The Padded Cell: Bookmarque Reads without Rules (Part 1)

Welcome to the Undisciplined Reading room!

More reading.
Fewer rules.

I have a very relaxed approach to reading.

No little tracking tickers.
No boxes to check.
No teetering stacks to climb.

Just books. Monthly reading wrap-ups. Weird book covers.

My photos. Travel (Louisiana, California & Portugal are on the docket already).

Reviews.

Rants.

And whatever else I want to throw into the mix.

If you’re new to The Padded Cell I mostly read -

• Mysteries and thrillers
  
• History and books about science and nature
  
• Contemporary non-genre fiction
  
• A smattering of old books like Victorian Sensation novels and Alexandre Dumas
  

Don’t you love the word smattering?

Join me on a yearly list - 2019 List

My previous Annual Lists
Books read 2018
Books read 2017
Books read 2016
Books read 2015
Books read 2014

You can find my old reading threads here -
2018
2017
2016
2015

You can find my photography blog here
My book blog is here
My jewelry store is The WireSmith

Some fun stats and charts will be coming soon. I can’t believe I’ve gotten this all done so early! Crazy.

To tide you over, here are some lovely swans -



They are still around even at this time of year. The other day about a dozen or so roosted overnight in the backyard on the river ice. I guess they stay until there’s no more open water. Two more just flew by a few minutes ago.

By a curious coincidence I'd just been introduced to this when I read your post. The cello-sounding instrument (viewer's left) is a theremin, and she plays it by waving her arm around in the air in front of it.

Fabulous picture, as usual!

Happy new year, with happy new travels and experiences!

Happy new year! I'm looking forward to following your reading and your photography adventures this year.

looking forward to see what else you turn up for 'weird' book covers - that's always fun!

Happy New Year and happy reading!

Thanks peeps. As I'm going to be in North Dakota this weekend (long story), I'll put a couple stats up now. I read fewer books last year than in 2017, but I don't care. It's not a contest and no one gets a prize.



And here's how they fell month to month -



The Argentina trip and the Vegas weekend in April as you can tell. I forget what I was doing in June, but I did take a couple of days to go to Washington and Rock islands in Door county.

Oh and theremins are weird hugh. Weirder still that it was The Swans. I have some Saint-Saëns around and will have to see if I have that piece done without a theremin.

Nice swans! I didn't realize they would stay so late. They stop in the field behind our house sometimes when they're returning in the spring.

>8 Bookmarque: Your wish is my command! Here it is, as written. Inspired by your comment I looked to see what Wikipedia had to say about a theremin, and was delighted by the quoted critic who described it as sounding like "a cello, lost in the fog, crying because it couldn't find the way home".

Wishing you a happy new year, with plenty of time to spend with some good books

>1 Bookmarque: The swans are beautiful. :)

Thanks folks.

I was surprised at the swans' presence here now, too. I don't remember them being here so late in other years. But I guess they do stay for as long as is tolerable. And after reading that book about the evolution of feathers, I'm not surprised anymore. Warm as toast I'm sure.

One more chart before I break for dinner and then head for North Dakota.

Have a good trip, looking forward to your return, love the swans. :)

Thanks MrsL. I'm back and I have to say I liked North Dakota. Probably that makes me weird, but hey, I did move to Wisconsin.

The terrain is really different from anywhere else I've ever been and I lucked out with the weather and the light. A few minutes from where I dropped my hubby off for the carry licensing deal was this recreated Mandan camp. It's right on a high bluff on the Missouri river and the light was AMAZING.



Lewis & Clark met the Mandan on their way back from the coast. By that time they'd already abandoned this site and it was in ruins. In the 1930s it was saved by archaeologists and the mound houses recreated. You can go in them and they are wonderful even though they aren't original. More pics as I work them through my process.

Here is a shot of the larger ceremonial building at the Mandan camp. It's called Slant Village because the ground it's on slopes down to the Missouri. I went inside and it's really amazing even if native people didn't build them. It is very near to the family lodges, I think I was standing by the doorway of the second one above to take the shot below.

Gorgeous pics, Bookmarque.

Wow! What a cool place! I'm glad they were preserved. The sky is so blue there!

I love those photos, the contrast between earth and sky is striking. Those dwellings must have been pretty warm in winter with the thick earth walls.

Thanks peeps. I don't know how warm they were, but probably better than standing in the ND wind which is fierce. The sky was amazing that day. Well for a while. Later it looked like this -



I've written most of a blog post about the village, the Mandan and their culture. Not much is known because mostly they're all dead and they had no written language, but there is a little. It will go up on the blog in early February.

The pictures are great.

In terms of warmth, natural caves hover around 10C throughout the year. I would suggest these units would be much warmer than 10C if they were inhabited.

Thanks Pete. I'm sure they were fairly warm, especially with fires and folks inside them. Not to mention dogs. When the village was in its hey-day it had 86 family lodges and had a population approaching 1000 people. It was one of 9 settlements of similar size and formed part of a much larger trading area. The Mandan were primarily farmers, growing crops of beans, squash, tobacco and corn. Here's another shot of the large ceremonial building (all of which were owned and constructed by the women).

More charts for last year's reading. I know you've been holding your breaths. 😉

As usual, I bought a lot of books.



And here's the split between new, used and freebies -



Last for today are the formats -



And how they compare with other years -



ebooks are down again, but physical copies are up (it's all those used & library books) and audio holds steady.

Glorious photos, as usual!
Happy reading in 2019, Bookmarque!

>23 Bookmarque: Well, maybe it's just my mind, but is your Yearly Format Comparison giving us the finger?

An accidental finger.

OMG. I am a glutton for punishment. Just finished a really horrible audio book, What You Don't Know by JoAnn Chaney. Truly dreadful. Horrible characters, story, events, writing and narrator. I skipped a lot of it toward the end, just waiting to get it finished. Then I returned it to Audible immediately. I knew I would. Normally I put audio books I've heard into rotation for when I wake up in the night, but this one is so repugnant that I knew pretty much right away that I'd never listen to it again. If you click the title you can see my notes/review. NOT recommended.

