For anybody interested, especially Canadians, who might be interested in an alternate social network, one that was created in Canada and is free, check out Hey Café. I checked it out after it was recommended by a YouTuber who talks about Canadian issues, Guard the Leaf and is very interesting. There are a couple of other Canadian YouTube subscribers that are also worth checking out, The Bill Kelly Podcast and Claus Kellerman. Check out their videos, subscribe if you find them interesting. Oh wait, here are two more you might like; Tod Maffin, who has made a concerted effort to bring more medical professionals into Canada, and The Interesting MD, an American doctor who made the move to Canada and talks to medical professionals, some who've moved to Canada and also compares Canada's medical system with that of the US. Oh, by the way, if you do join Hey Café, look me up please.
So, now let's talk about books. My last update was 9 May. I've completed 3 books since then and I'll update those as well as the normal other activities; books started, new books.
Completed Books
"Police at the Funeral is the 4th book in English author, Margery Allingham's mystery series featuring Albert Campion. It's also the 10th book I've read in the series, of 15+ books. I recently watched the TV adaptation of this book and it made me think of the show the more I got into the story.
Albert Campion is asked to come out to a Cambridge estate by an old school chum of his. Leaving behind his lugubrious man-servant, Lugg, Campion heads out. It's an old estate, ruled by the matriarch and there is much friction between the various family members, all relatively old. That is except, lovely Joyce, Marcus's (Campion's chum) fiancé who looks after various business matters and Great Aunt Caroline.
Before he heads out, we are introduced to Campion and his police friend, Chief Inspector Oates. Oates was to meet someone down an alley, but is surprised to find Campion also there. A man follows Oates but runs away when a woman, who we discover is Joyce, also arrives, as she had arranged to meet Campion. Although she denies it, Campion believes she knows who the man was.
After this, Campion receives his invite. Uncle Andrew, a very unlikable man, has been missing, having disappeared after the family returned from Sunday Mass. His body is ultimately discovered by a couple of hikers, murdered and thrown into the river. The gun which was used cannot be found and his body has been in the water for some time. CI Oates is called up from Scotland Yard to investigate as well. Campion stays at the estate to assist.
Another murder takes place shortly after, with Aunt Julia being poisoned. The suspects seem to be from within the estate, with Uncle William a prime candidate. Campion investigates, sometimes assisting Oates, but mainly keeping his own counsel.
It's a slowish - paced story, a somewhat heavy read at times (not complex, but it just seems that often, I'd been reading for awhile but then realized I'd only read 10 or so pages). The characters are interesting, mostly likable, with a few exceptions. Grumpy old people who are beholden to Great Aunt Caroline, who is sharp, wise and observant, quite a favorite of Campion's.
It's an ultimately satisfying story, somewhat confusing (I think maybe better explained in the TV series). Campion is an interesting character, seemingly mild and sometimes simple but when necessary, quite filled with action and strength. All in all, I continue to enjoy the series, both the books and the TV series, with Peter Davison as Campion. The story was a bit less fun without the irrepressible Lugg accompanying Campion, but it was still enjoyable. (3.5 stars)"
"Of American author Shirley Jackson's six published novels, The Sundial, originally published in 1958, is the 5th I've completed. The first novel, The Road Through the Wall is on order. I started reading Jackson's work with her short story, The Lottery. Anyway, I believe Jackson was one of the unique horror authors of her time, focused more on the psychological aspects of horror, more so than just pure scary horror.
The Sundial reminded me of her last novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle. By that I mean that it's told in many voices and it also is about a group of people isolated on an estate. But the story itself is quite different.
It starts with the death (or maybe murder) of the son of Halloran family, who presumably was pushed down a stairway to his death. His father is married for the 2nd time and the current Mrs. Halloran runs the show and now that the son and inheritor of the estate is dead, she plans to have everyone else residing in the home sent away. This includes Aunt Fanny (unmarried sister of Roger, the father), Maryjane, wife of Lionel (the dead son) and everybody else. That is except Fancy, Maryjane and Lionel's young daughter. Orianna (Mrs. Halloran) plans to raise Fancy and eventually have her take over the estate.
However, Aunt Fanny throws a spanner into the works. She has a vision, from her dead father, which foretells that basically the earth is going to end and that everyone in the home must stay there if they are going to survive. For some reason, she persuades everybody, including Orianna, to believe her. So this is the basic premise and over the course of the novel, we get constant varying viewpoints from the residents of the estate. A few others will arrive to add to the mix, a friend of Orianna's and her two daughters, Mrs Willows and Julia and Arabella. As well, an old family friend who is going on a cruise or safari sends his daughter, Gloria, to stay at the home. And finally, a man, referred to as the Captain is brought in (I can't remember by whom, maybe Arabella).
So you've got this mix of strange, odd people, all playing on each other's nerves, trying to prepare for the end. Aunt Fanny brings Miss Ogilvie, the lady who teaches Fancy, into town with Arabella, to start ordering supplies for the estate. Of course, they can't help mentioning it to the townsfolk, who think they are somewhat odd. Essex, a gadabout, hanger-on who has lived on the estate at Orianna's good will, is constantly sticking his oar in, poking people, irritating them.
Julia wants desperately to leave and persuades the Captain to go with her, but Orianna has her own plans. They do need men to help repropagate the world, dontcha know. As the time winds closer, Orianna plans a huge garden party for the people of the town, basically one last affair before everyone else, but them, of course, dies.
It's a strange, sometimes meandering story but as the days get closer, you find yourself being drawn more and more into the plot, into the events, into the people. Of course, I won't tell you how it all ends, but everything is fascinating and surprising. It took me awhile to get into the story. At times it made me think of Ionesco's The Rhinocerous, as it seems satirical.. and maybe it is, but it's still scary and interesting and it does draw you into the insanity. (4.0 stars)"
"The only other book I've read by Sci Fi author Thomas M. Disch was Camp Concentration which I enjoyed very much. Echo Round His Bones was his 4th novel, published in 1970. I was looking forward to trying another book so Echo was it. I find it somewhat hard to describe, very interesting concept but the story ultimately didn't work for me.
We're in a kind of alternate Earth where it seems that all if not most of the cities are covered in domes. There is a somewhat uneasy peace between the US and Russia, although they still have nukes (if I understand correctly, the nukes are just not on Earth, but in space, e.g. the Moon and Mars? So a Dr/ Panofsky, who escaped from Nazi concentration camps and now works for the US government, has invented a device, a transporter or sorts, there allows instantaneous transport between transport machines.
Nathan Hansard, a Capt. in the US Army is assigned along with his platoon to take a message to the General in charge of the Mars detachment. They are transported to Mars but we discover that a part of themselves (an Echo, get it?) remains on Earth. Hansard hasn't gotten along very well with his platoon, especially Sgt Worsaw, who he has demoted to Pte. When Hansard realizes what has happened, the echo of Hansard that is, he has to escape from the Echoes of Worsaw and the rest of his platoon.
The Echoes can feel pain, they can die, they breathe, they need to eat. Worsaw and his group have become cannibals, eating the Echoes of those they kill.
Hansard escapes from them but must try and survive in this new Echo condition (now, just to try and keep up, the real Hansard is visited at times during his stay on Mars. The letter he has given the General tells the General that in a month, he will have to launch his nukes on Earth.
Hansard meets the Echoes of Dr. Panofsky and his wife, Brigida (now there are more than one Echo of each because every time they transport, a new Echo is created). Have I confused you very much? Then you are a smarter man than I, Gunga Din. 😁😎
Hansard and the Panofskys find out about the letter and the rest of the book is involved with them trying to save the world. And sundry other matters.
For a very short book, 144 pages, a whole lot happens. As I said, it's a neat concept, but I did find Disch got kind of caught up in the technicalities and philosophies. The characters were ok, but not too fleshed out. And the ending was confusing. But other than that.. it was kind of neat and I'm going to try another Disch story when I get it. Check out Camp Concentration first, I'd suggest but this might also be right up your alley. (2.0 stars)"
Currently Reading
"In this powerful reframing of the stories that make us, Anishinaabe writer Patty Krawec leads us into the borderlands of history, science, memoir, and fiction to What worlds do books written by marginalized people describe and invite us to inhabit?
When a friend asked what books could help them understand Indigenous lives, Patty Krawec, author of Becoming Kin, gave them a list. This list became a book club and then a podcast about a year of Indigenous reading, and then this book. The writers in Bad Indians Book Club refuse to let dominant stories displace their own and resist the way wemitigoozhiwag--European settlers--craft the prevailing narrative and decide who they are.In Bad Indians Book Club, we examine works about history, science, and gender as well as fiction, all written from the perspective of "Bad Indians"--marginalized writers whose refusal to comply with dominant narratives opens up new worlds. Interlacing chapters with short stories about Deer Woman, who is on her own journey to decide who she is, Krawec leads us into a place of wisdom and medicine where the stories of marginalized writers help us imagine other ways of seeing the world. As Krawec did for her friend, she recommends a list of books to fill in the gaps on our own bookshelves and in our understanding.
Becoming Kin, which novelist Omar El Akkad called a "searing spear of light," led readers to talk back to the histories they had received. Now, in Bad Indians Book Club comes a potent challenge to all the stories settler colonialism tells--stories that erase and appropriate, deny and deflect. Following Deer Woman, who is shaped by the profuse artistry of Krawec, we enter the multiple worlds Indigenous and other subaltern stories create. Together we venture to the edges of worlds waiting to be born."
Follow Monty's journey as he moves from the animal shelter to life in the big city, with his new human – who knows nothing at all about dogs!
Phew! That's a lot for one little Schnauzer, even one that believes he's a private investigator."
There’s a monkey with a unique artistic talent. A man living his life over again. A tube in the rush hour that was so crowded it seemed like hell; in fact it was hell...
Jizzle will grip you from cover to cover with its unique blend of horror and fantasy — a combination which can never fail.
Contents:
- Jizzle
- Technical Slip
- A Present from Brunswick
- Chinese Puzzle
- Esmeralda
- How Do I Do?
- Una
- Affair of the Heart
- Confidence Trick
- The Wheel
- Look Natural, Please!
- Perforce to Dream
- Reservation Deferred
- Heaven Scent
- More Spinned Against"
'I don't know who I am. I don't know what I am.'
Elizabeth Cage is a child when she discovers that there are things in this world that only she can see. But she doesn't want to see them and she definitely doesn't want them to see her.
What is a curse to Elizabeth is a gift to others - a very valuable gift they want to control.
When her husband dies, Elizabeth's world descends into a nightmare. But as she tries to piece her life back together, she discovers that not everything is as it seems.
Alone in a strange and frightening world, she's a vulnerable target to forces beyond her control.
And she knows that she can't trust anyone..."
