Did you miss me? I know. When I started this Blog almost 12 years ago I was no longer working so I did, in fact, finally have "Time Enough At Last" and I would post every month. But shortly after my post on July 24th I found myself in a situation where I was unable to. I'm calling this my own, personal Great Hiatus. I did have a few books with me and I tried stretching them out but there was just too much free time. Fortunately my Daughter came to the rescue with my Birthday present - a Kindle Fire! I happily downloaded several old favorites for Free which carried me over. I'm not in my place yet but I've been by a few times and have access to my huge To Be Read pile again. Here's how things stand now.
Series
The Vig - John Lescroat ($.50/$6.99, copyright 2005. 376 pages, Paperback)
I read quite a few of Lescroat's Dismas Hardy books years ago and found this one, again, in the TBR pile. Hardy is a lot of ex's - ex-cop, ex-lawyer, ex-husband - and now is a part-owner in his Brother-in-law Moses 'bar The Shamrock. He's tending bar one day when Shanahan former office-mate in the D. A.'s Office walks in and tells him that a vicious criminal they put away has been released. That criminal, Louis Baker, had threatened to kill both of them and Shanahan wanted to warn him. The next day, Hardy goes to Shanahan's houseboat and finds the body of a woman and signs that indicate Shanahan is also dead and his body has been thrown into the canal. Hardy tries to convince his friend Abe Glitsky, a Detective, but Glitsky wants proof. What follows is a convoluted story that includes overtones of racism (Baker and Glitsky are black, Shanahan and Hardy are white) but Lescroat shifts the focus between characters much too often. He does give us a large, well-defined cast with some personal looks into the lives of the main characters but I figured it out early. At that point it began to drag for me. It was OK.
Cold Service - Robert B. Parker ($.50/$9.99, copyright 2005, 336 pages, Paperback)
This is the 32nd book in the Spenser series and Parker sticks to his tried-and-true formula. I've read quite a few of these but I think my introduction to Spenser was the TV Series from the mid-80's starring Robert Urich as Spenser, a Private Detective and Avery Brooks as Hawk, his friend and sort of a hit man/bodyguard. In this one, Hawk has been shot in the back while bodyguarding a mobster and the mobster and his children were killed. Hawk wants revenge and Spenser goes along. This leads them to a nearby city under the thumb of a crooked mayor and a connection to the Ukrainian mob. Parker knows his characters and presumes that the reader does too so he doesn't waste time with descriptions or backgrounds. This moves the narrative along at a brisk pace. He also has a great way with dialog not just between the two protagonists but with Spenser's' girl Susan and Boston PD Lt. Quirk. I enjoyed it.
Miscellaneous
A Man Called Ove - Frederick Backman ($5.00/$16.00, copyright 2012, 337 pages, Trade Paperback)
I'd been seeing very positive reviews and comments about this book so when I found it on one of my Discount Sites for a reasonable price I opted for it. Ove is referred to in many of the write-ups as a curmudgeon but I think that's a misjudgment. He's a man who's spent his life doing things a certain way and he resents people who don't do them like he does. He's 59 and has had his carefully constructed life completely destroyed by two things - his wife has died and he's been let go from his job. Now all he has left in his black and white world is his daily inspection of his townhouse development which causes him no end of annoyance when things aren't as they should be. He has reached the stage where ending his life seems a better alternative then keeping it. That is until the Iranian family moves in next door. The father is inept, the kids are nuisances, and the pregnant mother is an intrusive, buttinsky. Ove resents them for impinging on his plans but they become the catalyst for some interesting changes. Backman has created some really memorable characters here. I actually found myself relating to some of Ove's sentiments and reactions. I could understand why he did/said what he did. That doesn't happen very often. I really enjoyed it.
KINDLE
As I mentioned above, I now have a Kindle and have downloaded several free eBooks from Amazon. I searched through their listing of "Classics" and picked out a couple that I hadn't read and a couple that I had. And here's what I've finished so far.
Around The World in 80 days - Jules Verne (published 1872, 233 pages)
Jules Verne has written several really imaginative adventure novels but this may be his most famous. He gives us the ultimate, unflappable Englishman in the form of Phileas Fogg a well-off gent who makes a sizable bet with his club mates that he can travel around the world in 80 days. He sets off with his new French Valet Passepartout and travels by all sorts of means to return to where he started. Along the way they go through some amazing stuff - arriving on an elephant in India to rescue Aouda, fighting bandits in America while riding on a train, etc.. The action just keeps on coming. Verne has created some memorable characters, captures the feels of each location, and gives us an ending that surprised me the first time I read it. I enjoyed it. (Note: I also remember the movie from the '50's with David Niven so I naturally visualized him as Fogg while I was reading.)
I am still dabbling with a couple of other downloaded books two of which are large short story collections. I'm slowly working my way through -
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Father Brown: The Complete Collection by G. K. Chesterton
And I'm savoring every story. Also, again thanks to a tip from my Daughter, I just got access to my local library's collection which I can "borrow" for download. I usually prefer to own a book so I've compromised with myself. I'll "borrow" a book first and, if I like it, I'll see if I can get it from one of the Discount Sites I use.
That's it until next time.
It's getting darker earlier now, and it's starting to feel cooler out. The Holidays are just around the corner and I've already picked up some Christmas presents including a brand new J. K. Rowling - "The Christmas Pig" - for my newest Grandchild.
Till next time -
Stay Safe
Wash Your Hands
Wear Your Mask and
Keep Reading.
