Bibliofile - May 2015

Well, we've turned the page on another month - an apt turn of phrase for a post about books, eh? It was a busy month, so let's get right to it.

Of the 10 books I got through in May, 6 were detective novels, including 3 about two Dutch police detectives, one about a Swedish detective and another about a Norwegian cop. Throw in the eighth Jack Reacher novel and the latest from R.J. Ellory and I can tell you I've seen a heck of a lot of crime this month.

Highlights? There were many. Andy Weir's tale about an astronaut who gets left behind on Mars was very well written and takes the reader through the predicament with wit and subtle humour.

Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Rock Star provided a glimpse of the varied musical career of the fella probably best known as the keyboardist for Yes. And Wakeman can be a very funny guy. This was a quick and enjoyable read.

The Grijpstra and de Gier series was a delightful new find in the style of Nesbo or Menkell, except the action takes place in Amsterdam. I quite enjoyed the first three volumes. It goes without saying Nesbo's sixth Harry Hole book and Menkell's An Event in Autumn with Kurt Wallander were as great as ever. Menkell's book was actually written some years ago as a short story and he entered it between the already completed 9th and 10th volumes, sort of as a flashback or prequel. I haven't read the 10th book but it, unfortunately, is the last of Wallander's adventures.

William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade was a humorous look at Hollywood. It's a little dated, originally written in 1983, but if you're interested in the behind the scenes goings on in the movie industry, you'll like this. I did.

So here's the entire list for the month in the order in which I read them.

Adventures in the Screen Trade - William Goldman ****
Outsider in Amsterdam - Janwillem van de Wetering (Grijpstra and de Gier #1) *****
The Martian - Andy Weir *****
Tumbleweed - Janwillem van de Wetering (Grijpstra and de Gier #2) ****
Mockingbird Songs - R.J. Ellory ****
The Corpse on the Dike - Janwillem van de Wetering (Grijpstra and de Gier #3) ****
Rick Wakeman Grumpy Old Rock Star - Rick Wakeman ****
The Enemy - Lee Child (Jack Reacher #8)
An Event in Autumn - Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallender #9.5)
The Redeemer - Jo Nesbo (Harry Hole #6)

And these 10 books bring my year-to-date total to 34 books.

How about you? I'm looking for recommendations. What have you been reading?

My Back Pages - November

I know, I know, I know I should have reported in before now. But sometimes real life just gets in the way. I attempted 5 books in November. I say attempted because I slapped a big DNF (did not finish) on Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I just can't seem to get into this guy. It's the second or third of his I've given up on, Not so the other four, starting with a biography of Stephen Stills called Change Partners. This followed by a hilarious biography of the guy responsible for National Lampoon called A Stupid and Futile Gesture - How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever. I ended the month reading yet another biography, this one of the man behind Rolling Stone magazine,. It was called Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine. A fascinating read. So last month I hit the magic number 50 I'd imagined for myself back in January. If I roll this month into my yearly total I'm at 54 books. And I still hav...

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

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