What about books, you ask? It's the start of the 2nd half of 2024 so let's take a quick look at my first half, if you don't mind.
Some First Half Stats
Books Completed - 69 (includes 2 I didn't finish)
Pages Read (rounded down) - 16,900
Pages per Book - 245
Ratings - (includes half ratings, e.g. 4.5)
5 - star - 4
4 - star - 39
3 - star - 22
2 - star - 2
No Rating (for the ones I didn't finish) - 2
Gender of Author
Female - 32
Male - 34
Other - 3
My Annual Challenges
1. 12 + 4 (books of Ursula K. Le Guin) - completed 9 of 16. 2 X 5-star reads so far, Very Far Away from Anywhere Else and Searoad
2. 12 + 0 (Sci Fi, less than 200 pages) - completed 3 of 12
3. Series - completed 22 thus far (books, not series). 1 X 5 - star read. To Walk in the Ways of Lions by H. Leighton Dickson
4. Non - Series - completed 17
5. Tomes (over 500 pages) - completed 4. 1 X 5 - star read. The Ministry of the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
6. Monthly Author Focus - Jan / Agatha Christie (3 books), Feb / Adam Hall (1 book), Mar / Simon Brett (3 books), Apr / P.D. James (2 books), May / J.J. Marric (3 books), Jun / Ngaio Marsh 91 book)
Now let's move on to my current reading update. 😁
Completed (since last update)
"Over the years, since early 2000's, I've enjoyed 15+ of the Inspector Alleyn mysteries by New Zealand author, Ngaio Marsh. Surfeit of Lampreys is the sixth book in this entertaining series. My wife and I also enjoyed the TV series starring Patrick Malahide as Inspector Alleyn, an excellent choice if I do say so myself. (And I do)
The sixth book starts briefly in New Zealand, with a New Zealander, Roberta (or Robin as she is called) Grey, who during her childhood spends much time with an English family, the Lampreys, on their estate in New Zealand. The Lampreys, Lord and Lady Charles, have six children and it become apparent, live on the edge of bankruptcy, sometimes being assisted by Charles' older brother Gabriel, the Marquis of Wutherwood and Rune. At the outset, the family are forced to return to England.
After this prelude, we once again see Roberta, now on a boat, heading to live with an aunt in London, due to the death of her parents. She will be spending some time with her old friends, the Lampreys, before moving in with her aunt.
Lord Charles is once again in financial difficulties. He seems to have bought into a business but his partner has lost all of their money and committed suicide. When Roberta arrives, the family awaits the imminent visit of brother Gabriel, who Charles hopes to persuade to assist once again. He is beset by creditors, one, a Mr. Grumble, who is currently attending the family.
So that's your preamble. Within a day, there will be a murder that will bring in Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn and his capable assistant, Detective Inspector Fox, aka Brer Fox or Foxkins. They have an excellent relationship. The rest of the story is basically the investigation, as Alleyn and Fox interview the family and staff. There is dissembling, false trails, in fact, the family while endearing aren't all that likable... It's difficult to describe. Likable isn't the term, I think, they are just very protective of each other. The twin boys have some sort of agreement where they both blame themselves when there is trouble, just to sow confusion. That sort of thing.
It's a fascinating investigation, that actually builds quite a bit of tension by the end. Roberta is a key player as she is the outsider, friend of the family, who is somewhat in love with the oldest boy, Henry, but at the same time, not quite a part of the family. (Does that make sense?) So her observations are important to the fabric of the story. Alleyn and Fox are, as always, excellent, just a great relationship. Alleyn's friend, reporter Nigel Bathgate, who appears in most of the stories, also makes an appearance, at the request of the family.
There are some neat touches. I won't ruin them, but the family isn't quite as tricky as the think they are. I thought I had the killer in my mind, my own twist to the story, but was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. It's been awhile since I delved into an Alleyn mystery. This one was excellent. I've got about 10 to go. (4.0 stars)".
"Global by Eoin Colfer is a beautifully drawn and told middle-grade graphic novel that highlights the dangers of climate change. It tells the story of Sami & his grandfather, both surviving on the edge of the Indian Ocean as fishermen and also of Yuki and her dog Lockjaw, who live in the Canadian Arctic. Both see the changes and suffer from the changes that climate change is having on their lives and environment.
Sami and grandfather are finding that the constant storms that hit their coastline are affecting the fishing stocks that they and their fellow fishermen need to survive. The water continues to rise, forcing them to constantly relocate, trying to find higher ground. As well, they must cope with more and more refugees, also suffering.
Yuki and Locky live in an indigenous village in the far North. Their friends are all moving away as the permafrost melts as the glacial icefields warm up, causing more and more methane to leak into the atmosphere. The polar bears are losing their icefields in the Arctic Ocean and being forced further south where they mate with grizzly bears who are migrating north in search of new homes and food. The resulting bears are called grolars and are not equipped to survive in this new environment. The village elders kill the bears that come into the town and Yuki wants to prove they aren't a danger. She heads out to get photos of a grolar to prove her point. And she gets lost. Danger ensues.
The story tracks between the two young people and is so very fascinating and also very scary. Both of the youngsters are lovely and caringly developed. They are brave and fighting for themselves and their land. The effect of climate change is made smoothly and succinctly but powerfully. At the end of the story is a short exposition explaining climate change, how it occurs and its impact. We're not leaving our children much these days. It shouldn't be up to them to sort it out. It might be too late. Excellent adventure story, just on its own but also a powerful one. (4.0 stars)"
"My wife works at volunteers part - time at a local thrift store run by the Ladies' Auxiliary, which raises money for local charities and health care. Anyway, a month or so ago, she brought home this book she thought I might like, Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker edited by Robert Mankoff. It covers the period 1925, the First Decade to 2006, the 8th Decade, and she got it for $5.00. It also includes a CD-ROM which contains every cartoon published during that period. (Ah, if only any of my computers still had a cd -rom slot). But the selection of cartoons is excellent and runs for 660+ pages. Loved every bit of it.
Each decade is introduced by people from those periods, the 3rd decade by Lillian Ross, the 4th by John Updike and they provide a brief synopsis of the period and the artists. There are also brief interludes featuring either issues of the time, Nudity, business culture, the Internet or specific artists, like James Thurber, Charles Addams, Bruce Eric Kaplan, etc.
It was so much fun to read through and enjoy the talent and the humor. Did I always get it? Nah. But it didn't matter. Of course I had favorites, especially those featuring dogs. I mean, who wouldn't ! All in all it was an enjoyable journey, some smiles, some guffaws, some belly laughs and many I shared with my wife as she tried to do other things. She may have regretted buying it for me, but I sure enjoyed it. I've used a few in my Bluesky page and have quite a few more earmarked. See if you can find it. It's excellent. (4.0 stars)"
"I've read two of Northern Irish author, Stuart Neville's Jack Lennon thriller series set in Belfast. I've enjoyed them both. Ratlines is one of three standalone stories he's written. It is set in Ireland in 1963. The country is waiting to welcome a visit by President John F. Kennedy. Department of Intelligence Lieutenant Albert Ryan is called in by the Minister of Justice, Charles Haughey, to investigate who is murdering German nationals living in Ireland.
It seems that there are many ex-Nazis living in Ireland after the war, both German and other nationals, what has become an embarrassing national secret. They seem to be under the thumb of one Otto Skorzeny, an Austrian who worked for Adolf Hitler during the war. A note has been discovered on the most recent body, addressed to Skorzeny, 'We are coming for you.' Ryan is a Protestant who, during WWII, went north and joined the British army, fighting against the Nazis, in Egypt, in North Korea, etc. His parents have been harassed ever since by local IRA in his home town, something Ryan tries to rectify.
But the story follows Ryan as he works, not too willingly for Skorzeny and Haughey trying to discover who is after Skorzeny. The feeling is that it might be the Mossad, Israeli intelligence. But there is more to it than that. What you end up with is a tense, exciting, often violent thriller as Ryan tries to stay alive and play off various people against the other and survive to live another day. There is even a romantic element with the lovely Celia, who he also must keep alive.
It's a well-written, entertaining, exciting story leaving you wondering how Ryan will accomplish everything. Excellent thriller. (4.0 stars)"
"Over the past few years I've begun exploring John Christopher works, especially his Sci Fi novels, both for adults, Death of Grass and for younger people just beginning to explore the wonders of Sci Fi, the Tripod trilogy, The Lotus Caves, an adventure on the Moon. Recently I found a copy of The Caves Of Night, which I thought was another of his Sci Fi stories. Nope.
The Caves is set in Austria, shortly after WWII. An English couple, Cynthia and Henry, take an annual vacation to Austria as Henry wishes to continue exploring the Fronberg Caves. When they arrive they discover that another English couple, Heather and Peter, newlyweds, have been given their normal room. They also discover that the caves have been closed by the landowner, Herr Joachim Albrecht, as there was a recent cave collapse. As a side note, Peter, while serving in the British army during the War had been bivouacked in Joachim's home, while Joachim, himself was a prisoner of the Russian army.
Anyway, with that preamble, the Graf (that's Joachim) agrees to let Henry and Cynthia continue their spelunking. Henry does it basically on his own, searching the caves for more cave drawings, while the other three are entertained by Joachim on his estate, playing tennis, swimming, horse riding, etc. A relationship begins to develop between Joachim and Cynthia.
So, as we move along, the whole group decides to follow Henry and let him show them the caves. While there, Cynthia and Peter, irresponsibly cause a cave in. This means that the group must try to find another way out, meaning they will have to go deeper into the mountain and hopefully link up with a series of caves on the other side.
It becomes a tense affair. Henry leads the way as he has most experience underground. Cynthia and Peter continue to cause issues. Cynthia must sort out her feelings between Henry and Joachim. It's all very entangled but also very tense and at times tragic. The feeling of claustrophobia is very real, reminding me of a Nevada Barr mystery set in a national park with a cave setting. The characters are all well developed, there is time for some philosophical discussion, all the while the group must struggle underground, hoping to find a way out before both their flashlights and food run out. Excellent story even if it's not Sci Fi as I thought. (4.0 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Wycliffe tackles a case which reaches back down the generations ...When Cedric Tremain is charged with murdering his father by booby-trapping his fishing boat, all the locals are agreed that he is an unlikely murderer. But the case against him is he has the motive, the opportunity and the know-how; not to mention the fact that there is some hard circumstantial evidence against him. So Cedric is arrested. But Chief Superintendent Wycliffe has a strong sense that something about the case just doesn't fit. As he quietly continues his investigations a confusing picture emerges. Twenty years ago Cedric's cousin was convicted of strangling his girlfriend and served fourteen years of a commuted death sentence. While the wheels of justice begin to grind Wycliffe searches for a link between past and present."
"HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH SEX AND SIN!
It seemed that Gabriel Crome and his elegantly hippy girl friend had the answer—a new, highly communicable disease with the property of inhibiting aggression. And oh boy! was it fun to communicate!But Gabriel had reckoned without the finely honed irony of whatever Prankster it is who governs human affairs.
As the Raven quoth, 'KRONK."
For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them--and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them--the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart--or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world."
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