All About Books Today

As the BLog title and the subject bar say today, it's all about books today. :)

New Books

I received an order the other day from Better World Books out of the UK. In one of my recent reads, there was a list of other books published by the particular publishing company, Soho Crime, at the back. Some looked like they might be worth trying so I ordered a few. These are the three I got.

1. Billy Boyle by James R. Benn. This is a World War II mystery series created by American writer Benn. It's the first of  12 books as of 2017.










"Billy Boyle, a young Irish-American cop from Boston, has just made detective when the United States joins World War II. His 'Uncle Ike' - Dwight D. Eisenhower - has been chosen to command Army forces in Europe, and he wants Billy to be his personal investigator. Billy, who had never left Boston before enlisting, is not so sure about his ability as a detective. But he dutifully sets off for London, where he'll be working with British Allies to catch a spy who threatens Operation Jupiter, the impending invasion of Norway."

2. Jade Lady Burning by Martin Limon. Martin Limon served 10 years in the US Army in Korea. His eleven book mystery series, starring Military Police investigators Sueno and Bascom, is set in Korea.









"Almost twenty years after the end of the Korean War, the US Military is still present throughout South Korea, and tensions run high. Koreans look for any opportunity to hate the soldiers who drink at their bars and carouse with their women. When Pak Ok-Suk, a young Korean woman, is found brutally murdered in a torched apartment in the Itaewon red-light district of Seoul, it looks like it might be the work of her American soldier boyfriend. Sergeants George Sueno and Ernie Bascom, Military Police for the US 8th Army, are assigned to the case, but they nothing to go on other than a tenuous connection to an infamous prostitute. As repressed resentments erupt around them, the pair sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to find evidence that will exonerate their countryman."

3. The Woman Who Married a Bear by John Straley. Alaskan writer Straley has written 6 books in his Cecil Younger mystery series set in Alaska.










"Murder is uncommon in the Alaskan port of Sitka, and this was an uncommon murder. For a start, the case has long been closed. The killer of a Tlingit hunting guide has confessed and is behind bars. But the victim's elderly mother wants to know why her son was killed, and she asks down-at-heel PI Cecil Younger to find out.
His quest takes him through Alaska's wildest landscapes - from the dark hidden world of city nights to the haunting world of the bush country and mountain forests.
The truth hinges on the meaning of a Tlingit myth. And the danger lies in finding it..."

Just Finished

I've finished 2 books since my last post here, both enjoyable.

1. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear. This is the 2nd book in Winspear's Maisie Dobbs, PI mystery series, set between the two World Wars. My review is below.










"Birds of a Feather is the 2nd Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear. I've enjoyed the first two books so far. Winspear is a meticulous story teller, providing a lot of particular details while developing her characters and plot. Details about exactly what Maisie is wearing, etc seem irrelevant but they help provide a picture.
It's been hard to warm to Maisie as she is quite buttoned-up and does have personal issues from her time serving as a nurse during WWI and also between her and her father (guilt on both sides from her mother's death), but I'm getting to like her more. She is more than just a private detective. From her training with her old mentor, Maurice, she is more of a psychologist / private detective who provides both investigative assistance and then psychological assistance, whether the client wants it or no.
So, on to this story. Maisie is hired by a rich owner of a major grocery chain, Joseph Waite, to find his daughter. This is not the first time she has gone missing so he doesn't want the police involved. Maisie and her assistant, Billy Beale, agree to find her. They quickly realize that murders being worked on by Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Stratton, may be related to their case. As well, Maisie is concerned about Billy, an ex - soldier who had been severely wounded during the war. He is acting strangely and Maisie is concerned. Also simmering is her relationship with her father.
It all makes for an interesting story and mystery. I will admit that I had a pretty good idea of what might be involved and ultimately also a pretty good idea of who might be the murderer, but the story is very well-written and crafted and was well worth reading. I am warming more to Maisie and look forward to reading the third instalment. (4 stars)"

2. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. I've probably said this a few times in my BLog but it bears repeating. Shute is one of the all-time best writers ever. He is definitely one of my favourites and I'm enjoying exploring his extensive catalogue of books.








