January was kinda rough on me but February has been much better - so far. I'm still babysitting my Granddaughter several days a week but I'm no longer doing the early morning radiation. We haven't had any appreciable snow (although there is a storm predicted for Tuesday/Wednesday). And we've had some really cold weather but this weekend has been warm. I'm still not reading as much as I used to but I'm still able to find the time to squeeze in a book or two. Here's what I read this month.
Series
Good Night, Mr. Holmes - Carole Nelson Douglas ($4.49/$4.99, copyright 1990, 408 pages, Paperback)
I first read this book years ago and recently found out that this was the first volume in a series by finding two more at a Library sale in Metuchen. Of course, I had to reread this one first so "Off the shelf" it came. Douglas has written a prequel to "A Scandal In Bohemia" in which we learn how Irene Adler and her personal assistant, Penelope Huxleigh, met and how they got caught up in the situation that introduced Sherlock Holmes into their lives.The pairing of the ultra-respectable Penelope, the country parson's daughter, with Irene, the convention breaking American singer, and their interaction with Godfrey Norton, a Barrister, bring a bit of lightness to the book. Also, appearances by famed historical personages (Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and later on the Divine Sarah Bernhardt) and famed fictional personages (Holmes and Watson) make this a bit more realistic and amusing to read. I enjoyed it.
Miscellaneous
The Hot Kid - Elmore Leonard ($6.99/$.50, copyright 2005, 387 pages, Paperback)
I picked this up because I hadn't read a Leonard book before and the time-frame interested me -1930s Oklahoma - which includes the Dust Bowl, Prohibition, Bank Robbers, and U. S. Marshals. It's not really a novel but a series of vignettes in the life of oil-well boy Carl Webster, who witnesses a crime as a child and grows up to become the most respected Marshal in the state. His nemesis is Jack Belmont, a wanna-be criminal rebelling against his millionaire dad, and the two cross paths repeatedly throughout the book. Leonard has created a cast of memorable characters and his writing captures the feel of that other time and place. I enjoyed it.
That's it for this month. I just started 2 new books in 2 different genres and we'll see how that goes. It's too early to tell. While we're waiting, the days are getting longer and warmer and Spring is on the way. Until next month ...
Keep reading!
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Chapter Sixty-nine
It's the start of a new year and we've just gone through the worst snow storm in years. I stayed in all day yesterday which gave me time to catch up on my sleep and finish a few things - specifically a book. Here are this month's selections.
Miscellaneous
Lincoln - Gore Vidal ($.50/$4.95, copyright 1984, 657 pages, Paperback)
I read this in Hardcover format when it was first released (it was a selection of a book club I belonged to at the time) and I happened across it recently at a library sale. It centers on Lincoln's experiences during the Civil War and is one of the best works of historical fiction I've read. It gets into the minds and motives of the men surrounding Lincoln, including his personal secretary John Hay, cabinet members William Seward and Salmon P. Chase, and his wife, Mary Todd. It is a longer book then I usually read but it's fascinating and it never loses sight of the intimate and personal in its depiction of the power struggles that accompanied Lincoln's efforts to preserve the Union at all costs. I enjoyed it.
Off The Shelf
Flashman - George MacDonald Fraser ($.95/$.95, copyright1969, 246 pages, Paperback)
This is a book for lovers of historical fiction, military fiction, or British history, but will be enjoyed by those who otherwise would never read in these areas. This is the first book in a series and introduces Harry Flashman beginning with his being expelled from school (he was the bully in "Tom Brown's School Days"), forced into the British Army, and suddenly finding himself in the midst of the disastrous British Afghan campaign. He is a coward but he has the extraordinary ability to come out of tight situations looking like a hero. Fraser has created a truly unique character and uses him to have fun with history and historical characters. I enjoyed it.
I lucked out today and found someone to dig out my car for $25. I've been home all afternoon working on a few things and now I'll be starting a new book. Who has it better then me?
Stay tuned for next month and ...
Keep reading!
