PensionersRants
Friday, July 31, 2015
Review: Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd
"Hunting Shadows," is the 14th in the series of Ian Rutledge belonging to the 'Mystery' genre. The title and cover are very appropriate for the story. It is set against rural and isolated villages in England, where gossip is the main source of news. There are good references to the local areas, and the description of the characters are well developed. All the characters are strong, with loneliness a common thread among them.
The story is well plotted and well written. With the war never far from his mind, a voice from the past like a shadow, he must solve a crime by a sniper using a WW1 weapon. The story holds on to the end, but the end doesn't seem like a big surprise - more like something expected.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Completing A Book is Like Having a Baby
Completing a book, it’s a little like having a
baby. There’s a feeling of relief and satisfaction when you get to the end. A
feeling that you have brought your family, your characters, home. Then a sort of
post-natal depression and then, very quickly, the horizon of a new book. The
consolation that next time I will do it better.
JOHN LE CARRÉ
JOHN LE CARRÉ
My Reviews.
I seem always to have a different hobby. Maybe I can't call it a hobby, more like an interest for a period. A couple of years ago, my interest was to learn how to repair a lawnmower. Not that I planned on going into the repair business - it was because of my neighbor. At the time, I was using an electric mower, and he kept giving me a hard time. He said that he couldn't stand to see my feet getting tied up in the cord. So I picked up some mowers from people and learned how to fix them.
This summer my interest is learning to do book reviews. Normally, I just gave them stars. Now, I write reviews and put them on Goodreads, Amazon, and my blog. I guess I use something like a template. I've written down all the things I want to cover and them put the book through it. I notice the reviews are getting longer.
I used to belong to this book club, not Wattpad, where everyone wrote stories, and anyone could comment. It was ok, I got some useful hints. I read this story one time and gave it four stars. Well, it was a woman author and she was livid. How dare I give her only four when it should have been a five. Afterwards, I quit that group. If that were now, I would change the four to a three.
On Goodreads, they have these threads where people offer reviews for reviews. I thought about that for myself but changed my mind as I read on. This one guy wrote that if you gave him a review he would do one right away without reading the book. Now, the reviews I read, I take with a grain of salt. So I thought that this might not work out too well for me because I would read the book and give it an honest review.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Review: WW 2 Women by Cyrus J. Zachary
"WW 2 Women" is a historical read about women spies from that war. It is a very short read. It is possible that the title on Goodreads is longer than the book. The cover seems to have no bearing on the characters in the book. I have a free copy, and that is what it is worth for information readily accessible on the net. Regularly priced at $4.99. Really!
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Review: The Lost Codex by Alan Jacobson.
"The Lost Codex," is an action adventure novel by Alan Jacobson. It is a book I won on Goodreads. It seems aimed at male and female readers. There is some violence, but not an overabundance. It tries to mime "Sigma Force," but falls short. The title "Lost Codex," could refer to its location in he book. Mentioned in the Prologue, it then disappears for the next 30% of the book.
During this 30% hiatus, there was a long winded explanation of the motives and workings of a suicide bomber given to heads of Homeland, CIA, NSA, and FBI. I'm sure these gentlemen have sufficient knowledge of suicide bombers. It seems unnecessary, making the book long.
Being used to my Kindle, I found the printing small. The book has short chapters making it easy to stop reading. I thought the book had too many characters, the Arab names confusing.
After 40%, the story seemed to get back on track and live up more to its hype. From then on, it was continual action.
I found the ending nothing to get excited about - the author looking for a way to finish it of.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Some Books Refuse to be Written
There are some books that refuse to be written.
They stand their ground year after year and will not be persuaded. It isn't
because the book is not there and worth being written—it is only because the
right form of the story does not present itself. There is only one right form
for a story and if you fail to find that form the story will not tell
itself.
MARK TWAIN
MARK TWAIN
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Bank Experience
My wife and I went to the bank yesterday. I had to get money for the plumber. He finished all the work, and that's good. My wife, on the other hand, had to verify that she was still alive. She gets a German pension, so every year they send her a letter to check if she is still with us. Heaven forbid that I would just keep the money.
