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| Shut them down Manoah! |
Last night after dinner, Jo and I had a nice walk down into Comox. It was cool and we decided to have coffee and dessert at the Black Fin. She had the chocolate brownie and I had the apple spice cake. Gosh it was yummy. Earlier in the day we had appointments downtown and had cones at Beninos and did a bit of shopping for clothes as well. While Jo was at her appointment I visited Nearly New Books and picked up a couple. I also got one at Books4Brains. Of course I knew that if I did buy books that I'd get some in the mail. Sod's law. And of course I did get two. LOL.
So anyway, let's get into the weekend with a look at books I've finished since my last update and provide the synopses of the new books as well as those I've started next. I'll try to continue with my ongoing look at Women Author's whose works I'm enjoying; a new author today.
New Books
"Asteroid miners Bird and Ben encounter an adrift ship in an asteroid belt that's inhabited by a half-crazy spacer named Dekker. When they tow the ship, they find their livelihoods--and their lives--in deadly danger. Proves that high-tech science fiction need not sacrifice literary values."
"The present day: As a man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos--an expectant mother planning for her child’s arrival even as civilization dissolves around her; an armed loner dodging the growing hordes of the infected; a teenage girl fighting for her little brother's life in a landscape of death. These three will learn that they have no been fully abandoned--and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.
One hundred years later: Amy and her followers continue their battle to vanquish the Twelve--a dozen death-row inmates transformed by an ancient virus into terrifying monsters, bringing the human race to the brink of annihilation. But the rules of the game have changed. The enemy has evolved, establishing a dark new order with a plan far more horrifying than man's extinction. And if the Twelve are to fall, one of humanity's heroes will have to pay the ultimate price."
"'I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina,' he said.
'You and I are going to change the world.'The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.
Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the world of the kingdom's magical elite — the Grisha. Could she be the key setting Ravka free?
The Darkling, a man of seductive charm and terrifying power. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.
But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him?"
"From the minds of Road to Perdition author Max Allan Collins and artist Terry Beatty, comes the second collection of five classic Ms. Tree comics. Follow the private investigator Ms. Michael Tree through even more thrilling cases, as she races to solve crimes of passion, murder and intrigue!
Join Ms. Michael Tree, the 6ft, 9mm carrying private detective on her thrilling adventures as she solves crimes and fights to get her revenge for her murdered husband. No case is too small, no violence too extreme, just as long as it gets the job done."
Just Finished
"While her name wasn't totally new for me, I first became aware of author Joan Didion this past December when I read that she had passed away. A short time later I saw this book of her essays in one of my local book stores; Let Me Tell You What I Mean. I decided to read it as part of a non-fiction challenge that came up for June 2022. What a great writer!
Didion's writing is a breath of fresh air. The book is a collection of 12 essays on subjects varying from Martha Stewart to Nancy Reagan to Director Tony Richardson to just about why Joan Didion writes and how she writes. In one of the essays she talks about Ernest Hemingway, quoting the first 3 paragraph of A Farewell to Arms (full disclosure, I've never read any Hemingway). As she talks about his writing she has this to say;
'That paragraph, which was published in 1929, bears examination: four deceptively simple sentences, 126 words, the arrangement of which remains as mysterious and thrilling to me now as it did when I first read them, at twelve or thirteen, and imagined that if I studied them closely enough and practiced hard enough I might one day arrange 126 such words myself."
She talks about the importance of the correct placement of commas and the word 'and' and even 'the'. Well, I quoted that just to say that I found Didion's writing to be of the same ilk, carefully crafted and clearly enunciating her thoughts. Were her thoughts profound? I guess that depends on what you thought of the specific subject matter of each essay. They were interesting and thoughtful and enjoyable to read. I liked how in some she rambled on from her initial premise but that even then her thoughts were clear and interesting.
It was a most enjoyable book to read and her subjects and topics all enjoyable. Now that I have discovered her, I will try more of her non-fiction and also her fiction. I've ordered The Year of Magical Thinking for my next attempt at her work. (4.5 stars)"
"S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders has long been a favorite book of mine. I've read it 4 or 5 times over the years. The movie based on the book was also excellent, one I can watch again and again. Since that time I've not read any others of her books until recently when I tried quite a different novel, Hawkes Harbor. I'd seen a review of the book by a member of my Goodreads book group and it sounded quite interesting.