Miscellaneous
Lincoln - Gore Vidal ($.50/$4.95, copyright 1984, 657 pages, Paperback)
I read this in Hardcover format when it was first released (it was a selection of a book club I belonged to at the time) and I happened across it recently at a library sale. It centers on Lincoln's experiences during the Civil War and is one of the best works of historical fiction I've read. It gets into the minds and motives of the men surrounding Lincoln, including his personal secretary John Hay, cabinet members William Seward and Salmon P. Chase, and his wife, Mary Todd. It is a longer book then I usually read but it's fascinating and it never loses sight of the intimate and personal in its depiction of the power struggles that accompanied Lincoln's efforts to preserve the Union at all costs. I enjoyed it.
Off The Shelf
Flashman - George MacDonald Fraser ($.95/$.95, copyright1969, 246 pages, Paperback)
This is a book for lovers of historical fiction, military fiction, or British history, but will be enjoyed by those who otherwise would never read in these areas. This is the first book in a series and introduces Harry Flashman beginning with his being expelled from school (he was the bully in "Tom Brown's School Days"), forced into the British Army, and suddenly finding himself in the midst of the disastrous British Afghan campaign. He is a coward but he has the extraordinary ability to come out of tight situations looking like a hero. Fraser has created a truly unique character and uses him to have fun with history and historical characters. I enjoyed it.
I lucked out today and found someone to dig out my car for $25. I've been home all afternoon working on a few things and now I'll be starting a new book. Who has it better then me?
Stay tuned for next month and ...
Keep reading!
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Chapter Sixty-eight
Merry Christmas!
This month has been unusually warm so far but this weekend it got a lot more seasonal. My tree is up, my gifts are wrapped, and I've got my car's radio tuned to the "All Christmas Songs" station. I've been busy but I did get to read a couple of books this month. Interestingly, there are several coincidences here. They are purely serendipitous.
Miscellaneous
Slaughter House Five - Kurt Vonnegut ($6.99/$4.25, copyright 1966, 215 pages, Paperback)
I read the book before I saw the movie. Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time and experiences the events of his life out of chronological order. War and absurdity ensue. In other words, it's a collection of non-chronological events in Billy's life - his experiences in World War II (specifically as a German prisoner in Dresden during the bombing), his life after the war (the wife, the daughter), and his abduction by the Tralfamadorians (the zoo, the woman). Though usually classified as Science Fiction, I think this is Vonnegut's way of coming to grips with his experiences during the war - he was that prisoner in Dresden. So it goes. I enjoyed it.
Off The Shelf
The Caine Mutiny - Herman Wouk ($2.95/$2.95, copyright 1951, 639 pages, Paperback)
I saw the movie before I read the book. The plot is pretty simple, Willie Keith, the son of a rich family, joins the Navy rather then get drafted into the Army. He's assigned as an Ensign aboard the Caine - a run-down minesweeper with a slip-shod group of officers. A by-the-book captain - Queeg - soon takes over and the officers start to resent him. They ultimately relieve him of command and a court martial follows. Like Vonnegut, Wouk has used his experience on minesweepers to bring a lot of detail to the book. His characters are well written and, in my opinion, Bogart did a great job depicting a man who was overwhelmed by his position. I enjoyed it.
That's it this month.This is going to be my Granddaughter's first Christmas and I can't wait to see how she reacts to things. So ...
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! And ..
Keep Reading!
This month has been unusually warm so far but this weekend it got a lot more seasonal. My tree is up, my gifts are wrapped, and I've got my car's radio tuned to the "All Christmas Songs" station. I've been busy but I did get to read a couple of books this month. Interestingly, there are several coincidences here. They are purely serendipitous.
Miscellaneous
Slaughter House Five - Kurt Vonnegut ($6.99/$4.25, copyright 1966, 215 pages, Paperback)
I read the book before I saw the movie. Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time and experiences the events of his life out of chronological order. War and absurdity ensue. In other words, it's a collection of non-chronological events in Billy's life - his experiences in World War II (specifically as a German prisoner in Dresden during the bombing), his life after the war (the wife, the daughter), and his abduction by the Tralfamadorians (the zoo, the woman). Though usually classified as Science Fiction, I think this is Vonnegut's way of coming to grips with his experiences during the war - he was that prisoner in Dresden. So it goes. I enjoyed it.
