The Song Challenge, House Renos and New Books...

Home Renos Update.

The small bedroom, view from the door.

A couple of entries ago I mentioned that we were getting some work done on one of our bedrooms that had basically become a storage room. When we first bought the house, the room was bright blue and there were little stars stuck on the ceiling that glowed in the dark. Your basic kid's room, eh?

To the left of the door

We didn't do a lot to the room. Jo painted it white. We added a new light and the windows were replaced when we did the whole house.

The 'new' new light

On Monday and Tuesday, the 'kids' were here and they installed new shelving in the closet and mounted a homemade bulletin board on the wall by the window. We just have to finish painting and then move in the furniture and it'll be Jo's new office/ craft room. More pictures to follow. As well, in the den, we did the same thing with the closet there; took out a shelving unit we'd had in there to store odds and ends and put in built - in shelves so we can make it more efficient. What we have left to do in a big way is to replace the carpet in our family room. Then it'll just be the normal small stuff.

The Missus's Music Challenge

Jo has been very happy with the number of people who've been taking part in her Facebook music challenge. It got to the point as we got near the end that she's been asked to continue it. So, with a little help from me (a very little), she's made a new list (she had borrowed the original list from a friend) and in the past couple of days we've been playing with that. It's lots of fun thinking back about songs from your childhood or younger years and how they might have affected you, or whether they brought back memories. (I'll post the list for the new challenge next entry)

To finish off this challenge, here are some songs that were picked for Days 27 - 30..

Day 27 - A Song That Breaks Your Heart. I took this to be a song that tugs at the heart and my choice was a live version of a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Hard Way. She performed it at a Country Music Awards show and was assisted by so many talented women Country musicians; new and the classics. The first time I heard it, it choked me up and it still does. Some other choices included Piece By Piece by Kelly Clarkson, lovely and emotional (Jo's pick), Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran, Bring Me Home from Les Miserables, etc.
Day 28 - A Song by an Artist whose Voice you Love.  I chose a song by an artist that I've only become familiar with in the past few years. She's been around for a long time and has a great voice; Lisa Stansfield and the song was All Around the World. Jo picked a song by another new artist for me, Australian singer, Tina Arena a her fantastic Chains. Some other choices included Stevie Wonder and Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer, Michael MacDonald and I Can Let Go Now, etc.
Day 29 - A Song You Remember from your Childhood. I chose Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows by Leslie Gore. I liked this category because we've got a bunch of people of different ages and it was interesting to see what they recalled. Jo picked Cinderella Rockefella by by Esther and Abi Ofarim. Her sis picked  Perry Como and Magic Moments. It was a neat one.
The final day was -
Day 30 - A Song that Reminds You of Yourself. I struggled with this. I was teasingly thinking of Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus, but ended with Somebody's Baby by Pat Benatar. Jo's sis picked All About the Soul by Billy Joel and Jo picked She's Always a Woman, also by Billy Joel. (I like it.. :))...

As a teaser, this is the new list that Jo made up. We've already done the first two and people are still enjoying themselves.

Currently Reading

These are the 4 books I'm currently enjoying and that I may end up finishing June off with.

Sharpe's Battle by Bernard Cornwell. This is one of my comfort series. I've enjoyed the TV adaptations and every year I try to read at least one of the books. Sharpe's Battle is the 12th book in the collection.

Sharpe is still in Portugal fighting in the Peninsula wars. This story takes place in 1811 and is centered on the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro in May. Sharpe and his men are quartered in an old Portuguese fort and attacked by an elite French unit. Sharpe is blamed for the disaster and must fight to restore his honour.

I'm enjoying so far, but that's no surprise. The books are always entertaining and fast-moving.

The Chequer Board by Nevil Shute. I enjoy Nevil Shute's writing so very much. He touches on his subjects with sympathy and tells such excellent stories.