So now to get that gunk out of my pysche I'm listening to the delightful Michael Caine read his latest memoir Blowing the Bloody Doors Off. I watched The Italian Job fairly recently so I can picture the scene from that line, and hear him say it in my head.

Oh and while I'm talking about bad books. These are the worst from last year -


The Forbidden Place - Susanne Jansson
Everyone is so ominous and fey. Making cryptic remarks and having halting interactions as if everyone is covered in shards of glass. Nobody can give a straight answer, they all have mysterious and pointless agendas. The prose is dreamy and opaque and has lots of navel gazing from the characters. The plot, what little of it there is, is a slow moving mass of nearly dried out paint.

Waking the Moon - Elizabeth Hand
Way overblown, histrionic, hyperbolic and festooned with just too much language. It felt choked; as if it were strangling on itself and struggling to tell the story. Way to hit me over the head with the feminist message, too. Patriarchy=bad, ok already.

Grist Mill Road - Christopher J. Yates
Overall it’s a tight and reasonably original piece of storytelling. So why the two stars? Because the whole way through Yates keeps beating us over the head about what Hannah did to bring this on herself. Yes friends it’s blame the victim time! We are led to understand that once again, the actions of a female are too much for a male to overcome and he’s swept away in his emotions and just can’t help being violent. Bleah.

The Bookman’s Tale - Charlie Lovett
There’s a fine line between write what you know and write a wish-fulfillment vehicle that encapsulates your every fantasy and Lovett doesn’t know where it is. The mystery brought every tired, shopworn cliche and trope into harness, right down to the gloating and monologuing villain. So eye-rolling I just had to laugh.

Wrack - James Bradley
Suffered by being bogged down with info dump after info dump; the science of map making, geometry, opera and every other damn thing that tangentially connected to the ship, the search and the documents hinting that the Portuguese “discovered” Australia. I think the author didn’t have a story so much as a bunch of cool stuff he read about and tried to string it together with weak cement to cobble together a novel.

>27 Bookmarque: My sympathy for you with your experience of What You Don't Know.

How are you enjoying Blowing the Bloody Doors Off? Yes, I too hear him saying it. I think we are not alone. "Not a lot of people know that."

Oh I wish Peter Sellers was still around. He was brilliant.

and I like the book so far. he's got an easy style that matches how he writes.

>30 Bookmarque: Peter Sellers was wonderful.

My morning visitor. Sorry for the slightly bad quality...I was shooting through my living room window and there were some small tree branches in between.

>32 Bookmarque: That is super.

He looks quite cunning. Is that a Paddington Bear stern look he is giving you?

How cool is that visitor!

Thanks guys. It was a wonderful experience and it totally made my day. I was shooting out my window so somewhat constrained and so I apologize for the bad compositions. Here's what else happened -

The lure -



The stalk -



The catch -



I did watch it kill and make sure the squirrel was dead, but it did that behind some trees and my deck railing was also in the way. Quick can't even describe it. The fox went from resting, waking up to hunting in about a minute. It was a privilege to watch nature working and I know one reason my local squirrel population stays so stable.

Very cool visitor!

That is so cool! And some great photos you got :)

Whoa! So cool! He’s beautiful!

How amazing to catch those pictures out your window!

No need to apologize for those photos! Amazing isn't even close. When I take pictures through my window, there is no doubt. So happy for you to see/photograph this.

WOW!

>32 Bookmarque:, >35 Bookmarque: Those are incredible pictures, thank you for sharing them!

thanks guys. It was astounding to watch. I've never seen a fox hunt before except in documentaries. I have barely seen them at all IRL and so this was very special. I'm also glad I've had enough practice with wildlife and my new camera to be able to take decent pictures.

>43 Bookmarque: Your pictures are more than "decent". They are great.

Thanks Pete.

What fabulous photos!!

Thanks much! It's much colder now so I hope the fox continues to have good hunting.

Incredibly cool, I love foxes, what a fantastic experience!
Where we lived prior to now we had quite a few of them around but they only showed up at nightfall, impossible to get a decent photo.

And the Patriots are in the Super Bowl again. I’m in the Midwest , but still a New England girl at heart. Woo hoo!

I usually only see them woosh by, Busifer. This was a real treat!

---

Before I head for California on Wednesday...more charts!! You didn't think I forgot did you? lol



Not much has changed there. Or here -



Or here. The library makes reading front list so easy!!



And every year I say I'm going to read more non-fiction, but I never do.



Oh well. It was a good year and I don't regret what got read or what didn't.

Those fox photos are the best. Even the one with the meal dangling from its jaws. Thank you for those!

Wonderful photos of the fox! I see a lot of them where I live, but they aren't usually as fine and healthy looking as yours.

Thanks guys. There are some mangy foxes, too, but not this one. I think I've seen this one before, with a mate so hopefully they get together again and have a family.

>53 Bookmarque: That is a super looking fox.

You have taken my mind back to a holiday about thirty years ago. We rented a cottage near the sea. It was located about two hundred yards from a six mile long strand with sand dunes between us and the beach. We had not immediate neighbours and a fox used to come into our garden and watch us. It was not tame, but it reach the point of trusting us not to harm it and would sit in the garden while the children would play. If felt like it was a neighbour and we respected one another's existence and trusted one another not to do one another any harm.

I was sitting in the garden one evening with the fox sitting about six yards from me. It was twilight. There was a rustle in the bushes and the fox jumped up, ran towards the sound, and froze. It had one ear point forward and the other backwards at first then brought its rear pointing ear round to point forward. There was a second rustle from the bushes and the fox dashed forward. As soon as it disappeared into the bushes there was a squeal and then silence. A few minutes later the fox returned to its position on the ground about six yards from me. I think there was one less rat in the neighbourhood that night.

I felt honoured to be present while this wild animal went about its business tolerating my presence.

I do have some photographs from that holiday and must dig them out. (Taken on film, of course.)

That is so awesome, Pete!! So rare and magical. I'm glad you had the experience.

