So let's see. On Sunday and Monday it snowed like crazy, making up for the lack of snow we got over December and January. Since Monday afternoon, it's been sunny and bright, but still coldish. By next week it's supposed to hit 15℃. Go figure.
It's the beginning of March so here is a reading update, a look at some new books, and then I've got some house work to do and the dogs will want their lunch. 😊😉
New Books
Had a few book orders arrive and I traded in some books at my used book store, so bought a few. Here are some highlights.
"Step into the unsettling world of Shirley Jackson this autumn with a collection of her finest, darkest short stories, revealing the queen of American gothic at her mesmerizing best.
There's something nasty in suburbia. In these deliciously dark tales, the daily commute turns into a nightmarish game of hide and seek, the loving wife hides homicidal thoughts and the concerned citizen might just be an infamous serial killer. In the haunting world of Shirley Jackson, nothing is as it seems and nowhere is safe, from the city streets to the country manor, and from the small-town apartment to the dark, dark woods...Includes the following stories: 'The Possibility of Evil'; 'Louisa, Please Come Home'; 'Paranoia'; 'The Honeymoon of Mrs Smith'; 'The Story We Used to Tell'; 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'; 'Jack the Ripper'; 'The Beautiful Stranger'; 'All She Said Was Yes'; 'What a Thought'; 'The Bus'; 'Family Treasures'; 'A Visit'; 'The Good Wife'; 'The Man in the Woods'; 'Home'; 'The Summer People'."
"Dr Beatrice Bradley is not your usual genteel spinster. Although elderly, she is a practicing psychiatrist (at a time when a psychiatrist was rare, and a female one almost unheard of). She is quite proud of being ugly, and has darkly sharp insights plus an extremely wicked tongue.
The nice, formal country house guests are shocked by her behavior, and even more upset by the death of the star visitor, renowned world traveler Mountjoy, found in the bath. Suspects galore, of course (including fiancée Eleanor, pompous Alastair and son Garde, the lovely Dorothy, and lets not forget curious naturalist Carstairs (although many wish they could)."
"In the dead of night, a watchman is brutally attacked and with his dying breath cries out, “The Green Finger!” It is the latest in a series of robberies to take place that have left Scotland Yard mystified, and with no other choice but to call upon the expertise of Detective Paul Temple.
Aided by the beautiful journalist Louise Harvey – affectionately known as Steve – the duo discover that this is not the first victim to warn of the dangerous and elusive ‘Green Finger’… who or what is it? The pair must work together to solve the deepening mystery."
"Nowhere is Patricia Highsmith's affinity for animals more apparent than in The Animal-Lover's Book of Beastly Murder, for here she transfers the murderous thoughts and rages most associated with humans onto the animals themselves.
You will meet, for example, in "In the Dead of Truffle Season," a truffle-hunting pig who tries to whet his own appetite for a while; or Jumbo in "Chorus Girl's Absolutely Final Performance," a lonely, old circus elephant who decides she's had enough of show business and cruel trainers for one lifetime. In this satirical reprise of Kafka, cats, dogs, and breeding rodents are no longer ordinary beings in the happy home, but actually have the power to destroy the world in which we live."
"In a remote house on a hilltop, a lonely boy witnesses a traumatic event. He tries - and fails - to flee. Left alone with his increasingly deranged parent, he dreams of safety, of joining the other children in the town below, of escape.
When at last a stranger knocks at his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation might be over.
But by what authority does this man keep the meticulous records he carries? What is the purpose behind his questions? Is he friend? Enemy? Or something else altogether?
A novella filled with beauty, terror and strangeness, This Census-Taker is a poignant and riveting exploration of memory and identity."
"Ursula K. Le Guin’s Nebula Award–winning young adult fantasy series—gathered for the first time in a deluxe collector’s edition for readers of all ages.
Teenagers struggle to come to terms with their own mysterious and magical gifts as they come-of-age in the far-flung Western Shore.
This fifth volume in the definitive Library of America edition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s work presents a trilogy of coming-of-age stories set in the Western Shore—a world where young people find themselves struggling not just against racism, prejudice, and slavery, but with how to live with the mysterious and magical gifts they have been given. All three novels feature the generous voice and deeply human concerns that mark all Le Guin’s work, and together they form an elegant anthem to the revolutionary and transformative power of words and storytelling.
In Gifts , Orrec and Gry will inherit both their families’ domains and their “gifts,” the ability to communicate with animals, or control a mind, or maim or kill with only a word and gesture. Both discover their gifts are not what they thought. In Voices , Memer lives in a city conquered by fundamentalist and superstitious soldiers who have made reading and writing forbidden. But in Memer’s house there is a secret room where the last few books in the city have been hidden. And in the Nebula Award-winning Powers , the young slave Gavir can remember any book after reading it just once. It makes him valuable, but it also makes him a threat. Gav sets out to understand who he is, where he came from, and what his gift means.
This deluxe edition features Le Guin’s own previously unseen hand-drawn maps. Included in an appendix are essays and interviews about the novels, as well as Le Guin’s pronunciation guide to the names and languages of the Western Shore."
 |
| and a few others. |
Just Finished
I've completed 4 books thus far in March.
"I saw The Wild Robot in my local book store and even though it's in the YA / middle grade section, it looked interesting. There are currently 3 books in The Wild Robot series. I thought I should check out the first to see if I want to continue. Yes, I do. The next two books are The Wild Robot Escapes and The Wild Robot Protects.