The Chequer Board was initially published in 1947 and is set after WWII. The main character, John Turner, who had been injured during the war, discovers that he probably has a year left to live. He was injured as a plane he was in was shot down during the war, with only 4 survivors. He was being shipped back to England due to crimes he had committed while in Libya; black-marketeering was the crime.

He wants to find the other people who survived the crash to see how they have done. I'm enjoying the story very much; we've met the others so far and now we have to find them in the present.

Death of a Cad by M.C. Beaton. This is Book 2 of the Hamish Macbeth mystery series, a nice light gentle mystery series.

"When Priscilla Halburton-Smythe brings her London playwright fiancé home to Lochdubh, everyone in town is delighted.. except for love-struck Hamish Macbeth. But affairs of the heart will have to wait. Vile, boorish Capt. Bartlett, one of the guests at Priscilla's engagement party, has just been found dead during a grouse shoot - murder most fowl! Hamish must take care to smooth ruffled feathers in his hunt for the killer."

The Martian by Andy Weir. This was a popular (is that understating it?) book and a successful movie. Luckily, I think, I've never seen the movie so even though I know the premise, it's still quite fresh so far.

I'm enjoying so far. Some of my friends on Goodreads have said that it is quite technical at the beginning but that you just have to get through that and enjoy the story itself.

I haven't found the technical aspects overwhelming so far and I'm enjoying quite a bit. Basically, Mark Watney is left on Mars when a windstorm forces his fellow crewmates to evacuate. (They assume he is dead). Now Watney must find a way to survive and hope the next mission can find him. Interesting, eh?



New Purchases

I picked up a couple of new books yesterday at Nearly New Books and then, lo and behold, when I picked up the mail later in the day, an order had arrived, what a bounty! So these are the books I received.

Nearly New Books Purchases

Eye of Vengeance by Jonathon King. King is a new author for me. I've been looking for his books. This is one of a couple of standalone thrillers he's written.

"Crime reporter Nick Mullins had a knack for keeping tragedy at arm's length - until violence struck his own family. Struggling as a single father, he's back on the beat to cover the story of a convicted murderer gunned down in public by a sniper's bullet. Soon Nick realizes that the victim was the subject of one of his old crime stories. But that's not Nick's last link to the killer's cold-blooded revenge - because he and his daughter have caught the sniper's eye as well.

Rider of the Gate by C.J. Cherryh. Cherryh has been listed on previous BLog entries as a Hugo award winner (best Science Fiction story) and I've been thinking of trying her out. There were a couple of her books at the store so I thought I'd pick one up.

"A forgotten colony lost on a planet of wild beauty and unimaginable danger. A people held together by a renegade band of outcast heroes, called to their destinies by alien dreams. A world of Riders and Nighthorses, their minds linked together on the knife-edge of an abyss - for even a single Nighthorse can annihilate the human race. And now one Nighthorse has gone insane....."

Chiron Books, Wallingford, UK (one of my online bookstores.)

The Mind's Eye by Hakan Nesser. Nesser is a Swedish crime writer. I've read one of his Inspector Van Veeteren mysteries, Borkmann's Point. I wanted to get the first book in the series before I tried any others.

"Teacher Janek Mitter wakes one morning unable to remember who he is. As he stumbles into the bathroom, he sees the body of a beautiful young woman floating dead in his bath. It is his wife, Eva, and she has been viciously attacked.
Even during his trial Janek has no memory of attacking his wife, nor any idea as to who could have killed her. Only when he is sentenced and locked up in an asylum for the criminally insane does he have a snatch of insight. He scribbles something in his Bible, but is murdered before the clue can be uncovered.
Chief Inspector Van Veeteren becomes convinced that something, or someone, in the dead woman's life has caused this terrible double murder. As he delves further, Eva's tragic story begins to emerge, and Van Veeteren realizes that the past never really stops haunting the present..."

Gideon's Corpse by Preston & Child. Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child have successful solo writing careers but they also work well together and have produced a number of books. I was interested in finding Relic (from the Agent Prendergast series) but so far have acquired the first two books in the Gideon Crew books instead. Gideon's Corpse is the 2nd book.

