A Sunday Reading Update and the Science Fiction Novel - Patrick Rothfuss

Sunday Home Alone Update (well, with Jo and the dogs of course).

Up at 6ish this morning, took out the dogs, fed them breakfast and put them back to bed with Jo. I then went for my morning walk. It was a bit cooler today (still is in fact). I saw no other walkers or joggers, 10+ cars and one deer. After that I finished a book (update in a mo'), then took the dogs out for their lunch walk. I made Jo and I lunch; tuna sarnies, slices of cucumber and cheese, crisps and a couple of strawberries. I went out and washed out my little free library and wiped down the books with a disinfectant wipe. Jo and I had talked about closing it down for the time being, due the Covid outbreak, but I think if I keep the place nice and clean, it should be fine. I hope to five it a fresh coat of paint in the near future as well.

Last night Jo and I enjoyed an evening in watching movies on TCM. Well, before that we watched Kingsman: Golden Circle. TCM had some great mysteries; Bullitt, Dial M for Murder and Wait Until Dark. It's always fun watching great movies because we also enjoy searching out the actors, trivia on the movies and directors, etc. While I do this BLog entry today I'm also watching Minority Report. I think Jo is watching News Radio upstairs.

Tomorrow I think I'll take a trip to Courtenay to Cobs Bakery to get a fresh loaf of bread and maybe a few things we need at Quality Foods.

Now on to my reading update and my look at the Sci-Fi novel.

Just Finished

1. Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto. This book falls into my Non-Series Challenge.










"Inspector Imanishi Investigates is my first exposure to the writing of Japanese author, Seichō Matsumoto. Inspector Imanishi is a police inspector in Tokyo and is assigned to the investigation of a body found on the railroad tracks. The individual has been beaten to death and there are no indications of his identity.

Thus begins an interesting investigation that will take Imanishi around Japan as he tries to ascertain who the victim was and who might have killed him. It's a slow methodical approach and gradually the investigation is forced to wind down. But over the months Imanishi and another inspector from another division, Yoshimura, continue to gather clues that will help them solve the crime.

The story is more than just an investigation. We get excellent pictures Japanese culture, we meet Imanishi's wife Yoshiko, and also a group of people who might be suspects in the murder, an artistic group, the Nouveau group. Over time other people will die, either naturally or possibly murdered, some who Imanishi had hoped to gain information from.

In the end the story will search into the past and there will be a novel method of murder, quite fascinating. All in all it's an interesting mystery and excellent portrayal of a culture of which I know only a little. (4 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys (Fiction / 1934). I've had this on my bookshelf for 5 years, about time I got around to it.








"It was as if a curtain had fallen, hiding everything I had ever known,' says Anna Morgan, eighteen years old and catapulted to England from the West Indies after the death of her beloved father. Working as a chorus girl, Anna drifts into the demi-monde of Edwardian London. But there, dismayed by the unfamiliar cold and grayness, she is absolutely alone and unconsciously floating from innocence to harsh experience. Her childish dreams have been replaced by the harsher reality of living in a man's world, where all charity has its price Voyage in the Dark was first published in 1934, but it could have been written today. It is the story of an unhappy love affair, a portrait of a hypocritical society, and an exploration of exile and breakdown; all written in Rhys's hauntingly simple and beautiful style" 

The Science Fiction Novel - Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick James Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss is an American fantasy writer, born in Madison Wisconsin in 1973. He is best known for his Kingkiller Chronicles, a trilogy that he has so far written two books for. He has also written other books. So far I have the first book in the Kingkiller Chronicles. I hope to finally get to it this year.

a. The Name of the Wind (2007).








"My name is Kvothe.
I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.
 

So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature--the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend."


The complete listing of Rothfuss's books can be found at this link.

Have a great safe week.