Because I can't resist books and dogs

Happy dance, it's Friday at last. Today went soooooo sllloooowwwly. The good thing was having lunch with Steve. Otherwise, I was just not motivated.

I'm a little over halfway done with the King book. I had hoped to add it to my monthly reads for April but I don't think it will happen. I'm reading about half the number of books as last year, darnit. Enjoying what I'm reading, yes, but just not making the progress.

Oh Lordy the wind howled all night long last night and it hasn't gone away. Lessened a bit but not nice and not gone.

I completely did not know that the Kentucky Derby is tomorrow! I'm so not prepared. At quick glance and not knowing much about the horses, I like the name Dublin. I always watch the Triple Crown even if I don't follow racing otherwise or understand the whole thing.

Tonight, in fact in just a few minutes, I have Say Yes to the Dress to watch -- two new episodes. Excellent!

Gotta go make dinner -- have a lovely evening ....

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Thursday

It's a rainy, windy, cold day here in Montana. It's only about 37 degrees out. Some towns are getting lots of snow. It's supposed to be rainy for the next week, so it must be Spring now.

I'm currently reading GOD OF THE HIVE by Laurie R. King. This is 10th of 10 in series featuring Mary Russell, student and then wife of Sherlock Holmes. Here is a description:

It began as a problem in one of Holmes’ beloved beehives, led to a murderous cult, and ended—or so they’d hoped—with a daring escape from a sacrificial altar. Instead, Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, have stirred the wrath and the limitless resources of those they’ve thwarted. Now they are separated and on the run, wanted by the police, and pursued across the Continent by a ruthless enemy with powerful connections.Unstoppable together, Russell and Holmes will have to survive this time apart, maintaining tenuous contact only by means of coded messages and cryptic notes. With Holmes’ young granddaughter in her safekeeping, Russell will have to call on instincts she didn’t know she had. But has the couple already made a fatal mistake by separating, making themselves easier targets for the shadowy government agents sent to silence them? From hidden rooms in London shops and rustic forest cabins to rickety planes over Scotland and boats on the frozen North Sea, Russell and Holmes work their way back to each other while uncovering answers to a mystery that will take both of them to solve. A hermit with a mysterious past and a beautiful young female doctor with a secret, a cruelly scarred flyer and an obsessed man of the cloth, Holmes’ brother, Mycroft, and an Intelligence agent who knows too much: Everyone Russell and Holmes meet could either speed their safe reunion or betray them to their enemies.

This was just published this week and has 368 pages. This series is the exception to the rule that I don't like Sherlock Holmes. The last book left on a sort of cliffhanger so now this book should be the conclusion of everything set in motion.

We have Survivor to watch tonight and one more day to go of the week -- wee haw!

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

All right, dammit, I can't think of a clever caption right now

Nah, today was okay but sometimes you have to have penguins in your life. I've got to go pick up dinner (chicken chili from MacKenzie River) here very soon and then watch America's Next Top Model, and then the repeat of The Pacific episode 7 with Erik, and finish the Roberts book so I can have him take to my mom. Busy busy busy. Steve is shooting tonight per usual.

HUUUGE wind while walking Tug. Not fun a'tall. I'll take him along to pick up food because he likes to ride in the car. :) The Roberts is good, but somehow not as involved in the sex scenes as usual -- or has PASSION by Valdez scewed my perceptions now?

All right, off ya go...

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Oh ... yeah ... right there...

It's Teaser Tuesday! Next up on my reading list is SAVOR THE MOMENT by Nora Roberts. This is 3rd of the Brides Quartet. Here's a little taste:

Alone, with Norah Jones whispering through the iPod, Laurel transformed a panel of fondant into a swatch of elegant, edible lace. She didn’t hear the music, used it more to fill the air than as entertainment while she painstakingly pieced the completed panel onto the second tier of four.

She stepped back to eye the results, to circle, to search for flaws. Vows’ clients expected perfect, and that’s exactly what she intended to deliver. Satisfied, she nodded, and picked up a bottle of water to sip while she stretched her back.

“Two down, two to go.”

She glanced toward the board where she’d pinned various samples of antique lace, and the final sketched design for the cake Friday evening’s bride had approved.

She had three more designs to complete: two for Saturday, one for Sunday—but that was nothing new. June at Vows, the wedding and event business she ran with her friends, was prime time.

In a handful of years, they’d turned an idea into a thriving enterprise. Sometimes just a little too thriving, she mused, which was why she was making fondant lace at nearly one in the morning. It was a very good thing, she decided. She loved the work.