"When a top nuclear scientist turns homicidal, taking an innocent family hostage at gunpoint, Gideon Crew is called in to talk the man down. But, even though Gideon knows the man personally, the stand-off ends in an explosion of violence.
When the authorities discover the scientist's body is intensely radioactive all hell breaks loose. A plume of radiation over New York City leads to a warehouse, where it seems a nuclear bomb was assembled just hours before. Gideon finds himself charged with a desperate assignment: to track down a rogue nuclear device...in just 10 days."

Gently with the Painters by Alan Hunter. This is the 7th book in the George Gently mystery series. I've read two so far and enjoyed both.

"When artist Shirley Johnson is murdered and her body dumped outside a provincial police headquarters, Gently is despatched from London to take over the investigation. The prime suspect appears to be the woman's husband, a former bomber pilot with a guilty secret, but the other members of the woman's art group also have strong views about her and her controversial final painting - Dark Destroyer.
With too many motives, too many suspects and too little time, George Gently must work quickly before the murderer manages to slip through his fingers."

The Blue Edge of Midnight by Jonathon King. This is the first book in King's Max Freeman thriller series. I'm looking forward to trying it.

"Max Freeman's old life ended on a night that will haunt him for ever. The night he killed a twelve-year-old child in self-defence in a Philadelphia shootout. The night he stopped being a cop. Now he lives a solitary existence on the edge of the Florida Everglades, with a conscience that gives him no rest.
Then he finds a corpse of a child beside an ancient river and Freeman's past explodes into the present. Distrusted as an outsider by the long-time residents of the Glades, and considered a suspect by the police, he is thrust into the centre of the search for a serial killer. And when another child goes missing, Freeman knows that he has no choice but to hunt down the murderer himself..."

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi. Scalzi is another Science Fiction author who I've noted as a result of my Hugo Award posts. His stories sound very interesting.

"They are the special wing of the Colonial Defence Forces, elite troops created from DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF's toughest operations. The universe is a dangerous place for humanity as three hostile races combine to halt our further expansion into space. Their linchpin is a turncoat scientist, Charles Boutin, who unfortunately knows the CDG's biggest military secrets. And to prevail against this alliance they must find out why Boutin did what he did.
Jared Dirac is meant to provide answers, a superhuman hybrid created from Boutin's DNA so as to access his electronically recorded memories. But when this attempt seems to fail, Jared is sent to the Ghost Brigades. As Jared fights for his own survival, Boutin's memories begin to surface, and with them a plan for something much worse than mankind's military defeat.
Will Jared's new memories be enough to save humanity? And will they be enough to save himself?"

Stephen Morris / Pilotage by Nevil Shute. The more I read the books of Nevil Shute, the more I enjoy his writing. I've now made it priority to acquire all of his books (the same thing I'm doing with Graham Greene's books). Stephen Morris and Pilotage were both written in 1923 but not published until 1961. Pilotage continues the story of Stephen Morris.
"Two linked novels of the pioneer days of flying. Both are thrilling and moving stories which combine tenderness, courage and a keen perception of the human heart with expert knowledge of aviation and sailing."

Well, there you go... whew... A nice afternoon outside, we're definitely enjoying the fresh breeze coming in through the windows. Next entry I'll head back to my normal subjects of late. It's also almost time for the half-year review of my reading challenges. Have a great day and enjoy a good book!

Update on renos and the History and Birth Day Things.

The living room

It's been a few days since my last post here. We've been trying to get most of our renos finished before our visitor arrives. Jo is heading down to Vancouver; an hour drive, a 2 hour ferry ride and then another 40 minutes of so and she'll be picking Fiona up at Vancouver International at noon. Then they'll be heading back and hoping to catch the 3 p.m. ferry back to the island. *fingers crossed*

Another view

So this past week, we've had our new floors installed, new carpeting in the upstairs hallway and the stairs and on Wed - Fri, Jay was here putting in the new baseboards and just trying to tidy things up. Friday, Jo and I went out and got a new rug for the living room. It's lovely and soft.

