Honey, Anyone?

I don't have a reading update today as I'm still working through my Currently Reading list. I hope I'll be finished a few in the next couple of days, so I can provide my reviews. I'm also expecting a few books in the mail. So today, let's talk about trade wars. 

On Friday night, our Canadian government announced that it was withdrawing from talks with the United States as their efforts to come up with a trade deal (btw, we do have a trade deal.. CUSMA... but that doesn't seem to matter to the US president. As PM Carney said on Saturday, it seems like a deal with the US is signed with pencil so it can just be erased at a whim). According to PM Carney, at the last minute the US started adding new items that Canada could not accept. 

Purportedly, they included the US having first right of refusal on any trade deals Canada might make with other nations. It meant that the US would have first rights to our critical minerals. It meant that we would have to buy US weapons for our military. It said that they don't like our French language laws. (I'm paraphrasing here and this info is just from info I've read in various news articles and online).

At any rate, we are now in a 'new' trade war. I'm personally glad that our government did take this stand, even though I realize that there will be economic impacts on Canadians and Canadian businesses, especially small ones. Of course, there will also be impacts on the US, but that's for them to sort out. Trump is their president after all. But what makes me happy is that it seems the majority are happy with our government's decision and Premiers from every political party (well, maybe except for the premier of Alberta) support the decision and will support the Team Canada approach.

And I think that's what Canadians have to do. We have to continue to support each other, support local businesses, local agriculture. When you do your shopping, check where your products are made. Wherever possible, buy Canadian or support other countries, other than the US. I've read that if you're buying a car, if your VIN starts with 1, 4 or 5, it's built for the main in the US.  There are many websites that identify Canadian products, Canadian companies.

The main reason I thought of writing this post was from a CBC article about a Canadian honey producer. If you check this link, you can read it for yourself. So what I was thinking that let's make Canadian honey one of the items you check out. Personally, I've been buying BC honey for a few years. At the moment, I have a half empty jar of Fredrich's Honey, made in Cedar, BC and an unopened jar of Dutchman's - Island Gold Creamed Honey from Coombs, BC. What I'm asking is that you check out and support your local honey businesses, and of course, any other. Check out local farmer's markets, see what your grocery stores have on offer. SAVE OUR BEES!

OK, well, that's it for now. While I'm on the topic, maybe support Canadian artists and authors. 

Here is Bryan Adams' song, 51st State and his thoughts.

If you want to check out a Canadian author, here is one you might not have tried and if you like fantasy / adventure, I'm sure you'll enjoy. It's a fascinating series. H. Leighton Dickson has written other fantasy books as well. 

Anyway. #ElbowsUp and keep up the good fight Canada.

A Much Needed Reading Update.... Right??

My last actual reading update was 12 April and since then I've posted some poems by Mary Oliver and then some new books from my last Rotary Club Book Sale. So time for my normal update; books read, books started and any new books received. 1, 2, 3.....and we're off and running

Books Completed (since last update)

1. The Antifa Comic Book: Revised and Expanded by Gord Hill (2025). I think I may need to do a political / philosophical type post on books I've read and plan to read in a future post)

"For some reason, since about 2016, I've found myself getting more political, even to donating to Canadian political parties and other groups. Anyway, I'm also getting more interested in exploring issues like tyranny, fascism, etc. When I saw a listing for The Antifa Comic Book: Revised and Expanded (and I don't know where I saw it) by Canadian indigenous author, Gord Hill, I thought I should check it out. It ended up being a succinct, clearly presented historical perspective of both fascism in the world and those forces trying to combat its influence and search for power.

The comic book starts off with a definition of fascism -

- an ideology the promotes a strong, centralized state under the command of a supreme leader (often a cult of personality)

- fascist movements are authoritarian and militaristic, often with a paramilitary force

- ultra nationalistic in nature & inherently racist

- an imperialistic world view

- predominantly anti semitic

- all aspects of society are regimented and all opposition violently repressed

- media, entertainment & educational / cultural institutions replaced with fascist views

- cult of personality is strengthened & the entire state apparatus becomes almost mystical.

Antifa  is an abbreviation of antifaschistische aktion, originally set up by by the German Communist party in 1932 to oppose the Nazis.

The book offers a historical perspective of the birth and rise of both groups, starting after WWI, especially in Germany and Italy. But it goes from country to county over the years, from those in Europe to North America and even in the Middle East. It doesn't go into tons of detail but the points it highlights are clear and concise.

As the updated book progresses, it moves along to current time, with fascist organizations throughout the world. I found it particularly interesting the portions on Britain. My wife, who is British, probably remembers this time, but the battles between right wing fascists (skinheads and white supremacists) and the left wing, trying to protect immigrant communities. 

I especially found how much the police forces & governments focused on protecting these right wing groups from attacks by those defending their countries from them. I also found it interesting how the anti Semitism (which is still a major focus) has also moved along to anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant biases. There is a chapter on Israeli Zionist actions, to create a Zionistic Middle East expanded country. The book ends with the current American administration's right wing tendencies. 

The final sentence leaves hope, maybe "This resistance will only increase in the future.... and the future is unwritten." An interesting book, at the very least. Food for thought (4.0 stars)"

2. Dark Benediction by Walter M. Miller Jr. (Short Stories / 1980).

"Dark Benediction is a collection of Sci Fi short stories by Walter M. Miller Jr. who also wrote A Canticle for Leibowitz, a book I read back in my university days. Dark Benediction contains 14 stories published between 1951 - 1957.

