Friday'een

Book alert! I've discovered a new historical mystery being released in October. A debut! THE RHETORIC OF DEATH by Judith Rock. Here is a description:

Paris, 1686: When The Bishop of Marseilles discovers that his young cousin Charles du Luc, former soldier and half-fledged Jesuit, has been helping heretics escape the king's dragoons, the bishop sends him far away-to Paris, where Charles is assigned to assist in teaching rhetoric and directing dance at the prestigious college of Louis le Grand. Charles quickly embraces his new life and responsibilities. But on his first day, the school's star dancer disappears from rehearsal, and the next day another student is run down in the street. When the dancer's body is found under the worst possible circumstances, Charles is determined to find the killer in spite of being ordered to leave the investigation.

It has 384 pages and will be released October 5th. I've already got it pre-ordered, because that is right up my alley. I hope it lives up to the plot. I've requested an excerpt for my newsletter, if all goes well she'll respond to my email. Woot!

Tug was amazing tonight and let me be on the computer downstairs without barking, pawing or throwing my elbow in the air with his head. Did the Body Snatchers do dogs? Time, now, however, to head to bed so I can do it all again tomorrow.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Go ahead...touch them. You know you want to.

I'm feeling pretty tired tonight. We had to be on the phones for most of the day and that just wears you out. Plus I got up early to work on the newsletter this morning ... Tug is so not a morning dog so let's be on the computer at that time. I have to take advantage of that. :)

Tonight I have America's Next Top Model and Survivor on tv. Then to bed in order to get up early again in the morning. Steve has shooting tonight and a class to help with tomorrow night and Saturday morning so he'll be a busy boy.

I'm back to reading the Anna Dean but just haven't had a whole lot of time to read it. Uff da. So much to do (and read) and so little time.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Priorities

Hot!! I think we broke a record at 92 degrees today. Should be back in the 70s tomorrow. Just took Tug for a walk and now I have to work on my newsletter like mad. But the good news is that I have 4 subscribers now. Isn't that cool?

Had a good anniversary yesterday. Steve got me a gorgeous bouquet of lilies, red roses and white hydrangeas. I took it to work today so I could enjoy it more and share it. He liked the Batman graphic novel and new Bill O'Reilly book. We had walleye from Cactus Creek and watched football.

Tonight we have Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock to watch at 8. I'm hoping to get some good work done for about an hour before I have to make dinner.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

13th Wedding Anniversary Today: Love you, Steve

Sunday Seconds

Sunday Seconds -- there are books that I would really love to re-read -- if I could make the time. Sometimes books have profound impacts on one's reading experience. Sometimes you just know these books could be even greater if you could go back and read them with again better understanding and life experiences under your belt. Sometimes books don't hold up the memory the second time around -- that's the risk. Sunday Seconds will be a cataloging of that kind of wish list.

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THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY by Karleen Koen

Originally published in 1986. I was working in a bookstore when it came out and I remember all the hoopla about it. And I read and I liked it. Then the author didn't write another book for 10 years.

Here's a description:

Queen Anne of England has died, and a new dynasty has come to rule in England. King George I is from the small German kingdom of Hannover, and has a very tenuous claim to the English throne. Already there is a brewing rebellion, and for one noble English family, strife is already pulling the family apart. Alice, the Duchess of Tamworth, is elderly, and has already buried her beloved husband and all of her children, save one. That particular child, the vicious, sexual Diana, is creating scandal by trying to divorce her husband, a known Jacobite rebel, and is more than willing to do anything to see it happen. One of those things is selling her daughter, the beautiful, vivacious Barbara off to the highest bidder. The same goes for her son, Harry. Clearly Diana is one of those parents who doesn't care too much for the wellbeing of her children. For Barbara, there is only one man that she cares for -- the wealthy, charming Roger, Lord Devane. She has had a hopeless love for him since childhood, and now at the age of fifteen, she's certain that he is the man for her, despite the fact that he's more than old enough to be her father. And Roger, for his part, has always been on good terms with the Tamworth family -- he was a close friend of Alice's husband, Richard, serving alongside him in the long wars with Louis XIV of France. And Barbara, with her enchanting voice, red-gold hair and vibrancy, has more than a little of her grandfather with her. But for every rosy romance, there's bound to be a few spots of trouble. And for Roger and Barbara, the list is long. There's her mother, Diana, whose greed nearly ruins everything, Aunt Abigail who wants Barbara to marry not at all, her hulking son Tony, the current Duke of Tamworth. But Barbara perserves and when she finally manages to get Roger as her husband, it seems that the future is going to unfold itself into a glamourous future. Most of the novel takes place in Paris, where Barbara and Roger settle for a time. This is the time of the Regency, where the child-king Louis XV is little more than a mouthpiece for his uncle, Philippe d'Orleans. Paris is a decadent, free-wheeling society where gambling, sex, duels and adultery are common. For an innocent like Barbara, madly in love with her husband, it's going to be an eye-opening adventure. She attracts several would be lovers, including the wicked Duc de Richelieu, and finds out that wanting isn't quite the same as having -- especially when an old friend of her husband's turns up, more than eager to renew the relationship...

Historical setting, some romance, court intrigue. Approximately 743 pages.

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More working on the newsletter today. I asked Steve to walk Tug today so I could get a jump start on working it but I think he turned it down. Sigh. So I'll finish up quickly here and get going.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Saturday

It's a beautiful day outside, sunny and just the right temp. Tug and I took a slightly longer walk. Now, I need to get back to working on the newsletter. No nap for me; work work work.

Steve is hanging around the house today to let our neighbor know he's here to get our car test driven and sold. So far, no bites on the bait. Sigh.

I've got to grab some lunch and head downstairs.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Friday at last

Long day. Worn out. Will watch Say Yes to the Dress. Tomorrow I must make huge progress in my newsletter.

Will post more tomorrow. Have a lovely evening.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Swan-derful

I got my hair cut tonight after work. It's an A-line thingy. I like it a lot; it's classy and flirty at the same time.

It's been a long week but only one more day to go. I haven't worked on my newsletter at all in the evenings, being a combination of tired and Tug being a brat. Omygosh, absolutely no goofing off this weekend.

I've signed up for the sunset cruise on Friday evening at Bouchercon. It will be a boat ride around Alcatraz and under the Bridge. I hope I don't get seasick. Only 19 days to go.

I'm going to finish up here, read a little more news, then head for bed, it's already 8:30.

Good night....

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Well ... I like green too

Cold dark day ... lovely. I worked all day again instead of taking it off so that I can get the overtime to help with the trip. Stayed busy.

I got the panel program for Bouchercon. Not a whole lot that are must sees; well, a handful. Otherwise I may be mingling or whatever.

Tonight I have America's Next Top Model and Survivor to watch. Then bed and start all over again. And so it goes.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday!

Here is an excerpt from ON THE LINE by SJ Rozan, coming out next week on the 28th. This is 10th 0f 10 in series featuring Lydia Chin, a 30-something Chinese American private eye, and Bill Smith, a 40-something Army brat private eye in New York City. This is a Bill book.

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Crashing dark chords smothered the cell phone’s impertinent chirp, but the ringtone was “Ride of the Valkyries,” so it penetrated, and I stopped. I was learning a Brahms sonata. After weeks it had started to come together into something I could feel good about. So good that I was up working on it at what is, for me, early morning: half- past eight, with a mug of powerful black coffee, and a big, bright, late fall morning beyond the windows.
I hate interruptions when I’m at the piano; hate them so much, I used to turn the phone off. Now, though, I just ignore it if it rings. Except for this one number, the reason I leave it on. I leaned from the piano bench, grinning, and reached for the phone, which was still squeaking out those opening Valkyrie notes. In my world, Wagner only trumps Brahms when Wagner means Lydia Chin.
“Hey,” I said. “What’s up?”
Silence, unlike Lydia; and an odd tone to it. Then she said, “Nothing good.”
Those two words contained darkness: anger, fear, and something else. Warning? My skin went cold. “What does that mean?”
The answer didn’t come from Lydia. It came from a different voice, relaxed and mocking in rhythm, but inhuman in tone: thin, robotic. Deliberately, electronically altered. “It means, asshole, your girlfriend got jacked.”
I was on my feet, heart pounding. “What the— Who are you?”
“Come on, you don’t know me?”
“What’s going on?”
“Jesus Christ! You fucked up so many guys you can’t keep track!”
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“No.” In a flash, joviality gone, the metallic voice dropped. “It’s what you want. You want your girlfriend to live. Or am I wrong?”
“You’re right, and—”
“Then find her. It’s a game, get it? You find her, she lives. You don’t, she dies. You following that?”
“Whoever the hell you are, leave her alone. You have business with me, bring it on.”
“It’s on, buddy boy. And if I were you I’d get down to it.”
“Get down to what?”
“What did I just say?”
“How am I supposed to find her?”
“Well, lucky for you, I’m going to help. Clues, evidence, all that shit. I know you like that shit. So we’ll have fun. Now get going.”
“No. This is bullshit.”
“Then your girlfriend dies.”
“How do I know she’s not dead already?”
“You just talked to her!”
“I heard two words from a woman, and you have Lydia’s phone. That’s all I know.”
“Jesus, look! The son of a bitch is in the game already! Instant offense, whoa, I like that. Okay, good, I’ll go along. Here, sweetie. Talk to him.”
“Bill?” It was Lydia, which I’d known, rock solid, from those fi rst two words.
“Are you okay?”
“So far. I don’t know what’s going on, though.”
“Stay cool. I’ll find you.”

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Tonight .... drum roll please .... is the season premiere of Glee. Woot! And after that I've got a new episode of Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock which has the worst boss ever ever. I'll be working all day tomorrow so I'll be heading to bed after that.

Very soon though I have to go shopping for new tennis shoes, new jeans, maybe some new tops. Blech.

I have so much to read but I've got Alexandra Sokoloff's Kindle book about storytelling/screenwriting that I want to read before I go to Bouchercon. I just saw that she'll be there and I totally respect her intellect and want to have knowledgeable discussion. Her fiction books? I don't know; I don't like horror and she verges on that... we'll see.

