.

Where and when did this cherub with the shy smile take the wrong road?"

Tomes (Books over 500 pages)

I do have quite a few sitting on my bookshelf. Hope to read at least 10 this year.

1. Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon (Non-Fiction / 2023) (624 pages).

"THE REAL ORIGIN OF OUR SPECIES: a myth-busting, eye-opening landmark account of how humans evolved, offering a paradigm shift in our thinking about what the female body is, how it came to be, and how this evolution still shapes all our lives today

How did the female body drive 200 million years of human evolution?
• Why do women live longer than men?
• Why are women more likely to get Alzheimer’s?
• Why do girls score better at every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet?
• Is sexism useful for evolution?
• And why, seriously why, do women have to sweat through our sheets every night when we hit menopause?

These questions are producing some truly exciting science – and in Eve, with boundless curiosity and sharp wit, Cat Bohannon covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex: “We need a kind of user's manual for the female mammal. A no-nonsense, hard-hitting, seriously researched (but readable) account of what we are. How female bodies evolved, how they work, what it really means to biologically be a woman. Something that would rewrite the story of womanhood. This book is that story. We have to put the female body in the picture. If we don't, it's not just feminism that's compromised. Modern medicine, neurobiology, paleoanthropology, even evolutionary biology all take a hit when we ignore the fact that half of us have breasts. So it's time we talk about breasts. Breasts, and blood, and fat, and vaginas, and wombs—all of it. How they came to be and how we live with them now, no matter how weird or hilarious the truth is.”

Eve is not only a sweeping revision of human history, it’s an urgent and necessary corrective for a world that has focused primarily on the male body for far too long. Picking up where Sapiens left off, Eve will completely change what you think you know about evolution and why Homo sapiens has become such a successful and dominant species."

Monthly Focus - Series / Non-Series (Most shelved books by author)

I have quite a few books by various authors, as it turns out they all write one or more series, and each month I'll focus on one of them and hope to knock two or three, at least, of their books off. I'll start with my January focus author.

January Focus - Agatha Christie. (I've got 16 of her books on my shelf to attempt and will start with a Hercule Poirot mystery)

1. The Big Four (Hercule Poirot #5 / 1927)

"The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks. In her classic The Big Four, the great Poirot is caught up in a deadly game of international intrigue as he races to uncover the strange mystery of Number Four."

I hope you enjoy your 2024 reading selections. 

It's Boxing Day, Let's Talk Books

Christmas Day here in the Valley was complete with extremely high winds and torrential rainfall. Not a nice day at all. But now that it's Boxing Day, it's pretty balmy. Jo and I had a nice day yesterday, considering the weather, an excellent turkey dinner and basically a relaxing, peaceful day.

Jo bought me a couple of books for Xmas so I guess it's a perfect time to highlight some of the books I got in December. I'll start with the two that Jo gave me. 

New Books - December 2023.

1. The History of Sketch Comedy: A Journey Through the Art and Craft of Humor by Keegan - Michael Key & Elle Key (2023). Stephen Colbert interviewed the Keys and they discussed this book. It sounded so interesting. I'm glad Jo bought it for me.

"Authors Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key build on the popularity of their 2022 Webby Award – winning podcast and delve deeper into the world of sketch, helped along with new essays created expressly for the book by comedy greats.

The History of Sketch Comedy will appeal to all kinds of comedy fans as well as fans of Keegan-Michael Key, whether they know him from his Emmy and Peabody-winning work on Key & Peele;  his roles in Fargo , The Prom , Schmigadoon! , The Bubble , and the upcoming Wonka ; voiceover work in The Lion King ; or as President Barack Obama's anger translator, Luther.

With epic personal tangents and hilarious asides, the Keys take you on an illuminating journey through all facets of comedy from the stock characters of commedia del arte in the 16th century, to the rise of vaudeville and burlesque, the golden age of television comedy, the influence of the most well-known comedy schools, and the ascension of comedy films and TV specials—all the way through to a look at the future of sketch on social media platforms. Along the way, we hear tales of Keegan's childhood, his comedy influences, and the vicissitudes of his career path. As the New York Times said in its review of their podcast, "this comedy nerd history is filtered through memoir, with Key relating stories of his budding fandom, training and rise from improv comic to television sketch artist."

Part memoir, part masterclass, and hilariously embellished with priceless commentary, The History of Sketch Comedy highlights the essential building blocks of sketch comedy while interweaving Keegan's personal career journey and the influence of his comedy heroes. The text is complemented by original art by Elle Key and exclusive essays compiled from conversations with influential performers, sketch writers, and uber comedy fans including Mel Brooks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, John Oliver, Tracy Morgan, Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, Jordan Peele, and many more. This book is as entertaining as it is enlightening—a must-read for fans of comedy and all who aspire to comic greatness."