The stories cover topics from a child who suffers from a rare disease where he can't grow (but what else is there about him?); an alien invasion (stopped by a woman with a shot gun?); a man trying to save Mars' atmosphere; an over-populated Earth that stops births and instead develops childlike creatures to be raised by families; an aging actor who now cleans a cinema / playhouse that shows plays with robot actors but who wants a final bow; a plague that cause people to go insane and one man's journey to escape; workers on the Moon who are visited by a traveling whore house and the effect; and a Russian woman who is assigned to kill the American general in charge of the invasion of Russia, etc.

All in all, I enjoyed the stories. Some seemed a mite long but I think that's Miller's writing style. He paints interesting pictures of the setting, characters and stories. Dark Benediction was a particular favorite and I also enjoyed The Darfsteller and Conditionally Human but each had its own merits. Worth checking out, especially if you've tried Canticle before and you want to explore Miller's writing some more. (3.5 stars)"

3. Montgomery Schnauzer P.I. & the Callous Car Thieves by Timothy Forner (Monty Schnauzer #2 / 2025).

"This might sound silly but when I heard of this book series (Montgomery Schnauzer PI), it made me think of the 4 puppies, miniature schnauzers, that my wife and I have had as companions over the past many years. We lost our last one a year ago and we both miss Clyde terribly. Anyway, I had to check out this series, a children's book series, because the main character was, of course, a schnauzer.

Go Monty!!

Montgomery Schnauzer P.I. and the Callous Car Thieves is the 2nd book in the series by American author, Timothy Forner. There are currently two books in the series, but Monty's dad indicates there is a 3rd book on the way. I read the 2nd book first because it was easier to get a copy. #1 is now on the way. 🐶

So Monty lives in an unnamed city with his Momma, Sarah. Sarah is struggling, as her old beater of a car breaks down on the highway. She needs a car to get to work and discovers a nice little fancy car for sale on line. Walter, the salesman, says he'll accept Sarah's offer and Sarah now has a newer, sportier car.

But..... the next day, Sarah and Monty are arrested by the police for driving a stolen car. Sarah is taken to the police station and booked and Monty is taken to the pound. Monty is desperate to find Sara and also prove that she didn't steal the car. With the help of another dog, he breaks out of the pound and finds his way back to the car dealer.. but everybody is gone and it's shut down.

Over the course of the book, Monty continues to try and discover where the car thieves are and along the way he meets new friends and has lots of adventures. I won't tell you any more about the story, just to say, it's fun and adventure filled. Monty is a smart dog, frustrated that he can't get the 'humans' to understand what he is saying, but always managing to move his investigation along, ultimately to a satisfactory conclusion. The cover art and the interior drawings are all excellent and the story is fun for adults and should be entertaining for kids. Go Monty! (3.5 stars)"

Currently Reading (started since last update)

1. The Golden Ball and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (Short Stories / 1971). 

"Is it a gesture of good will or a sinister trap that lures Rupert St. Vincent and his family to magnificent estate? How desperate is Joyce Lambert, a destitute young widow whose only recourse is to marry a man she despises? What unexpected circumstance stirs old loyalties in Theodora Darrell, and unfaithful wife about to run away with her lover? In this collection of short stories, the answers are as unexpected as they are satisfying. The Queen of Crime takes bizarre romantic entanglements, supernatural visitations, and classic murder to inventive new heights."

2. Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker (Horror / 2026). I follow a few podcasts on YouTube by folks who talk about books. A few had advance copies of this book and ranked it very highly so I put in an order for it and received it yesterday. Enjoying thus far.

"In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds.

October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.

October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window.

One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.

Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it."

Newest Arrivals (yes... since my last update)

1. Gideon Falls, Vol. 2, Original Sins by Jeff Lemire (2019).

"The lives of a reclusive young man obsessed with a conspiracy in the city's trash, and a washed up Catholic Priest arriving in a small town full of dark secrets become dangerously intertwined around the mysterious legend of The Black Barn -- an otherworldly building that is alleged to have appeared in both the city and the small town, throughout history, leaving death and madness in its wake."

2. Modem Times 2.0 by Michael Moorcock (2011).

"Jerry Cornelius—Michael Moorcock’s fictional audacious assassin, rockstar, chronospy, and possible Messiah—is featured in the first of two stories in this fifth installment of the Outspoken Author series. Previously unpublished, the first story is an odyssey through time from London in the 1960s to America during the years following Barack Obama's presidency. The second piece is a political, confrontational, comical, nonfiction tale in the style of Jonathan Swift and George Orwell. An interview with the author rounds out this biting, satirical, sci-fi collection."

3. Seeing by Jose Saramago (2004). This is a sequel to Saramago's Blindness.

"On election day in the capital, it is raining so hard that no one has bothered to go out to vote. The politicians are growing jittery. Should they reschedule the elections for another day? Around three o' clock, the rain finally stops. Promptly at four, voters rush to the polling stations, as if they had been ordered to appear.

But when the ballots are counted, more than 70 percent are blank. The citizens are rebellious. A state of emergency is declared. But are the authorities acting too precipitously? Or even blindly? The word evokes terrible memories of the plague of blindness that hit the city four years before, and of the one woman who kept her sight. Could she be behind the blank ballots? A police superintendent is put on the case.

What begins as a satire on governments and the sometimes dubious efficacy of the democratic system turns into something far more sinister. A singular novel from the author of Blindness."

4. You Will Not Kill Our Imagination: A Memoir of Palestine and Writing in Dark Times by Saeed Teebi (2025). New in my local book store, it sounded interesting and is a topic I've been exploring.

"A vital, fearless memoir in the vein of Between the World and Me that explores what it means to be a Palestinian in this moment, the effects of the genocide on Palestinian art and imagination, and that to even claim a belonging to the land from a country thousands of miles away is an act of subversion.

Imagination is a more powerful force than hope.

Acclaimed author Saeed Teebi was at work on his first novel when the attacks on Gaza began in late 2023. The violence and cruelty of the attacks, accompanied by the assent and silence of international governments, stunned many across the globe, like Teebi, into a new state of permanent horror.

What does it mean to be of the Palestinian diaspora in such a moment? What does it mean to be of a people who have sustained such a large-scale assault not only on their homeland, but their entire identity? What is the role of art, of language—of imagination—in asserting one’s identity, when that very assertion is read as an act of subversion?

In this incisive work, Teebi explores, with searing, razor-sharp prose, the effects of genocide on the bodies, minds, and imaginations—of Palestinians especially, and humanity in general.

This is at once a memoir of one family’s displacement, a scathing indictment of global complicity in the face of brutality, and a profound rumination on art and imagination as a means of defiance. It is an astonishing work of resistance by a major intellect, and it is both urgent and timeless."

5. Y:  The Last Man, Ring of Truth by Brian K. Vaughan (Vol. 5 / 2005).

"Yorick Brown, the last man on Earth, finally makes it to San Francisco where his unbalanced sister, Hero, finds him seemingly succumbing to the male-killing plague after losing his still-unused engagement ring to the burqa-clad agents of the Setauket Ring. But is the ring really the key to his survival? And what does it have to do with the mysterious Amulet of Helene, which the Setauket leader is determined to take from Agent 355 by any means necessary. Collects issues #24-31."

There you go. All caught up once again. Jo and I will be starting our weekend by taking her to a chemo session this afternoon and I hope to get more yard work done this weekend pending our sprinkler guy coming to turn us on for the year. :) Enjoy your weekend!

A September Start-up (books, not business)

Epstein survivors press conference

So here we are, the last 1/3rd of the year is just starting. The month has started off nice and sunny. I had a good run this morning. Jo's chemo seemed to go well yesterday. She's currently having a morning nap while I write this. All of the American talk shows started up last night and they were all hot to trot. Very funny stuff. Today, I watched some of the Epstein survivors press conference in front of the House of Congress. Very powerful. The current US president called it all a Democrat hoax, even though there were a number of GOP congresspersons with the survivors. If you're interested in what they have to say, and you should be, I've provided a link to the press conference. Not sure how long You Tube will keep it up, but check it out. Oh yes, all throughout the press conference, the White House was having an Air Force fly past to honor Polish fight pilot. Was he trying to drown out the survivors?

Let's get back to books now. First some stats. I had planned to try and read 120 books in 2025 as part of my Goodreads challenge. So far, I've read 92 books, roughly 22,000 pages. So all in all, I'm very happy with my reading. Since my last update, I've completed 6 books so I'll start there.

Completed Books

1. Murder is for Keeps by Peter Chambers (Mark Preston #1 / 1961).

"In the grand old tradition of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald and other hard-boiled detectives, I can now add Mark Preston, the creation of Peter Chambers. The first book in his series is Murder is for keeps,, originally published in 1961.

Mark Preston has an office in Monkton, near Los Angeles. One afternoon, he's visited by a new client, Moira Chase, a beautiful rich widow (Is there any other kind?). She's concerned about her stepdaughter's, Ellen, taste in men. Ellen is but 17 and stands to inherit a tidy sum of money when she reaches maturity. She's been hanging around with a jazz pianist, Kent Shubert, who works in town and Moira wants Preston to find out about him and help get rid of him.

What seems a simple case turns into something a mite more... a big mite (is there such a thing? Preston goes to the jazz bar with Shubert plays, gets the lady photographer, who wanders around taking pictures of customers for cash, to get one of Shubert. Preston wants to send it to a fellow private eye in San Francisco, to see if they can dig up anything else on Shubert. 

Preston mails the package to San Francisco, heads home and is mugged by 3 men before he can enter his apartment. His apartment is turned over. Preston feels that maybe they wanted the picture. But, why?

Preston discovers who was behind the mugging, a tough who works for a local night club owner. When he goes to teach 'Little Boy' Wiener a bit of a lesson, he is clubbed again and then finds Little Boy shot to death with his gun. 

Things continue to get interesting as Preston finds himself looking into murders that took place in New York years back that might be related to things going on in Monkton. He's now mixing with the upper crust of the community and slowly finding out more and more. 

It's an entertaining, pulp mystery and Mark Preston is an excellent protagonist. Enough action to keep you happy and enough crime solving and beautiful, intelligent women too. Most enjoyable. Number 2 has been ordered. (3.0 stars)"

2. Fatale Compendium by Ed Brubaker (Graphic novel / 2024). This combined special edition was put together by Indigo books.

"I found Fatale Compendium by Ed Brubaker while browsing the graphic novel shelves in one of my local book stores. I've been buying quite a few graphic novels of late, a mix of novel adaptations and new series / authors. I'm finding them an exciting, alternative genre to explore.