Have a lovely evening ... I know I will. Maybe I'll even have a glass of wine. Oh living on the edge. :)

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Mailbox Monday

It's Mailbox Monday! Mailbox Monday gathers together for readers the books that came into the house last week. (feel free to share yours) Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

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THE CRIMSON CAVALIER by Mary Andrea Clarke (via paperbackswap.com)

Miss Georgiana Grey is not quite the proper gentlewoman everyone thinks she is in Clarke's enchanting debut set in late 18th-century London. When a ruthless magistrate is found murdered, all signs point to the local highwayman, the Crimson Cavalier, as the culprit, but Georgiana knows differently and vows to discover the truth. The growing list of suspects includes her own brother, who's officially involved in investigating the crime, and the keenly astute Max Lakesby, guardian of a young woman whose mother was trying to arrange her daughter's marriage to the victim. By delving into the lives of the rich and the titled, Georgiana puts her own life in jeopardy.

Screenwriting Tricks For Authors (and Screenwriters!) by Alexandra Sokoloff via Kindle

because I like her blog about story structure.

I think that is it. I may have a couple samples for the Kindle but nothing else new to me, I think.

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I've just started THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR by Daniel Silva. This is 10th of 10 in series featuring Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and Israeli secret agent. Here is a description:

Determined to sever his ties with the Office, Gabriel Allon has retreated to the windswept cliffs of Cornwall with his beautiful Venetian-born wife Chiara. But once again his seclusion is interrupted by a visitor from his tangled past: the endearingly eccentric London art dealer, Julian Isherwood. As usual, Isherwood has a problem. And it is one only Gabriel can solve. In the ancient English city of Glastonbury, an art restorer has been brutally murdered and a long-lost portrait by Rembrandt mysteriously stolen. Despite his reluctance, Gabriel is persuaded to use his unique skills to search for the painting and those responsible for the crime. But as he painstakingly follows a trail of clues leading from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires and, finally, to a villa on the graceful shores of Lake Geneva, Gabriel discovers there are deadly secrets connected to the painting. And evil men behind them. Before he is done, Gabriel will once again be drawn into a world he thought he had left behind forever, and will come face to face with a remarkable cast of characters: a glamorous London journalist who is determined to undo the worst mistake of her career, an elusive master art thief who is burdened by a conscience, and a powerful Swiss billionaire who is known for his good deeds but may just be behind one of the greatest threats facing the world.

It was published in July of this year and has 496 pages. I've got it as a 14-day book from the library so the clock is ticking.

I don't have anything to watch tonight on tv other than some football. I should put in some time on the newsletter but we'll see how it works out after dinner.

It's definitely feeling like fall out now. Love it.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Sunday Seconds - Naked in Death

Sunday Seconds -- there are books that I would really love to re-read -- if I could make the time. Sometimes books have profound impacts on one's reading experience. Sometimes you just know these books could be even greater if you could go back and read them with again better understanding and life experiences under your belt. Sometimes books don't hold up the memory the second time around -- that's the risk. Sunday Seconds will be a cataloging of that kind of wish list.

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NAKED IN DEATH by JD Robb

The first in series of 32 featuring Eve Dallas, a homicide lieutenant in futuristic New York City. Here's the plot:

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is just barely thirty years old in the NYPSD (New York Police and Security Department) Homicide division in January, 2058. Eve is suffering from bad dreams over the death of a young girl that she couldn't prevent. Eve killed the girl's father, who was the one who killed the girl, and is now awaiting Testing, a psychological and physical evaluation all police officers must undergo after utilizing maximum force (killing). Eve dreads Testing; however, it is delayed when she is called to a case: the murder of a senator's granddaughter, who was working as a licensed companion - the 2058 version of a prostitute. The murder weapon is an antique gun, a Smith and Wesson model 10, and the other detective is her former partner, Captain Ryan Feeney, of the Electronics Detection Division (EDD). This being 2058, prostitution is legal, but guns are not and only available to licensed collectors. The victim, Sharon DeBlass, had an evening appointment with Roarke, of Roarke Industries and one of the richest men on earth. He is also known for being an antique gun collector and a very proficient shot. Her first image of Roarke is his ID photo, but their first meeting is at Sharon DeBlass's funeral in the capital. Eve is observing Roarke from five pews back when he abruptly looks back and makes eye contact, which they hold until the ceremony ends. When they're outside, he's surprised to find she's a cop, internally observing that he normally avoids cops (due to his criminal background). All the leads that Eve follows point to Roarke, in murder weapon, lack of alibi, and an appointment with the first victim, but she doesn't believe it's him.

It was first published in 1995 and has approximately 314 pages.

It is well known (now) that JD Robb is a pseudonym for Nora Roberts. Not back when I actually found this series at the first book; it has all the elements I like: realistically futuristic setting, police procedural, a touch of romance, a fantastic recurring supporting cast, a touch of humor. This series is a must buy on the first day of release for me. I love the character of Eve Dallas: she has flaws, she's excellent at her job. Rourke, I've always pictured as young Pierce Brosnan. The world Robb has created is well done, even down to the slang used 50 years in the future. The supporting characters are a kick; the relationship between Dallas and Rourke is awesome and somewhat realistic as they learn their way with each other but always come back to love/support.

In the spring of 1995, J. D. Robb's first book appeared on bookshelves with very little fanfare. Robb introduced readers to New York City in the near future, 2058 to be exact, as seen through the eyes of Eve Dallas, a detective with the New York City Police and Safety Department. The Gothic Journal hailed Robb's work as "a unique blend of hard-core police drama, science fiction and passionate romance" while The Paperback Forum called it "a fantastic new detective series." Readers were taken with Eve Dallas's integrity, strength and heart and her burgeoning relationship with the mysterious Roarke.