They all had their passions. Emma had the flowers, Mac the photography, Parker the details. And she had the cakes. And the pastries, she thought, and the chocolates. But the cakes stood as the crowning touch.

She got back to it, began to roll out the next panel. Following habit, she’d clipped her sunny blond hair up and back out of her way. Cornstarch dusted the baker’s apron she wore over cotton pants and tee, and the slide-on kitchen shoes kept her feet as comfortable as possible after hours of standing. Her hands, strong from years of kneading, rolling, lifting, were capable and quick. As she began the next pattern, her sharp-featured, angular face set in serious lines.

Perfection wasn’t simply a goal when it came to her art. For Icing at Vows it was a necessity. The wedding cake was more than baking and piping, sugar paste and filling. Just as the wedding photos Mac took were more than pictures, and the arrangements and bouquets Emma created more than flowers. The details and schedules and wishes Parker put together were, in the end, bigger than the sum of their parts.

Together, the elements became a once-in-a-lifetime event, and the celebration of the journey two people chose to make together.

Romantic, certainly, and Laurel believed in romance. In theory, anyway. More, she believed in symbols and celebrations. And in a really fabulous cake.

*********************************

Tonight I'm trying a new hamburger casserole recipe so we'll see if Steve likes it. We'll watch Deadliest Catch and then I hope to read for a bit. I treadmilled this morning, walked on a break, and took Tug for a good long walk after work. Early to bed for me.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Monday, meh.

Monday again.

So I'm doing the team fitness thingy with some of the ladies at work. Oh you know, that State thing they do every year. It's starts May 3rd. I just got my pedometer set up today. This only goes for 8 weeks but I'm very serious about getting back in shape and that will take a few months. But I've had enough and I'm doing it.

Halfway approximately through the Dorothy Dunnett. Tomorrow is release day for Nora Roberts and Laurie R. King.

Hey! It's Mailbox Monday! When you share what books came into your house in the past week! Okay, I got the Elizabeth George on the Kindle. And a book came in through paperback swap, another one in the Dorothy Dunnett Niccolo series that I'm trying to get all of, SCALES OF GOLD. And I think that was it. A so-so week.

Have a lovely evening .... Much love, PK the Bookeemonster

Well, The Alphabet of Historical Crime Fiction is done -- no authors from me for X, Y, and Z. Thanks for checking them out these past few weeks. I love crime fiction and while I like police procedurals, private eyes, and psychologicals, my ultimate favorite subgenre is historical crime fiction and if I may have sparked some interest in any of these, I hope you enjoy them as much as me. I love learning about history (and yes this is fiction but authors are for the most part very careful about being accurate and what is possible given the known information of the era) and I like how crime solvers in what ever form they take have to rely on nonscientific means to resolve the problems. For a complete list of historical crime fiction authors and their works, please check out www.crimethrutime.com.

“When the wind is blowing and the sleet or rain is driving against the dark windows, I love to sit by the fire, thinking of what I have read in books of voyage and travel.” – Charles Dickens

“Let your bookcases and your shelves be your gardens and your pleasure-grounds. Pluck the fruit that grows therein, gather the roses, the spices, and the myrrh.” ~Judah Ibn Tibbon

“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted. You should live several lives while reading it.” William Styron

“A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way” Caroline Gordon

For those interested in the Dorothy Dunnett book I'm also reading, THE GAME OF KINGS, here is a description:

The setting is 1547, in Edinborough, Scotland. Francis Crawford of Lymond returns to the country despite the charge of treason hanging over his head. Set on redeeming his reputation, He leads a company of outlaws against England as he fights for the country he loves so dearly. Dangerous, quick-witted, and utterly irresistible, Lymond is pure pleasure to watch as he traverses 16th-century Scotland in search of freedom.

It was first published in 1961 and my edition has 512 pages. It has taken me a while to get into it, having first starting it many times previously, and most recently in January. I am in awe of Dunnett's brain or education -- I don't know what the heck she is saying sometimes -- words I'm not familiar with, throwing in Latin or French we're apparently supposed to understand because there is no explanation or each section's use of chess moves like we should be familiar with them, I'm at a loss which I have to tell you doesn't happen often. But then I read for a few pages and tune out everything else and I can begin to get lost in the story so I understand the power of these books -- and there is a cult of devotion surrounding them. The main protagonist, Lymond, is a man who is smarter than I am and just riffs off of his thoughts which is amazing in a fictional character. I am afraid with all the information we have at our literal fingertips, these later generations did got the education earlier generations did. Does memorizing poetry make you smarter? Maybe. Does the requirement of knowing Latin intimately make you a better adult? I don't know but I feel underprepared somehow in comparison. This book, this series, I don't think would be published today because it is not "dumbed down" enough for the perceived general public.