Hawkes Harbor in some ways is light years away from The Outsiders but at the same time you can see S.E. Hinton's writing style in this story, the character driven story-telling, the growth of the characters, the touching quality of the story itself.
The story revolves around Jamie who finds himself in a mental hospital in 1965. Through the course of the story we learn of Jamie's past, from his life as a sailor / pirate (in some ways) and as an adventurer. He is a companion and compatriot of Kell who is a crafty, imaginative fella who always has a plan to get money. He's somewhat successful and seems to have money all over the world. At the same time, there is a more current story from Jamie's past and it is a jump to the left in genres, from psychological story to a vampire-driven story.
It's all quite fascinating, especially Jamie's relationships with Kell, with Dr. McDevitt, the psychiatrist treating him at Terrace View Asylum, Delaware and with It (aka Grenville Hawkes), his 'mentor' and boss at Hawkes Harbor. It's a somewhat difficult story to describe; is it a vampire led story or is it a personal odyssey of a troubled, damaged but wonderful character in this story.
The novel is at times frightening, dramatic and touching. I found it pleasantly surprising as I went through the novel, how successfully this this transition between moods and genres was accomplished. It was a great novel to enjoy and by the end it left me feeling sad and happy at the same time as the story was resolved for Jamie and even Grenville. I'm so glad to have discovered this excellent novel. Thank you, S.E. Hinton (4.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"It all started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city.
This powerful, first-person account of a teenage girl's struggle with the seductive--and often fatal--world of drugs and addiction has sold more than five million copies. Tough and uncompromising, honest and disturbing, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction."
"With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson—the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent—brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries."
Women Authors Whose Work I'm Enjoying - Becky Chambers
Becky Chambers is an American Sci-Fi author born in California in 1985. I discovered her the other day while in one of my local book stores. When I picked out a book by Chambers, because the cover was neat. Both of the ladies working in the store recommended her writing. So I bought the book and read it last night and this morning. Great book and I've now ordered the first book in her Wayfarer series. I'll look at the book I just finished and provide the synopsis of the book on order for you to check out.
"I picked up A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, mainly because of the title, the fact that it was relatively small and I really liked the cover. Chambers was a new author for me, but the synopsis sounded interesting. In fact it made me think of City by Clifford Simak; I mean, robots right? While I stood looking at other books, both of the ladies who worked in the store gave me a thumbs up. I was waiting for my wife to finish her shopping so I sat out in the mall and started reading. Well, the rest, as they say, is history. I loved this story.
One of the comments on the cover described it in this way "Reading this book felt like a warm cup of tea made by someone who loves me...." That's a pretty good description.
Sibling Dex, a monk on the planet (or maybe it's a moon) Panga decides they (Dex uses they as their descriptive pronoun. It took me awhile to wrap my head around this but the story flows once I did. My problem, not Dex's) wants to hear crickets. You can't hear them in the City. So they decides to become a tea monk and travel around the planet / moon providing tea to the people living in outlying areas. The planet / moon is made up of one continent, half has been turned over to wilderness. While on his voyage, which takes place over quite a long time, Dex decides he needs something else and heads into the wilderness to see the Hermitage, an abandoned monastery. (My terminology might be incorrect, remember Panga isn't Earth... I don't think)
Dex now encounters a robot, Mosscap. In the planets past, robots were used for all construction / industrial activities. At some point, humans recognized them as more than that and offered to let them leave if they wanted or to become citizens. The robots disappeared. This encounter is the first since their departure. Mosscap volunteered to visit humans to see how they had progressed and to see if the robots can help.
This begins a journey with the two, Dex hesitant to remain with the robot and Mosscap persuading them. It's a fascinating story and journey. Chambers draws lovely photos of the planet and creates two fascinating characters, a confused Dex and an outspoken, exuberant robot. The story was so wonderful, caring and just drew you in. I definitely want to visit Panga and I want to meet a tea monk to sell me tea and make me feel comforted and happy. Thank you for such a great story, Becky. What a lovely surprise. (5 stars)"
"Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe."
So there you go. The complete listing of Becky Chambers can be found at this link. Enjoy your weekend. Read a good book or two.
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