This is my first exposure to Ed Brubaker (as far as I know anyway. I have read some of the Marvel Civil War books, so I may have read his work there) At any rate, let's talk about this compendium which includes the complete Fatale series under one book.

The story is a noir detective novel of sorts but also a Lovecraftian view of the world, a supernatural mystery of sorts. It's dark and gritty filled with action. It follows Josephine, a mysterious woman whose life seems to traverse many eras. She has a power to control men, one she doesn't realize she possesses at times and hates herself for, and then at times she glories in the power and uses it against a secretive organization led by Bishop, a supernatural being whose can be reborn. He wants Josephine for the next Convergence.. What that is isn't really explained, but the world is bound by an owl who ties it up in ribbons... to keep the evil beings underground??? 

Josephine, over the course of her life, has a group of 'assistants' who are immune to her powers.. mystical tattoos seem to have something to do with it. They help teach Josephine about her powers and about those evil ones who need her for the Convergence. 

We meet a number of men affected by Josephine's power. They lover her... does she love them?? and will do anything to help her against the evil that's out there. One gets Bishop's eyes so even though he can still be reborn, he is reborn blind. But he can still sense Josephine when she uses her powers... Are you confused? Well, to be fair, it is a confusing story all around but also a fascinating story. There are back stories. We follow those men who have been impacted by Josephine and still want to help. We travel to Europe during WWII when Bishop and his followers revel in the violence and evil that roamed the continent. We travel across the US from the early 20's to the present.

It's a wide-ranging, fascinating story and well-drawn and inked, peopled with interesting characters. And yes, it's spooky and confusing. I'm glad I took a chance on it. (3.5 stars)"

3. The Big Payoff by Janice Law (Anna Peters #1 / 1975). I have read a couple of other books by Law. This was ok.

"*Sigh* I have to say that I was disappointed with The Big Payoff, the 1st Anna Peters book, by Janice Law. A couple of years back I'd read Under Orion, the 3rd book in the series and while it wasn't perfect, I enjoyed it. The Payoff introduces Anna Peters.

Anna, it seems had previously made considerable cash blackmailing people. But she had given up that life, found a man she loved and begun a career as an executive assistant for T William Harrison (AKA T. Bill) at New World Oil. Anna begins to suspect some of T. Bill's dealings. The company is involved in bidding for oil drilling rights in the North Sea, with other companies. She discovers that scientists working for the British competitor have been killed in mysterious circumstances. 

Anna believes that T Bill is working with folks (maybe the Saudis) to remove the competition. She reports her concerns to the British embassy and then finds herself involved in industrial espionage on their behalf. She's not happy with their dealings with her as they are quite threatening, holding her past life over her head to force her spy on T. Bill.

Everything blows up all at once. Her handler is killed, her boss now threatens to either kill Anna or have her arrested. Fast thinking she ends up sort of working for T. Bill and heads off to deliver stolen documents on his behalf to deadly mysterious folks in Scotland... How will it all end up for Anna?

I like Anna and I do like a good spy story and I liked the industrial espionage aspect. That's a nice different touch. It just seemed that at times there were great leaps of logic and jumping from one fire into the next. But then again, I think most spy stories have that premise. As I mentioned when I discussed the 3rd book, it wasn't perfect but it was entertaining. I like Janice Law's historical mystery series featuring Francis Bacon (the English painter) and I think I'll continue with the Anna Peters' series. I do want to see what predicament she'll get involved with next. (2.5 stars)"

4. The Red Mass by Rosemary Aubert (Ellis Portal #5 / 2005). An interesting Canadian legal crime series.

"The Red Mass is the 5th of 6 books in the Ellis Portal legal mystery series by Rosemary Aubert. It's been a couple of years since I last visited Ellis Portal in Toronto and it was nice to get back into this series.

Quickly, Ellis Portal was an up and coming lawyer who became an Ontario judge but had a breakdown and lost everything and ended up surviving on the streets of Toronto. The series follows him as he gets his life back on track, reconnects with family, and solves mysteries. At the start of the Red Mass, Ellis takes part in the annual Red Mass ceremony at the Law Courts. While there he meets his earliest friend Stow, a Superior Court judge who calls in a favor, asking Ellis to represent him.

Ellis doesn't want to as their lives had drifted apart with much enmity. But Stow is arrested for the death of his wife, who died in hospital five years earlier. New evidence has caused him to be charged with administering an overdose of a drug that was being trialed. Ellis agrees to represent him and discovers he will be working against his daughter, Ellen, newly appointed to the Crown Prosecutors office.

That is the crux of the story. Ellis has so many competing issues; his family, his friendship with a woman he'd lived on the streets with, who now helps the homeless, a reporter who wants to write about Ellis, and of course the case, which intrudes on his past relationships. It's a rich, fascinating story and it's nice to be involved in a criminal trial with all of its processes. The mystery is interesting, as is the investigation and Ellis is a fascinating character; with many issues with which he still deals. I also like the setting as I spent my university years in Toronto, so it's nice to reflect on that aspect. All in all an entertaining mystery. Now to try and find the final story in the series. (3.5 stars)"

5. Dorothy Parker: Complete Broadway, 1918 - 1923 by Dorothy Parker (2014). This took awhile to get through, but was worth it.