It is not dark and rainy like I was promised. Pout. It is very windy and rather chilly. Oh boy, walking Tug will be fun, not.

I've spent some time today ordering a handful of little prints for my cubicle at work -- some wonderful books ones (of course) for very little cost (had to be). The rest of the morning will be spent dabbling in book blogs and updating my little black book of reads. This week is the doozy for me: five books I'm interested in being released:

• SAVOR THE MOMENT by Nora Roberts
• THE GOD OF THE HIVE by Laurie R. King
• REVENGER by Rory Clements (U.K.)
• SHOOT TO THRILL by PJ Tracy
• THE TULIP VIRUS by Danielle Hermans

Life. Is. Good. for a Bookeemonster.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Saturday

I got my hair done today and I had lunch with a friend of over 20 years and talked and talked. She's now working for a new radio station in town and showed me the studio which was very cool. I'm getting some laundry done and we'll see about vacuuming. Otherwise, household chores will be done tomorrow.

The day has been sunshiny and warm. Tomorrow I think it's supposed to rain again which will be nice for a Sunday.

I've gone back to reading some of the historicals by Dorothy Dunnett I started in January, THE GAME OF KINGS. I'm bouncing back and forth between that and the George now. And nothing much on tv for me tonight so maybe I'll make some headway in one of them. :)

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster.

Camoflage or Vogue cover?

Excellent!! Say Yes To The Dress is back on TLC tonight! Woo frickin' hoo!

I'm currently reading THIS BODY OF DEATH by Elizabeth George. This is 16th of 16 in series featuring Thomas Lynley, a Scotland Yard inspector and Sergeant Barbara Havers in London. Here is a description:

Aggressively career-minded Isabelle Ardery, the new acting superintendent of London's Metropolitan Police, boldly manages to lure Lynley, who's been grieving over his wife's murder, back from Cornwall to look into a murder case. The body of Jemima Hastings, a young woman recently relocated from Hampshire, has turned up in a London cemetery. With suspects in both locales and numerous leads to follow and interviews to conduct, Ardery succeeds in raising the hackles of Det. Sgt. Barbara Havers, Det. Insp. John Stewart, and other members of the investigating team.

It was just published and has 704 pages. I'm reading it on the Kindle. I've liked all of George's books but this is sllooooooowww going and dry. I may end up skipping quite a bit to get to the oh actual story maybe. She's gone "literary" I think. Bah.

It's a lovely dark and rainy day and supposed to stay that way for a few days. Love it.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Please come back tomorrow...

Midway through the week ... do you need a hug?

I've got 10 minutes to write this. America's Next Top Model starts then and I missed the last two episodes. After that I'll watch the re-airing of episode six of The Pacific with my brother.

Very warm today, upper 70s, but it will be cooling down tomorrow and the following days with Spring showers. Tug zoomed in on a sprinkler to cool off while we were walking this evening.

I'm THIS close to finishing the Gregory and able to start the Elizabeth George. Okay, I cheated a little and started the first few pages of the George. I'm a bit tired this evening but I hope to be able to complete the book before zonking out.

Speaking of which, I had a strange dream this morning that involved my all-time favorite band, The Beatles. I have always been a "Paul" girl, admire the talent the John Lennon was, and even appreciated the dry humor of Ringo, but never really been attracted to George Harrison -- but this dream featured George for some reason. Weird. A George but something a little different. I dunno. And he gave me a red hat that was really special and a big deal in my dreamland.

Okay, I've got five minutes to find a picture ....

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Camoflage or assimilation?

It looks like the new Elizabeth George showed up on my Kindle around 1am which is pretty cool. I've still got to finish the Gregory first because I didn't have much opportunity to read last night so I hope to make this short and get to it.

Have a good evening, all.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Sunny Monday

Mama and the Papas: Monday Monday. Good song actually.

I'm closing in on finishing A VEIN OF DECEIT by Susanna Gregory. The Elizabeth George should show up on my Kindle in the morning. I'll watch Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations tonight but I hope to otherwise get the book done or close to it.

Do book titles capture your attention? Will a book title alone make you read a book? I wouldn't say a title ALONE would do it but it can capture my attention. I love the title by Elle Newmark, THE BOOK OF UNHOLY MISCHIEF. It was a very good book to read as well, but doesn't that just tittilate?