She just has to go to a teller, gets a couple of papers signed, and they send it away. How difficult that depends on the teller. Yesterday was fairly easy. There was one occasion when she was sent to a notary. I got my money faster than she got her signature.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Review: Deadlock (Tweed & Co. #5) by Colin Forbes
'Deadlock,' is #5 in the series 'Tweed & Co.' by Colin Forbes. It belongs to the Genre of action/adventure. The title is appropriate for the story, but I find the cover a bit bland. The book is aimed at a male audience.
Having lived for a time in that part of Europe, I recognize a lot of the locations and can verify that they are well researched. There is a lot of accidental dropping of names to move the story along.
It is a fast-paced thriller and a long read, but every page is worth it. All the characters are well developed and so well described you would probably recognize them if you saw them walking down the street.
From very early in the story, there was a continual reference to scuba divers, but no one seemed to pay any attention to them until the end. The story depended a lot on two new characters. One had a minor role in an earlier book and the other someone new. I would expect to see them in future stories. The book had an ending I did not expect.
A drawback to this book of good versus evil is that it is similar to all the other books in the series. There were some editing mistakes that seemed to increase towards the end of the book.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
Review: The White Lioness by Henning Mankell
"The White Lioness," is the 3rd. in the "Kurt Wallander" series. This novel is two stories existing in the same book. I found that the stories blended well together and taken separately could be two novellas. Kurt, a man who consistently eats sandwiches tried a pizza this time. The story is fast paced, and the author has a good insight into the Apartheid system.
I fast read a few pages because too much time was spent on Kurt's mental state. I enjoyed the book, even though the end held no big surprise.
Cinderella
What's in the Vietnamese version of Cinderella (Tam Cam)? At the end, Cinderella dismembered her step sister, put the body into a jar of food and sent it to her step mother to eat, which she enjoyed until she found the skull at the bottom of the jar and died of shock.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
The Color Purple
The color purple is the royal color because the dye was so expensive to make: "dye-makers had to crack open the snail’s shell, extract a purple-producing mucus and expose it to sunlight for a precise amount of time. It took as many as 250,000 mollusks to yield just one ounce of usable dye"
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Toaster
I have this toaster that was a wedding present - that makes it 47 years old. Used almost every day. Still works. General Electric and made in the U.S.A. They don't make them like that anymore. The problem is, it has one drawback. We can't toast a bagel. I have to use the toaster oven, but it doesn't do a good job. So, my wife bought a toaster at a yard sale. Cost her $5.00. White. Cheap. A piece of junk. But, it does toast a bagel. Guaranteed not to last 47 years.
My bathroom was supposed to be worked on this morning. He called last night and said he was sick. Even plumbers call in sick. At least he didn't say he was working from home. The new date is set for Friday.
It's supposed to rain all day, but it hasn't started yet. I'm on the road today. That's my term for taking my wife to do errands.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Review: Richard the Lionheart - Crusader by Tristan Clark
Richard the Lionheart - Crusader is a very short story. If you are looking for some pages from a history book - this would be it. You would find the same, if not more by looking King Richard up on the internet with no need to spend your money. More or less a list of facts.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Review: Dark Web by T.J. Brearton
"Dark Web," is a murder mystery that will make you think twice about what teens see on the internet. A fine example of what can come from the dark side of the web. The end of the story and the culprit hold no surprises - expected, which I found disappointing. Still a good story. |
Sunday Afternoon Encounter
This is what went on Sun. afternoon after a knock on my door.
Me - "Hello."
Man - "I got the sign."
Me - "What sign?"
Man - "The 'For Sale' sign for your front lawn."
Me - "What 'For Sale' sign?"
Man - "For your house."
Me - "My house is not for sale."
Man - "Isn't this #18?"
Me - "Yeah."
Man - "Well, I got the sign."
Me - "I think you have the wrong house. Maybe next door?"
Man - "No. That's an empty lot."
Me - "Well, they tore down the house a few weeks ago and I heard the lot is for sale."
Man - "OK, I'll call the office and find out.
After awhile, I hear tap, tap, tap. I look next door and he is pounding the sign into the vacant lot. By the way, that lot is priced at $90,000.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Jell-O
Conversation with my son.
