As it's almost the end of March 2024, I thought I'd review my reading for the 1st Quarter of 2024. Just a quickie.
Some basic stats -
# of books read - 31.
By Challenge -
1. 12 + 4 Challenge (Books of Ursula K. Le Guin) - 6
2. Series Challenge - 11
3. Non - Series Challenge - 6
4. Tome Challenge (over 500 pages) - 2
5. Monthly Focus Author -
a. Jan - Agatha Christie - 3
b. Feb - Adam Hall - 1
c. Mar - Simon Brett - 2
"Very Far Away from Anywhere Else by Ursula K. Le Guin, originally published in 1976, is atypical of the usual books I read by LeGuin, those being fantasy and Sci Fi. This is purely Young Adult fiction, a simple, beautiful story told from the perspective of high schooler, 17-year old Owen Thomas Griffiths. Owen tells his story into a tape recorder and transcribes later.
It's not too difficult to describe, although I'm sure I'll just cover the barest surface level of the story. But here goes. Owen is a nerd and finds high school difficult. He has a few friends but it's mainly on the young man joking level. He likes the sciences, enjoys analyzing and wants to go to MIT or CalTech, maybe to study psychology.
His father buys him a new car for his 17th birthday and Owen resists driving it to school as he feels it's just makes him 'one of the crowd', something he doesn't really want. Coming back from school on a very rainy day, he takes the bus and sits beside Natalie Fields, a girl he's seen but doesn't know that well. They seem to hit it off and later that night when Owen is feeling adrift, he goes for a drive, stops outside her home and spends the evening in her room, talking, more talking and listening to her play her viola (she is a music student)
Their friendship hits off but something will happen that changes everything. So I'll leave it at that. It's not drastic or traumatic really but it is something that has a profound affect on Owen.
Simply told, very readable but also very emotional and quite excellent. Check it out. Have your teenage kids check it out. (5.0 stars)"
Currently Reading
1. 12 + 4 Challenge - Ursula K. Le Guin - City of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin (Hainish Cycle #3 / 1967). This reminds me somewhat of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
2. Series Challenge - Maddie Hatter and the Gilded Gauge by Jayne Barnard (Maddie Hatter #2 / 2017). A fun steampunk adventure from Canadian author Barnard. I'm just getting into it but it does involve umbrella dueling.
3. Non - Series Challenge - Twilight by Peter James (1991). A standalone mystery by the author of the Roy Grace books. It reminds me of the first Grace mystery, mainly because a body is buried while still alive. And the setting is still the Brighton area. Very tense.
Rubymusic - A Popular History of Women's Music and Culture by Connie Kuhns (2023). I saw this book in my local book store. It's a collection of essays and interviews by Canadian writer Connie Kuhns with women artists. Very interesting so far.
4. Tome Challenge - The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (2020). A science fiction story dealing with climate change. I'm enjoying so far.
5. Monthly Focus - March - Simon Brett. Mrs, Presumed Dead (Mrs. Pargeter #2 / 1988). A nice cozy mystery so far. Widowed Mrs. Pargeter has moved into a new house and decides to investigate what has happened to the previous owner. I like it so far.
In the Hopper
(My possible next selections)
"Five stories of Ursula K. Le Guin's world-renowned realm of Earthsea are collected in one volume. Featuring two classic stories, two original tales, and a brand-new novella, as well as new maps and a special essay on Earthsea's history, languages, literature, and magic.
The Finder
Darkrose and Diamond
The Bones of the Earth
On the High Marsh
Dragonfly"
"It’s springtime in rural Manitoba, and the snow has finally left the exotic animal farm when an ostrich finds and swallows a shiny object. (Because this is what ostriches do.) Cue veterinarian and amateur sleuth Dr. Peter Bannerman, who surgically removes the object, which looks like an ancient Viking artifact. Soon after, people around are horrified by a series of animal mutilations. This sets Peter, and his talented sniffer dog, Pippin, on the hunt for answers. Peter begins to suspect a link between the Viking artifact, the mutilations, and a shadowy group of white supremacists on the internet.
Before long Peter and Pippin are in over their heads, and the only way for them to get out alive will be to unmask the mastermind before they end up among their victims."
"In a small continental country civil war is raging. Once a lecturer in medieval French, now a confidential agent, D is a scarred stranger in a seemingly casual England, sent on a mission to buy coal at any price. Initially, this seems to be a matter of straightforward negotiation, but soon, implicated in murder, accused of possessing false documents and theft, held responsible for the death of a young woman, D becomes a hunted man, tormented by allegiances, doubts and the love of others."
"When a car is taken by force, with an eleven-year-old girl inside, Detective Jack Caffery knows this is a carjacking unlike any other. Sergeant Flea Marley, head of the Police Underwater Search Unit, has a theory that the car-jacker is far more dangerous than everyone thinks. Soon the perpetrator will choose another car with another child in the back seat…"
"Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh had been looking forward to a quiet holiday at his aunt's cottage on Monksmere Head. But Dalgliesh had reckoned without the macabre discovery of the handless corpse of crime-writer Maurice Seton."
New Books - One new book since my last update so here it is.
"Enter a world of superheroes and villains in this action-packed comic caper from No.1 bestselling author David Walliams – and meet Robodog: the future of crime fighting!
Welcome to the city of Bedlam. Enter if you dare!Bedlam is one of the most dangerous places on Earth – home to a host of wicked villains. Nothing and nobody is safe from these evil criminals. The city needs its own superhero to defeat the supervillains. But who?
Robodog!
He’s the newest recruit at the Police Dog School, and supercharged for adventure. But can he stop the most feared duo in Bedlam, and their evil plans to ruin the city . . .?"
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