"As Joe says and most Queenslanders say throughout this book, 'Oh my word!'. What a great book A Town Like Alice by English author Nevil Shute is! Shute is one of my favourite authors. I've enjoyed so many of his books and I will keep searching for others of his stories.
A Town Like Alice (which I've always wanted to name A Town Called Alice; I know now why the title is as it is) is the story of Jean Paget, a young English woman, whose journey carries her from Malaysia in WWII, back to England and on to Australia. She is a normal girl, who finds herself in unique situations and finds a strength of character common to the heroes and heroines who people Shute's novels. Shute has said this story is based on a true story of a Dutch woman who kept many women prisoners of the Japanese alive with her efforts. In Shute's story, the Japanese invade Malaysia and capture a group of English women and their children. Not wanting to have anything to do with them, the women are forced to march around Malaysia, from Japanese camp to camp, suffering privations. Jean, unmarried, becomes a rational, smart leader of the group.
They are helped by an Australian prisoner, Joe, who risks his life to provide food and medicine to the women. After the war, Jean returns to England and discovers she has inherited a fair bit of money. The story teller, her solicitor Noel, helps her sort out this inheritance, which Jean wants to use to help the Malaysian village that kept the women safe.
She also decides to go to Australia to find out more about Joe, where he was from and when she arrives decides to use her money once again to help the town he was from, to make it 'a town like Alice'.
I don't want to discuss the plot much more as it is a book that needs to be enjoyed and savoured. I love the characters, I love the spirit of nation building, the positive qualities of the people. There are outstanding events that take place in this story, but they are told in such a gentle, matter of fact way that it makes them even more impressive. There are many highlights for me. I especially enjoyed discovering how the Australian outback radio communication system worked and how much of a key it was to saving a lost man. The story reminds me of The Far Country, another story that features Australia. Shute is a great author that should be explored. (5 stars)"

Currently Reading

I've added the two books below to my currently reading pile to replace the two I just finished.

1. The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny. This is the third book in an excellent mystery series by Canadian writer, Louise Penny, featuring Chief Inspector Gamache of the Quebec Provincial Police.









"A vast abandoned house. A chilling séance. A sudden death. To Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, it's the stuff of an old novel - but when he discovers the victim was murdered, a sinister shadow falls over the town of Three Pines ... and an old secret, buried deeper than the dead, returns once more to haunt the living."

2. The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer. Call it what you will; pulp fiction, B-movie fodder, tense thriller, the Fu Manchu series is an entertaining action-filled ride. The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu is the 2nd book in Rohmer's series. It was first published in 1916.








"Here is the second of the fabulous adventures of Nayland Smith and his trusted companion, Dr. Petrie - another complete thriller that again invokes the diabolical dreams and implacable will of the fabled Dr. Fu Manchu. For the Orient's most sinister emissary as returned. His goal is as monstrous as his ruthless cunning mind..."

Whew. That sounds exciting, eh? It's a page turner so far.

So there you go, all updated for a few days. Almost the weekend. Enjoy!

Best wishes to those people in the Caribbean and in Mexico who have suffered such tremendous tragedy recently.

New Books and the History and other Items...

It's raining! Carry on to the mainland please. They need it too!

My morning rant... such as it is. How petty, childish and dangerous is the current resident of the White House that he thinks it's OK and I guess funny to retweet a video of him hitting his presidential opponent in the 'back' with a golf ball. I wonder if his mouthpiece will think that's a fireable offence when she meets the press next week. And calling another of the dangerous leaders to the world, Rocket man? I wonder if he actually called him that in his telephone call to the President of South Korea. The F***wit - in - chief probably can't pronounce or spell the other guy's name so it's easier to make up a name for him. Do you really want to goad a guy with nukes that way? Oh well, maybe he's getting nervous about addressing the whole world at the UN this week, eh? Can he actually come across as balanced and informed?

Oh well, on to more interesting items, at least, to me anyway.

New Books

 While the missus was Skyping with a friend from the UK this week, I took a short visit to my local book store, Nearly New Books, to see what new (used) books they might have acquired. I was pleasantly surprised to find three books that I liked.

1. Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer. I've enjoyed the Rumpole books I've read so far, always fun and entertaining. I liked the looks of the book cover for this one and it was just like new. This was Mortimer's first full-length Rumpole novel.








"Rumpole took the liberty of altering Shakespeare a little when he offered the meeting at his Chambers a choice quotation from Henry V. It reflected what he was thinking: that it was about time he committed to paper his memories of the Penge Bungalow affair. It would be scandalous, after all, and an affront to history, if the details of such a famous case were to become lost in the mists of time.
Horace Rumpole had been a novice at Number 4 Equity Court, fresh from a quiet war in RAF groundstaff and a law degree at Oxford, when the murders at Penge fist hit the headlines: two war heroes, bomber pilots who'd flown numerous sorties together over Europe, apparently shot dead after a reunion dinner by the son of one of them, young Simon Jerold.
Young he might have been, but in those dark post-war days Simon Jerold was facing the ultimate punishment. There seemed little he could hope for, since the evidence was so incriminating. Even old Wystan - head of Chambers, father of Hilda and ostensibly there to conduct Jerold's defence - seemed to have given up the game. But not Rumpole. There was something about the evidence which bothered him and, though he was only Wystan's Junior in the case, when the time came for him to seize the initiative, he did it triumphantly - like King Harry himself."

2. John le Carré, the Biography by Adam Sisman. I've read many of le Carré's spy novels and, for the most part, enjoyed them. George Smiley is one of the great characters. I had seen this book when it first came out and wanted to try it. I was glad to find it when I was checking out books.







