My Back Pages - August

I'm slipping. Only four books this month. I've adopted a slower pace in August, at times going several days without reading. Nevertheless those four books bring my year-to-date total to 39 books. I'm sure I can read 11 books over the next four months to reach my projected yearly total of 50.

So, August. I read two David Baldacci thrillers. Absolute Power about an immoral President. And Total Control about the ability of computers as well as the U.S's finances. Both, early works by Baldacci, were excellent,

I read Burning Bright by Nick Petrie. At the beginning main character Peter Ash reads like a poor man's Jack Reacher. A loner, former military type who wanders here and there taking on difficult cases. But it was a great page-turner.

Finally, on the recommendation of Peter at the cottage I read A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It's about a Russian aristocrat sentenced to life, not in prison, but to the attic of a fancy hotel. The concept here as explained by the main character is if you were expelled from the country you could start a new life as opposed to being a prisoner within your own country where the chance for a new life is nil. The book follows the aristocrat's life and the interactions he has with others. A good read.

On the television front because I was at the cottage with no TV reception other than Netflix my viewing was limited. When we came to town for a day or two I used On Demand to see the last several shows of Game of Thrones and the beginning of the new season of Ray Donovan.

And so what have you been reading and watching?

Noname's Books

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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! You know what happens on Imagination D

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

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

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

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