Mind blown...

Arriving today and will be the current read, NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STARS by Deanna Raybourn. This is the last of her books set in the 1920s. Here's a description:

On the verge of a stilted life as an aristocrat's wife, Poppy Hammond does the only sensible thing—she flees the chapel in her wedding gown. Assisted by the handsome curate who calls himself Sebastian Cantrip, she spirits away to her estranged father's quiet country village, pursued by the family she left in uproar. But when the dust of her broken engagement settles and Sebastian disappears under mysterious circumstances, Poppy discovers there is more to her hero than it seems. With only her feisty lady's maid for company, Poppy secures employment and travels incognita—east across the seas, chasing a hunch and the whisper of clues. Danger abounds beneath the canopies of the silken city, and Poppy finds herself in the perilous sights of those who will stop at nothing to recover a fabled ancient treasure. Torn between allegiance to her kindly employer and a dashing, shadowy figure, Poppy will risk it all as she attempts to unravel a much larger plan—one that stretches to the very heart of the British government, and one that could endanger everything, and everyone, that she holds dear. 

Published 2014, it has 367 pages.

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post the past couple days. Updates: I'm recovering from shingles and Steve's mom has West Nile. Otherwise, life is going on.

I'm not as excited about watching shows on Monday, I decided last night. Just not tripping my trigger. I've not been a huge fan of Batman, and the show Gotham is that world while he is a child. Sleepy Hollow has gotten really demonic so not interested, and The Blacklist has Mary Louise Parker guesting, whom I don't like. Plus it's dang hard to stay up until 10 on a Monday. The Voice is okay but been there done that really.

Tonight, however, is Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Happy dance! Now THAT is keeping my attention -- Coulson is Director, Ward is an evil Hydra agent, Simmons is suffering the consequences of lack of oxygen when he saved Fitz, Fitz is gone, Skye is an agent but still an 084, and May just kicks butt .... Love my Tuesdays nights.

Also on the TV front, Outlander is over until April, ending on a cliffhanger (yes, I've read the book, I know what happens but still). But The Walking Dead starts up the weekend after next.

Have a lovely day....

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

And so say we all.

So. I went to the walk-in clinic yesterday. And I guess having psoriasis wasn't enough. I have a case of shingles. Probably caused by stress. But how? I don't have any of THAT in my life. I am really lucky though because it is just a small area of my lower back so there isn't much contact to cause pain or rub-age and really it just feels like the irritation of a sunburn. The good news is that typically one doesn't get it twice and I saw it fairly early and can be treated with meds to not let it get worse. And truly, when I had my allergic reaction to Vancomycin in 2009, that was waaaaaay worse than this. This is a piece of cake with double frosting in comparison.

The other good news is that I'm back on my paleo eating plan. Stress has also caused me to eat bad things and gain more weight which I don't need. Eating healthy is more expensive but I just have to do it. So bear with me as I dream along with the little guy above about pizza from time to time. What is encouraged with paleo is to do it 80/20. Eighty percent strict paleo and allow yourself 20% to not always eat to plan. I'm hoping more for 90/10 but there it is.

A neighbor of ours texted Steve that he saw Coda out of the yard and put him back. Nothing about Ryker. Steve and I both agreed Coda never gets out alone so I raced home to check the status. They were both on the deck but suspiciously breathing heavily. Did Ryker get out and figure how to get back in again? We'll never know.

It's supposed to get to 93 today. Yuck yuck yuck. What happened to my Fall?

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Can it be Friday, please? Please?

Gonna go to the walk in clinic to check out my possible bug bites on my back. What a bother.

Nothing on TV tonight as far as I can tell so I hope to read. Last night's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was very very good.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

I fetched Fall for you

Happy first day of Autumn! At last!

On Kindle, I'm currently reading THE BERKELEY SQUARE AFFAIR by Teresa Grant. This is 4th of 4 in series featuring Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch, a diplomat and his wife 1817 England. Here is a description:

Ensconced in the comfort of their elegant home in London's Berkeley Square, Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch are no longer subject to the perilous life of intrigue they led during the Napoleonic Wars. Once an Intelligence Agent, Malcolm is now a Member of Parliament, and Suzanne is one of the city's most sought-after hostesses. But a late-night visit from a friend who's been robbed may lure them back into the dangerous world they thought they'd left behind. . .Playwright Simon Tanner had in his possession what may be a lost version of Hamlet, and the thieves were prepared to kill for it. But the Rannochs suspect there's more at stake than a literary gem--for the play may conceal the identity of a Bonapartist spy--along with secrets that could force Malcolm and Suzanne to abandon their newfound peace and confront their own dark past. . .