"Over half a century since The Spy Who Came in from the Cold made John le Carré a worldwide, bestselling sensation, David Cornwell, the man behind the pseudonym, remains an enigma. Little is really known of one of the world's most successful writers.
Adam Sisman's masterful and insightful biography reveals a man whose own life - from a difficult lonely childhood, through marriage and family life, to recruitment by both MI5 and MI6 and eventual emergence as the master of the spy novel - has been as complex and confounding as any of his novels. Written with exclusive access to David Cornwell himself, to his private archive and to the most important people in his life, this is the definitive biography of a major writer."

3. Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood is one of Canada's more unique writers, whether writing fiction, science fiction or poetry. The Handmaid's Tale remains one of my all-time favourite novels. This is one of Atwood's latest ventures and I'm happy that I found this copy. As I understand it, it's part of a group of books by different authors, with their takes on Shakespeare's plays.





"Felix is at the top of his game as Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival. His productions have amazed and confounded. Now he's staging a Tempest like no other: not only will it boost his reputation, it will heal emotional wounds.
Or that was the plan. Instead, after an act of unforeseen treachery, Felix is living in exile in a backwoods hovel, haunted by memories of his beloved lost daughter, Miranda. And also brewing revenge.
After twelve years, his chance finally arrives in the shape of a theatre course at a nearby prison. Here, Felix and his inmate actors will put on his Tempest and snare the traitors who destroyed him. It's magic! But will it remake Felix as his enemies fall?"

Great Historical Events

As we approach the end of the 1700's, today's excerpt covers the First Constitutional Congress.

"1789. March 4. - First Congress under the National Constitution assembled at New York. (Ed. Note - Trying to imagine what the first US Constitution would have been like if the likes of the current President and his racist cronies had been involved. *shudder*)
Mackenzie, in the employment of the Northwestern Fur Company, made an overland journey to the great polar river named for him, which empties into the Arctic Sea.
Aug. 22. - John Fitch exhibited a boat on the Schuylkill, at Philadelphia, propelled by steam, and afterwards a stock company was formed, which built a steam packet that ran till the company failed in 1790.

THE ORIGINAL THIRTEEN STATES

When the National Government was established, the number of the States was thirteen, viz.: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia (Ed. Note. OK, I recognize that I'm on a rant today but ..... I assume this is a US citizenship question, or it should be. Would the current President pass this or maybe one of his immigrant spouses? OK, I'll stop now)

1789. Congress passed first tariff bill. The departments of State, War, and Treasury created."

Next excerpt will discuss the first President of this newly minted country.

Science of Common Things

Today's excerpt from Prof. L.G. Gorton discusses stars. (Ed. Note. I should caveat this, if I haven't before, that I haven't checked in every case to see if the Professor's answers have adjusted with new scientific knowledge in the past 200+ years)

"Why do stars twinkle? Because there are a great many non-luminous bodies in space, and when they pass between us and a star they cut off its light just for an instant, thus causing the twinkling. What are 'shooting stars'? They are not stars proper, but are non-luminous bodies coming in contact with the earth's atmosphere, and becoming ignited by their friction upon the air have the appearance of stars. Why are meteorites or shooting stars seen most frequently between the 12th and 14th of November each year? Because the earth at that time is passing through a portion of space where the greatest number of these bodies is found." (Interesting.)

Next excerpt will discuss mirages. (Ed. Note. Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a mirage?.. Nope, I said I'd stop!)

The Birth Date Thing 10 November 2010

(I hit 55 years of age on this date, five years from official retirement from the military.)

US Billboard #1 Single 10 November 2010

Like a G6 by Far East Movement. Far East Movement (FM) is an American hip hop / electronic pop band based out of Los Angeles. Like a G6 featured The Cataracs and singer, Dev.

UK #1 Single 10 November 2010

Promise This by Cheryl Cole. This is the 2nd consecutive for Cheryl Cole on this date. This single came out in the aftermath of her divorce from footballer Ashley Cole.

New York Times #1 Fiction Best Seller 10 November 2010

Worth Dying For by Lee Child. This is the 15th Jack Reacher novel. I think I'd better get moving on this series. I've read 3 so far. As of 2017, there are 22 books in this series.









"There’s deadly trouble in the corn county of Nebraska ... and Jack Reacher walks right into it. First he falls foul of the Duncans, a local clan that has terrified an entire county into submission. But it’s the unsolved, decades-old case of a missing child that Reacher can’t let go. 
The Duncans want Reacher gone - and it’s not just past secrets they’re trying to hide. For as dangerous as the Duncans are, they’re just the bottom of a criminal food chain stretching halfway around the world. For Reacher, it would have made much more sense to put some distance between himself and the hard-core trouble that’s bearing down on him. For Reacher, that was also impossible."

Pulitzer Prize Winner 2010

Tinkers by Paul Harding. Another new book for me. This book was American author Paul Harding's first novel.










"An old man lies dying. Propped up in his living room and surrounded by his children and grandchildren, George Washington Crosby drifts in and out of consciousness, back to the wonder and pain of his impoverished childhood in Maine. As the clock repairer’s time winds down, his memories intertwine with those of his father, an epileptic, itinerant peddler and his grandfather, a Methodist preacher beset by madness."