Off The Shelf
The Caine Mutiny - Herman Wouk ($2.95/$2.95, copyright 1951, 639 pages, Paperback)
I saw the movie before I read the book. The plot is pretty simple, Willie Keith, the son of a rich family, joins the Navy rather then get drafted into the Army. He's assigned as an Ensign aboard the Caine - a run-down minesweeper with a slip-shod group of officers. A by-the-book captain - Queeg - soon takes over and the officers start to resent him. They ultimately relieve him of command and a court martial follows. Like Vonnegut, Wouk has used his experience on minesweepers to bring a lot of detail to the book. His characters are well written and, in my opinion, Bogart did a great job depicting a man who was overwhelmed by his position. I enjoyed it.
That's it this month.This is going to be my Granddaughter's first Christmas and I can't wait to see how she reacts to things. So ...
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! And ..
Keep Reading!
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Sixth Anniversary Issue!!
It's hard for me to believe that I've been doing this for six years and I've probably got enough books already stacked up to last for another six. Of course, a lot has changed in my life over all that time so I've had to adapt a bit and I've begun to try a few different genres. Anyway, here's what I've read this month.
Miscellaneous
Hocus Pocus - Kurt Vonnegut ($7.99/$.25, copyright 1990, 324 pages, Paperback)
This is the story of Eugene Debs Hartke, a Vietnam veteran, who - after leaving the Army - became a teacher at an upstate New York private school very close to a prison. After a prison break, he is mistaken for one of the ring leaders and ends up awaiting trial, dying of TB, contemplating his life and trying to count the number of women he has slept with. Vonnegut tells the story through small snippets supposedly written on random pieces of paper and has put together a beautiful satire of just about every aspect of American life, from the idiocy of Vietnam, the treatment of the vets when they got home, the sale of just about everything to the Japanese, and the ignorance of the majority of Americans. I enjoyed it.
Non-fiction
Thunderstruck - Erik Larson ($16.00/$.50, copyright 2006, 392 pages, Trade Paperback)
In 1910 a true, sensational story ran in newspapers around the world. An American physician living in London - Hawley Crippen - poisoned, flayed, deboned and buried his overbearing wife in the couple's basement for the love of a younger woman. He and his lover, who was disguised as a boy, were fleeing justice on an ocean liner from Antwerp to Quebec City. On another ship, the Scotland Yard inspector in charge of the second most notorious murder in British history (Jack the Ripper being the first) was speeding to overcome the suspects before their arrival in Canada. What made the difference between escape and capture was Guglielmo Marconi's invention - the Wireless radio. Larson uses the same process here that he used in "The Devil In The White City" - which I read a few years ago. He jumps back and forth between what was happening with each character and creates an interesting narrative. I have to admit, though, that I found a lot of the material Larson has compiled about Marconi to be kind of boring. It was OK.
Young Adult
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl ($6.99/$.50, copyright 1964, 155 pages, Paperback)
I'm guessing that you all know this. The reclusive candy maker who decides to open up his factory to a select few. The Golden Tickets. Charlie and his grandfather, along with the other child winners and their parents. The factory. The Oompa-Loompas. I've only seen the Gene Wilder version but they did stick pretty close to the book. Of course, there are things that don't appear in the movie and things that the movie plays up that aren't in the book, but it's a still a great way to spend a couple of hours. I enjoyed it.
Totals
It's been an interesting year for me. I'm now a Grandfather and - since September -I'm spending a lot of time babysitting. This has had an impact on my reading time and what I read. It will be interesting to see how much of an impact it will continue to have. Anyway, here are this years numbers.
Series - 12 books, $105.96 total cover price, $15.46 actual cost
Non-fiction - 6 books, $84.00 total cover price,$3.50 actual cost
Young Adult - 3 books, $24.97 total cover price, $1.75 actual cost
Miscellaneous - 10 books, $85.26 total cover price, $8.76 actual cost
Off The Shelf - 4 books, $9.95 total cover price, $9.95 actual cost.