Published in 2014, it has 465 pages. 

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men .... I wound up spending most of the day yesterday at the hospital with Steve's mom. She has some kind of virus that has quite advanced. I didn't get home until almost 8 last night and not really in the frame of mind to concentrate on TV but I did view The Blacklist. I will probably be doing the same later today.

Tonight, I have the second season premiere of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Woot! Agent Coulson is back!  In happy commemoration, here's a photo:

Ahhhh!  It's been since May.

Back on the book front, Deborah Crombie has a new release today, TO DWELL IN DARKNESS. I'm waiting on the library for that one.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Hopefully this is not me this evening

So much TV to watch, not enough evening. Gotham, Sleepy Hollow, The Blacklist, and The Voice. 7:00 to 8:00, 8:00 to 9:00, 9:00 to 10:00 and 7:00 to 9:00. I'm sure it will be nice to have everything done so early in the week but holy schmoly. And yes, I could just walk away. Totally agree. But I won't for now. My problem tonight will be staying awake until 10. Mondays are always difficult after a couple days of being able to nap pretty much whenever if you're tired.
 
So I watched "The Wedding" episode of Outlander on Saturday. You know, yes, I enjoyed the soft core porn of the wedding night but overall the episode disappointed me. I know film is and has to be different from the book but I felt this departed too much from the book. Example, at one point they have Jamie's uncle and 2nd in command of his clan, Dougal, proposition Claire on her wedding night. Why are they adding that element? That just doesn't happen in the book and it puts a weird ugly vibe into it.

It was a good football weekend for the Madsen house, however. Steve's Steelers won, my Cowboys won because they got lucky at the end, and Denver lost. Yay! 

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster 

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

 

 

 

 

When I walk the dogs in the morning, we are walking beside a field at one point. It is dark now when we walk so I wear a headlamp to light the way. This morning, my light caught two glowing eyes watching us from the edge of the field. By the height, it appeared to be a cat. I hope it was a cat.

I'm very glad for the weekend and I have to say that the week has actually gone fairly quickly. I hope to go back to the book sale; Steve mentioned he'd like to go but he has a gun class to coach in the morning so hopefully we can go in the afternoon. He's interested in history books and I will accommodate him in any reading opportunity.

Tomorrow evening is the long awaited wedding/wedding night on Outlander of Claire and Jamie:




Oh yes.

Otherwise, I'll be getting the weekend chores done and do some reading.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Can I come sleep with you? Dreamed of monsters again.

I was always the one asking to share a bed with my sister when we visited my Grandma's house because I was scared. I was always put in the "little bedroom" that I was convinced had an old lady in the closet. Maybe it did. And the trees behind the house always scared me at night. (shrug). Luckily, my sister usually let me join her. 

Steve has a gun class to coach tonight; I'm hoping to view Captain America: The Winter Soldier on DVD. We saw it in the theatre but that was months ago. :)

I walked the boys this morning. Coda seemed perfectly okay but Ryker was lagging either beside me or behind me so he's still feeling the affects of their 5-hour run-about a couple days ago. I cut the walk short for him. Did he learn a lesson? Probably not.

It was supposed to be the 80s today but I don't think we'll get there. It's been storm-cloudy and we've had some rain. Much better. 

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Every move you make...

I'm currently reading LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE by Diana Gabaldon. This is 2nd of 4 in series featuring Lord John Grey, a soldier and gentleman and a recurring secondary character in the author's Outlander series, in mid-18th century London. Here is a description:

In 1758, in the heart of the Seven Years’ War, Britain fights by the side of Prussia in the Rhineland. For Lord John and his titled brother Hal, the battlefield will be a welcome respite from the torturous mystery that burns poisonously in their family’s history. It’s been seventeen years since Lord John’s father, the Duke of Pardloe, was found dead, a pistol in his hand and accusations of his role as a Jacobite agent staining forever a family’s honor. Now unlaid ghosts from the past are stirring. Lord John’s brother has mysteriously received a page of their late father’s missing diary—and John is convinced that someone is taunting the Grey family with secrets from the grave. So he turns to the only man he can trust: the Scottish Jacobite James Fraser. But war, a forbidden affair, and Fraser’s own secrets will complicate Lord John’s quest—until James Fraser yields the missing piece of an astounding puzzle and Lord John must decide whether his family’s honor is worth his life.