Nobel Prize Laureate 2010

Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru / Spain). Llosa is a Peruvian writer, politician, essayist, etc. He was awarded his Nobel Laureate "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat."

Hugo Award Winners 2010

In 2010, the award was shared -

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. This biopunk science fiction novel was the debut by American writer Bacigalupi. I've never read but it does sound interesting.








"Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's Calorie Man in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, Anderson combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct, hoping to reap the bounty of history's lost calories. There, he encounters Emiko.
Emiko is the Windup Girl, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People, Emiko is not human; instead, she is an engineered being, creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman, but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok. Regarded as soulless beings by some, devils by others, New People are slaves, soldiers, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world, the oil age has passed, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe. "

The City & The City by China Miéville. I have read one of English writer Miéville's books, Perdido Street Station, and loved it. I hope this is as good. I will be looking for it.









"Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad finds deadly conspiracies beneath a seemingly routine murder. From the decaying Beszel, he joins detective Qussim Dhatt in rich vibrant Ul Qoma, and both are enmeshed in a sordid underworld. Rabid nationalists are intent on destroying their neighbouring city, and unificationists dream of dissolving the two into one."

Edgar Award Winner 2010

The Last Child by John Hart. This is the second time in three years that Hart was awarded this prize.










"Thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon has to face things no boy his age should face. In the year since his twin sister's abduction his world has fallen apart: his father has disappeared and his fragile mother is spiralling into ever deeper despair. Johnny keeps strong. Armed with a map, a bike and a flashlight, he stalks the bad men of Raven County. The police might have given up on Alyssa; he never will. Someone, somewhere, knows something they're not telling. Only one person looks out for Johnny. Detective Clyde Hunt shares his obsession with the case. But when Johnny witnesses a hit-and-run and insists the victim was killed because he'd found Alyssa, even Hunt thinks he's lost it. And then another young girl goes missing."

Man Booker Prize 2010

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson. The Finkler Question was the 11th novel by English writer Jacobson.










"Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer, and television personality, are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never lost touch with each other, or with their former teacher, Libor Sevcik.
Dining together one night at Sevcik's apartment - the two Jewish widowers and the unmarried Gentile, Treslove - the men share a sweetly painful evening, reminiscing on a time before they had loved and lost, before they had prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. But as Treslove makes his way home, he is attacked and mugged outside a violin dealer's window."

Giller Prize Winner 2010

The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud. Skibsrud was born in Nova Scotia in 1980 and this was her debut novel. She has since published two more novels and two books of poetry.









"In this riveting debut, a daughter attempts to discover the truth about the life of her father, a dying Vietnam veteran haunted by his wartime experiences. Powerful and assured, The Sentimentalists is a story of what lies beneath the surface of everyday life."

So there you go. Sunday is almost passed and it's still raining here, quite making it up for the lovely, sunny summer we've had. Have a great week!

Finished Reading and the Replacements

Just a quick post this morning as Jo and I are going to take a drive over to downtown Courtenay and wander around the shops. I can hear her moving around the kitchen as I write this.

Just Finished

I've completed two books since my last post, one classic and one fiction.

1. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. This is the 2nd Dickens book I've read in my longish life, the first being Pickwick Papers. I enjoyed this so very much, sympathetic characters, excellent story, with sad, scary and happy moments. My review is below. This is a favourite, I have to say.

"Back during my high school days, and I shudder to think it was 50 years ago, I read The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens and I recall enjoying it very much. However such is my memory I may be wrong. ;0) Anyway, it took me that long to try another book by Dickens. Over the past couple of years I've been exploring the Classics more and in Jul, decided to try Nicholas Nickleby. I had an old book of this story. Not sure when it was published but the illustrations by W.H.C. Groome lead me to believe it was published in 1907.
Anyway, enough administrative details, what about the story? Simply put, I loved it. Dickens' writing style is so accessible and entertaining. He creates wonderful characters who you find yourself becoming very invested in. The story starts off with Nicholas and his mother and sister, Kate, being placed in dire circumstances. Their father has died recently, leaving the family without income. Uncle Ralph, not a nice man, sends Nicholas off to be a teacher at a boys school in Yorkshire and then provides poor lodgings for Kate and her mother, also getting Kate a job as a dressmaker. In both instances, both Nicholas and Kate are treated horribly. Things look so very grim. Nicholas finds the treatment of the boys at the school to be abominable, especially that of Smike, a boy or more rather a young man, who has been at the school for years and is the special punching bag of Squeers and his wife. Nicholas finally can take it anymore and after thrashing Squeers leaves with Smike to return to London.
This is the barest introduction to Nicholas Nickleby, so much more is to happen. You meet such wonderful characters as Newman Noggs, hard worked clerk for Ralph Nickleby, who does everything in his power to help the family, Vincent Crummles, leader of a roving band of actors, who takes in Nicholas and Smike, the Cheeryble brothers who provide so much generous assistance to the Nickleby family, even Miss La Creevy, the lovely lady who is such a good friend. And then the villains, the Squeers, Ralph Nickleby, Mulberry Hawk, who wants to abuse Kate, etc.
Getting to know these characters as the story develops makes it such fascinating reading. Wanting to find out how everything will resolve makes you turn page after page. It's a very long story but it doesn't seem so. I won't say how everything turns out. There are so many varied possibilities. Ultimately I was so satisfied. Dickens is a great writer and story teller. I will have to now try another of his books, and I'll ensure it doesn't take me 50 years to try another. (5 stars)"

