Lori (lkernagh) Binge Reads through 2019 - 2nd Thread

Lori (lkernagh) Binge Reads through 2019



Hi everyone! I toyed with the idea of not doing a category challenge in 2019, but the various CATs/KITs (in particular, the TBRCAT and the SeriesCAT) reeled me in. According to the LT stats, I have 432 series in various stages of completion. Apparently, I am really great at starting a new series, and completely bollocks when it comes to sticking with most of them. Hoping to make a dent in some of those series in 2019. I have set up this challenge so that it will help me continue to read books off my TBR piles and allow me the freedom to treat myself to some author/series binge reading. I am not going to set any minimums.... I am just going to let the reading lead me and see what the stats look like at year end.

Looking forward to reading and following everyone's threads in 2019! Welcome to my second thread for 2019.

Author: This is where I will list my reading when I author binge read (unless it fits in the Series category).

1. Kent Haruf: - Oeuvre completed on January 30, 2019
- Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf - read Jan 23 to 24, 2019 - (review)
- The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf - read Jan 25 to 27, 2019 - (review)
- Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf - read Jan 28 to 31, 2019 - (review)

2. Alina Bronsky: In Progress
- Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky - (review)
- The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky - (review)
- Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky - (review)

3. Lyndsay Faye: In Progress
- Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye - (review)
- The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye - (review)

4. Domenico Starnone: Completed on May 27, 2019
- First Execution by Domenico Starnone - (review)
- Ties by Domenico Starnone - (review)
- Trick by Domenico Starnone - (review)

Series: This is where I will list all my series reading (which can include continuations and trilogies).

1. Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri - All Caught Up with English translations - March 24, 2019
- The Fourth Secret Novella by Andrea Camilleri - read Jan 1 to 2, 2019 - (review)
- A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri - read Jan 2 to 6, 2019 - (review)
- A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri - read Jan 12 to 14, 2019 - (review)
- The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri - read Jan 15 to 19, 2019 - (review)
- The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri - (review)

2. Plainsong trilogy by Kent Haruf - Trilogy Completed - January 20, 2019
- Plainsong by Kent Haruf - re-read Jan 4 to 6, 2019 - (review)
- Eventide by Kent Haruf - read Jan 6 to 12, 2019 - (review)
- Benediction by Kent Haruf - read Jan 17 to 20, 2019 - (review)

3. Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French - All Caught up with Series - February 14, 2019
- The Likeness by Tana French - read Jan 20 to Feb 3, 2019 - (review)
- The Secret Place by Tana French - read Feb 3 to 8, 2019 - (review)
- The Trespasser by Tana French - read Feb 9 to Feb 13, 2019 - (review)

4. Flavia de Luce mystery series by Alan Bradley - All Caught Up - February 7, 2019
- The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley - read Feb 3 to 9, 2019 - (review)

5. Blinney Lane series by Drea Damara - All Caught Up - February 14, 2019
- Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara - read Feb 8 to 14, 2019 - (review)

6. Century Trilogy by Ken Follett - Trilogy Completed - March 6, 2019
- Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett - (review)

7. Kingsbridge Trilogy by Ken Follett - Trilogy Completed - March 15, 2019
- A Column of Fire by Ken Follett - (review)

8. Timothy Wilde Trilogy by Lyndsay Faye - Trilogy Completed - March 28, 2019
- The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye - (review)

9. Don Tillman Trilogy by Graeme Simsion - Trilogy Completed - April 11, 2019
- The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion - (review)

10. Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke - In Progress
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke - (review)
- Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke - (review)
- Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke - (review)
- Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke -
- Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke - (review)
- Sugar Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke - (review)
- Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke - (review)
- Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanna Fluke - (review)

Europa Editions: I currently have 24 Europa Editions books languishing on my TBR piles, so this category is to help with my ROOT reading.

1. Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky - (review)
2. The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky - (review)
3. Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky - (review)
4. First Execution by Domenico Starnone - (review)
5. Ties by Domenico Starnone - (review)
6. Billie by Anna Gavalda - (review)

Monthly CATs / KITs: Because I cannot resist dipping in to the various monthly challenges

January
- SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A" - The Fourth Secret by Andrea Camilleri -
- TBRCAT - First in/Last out; AlphaKIT - "A" - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy -
- RandomCAT - Your Name in Print - "Laurie / Lori" - Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King -
- SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A" - A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri -
- AlphaKIT - "Q" - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain -
- SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A" - A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri -
- SFFKIT - Excuses, Excuses... - The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher -
- SeriesCAT - Series in Translation; AlphaKIT - "A" - The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri -

February
- TBRCAT - A Borrowed Book - The Secret Place by Tana French -
- AlphaKIT - "O" - The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag -

March
- Series CAT - Series by a Favorite Author - The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri -
- SeriesCAT - Series by a Favorite Author; AlphaKIT - "L" - The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye -

April
- AlphaKIT - "B" - Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky -
- AlphaKIT - "B" - The Black Count by Tom Reiss -
- CalendarCAT - Autism Awareness Month - The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion -
- AlphaKIT - "B" - Echoes of Grace by Caragh Bell -

May
- RandomCAT - dance, dancer or dancing in title or as subject - Dancing on a Moonbeam by Kate Perry -

June
- RandomCAT - Pick a card, any card - Queen of Hearts - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll -

July
August
September
October
November
December

1. author uses middle name or initial - Benediction by Kent Haruf -
2. debut novel - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy -
3. about or featuring siblings - The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf -
4. book bullet - The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths -
5. mentioned in another book - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -
6. related to medicine or health - The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion -
7. animal in title, cover, significant role - The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher -
8. artistic character - Echoes of Grace by Caragh Bell -
9. Eastern European author or setting - Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky -
10. children's or young adult - Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye -
11. alliterative title - One of Ours by Willa Cather -
12. part of a series - A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri -
13. read a CAT - A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri -
14. prize-winning book - The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss -
15. weather word in title or book involves weather event - The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri -
16. short stories or essays - Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King -
17. made into a movie - Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf -
18. fairy tale - Beyond Farwin Wood by Drea Damara -
19. graphic novel
20. main title has 6+ words - The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky -
21. cover has at least 2 human figures - The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley -
22. book in translation - The Fourth Secret by Andrea Camilleri -
23. food-related title or topic - Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke -
24. LT rating of 4.0+ - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain -
25. title contains homophone word - Plainsong by Kent Haruf -

Group Reads:

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth - In Progress

Thanks for stopping by. This thread is now open for business. Come on in!

CURRENT READING PROJECT

Alina Bronsky - Author Project Read:
Switching genre so that I can get in a couple of books that have been languishing on my TBR piles off the shelves (and to get some Europa Editions reading time in). I will be borrowing Baba Dunja from my local library and, depending on how I find this "new to me" author's writing, I might have to break down and purchase Just Call Me Superhero, just so that I can complete all her English translated books.

Stand Alone Novels:

...

Broken Glass Park - Read Feb 22 to Mar 3, 2019 -
The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine - TBR pile/ ROOT read
Baba Dunja's Last Love - Local library/ To read
Just Call Me Superhero - To source/ To read

Currently Reading:
..

Audiobook:
Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett - Book Three in Follett's Century Trilogy - Currently 13.5 hours into this 36 hours and 50 minutes audiobook. Focused on the early 1960's, just finished the Cuban Crisis and tagging along with Martin Luther King and supporters on marches to end racial segregation in the south. Follett has a way with writing sweeping sagas that carry the reader away. Good stuff.
ebook:
Nothing at the moment
Physical books:
Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky - First book in my current Author Reading Project. Just started it, so early days on any thoughts or comments.
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Finished Part 3. While the first two parts were more colourful background and introductions to characters, we are now getting deeper into the story, taking a closer look at socially imposed race and religious barriers.