To the dining room

Friday evening and all day Saturday, Jo and I spent bringing back the furniture from the garage and wherever else we've been storing it; getting the visitor's bedroom tidied up and all those other things that needed touching up.

The new stairway carpet and front hallway

So the house is basically ready to accept visitors. I'll do a final walk through this afternoon and clean up outside a bit. The reno work isn't all done yet but most of the big stuff is done. We still have a bit of painting to finish off and we also have to finish Jo's office but that's going to wait until we finish entertaining. A nice little break, actually.

So now onto my other items.

Great Historical Events

My last post referenced a massacre in Massachusetts in 1704. Today's excerpts start with news of a post office.

"1710 - First colonial post-office in New York.

Massacre in North Carolina

1712. Indian massacre in North Carolina. One hundred and thirty-seven of the colonists killed at first attack. Assisted by South Carolina, the colonists make a general attack upon the Indians and defeat them with great slaughter, and drive them from the province. (Ed. Note. I'm not sure what to say except maybe that this was a great clash of cultures. Hard times for both.)
1713. Close of Queen Anne's war.
Slaves are transported to South Carolina, by British ships, in great numbers, to cultivate rice.
1718. Impost duties laid by Massachusetts on English manufactures and English ships.
1720. Tea first introduced to New England.
1721. Inoculation for small-pox introduced into N.E.
1722. Paper money first used in Pennsylvania.
1725. First newspaper in New York (N.Y. Gazette) published by Wm. Bradford. (Ed. Note. The first 'fake news' in North America?  ;0))
1732. Tobacco and corn made legal tender in Maryland."

Next entry will start with the birth of a famous American. Who? You'll have to wait.

Business Laws Briefly Stated

My last entry finished with mention of notes by minors... Moving on..

"A note obtained by fraud, or from a person in a state of intoxication, cannot be collected.
If the time of payment of a note is not named, it is payable on demand.
Value received should be written in a note, but, if not, it may be supplied by proof.
The payee should be named in a note unless payable to bearer.
The time of payment of a note must not depend on a contingency. The promise must be absolute."

I'll stop there. These business laws are too exciting to post too many at one time.

The Birth Day Thing - 10 November 1972

US Billboard #1 Single, 10 November 1972

I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash. Johnny Nash was an American singer - songwriter, born in 1940. He was one of the first non-Jamaican singers to record reggae music in Kingston, Jamaica. I Can See Clearly Now, which he wrote, was his most successful hit.

UK #1 Single, 10 November 1972

Mouldy Old Dough by Lieutenant Pigeon. Lieutenant Pigeon was a novelty band from Coventry, England. Mouldy Old Dough was their only #1.

New York Times Fiction #1, 10 November 1972

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was originally published in 1970. It's simply the story of a seagull named Jonathan and his life with the other seagulls, as he learns about life and flying.

By 1972, more than a million copies were in print, it had been condensed by Reader's Digest and it stayed at the top of the NY Times list for 38 weeks.

The book was also turned into a movie with a soundtrack by Neil Diamond. I'm sure I read the book, which I much preferred to the movie.






Pulitzer Prize Winner, 1972

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. I've never heard of this book. It tells the story of a wheelchair - bound historian, who has lost connection with his son and living family and decides to write about his frontier - era grandparents.

The story is based on letters by Mary Hallock Foote, later published as A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West.

Stegner lived from 1909 - 1993 and was a novelist, short story writer, historian and environmentalist.






Nobel Prize Laureate, 1972

Heinrich Boll (West Germany). Heinrich Boll lived from 1917 - 1985. His Nobel Prize was awarded 'for his writing which through its combination of a broad perspective on his time and a sensitive skill in characterization has contributed to a renewal of German literature'.