2. Night Moves by Mai Zetterling. I'm not sure where I originally heard of this book by Swedish actress / director Zetterling but the story sounded very different so I had it listed in my To-Be-Read book list. Jo got it for me for Xmas last year. It was originally a movie I believe or at least turned into a movie by Zetterling. From what I read, it was fairly disturbing. Anyway, the book was definitely different.

"I don't know if I actually got Night Games by Mai Zetterling. The synopsis sounded very interesting and the story in itself was well - written and easy to read. Basically it is about Jan, a man who is trying to sort out his past and resolve his present. He had many issues growing up with his mother, one who basically ignored him and with whom he seems to have been in love. He finds Mariana and in the course of their relationship goes through his past and tries to sort things out. I guess that is the gist of it all. Is it resolved in the end? That you have to read it for. Not really what I expected. (3 stars)"

Currently Reading

I already had A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute (which I am enjoying immensely) and Birds of a Feather, the 2nd Maisie Dobbs mystery, by Jacqueline Winspear, on the go. I have since started two others to replace the two that I have finished.

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I've previously read Neverwhere by Gaiman and enjoyed his unique brand of Fantasy. I read that this book was being turned into a TV series, starring Crispin Glover, Pablo Shreiber and Ian McShane, amongst others so thought it might be a good idea to try it in case I want to check out the series.

"Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident.
Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible.
He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same..."



2. Dear Fatty by Dawn French. Dawn French is one funny woman. Known as part of the double - comedy team of French and Saunders and also as The Vicar of Dibbley, amongst so many other great parts, I've wanted to read this memoir for awhile now. (Click on the links for examples of her great comic timing and sense of humour)

"With a sharp eye for comic detail and a wicked ear for the absurdities of life, Dawn French shows just how an RAF girl from the West Country with dreams of becoming a ballerina / air hostess / bridesmaid / thief rose to become on of the best-loved comedy actresses of our time."

I'm enjoying both books so far.

The weekend is almost here and it's a lovely day out so I'm going to go sit on the deck for a bit with Jo and enjoy the fresh air. Have a great day!

New Books and Other Stuff

I have to say those news reporters who've been braving the hurricanes to report to us are very brave. The same people that the idiot President has called enemies of the country. Idiot! American coverage is exhausting; have to take a break once in awhile. Neither Jo nor I can believe those people who refuse to listen to everybody telling them to GET OUT! Darwin must be shaking his head. But, I do wish the very best for those countries in the Caribbean that have been so severely impacted already and also to Floridians who are now starting to feel the brunt. Stay safe!

New Books

Four books arrived from Reusemebooks in the UK Friday. All belong to series that I have been enjoying.

1. The Grail Tree by Jonathan Gash. This is the third book in the Lovejoy series. I've read the first so far and I have also enjoyed the old TV series.

"Antique dealers are mostly lustful, greedy, savage, crude and vulgar - in fact, just like you. The difference is that I bet I'm a lot more honest about me than you are about you. I was entirely honest with a little old forger who claimed he had the real Holy Grail - I told him he was nuts. If I had a penny for every crackpot 'grail' story I've come across, I'd be loaded now. Yet he was a decent bloke and, whatever it was he had, someone thought it was worth murdering him for it. What choice did I have but to find out what the hell it was all about?"

2. Wobble to Death by Peter Lovesey. OK, I stand corrected. I have yet to try either of Peter Lovesey's mystery series; the Peter Diamond or the Sergeant Cribb's series. But I now have the first book in each. This is the first book in the Sgt. Cribb's historical mystery series.

"London, 1879. In the vast, freezing Agricultural Hall the crowds are gathering to bet on which of a motley group of pedestrian walkers will become Champion Pedestrian of the World. The race will last six days, covering over five-hundred miles around and around the hall. Conditions are barbaric: the rivalries are even worse. As the contestants wobble dizzily onwards, they are overtaken ... by unexpected death.
With the help of sore-footed constable Thackeray, Sgt. Cribb must also race against time to catch the ruthless murderer..."

3. Wycliffe and the Three-Toed Pussy by W.J. Burley. I've enjoyed quite a few of the Inspector Wycliffe mysteries. I've finally found the 1st book in the series. Yay!