It was published 2007 and has 512 pages. Gabaldon introduced Grey in the second Outlander novel Dragonfly in Amber (1992) as a sixteen-year-old English soldier who chances upon Jamie and Claire Fraser on the eve of the Battle of Prestonpans. The character returned in Voyager (1993) and Drums of Autumn (1996). When Gabaldon was invited to write a short story for the 1998 British anthology Past Poisons: An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime, she was interested in the challenge of writing a shorter work but hesitant to use any of the main characters from the Outlander series for fear of creating "a stumbling block in the growth of the next novel." The Lord Grey character came to mind.

"Lord John Grey is an important character in the Outlander series, but he isn’t onstage all the time. And when he isn’t … well, plainly he’s off leading his life and having adventures elsewhere, and I could write about any of those adventures without causing complications for future novels. Beyond that obvious advantage, Lord John is a fascinating character. He’s what I call a 'mushroom' — one of those unplanned people who pops up out of nowhere and walks off with any scene he’s in — and he talks to me easily (and wittily).

I stopped by the used book sale that a church holds twice a year. I usually only go on the Saturday for a couple hours or so but last night they had a "first night" from 5 until 7. It. was. jam. packed. You could hardly move. But I did a quick perusal of the paperbacks, mostly looking for Ngaio Marsh books this time around. I didn't find any of those but I did find a paperback of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for which I've had my eye open for several years. I only stayed an hour; it was hot, crowded, and one could hardly maneuver in the aisles. 

We had put the dogs outside for the day for the first time in a long time yesterday ---- and of course they got out. Ryker can find any weakness in the fence. And apparently they were running around for a long time. I finally found them about 1:15 and they absolutely crashed for the rest of the day and the night. They are moving like old men with the occasional groan. They hardly moved all night long and were not interested in our morning walk. Shocked, I am, and I got to sleep in an extra half hour. They are outside again today and I will check on the them at lunch but I don't think they'll be moving much off the deck.

I won a book!  So unexpectedly! I try to check out a great author blog, www.jungleredwriters, and sometimes I make a comment. And making comments is sometimes how the blogs choose winners for things. Well, apparently my name was chosen to win a book by Hank Phillipi Ryan, an ARC of TRUTH BE TOLD. I'm gobsmacked. She has won multiple crime fiction awards; I believe I read one or two of her first series. Free books are awesome!

 

 
Steve has shooting tonight; I'll be reading and hanging with my wrung-out boys.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster 

And I do it so well

Currently reading IN THE VOID by Sheryl Nantus. This is 2nd of her Tales from the Edge romantic space opera series. Here's a description:

Catherine Rodgers doesn't like Mercy spaceships, or the courtesans who work on them—not after her husband left her for a Mercy woman. But after her luxurious transport ship gets blown up to prevent her from cracking the lid off a corporate scam that's left hundreds dead and a few people very rich, the only vessel around to save her is the Bonnie Belle. Sean Harrison has worked as one of the Belle's courtesans for years, bringing happiness to countless women along the space lanes. When he's asked to look after Catherine while the Belle brings her to safety, it should be just another job. Somehow it's anything but. Sean is captivated by Catherine's sense of justice and responsibility. And Catherine finds a softer, more emotionally intelligent man in Sean than she expected. Drawn together in darkness under the threat of death, they find the beginning of something lasting. But with pirates after the Belle and a price on Catherine's head, that beginning might be all they get.

Published 2014, it has 254 pages. 