Jack - "I hear we are going to have a mini ice age in 15 years. Like the one they had in the 1860's."
John - ?
Jack -"We'll have to stock up on food then. Yeah, I'll be 87 then. Still able to eat."
John - "We'll need lots of Jell-O."
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Review: "A Bitter Truth" by Charles Todd
"A Bitter Truth" is the third in the series "Bess Crawford." This book did not catch my imagination as much as the first two. It seems to drag along trying to make a story. The author(s) seem to be slapping something down hoping that it works. I'm always waiting for her to meet Ian Rutledge. I feel that is why this second series has been added.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Novels Are Never About What They Are About
But novels are never about what they are about;
that is, there is always deeper, or more general, significance. The author may
not be aware of this till she is pretty far along with it. A novel’s whole
pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is
when the writer finds out what a novel is about, and the job becomes one of
understanding and deepening or sharpening what is already written. That is
finding the theme.
DIANE JOHNSON
DIANE JOHNSON
Monday, July 6, 2015
Need A Plumber
The plumber was here to see me on Friday. I have to tell you that story. The pipes for the bathtub were in an outside wall, so when the wind blew in a certain direction, they always froze. I tried different options to cure the problem - more insulation, electric cord around the pipe. etc. A couple of years ago I said enough is enough. I'm going to move the bathroom around. At one end of the tub, I put up a wall with all the pipes inside it. On one side, the pipes went to the tub taps. On the other side of the wall, they went to the sink taps. The sink taps are where the bathtub taps used to be. I figured that would do it. Surprise. When winter came, they froze again. When I looked to see what they had done, I found that they had taken the pipes in the new wall and hooked them back up to the pipes that always froze. So that is what I have to get changed again. I'm watching this time.
I also need him to clean out the drain pipe. It's starting to make noise, the kind you hear before it plugs up. Then I need him to clean out my furnace.
He has to wait until next week he do this. I'll be away all week. Taking my daughter on another mini vacation to New Brunswick.
I put up a photo showing the wall between the sink and tub.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Review: The Kidnapping (Inspector Rutledge #12.5) by Charles Todd
"The Kidnapping," is a short story from the Ian Rutledge series. It shows Ruthledge at his best solving a crime by his wits and brainpower. He can't have all cases that last for weeks or months. Some are short, lasting only a few hours. There is no mention of Hamish in this story. Takes less that a few hours to read because half of the download is a preview of his next book.
The Hollywood Totem Pole
In Hollywood, you’re dealing with a power
structure where the writer is really at the bottom of the totem pole. Actually,
I think that the writer isn’t even at the bottom of the totem pole—they’re at
the part that they stick in the ground, and then there’s the totem
pole.
BRUCE JOEL RUBIN
BRUCE JOEL RUBIN
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Character is the Very Life of Fiction
Character is the very life of fiction. Setting
exists so that the character has someplace to stand. Plot exists so the
character can discover what he is really like, forcing the character to choice
and action. And theme exists only to make the character stand up and be
somebody.
JOHN GARDNER
JOHN GARDNER
Review: Bloodlines by James Rollins
"Bloodlines" is #8 in the Sigma series. I found it the best of the series to date. This book has a return of the dog "Kane." Wonderful to see him and his handler as part of the team. Continuous action till the end and it has a great ending.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
My Heat Pump.
Yesterday was check the heat pump day. It's a Kerr. First off, I dug up the manual on the internet. Great to have the internet when you need it. As it turned out, the only thing I could do was clean the filters. That turned out to be quite a job. The dust on there is like grease. Cleaned them and anything else that needed it.
My wife bought new ceiling lamps for the kitchen and dining room. Do I have to hang them up deciding on the kitchen first - smallest lamp. This is a job I dislike. It gives me a sore neck. First I had to take the fan down. With a heat pump, don't need fans. It has a fan. It's heavy when standing on a ladder, and you can only hold it with one hand. Eventually, the new lamp was up. After all that, I find out it comes without bulbs. Of course, they need a special type. I won't be putting up the one in the dining room until I'm sure I have bulbs. So I have to go to Home Depot, where I bought the lamps, but not today. I have to wait for the plumber, but that's another story.
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