Some books' titles, especially of the cozy variety, try to be "clever" or do a play on words. How about, A WITCH IN TIME by Madelyn Alt or Tressed to Kill by Lila Dare or Skein of the Crime by Maggie Sefton. Other books just say it like it is, example: THE KILLER by Tom Hinshelwood.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Alphabet in Historical Crime Fiction - W

~ W ~

This list just reflects my interests and is by no means complete. For a comprehensive listing, go to www.crimethrutime.com

Laura Wilson
Ted Stratton, a detective inspector in 1940s London

• Stratton’s War (2008) APA: The Innocent Spy (2009) 2008 Historical Dagger Award
• An Empty Death (2009) Finalist 2009 Historical Dagger Award

Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs, a psychologist and investigator based in 1920s and 1930s London

• Maisie Dobbs (2003) 2003 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2004 Macavity Award for Best First Novel, Finalist 2004 Anthony Award for Best First Novel, Finalist 2004 Barry Award for Best First Novel, Finalist 2004 Edgar Award for Best Mystery, Finalist 2004 Dilys Award
• Birds of a Feather (2004) 2004 Agatha Award for Best Novel, Finalist 2005 Dilys Award
• Pardonable Lies (2005) 2006 Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel. Finalist 2005 Agatha Award for Best Novel
• Messenger of Truth (2006) Finalist 2006 Agatha Award for Best Novel. Finalist 2007 Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel
• An Incomplete Revenge (2008)
• Among the Mad (2009)
• The Mapping of Love and Death (2010)

David Wishart

Marcus Corvinus, a member of the Senatorial class in first century Rome

• Ovid (1995)
• Germanicus (1997)
  
• Sejanus (1998)
• The Lydian Baker(1998)
• Old Bones (2000)
  
• Last Rites (2001)
  
• White Murder (2002)
• A Vote for Murder (2003)
• Parthian Shot (2004)
• Food for the Fishes (2005)
• In at the Death (2007)
• Illegally Dead (2008)

Kenneth Wishnia

Benyamin Ben-Akiva, Talmudic scholar newly arrived from Poland in Prague 1592

• The Fifth Servant (2010)

Joan Wolf

Hugh Corbaille, a young Norman Knight, 12th century Norman England

• No Dark Place (1999)
• The Poisoned Serpent (2000)

Patricia Wynn

Gideon St. Mars, a viscount who becomes the highwayman Blue Satan, and his friend Mrs. Kean, in early 18th century England

• The Birth of the Blue Satan (2001) [r]
• The Spider's Touch (2002) [r]
• Motive from the Deed (2007) [r]

[r] = I've read it

Take the damn picture already and it better not show up on the Interweb

Almost forgot to post today. I'm taking it mostly easy today but I did walk Tug, did some laundry, and vacuumed upstairs. But I also napped and was generally lazy otherwise.

Spartacus last night was ... slaughter city. The slave rebellion has begun and it was looking like Carrie's prom night if you remember the movie with Sissie Spacek. Blood all ovah. And that little blonde rhymes with witch was evil again -- and lives. Otherwise, pretty much everyone who was not a slave was killed. Half the cast is now gone.

Oh! And they showed previews on HBO or was it Showtime of the upcoming miniseries Pillars of the Earth. Woo hoo! I've been keeping my eye on that from the UK from last year. It is based on the Ken Follett book set in medieval England and the building of a cathedral. Stars Ian McShane and Matthew Macfadyen. It will begin showing in July - mark your calendars.

Tonight, nothing on tv for me but I may suggest watching a movie. We still have Sherlock Holmes to watch and Gamer. I wouldn't mind an evening of reading per usual though. I was just thinking of the feature on Netflix where they recommend similar movies to the one you're interested in. So for the book I'm currently reading, A VEIN OF DECEIT by Susanna Gregory, I would recommend the historical mystery series by

• Margaret Frazer (featuring Dame Frevisse a medieval nun in Oxfordshire, England) or
• Michael Jecks Simon Puttock, medieval West County bailiff, and Sir Baldwin Furnshill, ex-Templar Knight, in Devon, England, or
• Bernard Knight (featuring Sir John de Wolfe, the crowner (coroner), in 12th century Devon, England) or
• Ariana Franklin (featuring Adelia (Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar of Salerno), a “doctor for the dead” working for King Henry II in 12th century England or
• Candace Robb (featuring Owen Archer, a medieval spy for the Archbishop, in 1300s Wales)

Go on and read for a bit...

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

It's Frida...zzzz

Ahh Friday. The final episode of Spartacus is on tonight. Sigh. What will I do with Friday nights after this?

