Bibliofile - December

Well it was the last month of the year and I knew I wouldn't make it. I'd said back in January that I'd probably read 75 books in 2015. Alas I was a tad short. After adding the 5 books I read in December I came down to 62 books for the year. Still, not bad. That's still a lot of pages, electronic or otherwise.

Taking quick look at December's reads, then, I started out with the latest from one of my favourite authors and one of my favourite characters of his Inspector Rebus, who is retired now but is "consulting" the police.. Even Dogs in the Wild was sheer joy. It did not disappoint.

Next up was a new author for me, Peggy Blair, and her first instalment of her Inspector Remirez series The Beggar's Opera.The novel takes place in Havana and has a Canadian connection. Oddly enough the author is Canadian. I can't recall how I picked up on this book but it was well worth the read.

I'd seen a Facebook friend talk about Burning Down George Orwell's House and I thought how could I refuse not reading a title like that. I was pleasantly surprised by Andrew Ervin's debut novel about a guy that wants to be alone and ends up renting the same house George Orwell lived in. Ervin writes with humour and his insights into Orwell are interesting.

What can one say about High Fidelity. Remember the movie with John Cusack? The book is even better. Way better.

And I ended off the month with a book about Allen Klein. the former business manager of the Stones and, through their break up, the Beatles. A fascinating read if you want to see behind the scenes to the Beatles financial flame out as well as a little history around Klein and the music business.

So that concludes my month and my year between the covers (note Rolling Stone reference). Next week I'll give you my favourites of the year.

Here's how I rated last month's books.

Even Dogs Run Wild - Ian Rankin *****
The Beggar's Opera (Inspector Rameriz #1) - Peggy Blair ****
Burning Down George Orwell's House - Andrew Ervin ****
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby - ****
Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles,
Made the Stones and Transformed Rock and Roll - Fred Goodman ****

My Back Pages - October

Well, folks, I read seven (count 'em) seven books in October. One I didn't finish but even at that I hit the magic number 50 I estimated for myself by the end of the year. The six books I successfully waded through were, firstly, What Happened, Hillary Clinton's book on her bid for the Presidency. I''m a bit of a political junkie so I get off on this stuff but still it kinda struck me as one long whine over losing. Next up was the excellent Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon. Laurel Canyon was the fabled area outside of Los Angeles where many musicians and artists lived. Known as a 60s enclave, the book takes a look at just who lived there over the last 80 years. A fascinating read. Next up was Lightfoot, a biography of Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. He may have been responsible for some iconic folk songs but he was also quite the womanizer and boozer. Enough said. Then I read Dan Brown's new tome Origin, the fifth ...

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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