Holmes - 1 book, $2.95 total cover price, $.25 actual cost.
This years totals are:
36 books, $323.09 total cover price, $39.67 actual cost.
Six year totals are:
264 book, $2,752.91 total cover price, $270.60 actual price.
Next month is December and it's gonna be my Granddaughter's First Christmas! I can't wait to see how she reacts to things, and I can't wait to introduce her to some of the true classics of literature. Till then ...
Keep Reading!
Miscellaneous
Hocus Pocus - Kurt Vonnegut ($7.99/$.25, copyright 1990, 324 pages, Paperback)
This is the story of Eugene Debs Hartke, a Vietnam veteran, who - after leaving the Army - became a teacher at an upstate New York private school very close to a prison. After a prison break, he is mistaken for one of the ring leaders and ends up awaiting trial, dying of TB, contemplating his life and trying to count the number of women he has slept with. Vonnegut tells the story through small snippets supposedly written on random pieces of paper and has put together a beautiful satire of just about every aspect of American life, from the idiocy of Vietnam, the treatment of the vets when they got home, the sale of just about everything to the Japanese, and the ignorance of the majority of Americans. I enjoyed it.
Non-fiction
Thunderstruck - Erik Larson ($16.00/$.50, copyright 2006, 392 pages, Trade Paperback)
In 1910 a true, sensational story ran in newspapers around the world. An American physician living in London - Hawley Crippen - poisoned, flayed, deboned and buried his overbearing wife in the couple's basement for the love of a younger woman. He and his lover, who was disguised as a boy, were fleeing justice on an ocean liner from Antwerp to Quebec City. On another ship, the Scotland Yard inspector in charge of the second most notorious murder in British history (Jack the Ripper being the first) was speeding to overcome the suspects before their arrival in Canada. What made the difference between escape and capture was Guglielmo Marconi's invention - the Wireless radio. Larson uses the same process here that he used in "The Devil In The White City" - which I read a few years ago. He jumps back and forth between what was happening with each character and creates an interesting narrative. I have to admit, though, that I found a lot of the material Larson has compiled about Marconi to be kind of boring. It was OK.
Young Adult
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl ($6.99/$.50, copyright 1964, 155 pages, Paperback)
I'm guessing that you all know this. The reclusive candy maker who decides to open up his factory to a select few. The Golden Tickets. Charlie and his grandfather, along with the other child winners and their parents. The factory. The Oompa-Loompas. I've only seen the Gene Wilder version but they did stick pretty close to the book. Of course, there are things that don't appear in the movie and things that the movie plays up that aren't in the book, but it's a still a great way to spend a couple of hours. I enjoyed it.
Totals
It's been an interesting year for me. I'm now a Grandfather and - since September -I'm spending a lot of time babysitting. This has had an impact on my reading time and what I read. It will be interesting to see how much of an impact it will continue to have. Anyway, here are this years numbers.
Series - 12 books, $105.96 total cover price, $15.46 actual cost
Non-fiction - 6 books, $84.00 total cover price,$3.50 actual cost
Young Adult - 3 books, $24.97 total cover price, $1.75 actual cost
Miscellaneous - 10 books, $85.26 total cover price, $8.76 actual cost
Off The Shelf - 4 books, $9.95 total cover price, $9.95 actual cost.
Holmes - 1 book, $2.95 total cover price, $.25 actual cost.
This years totals are:
36 books, $323.09 total cover price, $39.67 actual cost.
Six year totals are:
264 book, $2,752.91 total cover price, $270.60 actual price.
Next month is December and it's gonna be my Granddaughter's First Christmas! I can't wait to see how she reacts to things, and I can't wait to introduce her to some of the true classics of literature. Till then ...
Keep Reading!
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Chapter Sixty-seven
October is winding down but we still have Halloween to look forward to. This year it's on a Saturday and it will be the first one for my Granddaughter, although I don't know how much of it she'll understand - she's only 6 months old.