I left work early today - noon -- I already had my 40 hours in for the week plus some overtime. That cold is trying to get me so I left for home, walked Tug, and then napped for 3.5 hours. Totally zonked. Still feeling headachy, tired, and weird; I'll be taking it easy this weekend it looks like.

So Congress has extended the federal unemployment insurance program and a 4th tier became available in Montana today. It keeps me in a job which I totally appreciate and would not like to lose but ya just wish there'd be an end somewhere. This is not the place to take a stand on big government and nanny state politics but some people have been on unemployment since 2007 and no working. It has honestly not been THAT bad in Montana. I know I know. And I'm just talking about this because I'm tired and it's a big part of my job.

Well, maybe I'll be able to make time for reading this weekend, eh? To get on book topic, here are a link to check out -- because I'm not feeling creative this week:

The top 20 most annoying book reviewer cliches and how to use them all in one meaningless review : www.examiner.com/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m3d11-The-top-20-most-annoying-book-reviewer-phrases-and-how-to-use-them-all-in-one-meaningless-review.

And Glee is back on Tuesdays. Yay.

My brain is worn out. See you in the morning....

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Are you there?

Yeah, so I didn't blog yesterday. Got home, walked Tug with Steve, dinner, and then Erik came over to watch The Pacific. I was bad.

Getting closer to Friday at last. This morning I was thinking, man, it would be nice to have a day off, you know, like a holiday, but we don't have one until the end of May. Oy.

So tonight we have Survivor to watch and then I'd like to read a little. Earlier I tried a method to unplug my ear. It may have worked. I'll let you know for sure tomorrow.

I'm just getting going into the Susanna Gregory book. I always like Brother Michael and Matthew. She could use some editing at times because she tends to go around and around on things but overall a very nice series. I've got the new Elizabeth George book on Tuesday so I can't dawdle.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Blue is so "in" this year

Another Tuesday. A gorgeous dark and rainy day. Sigh. Spent at work.

Walked Tug, fixed SOS for Steve for dinner (yuck), and watched Deadliest Catch. Now about to read in bed for a bit. Tomorrow I have to give blood for labs and have a checkup in the afternoon.

Just starting A VEIN OF DECEIT by Susanna Gregory. This is 15th of 15 in series featuring Matthew Bartholomew, physician, and his colleague Brother Michael, in 14th century Cambridge, England. Here is a description:

Despite a new influx of well-heeled students, Michaelhouse has suffered from an acute lack of funds that has made itself manifest in a lack of decent provisions. It is only when the Brother in charge of the account books dies unexpectedly that an explanation is revealed: large amounts of money had been paid for goods the college never received. Although shocked by this evidence of fraud, Matthew Bartholomew is more concerned with the disappearance of a quantity of pennyroyal from his herbarium. Pennyroyal is known to cause a woman to miscarry, and a pregnant visitor to his sister's household has died from an overdose of the substance. Had she meant to abort her child, or had someone else wanted to ensure that she was unable to provide an heir to her husband's wealthy estates? When Brother Michael and Matthew learns that it was the dead woman’s husband who had received Michaelhouse's missing money, he begins to search for other connections and quickly exposes a deep and treacherous conspiracy.

It was published in 2009 and has 480 pages. I am so in the mood for a histmyst.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Whatever

I'm currently reading HAND OF FATE by Lis Wiehl and April Henry. This is 2nd of 2 in series featuring Cassidy Shaw, a reporter, Allison Pierce, a federal prosecutor, and Nicole Hedge, an FBI special agent, in the Triple Threat series. Here is a description:

When the host of a popular radio talk show is murdered, the suspects almost outnumber his millions of listeners. Outspoken radio talk show host Jim Fate dies tragically when poisonous gas fills the studio while his polarizing show, "The Hand of Fate," is on air. In the ensuing panic, police evacuate downtown Portland--and the triple threat of FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges, crime reporter Cassidy Shaw and Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce begin piecing together the madness, motive, and the mystery of what just happened. And this time it's personal since one of the women was secretly dating the host and has access to his home...as well as possible evidence. In the days following Fate's murder, these three colleagues and friends must confront a betrayal within the team while unearthing the not-so-public life of Jim Fate. Together, they must uncover the stunning truth of who killed him, how close the killer really is, and the twisted motive for this cold-blooded murder.

It was published this month and has 320 pages. I'm reading it on the Kindle. It is fluffy but fun.

Monday. Well, let me tell you ... oh never mind... it's probably boring anyway ...