"Pussy Welles was dead. She lay slumped on the plain oatmeal-coloured carpet, her auburn hair lustrous in the sunlight, and a jagged hole ripped by a bullet in the middle of her chest. What was even more bizarre was that the murderer had torn the shoe and stocking from her left leg, revealing that Pussy had a deformed foot bearing only three toes.
As Superintendent Wycliffe began to investigate the case he discovered that Pussy had led a wild and dangerous life. She was lethal where men were concerned, manipulating them for her own entertainment, and there were several people in Kergwyns who had reason to hate her. But it took yet another death before Wycliffe came to realise that the killing was far more subtle and tortuous than it first appeared."

I was checking through the book and saw his foreword and loved it. I must share.

"I apologize to the local council and to the planning authority for planting a village of two hundred and fifty people on the coast between St. Ives and Zennor without the necessary permits.
I apologize also to the few residents on those beautiful cliffs for saddling them with such obnoxious neighbours.
Of course Kergwyns has no existence outside the pages of this book and neither have the people who live in it."

4. Heartstone by C.J. Sansom. This has been one of my favourite historical mystery series. I've read the first four and this is the fifth book. I also have the sixth waiting my attention. As far as I know there isn't another on the way, but I can continue to hope. Matthew Shardlake is a hunchback lawyer during the time of Henry VIII and he often finds himself trying to solve cases for Henry's spymaster. Excellent tales.



"England is at war. King Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. As the English fleet gathers at Portsmouth, the country raises the largest militia army it has ever seen. The King has debased the currency to pay for the war, and England is in the grip of soaring inflation and economic crisis.
Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr, which will lead him into the corrupt labyrinth of the King's Court of Wards. Asked to investigate claims of  'monstrous wrongs' committed against his young ward Hugh Curteys by Sir Nicholas Hobbey, a Hampshire landowner, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant, Barak, journey to Portsmouth. Shardlake has taken the case, despite the imminent threat of invasion, as it also gives him the opportunity to investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettiplace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam whom he has befriended and whose family once lived nearby.
Arrived in Portsmouth, Shardlake and Barak find themselves in a city preparing to become a battle zone. The mysteries surrounding the seemingly normal Hobbey family, and the events that destroyed Ellen's family nineteen years before, involve Shardlake in reunions both with an old friend and an old enemy close to the throne. Events will converge on board one of the King's great warships, gathered in Portsmouth harbour, waiting to sail out and confront the approaching French fleet..."

Great Historical Events

Today I'll excerpt events from 1787 and 1788.

"1787. May to Sept. - Convention held in Philadelphia of the States to form a Federal Constitution.
Sept. 28. - The Constitution as it now stands, minus the amendments since added, was laid before the Continental Congress, which sent it to the several States for approval.

Invention of Iron Bridges
1788. Iron bridges invented by Thomas Paine, the author of 'Common Sense' and 'Age of Reason'. He made a model for an iron bridge to be built over the Schuylkill, with a single arch of iron of 400 feet span. The idea was suggested to his mind by observing the construction of a spider's web."

Next excerpt will cover 1789 and the Constitutional Congress.

Science of Common Things Today's excerpt from Prof. L.G. Gorton discusses rainbows and halos.

"What causes the rainbow? The refraction and reflection of light by the drops of falling water. What is a halo? (Ed. Note. I always thought it was that light that circled my head because I was such an angel!) It is a luminous or colored circle seen around the sun or moon under certain conditions of the atmosphere. What is its cause? The refraction of light by minute crystals of ice floating in the higher regions of the atmosphere. Why do halos foretell wet weather? Because they show a great amount of moisture in the atmosphere which will probably form rain."

In the next excerpt, I'll show the good Professor's answers about stars.

The Birth Date Thing 10 November 2009

US Billboard #1 Single 10 November 2009

Fireflies by Owl City. Owl City is an American synth-pop band out of Minnesota that formed in 2007. Fireflies was their first single and it reached #1 in the US and UK amongst other countries and it reached #2 in Canada. What do we know anyway.. :) It's a great song.

UK #1 Single 10 November 2009

Fight for this Love by Cheryl Cole. Another great song, this one from Cheryl Cole who started out with successful group, Girls Aloud. This was her first solo single and it rightfully reached #1 in the UK. The link is to a great live version.

New York Times #1 Fiction Best Seller 10 November 2009

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. This is the third novel by Brown to feature Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon. The other books were Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. I read the first book and thought it was OK, but it didn't make me want to read the others. I'll just watch the movie. :)








Pulitzer Prize Winner 2009

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. This is another book I haven't read. It was also turned into a TV mini-series in 2014, starring Frances McDormand.

"Olive Kitteridge: indomitable, compassionate and often unpredictable. A retired schoolteacher in a small coastal town in Maine, as she grows older she struggles to make sense of the changes in her life. She is a woman who sees into the hearts of those around her, their triumphs and tragedies.We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and a young man who aches for the mother he lost - and whom Olive comforts by her mere presence, while her own son feels overwhelmed by her complex sensitivities.A penetrating, vibrant exploration of the human soul, the story of Olive Kitteridge will make you laugh, nod in recognition, wince in pain, and shed a tear or two."