Excerpt from Naked in Death by J. D. Robb

She woke in the dark. Through the slats on the window shades, the first murky hint of dawn slipped, slanting shadowy bars over the bed. It was like waking in a cell.

For a moment she simply lay there, shuddering, imprisoned, while the dream faded. After ten years on the force, Eve still had dreams.

Six hours before, she'd killed a man, had watched death creep into his eyes. It wasn't the first time she'd exercised maximum force, or dreamed. She'd learned to accept the action and the consequences.

But it was the child that haunted her. The child she hadn't been in time to save. The child whose screams had echoed in the dreams with her own.

All the blood, Eve thought, scrubbing sweat from her face with her hands. Such a small little girl to have had so much blood in her. And she knew it was vital that she push it aside.

Standard departmental procedure meant that she would spend the morning in Testing. Any officer whose discharge of weapon resulted in termination of life was required to undergo emotional and psychiatric clearance before resuming duty. Eve considered the tests a mild pain in the ass.

She would beat them, as she'd beaten them before.

When she rose, the overheads went automatically to low setting, lighting her way into the bath. She winced once at her reflection. Her eyes were swollen from lack of sleep, her skin nearly as pale as the corpses she'd delegated to the ME.

Rather than dwell on it, she stepped into the shower, yawning.

"Give me one oh one degrees, full force," she said and shifted so that the shower spray hit her straight in the face.

She let it steam, lathered listlessly while she played through the events of the night before. She wasn't due in Testing until nine, and would use the next three hours to settle and let the dream fade away completely.

Small doubts and little regrets were often detected and could mean a second and more intense round with the machines and the owl-eyed technicians who ran them.

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Not getting much done today other than getting Outlook going again after not being able to activate it for 2 months. On Tech Support for 1.5, 2, hours. Bah.

Another "bah": Dallas lost again.

Went to a movie last night: Salt with Angelina Jolie. It was enjoyable in a thriller-ish Energizer Bunny fashion.

Tonight on TV: Rubicon and Ice Road Truckers. Boardwalk Empire miniseries starts on HBO tonight but I'm not sure I want to get involved yet.

I didn't sleep much last night because I wanted to read dang-frickin' Nora Roberts' book. No chance of a nap today so I'm hoping for some good sleep tonight.

Oh, if you want to seek what my workspace looks like at work you should check out www.murderati.com. I submitted a photo of my cubicle for today's blog entry; it's about halfway down I think.

Okay, off you go...

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Busy all day

I'm currently reading THE SEARCH by Nora Roberts. This is a stand alone novel published in July of this year. Here is a description:

To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life-a quaint house on an island off Seattle's coast, a thriving dog-training school, and a challenging volunteer job performing canine search and rescues. Not to mention her three intensely loyal Labs. But Fiona got to this point by surviving a nightmare...Several years ago, Fiona was the only survivor of the Red Scarf serial killer, who shot and killed Fiona's cop fiancé and his K-9 partner. On Orcas Island, Fiona found the peace and solitude she needed to rebuild her life. But all that changes on the day Simon Doyle barrels up her drive, desperate for her help. He's the reluctant owner of an out-of-control puppy, foisted upon him by his mother. Jaws has eaten through Simon's house, and he's at his wit's end. To Fiona, Jaws is nothing she can't handle. Simon, however, is another matter. A newcomer to Orcas, he's a rugged and in-tensely private artist, known for the exquisite furniture he creates from wood. Simon never wanted a puppy-and he most definitely doesn't want a woman. Besides, the lanky redhead is not his type. But tell that to his hormones. As Fiona embarks on training Jaws, and Simon begins to appreciate both dog and trainer, the past tears back into Fiona's life. A copycat killer has emerged out of the shadows, a man whose bloodlust has been channeled by a master with one motive: to reclaim the woman who slipped out of his hands...

It has 406 pages and I've gotten this from the library. I'm about 50 pages in and it's a bit heavy on the dog training info.

It's dark and 38 degrees this morning but never fear sun worshippers, it's supposed to be back in the 60s for days and days to come starting tomorrow.

Steve is going to stop by the gun range to check on the women's gun class but then may be moving to other activities. I need to get my butt in the chair in the downstairs office and just book on Premeditated, then a break to walk Tug and then back at it.

We're talking about going to a movie tonight, one of the older ones that we haven't seen while everyone is crowded at the new releases. It may be Salt or The Expendables.

Have a lovely weekend!

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Friday

T freakin' GIF. Hoo boy.

And don't you know that when a book that you want to read from the UK (the Anna Dean) arrives from the UK, a couple books from the library that one has had on hold for FOREVER -- but never get released -- is released now? So they have to jump the queue because they're 14-day books. THE SEARCH by Nora Roberts and THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR by Daniel Silva. I'll probably read Nora first because it will go more quickly.

Today the temperature dropped and dropped and I think it is either in the low 40s or high 30s. Dark, cloudy, and misting all day. Tug, of course was in Happy Clam mode during our walk. He's too hot if it goes about 45. He was practically singing "I feel good, da na na na na na na na." It is supposed to be the same tomorrow but back up in the 60s by Sunday. It's AUTUMN!