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Alphabet in Historical Crime Fiction - V / disappointments

~ V ~

Robert van Gulik
Judge Dee, magistrate in China during the Tang Dynasty (600s)

• The Chinese Maze Murders (1952)


• The Chinese Bell Murders (1958)


• The Chinese Gold Murders (1959)


• The Chinese Lake Murders (1960)


• The Haunted Monastery (1961)


• The Chinese Nail Murders (1961)


• The Lacquer Screen (1962)


• The Emperor's Pearl (1963)


• The Red Pavilion (1964)


• The Willow Pattern (1965)


• The Monkey and the Tiger (1965) [novelettes]


• Murder in Canton (1966) Finalist 1966 Gold Dagger Award


• The Phantom of the Temple (1966)


• Necklace and Calabash (1967)


• Judge Dee at Work (1967) [SS]


• Poets and Murder (1968)

Disappointments:

I watched the premiere of season 4 of The Tudors yesterday. I'm hugely disappointed. Yes, it's tv and yes actors have egos -- and those things took precedent over historical accuracy. Of course I'm not surprised, just disappointed. Henry VIII by this time in history (in this episode he is married to Catherine Howard, wife number 5), he is supposed to be in his 50s and weighing over 300 pounds with an ulcerated leg that was disgusting and smelly. Historically. This contributes to why Catherine had affairs. On tv? No, not even close. Bah. I won't wash my hands of it but still. They had played with historical accuracy in the past but this is such a intregal thing.

Last night, I finished THE SHADOWS IN THE STREET by Susan Hill. The writing is always good but the crime wasn't really solved; the cops caught the bad guy because of a call to 911 and a save in the nick of time.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Saturday nap

The aliens have landed

Hey, Friday again, at last! Not much to write home about this evening. Waiting on Steve to come home -- he's working late. We'll watch Spartacus at 8. I hope to read a bit -- I feel I've spent too long on the Hill and it's time to move along to the others.

I finished a project I've been meaning to do: transfer my book journal info into a new journal. The old one will run out of room soon and is messy -- though it does have a lot of good messy history in it. :)

Tomorrow, I think I may have to do some shopping for shirts and maybe start scoping out b-day present for Steve (coming in May). Perhaps I could do that in the afternoon after I walk Tug. Steve will be gone in the afternoon for a gun tournament and probably sleep in quite a bit otherwise. It's a good thing I know how to amuse myself and don't mind him being gone so much. He'd be trou-ble if that were not the case, eh?

Have a lovely Friday evening, everyone.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

I had to do this one...

Missed yesterday's blog. Erik came over after I walked Tug and got dinner at the Mustard Seed. We watched a couple episodes of The Pacific. A very nice visit and good food.

I'm coming to you from my office and on the desktop. Haven't been down here in ages. Sooo, this is the office, nice. I feel like a tourist.

We've got Survivor to watch tonight though now I don't know who I'm rooting for, dammit. After that I'll probably read for it a bit since I haven't put much time into today.

Weird encounter (again) with the one at work I'm having problems with but I dealt with it with humor so maybe I scored some points. Who knows. When in doubt, I fall back on the old humor schtick.

Otherwise, just another day closer to Friday and the weekend. I would really like to go shirt shopping again -- I had absolutely no idea what to wear this morning and yes, I can wear jeans which goes with everything but I just didn't know for what I was in the mood. I would like more long-sleeved to 3/4 length cotton Henley-ish tops. I'll probably have to do that Saturday and brave the crowds.

I lent a co-worker my DVDs of the first two seasons of The Tudors and she's completely hooked and talking to me about the real history -- of which I'm not an expert but I have read much. That's fun. She's not much of a reader but I'll be bringing her a book (fiction) that would be easy going with just enough truth to it that she might enjoy it. Also, I had lent another co-worker the first of the Brides quartet by Nora Roberts (yes, I'm a book enabler -- I mean, ambassador) and she loves it and almost done so I'm bringing her book two tomorrow. Book three comes out at the end of the month; one I'm looking forward to myself.

I'm about halfway through the Susan Hill book. Liking it overall. Next up will either be the Susanna Gregory or April Henry/Liz Weihl.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Move along now, nothing to see here, that's it, move along ...

Tuesdays are just "meh". They're not the beginning, nor "hump" nor "TGIF" nor the weekend. The good thing about today, however, was that I got my desktop computer back with all info intact. And it is a good thing I had my half of the tax return to pay for it. Ouch. Yes, it was cheaper than buying a new one but when you're handing over the cash it hurts. I'm not able to be on it tonight because Steve is gone at a board meeting so Tug must have me upstairs but soon.