Hugo Award Winner, 1972

To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer. I've never read any of Farmer's stories. At least I don't think I have. I have however recently purchased one of his stories so I'm looking forward to giving him a try.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go is the first book in his Riverworld series, of which there were 5 novels.

Just checking his bibliography, he wrote a few books. Wow! I have Dare, a book he wrote in 1965 on my bookshelf to read.





Edgar Award Winner, 1972

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth. I don't know that I've ever read the book, but I've seen both movies that were based on it and enjoyed them both very much.

The story is about a professional assassin hired by a French dissident paramilitary organisation to assassinate President Charles de Gaulle.

The movies were very tense and exciting. Even if I have read it before, I think I should read again sometime.






Man Booker Award Winner, 1972

G. by John Berger. John Berger was an English artist, novelist and poet who lived from 1926 - 2017.

G. was his 4th book and was set in pre-First World War Europe. It tells the story of G., a Don Juan - like lover of women who gradually comes to political awareness after a series of adventures in Europe.







So there you go the great year 1972. I'm not sure when I'll get my next entry done as we will have company for the next ten days or so. But I'll try to squeeze in one or two. Have a great week!!

Renos Update and Book Buying

Today I'm going to take a break from my normal posts about the History and the Birth Day thing. Yesterday, when I went to pick up the pooches from Day-care, I stopped off at the semi-annual Rotary Club Book Sale and found a few books. It's the first time I've gone in a couple of years, since they moved to their new location. So that's going to be my post for today, a look at the books I've found recently.

The new floor is coming along!

Before that though, here is the latest on the new floor for the front hall, living room and dining room. Dean removed the old flooring from the hallway, cleaned up the under layer, removing any ridges and smoothing it out and then got started laying the new floor. It looks really good so far. He should be here shortly to start today's work.

It's another beautiful sunny day in the Valley. The tide was in in the inlet when I dropped the dogs off for their day care today and so smooth and calm. It was such a great view, the inlet, the mountains on the other side and the glacier still deep with snow. I never have any problems reminding myself why Jo and I love living here so very much..

Book Buying April 2017

I mentioned the other day that I've been checking out the various Little Free Libraries that people install outside their houses. The deal is that you are supposed to give a book for everyone that you take. These are the three books I found the other day.

2312 - Kim Stanley Robinson.

 The book was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Arthur C. Clarke Awards. As you can guess it's a SciFi book.

"The year is 2312. Scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity's only home; new habitats have been created throughout the Solar System on moons, planets and in between. But in this year, 2312, a sequence of events will force humanity to confront its past, its present and its future."


The Kill Room - Jeffery Deaver.

This is the 10th book in Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme forensic mystery series. I've always been disappointed that they never did a second movie in the series.

"It was a 'million-dollar bullet', a sniper shot delivered from over a mile away. Its victim was no ordinary mark: He was a US citizen, targeted by the US government, and assassinated in the Bahamas.
The nation's most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim's steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discovers that not all is what it seems.
When a deadly, knife-wielding assassin begins systematically eliminating all evidence - including the witnesses - Lincoln's investigation turns into a chilling battle of wits against a cold-blooded killer."

Broken Prey - John Sandford.

This is the 16th book in the Prey (Lucas Davenport) thriller series. I have a bit to go before I get to this story, as I've only read the first two.

"The first body is of a young woman, found on a Minneapolis riverbank, her throat cut, her body scourged and put on display. Whoever did this, Lucas Davenport knows, is pushed by brain chemistry. There is something wrong with him. This isn't a bad love affair.
The second body is found three weeks later, in a farmhouse six miles south. Same condition, same display - except this time it is a man. Nothing to link the two victims, nothing to indicate that the killings end here.
'This guy...' Lucas said. He took a deep breath, let it out as a sigh. 'This guy is going to bust our chops.'
And soon he is going to do far, far worse than that.'

Rotary Club Book Sale - I didn't go too wild this time but I found 9 books. You can't knock the price, $12.00 for 9 books. I liked it anyway.