As I mentioned last month, my days are heavily invested in babysitting so my reading time has been cut back. It's mostly at night now but I did manage to squeeze in a few chapters during the baby's nap time.
Series
Worst Case - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge ($9.99/$.50, copyright 2010, 320 pages, Paperback)
This is another book from the Patterson Factory and an addition to his Michael Bennett series. Detective Bennett, along with FBI Agent Emily Parker, must try to figure out who is abducting New York's wealthiest people's children and, more importantly, why. The pressure is amped up after the first two turn up dead. The Patterson short-punchy-chapters approach works well here, moving the story along quickly and the authors do a good job of covering a lot of New York's neighborhoods. There is also a fair amount of humor in this one and, of course, the obligatory family scenes with Bennett's 10 kids. I enjoyed it.
Non-fiction
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote ($15.00/$.50, copyright 1965, 343 pages, Trade Paperback)
As True Crime novels go, it doesn't get much better then this. The root of this work is a ghastly crime committed in 1959. Two recently released convicts - Dick Hickock and Perry Smith - seeking a fortune that did not exist, invade the Clutter family home in Holcomb, Kansas. They tie up the four family members present and then, deciding to leave no witnesses, kill them with shotguns. It takes some time for the perpetrators to be identified, then tracked down. While that was happening, Capote went there and immersed himself. He looked at how the townspeople reacted. He looked at the investigation that led to the capture of the suspects. He looked in depth at the criminals. It took him 6 years to complete this book and it was worth it. I enjoyed it.
(NOTE: I did read several other books this month but, since they were Picture Books for my Granddaughter, I decided to leave them off the list. When she's old enough to sit through a chapter or 2 of "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" I'll start to include those.)
Well, the Holiday Season starts at the end of the month and we're going to have to gear up for that. I hope I can find some time to do some shopping. Maybe I'll get my Granddaughter some books.
Keep Reading!
As I mentioned last month, my days are heavily invested in babysitting so my reading time has been cut back. It's mostly at night now but I did manage to squeeze in a few chapters during the baby's nap time.
Series
Worst Case - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge ($9.99/$.50, copyright 2010, 320 pages, Paperback)
This is another book from the Patterson Factory and an addition to his Michael Bennett series. Detective Bennett, along with FBI Agent Emily Parker, must try to figure out who is abducting New York's wealthiest people's children and, more importantly, why. The pressure is amped up after the first two turn up dead. The Patterson short-punchy-chapters approach works well here, moving the story along quickly and the authors do a good job of covering a lot of New York's neighborhoods. There is also a fair amount of humor in this one and, of course, the obligatory family scenes with Bennett's 10 kids. I enjoyed it.
Non-fiction
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote ($15.00/$.50, copyright 1965, 343 pages, Trade Paperback)
As True Crime novels go, it doesn't get much better then this. The root of this work is a ghastly crime committed in 1959. Two recently released convicts - Dick Hickock and Perry Smith - seeking a fortune that did not exist, invade the Clutter family home in Holcomb, Kansas. They tie up the four family members present and then, deciding to leave no witnesses, kill them with shotguns. It takes some time for the perpetrators to be identified, then tracked down. While that was happening, Capote went there and immersed himself. He looked at how the townspeople reacted. He looked at the investigation that led to the capture of the suspects. He looked in depth at the criminals. It took him 6 years to complete this book and it was worth it. I enjoyed it.
(NOTE: I did read several other books this month but, since they were Picture Books for my Granddaughter, I decided to leave them off the list. When she's old enough to sit through a chapter or 2 of "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" I'll start to include those.)
Well, the Holiday Season starts at the end of the month and we're going to have to gear up for that. I hope I can find some time to do some shopping. Maybe I'll get my Granddaughter some books.
Keep Reading!
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Chapter Sixty-six
Once again, the Summer slipped away too quickly and September is here. The weather has continued to be warm but they say there's a front coming in that will change that. And, of course, Autumn starts this week.
This month, I've started baby-sitting my new Granddaughter while her parents are at work. Our daily schedule depends on when she gets up, when she's hungry, etc., so I haven't been reading as much as usual but I did manage to finish a couple.