It was a gorgeously dark and rainy day today and it was wasted being at work. PERFECT all day for reading and napping. Bah humbug.

I'm a little ways into the new Susan Hill book. The language is as evocative as ever. The storylines are very ... real. No soft edges or happy endings for some people and there are aftermaths of things going wrong to deal with and deal with. If one were looking for a "literary" example of crime fiction, I would recommend this author -- and I would definitely say start at the beginning of the series. There are repercussions from book one onward. It's not noir by any means but it is not cozy. Depressing? Sometimes. :)

Remember a couple weekends ago I mentioned how so dizzy I got on Sunday evening and then left work the next day? My friend at work had it too this past weekend and she missed yesterday saying she was so dizzy and then so tired. EXACTLY what I had. Though she may have had it worse from some more of her symptoms she described. There is a flu going around, careful people.

V is on tonight again at 9 but I simply cannot stay up for it. I'm back to my overtime schedule and have got be in bed at 9 or I'm toast in the morning. If it started even an hour earlier I could make it work, but no. Not now.

I downloaded some samples to my Kindle of two books released today: CONTESTED WILL by James S. Shapiro, nonfiction about the "controversy" of who really wrote the plays by Shakespeare (I'm sorry, I think it is silly to consider anyone else but the man himself); HAND OF FATE by Lisa Weihl and April Henry, 2nd of 2 in their Triple Threat series; and also THE CRIMSON ROOMS by Katherine McMahon, a historical in 1920s England. Also out today but not available on Kindle is PATIENCE by Lisa Valdez (remember, Passion's sister?) -- NOT available on Kindle and I won't read it any other way. :)

Happy Tuesday ... or, you know, whatever...

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Oh boy, we LOVE UPS deliveries!

It's here! I'm about to start SHADOWS IN THE STREET by Susan Hill. This is 5th of 5 in series featuring Simon Serrailler, a police Chief Inspector in Lafferton, England. Here is a description:

Simon Serrailler has just wrapped up a particularly exhausting and difficult case for SIFT - Special Incident Flying Taskforce - and is on a sabbatical on a far flung Scottish island when he is called back to Lafferton by the Chief Constable. Two local prostitutes have gone missing and are subsequently found strangled. By the time he gets back, another girl has disappeared. Is this a vendetta against prostitutes by someone with a warped mind? Or a series of killings by an angry punter? But then one of the Cathedral wives goes missing, followed by another young married woman, on her way to work. Serailler follows lead after lead, all of which become dead-ends. The fear is that more women will be killed, and that the murderer is right under their
noses; meanwhile the public grow more angry and afraid.

It was published April 1, 201o in the UK and has 384 pages.

I finished A MURDEROUS PROCESSION by Ariana Franklin on Saturday night. The ending: I'm vexed. Terribly vexed.

I had a very strange dream this morning right before waking up. It was rather seductive and I think the guy in the scenario was sort of like Roger Daltry of the The Who -- and I don't even like blonds. Hunh.

I'm not one to wish life away but gosh another weekend would be good about now and a three or four day one at that. :) Ah well. Plugging along -- Steve has a board meeting tomorrow evening, shooting Wednesday and a tournament on Saturday. Another typical week for him it seems like these days. I had signed up for a knitting class that is supposed to start tomorrow but I haven't heard yet if it will go ahead -- they were waiting for at least six students to sign up.

I don't think tv shows should go on hiatus at mid season for months at a time. They lose me as an audience member because I've learned to live without it. Chuck came back and I dropped it after 2-3 episodes; V started up again last week and I wasn't all fired up to stay up for it. The Tudors will be starting again next week and I will watch it. Glee should be starting up again but I'm iffy on it; I suppose I'll check it out. They snooze they lose.

Going to start my book ...

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Alphabet in Historical Crime Fiction - U / Book Meme

~ U ~

Nicola Upson
Josephine Tey, the mystery writer, in 1930s Britain

• An Expert in Murder (2008)



• Angel with Two Faces (2009)
  
  
  Book meme:

"List the top 10 books which have influenced your view of the world."
I'll take this to mean more along the lines of influenced my reading world. The books are in no intended order.

- DUNE by Frank Herbert

Junior high school - the world of SFF opened up

- CURTAIN by Agatha Christie

My first adult mystery - high school

- THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER by Kathleen Woodiweis

My first gothic romance - 5th grade, read many many romances after that until DUNE.

- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE/PERSUASION by Jane Austen

love love love them, if I had to memorize a book to save it, it would be one of these I think

- THE INTELLIGENCER by Leslie Siebert

Started my current love of historical crime fiction

- OUT ON A LIMB by Shirley McLaine

sparked my personal spiritual journey

- author Isaac Asimov - no particular book, maybe all

nonfiction is easy, enjoyable, approachable

- THE BODY by Richard Sapir

I think this is the one that got me into liking stories of religious/political/Da Vinci Code-like intrigue thrillers -- way before Da Vinci Code came out -- mid 1980s maybe

This is where it is getting difficult ..... I can't really name any more specific books that influenced. I'm sure there have been many that affected me in ways I can't really fathom. What *one* book turned on the voracious love of reading in me? I don't know. For some, they could say the Harry Potter books maybe, but I've always loved reading since I was a kid. Well, perhaps this is as far as I go for today on it. I'll have to think more on it.

Happy Easter

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse (one of the best titles ever)

So the book I was reading this morning was the manual for the Blackberry. As much as I was an early computer and Internet adopter, I have not ventured into the land of advanced cell phones. I am now thinking texting and so forth is a good idea, being in a job where the Internet is a no-no on state computers. I'm still trying to figure things out but I do have a cool ringtone: The Who's Baba O'Reilly opening. Woo hoo!

Slowly but surely I'm updating the things I hadn't been able to deal with while unemployed last year: new shoes, some clothes, updated glasses, cell phone, fixing computer, etc. Nice to able to do that.

I'm currently reading A MURDEROUS PROCESSION by Ariana Franklin. This is 4th of 4 in series featuring Adelia (Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar of Salerno), a “doctor for the dead” working for King Henry II in 12th century England. Here is a description:

Medieval forensic pathologist Adelia Aguilar has been an enjoying a quiet life in the countryside with her daughter and friends. Then Henry II demands that she accompany his daughter and her formal procession to Sicily and offers to “keep” her daughter with Queen Eleanor until her safe return. But death stalks the procession, and Adelia and her loyal friends soon realize that the killer is someone from her past bent on revenge.

It was just published and has 352 pages. From the first book, one can so hear Peter O'Toole as Henry and Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor. Amazing.

Next up: perhaps A VEIN OF DECEIT by Susanna Gregory, next in series for me of Brother Michael and physician Matthew Bartholomew books. On the way to me are the new Susan Hill's SHADOWS IN THE STREET and Phil Rickman's BONES OF AVALON so they are on deck when they arrive.

Happy Easter a day early... may you have the good kind of hollow chocolate bunnies in your future. Num! (never really did like peeps)

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

It's here! Friday! I'm so happy!

A long week finally done -- let the weekend begin! Happiness!

Finally, I upgraded my cell phone. I'm now the proud owner of a Blackberry Curve. And there was a buy one get one free deal going on so Steve has a Blackberry Tour. I will have to learn how the thing all works but it will be nice to be able to be in contact again.

Just finished watching Spartacus. I think only two more episodes to go. The fourth season of The Tudors should be starting up soon. Last night's Survivor was very very disappointing.

I was kinda feeling icky again this afternoon so I think I'll be taking it easy this weekend as much as possible. Steve has a gun class to help teach and will be gone again. Other than walking Tug and doing some laundry, I don't plan on doing much. Oh, and the Franklin should get here tomorrow, too. Dinner with M&D on Sunday. Otherwise, naps.

Going to soak for a little bit, read for a little bit.

G'night

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

A little drama, anyone? Sheesh

Billings bookstores suck. NO ONE had the Ariana Franklin on hand. Barnes and Noble have them on order but don't know when they'll arrive. Fah! So I ordered it from amazon.com. Bother.

It snowed a little bit and was grey and lovely all day. I don't think it will last though. And I got good news: my computer (desktop) seems to be fixable. The harddrive died but the guy thinks he can transfer the info to a new one. My data is saved! [no, not the blue screen of death but I liked the picture]

I'll be watching Survivor all by myself tonight as Steve is helping teach a gun class again. I hope then to read a little bit and hit the pillow early again. Not a night owl, me. Until the Franklin shows up I'll either continue with JOHN ADAMS or bounce back to the Louise Penny. I'm definitely not hurting for reading.

A project that I'm undertaking is to copy my reading journal into a newer one. I keep track of what I read each month and what books I'm interested in that are released in that month. I've been keeping official track since 2000. But my old book is getting pretty roughed up and I'll be running out of room so I thought I'd transfer the info to a new, bigger one. Right now I'm up to 2006. It's interesting to remember the time period by what I read but that's what I do. I'll remember the reading experience over anything going on in current events. Yeah, I'm book addict.

Happy reading!

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster