Amazed that it's already the middle of August. We've had a nice week, weather-wise. The temps are slightly more moderate. It's nice having the patio doors open during the day. There's a nice breeze today.
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| Clyde's not happy about going to the eye doctor! |
We're listening to Kamala Harris give her economic vision for the US. So while she's talking (glad to see the networks are actually showing it and not that waste of space running against her), I'm going to take advantage of it and provide a reading / book update.
Finished
(5 books completed since my last update).
"I always enjoy a good Inspector Maigret mystery. And Maigret in Holland, the 8th book in the series by Georges Simenon was no exception.
In this particular story, Maigret finds himself in Holland, in the small coastal town of Delfzijl. A French professor of criminology, there to conduct a lecture to the local towns people is involved in the murder of one of the town's muckety-mucks, an ex-sailor and now a teacher. Monsieur Duclos was found with the murder weapon, a revolver.
Maigret finds himself somewhat like a stranger in a strange land. Very few of the locals speak French and the local police inspector isn't thrilled to see him there. Nobody has been arrested yet and there is a hint that it might have been a foreign sailor who has already shipped out.
Into this situation, Maigret is thrust and he begins his own investigation. He is his normal taciturn self. He thrusts himself into the lives of those who had an involvement with the dead man, Monsieur Popinga; his wife and her sister, a young girl who lives nearby and who seems to have had a relationship with the victim, a young sailor trainee (related to the wife) and a few others.
It all ends up being a relatively quick investigation and Maigret ends up by reenacting the events that led up to the murder. Simenon gets right to the point. He really places Maigret so very well into this awkward situation, the small community, where everyone probably knows what everybody else is doing. It's easy to get drawn into the story and the ending provides a very satisfying result. Good characters, taut story and always interesting. (4.0 stars)"
"I always enjoy a good Inspector Maigret mystery. And Maigret in Holland, the 8th book in the series by Georges Simenon was no exception.
In this particular story, Maigret finds himself in Holland, in the small coastal town of Delfzijl. A French professor of criminology, there to conduct a lecture to the local towns people is involved in the murder of one of the town's muckety-mucks, an ex-sailor and now a teacher. Monsieur Duclos was found with the murder weapon, a revolver.
Maigret finds himself somewhat like a stranger in a strange land. Very few of the locals speak French and the local police inspector isn't thrilled to see him there. Nobody has been arrested yet and there is a hint that it might have been a foreign sailor who has already shipped out.
Into this situation, Maigret is thrust and he begins his own investigation. He is his normal taciturn self. He thrusts himself into the lives of those who had an involvement with the dead man, Monsieur Popinga; his wife and her sister, a young girl who lives nearby and who seems to have had a relationship with the victim, a young sailor trainee (related to the wife) and a few others.
It all ends up being a relatively quick investigation and Maigret ends up by reenacting the events that led up to the murder. Simenon gets right to the point. He really places Maigret so very well into this awkward situation, the small community, where everyone probably knows what everybody else is doing. It's easy to get drawn into the story and the ending provides a very satisfying result. Good characters, taut story and always interesting. (4.0 stars)"
"With the Fire on High is the 3rd book I've enjoyed by Elizabeth Acevedo the last few years. Clap When You Land and The Poet X were both unique in that they were written as stories told with poetry. With the Fire on High is a more traditional story but is still very powerful.
Emoni is a high school student in Philadelphia trying to finish her last year and graduate. Emoni is also a bit different from most of the other kids in the school as she is also a teen mother. She gets assistance from her grand mother, Buela, as they try to make ends meet. Emoni is also a budding chef and in her last year her helpful home room teacher / guidance counsellor encourages her to take a culinary course as her option. Oh yes, Emoni has a troublesome relationship with her father. When Emoni's mother died when Emoni was very young, her father couldn't bear to stay in Philadelphia so he resides more or less permanently in Puerto Rico, making yearly visits to check up on Emoni, Baby girl and Buela.
Making her final year interesting is the arrival in her home room class and also the culinary class is a new student, Malachi. The development of their relationship becomes a major part of the story. As well, Chef (the culinary arts teacher) has planned a weeklong trip to Spain for the culinary class to learn more about cooking. This puts added pressure on Emoni as she must now try to find the funds to be able to go with the class.
I make the story sound straight-forward maybe but it's a rich, well - crafted, thoughtful story about growing up and the twists and turns of a young girl's life, with the added complication of also trying to be a mother to her young child. Acevedo knows how to draw you into her world, to feel empathy for the characters in her stories. This was touching, sad at times, but a story filled with love and caring and great characters and also yummy sounding food. Most enjoyable. (4.5 stars)"
"Sidney Chambers and the Perils of the Night is the second collection of short stories in the Grantchester mysteries by James Runcie. Once again, Canon Chambers investigates murders in 1950's - 60s Cambridge. This collection contains six stories; a fall from the rooftops of one of Cambridge's college buildings, a fire that turns into arson and murder, a seeming heart attack by a member of Cambridge's professors that may have been electrocution, a death at a cricket match, an unworthy suitor to Sidney's best friend Amanda and an adventure in East Germany.