2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Hor / 2008). I enjoy Gaiman's books so much. He's a great story teller.

"Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a perfectly normal boy. Well, he would be perfectly normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard: the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer; a gravestone entrance to a desert that leads to the city of ghouls; friendship with a witch, and so much more.

But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks, for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod's family."

3. Black Helicopters by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Tinfoil Dossier #2 / 2015). I read the first book in this trilogy earlier in December and want to continue it.

"Just as the Signalman stood and faced the void in Agents of Dreamland, so it falls to Ptolema, a chess piece in her agency’s world-spanning game, to unravel what has become tangled and unknowable.

Something strange is happening on the shores of New England. Something stranger still is happening to the world itself, chaos unleashed, rational explanation slipped loose from the moorings of the known. Two rival agencies stare across the Void at one another. Two sisters, the deadly, sickened products of experiments going back decades, desperately evade their hunters.

An invisible war rages at the fringes of our world, with unimaginable consequences and Lovecraftian horrors that ripple centuries into the future."

4. Never Knew Another by J.M. McDermott (Dogsland #1 / 2011). Obviously a new author for me. It definitely sounded interesting.

"Fugitive Rachel Nolander is a newcomer to the city of Dogsland, where the rich throw parties and the poor just do whatever they can to scrape by. Supported by her brother Djoss, she hides out in their squalid apartment, living in fear that someday, someone will find out that she is the child of a demon. Corporal Jona Lord Joni is a demon's child too, but instead of living in fear, he keeps his secret and goes about his life as a cocky, self-assured man of the law. The first book in the Dogsland Trilogy, Never Knew Another is the story of how these two outcasts meet."

5. Cracking the Nazi Code: The Untold Story of Canada's Greatest Spy (Ed note - until now) by Jason Bell. (Non-Fiction / 2023).

"In public life, Dr. Winthrop Bell of Halifax was a Harvard philosophy professor and wealthy businessman. As MI6 secret agent A12, he evaded gunfire and shook off pursuers to break open the emerging Nazi conspiracy in 1919 Berlin. His reports, the first warning of the Nazi plot for WWII, went directly to the man known as C, the mysterious founder of MI6, and to prime ministers. But a powerful fascist politician quietly worked to suppress his alerts. Nevertheless, his intelligence sabotaged the Nazis in ways only now revealed. Bell became a spy once again in the face of WWII. In 1939, he was the first to crack Hitler’s deadliest secret code: the Holocaust. At that time, the führer was a popular politician who said he wanted peace. Could anyone believe Bell’s shocking warning? Fighting an epic intelligence war from Ukraine, Russia and Poland to France, Germany, Canada and Washington, DC, A12 was the real-life 007, waging a single-handed fight against madmen bent on destroying the world. Without Bell’s astounding courage, the Nazis might just have won the war."

6. The Blunders by David Walliams (Young Adult / 2023).

"Meet the Bertie, Betsy, their children, Brutus and Bunny, along with their beloved grandma Old Lady Blunder, and their pet ostrich, Cedric. An ostrich is not a sensible pet, but then the Blunders are not sensible people. This family of upper-class twits lives in a crumbling country house named Blunder Hall. When their home comes under threat, they must embark on a series of comic misadventures to save it."

7. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (Lady Astronaut Universe #1 / 2018).

"One woman.

One mission.

One chance to save the world.

It's 1952, and the world as we know it is gone. A meteorite has destroyed Washington DC, triggering extinction-level global warming.

To save humanity, the world unites to form the International Aerospace Coalition. Its mission: to colonize first the Moon, then Mars.

Elma York, World War Two pilot and mathematician, dreams of becoming an astronaut - but prejudice has kept her grounded.

Now nothing - and no man - will stop her from reaching for the stars."

I got a few others but they are mostly continuations of series I'm already enjoying. I hope these books give you some reading ideas for 2024. Happy Boxing Day.

Reading Advent Calendar 2023 - Dec 25

Merry Christmas to family and friends 

Here is your Advent Calendar book for today on this wet Xmas morning.

Dec 25, 2023 - Idoru by William Gibson (Bridge #2 / 1996).