"Dorothy Parker: Complete Broadway, 1918–1923 by Dorothy Parker is the 4th look I've had at the work of Dorothy Parker and the first that wasn't one of her books of poetry. Parker was one of the founding members of the Algonquin Round Table. She was a poet, literary critic, and author of fiction, plays and screenplays. I have enjoyed her poetry very much, which is a lot from me because as I've mentioned ad nauseum in previous reviews of poetry, I generally don't get along with the genre.

This book features Parker's monthly reviews of the Broadway scene from 1918 - 1923. She started providing them for Vanity Fair but was fired from that position because her comments on one of Florence Ziegfeld's girlfriends. She was immediately hired by Ainslee's to continue providing her monthly look at the plays on Broadway. While I wasn't around at the time (I'm not quite that old. 😎😁😉), it's interesting to get a perspective on what plays and actors were around during this period.

The reviews start just at the end of WWI and there were many actors and producers that I never heard of before, but names crop up that pique your interest. People like PG Wodehouse and Somerset Maugham wrote plays there. American Booth Tarkington and Ring Lardner show up as playwrights and lyricists, along with the great George Cohan. Actors such as the Barrymores (royalty in a way on Broadway), Tallulah Bankhead, Helen Hayes, Billie Burke, Eddie Cantor etc. It all sounds so interesting.

And of course there is Parker, providing her thoughts on the plays and musicals, a monthly summary of what took place the previous month. She writes with humor and intelligence. It's a pleasure to read her words, the hear her thoughts. All in all, I enjoyed the book very much, it provides a historical look at the time; the end of WWI, the Spanish Flu, the actor's equity walk out, so many things. It's worth checking out if you have an interest in the early days of Broadway at the turn of the last century. Check it out. (4.0 stars)"

... and my 1st book of September

6. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries #3 / 2018). Excellent series.

"The Murderbot Diaries is such an excellent Sci Fi series and also a great TV series. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells is the 3rd book in the series and keeps the action rolling and the stories getting better and better.

Murderbot is on a mission to get the information necessary to destroy the GrayCris Corp and to help Murderbot's 'friend' Dr. Mensah. M. heads off to a remote location, Milu to gather info about GrayCris illegally exporting alien artifacts. Trying to stay hidden from the humans and one robot who are leaving an orbiting space station to explore a terraforming site closer to the surface, M. gets more than he bargained. 

Two augmented humans assigned to the group as a protective escort are not who they seem to be. The terraforming station isn't as empty anyone thought. What will result is a fast-paced, action-packed effort to not only save these humans but also to gather the info as well, all the while fighting off a pack of combat bots and drones.

All in all, it's an excellent, entertaining story. Murderbot continues to grow as a character, possessing an excellent wit and nice level of sarcasm. The supporting cast is all excellent, from Don Abene, the team leader to Miko, the robot that Murderbot 'befriends' and uses as a source of info. It's an interesting relationship between Miko and his humans, a friendship that confuses Murderbot. M is still trying to rap his head around the whole concept and compare it to his relationship to Dr. Mensah. I have to say that the action sequences are some of the best I've ever read, really full on. I have the next couple of books sitting on my shelf awaiting my attention.. Woo hoo! (4.5 stars)"

Currently Reading (following my previous posts, I'll just list any books I've started since my last update)

1. The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge (Snow Queen Cycle #1 / 1980) I've had this on my book shelf for a couple of years

"The Winter colonists have ruled Tiamat for 150 years, slaughtering the gentle sea mers in trade for off-world wealth. But soon the gate to the galactic Hegemony will close, Tiamat will be isolated, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will begin. Unless... Arienrhod, the ageless, corrupt Snow Queen, can commit a genocidal crime - and destroy destiny... unless Sparks Dawntreader, the Snow Queen's companion, can survive sea and city, palace and slums - and find destiny... unless Hegemony Commander Jerusha Palathion, the Snow Queen's victim, can find one ally on Tiamat - and change destiny... And unless Moon Summer, a young mystic, can break a conspiracy that spans space - and control destiny. Because Moon is the Snow Queen's lost weapon. The Snow Queen's lost rival. The Snow Queen's lost nemesis. The Snow Queen's lost soul. Moon is the Snow Queen's clone..."

2. Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore (1953).

"Hodge Backmaker lives in twentieth century New York, a city of cobblestones, gas lamps, and ten-storey skyscrapers. In his world, the Confederate South won its independence in the Civil War and North America is divided, with slavery and serfdom still facts of life in the Confederacy and New York a provincial backwater. Bring the Jubilee stands alongside Pavane as science fiction's finest explorations of alternative history."

3. The Hyde Park Murder by Eliot Roosevelt (Eleanor Roosevelt #2 / 1985).

"After being accused of a multi-million-dollar stock swindle, Alfred Doolittle Hannah dies in an apparent suicide, but First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt suspects murder."

4. The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey (Girl with Gifts #1 / 2014).

"Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad."

5. Redhead by John Creasey (Department Z #2 / 1933).

"Martin Storm’s visit to New York seemed like it was a success. But that was until his car was machine gunned and the police had to smuggle him out of the country…

But Martin finds no safety at home, either, and the search begins to find the man who is hunting him down.

He soon discovers that he has become involved with an American underworld boss who is planning to expand his business to Britain. Will he be able to escape the gangster’s clutches, or will he become a victim in his complex game?"