Foxes are surprisingly common even in cities. I’ve seen squirrels and foxes around in Bicester and a few years ago, early (like about 2 am) one morning I was walking to catch the Aircoach in suburban Dublin and a fox walked across the path. Took no notice of me at all.

When I lived in NH, I hardly saw foxes or their tracks, but coyotes were everywhere. One time I was working from home and looking out the window to the street while on a call. I thought, hm, no one in the neighborhood has a German shepherd, I wonder where it came from. As it got closer it resolved to be a very large coyote not a dog, just ambling down the middle of the road.

>54 pgmcc: Awesome! In that case I, too, can come out with a fox story. Some years ago I had the pleasure of being shown around some amazing places in the Netherlands by a mycologist friend. One of the places was Hoge Veluwe National Park, which must be one of the few places where you can see both nature and fine art, both of the first importance. We'd come from the Kröller-Müller Museum (in the park), which has one of the world's two largest collections of Van Gogh paintings -- over 200 of them, which I found somewhat overwhelming. Anyhoo. We made our way to a pristine patch of heathland in the hopes of seeing the local deer -- no dice. But on our way home we couldn't miss a kerfuffle up ahead, with cars parked in the grass, on the road, anywhere. Just like a lion sighting in the Kruger Park. Closer inspection revealed that the cause of the excitement was an innocent little fox hunting. Blissfully ignoring the gathered crowd. I left grinning, as much at the absurdity of humans as anything else.

How very cool!

I can't share your opinion of the Van Gogh paintings though...there can never be too many. I could have stayed for days in the museum in Amsterdam.

>54 pgmcc: Your story would make a cute kid's picture book. I could imagine the fox sitting there and having a conversation with you.

>57 Bookmarque: I had something similar happen! The Husband and I were on a bike ride and saw a dog in the road. As we got closer, we realized it was a coyote. This was in the middle of town and quite a few years ago. They don't come that far into town anymore.

Indeed, I could imagine the fox passing Pete valuable information for his handlers in France.

>61 hfglen:
Now Hugh, you know I have to protect my sources. Good, cunning agents are hard to come by.

That would make a good children's book!

Am back from California. One of the best tasting trips we've ever had. Visited our regular peeps and went to 4 new wineries - all doing excellent things. Only joined one club, but bought bottles in the other three. Our big wine suitcase - the kind you can check - worked out really well. We went out to dinner w/3 of the people we went to Argentina with and will be going to Portugal with. Very cool. There's already talk of where we will go in 2020!! We are nuts. Didn't do too much in the way of photography...but I did some. It's green there, but the vines and trees etc. are dormant.

Oh and the car started - but - the suspension was frozen and completely lowered. we had springs, but basically no shock absorbers. drove home by braille if you know what I mean. A night in the toasty garage and it was fine. I guess that's what 30 below zero without wind chill will do to a car! It is a toasty 1 above now.

Oh and here's a weird one -



It's for In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I suspect drugs.

>63 Bookmarque: One could, naturally, suggest the winelands of the Western Cape for 2020, but only if they have a decent rainy season this winter. (OTOH, tonight's weather forecast included an advisory for heavy rain there.) Sadly, the Western Cape is a long way from here, and the two wineries in the KZN Midlands aren't noted for their quality products.

South Africa was mentioned, actually. One of the women that works for the winemaker that we go on these trips with is from there, although it seems she's lost her accent (if she ever had one). So that's on the table, but we're a long way from deciding. So much wine, so little time.

>64 Bookmarque: Glad you enjoyed your visit to our state. :)

As for the picture, it makes perfect sense. Warm socks, if you are cold, and blood. The eyes...not sure about the eyes.

We go so often, California has become a second home. Especially Paso Robles.

>66 Bookmarque: I had an evil thought in the wee small hours; actually mostly a memory of a journey from Cape Town to Pretoria avoiding the overcrowded N1. If you were to go from Doring Bay (Fryer's Cove does great wine and the best fish & Chips on the west coast) towards Keimoes, you would go through Loeriesfontein, notable for a museum of wind-pumps. And then when you hit the R27 north of Calvinia a stretch of road that's flat and dead straight for about 160 km (goes past Verneukpan and Hakskeenpan, both scenes of world land speed record attempts). There's a slight bend at Kenhardt, but you're still in dry, dry Bushmanland. Some 40 km after Kenhardt we started to go up a slight rise:
Better Half: You seriously mean to buy wine in this howling desert?!
Me: Wait and see.
With which we crested the rise, and came down into the irrigated vineyards of the Orange River Valley. Within seconds we were travelling in an almost-tunnel between tree-high vines on both sides. The wine is remarkable, all things considered, and I grin every time I see the Orange River Co-op's labels. They have several wineries, one in a village with the delightful name of Grootdrink (big drink). Though I think if you want to buy at the cellar door you'll end up in a particularly desolate part of the industrial area of Upington. But when you get to the N14 in the valley, you'd surely turn the other way for about 40 km and spend some time at Aughrabies Falls, which are breathtaking.

Sounds like an adventure.

Grootdrink.

I am Groot.

Keep it in mind; it's not a bad route if you're driving between Cape Town and Johannesburg.

And while I think of it, you hit the N14 in a village called Keimoes. Either there or in the next village, Kakamas, keep an eye peeled for farm stalls selling fresh dates. They're well worth the effort, and you won't find the combination of dates and wine in too many other places. The other thing Kakamas is famous for is being the home of the parent tree from which all South African canning peaches are descended.

On these tours, luckily, we don't do any driving ourselves, but hire local companies. It's much easier on us.

Oh and the worst books of 2018 is up! https://thebookmarque.blogspot.com/2019/02/worst-books-of-2018.html

Oh and if you want to see more of the Mandan historic village I talked about last month - https://wickeddarkphotography.com/2019/02/03/on-a-slant-village/ - there's the blog post.

January Reading Wrap-up!

9 books read
3 non-fiction, 6 fiction
6 by women, 3 by men
6 new authors, 3 old familiars
2 borrowed from the library, the rest I bought
Of those 3 were used, 6 new, but one got returned to Audible
2 ebooks, 4 audio books, 3 physical

........

