A Weekend Reading Update and Women Authors

It's been a mixed bag this weekend, rain, sun, wind, a little bit of everything. Sunny at the moment. The Blue Jays have had a pretty good weekend, clobbering the Red Sox Sat and Sun. They had Friday's game in the bag, it seemed, but the bullpen let them down. I hope they beat the Sox again in the 4th game tomorrow. A nice winning streak would be great. It's definitely an exciting team; 5 home runs from the kids yesterday and 8 more today. And that's without Stringer in the line-up. Imagine.. 

I've finished one book since my last update, 3 in June. For the most part I'm enjoying my books for June, except Flash for Freedom. The portrayal of the slave trade is graphic and distressing. I think I should finish it, but it'll be difficult. Anyway, I'll provide my book review for the book I've completed and also the synopsis of the next book in line. I'll also continue with my look at Women authors, whose books I'm enjoying.

Just Finished

1. Laughing Gas by P.G. Wodehouse (1936). I've enjoyed Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster series and I think I've also tried his PSmith series.

"Two words to describe Laughing Gas (1936) by English humorist P.G. Wodehouse; light fluff. Don't expect anything earth shattering or deep, it's an early version of Freaky Friday. 

The 3rd Earl of Havershot, one Reggie Havershot, is sent by his family to Hollywood to stop cousin Egremont, Eggy, from marrying an American lady. So off toodles good old Reggie. It turns out that Eggy's betrothed is none other than Reggie's previous love, Ann Bannister. Reggie had blown his proposal to Ann in Cannes. One other thing, Reggie meets actress April June while on the train across country to LA and falls for her. He is warned of April by many people (she's a pill) but can't accept their warnings.

While at a party at April's house, Reggie's tooth bothers him so he goes to the dentist where he meets child actor Joey Cooley. While they are both put under by laughing gas, something happens, their spirits cross paths and they wake up in each other's bodies. And that is the story and what follows are Reggie's trials and tribulations as the young star, while Joey, in Reggie's body, travels around LA exacting justice from those who have hurt him. No uproarious laughter, just predicaments that follow Reggie as he tries to get out of his situation.

Its light and entertaining and the final resolution is satisfying. As I said, not a world beater but a fun story by the creator of Jeeves and Wooster and PSmith. (3 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (1976). Wilhelm is a new author for me and this book is one of  Sci-Fi / Fantasy books I'm enjoying at the moment. It's been nice the past few years getting back into the genre more.

"Before becoming one of today's most intriguing and innovative mystery writers, Kate Wilhelm was a leading writer of science fiction, acclaimed for classics like The Infinity Box and The Clewiston Test.

Now one of her most famous novels returns to print, the spellbinding story of an isolated post-holocaust community determined to preserve itself, through a perilous experiment in cloning. Sweeping, dramatic, rich with humanity, and rigorous in its science, Where Later the Sweet Birds Sang is widely regarded as a high point of both humanistic and "hard" SF, and won SF's Hugo Award and Locus Award on its first publication. It is as compelling today as it was then."

Women Authors I'm Enjoying - Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins (not the Republican politician 😋) was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1962 and is author of the Underland Chronicles and the series I've read, The Hunger Games. I read the series after hearing of the movie (I think anyway) and have enjoyed all three of the books. They are of a type, young adult fantasy adventures, and I think they're great if they encourage young kids to read. I had similar book series when I was a kid, the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, etc. So let's take a look at the 3 books I've read.

a. The Hunger Games (#1 / 2008). I think I may have originally been attracted by the covers.

"Synopsis - In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and once girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love."

"My review  - I've had this series for awhile now and I've seen the first movie installment and enjoyed it very much. The movie was very respectful of the book and I'm glad to have finally read it. It's well-paced, interesting and peopled with excellent characters, from Katniss to Peeta and Haymitch, even down to Ceena. I'm glad I finally read it and look forward to seeing how the story continues. It left me wanting more. (4 stars)"

b. Catching Fire (#2 / 2009).

"Catching Fire was an entertaining, well-paced sequel in the Hunger Games trilogy. It has that problem of being the 2nd book in a trilogy, continuing the thread from Book 1 and setting up the grand finale. It was a bit of more of the same from the first book, Katniss and Peeta once again, surprisingly though, sent to another Hunger Games competition, the 75th anniversary; because they were previous winners, they were supposed to be exempt. This competition involves previous winners from each district and is an attempt by President Snow to end the popularity of Katniss and to quell outbreaks in the various districts. New challenges, new friends and enemies. It was interesting and exciting. I've now got to find out how the whole thing ends so I guess it achieved its aim. (3 stars)"

c. Mockingjay (#3 / 2010).

"Mockingjay is the third and final book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It was definitely an excellent ending to the story. I thought of giving it a rating of 5 but it wasn't quite perfect. It took a bit to get going but once it did, it held my attention, almost breathless, until the end. There were nice twists and turns as well; the effect of imprisonment on Peeta, the surprising ending.

I still found Katniss a bit irritating but then again, she was a young woman still with tremendous pressure placed on her shoulders. I liked so many of the characters, especially her support cast; Gale, Haymitch. Prim, Finnick, etc.

The story developed slowly but once the revolution gets going, it's a constant flow of intense action. But the final ending left me feeling hope for the future of the world of Panem. (4 stars)"

The complete listing of Collins' books can be found at this link. Some reading ideas to start off your new week. Enjoy. Stay safe. 😷