Top Ten Lists 2016 - #3

It's hard to believe that it's already Dec 23rd. We're still trying to get into the Xmas mood here. It'll all come together on the day. Yesterday we planned our meals for the next few days and did some last minute grocery shopping. We fiddle-farted around with Xmas tree lights last night, you get one row glowing and then another craps out. But for about the first time ever, I managed to fix a row... Woo Hoo!!

Anyway, on to my ongoing Top Ten List of songs and books of 2016. Today, lets take a look at my #3's

Number 3

Song Selection



Jack Savoretti - I'm Yours

I've listened to songs from my #3 artist, Italian - English singer, Jack Savoretti, for awhile now. Some I've liked, some I've been a bit wishy - washy about. But recently the missus and I have seen him on some shows, I think It Takes Two (the Friday panel) and he seemed so very nice and funny. And we heard him perform as well and enjoyed him very much. I'm Yours is a lovely, moody song. (You can hear it by clicking on the song title under his photo.

Book Selection

I've read the first two of Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie mysteries previously and enjoyed them so very much. Behind the Scenes at the Museum was my first stab at one of her fiction novels. I loved it! English writer, Kate Atkinson has written 4 standalone novels and also 4 books in the Jackson Brodie series. Behind the Scenes at the Museum was her first novel and was winner of the Whitbread Prize for first novel and also Book of the Year. I can see why. She has such a thoughtful, unique style and her stories bring out the gamut of emotions, making you tear up and laugh out loud. I can't recommend this story more. It's a must read. My review is below.

"What a beautiful, wonderful, funny, sad, lovely novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum is. The novel is the debut for Kate Atkinson. I'd already read a couple of her Jackson Brodie mysteries and enjoyed them very much. While this novel displayed the wonderful story - telling abilities she displayed in the other novels, it is so different.
Basically it is the history of a family, as told by Ruby Lennox. It follows Ruby and her sisters as they grow up in York, England but also tracks back to her descendants; her mother, Bunty, Bunty's parents and grand-parents and Ruby's siblings. That's the story at its simplest.
Atkinson tells it so wonderfully, filling each page with beautifully crafted scenes and events. Some are so funny, the family road trip to Scotland. Some are desperately sad, Edmund's last minutes in a bomber over Germany. You feel each and every little story within the larger context of Ruby's growing up. After each couple of chapters, there are footnotes, where we meet the descendants, Edmund, Lillian, Lawrence.
I found myself asking my wife, who is from England, what various references were, TV shows that Ruby watched, toys they played with, etc. Not crucial to enjoying the story, but still nice to add that additional texture. It's a family with secrets, as I imagine most families have, and they all tie together by the end. There are neat little path crossings of characters throughout the story and by the end, some revelations that will complete the whole story.
I found myself running through the whole gamut of emotions, anger at times, sadness, happiness. I found myself chuckling at bits and having to read those portions to the missus. At the end, even as it wound up satisfactorily, I felt an ache in my heart and had to get a big hug.
Wonderful story of family history, in the same vein as some of my other favourites, like The Poisonwood Bible, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, To Kill a Mockingbird and The World According to Garp. So glad I read it finally.  I will continue reading the Jackson Brodie mysteries and her other standalone books. Atkinson is a great author."

It was definitely a pleasure to read. So two more days until Christmas and two more Selections as we wind down 2016.

2016 Top Ten Lists - #4

We are in the throes of our West Coast winter. We've had our big dumping of snow, followed by a few days of warm, sunny weather and now, today, it's windy and rainy. Just the way we like it... lol

Today I'm moving on to my #4's in 2016 favourite books and songs.

Number 4

Song Selection

David Grant & Jaki Graham - Mated

Jaki Graham is a British R&B singer. I found her music first on Sara Cox's Sounds of the 80s show on BBC 2 Radio with Breaking Away. I've since listened to more of her music. She has such a pure, lovely voice. Mated was her second single with English singer, David Grant, after they had previously released Could It Be I'm Falling in Love in 1985. Mated also came out in 1985. (Click on the song title under their photo if you wish to listen to it.)

