A Weekend Update

Well, it's been a quietish few days since I returned from the hospital from my hernia(s) surgery.  I guess it went ok, no final visit from the Doc with any discouraging news. The popsicle they gave me in recovery was just lovely, never tasted so good. LOL. So now I've got to take it easy for a couple of weeks, no lifting of anything, no exercise. Jo has been keeping an eye on me to make sure I behave. I'm not used to feeling like an invalid, but I do know it's for the best. The pain down below is a little less every day and really, it's only been 3 days... well, it will be three days shortly. I'm eating well. Jo made a great cheese cake and we had that with a plate of fruit for lunch today. 

(Ed note - the next bit falls under the TMI category so bypass if you want). One of the notes on the after surgery paperwork was to call the doc if I had problems urinating. That's not been a problem. I was very nervous about having my first 💩 but yesterday I had my first and then today I had another. Very cautiously, I will say but a couple of coffees always seems to make it all go smoothly. 😛😜😝

I also feel more normal wearing a pair of jeans instead of the track pants that I have been wearing since I got back from the hospital. 

Oh yesterday we got our new sofa for the family room. Very nice it is, a little firmer than we expected but it will get softer over time.

A quick update on books now, as well, I'll continue with my ongoing and often neglected topic of Women Authors I've Been Enjoying. I 'finished' one book since my last update. I'm making steady progress on the rest but I do have a few on the go so I keep jumping back and forth between books. I also will update with the synopses of the 2 books I received since my last update.

New Books

1. Drumsticks by Charlotte Carter (Nanette Hayes #3 / 2000). I finished the first book in this relatively short series last month and I'm looking forward to continuing it.

"Back in Manhattan after splitting with her boyfriend, Nanette is determined to drink herself into the ground, but her new voodoo doll- -a gift from a friend--is suddenly turning her life around."

2. Act of Darkness by Jane Haddam (Gregor Demarkian #3 / 1991). This has been a favorite series of mine. I haven't necessarily followed the books in order but it doesn't seem to matter too much. I'm glad to have finally found the 3rd book.

"Stephen Fox may be a moron, but he may also be America’s next president. The dimwitted legislator is just smart enough to know when to smile for the camera. But two women stand in the way of his campaign: his mistress and his wife, who has never recovered from the death of their daughter, a pain she manages by devoting herself to fundraising for children with Down syndrome. During a weekend-long charity extravaganza on Long Island Sound, Fox’s candidacy goes off the rails in a spectacularly bloody fashion. Ex-FBI investigator Gregor Demarkian is the first on the scene. Fox’s entourage of political handlers may lie for a living, but Demarkian has a way of ferreting out the truth, and he will nab the killer before the last firework sounds."

Just Finished

1. Ninety - Three by Victor Hugo (1874). OK, I didn't finish this one. I think I gave it a mighty effort but, I just couldn't keep going with it. There is another book that I'm working through that I've also thought I might not finish, but I'm going to try to stick with that one. But that's for another post.

"Sorry folks. I honestly tried and this is supposed to be a classic. But, sigh, I just had to give up finally. I read 200 of 400+ pages and it just was dragging on and on... Supposedly a story about the French Revolution and two men, one a Royalist and one a Republican (aka pro and anti Monarchists). One is sent from England to rouse the countryside against the Revolution. And that's as far as I get it. 

The story rambles on, listing names, having conversations. I forgot who everybody was, didn't know half of the people mentioned. It was like Genesis in the Bible. So and so begat so and so who begat so and so.. but nothing happens!!!!

I just lost the will to finish it. Of course it probably picks up immensely from the point I quit, but... so what. Now experts on the French Revolution might really enjoy this. But sorry, not for me. No Rating since I didn't finish. (NR)"

Currently Reading

1. The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov (1955). This was one of Asimov's earlier works. It's starting to grow on me.

"Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a member of the elite of the future. One of the few who live in Eternity, a location outside of place and time, Harlan’s job is to create carefully controlled and enacted Reality Changes. These Changes are small, exactingly calculated shifts in the course of history, made for the benefit of humankind. Though each Change has been made for the greater good, there are also always costs.

 During one of his assignments, Harlan meets and falls in love with Noÿs Lambent, a woman who lives in real time and space. Then Harlan learns that Noÿs will cease to exist after the next Change, and he risks everything to sneak her into Eternity.

Unfortunately, they are caught. Harlan’s punishment? His next assignment: Kill the woman he loves before the paradox they have created results in the destruction of Eternity."

Women Authors Whose Work I've Been Enjoying - Lyn Hamilton

Lyn Hamilton

Lyn Elizabeth Hamilton was a Canadian mystery writer who wrote an archaeological series featuring Lara McClintoch, an owner of an antique store in Toronto who gets involved in mysteries all over the world. She lived from 1944 - 2009 and during her life wrote 11 books in this series. I have read 4 of the series thus far and have another six on my bookshelf. I guess I'll have to try and find the one I'm missing, eh? So let's take a look at those books I have yet to read.

1. The Magyar Venus (#8 / 2004).

"After the unveiling of the Magyar Venus--a head and torso of a woman carved from mammoth ivory during the Upper Paleolithic period--one of Lara's friends commits suicide. Determinedly tracing the Venus's provenance to Budapest, Lara discovers a truth that arises from the secrets of the past."

2. The Chinese Alchemist (#11 / 2007).

"Antiques dealer Lara McClintoch is targeted by ruthless criminals while tying to recover an eighth-century Tang Dynasty silver box-with an alchemical formula for the elixir of immortality etched on the inside of the lid. The rare item holds the key not only to the mysterious death of a museum curator, but to Lara's own survival."

3. The Thai Amulet (#7 / 2003).

"Bangkok--a city of heady contradictions--inspires Lara McClintoch's sense of adventure and her impressive sleuthing skills when a fellow antiques dealer disappears without a trace."

4. The Xibalba Murders (#1 / 1997).

"Lara McClintoch, her marriage ended and her antiques business sold, eagerly embarks on a trip to Mexico to help an old friend solve a mystery. On arrival, her friend puts off their meeting and then disappears. After Lara witnesses a brazen robbery of a valuable statue of the ancient Mayan civilization and stumbles on a corpse in a museum of antiquities, she becomes a police suspect. Afraid of the police and unsure whom to trust, Lara follows clues pointing to black marketeers and zealous revolutionaries. This dangerous trail takes her to remote archaeological ruins, lush jungles, and bustling streets filled with revelers. Lara engages in a thrilling battle of wits and courage to unmask a killer and stop a tomb-robber in the shadowy world of Xibalba, the Lords of Death."

5. The African Quest (#5 / 2001).

"It looked like an ordinary group of tourists – a mix of easy-going and critical, quiet and talkative, enthusiastic and bored. But antiques dealer Lara McClintoch is leading this tour through the souks, mosques and ruins of Tunisia so you know it is going to get complicated. One member of the group is found dead in the pool and another dies in a hotel fire. Who are these people? The police think accident; Lara thinks murder. Then there’s trouble in the harbor as two ships compete for marine treasure. Lara’s quest for justice climaxes in a harrowing race across the desert."

6. The Celtic Riddle (#4 / 2000).

"An ancient Celtic poem holds the key to a mysterious treasure in the fourth installment in Lyn Hamilton's highly acclaimed Archaeological Mystery series -- starring antique dealer and sleuth Lara McClintoch."

I'm missing #9, The Moai Murders. Must find it. 😉

So there you go folks. See any books worth checking out? Have a great week!