Nobel Prize Winner 2009

Herta Muller (Germany). Herta Muller is a Romanian-born German novelist and poet. She won her Nobel Prize as an artist "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed".

 Hugo Award Winner 2009

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I've read one of Gaiman's stories so far, Neverwhere, and have also seen the movie adaptation of Stardust and enjoyed them both.

"After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family..."

 Edgar Award Winner 2009

Blue Heaven by C.J. Box. C.J. Box is an American author of 21 books. He is known for his Joe Pickett series. Blue Heaven was a standalone mystery.

"A twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother are on the run in the Idaho woods, pursued by four men they have just watched commit murder—four men who know exactly who William and Annie are. And where their mother lives.
Retired policemen from Los Angeles, the killers easily persuade the local sheriff to let them lead the search for the missing children. Now there's nowhere left for William and Annie to hide…and no one they can trust. Until they meet Jess Rawlins.
Rawlins, an old-school rancher, knows trouble when he sees it. He is only one against four men who will stop at nothing to silence their witnesses. But in this thrilling mystery novel from C.J. Box, these ex-cops don't know just how far Rawlins will go to protect William and Annie…and see that justice is done."

 Man Booker Prize 2009

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I've had this on my shelf for a little while now and once I get over being intimidated by its size, I'll give it a try. The book was also turned into a successful TV series.The book is a fictionalized biography telling of the rapid rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII following the death of Sir Thomas More.







Giller Prize Winner 2009

The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre. The Bishop's Man is the 2nd book in MacIntyre's Cape Breton trilogy. 

"Father Duncan MacAskill has spent most of his priesthood as the 'Exorcist' - an enforcer employed by his bishop to discipline wayward clergy and suppress potential scandal. He knows all the devious ways that lonely priests persuade themselves that their needs trump their vows, but he's about to be sorely tested himself.What is striking about The bishop's man is the way the author achieves a necessary balance, keeping a judicious distance between himself and his tale of institutional corruption and its dire effects. Both dispassion and compassion inform his narrative."

Middle of September almost. My plan is to finish Nicholas Nickelby in the next couple of days. I'm really enjoying very much. I want to see how things will resolve for Nicholas, his sister, the woman he loves, his best friend and other characters I've come to like a lot.

A Book Finished, A Challenge Completed and Other Items of Interest...

It's much cooler today and there is even a breeze. The past week the temperatures have been the highest we've had all summer and we've also been revisited by some of the smoke from the mainland. (Nothing like they've been experiencing all summer, mind you.) We might get some rain for the next few days and I hope if we do that the mainland also gets a whole bunch so they can finally get those fires under control.

Jo got us a new toy for our anniversary. She got a bit tired of watching me trying to get snippets of the news from MSNBC and such so she got us the News package for the TV. Of course, now we find ourselves spending our afternoons watching not only CBC and CTV News but also the American networks.... and of course shouting at the TV a lot more. But that's OK.. :) The main problem is that Morning Joe on MSNBC starts at 3 a.m. here on the West Coast so we only manage to catch the last hour. But we have been enjoying Rachel Maddow and some of the other News shows.

Finished Reading

I am still managing to squeeze in some reading between all this news watching. This morning I finished The African Queen by C.S. Forester. I've read quite a few of Forester's books over the past few years - around 12, actually. I've especially enjoyed the Hornblower books, but I've also read some of Forester's stories set during WWI & II (the General and The Ship) as well as one of his mysteries. All were excellent and varied.

My review of The African Queen is below.




"The African Queen by C.S. Forester might be better known for the movie based on this excellent book. I've seen this movie, starring Kate Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart many times and I'm glad to finally have finally sat down to enjoy the book.
The book was originally published in 1935 and is set during the First World War in Central Africa. I've read a fair bit about WWI but generally it's been focused on the European theater. It was interesting to read a book set in this location. Rose Sayer and her brother Samuel have been many years in Tanzania, her brother a missionary and she his assistant and house keeper. The war has come to home as they are located in German South Africa and their workers and their goods have been taken by the German Army. This has broken her brother and Kate is now on her own. She joins Charlie Allnutt, a Cockney sailor who plies the Ulanga river for a Belgian mine. Allnutt is also on his own and he allows Kate to take control and agrees to head downriver to try and sink a German cruiser that plies the Lake, hindering British efforts to push the Germans out of Africa.
There are many excellent features to this story; the journey and all its trials and tribulations, the growing of Kate as a person, one who had been under the thumb of her family and brother for the first 30+ years of her life; the budding relationship between Allnutt and Kate, etc. It's a fascinating story, made more interesting because it basically features two people in close quarters. The adventure is tense, their ingenuity at solving their issues as the sail downriver.
There are key differences to the movie, especially the ending, but the book is every bit as interesting and entertaining. The development of the characters and the challenges they face and work together to resolve make it all the more interesting. I've enjoyed so many of Forester's books; he writes such varied stories, the Hornblower tales, interesting mysteries, excellent war stories and of course, this. (5 stars)"

Currently Reading

With finishing The African Queen, I have now completed my 2nd 12 + 4 Challenge of the year. I'm going to focus on my Individual Challenges for the last 4 months. Of course, that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking of what I might do as my 12 +4 Challenge for 2018. One idea I had was just to read the 12 + 4 books I've had the longest on my Goodreads To Be Read list. The other was maybe picking 16 books that I have that start a new series. I might save that for one of my Individual Challenges though.