Book Selection

I bought Perdido Street Station by English fantasy writer, China Miéville, in February and pretty well started reading it immediately; the story sounded so interesting. Now, for the life of me, I can't think why I came to hear about Miéville, because I went out and searched for it online and ordered it from Atlanta Books. I'm presuming I read a summary in another of my SciFi / Fantasy books and the plot grabbed me right away. It's been so much fun getting back into Science Fiction and Fantasy. I do love the worlds that these writers create, the interesting characters and beings and just the fantastic stories. Perdido Street Station was excellent and I've since found a couple of other books by Miéville to explore. I hope to read one, at least, next year. My review of Perdido Street Station is below.

"Wow! My first exposure to China Miéville's writing and I'm so very impressed. Call it a combination science fiction/ fantasy. China has created such a unique world in New Crobuzon and has peopled it with wonderfully described and written characters and species. New Crobuzon is a city that is built beneath the ribs of some ancient creature. It is filled with humans, other species and also remade creatures (a form of punishment) and also mechanical creatures. It's basically a dictatorship masked as a democracy.
Crime is rife, the city is a maze of districts and it's all so interesting. The story is a slow - burn at first; rebel scientist Isaac is asked by a Garuda (a flying creature) to help him get his wings back, as they had been removed as a punishment. Isaac's girlfriend, a Khedri (an insectoid - type creature) is an artist who has been commissioned by the city's biggest criminal, to do a statue of him/ her (he is a 'remade' to the extreme). Isaac, while exploring theories of flight, has a petty thief find him specimens of as many flying creatures as he can, including eggs, so he can explore flight and see how he can help the Garuda. Unfortunately, one of the eggs contains a Slake Moth (one of the most horrific fictional beasts you will ever read about, I think) and when it hatches, it escapes and sets in motion the rest of the story.
The City governors have had 4 other adult slake moths as prisoners. When they all escape, the whole city is in danger. This leads to the 2nd half of the story, a fascinating chase by Isaac, Derkhan, another friend and my favourite character, and the Garuda to try and stop the Slake Moths. I hope I haven't told too much of the story; just suffice to say it's fascinating and worth the read. 5 stars (I've since ordered the next book about the New Crobuzon world, Scar (although it's supposedly not necessarily a sequel). I can't wait!!"

I can't recommend this story enough. If you like exploring different worlds, this is the book for you.

Tomorrow, I move on to my #3's.

2016 Top Ten Lists - #5

Oh the shear excitement! Just kidding.. Time today to continue my countdown. Looking at my #5 song and book selections today. Then off to the gym for an hour or so before the carpenters arrive to do a bit of touching up and clean up on the built-ins.

Number 5

Song Selection

Kelvin Jones - Call You Home

#5 comes from another newish artist for me, British - Zimbabwean singer, Kelvin Jones. The song is from his first single, Call You Home, which was released in 2015 off his first album, Stop the Moment. It's a nice simple song and I like his voice. (Click on the song title under his photo if you want to hear it)

Book Selection

#5 is a book I'd heard of for awhile and finally decided to try it out and purchased it in April 2015. It sat on my bookshelf for the rest of the year but I decided to add it to my 12 + 4 challenge this year as I wanted to focus on Canadian authors for that challenge. I'm definitely happy that I read it. It was such an excellent story. It falls into that dystopian view of the future that books like The Road by Cormac McCarthy are part of. In fact, I think there are some similarities to The Road; at least the concept, but I think Station Eleven is more positive in outlook and story. Anyway, you must give it a try. I loved this story. My review is below.

"I loved Station Eleven. It was one of those books that I wanted to finish to see how it ended, but, at the same time, I wanted to continue exploring the lives of the characters. Does that make sense?
It brought out so many emotions; sadness, anger, tears (in both a good and bad way), happiness, encouragement, etc. In some ways it reminded me of The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but it wasn't so consistently dour and scary. Probably part of the reason for that may be that Station Eleven had more characters and it also didn't just situate itself solely in the dystopic (am I spelling this right?) future.
I particularly liked how the story moved along, starting in their present (our future), introducing the Travelling Symphony and highlighting the new way of life of people trying to survive, then wandering to other characters, explaining where they were when the Georgia Flu caused this world-wide destruction and following their adjustments to the post-flu life.
I liked how the main characters are slowly linked up, such as how Kirsten came to be in possession of Miranda's comic, Station Eleven, even how this comic may have impacted The Prophet. The Prophet introduced a very scary element into the whole story. Was he not utilised enough? Maybe but, personally, I think his appearances were just sufficient enough to provide a negative counterpoint to those trying to live safe lives. More of him might have put a completely different tone to the overall story. How people coped with this new future is what was most interesting.
There were so many nice touches. I liked Kirsten especially but every character was excellent and their personalities were developed just to the right amount. I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, it's an excellent story and well worth reading. I think the ending left the story open - ended enough to provide a continuation story to show us how the future continues to unfold, should Emily St. John Mandel so desire. Maybe?? Please.. "

So there you go. Now I'm off to the gym. #4's tomorrow.

Home Renos (AKA New Bookshelves) Part 2

The pups and I checking out the first day of work results

Jay and Vicky of Spinning Compass are just in the process of finishing their initial job, that being setting up the built-in bookshelves in our extra bedroom above the garage. A couple of days ago, I posted some initial photos and what our upcoming renovation plans entailed.

All framed in and you can see the yellow we plan for the upper half of the wall

Jo and I put some initial paint on the wood that was going to be used for the job and also started painting the walls as the next job, just after Christmas, will be to put new moulding along the walls to make it look a bit more substantial. I know the terminology is incorrect but I think you get my idea. We also tried a yellow paint that will replace the blue in that room. We want to brighten the room up. It looks pretty good. You'll get a much better idea of it when we do it of course. That should be done before Vicky and Jay return after Christmas.

Vicky and Jay hard at it.

We've been very impressed with the quality of their work. They are meticulous and patient with the work. The house isn't new so what with settling and all that, they've had to take their time getting all the joints fitting smoothly and such. Considering Vicky was sick on Monday, they've come back and worked very had yesterday and today. Today this job should be complete. I've noticed them cutting the trim and installing that.

Barky1 and Barky2 have kept a close, noisy on Vicky and Jay

All that will remain is for us to finish painting the shelves and for Jo to make a new cushion for the window seat that we will now have. I think Clyde might like sitting on that and barking at the neighbours.

Just a quick update. I'll post more photos tomorrow of the finished product. I can't wait to put some books on the shelves. :0)

2016 Top Ten Lists - #6

After our weekend of snow, it's been relatively balmy the past couple of days and been rainy overnight. So the snow has disappeared pretty well from our yard and driveway. Just the big piles left by the plows remains. We may end up with a green Xmas.. *touch wood*..

I'm now at #6 on my Top Ten songs/ books for 2016 list. Let's see what they are.

Number 6

Song Selection

Sophie Ellis Bextor - Crystallize

My #6 song selection comes from English singer, Sophie Ellis Bextor. Over the past few years, I've had various of her song on my usb. I enjoy her voice and the variety of her music. Murder on the Dance Floor is a particular favourite. Crystallize is a new song for her and quite excellent. (You can hear the song by clicking on the song title under her photo.)

Book Selection

My #6 book selection comes from Canadian mystery writer, Margaret Millar. I can't remember how I discovered her stories. I think one of her books, The Soft Talkers, was listed in the back of another mystery I was reading at the time. As you do, I googled her and discovered she was Canadian and her stories looked interesting, so I began a search for her books. She wasn't an easy author to find. I remember checking in my favourite mystery book store in Victoria, Chronicles of Crime, and was told that Millar's books were very hard to find. Luckily, over time, I've managed to find and also enjoy a few of her books. The Soft Talkers and How Like an Angel were both favourites. I read Beast in View in March and it was so good, well worth being in my Top Ten for the year. It was initially published in 1955 and won the Edgar Award in 1956 for best novel. My review follows.

"Beast In View was a true gem. I've enjoyed a couple of her other books in the past few years, when I've been able to find copies. The Soft Talkers was one of my favourites of last year. Beast in View is another 5-star read. It's such an interesting story.
I love how Millar develops her plots. Is it about Helen Clarvoe, who lives alone in her apartment, isolated from the world about her? Is it about Mr. Blackshear, Helen's financial adviser, bored with his work, who she asks to help her find the woman who made the distressing call to Helen and who begins to conduct an investigation on Helen's behalf? Or is it about Evelyn Merrick, the woman who makes the initial call to Helen and who seems to be making many calls to other people that have upset her?
I loved how it moved along, from the one character to the other, how the tension builds, how the story surprisingly makes a turn to the left. Excellent, excellent!! She is such a wonderful writer."

Tomorrow I start with my Top Five. How exciting!

2016 Top Ten Lists - #7

Quite a bit of our snow melted last night. It was above zero, windy and even a bit rainy. At least the sidewalks are a bit improved, so I decided to go for a morning run instead of waiting to go to the gym. Anyway, on to my 2016 continuing list of songs and books. On tap today are my #7s.

Number 7

Song Selection

C Duncan - Wanted to Want it Too

My #7 song is from Scottish musician, C Duncan. He has a nice orchestral, dramatic sound. Wanted to Want it Too is from his 2016 album, The Midnight Sun. (You can hear the song by clicking on the song title under his photo.)

Book Selection

Robertson Davies' The Lyre of Orpheus is the third book in his Cornish trilogy. I read it in April as part of my 12 + 4 challenge, where I focused on Canadian authors. Like most trilogies, I enjoyed the first book and this final book the most. The second was well-written but just didn't grab me like this one did. My review of the book is below.

"This is the 3rd book in the Cornish trilogy. I enjoyed the first, The Rebel Angels, very much. It had been most enjoyable to get back into Robertson Davies. The second book, What's Bred in the Bone, while interesting, didn't hold the same level of enjoyment that the first did. So The Lyre of Orpheus has sat on my shelf for a couple of years now. I'm so glad that I dusted it off and got back into this trilogy.
It was excellent. I loved everything about this; the writing, the characters, the story. The basic story is that the Cornish foundation, run by Arthur Cornish and his lovely wife, Maria, and assisted by a loose collection of directors, agrees to use Cornish foundation money, to fund the doctoral work of a young music student, Hulda Schnakenburg. She is trying to complete an unfinished opera by Hoffman, the Story of Arthur of Britain. A concurrent story has Simon Darcourt, old friend of Francis Cornish and of Arthur and Maria, seeking to complete a biography of Francis Cornish.
The investigation into this biography, to find out the missing middle of Francis' life and the development of the opera, are fascinating stories. The characters, from the main ones, as well as Schnak and the others brought in to help with the creation of the opera, were lovingly written and so interesting. I won't say I'm an opera fan, but watching the creation and development and the ultimate presentation of this opera, was a joy to read.
Throw in asides by the spirit of Hoffman, throughout the story, as he watches from Limbo and waits to see what the ultimate result will be, and you've got a wonderfully rich story. Sex, cuckoldry and just downright entertainment. It's a fantastic, wonderful story. A perfect ending to this trilogy."

I'll continue with this theme tomorrow with my #6's and maybe also do a post updating the work on our extra bedroom.

2016 Top Ten Lists - # 8

It was just starting to snow when I took the puppies out a few minutes ago. It was more sleety than anything. Hoping it doesn't get too heavy in the next little while as I've got to run a couple of errands before the carpenters arrive. Life in the fast lane.. :) Today I'll list my #8's in my 2016 review of songs and books.

Number 8

Song Selection

My #8 song is from Australian singer, Tina Arena. The song is from 2013, from her album Reset. You Set Fire to My Life reached #38 in Australia. Tina has such a fantastic voice. (You can hear the song by clicking on the song title)

Book Choice

Over the past few years, I've begun to read more of the Classics. I classify those as books written before 1900, to distinguish them from the more Modern Classics. I found this collection of short stories by Elizabeth Gaskell, simply entitled Four Short Stories, at our local Rotary Club Book Sale in April 2013. I loved her writing style and story-telling. I plan to continue to read her work with North and South, which she wrote in 1854-55. My review of Four Short Stories is below.

"This collection of short stories contains 4 stories by writer, Elizabeth Gaskell; The Three Eras of Libbie Marsh (1847), Lizzie Leigh (1855), The Well of Pen-Morfa (1850) and The Manchester Marriage (1858). From the introduction by Anna Walters, they were unique for their time, not only because they were written by a woman but also for the subject matter.
Popular at that time were stories of the upper classes, where women chiefly looked to be married to fulfil their lives. Gaskell's stories featured women as the protagonists, women who were of the lower classes, who had to struggle to live, single mothers, seamstresses, prostitutes. The stories are hard looks at life, but at the same time, feature tenderness, love and even optimism.
I loved how she crafted these tales, well-written, well-described and thoughtful. They were very much a pleasure to read as Gaskell creates such excellent pictures and characters and stories. This was my first experience with Gaskell's writing and I'm very happy that I was able to experience her talent."

Tomorrow, I'll continue my look back at my favourites with #7.