A Murder is Announced - Agatha Christie.

This is the fourth novel by Agatha Christie in the Miss Marple series and her 40th published novel. I've been happy to get back into her writing. I've enjoyed every book I've read the past few years.

"A murder is announced, and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 p.m.
The ad in the local paper is a joke, of course. In bad taste, of course.
But none of Miss Blacklock's friends can resist calling on her at the appointed hour. Certainly not Miss Marple.
At 6:30 precisely, the lights go out..."

The Last Coyote - Michael Connelly.

I've finally started the Harry Bosch series and am enjoying. This is the 4th book in the series. The missus and I are also looking forward to finding Season 2 of the TV series.

"The binder contained the case file on the October 28, 1961, homicide of Marjorie Phillips Lowe. His Mother.
Suspended from the LAPD pending psychiatric treatment, his house condemned and his girlfriend long gone, Harry Bosch has time on his hands...
With nothing better to do, Harry opens the ancient file on his prostitute mother's murder and is irresistibly drawn into the shadowy past. Confronting his personal shame at his mother's profession, he discovers a trail leading to the high-ups in the Hollywood Hills - and finds that the flames of ancient passion don't die, they kindle fresh fires."

The Vatican Rip - Jonathan Gash.

This is the 5th book in Gash's Lovejoy antique dealer / detective series. I've read the first book so far and enjoyed very much.

"Lovejoy, that witty rogue with a genius for antiques, is asked to recover a family heirloom. Unfortunately, the Chippendale table in question now sits in the Vatican. Though matters of protocol, a brutal murder, and several romantic entanglements slow his progress, Lovejoy once again triumphs, finding his way to a most ingenious solution."


The Man with a Load of Mischief - Martha Grimes.

I've read a few of Martha Grimes' Chief Inspector Jury mystery series, but it's been a few years since I've visited the stories. I figured if I was going to I should now start at the beginning with the 1st book.

"Long Piddleton had always been wary of newcomers, but the quiet town was stunned when the first stranger was found dead, upended in a butt of ale in the cellar of the Man with a Load of Mischief. Then the second body appeared, swinging in place of the mechanical man above the door of the Jack and Hammer.
Suddenly Long Piddleton had good reason to be wary of everyone! Its cozy pubs and inns with their polished pewter and blazing hearths had become scenes of the most bizarre crimes. Who were the victims? And who is the murderer? A stranger? A maniac? or the disarmingly friendly man next door?"

The African Quest - Lyn Hamilton.

I have enjoyed Canadian Lyn Hamilton's archaeological mysteries, featuring main character, antique dealer, Lara McClintoch. This is the 5th book in the series. One thing I don't think I realised is that she died of cancer in 2009. At least I will still get to enjoy the 11 McClintoch books she had published.

"Leading the first-ever McClintoch & Swain antiques and archaeology tour to Tunisia, Lara begins bumping up against dead bodies - from her own group. The story of a Carthaginian merchant ship that sank over two thousand years ago has stirred everyone's imaginations - and one person's murderous interest in finding the priceless artifacts that went down with it..."

The Dark Wind - Tony Hillerman.

I do like the Joe Leaphorn, Navajo police, mystery series. So far I've read the first three books. This fifth book features Sgt. Jim Chee.

"A corpse whose palms and soles have been 'scalped' is only the first in a series of disturbing clues: an airplane's mysterious crash in the nighttime desert, a bizarre attack on a windmill, a vanishing shipment of cocaine. Sgt. Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police is trapped in the deadly web of a cunningly spun plot driven by Navajo sorcery and white man's greed."


Kat's Cradle - Karen Kijewski.

I've read the first book in this detective series, featuring California PI Kat Colorado. This is the 3rd book.