New Books

1. A History of Canada in Ten Maps; Epic Stories of Charting a Mysterious Land by Adam Shoalts (2017).

"Envisioning the mysterious land that would eventually be called "Canada" through the eyes of the explorers who first set foot on these shores,  A History of Canada in Ten Maps  brings our stories to life.

    Every map tells a story, and every map has a inviting us to go somewhere we've never been. It is an account of what we know, but also a trace of what we long for. Like a story, a map is never completely objective. It records special interests and agendas. It leaves important things unsaid even as it purports to lay things out clearly and indisputably. We can know our history by our maps.

That is what  A History of Canada in Ten Maps  will do. This book chronicles not just the centuries of Canada's existence; it conjures the world as it appeared to those who were called upon to map it. What would the new world look like to Jacques Cartier, who could see no farther than the treeline? What would the north have looked like to Martin Frobisher, confronting a sea of ice but imagining that Cathay lay just beyond? What would the vastness of the country look like to a surveyor or railroad engineer (or an investor in Great Britain)? And what rival claims to the land were left off all these maps?

Historical maps may tell only part of the story, but they also tell us volumes about what we didn't know, and hint at what we may have preferred go unrecorded.  A History of Canada in Ten Maps  will tell the story of the creators of these maps, and also recount how they used the maps for their own ends. It is a book that will surprise readers, and reveal the Canada we never knew was hidden. It will bring to life the characters and the disputes that forged our history, by showing us what the world looked like before it entered the history books. 

Combining storytelling, cartography, geography, and of course history, this book will show us Canada in a way we've never seen it before."

2. Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo (Singing Hills Cycle #3 / 2022).

"Wandering cleric Chih of the Singing Hills travels to the Riverlands to record tales of the notorious near-immortal martial artists who haunt the region. On the road to Betony Docks, they fall in with a pair of young women far from home, and an older couple who are more than they seem. As Chih runs headlong into an ancient feud, they find themselves far more entangled in the history of the Riverlands than they ever expected to be.

Accompanied by Almost Brilliant, a talking bird with an indelible memory, Chih confronts old legends and new dangers alike as they learn that every story—beautiful, ugly, kind, or cruel—bears more than one face."

3. Orlando by Virginia Woolf (1928).

"First masculine, then feminine, Orlando begins life as a young sixteenth-century nobleman, then gallops through the centuries to end up as a woman writer in Virginia Woolf's own time. Written for the charismatic, bisexual writer Vita Sackville-West, this playful mock biography of a chameleon-like historical figure is both a wry commentary on gender and, in Woolf's own words, a 'writer's holiday' which delights in its ambiguity and capriciousness."

4. Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang (2022).

"A novel that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.

Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?"

There you go, the 9th month is now started.. 😃 Have a great month.

We Have an Election Upcoming and of course, Books Update.

Well, no more waiting around. Canada will have a Federal Election upcoming. New Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced it for April 28, 2025, so in just a month we'll know who has won and who will lead us against Donald Trump's constant threats against Canada and other countries. I haven't really made my mind up yet........ 🤔🤔🤔 

Ah, who am I kidding... I've ordered my lawn sign for my local Liberal candidate, Jennifer Lash, who seems eminently qualified. 

So, now about books..

Books Completed

(I've completed 3 books since my last update)

1. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie (Tommy & Tuppence #5 / 1973).

"Postern of Fate is the 5th and final book in the Tommy & Tuppence Beresford spy / mystery series by English author, Agatha Christie. This novel finds Tommy & Tuppence finally retired from the spy work for the English government and settling into a retirement house purchased in a little town on the coast.

The house is awash with electricians and other work men, digging holes in the floors and walls as they bring the new home up to snuff for the two 'elderly' retirees and their dog, Hannibal. But they will be drawn into an investigation that will threaten their lives. Tuppence agreed to take hand of the previous family's reading material and spends her days up in the library, sorting through them. Tommy continues to commute to London but helps when he gets home.

In one book, The Black Arrow, Tuppence notices that certain letters have been underlined. Being naturally inquisitive, she starts copying them down and comes up with the phrase, "Mary Jordan did not die naturally. It was one of us. I think I know which one." Her interest piqued, she begins to visit the older folks in town trying to find out about their new home and previous residents. Reluctantly, Tommy finds himself drawn in and he starts his own investigation, which includes visiting some of his old spy pals.

It's a slow - paced story, that seems to be trying to ascertain what might have happened in the past, and not the recent past, and does it relate to anything that is happening now.. I did find it a slow read, but I do think Tuppence is one of my favorite Agatha Christie characters. And all their old friends in the spy business think she's wonderful too... As the story progresses, Tommy and Tuppence wander between being interested and wondering why they are even investigating. But something happens that changes everything. Tuppence is suddenly angry. 

"I am worked up. And I'm not doing anything for fun any more. This isn't fun. We're doing something different now, Tommy. We're hunting down a killer...."

It's an interesting story with many neat little characters. I especially liked the young kids who discover that Tuppence was a spy in her past life and they become her Junior Brigade. (Everyone loves Tuppence!) And brave Hannibal the dog, another great character. Is it an exciting thriller filled with action? No, it's just an interesting story and most enjoyable. The Tommy and Tuppence series is well worth reading. (3.0 stars)"

2. A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K. Le Guin & Fred Fordham (Earthsea #1 / 2025).

"I've been enjoying exploring the work of American author, Ursula K. Le Guin and have, in fact, read all but one of the fantasy series. But when I saw the graphic novel version of A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel written by Fred Fordham, I had to give it a try.

My review of the original novel is below followed by my review of the graphic novel. 

"Back in my university days, 74 - 78, I took a science fiction novel course and was introduced to Ursula K. Le Guin, specifically The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed. I enjoyed those books so much that I went looking for others of her books. I found A Wizard of Earthsea but over the years I never tried to read it. 

I found another copy of the book recently and decided to try this series again and I'm glad that I did. Ged is a young man of Earthsea who lives on the island of Gont. When the island is invaded by pirates, we discover Ged's talents as a wizard. He saves his village. The wizard of the island takes him in after his naming ceremony to teach him how to be a wizard. After Ged brings a shadow from the underworld up in an effort to impress a young girl, Ogion sends him to the Wizard school on the Island of Roke.

Much time is spent with Ged's education as a Wizard but he is involved in a number of incidents, almost dying when he tries to impress another wizard - student by bringing up a spirit from the underworld. A Shadow remains on the earth and when Ged finally completes his wizard training he must go after the Shadow as it is a threat to his life.

It's a fascinating story, thoughtfully written and describing an interesting new world. In so many of these stories, I struggle to read the maps or many places are left out, but I was quite happy that these were clear and easy to read, even in a paperback edition. Ged is an interesting character and the others, while not as major, are still interesting, especially his friend Vetch. There were intimations of events that take place in Ged's future, presumably they'll be described in the continuing versions of the Earthsea saga. (4 stars)"

My review of the graphic novel version -

Basically, a young man, Ged, gets training as a Wizard on the island of Roke. While there, another student goads him into raising a dead spirit. Ged does this but at the same time a shadow comes through, that being an evil shadow of course. This shadow is linked to Ged. Ged leaves Roke after becoming a wizard. He becomes wizard of a small island and chases away a family of dragons that is threatening the island.  

Ged meets with the shade again and after going back home to his home island, decides that he has to finally deal with this shadow. That is the rest of the story and follows Ged's journey to find and confront this shadow.

So now to compare the book to the graphic novel. Fred Fordham shows great respect to the book, in fact was chosen by Le Guin's son after he saw Fordham's graphic novel of To Kill a Mockingbird. Fordham's graphic novel definitely has the pace and feel of the book. There is not a lot of dialogue in the book itself, it is more descriptive and Fordham does create that same feeling. Some of his illustration is just beautiful, almost like paintings. Some of the full page pictures, especially when Ged is alone at sea, are stunning and create a feel of the expanse and loneliness. Some of the other illustrations I found kind of dark, but that could just be that they are at night and the lighting in my room isn't all that great (and NO, it's not that my vision is getting worse with my extreme old age). I found that when I sat out in the sunshine reading it, the pictures were much clearer.

Anyway, I have to say that I enjoyed this graphic novel just as much as the book; nicely paced, with a similar feel and with beautiful artwork. I hope Fordham continues to illustrate the Earthsea books. (4.0 stars)"

3. A Series of Murders by Simon Brett (Charles Paris #13 / 1989).

"I've been trying to work through the dusty end of my bookshelf this year and have been enjoying reconnecting with some old favorites. A Series of Murders is the 13th book in the Charles Paris mystery series by English author Simon Brett. For those who might not have tried this series of 20 books, Charles Paris is a jobbing actor with a 'troubled' marriage and a bit of a drinking problem who finds himself involved in murder mysteries on the various acting jobs that he manages to find.

In A Series of Murders, Charles has managed to get a steady part on a new TV series being produced by W.E.T productions. The series is a mystery series based on a number of books by a lady author from the 50's, W.T. Wintergreen, a sort of Agatha Christie styled author. The series follows private detective Stanislas Braid (think of Hercule Poirot or Peter Wimsey) as he solves various crimes. Charles plays a police Sgt whose basic job is to be Braid's foil in the series. The book opens as they film the first book.

There is lots of friction on the set. The main actor, playing Stanislas Braid, doesn't like that it's not modern enough. The author and her sister, two elderly maidens, aren't happy with the language, the actress playing Braid's daughter (in fact most of the crew hate her because she's a crap actress and seems to have got the job, maybe by sleeping with the director) and so on.. .Lots of arguments about the set, about the script, etc. Most people are upset with the casting of Sippy Stokes and fairly quickly she is found dead, under a pile of props in the storage room.

This is fairly quickly brushed off as an accident and the filming progresses. Charles Paris sort of doubts that it was an accident and throughout the book, haphazardly investigates and 'interrogates' the other cast members. The book continues with the filming of the 2nd episode and then they move along to the west coast of England for the 3rd episode. There might be other 'accidents'. Charles continues to appeal to his ex-wife Frances to get back together, although, rightfully so, she's suspicious. She knows what he's like and actually we've got a pretty good idea as well, from the previous books.

Charles loves his ex-wife but he's also used to being a rambler, moving from job to job, minor  role to minor role and even likes living in his one room grubby apartment as he doesn't want to be tied down. He may promise to Frances that he will stop drinking but we know he won't. He may promise to be faithful, but we know he probably won't. That's Charles... 

As always, it's neat seeing the workings of the film / TV / acting industry, even down to Charles' generally useless agent. And the mystery is always interesting, sometimes just a side issue but it will be resolved satisfactorily and in this particular book, with a neat little surprise at the end. Brett is an entertaining story teller, no matter what series you try out; Charles Paris, Mrs. Pargeter or Fethering... Check him out. (3.5 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Domain by James Herbert (Rats #3 / 1983). This will be the final book in Herbert's Rats trilogy. There is supposedly a graphic novel out there, but I've yet to find it.