Anyway, back to the present. I've taken a book by one of my all-time favourite authors down off the bookshelf as my next book, that being A Town Like Alice by English writer, Nevil Shute.

"It was unbelievable to Joe that this smart, pretty girl in a light summer frock was the tragic, ragged figure that he had last seen on the road in Malaya, sunburnt, dirty, bullied by the Japanese soldiers.

One of the great novels of our time. This is a magnificent, moving, and invincibly readable story of courage and endurance, of enterprise and love - in war and in the aftermath of war."

I've been reading more of Shute's books the past couple of years and I've been looking forward to trying this story for awhile now.





Great Historical Events

Today's excerpt finishes off 1786.

"Dec. - Shay's rebellion in Massachusetts. After the war there occurred a series of outbreaks against the Government, which were caused by the impoverished condition of the country, and the feeling of discontent and dissatisfaction of the soldiers, who had as yet received little toward satisfying their claims, and also, as a consequent result of war, by a demoralizing influence which was ready to be kindled into a flame by every appeal to passion or selfishness. A rebellion was organized under the command of Daniel Shay, Luke Day, and Eli Parsons, which attempted the overthrow of law and order, and the establishment of mob force. They proceeded to march upon Springfield, and prevent the sitting of court, and if possible, seize the arsenal. But Governor Bowdoin summoned the militia, numbering over four thousand, under command of Gen. Lincoln, and by prompt and decisive measures it was quickly suppressed."

Science of Common Things

Today's excerpt from Prof. L.G. Gorton discusses refraction... something like that anyway.. :)

"If a straight stick be partially submerged in water at an angle why does it appear to be bent? Because the rays of light coming from the part of the stick which is under water are bent as they leave the water. For the same reason the apparent depth of the water is deceptive."

The Birth Date Thing 10 November 2008

US Billboard #1 Single 10 November 2008

Whatever You Like by T.I. T.I. (born Clifford Harris) is an Atlanta, Georgia rapper and actor. Whatever You Like was his first US #1.

UK #1 Single 10 November 2008

Hero by X Factor Finalists. Hero was co - written by Mariah Carey.

New York Times #1 Fiction Best Seller 10 November 2008

Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn. Extreme Measures is the 9th book in Flynn's Mitch Rapp thriller series. I've read the first book so far and have enjoyed. I guess I'd better get moving on the rest, eh, as there are another 15 books in the series. In this book, Rapp works with CIA agent Mike Nash to battle a Taliban jihadist.







 Pulitzer Prize Winner 2008

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Juno Diaz. This is the only novel written by Dominican American writer Diaz. She has written short stories and children stories as well. "The book chronicles both the life of Oscar De León, an overweight Dominican boy growing up in Paterson, New Jersey, who is obsessed with science fiction and fantasy novels and with falling in love, as well as the curse that has plagued his family for generations."






Nobel Prize Laureate 2008

JMG Le Clezio (French Mauritius). JMG Le Clezio is a French-Mauritian writer and professor who has authored over 70 works. He was awarded the Nobel Laureate as an "author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization".

Hugo Award Winner 2008

The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon. This is the fifth novel by American novelist Chabon. It's a book I've looked at a few times but I haven't yet decided that I want to read it. The novel is a "detective story set in an alternate history version of  the present day, based on the premise that during World War II, a temporary settlement for Jewish refugees was established in Sitka Alaska in 1941 and after the fledgling state of Israel was destroyed in 1948."





Edgar Award Winner 2008

Down River by John Hart. American writer Hart is another writer who I have yet to try. He is also noted for Redemption Road amongst other books. Down River was his second novel after The King of Lies. His stories take place in North Carolina.








Man Booker Award Winner 2008

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. This book is the debut novel by Indian writer Adiga. "The novel provides a darkly humorous perspective of India’s class struggle in a globalized world as told through a retrospective narration from Balram Halwai, a village boy. In detailing Balram's journey first to Delhi, where he works as a chauffeur to a rich landlord, and then to Bangalore, the place to which he flees after killing his master and stealing his money, the novel examines issues of religion, caste, loyalty, corruption and poverty in India."




Giller Prize Winner 2008

Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden. Through Black Spruce was Boyden's 3rd published work. It is set in Moosonee, Ontario and is narrated between form bush pilot Will Bird and his niece Annie Bird.









Winding this down over the next few weeks and then it will be time to start thinking about what books to read in 2008.. How exciting!