Tonight I have Say Yes to the Dress to watch. This weekend I have to really buckle down and make big progress on the newsletter.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

I'll bet that's actually warm and comfy

Well, it was just a Thursday. I hope tomorrow goes quickly and smoothly.

Last night's tv, America's Next Top Model, they booted out the right girl: she was anorexic and looked unhealthy. Survivor, they booted out Wendy from Montana (a neighbor of a friend of mine) who is really from Connecticut who was a wacko so glad she's gone, too. Tonight, nothing on tv for me so I hope to get some good reading time in before sleep.

Supposed to be in the 50s the next couple days and hopefully dark and rainy. :)

See you manana.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Whoa

Gosh, I'm barely ten pages into the book I want to read. I just haven't had time to get a good chunk out of it. Tonight I have two shows on at the same time I want to watch on tv -- this is becoming a bad trend. So I'll tape Survivor (why did they move to Wednesdays?) and watch America's Next Top Model. What a bother. On a side note, some of my co-workers have some kind of weird image of me: I mentioned watching Rehab Party at the Hard Rock and someone said they just don't picture me watching reality shows. Hunh? What, I should only watch PBS CSPAN and news? A couple days ago another co-worker said they couldn't picture me in a bar (excuse me, I was in theatre for while, I went every week, people). Look, I don't even dress prissy or elegant or whatever so why do they think I'm ... whatever? Anyway, what I should do is watch while working on the newsletter because I'm behind schedule and didn't take today off but I just found out that I didn't get the job I interviewed for a while ago and I feel like indulging in some self pity/naughtiness. If I had ice cream, I'd do it. Ah well. I'm okay not getting the job but I'll have to work like a fiend this weekend on Premeditated to catch up. I'd like to go to bed early tonight because this week is going to be a long one but it won't happen tonight. Maybe tomorrow. :)

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday!

From A WOMAN OF CONSEQUENCE by Anna Dean:

Chapter One

Badleigh Vicarage, Wednesday, 8th October 1806

My dear Eliza,

I promised yesterday that just as soon as I had leisure for writing I should send you a full and satisfactory account of Penelope Lambe's accident at Madderstone Abbey; and so I shall begin upon it. Though I fear I may have to leave off at any moment, for there is a great deal of needlework to be done for the little boys at school and Margaret has already opened her workbox and begun to look at me with displeasure.

In yesterday's note I was kind enough to hint at some very peculiar cirumstances surrounding Penelope's fall and I do not doubt that since receiving it you have enjoyed all the apprehensions and heightened imaginings which such hints can supply. And I trust my account will not disappoint you, for it was a very strange business indeed -- one which I cannot, yet, understand at all.

The first thing you must know is that it all came about because of the ghost -- I mean, of course, the Grey Nun of Madderstone.

And, by the way, it occurs to me ...

"Well, Dido," said Mrs. Margaret Kent heavily, "I daresay that when I was unmarried I had leisure for writing long letters." She regarded her sister-in-law with the tragic aspect of a saint bound for the pagan arena in Rome. "I declare it is more than a fortnight since I touched my writing desk."

"Yes," said the unrepentent Dido without ceasing to move her pen. "It is quite one of the evils of matrimony, is it not?"

...it occurs to me, Eliza, that the Grey Nun is a remarkably important lady. The possession of a family ghost confers such dignity! I believe that every family which has any claim at all to grandeur should have a ghost. I consider it a kind of necessary which should be attended to as soon as the fortune is made and the country estate purchased.

Everyone's consequence is increased by the presence of a ghost.

For here are the two Crockford sisters, who are not more than some kind of third cousins to the Harman-Footes of Madderstone, but they must walk their visitor, Penelope, two miles across the fields to see the Grey Nun. Well, not perhaps quite her, for she cannot of course be relied upon to be always at home to morning callers -- but at least the ruins in which she is reputed to appear.

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I hear the voice of the actress who played Jane in the miniseries of Pride and Prejudice in this character. I haven't really gotten beyond the second page in my reading so I'm looking forward to getting down to business soon.

Tonight, we have Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock to watch. I've decided to work the next four Wedesdays; the overtime will help with expenses for San Francisco. Oy, I'm glad I'm going but why did I ever decide to do this? The cost is so crazy. But I think I'm supposed to go.

It was busy at work so I'm looking forward to some down time before heading back in the morning. We're supposed to have a high chance of storms tonight so we'll see if we get a show. I've got to go fix dinner...

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

No more today

It's Mailbox Monday! Mailbox Monday gathers together for readers the books that came into the house last week. (feel free to share yours) Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

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My current read and just arriving today via bookdepository.com, A WOMAN OF CONSEQUENCE by Anna Dean. This is 3rd of 3 in series featuring Miss Dido Kent, a 35-year-old amateur sleuth, starting in 1805 Regency England. Here is a description:

On a visit to the ruins of Madderstone Abbey, Penelope Lambe suffers a bad fall from the ancient stone steps. Before she slips into unconsciousness, Penelope manages to say, 'I saw her - It was her.' The Crockford sisters are sure that what made Penelope fall was that she saw the Grey Nun, the ghost that is reputed to walk the abbey's ruins. But Miss Dido Kent is less convinced that this was the reason for the accident, and is determined to find the real cause. Disregarding everyone else's certainty about the ghost, and endeavouring to take her mind off the financial troubles of her brothers, Dido turns all her mental energy to solving the mystery, and revisits the ruins to go over the facts of the accident, looking for clues as to its cause. But events start to seem more sinister when a human skeleton is found at the abbey. The remains are identified as those of a Miss Elinor Fenn, and letters come to light which hint at the reason for her death. But how is Miss Lambe's accident connected to this discovery? Did she see a ghostly warning? Or is there a rational explanation? Everyone is relying on Dido to find out.

It was published this month in the UK. It has 384 pages.

Also in the past week, I received INTELLIGENCE by Susan Hasler on the Kindle.

I think that is it.

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Today has been just yucky. At work, the network was nonfunctioning for over three hours which meant we couldn't access any programs which meant we couldn't do a blessed thing as the phone lines stacked up. Phones crazy all day. Had to stay late. Got home, Tug apparently should have been let outside before Steve left this morning because Tug had accidents from both ends in two rooms that I had to clean up. Steve -- too wimpy to do that duty -- took him for a walk. I'm tired and cranky but I have my book to read. A reward at the end of the day.

My Cowboys lost last night (to McNabb and Shanahan, dammit!) so it looks like it's going to be another long painful season. Tonight on tv I'll watch Lie to Me/Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. And sleep and sleep tonight... and tomorrow ... will be another day.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Sunday Seconds - Harry Potter

Sunday Seconds -- there are books that I would really love to re-read -- if I could make the time. Sometimes books have profound impacts on one's reading experience. Sometimes you just know these books could be even greater if you could go back and read them with again better understanding and life experiences under your belt. Sometimes books don't hold up the memory the second time around -- that's the risk. Sunday Seconds will be a cataloging of that kind of wish list.

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Harry Potter -- the entire series -- by JK Rowling

I imagine there are very few people who have not heard of the books by JK Rowling featuring Harry Potter and his friends and their struggle against evil. I read them as they were released and sometimes really very quickly. I'd like to re-read them at some point.

I've read A LOT of fantasy novels in my life so the Harry Potter books didn't have the impact on me as it did to those readers who had not experienced world building on that scale. So for me, they were an enjoyable read but not mind-blowing/obsessive. What I admire is that JK Rowling became such a huge success and her writing in turn led to the creation of so many new readers in the younger generations.

But I did read them fast, because I just do. But perhaps I need to do -- if not a slower read -- then a re-read. As Stephen King said (though he was referring to reviewers), "When you have only four days to read a 750-page book, then write an 1,100-word review on it, how much time do you have to really enjoy the book? To think about the book? Jo Rowling set out a sumptuous seven-course meal, carefully prepared, beautifully cooked, and lovingly served out. The kids and adults who fell in love with the series (I among them) savored every mouthful, from the appetizer (Sorcerer's Stone) to the dessert (the gorgeous epilogue of Deathly Hallows)."

Here is more of Mr. King's assessment:

Rowling was always part of that straightforward storytelling tradition (Peter Pan, originally a play by the Scot J.M. Barrie, is another case in point). She never loses sight of her main theme — the power of love to turn bewildered, often frightened, children into decent and responsible adults — but her writing is all about story. She's lucid rather than luminous, but that's okay; when she does express strong feelings, she remains their mistress without denying their truth or power. The sweetest example in Deathly Hallows comes early, with Harry remembering his childhood years in the Dursley house. ''It gave him an odd, empty feeling to remember those times,'' Rowling writes. ''[I]t was like remembering a younger brother whom he had lost.'' Honest; nostalgic; not sloppy. It's a small example of the style that enabled Jo Rowling to bridge the generation gap without breaking a sweat or losing the cheerful dignity that is one of the series' great charms.
Her characters are lively and well-drawn, her pace is impeccable, and although there are occasional continuity drops, the story as a whole hangs together almost perfectly over its 4,000-plus page length....

There's a lot of meat on the bones of these books — good writing, honest feeling, a sweet but uncompromising view of human nature...and hard reality: NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH! The fact that Harry attracted adults as well as children has never surprised me....

Mostly Rowling is just having fun, knocking herself out, and when a good writer is having fun, the audience is almost always having fun too. You can take that one to the bank (and, Reader, she did)....

...I'll close with the Who: The kids are alright. Just how long they stay that way sort of depends on writers like J.K. Rowling, who know how to tell a good story (important) and do it without talking down (more important) or resorting to a lot of high-flown gibberish (vital). Because if the field is left to a bunch of intellectual Muggles who believe the traditional novel is dead, they'll kill the damn thing.
It's good make-believe I'm talking about. Known in more formal circles as the Ministry of Magic. J.K. Rowling has set the standard: It's a high one, and God bless her for it.

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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Newsletter, walking Tug, nap, laundry, football... a Sunday in September.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Fly your American flags today and remember what it felt like to have a unified USA

Disapproving rabbit does not like colds

Nor do I. The cold is going through its progression nicely. I expect it to be affecting my throat over the weekend. Not much sneezing or running nose now, no, just a whole lot of stuffiness, throat rawness, and general crankiness. Bah.

So, tonight we're having calzones from Papa Murphy's (busy on a Friday, yes?). I'll watch Say Yes to the Dress. Read a little (close to finishing INTELLIGENCE). My goal for the weekend is to work on my newsletter and to sleep this freaking cold out of existence. I tried to drown it but it has rebuffed all efforts thus far and only resulted in frequent visits to the ladies room. So I have cinnamon thingies to suck on and lots of tea and water. The usual suspects.

TGIF everybody!

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Thursday

Made it through the day -- lots of calls and call backs at work. Yucky cold. I'm going to take a running start at sleeping tonight since the last couple nights haven't been too restful. The cold will run it's course. Sigh.

Steve has gun shows to watch tonight and I think a football game is on. I'll read a little and then zonk (hear that eyeballs?).

Getting close to done with INTELLIGENCE. I'm hoping the new Anna Dean will show in asap 'cause that would definitely be next. :) I'll try to be more book-ish by the weekend.

Supposed to be rainy and in the 60s tomorrow. Yay Friday! Why do short weeks seem so long?

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

In which today is Wednesday and not Thursday like I kept thinking

Oh a cold is trying to get me. I woke up this morning with it and in checking with co-workers they're fighting it too. Blah.

America's Next Top Model is starting up again tonight but all I really feel like doing is going to bed early and sleeping this cold away because I didn't get much last night.

Today, I worked a half day and otherwise ran some errands: gassing Moby and getting the oil changed, running the car down to the shop so it can be detailed tomorrow, etc.

So we'll see how it goes tonight, tv, reading, sleeping.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday!

I'm currently reading INTELLIGENCE by Susan Hasler. It is a standalone novel. Here is a description:

A team of Intelligence agents try to prevent an impending terrorist attack, but are thwarted by bureaucratic hurdles in this darkly humorous debut written by a former CIA agent Maddie James and her colleagues are terrorism experts working in a crumbling intelligence agency. They are certain another big terrorist attack is coming, but in a post-9/11 election year the Administration is stressing its victories in the War on Terror—and few want to hear the team’s warnings. Reluctantly, Maddie’s given a team of five analysts to focus on the impending threat. The crew labors through bureaucratic obstacles, personal problems, and a blossoming romance between its senior members, Doc and Fran. They come heartbreakingly close to stopping the attack, but fail to predict a surprising twist in the terrorists’ plot. In the wake of tragedy, the Administration pins blame on Iran despite lack of evidence—so Maddie and her team try to investigate. With dark humor and a razor-sharp tone, they fight back against office politics, government cover-ups and blackmail in order to set the record straight.

It was published in June of this year and has 320 pages. I'm reading it on the Kindle. Except for the negative comments on the last administration, I'm liking this a lot. It reminds me of Rubicon in the way of finding conspiracies in so much "slag." It is told in the 1st person POV of five characters, including the terrorist plotting the act, which isn't as confusing as it may sound.

Here is a wee excerpt:

We, the disgruntled, are legion in the mines. We inhabit forgotten side shafts, hidden pocks, the underside of dislodged stones. By our own stubbornness, audacity, or foul luck, we’ve condemned ourselves in perpetuity to scuttle laterally through the vast intelligence bureaucracy, kept away from the controversial accounts, from the glass-walled upper reaches of management. We wallow in supposed moral superiority and thumb our noses at the eager climbers, glib accommodators, ass-licking yes men and women who pass us on the stairs. We’re bitter, wise, and irreverent. We know where the bodies are buried and have the don’t-give-a-damn gall to joke about it. They never let us brief the Esteemed Legislative Body. They would fire us, but we might write books.

Tonight, I have the season premiere of reality show Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock to watch on tv. Steve has a board meeting.

Tomorrow, I'm purchasing the plane tickets for the trip to San Francisco so no turning back after that. I may be able to shave $90 off the price if I juggle the flights a little on the way down, going through LAX then San Fran. Fingers crossed. I'm also thinking tomorrow I need to get the oil changed on Moby and hopefully we can get the car detailed so it can be sold. Right now I'm paying insurance on both vehicles and I can't keep doing that.

Have a lovely evening.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Mailbox Monday

It's Mailbox Monday! Mailbox Monday gathers together for readers the books that came into the house last week. (feel free to share yours) Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
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SACRED TREASON by James Forrester

London, 1563. England is a troubled nation. Catholic plots against the young Queen Elizabeth spring up all over the country. The herald William Harley – known to everyone as Clarenceux - receives a book from his friend and fellow Catholic, Henry Machyn. But Machyn is in fear of his life... What secret can the book hold? And then Clarenceux is visited by the State in the form of Francis Walsingham and his ruthless enforcers, who will stop at nothing to gain possession of it. If Clarenceux and his family are to survive the terror of the state, he must solve the clues contained in the book to unlock its dangerous secrets before it’s too late. And when he does, he realises that it's not only his life and the lives of those most dear to him that are at stake...

Samples downloaded to the Kindle:

INTELLIGENCE by Susan Hasler

PAST MIDNIGHT by Mara Purnhagen

AN IMPARTIAL WITNESS by Charles Todd

1022 EVERGREEN PLACE by Debbie Macomber

I finished HEARTSTONE by CJ Sansom. Good as always. Now to figure out what's next. I have many choices but choosing is the hard part.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Sunday Seconds

Sunday Seconds -- there are books that I would really love to re-read -- if I could make the time. Sometimes books have profound impacts on one's reading experience. Sometimes you just know these books could be even greater if you could go back and read them with again better understanding and life experiences under your belt. Sometimes books don't hold up the memory the second time around -- that's the risk. Sunday Seconds will be a cataloging of that kind of wish list.

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CHASING SHAKESPEARES by Sarah Smith

Joe Roper is a graduate student who has come from a modest background to become a Shakespeare scholar through a love of the bard's work. While sifting through Shakespeare memorablia one day, most of it forgeries, he comes across a letter signed by Shakespeare stating that he didn't write his famous plays. Joe does the obvious tests to prove it's a fake, but it appears authentic. He shows it to Posy Gould, a PhD student at Harvard and daughter of a wealthy and priveleged family. She convinces him to fly off to London with her, at her daddy's expense, to find out the truth about the letter. While Joe urgently wants to believe that Shakespeare, from common origins like himself, really wrote the plays, Posy believes that they were written by an Oxford aristocrat. It's a mystery and an adventure to find out the truth, and where even making a claim it is true could cost Joe his standing in the academic community.

It was published in 2003 and the hardback has 352 pages.



From a review by Jeff Turrentine: "At the heart of their conflict is the ''authorship question,'' the perilous third rail of Shakespearean studies. Over the years an irregular scholarly cult has emerged whose adherents maintain that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon couldn't have written the poems and plays attributed to him; he simply wasn't, they maintain, educated, worldly or sophisticated enough to have created the most complex and enduring works in the English language. Leading their list of alternate candidates is Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, whose noble upbringing, superior education and European travels equipped him far better to recount the lives of Julius Caesar and Richard II, or to recreate so vividly the settings of Verona and Venice."



I for one am in the camp of Shakespeare writing Shakespeare's plays. I do like reading about the debate though. This book is a fictional way to be introduced to debate.



Here is a an excerpt:

I had been working with the Kellogg Collection seven months, and at four in the afternoon on the Ides of March I cataloged my three hundred and fifty-seventh forgery; do the math, that's about a fake and a half a day. Opening one of Frank Kellogg's archival envelopes had started to be like putting your hand into the potato barrel and feeling something furry. You might not know what it was, but you knew it wasn't good.
The Kellogg Collection had its own room in the basement of Northeastern. The computer I was using to catalog it was brand new. The room was new; the whole Northeastern library was new. The big library exhibit so far was an elephant tusk carved into a hundred Buddhas. The Kellogg Collection had been going to be the second big thing, Northeastern's exhibit for the new millennium.
The Kellogg wasn't all bad; no collection is. Kellogg's aunt had bought Elizabethan costume books, and we were going to be pretty well set on Elizabethan history and politics. But that wasn't what we'd expected from the Kellogg. We'd wanted the manuscripts.
And we had 'em, all right. Faded brown ink, ragged paper, letters sealed with ribbon and with fragments of wax. Boxes of them. Letters from Mary Queen of Scots, from Queen Elizabeth. Six Shakespeare letters, one with a sonnet attached. I was scanning them all, for the catalog, and I'd started to amuse myself by printing them out and posting them on the bulletin board in the room. The Wall of Sin.
I tacked the printout of the latest forgery to the board and stared at the rest.

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We had a gorgeous thunderboomer of a rainstorm this morning. It is supposed to be a high of 60-something today and tomorrow and more storms. Wee ha! Perfect reading weather. However, I must put in time on the newsletter today. I'll be getting going on that as soon as I'm done here. Hopefully after that I will make time for a nap and some reading.



Steve really wanted to watch a movie last night -- being a Saturday night he just felt it shouldn't be wasted -- so we watched the DVD of Legion. Strange, tilting toward a horror flick.



It is perfect weather for chili and I've been wanting to try making white chili (made with chicken and white beans) for some time to see if Steve would like but I've had the makings for taco salad for nearly a week now and we must use it or lose it. :) Oh, and Steve did like the books I got him yesterday: off the bargain table was a book of handguns with pictures and descriptions of about 500 of them, and two Batman graphic novels. He's not a reader but he will read graphic novels, spending more time with them that I would give them. So that was a success. Yes!!



Have a lovely, comfy Sunday.



Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Not Tug's photo, but same emotion

A very full day mostly away from home, hence the reception from Tug when I finally got here. Lunch at Olive Garden with Mom and Lisa, some book shopping (scored a couple good ones for Steve-the-nonreader who expressed approval when presented), and then some dress shopping for Lisa. Then hung out at M&Ds. Tired, very tired. I'll read for a very little bit and then sleeeep.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Friday, at last

Sorry. Sorry. No blog yesterday. Late one today. Family from both sides in town. Last night we had dinner with Steve's family; tonight it was with mine. No time to do a blog.

Really not a lot going on. I'm about 200 or so pages into the Sansom, loving it. I have a couple more on the way from the UK so I'm a happy camper.

I've got to work on the newsletter this weekend but it will be more like Sunday and Monday. Tomorrow I'm having lunch and book shopping (go figure) with my mom and sister. Before we do that I have to walk Tug and maybe get a load of laundry going.

Right now, after being up since 4:30, I'm about to crash. So I'm going to read for a little bit and then turn out the lights.

See you in the morning...

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

A round of naps on the house!