Miscellaneous
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman ($6.99/$.25, copyright 1996, 370 pages, Paperback)
I mentioned last month how much I enjoyed Neil Gaiman's work so you can imagine how happy I was to come across this. Richard Mayhew is an average man with a boring life. One night, he finds a girl bleeding on the street and takes her home so she can rest up and get better. This girl, Door, is the only surviving member of her family, and a denizen of the world under London. Her presence drags Richard into this strange place and, along with some new companions, he sets out to return to the life he had before. Gaiman has created some fully-fleshed out, three-dimensional characters and a world that is well thought out and had me wishing that such a place could actually exist beneath every great city of the world. I enjoyed it.
Series
The Gods of Gotham - Lyndsay Faye ($16.00/$5.98, copyright 2012, 434 pages, Trade Paperback)
This is the first book in a trilogy. Timothy Wilde was a bartender who was doing well by the standards of 1845 but a devastating fire leaves him homeless, unemployed, and disfigured. Tim’s brother, Valentine, gets them both jobs on the newly formed New York police department. When Tim comes across a female child prostitute covered in blood, it leads to the discovery of other dead children who were killed in a similar way. The Wilde brothers have to quickly solve the crime before the bloody deaths are used as propaganda that could tear New York apart. Faye does a great job of depicting the New York of 1845 including the anti-Irish, anti-Catholic sentiment of the time. Still, I found myself skimming through some of Faye's descriptive passages and I thought that she made Tim too self-centered. I hope that the sequels might change my opinion. It was OK.
That's it for this month.
October is up next which means that the Holidays are on the way (and, sadly, are already in the stores.) Till then, enjoy and ...
Keep Reading.
This month, I've started baby-sitting my new Granddaughter while her parents are at work. Our daily schedule depends on when she gets up, when she's hungry, etc., so I haven't been reading as much as usual but I did manage to finish a couple.
Miscellaneous
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman ($6.99/$.25, copyright 1996, 370 pages, Paperback)
I mentioned last month how much I enjoyed Neil Gaiman's work so you can imagine how happy I was to come across this. Richard Mayhew is an average man with a boring life. One night, he finds a girl bleeding on the street and takes her home so she can rest up and get better. This girl, Door, is the only surviving member of her family, and a denizen of the world under London. Her presence drags Richard into this strange place and, along with some new companions, he sets out to return to the life he had before. Gaiman has created some fully-fleshed out, three-dimensional characters and a world that is well thought out and had me wishing that such a place could actually exist beneath every great city of the world. I enjoyed it.
Series
The Gods of Gotham - Lyndsay Faye ($16.00/$5.98, copyright 2012, 434 pages, Trade Paperback)
This is the first book in a trilogy. Timothy Wilde was a bartender who was doing well by the standards of 1845 but a devastating fire leaves him homeless, unemployed, and disfigured. Tim’s brother, Valentine, gets them both jobs on the newly formed New York police department. When Tim comes across a female child prostitute covered in blood, it leads to the discovery of other dead children who were killed in a similar way. The Wilde brothers have to quickly solve the crime before the bloody deaths are used as propaganda that could tear New York apart. Faye does a great job of depicting the New York of 1845 including the anti-Irish, anti-Catholic sentiment of the time. Still, I found myself skimming through some of Faye's descriptive passages and I thought that she made Tim too self-centered. I hope that the sequels might change my opinion. It was OK.
That's it for this month.
October is up next which means that the Holidays are on the way (and, sadly, are already in the stores.) Till then, enjoy and ...
Keep Reading.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Chapter Sixty-five
It's August and it's hot out. No surprise there. Last month, I mentioned that I had an idea for this month's post. I started in that direction but, like Burns said about the best laid plans, they ".. gang aft agley". I picked up a couple of books that I dove into immediately.