"William Gibson has been hit or miss for me. There are times I just don't get and don't want to get his books; The Difference Engine (w/ Bruce Sterling) and The Peripheral for example. I gave up on both books. But when it works and, for the most part I'd say it does, it really works. The Bridge Trilogy, Virtual Light (#1), All Tomorrow's Parties (#3) and now Idoru (#2) are perfect examples. I enjoyed this whole trilogy, having given 5 - stars to Virtual Light and now to Idoru.

Gibson's take on Sci-Fi, like Philip K Dick and others is unique. Idoru is a wonderful mix of Sci-Fi and excellent, sympathetic characters and just a downright excellent story. I won't say I understood all of the technology, but what the heck, for such a great story, it didn't matter. I just sort of swam in it and enjoyed the ride.

Let's see, the story in brief. Two characters, teenager Chia and middle-aged? man, Laney find themselves in Tokyo. They are there for different reasons but their lives will become intertwined. Chia is a rep from the American fan club for an experimental internettish band, Lo-Rez who has been sent by her club to find out what's the what with Rez, the band's leader. It seems that Rez has fallen in love with an internet, hologram, the Idoru and they plan to marry. Laneey used to work for  a ... um.... public relations sort of company, Slitscan, but was fired after a girl he was tracking online (he uses nodal research... see what I mean about technology??) committed suicide. Laney is trying for a new job working for Rez's security team, using his nodal abilities to find out about Idoru.

So, that's it, sort of. There are a few little twists. Mary Alice, who flies to Tokyo on the same flight as Chia, slips some kind of contraband into Chia's backpack, without Chia realizing. This will bring the Russians, the Kombinat, and Mary Alice's boyfriend into the picture as they try to find Chia. Laney's old boss, Kathy, is after him, trying to blackmail him to helping them get Rez. 

There are fantastic characters in this story. Besides, Laney and Chia, there are Blackwell, the Aussie man mountain who protects Rez. There is Mr. Yamazaki, the mild assistant to Blackwell, who will make another appearance in All Tomorrow's Parties. There is Masashiko, brother of one of the Tokyo fan club members of Lo-Rez, who is a member of The Walled City, a 'free' internet site who will assist Chia so very much. My favorite character is Arleigh, who works for Blackwell as well, and who, while a reasonably minor character, helps Laney so very much. She's just lovely, common sense, brave... Even Mary Alice is neat. Not to forget Chia's fan club member Nona Rosa, a troubled character whose story, such as it is revealed, will hit you in the heart.

It's such a well-crafted, drawn story. Future Tokyo is fascinating, the story moves along at a steady, attention-grabbing pace, each chapter alternating from Chia to Laney's storyline. As their lives become more intrinsically linked, thanks to the Idoru, the pace picks up and your involvement with the story and characters will deepen. Fascinating, excellent story. Loved it so much. It reminded me of why I enjoy Sci-Fi so very much. Thank you, William Gibson (5.0 stars)"

Have a wonderful, relaxing day and enjoy the last week of 2023!

Reading Advent Calendar 2023 - Dec 24

Wow! It's Christmas Eve! Here is your penultimate (I like using that word) Advent Calendar book for 2023.

Dec. 24, 2023 - Dust by Hugh Howey (Silo #3 / 2013). The end of a fascinating Sci Fi series.

"I finished the Silo series this morning with a bit of sadness. Such an excellent Sci-Fi series. Dust| was the 3rd and final book in the series by Hugh Howey. It had been awhile since I had finished the 2nd book so it did take me a little bit to get into this final book.

The story moves from Silo 18 / 17 to Silo 1, featuring Mayor of 18, Juliette and brother and sister Donald and Charlotte in Silo 1. Donald has been communicating with the other Silos, presumably trying to help them from devastation from Silo 1. Juliette discovered Silo 17 when she went out to 'clean'. She discovers that people still live in this Silo and determines that she can tunnel between the two Silos. There are few people left in Silo 17, due to some strife and an attack from Silo 1 (so it appears).

With conditions in Silo 18 breaking down, she feels it's necessary to join the two Silos. Disaster occurs when Thurman discovers what Donald has been doing. Thurman is one of the originals who set up the Silo complex. With a push of a button he tries to destroy everyone in Silo 18.

It's a somewhat confusing story. Juliette must fight her own people to try and ensure their survival, as well as decide what to do with Silo 1. Donald and Charlotte hide out trying to help the remaining Silos before Thurman can exact his plan. (You have to read the story to find out what it is.) 😀

But it's a fascinating story of man's destructiveness and weakness but at the same time we meet people who provide hope for their future. Hoping there are people here who have the same values to protect our future. Great series, great story. Not perfect but still worth a 5.0 star rating."

Happy Christmas Eve! Have a great of last minute shopping.