They are all more than just criminal investigations, but also philosophical explorations, examinations of Sidney's conflicted feelings about his friendships with Amanda and the German widow Hildegarde. The stories focus more on Sidney than the TV series which is very much a buddy series, with Geordie Keating, the police inspector playing a much more important role. In these stories he is more a sounding board for Sidney's speculations, as they have their weekly backgammon games. Of course, ultimately, the police must be involved, once the crimes are solved.
The stories are all interesting. There is nice give and take between Sidney and his assistant Leonard. Mrs. M also plays a much less significant role, but does make appearances. Each case was different, and even though they mostly involve murder, they are quite gentle. I especially enjoyed The Hat Trick, with its explanations of the cricket matches, most enjoyable. And the final story, Appointment in Berlin, where Sidney goes to spend a vacation with Hildegarde and it ends up being a bit of a spy thriller in East Germany, was very different and quite exciting.
A most enjoyable visit to Grantchester, an easy, friendly read and ultimately, a very satisfying conclusion. (4.0 stars)"
"Nothing Special, Volume One: Through the Elder Woods| by Katie Cook is a compilation of chapters from a webtoon (I should know what that is) put into a graphic novel format. Great artwork, wonderful characters and just an entertaining story. When I was a youngster, I was hooked on comics. As an old guy, I'm finding myself drawn to these entertaining young adult graphic novels.
So what's this one about? Callie, a teenage girl, lives with her dad who runs a magical antique shop. He regularly goes on trips (somewhere) to gather material for his shop, leaving Callie to go to school. Callie doesn't know a lot, or even anything, about her missing mother. Callie is somewhat different as she seems to be able to see the spirits of 'plants' and can talk with them. One, a radish, attaches itself to her. Callie discovers, to her surprise, that one of her school mates, Declan, now turned 17, has discovered that he too can now see and hear plant spirits. A friendship develops.
She takes Declan home to meet her dad, as he always returns home on her birthday. They discover, the antique shop turned upside down and Callie's dad nowhere to be found. It turns out that Callie's dad left her a magical crystal that links the two so she decides to head off into the fantasy world to find him. Declan and Radish accompany her. Along the way, they meet Lasser, a demon, who wants Callie to be his wife; it turns out she's a Muse, and he feels that with her at his side, he can take over from his father, the King.
So there is your story, a journey in this fantasy world to try and find Callie's Dad and along the way to discover their feelings for each other and also to develop good friendships. There are many surprises along the way; more about who Declan really is, about Callie's mother, but you have to read the story to find that out.
The characters are all well-developed; funny, independent, smart and just beautifully drawn. The story moves along nicely, with many excellent pop culture references. It's all fascinating, fun and filled with love and caring and... adventure. The 2nd volume doesn't come out until October but I've got it on order. Most enjoyable. (3.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Lara McClintoch, her marriage ended and her antiques business sold, eagerly embarks on a trip to Mexico to help an old friend solve a mystery. On arrival, her friend puts off their meeting and then disappears. After Lara witnesses a brazen robbery of a valuable statue of the ancient Mayan civilization and stumbles on a corpse in a museum of antiquities, she becomes a police suspect. Afraid of the police and unsure whom to trust, Lara follows clues pointing to black marketeers and zealous revolutionaries. This dangerous trail takes her to remote archaeological ruins, lush jungles, and bustling streets filled with revelers. Lara engages in a thrilling battle of wits and courage to unmask a killer and stop a tomb-robber in the shadowy world of Xibalba, the Lords of Death."
"All of us have in our minds a cartoon image of what an autocratic state looks like, with a bad man at the top. But in the 21st century, that cartoon bears little resemblance to reality. Nowadays, autocracies are run not by one bad guy, but by sophisticated networks composed of kleptocratic financial structures, security services and professional propagandists. The members of these networks are connected not only within a given country, but among many countries. The corrupt, state-controlled companies in one dictatorship do business with corrupt, state-controlled companies in another. The police in one country can arm, equip, and train the police in another. The propagandists share resources—the troll farms that promote one dictator’s propaganda can also be used to promote the propaganda of another—and themes, pounding home the same messages about the weakness of democracy and the evil of America. Unlike military or political alliances from other times and places, this group doesn’t operate like a bloc, but rather like an agglomeration of Autocracy, Inc. Their relations are not based on values, but are rather transactional, which is why they operate so easily across ideological, geographical, and cultural lines. In truth, they are in full agreement about only one Their dislike of us, the inhabitants of the democratic world, and their desire to see both our political systems and our values undermine. That shared understanding of the world—where it comes from, why it lasts, how it works, how the democratic world has unwittingly helped to consolidate it, and how we can help bring it down—is the subject of this book."
"It's closing time at the Gai Moulin, and Jean Chabot and Rene Delfrosse are planning to rob the till to pay of their debts. To their surprise, they stumble upon a dead body. What at first seems to the police an open and shut case proves more complicated when the body turns up next at the zoo, stuffed into a wicker basket. Into the puzzlement steps Maigret, who makes one of the most dramatic and colorful entrances of his career as he sorts out the tangled web of deceit."
New Books
"The enlivening follow-up to the award-winning sensation The Annual Migration of Clouds Traveling alone through the climate-crisis-ravaged wilds of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, 19-year-old Reid Graham battles the elements and her lifelong chronic illness to reach the utopia of Howse University. But life in one of the storied “domes” ― the last remnants of pre-collapse society ― isn’t what she expected. Reid tries to excel in her classes and make connections with other students, but still grapples with guilt over what happened just before she left her community. And as she learns more about life at Howse, she begins to realize she can’t stand idly by as the people of the dome purposely withhold needed resources from the rest of humanity. When the worst of news comes from back home, Reid must make a choice between herself, her family, and the broken new world. In this powerful follow-up to her award-winning novella The Annual Migration of Clouds , Premee Mohamed is at the top of her game as she explores the conflicts and complexities of this post-apocalyptic society and asks whether humanity is doomed to forever recreate its worst mistakes."
"Love, betrayal, and a secret the untold story of two elite agents, one Canadian, one British, who became one of the most decorated wartime couples of WWII.
On opposite sides of the pond, Sonia Butt, an adventurous young British woman, and Guy d’Artois, a French-Canadian soldier and thunderstorm of a man, are preparing to go to war. From different worlds, they make their way to fight in Winston Churchill's secret army against the German forces and, unlike most involved in the world’s deadliest conflict to date, to fight from behind enemy lines.Their lives first intersect during clandestine training to become agents with the Special Operations Executive. Sonia and Guy learn how to parachute into enemy territory, how to kill, blow up rail lines, support the French resistance, and eventually...how to love each other. But not long after their hasty marriage, their love is tested by separation, by a titanic invasion—and by indiscretion.
Written in vivid, heart stopping prose, we follow their stories of uncommon courage—as Sonia plunges into Nazi-occupied France and slinks into black market restaurants to throw off German forces who knew she'd arrived, while at the same time participating in sabotage operations against them by night; and as Guy, in another corner of France, trains hundreds into a resistance army, fashioning himself a military leader, weapons instructor, and peacemaker all at once.
Reconstructed from hours of unpublished interviews and hundreds of archival and personal documents, Ayed tells a story of sacrifice and youthful folly; a story about the ravaging costs of war paid for disproportionately by the young. But more than anything, The War We Won Apart is a story about two secret agents who were supposed to land in enemy territory together, but were fated to fight the war apart."
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| Complete Catwings |
Fluffy, orange Alexander is the oldest, biggest, loudest, and strongest of all the Furby kittens. Everyone in his family thinks he’s so remarkable that they call him “Wonderful Alexander” and spoil him to pieces. But one morning, when Alexander bravely sets out to explore the world on his own, he finds himself stuck in a tree and unable to get down. It’s up to Jane, the youngest of the Catwings, to rescue him! Now if only Alexander could do something wonderful for her in return…"
This facsimile edition restores, for the first time, the selection and arrangement of the poems as Sylvia Plath left them at the point of her death. In addition to the facsimile pages of Sylvia Plath’s manuscript, this edition also includes in facsimile the complete working drafts of the title poem, "Ariel," in order to offer a sense of Plath's creative process, as well as notes the author made for the BBC about some of the manuscript's poems.
In her insightful foreword to this volume, Frieda Hughes, Sylvia Plath's daughter, explains the reasons for the differences between the previously published edition of Ariel as edited by her father, Ted Hughes, and her mother's original version published here. With this publication, Sylvia Plath's legacy and vision will be re-evaluated in the light of her original working draft."
"Juliette is happily and devotedly married to Frederic. Frederic loves Juliette, but is irresistibly attracted to Francoise, her glamorous friend. Juliette, now on a mad roundabout in search for love and reassurance, allows herself to be seduced by Alain... and the American, Gary.
Only in Paris could a young wife's discovery that her husband is having a violent affair with her best friend set off such a shocking and unconventional situation as revealed here. The talented young French author writes with real perception of the delights and sorrows of love making."
Enjoy your weekend. Read a good book.
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