Well, the dogs are outside today for the first time in many months. One of them had another accident yesterday and Steve finally secured the corner of fence that we think is the last area of escape.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Must be a Monday

I'm currently reading BLIND JUSTICE by Anne Perry. This is 19th of 20 in series featuring William Monk, an amnesiac police inspector, later a private detective, and currently a commander of the Thames River Police, in Victorian London. Here's a description:

Hester Monk questions the finances of a London church whose members’ hard-earned charitable gifts appear to have ended up in the pocket of charismatic preacher Abel Taft, paying for his fine home and the stylish outfits of his wife and daughters. Taft is accused of extortion, and brilliant barrister Oliver Rathbone, newly appointed a judge, is chosen to preside over his trial. It seems clear that Taft is indeed guilty. However, at the last second, the defense produces a witness who completely undermines the charges. Then Rathbone makes a well-meaning but reckless move that could ruin his career, his reputation, and his life.

Published in 2013, it has 370 pages.

It was a pretty uneventful weekend which was good. Watched some football on my short attention span channel, read a little bit, did the weekend chores. Next weekend's Outlander episode will be the one everyone's been waiting for: the marriage of Claire and Jamie. :)

Tonight will be the last free from TV Monday for a while. The new television season starts and for some reason, EVERYTHING is on Monday/Tuesday.  Monday: Sleepy Hollow, The Blacklist, The Voice, and a new one, Gotham. Tuesday, there's Marvel's Agents of Shield and The Voice. It would be nice this evening to read and go to bed early-ish.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

T.G.I.F.F.

Oy what a week. Legal stuff, firing someone, interviews and hiring someone, a dog with diarrhea so bad I had to rent a rug cleaner yesterday... I'm ready for a weekend. A quiet, uneventful weekend. :) 

I'm back to reading the Elizabeth Moon space opera I started last weekend, I think it was. And I'm auditioning for the next paper book and believe me there are many, many contenders for this coveted position. I'll let you know on Monday.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Coda does this all the time -- Jealousy.

Well, shock and happy surprise, the JD Robb book was waiting for me on my doorstep when I got home last night. And Steve went out to dinner with a vendor, I declined the invitation to go along, and so I read and read yesterday evening. Happy dance!

Today, it is cool, dark, and sometimes rainy. Completely wasted at work. I shall finish the Robb book this evening because Steve has shooting so it will be just me and boys again.

I finished STEALING SHADOWS by Kay Hooper this is 1st of 15 in series featuring Psychic FBI agents and investigators working for Bishop, a FBI Special Crimes Unit. Here's a description:

What if you can enter a madman's cruel mind as he plans his vicious crimes? What if you can see the terrified face of his prey as he moves in for the kill—but you can't stop his frenzy once he strikes? Psychic Cassie Neill helps the L.A. police catch killers—until she makes a terrible mistake and an innocent child dies. Cassie flees to a small North Carolina town, hoping that a quiet life will silence the voices that invade her unwilling mind. But Cassie's abilities know few boundaries. And she's become certain—as no one else can be—that a murderer is stalking Ryan's Bluff. It's his fury that Cassie senses first, then his foul thoughts and perverse excitement. Yet she doesn't know who he is or where he will strike. The sheriff won't even listen to her—until the first body is found exactly where and how she predicted. Now a suspect herself, she races desperately to unmask the killer in the only way she knows: by entering his twisted mind. Her every step is loaded with fear and uncertainty...because if he senses her within him, he'll trap her there, so deep she'll never find her way out. 

 Published in 2000 (and there are some dated things in it), it has 386 pages. This was a digital loan from the library.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster  

Oh no! It's only Tuesday!

I will be starting FESTIVE IN DEATH by JD Robb. This is 39th of 39 in series featuring Eve Dallas, a homicide lieutenant in futuristic New York City. Here's a description:

Personal trainer Trey Ziegler was in peak physical condition. If you didn’t count the kitchen knife in his well–toned chest. Lieutenant Eve Dallas soon discovers a lineup of women who’d been loved and left by the narcissistic gym rat. While Dallas sorts through the list of Ziegler’s enemies, she’s also dealing with her Christmas shopping list — plus the guest list for her and her billionaire husband’s upcoming holiday bash. Feeling less than festive, Dallas tries to put aside her distaste for the victim and solve the mystery of his death. There are just a few investigating days left before Christmas, and as New Year’s 2061 approaches, this homicide cop is resolved to stop a cold-blooded killer. 