The most popular with 463 cataloged was Sometimes I Lie
The least was Ancient Civilizations of North America with 9 (although this is a Great Courses lecture not a book proper, I’m still counting it).

The oldest was published in 1847, the newest 2018.

None were outstandingly good, but the one I returned to Audible was What You Don’t Know because it was utterly repugnant - the characters, writing, plot. Ugh. I read it out of a sense of fascinated revulsion I’m ashamed to say.

Do two DNFs and a looming third make for a book slump? Even if I'm reading other books that are working for me? Ugh. So to celebrate I'm sprucing up my DNF list. I already have a collection for such books, but there's an LT list, too so what the heck - http://www.librarything.com/list/949/all/Couldnt-Finish-It#

It's kind of fun to see what else people just couldn't stomach and if they're your favorites. lol

Other than that, not much going on. Other half came back from a week off on business. It snowed twice and enough so that I can ski. If it gets above zero that is. Right now it's about -4 F. Maybe this weekend.

I haven't been shooting lately, either. Too cold or too blizzardy or both.

and so...here's a cover that really encapsulates the feeling of this novel. It's dated, but still really apt.

>75 Bookmarque: I think that the DNFs in your recent reading simply mean you are refining your judgement of what is worth your time. Either that, or you are heading for a reading slump. ;) I like the first meaning better though.

>75 Bookmarque: & >76 MrsLee:
I would agree with @MrsLee. To me a reading slump is not just hitting duds one after the other; it is when you lose the urge to read. Hitting a row of duds, and I use the word “dud” to mean any book that does not work for the reader concerned rather than a generic term for a generally rubbish book, is simply bad luck.

Onwards and upwards.

Never give up. Never surrender.

But do, by all means, dump a book that is not engaging you.

ETA: How is The Drowned World. (The book; not the territory surrounding your abode.)

Thanks peeps! I knew I could count on you guys for a positive spin. Plus I just snagged a Ross Thomas book I haven't read for short money. Yay.

Anyway...the Drowned World. I read it as a 20-something and remembered liking it so I got a Folio edition a while back and read it again. This time I understood much more about what Ballard was trying to do and I liked it even more. It's NOT your typical dystopian novel. It's introspective and quiet and focuses around the true meaning of evolution. Or at least his idea of true evolution.

>78 Bookmarque:
I am not saying you scored a hit but if I come across that book in a secondhand bookshop it might just accompany me home.

What? Am I limping?

No! That’s nothing. Just a slight BB wound twinge in my thigh.

>75 Bookmarque: As many people have said before, life's too short to read bad books. Much better to spend the time on things you enjoy.

>77 pgmcc: To me a reading slump is not just hitting duds one after the other; it is when you lose the urge to read.
I agree wholeheartedly with this.

>78 Bookmarque: I've owned a copy of The drowned world for a while now. I must move it up the TBR pile based on your response.

Just stopping by to say how much I love you photos and those lovely charts!

Drowned World: Ballard is a pretty good post apocalyptic writer of an earlier era. Worth a read.

>75 Bookmarque: >77 pgmcc: >80 Sakerfalcon: I agree absolutely.

Re Ballard, I haven’t read much, but I have been haunted for more than 50 years by one of his early short stories, “The Garden of Time”. I seem to remember The Crystal World too.

Ah, winged ya didn't I Pete? ha!

It's a worthy book. One of the things that's interesting about books where civilization is neutralized is that because basically no tech works, it doesn't matter how advanced it was before it quit. So the lack of cell phones and internet and other things that hadn't been invented when The Drowned World was written don't really matter. Another thing I like about this one is how it doesn't focus on blaming humans for the tragedy. It is our fault, but it doesn't grind that ax to death if you know what I mean.

The Crystal World and The Drowned world are part of a set of books all dealing with different 'worlds' I forget what the other one is. Oh wait, there's that google thing.

The Burning World is the third. Haven't read those two, but I probably should. Instead I'm settling back into The Queen's Necklace since it is finally hotting up again.

>83 Bookmarque: Ha! Winged me indeed. Well if you did then your post #83 finished me off. :-)

Another thing I like about this one is how it doesn't focus on blaming humans for the tragedy. It is our fault, but it doesn't grind that ax to death if you know what I mean.
I think I do. It has been our fault but we are so much in the shit arguing about who caused it is irrelevant as the really important thing is how we deal with the here and now.

basically no tech works, it doesn't matter how advanced it was before it quit. So the lack of cell phones and internet and other things that hadn't been invented
You mean dystopia is that the 1960s were; like when I grew up? Hey, I grew up in a dystopian universe. Now there's the title for a book.

What part of Ireland did you grow up in, Pete?

I grew up in Belfast. I moved to Dublin in 1982 having met the lady I was to marry. She is a Dub.

I spent my teenaged summers in Donegal which must be the most beautiful county in Ireland.

Are the two cities still very different? I bet you two sound different...unless your accent has morphed a bit.

---

So I kicked another book into the DNF pile. Felt a little bad about it and read for longer than I usually do when I know something isn't working for me in hopes that I could adjust my perspective and enjoy it on another level. Nope. It just kept annoying me.

In order to pretty much guarantee something would stick, I went to an author who ended up on my top five last year - Jonathan Dee. This time I've got A Thousand Pardons going and it's great.



It irritates me that I purged a novel of his I had for a decade because I hadn't re-read it in that time. Now I'd like to go back to it and see if my more mature brain (ha!) would appreciate it more. Poop. But it's not like I can't get another copy or anything. Just annoying that I got rid of one.

>87 Bookmarque: Are the two cities still very different? I bet you two sound different...unless your accent has morphed a bit.

Belfast is smaller than Dublin. It has a radial foot print because of hills while Dublin sprawls out into flat countryside in every direction. It took me almost a decade to get used to not seeing hills of some sort from the city. If you are anywhere in Belfast you are not going to be far from a hill view.