"She said her name was Paige Morrell and she came to Kat Colorado hoping to untangle the twisted mystery of her past. She was a twenty-one year old 'orphan,' a poor little rich girl on the verge of inheriting a wealthy old river estate - and some nasty surprises. But when Kat set out to solve the case, she found herself following a thread of lies, greed, and deceit that led straight to the corpse of a key source to Paige's past. Now the Sacramento private eye was about to learn that in the California Delta some family secrets were better left buried ... because uncovering them could be murder."

Dead Water - Ngaio Marsh.

Along with Agatha Christie and Minette Walters, Ngaio Marsh has written some of my favourite mystery stories. (not to sell short the many other authors I've enjoyed, mind you). Marsh wrote 32 books featuring her famous Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. Dead Water is the 23rd in the series.

"Times are good in the Cornish village of Portcarrow, as hundreds of unfortunates flock to taste the miraculous waters of Pixie Falls.
Then Miss Emily Pride inherits Portcarrow and wants to put an end to the villagers' thriving trade in miracle cures especially Miss Elspeth Cost's gift shop.
But some puts an end to Miss Cost herself..."


Bogue's Fortune - Julian Symons.

Julian Symons is a relatively new mystery writer for me. I enjoyed the first of his standalone mysteries, The Blackheath Poisonings very much. This is the third of his books I've found.

"To research a new detective story, Charles Applegate takes a post in a progressive school for misfits, set deep in the British countryside. While the adults seem as strange as the students, he soon finds solace in a beautiful blonde matron. But the game turns deadly when a fellow teacher is murdered and a nasty - if comic - collection of villains seems convinced Charles has something they want."

So there you go, my latest acquisitions. They'll keep me going for a couple of months.

Next post I should get back to my regular subjects, although I will also shortly update my month's reading stats.

One last thing. I heard this song on my usb this morning as I was travelling with the dogs to their day care. It's the first time I've actually listened to the whole song since I added it to my usb. Quite excellent actually. Fickle Friends is a new group for me. They are an English indie band from Brighton that formed in 2013. The single, Brooklyn, was released in 2013. Check it out by clicking on the song title.

Have a great weekend!!

A Bit of History and the Birth Day Thing, etc

It's noon and so far has been a pretty busy, productive day. The dogs have been dropped at doggie daycare, the car has new tires and I've got a new haircut. :) The flooring guy arrived at 9 a.m. and so far has removed the old flooring in the downstairs hallway, an excellent start.

We had quite a rainstorm yesterday. While I was on the way to get the dogs from daycare, I could see these huge black clouds rushing towards me. I hoped I'd get to them before the rain started, but no such luck. It was pouring down. Luckily the girls who were working there got the pups indoors before the rain started.

It's getting near the end of April. I haven't had as productive a month of reading as the first three, but I think I'll be able to finish a couple of more books before the end. This morning I finished the first book in the Inspector Aurelio Zen series. I liked the TV series a lot and the book was also very good.

I'm starting another new series with my next book, the first in the 87th Precinct books by Ed McBain. The book is Cop Hater. I've been looking forward to trying it for awhile now.

Great Historical Events

I'm starting in 1693 with today's excerpt.

"1693. First printing press established at New York by William Bradford
1694. Penn's rights in Pennsylvania restored
1697. Close of King William's war.
1698. French colony arrives at the mouth of the Mississippi
1699. Capt. Kidd, the pirate, apprehended at Boston'


I'll leave today's excerpt there and start the 1700s with my next.

Business Laws Briefly Stated - I've finished the portion dealing with the etiquette of letter writing. The next section deals with laws of business and I thought it might be interesting to see what those laws were back in the late 1800s. So let's see -

"We append, in as concise a form as possible, the laws of business that are in most common daily use:
Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
The law does not require one to do impossibilities (Ed. Note - say what?)
Principals are responsible for the actions of their agents. (Ed. Note - Hear that, Donald?)
The acts of one partner bind all the rest.
Each individual in a partnership is responsible for the whole amount of the debts of the firm, except in cases of special partnerships.
A receipt for money is not always conclusive.
Signatures made with a lead pencil are held good in law. (Ed. Note - I assume some people still use lead pencils?)
A contract made with a minor is void
Contracts made on Sunday cannot be enforced. (Ed. Note - now that is interesting.)
No consideration is sufficient in law if it be illegal in its nature."

So what do you think?

The Birth Day Thing - 10 November 1970 (I was fifteen years old on this day)

Billboard US #1 Single 10 November 1970

I'll Be There by The Jackson 5. Who doesn't know about the Jackson 5. Well, if you don't, they were formed in 1964 as the Jackson Brothers. The founding members were elder brothers Jermaine, Tito and Jackie with Michael and Marlon joining soon after. They entered as professionals in 1967 and released 2 singles. From 1969, they had 4 #1 US singles, with I'll Be There as the 4th in line. I'll Be There was written by Berry Gordy and friends.

UK #1 Single 10 November 1970

Woodstock by Matthew's Southern Comfort. This was a solo album by Fairport Convention singer Iain Matthews. He followed up his solo effort by forming a band called Matthew's Southern Comfort. The band's one commercial success was their cover version of Joni Mitchell's Woodstock.

New York Times #1 Fiction Best Seller 10 November 1970

Love Story by Erich Segal. The basis for this book was a screenplay that Erich Segal wrote for Paramount Pictures. Paramount requested that Segal turn it into a novel as a preview of sorts for the movie.



Love Story became the biggest seller in the US for all of 1970. It was also translated into 20 languages. The film starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal was released in Dec 1970.


Erich Segal was born in Brooklyn NY and lived from 1937 - 2010.





Pulitzer Prize Winner 1970

Collected Stories by Jean Stafford. Jean Stafford was an American novelist and short story writer who lived from 1915 - 1979.

Her Collected Stories was her last published work.





Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature - 1970

Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Russia). Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist who lived from 1918 - 2008. I have read a few of his works, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Cancer Ward and The First Circle. All were fascinating works. His Nobel Prize was awarded 'for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature.'

Hugo Award Winner - 1970

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin. This another of my favourites in the Science Fiction genre. I've read it two or three times since my first read back in my university days and I think I'm due for a refresher. Below is the synopsis if you're interested in trying it out. LeGuin is an American writer who was born in 1929 in California. She is a prolific writer. Her most recent work was in 2014.

" A ground-breaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can change their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction."



Edgar Award Winner - 1970

Forfeit by Dick Francis. Dick Francis was an English steeplechase jockey and writer. His mysteries centre around the horse racing scene. He lived from 1920 - 2010. His son Frances collaborated on 4 novels with him and continues to publish novels with his father's name in the title.

Forfeit was his eighth work and features reporter James Tyron as the main character.

The synopsis is simply "When reporter Bert Checkov falls to his death, his colleague James Tyrone thinks he can prove it was murder. But there's no such thing as a sure thing."

I've not read anything by Francis yet, but I may have to try his books.



Man Booker Award Winner - 1970

The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens. Bernice Rubens was a Welsh novelist who lived from 1923 - 2004. She became the first woman to win the Booker Prize. She published 27 books during her career. Her second novel, Madame Sousatzka, was turned into a film in 1988, starring Shirley MacLaine.

The synopsis for The Elected Member is -
"Norman is the clever one of a close-knit Jewish family in the East End of London. Infant prodigy; brilliant barrister; the apple of his parents' eyes... until at forty-one he becomes a drug addict, confined to his bedroom, at the mercy of his hallucinations and paranoia.
For Norman, his committal to a mental hospital represents the ultimate act of betrayal. For Rabbi Zweck, Norman's father, his son's deterioration is a bitter reminder of his own guilt and failure. Only Bella, the unmarried sister, still in her childhood white ankle socks, can reach across the abyss of pain to bring father and son the elusive peace which they both desperately crave."

Next entry will move on to1970. Now to try and get some fresh air. Installing flooring is a stinky process.