"The long-dreaded nuclear conflict. The city torn apart, shattered, its people destroyed or mutilated beyond hope. For just a few, survival is possible only beneath the wrecked streets - if there is time to avoid the slow-descending poisonous ashes. But below, the rats are waiting."

2. Lost Girls by Alan Moore (Lost Girls 1 - 3 / 2006)

"The groundbreaking, controversial masterpiece of erotic comics, decades in the making, now in a sumptuous hardcover collecting all three volumes, with 32 pages of new artwork and commentary.

For more than a century, Alice, Wendy and Dorothy have been our guides through the Wonderland, Neverland and Land of Oz of our childhoods. Now like us, these three lost girls have grown up and are ready to guide us again, this time through the realms of our sexual awakening and fulfillment. Through their familiar fairytales they share with us their most intimate revelations of desire in its many forms, revelations that shine out radiantly through the dark clouds of war gathering around a luxury Austrian hotel. Drawing on the rich heritage of erotica, Lost Girls is the rediscovery of the power of ecstatic writing and art in a sublime union that only the medium of comics can achieve. Exquisite, thoughtful, and human, Lost Girls is a work of breathtaking scope that challenges the very notion of art fettered by convention. This is erotic fiction at its finest."

New Books

(A few new books arrived since my last update.) 😏😉

1. Alabaster Volume 2: Grimmer Tales by Caitlin R. Kiernan (2014). I've enjoyed the other two graphics in this series.

"Dancy Flammarion possesses a savvy awareness and a keen knife for the monsters that lurk in the shadows. She does the bidding of an unholy host, a legion of dark gods guiding her across America's southern wilds. And a blackbird's grim tales of her battles could be his only salvation from becoming dinner for a boxcar full of beastly hoboes. Collects Boxcar Tales #1–#13 from Dark Horse Presents."

2. The Wintermen III: At the End of the World by Brit Griffin (Wintermen #3 / 2020).

"Life after climate catastrophe is a dystopian nightmare. Brit Griffins’ series The Wintermen wraps up as Johnny Slaught tangles with new Talos strongman Eton Love over who the future belongs to: the people and the land, or the same old capitalist profiteers. With a slim promise of spring on the horizon, megalomaniac Love is gearing up for a cut and run replay of business as usual, and that means grabbing the wealth that lies within the Wintermen’s territory. But the forests, deep snows, and wolves, have a different idea about the fate of the northern landscape. Caught between these two powerful forces, Slaught and his community have to decide which side they’re on. Can they salvage a liveable future from the winter-swept remains of the planet, or is human greed just too powerful?"

3. On Freedom by Timothy Snyder (2024). I only recently heard of Mr. Snyder. My wife heard him interviewed and thought he was very interesting. Since I bought this book, I've discovered that he's move to Canada and will work at my alma mater, University of Toronto. A friend of his also moved to Canada, both citing the current political situation in the US.

"A brilliant exploration of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival—by the acclaimed Yale historian and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Tyranny/ Timothy Snyder has been called “the leading interpreter of our dark times.” As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political collapse and mass killing. As a public intellectual, he has turned that knowledge toward counsel and prediction, working against authoritarianism here and abroad. His book On Tyranny has inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom. Now, in this tour de force of political philosophy, he helps us see exactly what we’re fighting for. Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means—and this is leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state We think we're free if we can do and say as we please, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isn’t so much freedom from, as freedom to—the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible. On Freedom takes us on a thrilling intellectual journey. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences coming of age in a time of American exceptionalism, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes—the habits of mind—that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. We come to appreciate the importance of traditions (championed by the right) but also the role of institutions (the purview of the left). Intimate yet ambitious, this book helps forge a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity, and grace."

4. The Colour out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft (1927).

"'It was a monstrous constellation of unnatural light, like a glutted swarm of corpse-fed fireflies dancing hellish sarabands over an accursed marsh...'

H.P. Lovecraft was perhaps the greatest twentieth century practitioner of the horror story, introducing to the genre a new evil, monstrous, pervasive and unconquerable. At the heart of this story are terrors unthinkable and strange: a crash-landing meteorite."

5. Lord of the Flies; the Graphic Novel by William Golding & Aimee de Jongh (1954 / 2024). I'm kind of hooked on these graphic novelizations of classic novels. Maybe I should do a separate post on them.

"A plane crashes on a desert island. The only survivors, a group of schoolboys. By day, they explore the dazzling beaches. By night, they are haunted by nightmares of a primitive beast and of what they've lost.

'There aren't any grown-ups anywhere.'

Orphaned by society, they must forge their own; but it isn't long before the group is split, and their innocent games take a dangerous turn.

'What are we? Humans? Or Animals?'

For the first time, from acclaimed artist Aimée de Jongh, comes the stunning graphic novel adaptation of this classic story, one of the BBCs '100 Novels that shaped our World'."

6. Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers (1941). I've read three books by McCullers now, my favorite will always by The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Such a great writer.

"A powerful and passionate tale is set on a southern army post --a human hell inhabited by a sexually disturbed officer, his animalistic wife, her lover, and the driven young private who forces the drama to its climax..."

So there you go. All caught up. I hope you see something that interests you. Enjoy the rest of your week.