I still have a noticeably northern accent. My wife's accent is South Dublin. She says my accent gets a lot stronger if I am talking to anyone from home on the telephone. She tells people that when we met she could hardly understand what I said. When she says that I say, "That's right. She even thought I asked her to marry me. What was I to do?"

ha! Funny. I had an assistant from Northern Ireland and she sounded lovely. Not much like a Dubliner though.

>78 Bookmarque: & >81 stellarexplorer: Do I remember some discussion of this one in our post-apocalyptic thread? Might be time to revive that one. I'm definitely going to seek that one out.

I think we might have, clam. It's a good one and does things differently than many other books. It doesn't dwell in violence and inhumanity either. There is a little of that with one intrusive "bad guy", but not much.

>91 Bookmarque: It doesn't seem to be in that thread. I searched for the word 'drowned' and didn't get a hit.

We took care of that problem!

This is funny.

I'm reading What the Robin Knows as an ebook. It's about how listening to and understanding bird calls can clue you into what's going on in nature that you might not otherwise notice. Embedded in the text are audio files and whenever I play them my cats go a little nuts. One jumps into the window nearest where I'm sitting and has a look. The other just paces and can't settle.

Ha!

Meow!

I haven't done a library book stack in a while so here's what I got for books today -



Rindell and Davis are writers I like, the top on is non-fiction about Blackwell Island in NY, and the bottom is a new writer for me. I'm still working on Station Eleven, but I'll get to one of these soon.

>75 Bookmarque: You can mark med down as a hit on The Drowned World. I cannot remember reading it, though I read some Ballard back when I was a teen. It so far removed in time that I barely remember most of the works that I read back then.

I first got caught by the cover, and then the story itself sounded promising.

Now, how do I find a copy of that exact edition... hm...

I think it was a mass-market paperback, but and old one so not sure of availability. Whichever edition you get I hope you enjoy it.

Here's another cover. Lovely, but not sure it fits with Chandler exactly. A bit too dreamy and languid.



Funny. It's for The Lady in the Lake

Lovely cover. Fun feeling to see a Swedish edition cover - not that usual. The publisher is one of the big houses, and I tried to find out who the illustrator is: it's a style that became very popular in the late 70's and early 80's, and the palette is clearly inspired by one of the big names in illustration in Sweden. I could not find a name, though.

That's interesting that the overall style was part of a trend.

Fun optical illusions on Lake Michigan!

>100 Bookmarque: Are you telling us that the red thingy is an illusion?

No, that the chunk of ice is bigger than the lighthouse.

I love this cover for The Three Musketeers - was Fabio the inspiration?? The other three seem to be of very different minds about his antics. He has a magical transparent sword, too. I must have missed that part.

Oh my god. I know there are websites devoted to awful book covers, but there’s just so much material for them!

>103 Bookmarque: He looks like D'arThornian! ;-)

>100 Bookmarque: & >101 MrsLee:
The clip below will explain perspective for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMiKyfd6hA0

>100 Bookmarque: Oh, that's awesome! :o)

>103 Bookmarque: LOL That's so bad it's good!

Ha! Good one, Pete.

More ice on the lake.

>108 Bookmarque: I am glad you found the explanation of use. :-)

That looks more like snow across a mountain range than on a lake. Great image. The shadows on the snow add character to the lower half of the picture while the clouds do the same for the sky. It is one of those pictures that draws you in.

>109 pgmcc: That's what I thought - it looks like a photo of mountains seen from the air. It's a stunning image.

I agree with @Sakerfalcon, looks like mountains from high up. Cool photo!

Only an echo here in praise of your ice photos. Only. They make me feel cold. Brrrr

Glad you like them. It wasn't very cold. 20 degrees or a little more with no wind. Nice.



Same day, different processing. I like the mood. Makes it seem more extreme than it was.

Cool photos!

>113 Bookmarque: "It wasn't very cold. 20 degrees or a little more"

You and I have very different ideas about cold! :)

Yeah, it's all what you're used to. 20s and sunny is lovely.

So here's a dangerous pastime. I have an ER book that is on CDs and so I'm listening to it on my computer while I do other stuff. When I run out of "stuff", I take a look at the recommendations list for books I've entered into my catalog. Mostly I'm entering descriptions and original publication dates. Of course that leads me to read what the books are about and some reviews, which makes my library list grow longer and longer and longer. Not that I mind, but I don't know if I can find the secret to immortality in time.

>116 Bookmarque: "Not that I mind, but I don't know if I can find the secret to immortality in time."
Amen to that.
Not that I want eternal life as such; I just need the time to read (and do all the other stuff that talks to me).

>117 Busifer: A local insurance company is running a TV ad right now with the "attention grabber" that claims the first kid to live to the age of 200 has already been born. To which my response is to look at an "old toppie" of 82 I see each week, and think "you don't want eternal life so much as eternal youth, or at least good health". If you lose all your marbles in the first century, what pleasure is there in the second?

>118 hfglen: Absolutely. Both my in-laws still had all their marbles past 90, so at least there's hope for their grandchildren.

>118 hfglen: Yes. Years ago I read about a study that found that a long life almost always equals a failing body, a failing brain, and lots of pain coupled with loss of friends and loss of personal integrity.
The researcher came to the conlusion that for the individual a relatively short bout of aggressive terminal cancer at a relatively young age was preferrable to having to depend on others to get fed and to be wiped clean after a loo visit.

I’d not like eternal youth, either - look what it would do to society, what with old farts clogging the system ;-)

I just want the time and the means to read all those books that you guys keep hitting me with :D
(And to travel, but that’s another topic!)

But will you know you've lost your marbles? That's the question.

Agree though that keeping sound mind and body is the thing to try for. I don't mind getting old. I won't mind being an old lady. I just don't want to be a rickety old lady. Or a crazy one, unless that's kind of fun and then I'll just go with it.

Exactly. It’s the pain and the helplessness that’s unwanted - not getting old as such.

Everyone whom I have known who developed dementia or Alzheimer’s had lucid points, often at early onset, when they became depressed. Some acted out in anger, fuelled by fear of losing one’s mind. All of them ended life in care facilities, not having a clear grasp who any of their relatives or old friends were.

Not the way I want to go.

Barring that getting old is just fine.

The myth of Tithonus seems apposite here.

Tithonus got the short end there. Yikes.

And speaking of short end. I just got through my ER book which is on CD and OMG it is one of the worst books I've ever read. I don't know why I kept on with it except that it was an ER book and I felt that to give it a review this bad I'd need to finish it.

Consider it a public service announcement (without guitar) The Current by Tim Johnston - http://www.librarything.com/work/21917718/reviews/165817641

>124 Bookmarque: I admire your tenacity and sense of fair play.

My appetite for abuse has been satisfied. Going to head back into a Ross Thomas after I help snow blow the driveway. We got a foot of snow since last night.

Started a new audiobook to wash the dregs of the other one away. I found it by my new habit of entering book data for random records and was drawn in by the cover. Luckily Audible had it with a narrator who isn't awful.



Isn't it gorgeous?? I've been wanting to read older books by women and this seems a good place to start. Cassandra at the Wedding is from 1962.

>127 Bookmarque: I've read Cassandra at the wedding a couple of times now and have really enjoyed it. I hope you do too. Your edition does have a great cover!

I am enjoying it so far...although it's become a bit fey and I didn't expect that. Also, I didn't mean to mislead - that's the cover that inspired me to read it, not the one I have. Which technically I don't since it's a digital audiobook.

I haven't done a Shelf by Shelf post since last summer. Just lost the urge I suppose. So here's a new one - https://thebookmarque.blogspot.com/2019/02/shelf-by-shelf-renault-to-rendell.htm...

Not book related, but photography related. I’m so excited that I just have to share. And of course I’ll share the pictures once I’ve got them.

Two words.

Swamp tour.

Outside of New Orleans in a couple weeks. I’ve known that I’m going for a while now, but could only find swamp tours with big groups of people in loud boats going very fast. Nothing wrong with that, but not conducive to wildlife or nature photography. Definitely not what I’m looking for.

So I googled and found a company that does daily photo workshops in quiet boats that reach parts of the bayou that can’t be reached with motorized boats. Plus they will come get me at my hotel.

A little pricey, but it’s what I’ve always wanted to do and now I’m getting to do it. Just have to hope for a spectacular sunrise followed by great weather. Bring on the alligators!

>131 Bookmarque:

Sounds great!

I'm so psyched. I've wanted to see a real cypress swamp for ages, but never had the opportunity. Birds, alligators, lizards, snakes, moss, cypress trees...oh it will be wonderful. I hope. Plus I'll get to cross another state off my list of places visited!

>131 Bookmarque: - sounds wonderful, I'm jealous!

>131 Bookmarque: That sounds fantastic. Enjoy. I await the pictures with great anticipation.

>133 Bookmarque:

And no snow!

>136 suitable1:
You put the thought of icebergs in the mangroves into my head. Thank you!
Hmm! White alligators confronting polar bears in the mangroves. We could get a franchise out of this.

>131 Bookmarque: That sounds amazing!

And no snow! This is my front yard right now -



While I'm by no means a winter hater, I am a bit sick of it. The groomers can't keep up with the trails. Tried to ski yesterday, but too slippery and too much work so I gave up. And it's too deep for snowshoes, too. Oy.

Exciting, but stay in the boat!

>139 Bookmarque: Wow! Keep warm.

I am so looking forward to this trip. We haven't had a road trip in ages and I just found a really cool thing we're going to do on our way down - CAVES!!

Meramec Caverns in Missouri is on our route and we have time so we're stopping to check them out. We love caves and have never spent any time in Missouri so it will be fun.

We're also driving straight down Mississippi on route 55 and so are looking for other places to stop there. Not sure how we're going back. Probably not stay another night in Nola, probably Jackson MS.

Sounds like you'll have a fabulous time!

I think we will. Since we're staying at cheap hotels for most of the trip (using Hilton points for some), husband booked us a room at the Four Seasons in St. Louis for our last night. Awww, he's a keeper.

So I can't believe it's March. It snowed another 3-4 inches last night so spring seems a long way off now. You can probably tell the weather and the temperatures up this way haven’t been letting me get outside much. For a short month I read a lot of books -

15 books read
All fiction
8 by women, 7 by men
6 new writers, 9 familiar
3 borrowed from the library, 12 I bought
Of the ones I bought 6 of them new, 2 used and the rest were freebies

..............

The most popular on LT was Station Eleven with 5617 copies
The least popular was a tie between The Reservoir Tapes and The Current with 68 each
The oldest book was The Queen’s Necklace 1850 and the newest from this year.

The best was The Lost Man with 4 1/2 stars.
The worst was The Current with ½ stars - I’d give it negative stars if I could.

I just love this cover!



It fits the story so well.

>142 Bookmarque: I love caves too, so I will be very interested to hear about Meramec Caverns. I hope you're able to get some photos.

>145 Bookmarque: That is the perfect cover for the book. I love the skewed angle.

>147 MrsLee: Can't wait to see your travel photos, I know you will have a great time.

Looking at the house on that cover makes me ill. My husband calls those "Batman" pictures. I get mad at him when he takes them.

I try not to tilt my horizons by accident, but I don't mind a skewed perspective shot done well.

One week from today we'll be off. Have found a few nature preserves in Mississippi that look interesting. Mostly remnants of forests that used to blanket the landscape down there before big agriculture. It's kind of funny that people either are surprised by flooding or crabby that it happens when the forests themselves protected the land and stabilized it. Now it mostly washes away. Silly humans. But it will be interesting to see since I've never spent any time in that kind of environment.

I didn't like the book, but I do like this cover -

>149 Bookmarque:
Nice cover.

I did like the book, but I am weird that way.

Your trip sounds awesome!

And I feel ya on the snow thing. We are getting another 4 inches tonight. That’s on top of the 26” we got last weekend. Our highs have been in the low 20s. We are supposed to get into the 30s tomorrow. It’ll feel so warm!

>149 Bookmarque:, >150 pgmcc: Another from my TBR pile... *mutters guiltily*

>150 pgmcc: I liked the book too so you are not the only weird one!

I agree that the cover is great.

>153 Sakerfalcon:
Claire,
Thank you for saving me from solitary wanderings.

The things I liked about it were its extremes that forced the reader to think about the real issues it was addressing, namely totalitarianism. I was aware when reading it that many SF writers behind the Iron Curtain used SF to discuss political topics as it gave them the protection of plausible deniability, a phrase for which I will be eternally grateful to the film, “Independence Day”. The fact that its English translation was published years before the original Russian was published is an interesting factoid and gives evidence to the Soviet state being well aware of the story’s political message but being unwilling to publicly ban a Science Fiction story, an act tgat coukd open the state to international ridicule.

I had also recently read H.G. Wells’s The Sleeper Awakes and was comparing the two works.

>149 Bookmarque: I thought that was a cover for the Emerald City from Oz. :)

It could work, MrsL. Totally.

Does it qualify as steampunk? Even if it doesn't it's a great cover!

You find such interesting book covers.

>157 Bookmarque: I would say, Yes.

Thanks ladies.

Here's a link to the fox interlude post on my blog if anyone wants another look and some extra photos - https://wickeddarkphotography.com/2019/03/03/morning-foxfire/

Lately no foxes to be seen, but many grouse around in the trees. Watched 4-5 of them this morning as the sun came up. They're even earlier risers than the squirrels.

>160 Bookmarque:
Those fox pictures are great.

Thanks, Pete.
Here's another critter that hangs around the house.

Those fox pictures are amazing! And your Russian Blue is beautiful. I miss my Russian. He died five years ago.

Isn't she gorgeous? I really need to take a video of her barfing. Just for the contrast.

>164 Bookmarque: LOL! Haven't we all been there!

She looks lovely; I love Russian Blue cats.

>164 Bookmarque: You know, you may have something there. Perhaps a video of an animal barfing should be a prerequisite to pet ownership? Or a video of the one you love barfing included in the pre-marriage counselling?

You may be on to something. Gak. I think I've only ever seen my husband barf once and I'm still married to him. I can't remember if he's actually seen me do it or only heard, but either way, he's still here. I like to think we have our compensations, which Bella lacks in many ways.

Here's another amazing cover -

>162 Bookmarque: She’s a beautiful cat! I’m possibly a bit biased, having a Russian Blue of my own. :)

Thanks peeps. She's gorgeous, but gross. Later, she and the kid are off to kitty prison.

Had to give up on a non-fiction book today. Damnation Island is interesting and factual, but damn, I just can't take any more cruelty, degradation and misery.

So instead I'm riding out today with Bird Brains by Candace Savage. It's out of print and spendy, but beautiful and informative. Even though I've read newer books about bird intelligence, ones with more recent scientific study data, I still learned something from this older work. That certain jays and crows have nest helpers. Usually fledglings (sons and daughters both) from previous years. They will basically hang around and help with the new brood. A lot of times they just watch their parents make the nest and bring food, eventually pitching in. Sometimes they get it right, other times they don't, but after a year or three of doing this, they become more successful parents than birds who didn't help.

I never knew that. So cool.

>167 Bookmarque: That cover for A Christmas Carol certainly has style! Is that a Ukrainian edition?

Looks like it could be, I’m not sure. I love it though.

Having coffee in St. Louis on our way home. Lovely, quirky and disturbing trip. Will explain when I’m on my laptop again. For a few phone pics go to this link- https://flickr.com/photos/34176681@N05/sets/72157707595177334

More when I’m home.

Am back home. Phew. Have dinner in the oven and a glass of wine and some cheese by my side as I pull my photos off my memory cards. While it's doing that, I found this great cover on LT -



It's for Peter Straub's Ghost Story and even though I probably couldn't read it, I'd love to have it. That cover is brilliant!

>172 Bookmarque: Super cover.

I love it. My old paperback from the 80s isn't nearly so ominous.

Am still going through the shots from the regular camera, but here's a couple from the phone -





Both were taken at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve on the west bank area just outside of New Orleans. Unfortunately it was cloudy, rainy and relatively cold the whole time I was down there so I didn't get to photograph many alligators, but this one is pretty famous for hanging out just under the boardwalk in a certain section of trail very near the visitor center. It's probably 6-7 feet long and has a large section of tail missing at the end. Life is rough for these guys, but it was wonderful seeing them, even fleetingly.

>175 Bookmarque: Beautiful photos!

Great pictures. I first say the alligator picture on my phone and it took me a while to realise what it was.

I look forward to seeing more. Pity about the weather.

thanks peeps. It took me a while to recognize an alligator head in the weeds...they're pretty stealthy for big black lizards. Still as anything. But then they started to pop out of the water and I got a few shots that are pretty good. So many other people were too loud and too quick to see anything. Who knows why they even bother.

I really like the alligator shot.

Well here's another one for you! This one is 1/2 the size of the first and well away in distance.

Neat pics!

Good pics, but I have to admit that crocodilians creep me out. I generally don’t mind reptiles, but crocodiles and alligators are like something out of the dark night of the soul. And the little ones are just pure eeeevillll.

>182 haydninvienna: It's the smile!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGkdcpTY1QI&feature=share

I thought I'd be more nervous while kayaking where they live, but I wasn't. Of course if I'd actually seen one while kayaking it might have been another story. Still, I'm glad to have them where they are, which is not in Wisconsin.

>185 pgmcc: Pretty good animation there, glad our @Bookmarque didn't have that kind of personal experience!

>180 Bookmarque: Love your gator photos, and looking forward to the rest from the trip!

>175 Bookmarque:, 180: Stunning pictures, as usual. Though mildly worrying in one way. The floating vegetation around the alligators looks to me like Kariba Weed (Salvinia), a pestilential fern (!) that is almost impossible to get rid of. Experience at (ahem) Kariba suggests that if that's what it is, they need a massive hurricane, coupled with enough rain to wash all the weed down into the sea.

Some of it might be that since it has invaded Louisiana, but a lot of it is just plain old duckweed. And if Katrina couldn't get that shit out of there, it's staying.

>189 Bookmarque:
My wife's name is Caitríona (Irish spelling pronounced the same as Katrina). The year after Hurricane Katrina hit my eldest son had to write a short story for his English class. He started it with:

"So, they called this one Katrina. My wife was called Katrina, and just like my wife she took my house and my car."

Ha. Nice. It's still a pretty devastated area judging by what little I actually saw.

And another cool cover.

>190 pgmcc: Your boy is good!

Late to the shoe, hectic time at work, but - nice photos!
I never got to go out in the bayou when I visited New Orleans as it was for work, not play. Back then I thought I might get another chance, but now I don't expect to go back there.

Great photos, especially the alligators. They don't look real ... until they move.

Thanks peeps. It was only around 60F down there which is cold for gators so they weren't too lively. Wish it had been warmer, but what can you do? Here's a cool round barn I shot in Iowa. They're not the norm, built for feeding cattle, and quite photogenic. It's the first one I've seen -

Fascinating barn. I love odd buildings.

I love the brickwork!

Your pics are amazing!

Thanks peeps, when I saw the sign for the barn I turned around pronto!

File this under - People are unfathomable.
It’s a big file.

So I participate in the yearly list of books people have read here on LT. I think it’s fun to see if anyone else lists the same book, especially if it’s not a popular one. For the past few years another user and I have uncannily similar tastes. We share a lot of books. When that person hadn’t posted anything to the 2019 list I sent a PM saying I missed seeing our similarity. I didn’t get a reply, but didn’t mind. After that, the person appeared and like before, we shared a few books already. It was nice.

The last time I looked all those books were gone from the other person’s list. Strange. Books we don’t share are still on the person’s list, but not any of the ones we both listed. I went to the person’s page and the ‘conversation’ is gone. I still have a record of its existence, but not its substance.

So I’ve been erased, effectively, and I find it strange. Probably I shouldn’t read into it (groan), but I can help feeling a little miffed. What the hell did I do?

Anyway, a little of the fun got sucked out of the room. I thought I’d escaped people like that, but they’re a drag on life in so many undiscovered ways. Bah.

.
>200 Bookmarque:

There's a lot of weird folks in this world.

>200 Bookmarque: Ah, life is short. It is their loss, and possibly, they have debilitating mental issues of paranoia. Which begs the question as to why they are on a social media site at all. Anyway, let them go with a shrug and keep on being you, because I have met you and you are a lovely person. :)

Awww, thanks MrsL. Wise advise.

Am thinking of heading into the woods today...a nearby trail that winds down to the river just below the dam. I've always liked that trail and hopefully the snow has melted enough that I don't need snowshoes.

Nature always cures my ills.



That's from the Meramec Caverns - we visited when we drove through Missouri to New Orleans.

Lovely image! If you look just over there, you might see Huckleberry Finn, or Tom Sawyer and Becky!

Wow!

Thanks guys. Funny you should mention that - the cave scene in one of the early movie adaptations was shot in this cave system. Or do you just know everything MrsL? 😄

>206 Bookmarque: *Gives wise and all-knowing look, keeping her mouth firmly shut so as not to prove otherwise.*

Wow, the caves look fantastic! The reflection is so clear.

Thanks! The river still flows, but very slowly. The optical illusions are great! The water here is only about 18 inches deep, but it makes it look like there's an enormous crevasse. Sorry it's a little soft. Handheld at a very marginal shutter speed.

The pictures look great.

>209 Bookmarque: That is incredible.

>209 Bookmarque: Just, wow!

Thanks! It was a little cheesy in parts, but a nice tour. Here's another shot -



Am back from the woods. I feel like a new woman. The snow is packed from snowshoers and melt, but I still sank in about a foot in places. It was much softer coming back in the strong sun than it was going out. Spring is on the way. The brook is melting and even if you can't see the water under the ice, you can hear it. It's wonderful. I explored a section a ways off trail that I'd never seen before. Lovely ice formations breaking up. The aspens and birches are splitting and flying papery bark flags in the breeze. Later I spent some time with some geese and hooded mergansers. I love that trail. It's like my surrogate backyard.

>203 Bookmarque: >209 Bookmarque: >213 Bookmarque: All three of these pictures would make amazing jigsaw puzzles!

They would, wouldn’t they?

Wow. Those caves are amazing!

Nature soothes the soul, doesn’t it? Glad you were able to get out and enjoy it.

Limestone caverns are wondrous...I visit them whenever I get the chance.

There's still a lot of snow, but you can feel spring coming. Literally.

Great pictures.

Thanks, Pete.



This cover caught my eye for two reasons - because it's gorgeous and just the kind of landscape I love to shoot. I often visit nature preserves for their walkways or boardwalks. And because I just started watching (in some cases re-watching) the Adam Dalgliesh TV series that originally aired on the BBC. They're not perfect (some bad acting, terrible lighting and sound and overlong scenes), but they're fun and I like Roy Marsden's interpretation of Dalgliesh.

>217 Bookmarque: That is a great spring photo! It feels like being in Narnia when winter was broken and spring was just beginning her return.

>218 pgmcc: I want to go there. But not get murdered. ;)

>220 MrsLee: I think not wanting to be murdered is a good choice.

After all, it's one of your rights (all three of 'em)
"You have the right
Not to be killed"

Ah. One of my favorite songs.

Anyway, here's another shot for you, a little harder to get without being there, but I'll try.



It's a little brook still covered in snow and ice, but you could hear it under there - water gurgling and ice cracking. It was magical.

>222 Bookmarque: It looks lovely. I can imagine how wonderful it must be out in the cold air and hearing the water gurgle and the ice crackle. Your picture and description are very evocating and I can sense myself there experiencing the cold and the sounds. Wonderful.

Thanks Pete. And the birdsong - I forgot about that! Plenty of twittering and trilling. Even a couple of ravens flew by to say hello.

>224 Bookmarque: Now you’re just showing off. :-)

I'd really be showing off if they followed me home! I love them so much. I want one. Not feasible, alas. Unless I keep the lawn covered in roadkill.

Not gonna happen.