Roz, short for Rozzum Unit 7134 starts this story on a ship in a box in a storm. She seems to be part of a cargo of robots. The ship gets caught in a terrible storm and sinks, taking all but 5 boxes of robots to the bottom. The remaining boxes crash on shore at an island and only the box with Roz survives. The remaining robots are broken apart and the pieces remain on the shore of the island.
A group of otters sees the parts and when they see Roz's broken crate and Roz inside, they begin to explore and accidently push the button in Roz's skull which activates her. Thus begins Roz's adventure which will culminate in her becoming the Wild robot. At first the island creatures think Roz is a monster but gradually over time she helps various animals, learns their languages and becomes a valuable friend.
At one point when Roz is climbing a mountain, the rocks break and Roz crashes to the ground and to her shock, she has landed on a goose's next, killing the goose and breaking all but one of the eggs. She seeks the help of another goose and then builds a nest, a home of branches and mud and protects the egg until it hatches and becomes Brightbill, her son.
There are many adventures in this wonderful story, bad encounters with bears, helpful encounters with the beavers and other animals and a growing love and friendship between the animals and Roz. But there is a mystery about who actually is Roz? What was she built for? Well, that is why you have to check out the story. It's told wonderfully and is complete with drawings by the author Peter Brown; a touching, sometimes sad, but mostly happy story, with an ending that might choke you up. But I'm hoping that the next to books will resolve those sad feelings as Roz continues her adventures. Check it out. Great for young children beginning to explore books and for adults too. (4.0 stars)"
"I've seen Denison Avenue by Christina Wong at my local book store for a few days (weeks?) and kept looking at it. Both of the clerks recommended it highly. It was also one of the books selected by CBC as a 2024 Selection for the Canada Reads list. I also liked the cover with its pencil drawings and just finally thought it was worth checking out. Glad I did.
The story is set in Toronto, mainly in the Chinatown area. It's protagonist is Wong Cho Sum who as the story starts becomes a widow. Her husband is killed by a hit - and - run driver. So there is your story. We follow Cho Sum as she deals with her grief and with living alone. We follow Cho Sum as she wanders the streets of her area, her new career of picking up cans and bottles from the streets and recycling bins and trading them in to the local beer store.
It seems a simple story but what's good is her interactions with other acquaintances and residents, both good and bad, and her memories of activities with her husband and also her regret at how her neighborhood is changing. This is also displayed in the reverse of the book (the flip side) with pencil drawings of Cho's neighborhood, with Cho pushing her cart, and how the street changes (each page has two pictures, one showing the past and the other what it looks like now to Cho)
The writing style is a mix of free verse and poetry. The dialogue is in Chinese Toisan dialect and its
English translation. There is so much to this story; grief, love, determination. It's also neat to see where Cho Sam lives. Simple but rich and emotional. (4.0 stars)"
"I decided to find this graphic novel, [book:American Born Chinese|118944] by [author:Gene Luen Yang|68959] after enjoying [book:Lunar New Year Love Story|123023430] a couple of weeks ago. Quite different, it was still an excellent story, with great artwork by Yang and vibrant coloring by Lark Pien.
Basically you've got three stories intertwined in this novel. Jin Wang has just moved to a new school and is trying to fit into a new school, one where he stands out because of he is different. The 2nd story involves the Monkey King who is rejected by the other Asian gods and wants revenge. The 3rd story is about Danny, another student trying to develop a relationship with one of his schoolmates only to be intruded on by his cousin, Chin-Kee, who is loud and irritating. The book moves between the three stories and finally, neatly puts them all together, in a surprising, neat way, making everything clear.
It's a story about trying to fit in, make friends, maybe trying to develop a relationship, when your cultures are different. It can be an uncomfortable story at times but as Gene Luen Yang says in his afterword, it's a story he felt had to be told. And even though he tells it from his Asian - American experience of being bullied and ignored, he says that people of all races, sexual orientation and faiths told him they could relate to it. Can I relate to it? I grew up in a very insular environment so maybe not but I hope I can appreciate it and learn from it. And I think that's the point, which is told imaginatively and emotionally. (As a note, American Born Chinese was one of 20 books removed from general circulation by the Mississippi Madison County Schools. It requires parental permission for students to take it out.)
Check it out. It's worth reading. (4.0 stars)"
"Space Boy Volume 15 is the 15th installment of the Space Boy saga by Stephen McCranie. I read the first 14 volumes in omnibus editions but couldn't wait for the next omnibus but have since acquired the individual volumes / chapters.
Volume 15 continues the story of Amy and Qiana, both working at First Contact Project (FCP) HQ and now becoming friends and trying to find out what happened to Professor Lesnik. This might provide some link to the strange being that seems to control FCP's bosses. There are side stories involving Amy's friends back in South Pines, as they begin to explore the events when Amy was kidnapped (although agents of FCP say she died) and also Oliver, out in space preparing for contact with the Space Artifact.
As always it's an interesting story, with excellent drawings and vibrant artwork. Amy's growing friendship with Qiana is a happy situation as I've always liked Qiana. Time will tell if Qiana can shake off her FCP links and become a true friend. As well, it's nice that Oliver is finally talking with Dr. Kim again. Dr. Kim might be able to help. And I like that Cassie and Schaffer are trying to help Tammie remember what happened that night at the prom. They will make a good team.
Volumes 16 and 17 sit on my book shelf so I will get to them soon I'm sure to see what happens next! (3.5 stars)"
That's it for now. I haven't started any new books but am close to completing a few. Keep checking out this page for updates. Enjoy the rest of your week.
No comments:
Post a Comment