Off The Shelf - Sherlock Holmes
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Richard Lancelyn Green, ed. ($6.00/$6.00, copyright 1985, 272 pages, Paperback)
Green went out of his way to pick out authors who tried to write Sherlock Holmes stories as they were written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and they have refrained from taking any liberties with the traits of the characters. They are very much in the late Victorian era style. Not all them are of
equal merit. Sadly, in my opinion, the one by Adrian Conan Doyle - Sir Arthur's son - is the weakest, but there are some really good ones here and it's always fun to spend time with old friends. I enjoyed it.
Young Adult
Theses are the couple of books that threw me off my original intent. I came across them on the library sale shelves in Middletown.
Tunnels - Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams ($8.99/$.25, copyright 2008, 472 pages, Trade Paperback)
Will Burrows is a 14-year-old London boy who doesn't really fit in. His Dad runs a museum and loves to dig tunnels as a freelance archaeologist. Will has accompanied his Dad on a few and has even started his own. He befriends Chester, another outcast at his school, and talks him into helping him. When Will's dad disappears they set off in search of him. This leads them to an underground colony where they hate people from above ground and Will's life is thrown into disarray when questions arise about who he really is. I have to say that it didn't interest me at all and I didn't know that it was the start of a series. I didn't like it and I won't be continuing with it.
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman ($8.99/$1.00, copyright 2008, 307 pages, Trade Paperback)
This is the story of a young boy who, as a toddler, wakes up one night, decides to wander around the neighborhood, and winds up in the graveyard. The inhabitants - ghosts, of course - take him in and name him Nobody Owens, Bod for short. While this was happening, a man named Jack has murdered the child's family and is looking for him. Gaiman plays the story out in individual chapters that stand alone and yet continue to build to a bittersweet but satisfying ending. I've been a big Gaiman fan for years having read many of his Sandman comics and adult novels. He could have stretched this out into one of those but, I think, he realized that it worked best in this format. I really enjoyed it.
Next up is September and I'm going to be spending a lot of time babysitting my new granddaughter. It should be interesting to see how that affects what I read going forward. Till then ..
Keep reading.
Off The Shelf - Sherlock Holmes
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Richard Lancelyn Green, ed. ($6.00/$6.00, copyright 1985, 272 pages, Paperback)
Green went out of his way to pick out authors who tried to write Sherlock Holmes stories as they were written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and they have refrained from taking any liberties with the traits of the characters. They are very much in the late Victorian era style. Not all them are of
equal merit. Sadly, in my opinion, the one by Adrian Conan Doyle - Sir Arthur's son - is the weakest, but there are some really good ones here and it's always fun to spend time with old friends. I enjoyed it.
Young Adult
Theses are the couple of books that threw me off my original intent. I came across them on the library sale shelves in Middletown.
Tunnels - Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams ($8.99/$.25, copyright 2008, 472 pages, Trade Paperback)
Will Burrows is a 14-year-old London boy who doesn't really fit in. His Dad runs a museum and loves to dig tunnels as a freelance archaeologist. Will has accompanied his Dad on a few and has even started his own. He befriends Chester, another outcast at his school, and talks him into helping him. When Will's dad disappears they set off in search of him. This leads them to an underground colony where they hate people from above ground and Will's life is thrown into disarray when questions arise about who he really is. I have to say that it didn't interest me at all and I didn't know that it was the start of a series. I didn't like it and I won't be continuing with it.
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman ($8.99/$1.00, copyright 2008, 307 pages, Trade Paperback)
This is the story of a young boy who, as a toddler, wakes up one night, decides to wander around the neighborhood, and winds up in the graveyard. The inhabitants - ghosts, of course - take him in and name him Nobody Owens, Bod for short. While this was happening, a man named Jack has murdered the child's family and is looking for him. Gaiman plays the story out in individual chapters that stand alone and yet continue to build to a bittersweet but satisfying ending. I've been a big Gaiman fan for years having read many of his Sandman comics and adult novels. He could have stretched this out into one of those but, I think, he realized that it worked best in this format. I really enjoyed it.
Next up is September and I'm going to be spending a lot of time babysitting my new granddaughter. It should be interesting to see how that affects what I read going forward. Till then ..
Keep reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)