 Published 2014, it has 400 pages. I adore this series and I'm so glad she writes two per year.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

You don't have to worry about it anymore

Over the weekend I read THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE by Simone St. James. This is a stand alone, a historical ghost story. Here's a description:

In 1922, Sarah Piper's lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis-rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts- has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old maid Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah's task to confront her in death. Soon Sarah is caught up in a deperate struggle. For Maddy's ghost is real, she's angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair's assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, whereshe came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance-before she destroys them all?

 Published in 2012, it has 335 pages.  This was a digital loan from the library. It was actually pretty good and gothic-y.

I'm currently reading CHANGE OF COMMAND by Elizabeth Moon. This is 6th of 7 in the Serrano Legacy series, SFF space opera. Here's a description:

As the use of rejuvenation procedures spreads through the upper classes of the Familias Regnant, the economic and political stagnation takes ever more toll on society--and on the neighboring empires as well. With the assassination of Lord Thornbuckle, the ultra-conservative faction in the Council tries to hold onto the status quo, reacting to all criticism as treason. Even the military is affected, with shakeups throughout the command structure, and cost-cutting measures in critical supplies that have serious consequences...and spark a mutiny. In this tumult, the Benignity renews its attacks, and no one's plans are safe.

Published in 1999, it has 448 pages. 

Tomorrow, JD Robb book arrives. Hopefully before 8pm.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

And that's the truth, PpPpPppp

I'm very sad about Joan Rivers passing away yesterday. She was an amazing lady. This is my favorite quote:
In 1994, speaking to TIME, she told writer Ginia Bellafante that she wasn’t afraid of death. “I’m in show business,” she said, quoting a new play she had co-written. “I died a million times.”

Usually on Friday evenings, Steve and I watch Fashion Police because she is so sharp and it is funny to watch the reactions of her co-workers. There won't be any more. Prayers to her family and friends.

Nothing planned for the weekend other than lots of cleaning and reading. I should get notification this weekend of the new JD Robb being shipped. It will be here Tuesday. Woot! 

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

I. Have. To. Sneeze

I'm currently reading THE AMERICAN HEIRESS by Daisy Goodwin. This is a stand alone novel; think Cora in pre-Downton Abbey, as in how she got to Downton Abbey as a young rich American. Here's a description:

Be careful what you wish for. Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage. 

Published 2010; it has 480 pages.  The author can say she isn't doing a Downton Abbey knock off: she published this just before the show premiered even in the UK.And I hope the book gets a little better -- this Cora is rather unlikeable. She KNOWS she's rich and beautiful and quite pleased to be an unaware spoiled little rich girl.

And this is very exciting: I got a free Advance Reading Copy of Charles Finch's new book, THE LAWS OF MURDER which will be released in November. Saved me some money because I had already pre-ordered it. Woot!

A few days ago, I mentioned that the authors over on Jungle Red had a blog post about "perfect things" -- "the things in our lives that we couldn't bear to give up, even if we had too many and/or no longer needed or used them." And I was struggling to think of what I could/would say was my "perfect thing." With the caveat that of course life would go on but.... I came up with chapstick and my beautiful Belleek castle lamp:

I just simply love it. I would fill my house with Belleek if I could afford it. But this is my only piece and I would be heartbroken if anything happened to it. 

For some strange reason, I guess I like lamps. I would love to get some Tiffany lamps as well. But at this time I only have a very small one (Tiffany-like, not a true one) in a peacock pattern.This is the pattern but my lamp is very small, almost like a night light/desktop:

Tonight, is the beginning of the real NFL season. We'll watch the game tonight like a whole lot of America; I'm not guaranteeing I'll stay for the whole game but.... And then on Sunday will be my favorite way to watch the games: a channel called NFL Red Zone. It covers ALL the games going on and jumps from game to game, only showing the exciting bits. Short attention span theatre for football and I like it.

Much love, 
PK the Bookeemonster 

There I was minding my own business in the backyard...

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Not much happenin'

For a looked-forward-to long weekend ... it was okay. We went to see John Edward on Saturday. That was a good show. I made progress in reading RED MARS by Kim Stanley Robinson. It's at 584 pages but seems much longer.  Watched the new episode of Outlander. Otherwise, not so great.

Looks like there's not much on TV tonight so I will read for a bit and then get some sleep. It feels like a cold is trying to get me. Bah.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster