So smoky yesterday and continues today. This is a shot from a Billings webcam.
Looks overexposed, yes? Smoke. So far, my eyes aren't worse than before.
About to start GLASS HOUSES by Louise Penny. 13th of 13 in series featuring Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the
Sûreté du Québec, in the village of Three Pines, in
southern Quebec.
When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November
day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious.
Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring
ahead. From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache,
now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, suspects the creature
has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do?
Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized. But
when the figure vanishes overnight and a body is discovered, it falls
to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied. Months
later, on a steamy July day as the trial for the accused begins in
Montréal, Chief Superintendent Gamache continues to struggle with
actions he set in motion that bitter November, from which there is no
going back. More than the accused is on trial. Gamache’s own conscience
is standing in judgment.
Published 2017, 376 pages.
Tonight on TV I have Manhunt: Unabomber "Ted":
In a letter to his brother, Ted
recounts the key events from his past that informed his decision to
engage in terrorist activities...
Finished the Estelle Ryan book. The new Louise Penny will be showing up tomorrow on the Kindle. I have my fingers crossed for that one but the author has been on a soapbox the last few books which is a turn off.
It was a pretty good weekend. Nothing spectacular.
No, no kaboom. We did watch the new Alien movie that came out a few months ago via On Demand. Alien: Covenant. Predictable. I hate space horror. And so predictable.
And I hate watching it. I mean, really. You've got a movie-viewing audience who has now been around the block several times. The look-alike android on the ship at the end is the evil one. The guy who is first die was who you figured it would. The ending was not a happy one. And the STUPIDITY. Yes, let's go off our colonizing mission with 2000 cryogenned people on board to go to this planet on a whim that no one that we know of has ever vetted before. Nothing could go wrong.
I mean, they should all be handed red shirts, fergodssakes.
Tonight there's nothing really on TV for me. Working a 9 and a half hour day will undoubtedly wipe me out. So I expect to be early to bed. Earlier.
That's about it. I'll tell you about the Penny book tomorrow.
I really shouldn't complain. Next week, Monday and Tuesday, I'll be working all day and on the front desk because our receptionist will be gone.
And the morning has gone quickly. I didn't have a chance to get groceries yesterday as planned so I'll be doing that today.
About to start THE NETSCHER CONNECTION by Estelle Ryan. 11th of 11 in series featuring Dr. Genevieve Lenard, nonverbal communication expert and high-functioning autistic, and her team.
Doctor Genevieve Lenard is on holiday in Hungary when she and her team
are asked to assist in a missing person case. Her autistic mind is
already having difficulties dealing with the new environment, and having
to co-operate with local authorities might push her past her limits.
Even more so when the missing person turns out to be an important, and
painful, part of a team member's past. The seemingly simple case
takes a gruesome turn as their search uncovers artwork drenched in
violent history, numerous deaths presumed to be by natural causes and
the menacing online presence of a serial killer who's been
cyber-stalking victims for years. Bodies are piling up at an alarming
rate and, knowing that one of their own is in the killer's sights,
Genevieve will have to use all her inner strength and expertise to stop
this ruthless murderer.
Published in 2017, 244 pages.
Also working on VOYAGER by Diana Gabaldon. 3rd of 8 in series continues the saga of 20th-century physician Claire Randall and 18th-century Jacobite rebel Jamie Fraser.
Believing that Jamie
died at Culloden, the pregnant Claire returned to her own century,
reunites (unhappily) with her first husband and gives birth to a
daughter, Brianna. But when Claire takes Brianna to Scotland in 1968 to
introduce her to her true heritage, they uncover evidence that Jamie had
survived. Claire determines she must rejoin him and once again steps
fatefully through the stones on Craigh na Dun to find Jamie in Edinburgh
in 1766. They wish nothing more than to lead a quiet life, but the
kidnapping by pirates of Jamie's young nephew sets the couple off to the
New World in pursuit, followed by old enemies and faced by new and
vicious dangers.
Published in 1994, 870 pages. Re-reading this prior to the miniseries starting up in a couple weeks on Starz. This is a digital library loan.
And a couple nonfiction books.
I've got the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders episode to watch tonight but that's it.
Nothing really going on today. Walked the boys; work, I have to get groceries, and I will research for the book this afternoon. Steve has shooting. Nothing on TV.
Tomorrow I'll have a new release, THE NETSCHER CONNECTION by Estelle Ryan.
So I'm looking forward to that.
Very hot outside today, 96, and very smoky. It's driving my eyes crazy. The sun is orange.
My favorite eclipse movie? Ladyhawke.(1985) "Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lie a cruel curse.
Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night
whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day.
Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the
corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell." To break the spell, they have to confront the evil Bishop together ... how is it done? A total eclipse.
Now, a funny eclipse in a move is Little Shop of Horrors (1986). "Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik's, a flower shop
in urban Skid Row. He harbors a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey
Fulquard, and is berated by Mr. Mushnik daily. One day as Seymour is
seeking a new mysterious plant, he finds a very mysterious unidentified
plant which he calls Audrey II. The plant seems to have a craving for
blood."
So the eclipse has come and gone. It was cool, yes. Here in Billings, MT, we were not in the "path of totality." We were in the 90 percent range. I was feeling monstrous pressure in my head while it happened. Better now.
I don't think I have anything on TV tonight. I finished the Connelly book. It was good. I'm about 2/3s through the Andy Weir book. Not as good as THE MARTIAN but that's expected. THE MARTIAN was exceptional.
