Not to make a big deal out of it but I'm going through another round of treatments that take place early in the morning. Combined with the Insomnia side effect from the last round, I haven't read so much lately. (Of course, these things haven't kept me from continuing to order books.) Anyway, I did manage to finish a couple.
Miscellaneous
The Master Of Ballantrae - Robert Louis Stevenson ($9.95/$4.82, Published 1996, 246 pages, Paperback)
This is Stevenson's retelling of the familiar family divided/two Brothers against each other story. Set in Scotland during the 1745 Jacobite Revolution, he gives us the Drurie family. James, the oldest, supports the Scottish side while Henry the younger, is faithful to The Crown. James leaves home to fight for the cause and winds up fleeing to sea where he spends some time as a pirate in the French Indies. Meanwhile, Henry has taken over as the Master. James ultimately returns to demand his Birthright and begins a huge feud that takes them from their home in Scotland to the American Wilderness. Stevenson does a great job with his descriptions of the various locations and he's created some very memorable characters, especially James who comes across as very manipulative. Another plus to this book is that Stevenson uses multiple Narrators to tell the story which I found interesting. I enjoyed it.
The Ocean At the End Of The Lane - Neil Gaiman ($7.99/$5.88, copyright 2013, 237 pages, Paperback)
I am a big fan of Gaiman and I've just ordered 2 more of his books ("American Gods" and "Anansi Boys"). This is another of his Adult books. He gives us a middle-aged man in England who returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. He decides to drive around for a while afterwards and winds up at a farm at the end of a road that he seems to be drawn to. He didn't know why at first, but as he wanders around he remembers. 40 Years ago, His Father took in a Boarder from Australia who wound up stealing their car and crashing it. When the boy went out to the site he wound up walking around and met a girl named Lettie Hempstock who took him to her farm, fed him, and introduced him to her Mother and her Grandmother. Then she took him for a walk and things got really strange. I can't begin to describe or explain what happens without spoiling the book. Gaiman has created some great characters here and he always paints a wonderful narrative. I enjoyed it.
It's cold today but supposed to get warmer for the next couple of days. I have to run some errands tomorrow but then I should have time to kick back and enjoy one of the books I'm juggling.
Talk to you next month. Until then ….
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