Happy new thread, Lori! Looks like you have a good selection of reading on the go :)

Happy new thread, Lori! Your Bingo card looks well filled already!

Happy new thread! I'm always astounded how quickly people fill up their threads!

Happy new thread! You're going gangbusters on your bingo card.

Happy new thread! I'm glad you are enjoying A Suitable Boy -- I really liked it as well!

Happy New Thread! I really need to get to the rest of Kent Haruf’s books.

>11 rabbitprincess:, >12 MissWatson:, >13 Jackie_K:, >14 RidgewayGirl:, >15 christina_reads: and >16 dudes22: - Thanks everyone for the happy new thread wishes!

>11 rabbitprincess: - Thanks RP. For some strange reason I have read the first two books in two of Follett's trilogies so once I finish with Edge of Eternity I will be flipping into A Column of Fire, so I will at least get two trilogies completed in March. I am looking forward to finally getting to some Europa Editions reading. Here is hoping Bronsky is my kind of author!

>12 MissWatson: - Hi Birgit, I really did get very lucky with my Bingo reading in January, but at least that means I can take the rest of the year to chip away at filling the card.

>13 Jackie_K: - Hi Jackie, I have to admit to being guilty of a fair bit of update posting to my thread (me bad!) and I tend to flip to a new thread when I am past the 200 posts mark (and we are heading into a new month).

>14 RidgewayGirl: - Without my great Bingo reading in January, I would be floundering right now. The challenge is now to not ignore my Bingo card. ;-)

>15 christina_reads: - A Suitable Boy is proving to be a very fascinating, and easy to follow story. I was worried at first when I say the family trees. I was so worried that this was going to be another War and Peace with a character list I just could never keep track of, but that is not the case with this chunkster read!

>16 dudes22:- Thanks Betty! I am saddened that I have finished Haruf's books. No more Haruf reads (unless some family member finds a unpublished manuscript, but that is just a dream of mine).

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 9 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 48.15
Kilometers walked in total: 360.71
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: Southeast of Olequa, about to cross the North Fork Toutle River, heading for Castle Rock.
Points of interest along the way:: Places passed through or nearby this week include Centralia, Chehalis, Napavine, St. Urban and Olequa. Some quick facts about the communities:

Centralia: The town's name was originally to indicate the railway midway point between Tacoma and Kalama, but has proven to also became the I-5 highway midpoint between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. Centralia College is the oldest operating junior college in the state (has been operating since 1925).
Chehalis: Nicknamed the "Rose City", Chehalis began as a settlement around a warehouse beside a railroad track in 1873. First named Saundersville, the name was changed to be named after the Chehalis people. Claquato Methodist Church, built in 1857, is the oldest continuously used church in the state.
Napavine: Nicknamed the "City on Top of the Hill", is named from the Indian word "Napavoon" meaning "small prairie".
St. Urban and Olequa: Are unincorporated communities.

Question for visitors to this post: Does anyone know why the bridge (see image below) over the North Fork Toutle River is called the "Mickey Mouse Bridge"? I found lots of references of the name for the bridge but no explanation.


Mickey Mouse Bridge - as posted to Flickr by Adam Pomerinke (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Happy new thread, Lori. You are a reading machine! Well done!

>19 VivienneR: - Thanks Vivienne! Audiobooks have been my salvation for getting so much reading done so far this year.

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Sent the other half off to help his boat friend so I am having a lazy "Home Spa" Sunday. My hair (and skin) has gotten rather dry and, in the case of my hair, very brittle, due to the colder than normal February weather. Time to revive.

You are finding a lot of interesting facts on the places this year's walk is taking you to.

Enjoy your spa day!

I wonder if the bridge is called that because of the garish and Disneyfied colour? It doesn't look quite real next to the natural colours of the scenery!

We have a long tradition of 'naming' bridges in the UK. When I lived in London, they opened a pedestrian bridge over the Thames to link the St Paul's area on the north side of the river to Tate Modern on the south. The first official event was a charity walk over the bridge with thousands of participants, after which it was promptly closed again for several months, and thereafter known for years as 'the Wobbly Bridge'. I think people have finally started calling it its official name (the Millennium Bridge), but it took years before Wobbly Bridge was dropped in popular usage. Then after I moved to Glasgow they built another bridge over the Clyde, which is officially called the Clyde Arc, but is known to everyone as the Squinty Bridge (in fact, I just had to google 'what is the squinty bridge's real name' because I couldn't actually remember it!).

>22 Jackie_K: Haha, Squinty Bridge! Love it! :)
I imagine it will only be a matter of time before someone tries to name a bridge "Bridgey McBridgeFace"...if that hasn't been tried already!

>21 hailelib: - I have been having a lot of fun researching the places I virtually walk through! Spa Day was wonderful and so needed. ;-)

>22 Jackie_K: - Your logic for the name for the Mickey Mouse Bridge bridge makes perfect sense to me, Jackie! Here in Victoria we had an old bridge (recently replaced) that was officially known as the Johnson Street Bridge - I know, not very original - but was always referred to by the locals as the "The Blue Bridge". This is because the old bridge was painted a very obvious blue colour for eons (or at least the past 3 decades that I am aware of):


Johnson Street Bridge and 1950's cars - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Joe Mabel (CC BY-SA 2.0)

This was the bridge I would walk across every day to get to and from work (the little blue "shack" is the control to raise and lower the bridge to allow for boat traffic to pass under). The new bridge that I walk over now - while it has lights that can give the impression at night that the bridge - doesn't have a moniker yet. ;-)

I love the names for the bridges you mentioned!

>23 rabbitprincess: - That would be funny!

Finished my first book in my latest Author project reading.

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Book #22 - Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky - translated from the German by Tim Mohr
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Author
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: German - 2008; English Translation - April 9, 2010
Acquisition date: May 15,2011
Page count: 221 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.85 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"Sascha Naimann, born in Moscow, now lives in Berlin with her two younger siblings and, until recently, her mother. Unlike most of her neighbourhood companions, Sascha doesn't dream of escaping from the Emerald, the tough housing project where they live. Her dreams are different: she longs to write a novel about her beautiful but naive mother and to end the life of Vadim, her mother's husband and the man who brutally murdered her several months ago. When she isn't busy looking out for her younger siblings or trying to manage their Russian aunt who has come to care for them, Sascha struggles between the forces that can destroy us, and those that lead us out of sorrow and pain and back to life."

Review:
A gritty, contemporary coming-of-age story with themes of friendship, domestic violence, loss, retribution and restitution. 17-year-old Sascha, a Russian émigré to Germany, makes an interesting and unpredictable first-person narrator. She is street-smart, intimidating and fearless. She is also, at times, squeamish, vulnerable and naïve. Sometimes she acts mature beyond her years and other times is strangely childlike, veering off into unexpected moments of self destruction, promiscuity, mania and depression. Sascha’s narrative voice is fantastic. One of piercing honesty, imbued with both a gentle love (for her siblings) and a barely contained rage (against her mother’s murderer).

I give Bronsky (who writes under a pseudonym) full marks for creating such a fascinating character in Sascha. The plot is where the story struggles. At times the plot is disjointed, meandering and off-pace. This works okay to depict an individual (Sascha) spinning out of control, but some events seem to have been included more for shock value than as events for logical plot development. That being said, Bronsky does pack a lot into this story. While I found Sascha’s relationship with the newspaper editor Volker and his son Felix to be rather unusual, I felt real compassion for the characters, including Sascha’s Russian aunt Maria, who struggles to adapt to life in Germany. Laced with wicked humour and smart dialogue, the end result is an uneven story that shines because of its compelling characters. For a debut novel, Bronsky provides a young, edgy, smart talking voice that is shouting to be heard.

Definitely looking forward to reading more of Bronsky's books.

>24 lkernagh: - There’s a bridge in our state capital that is know as the “Red Bridge” which was built to replace another bridge of the same name.

>24 lkernagh: Your story reminds me of a landmark in Belfast, Northern Ireland called "the Hollywood Arches", which was the support for a railway that went over the street. The last time I was in Belfast in 2004 I noticed a reference to the place, yet "the Arches" were dismantled in the 1950s. The name must puzzle some youngsters.

>26 dudes22: - Love how the old name carried over to the new bridge, Betty. Nothing is more confusing to the public than randoming assigning or changing a bridge's name.

>27 VivienneR: - Ha, it probably does, specially if there are no "arches" in sight. ;-)

---------------------------------

Still cold temps and - horrors! - a meteorologist "rumour" of potential snow flurries starting this evening. Somehow I think the possibility of snow is next to nil but they are the experts, so what do I know. ;-)

After a rather frustrating day at the office, I was happy to come home and discover that my NetGalley 'wish' for a copy of The Rosie Result, book three in the Don Tillman series by Graeme Simsion, came true! I have now downloaded to book to my e-reader.

BAG (Big Ass Grin)

Book #23 - Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett - audiobook narrated by John Lee
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: September 16, 2014
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 1,136 pages / 36 hours, 50 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.35 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"The final book in Ken Follett's Century Trilogy, a sweeping tale that began in 1911, the descendants of five families will now find their true destiny as they fight for their individual freedom in a world facing the mightiest clash of superpowers it has ever seen. Now they come to one of the most tumultuous eras of all: the 1960s through the 1980s, from civil rights, assassinations, mass political movements, and Vietnam to the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, presidential impeachment, revolution—and rock and roll. 1961, and in the United States George Jakes, a bright young lawyer in the Kennedy administration and fierce supporter of the civil rights movement, boards a Greyhound bus in Washington with Verena, an employee of Martin Luther King whom he is in love with, to protest against segregation. In East Germany, teacher Rebecca Hoffmann finds her entire life has been a lie as she is targeted by the secret police, even as her younger brother, Walli, dreams of escape across the Berlin Wall to Britain. In Russia, activist Tania Dvorkin narrowly evades capture for producing an illegal news-sheet, her actions all the more perilous because her brother, Dimka, is an emerging star of the Communist Party. "

Review:
My favorite book in the trilogy, probably because this one is such an interesting mixed-bag of world events and captures late 20th century events that I have memories of watching on TV or reading about in the newspaper. I like how Follett’s characters get close to the events to provide a credible, fictionalized first person point of view. The author has a knack for writing suspenseful stories and skillfully provides the reader with a history lesson that isn’t a dry, fact filled snoozer. Not quite as hip, snappy and rock and rollish as Billy Joel’s song, We Didn’t Start the Fire, but still a highly entertaining read for me. Yes, Follett does capture the rock and roll era through his fictional British band, Plum Nelly. Hard to do a sweeping 20th century novel with out capturing the music scene, but the focus is also on the politics and impact of the Cold War. Given the myriad of events that occurred between 1960 through to the late 1980’s (the time period captured here), it is not surprising that Follett had to pick and choose which events to focus on and which ones to gloss over. Yes, even at over 1,000 pages, he still couldn't cram in EVERYTHING. Even so, he managed to bring some interesting perspectives. For example, while President Kennedy is in the story, he takes a bit of a back seat to his brother, Senator Bobby Kennedy. Follett barely touches on either JFK or Martin Luther King's assassinations - probably makes sense given the number of books already published on those topics. For the Vietnam War, Follett takes another unique approach by drafting a British born, U.S. landed immigrant into the US Army, presenting an “outsider on the inside” perspective of the war. Yes, one has to accept the fact that Follett’s characters always seem to be ‘opportunely’ placed to witness or be involved with various events, but hey, this is fiction, even if it is anchored by historical events. When Follett decides to “go big,” he does so with without restraint.

Overall a wonderful conclusion to a truly epic saga and one I can highly recommend if you like your historical fiction reads to be entertaining and engaging.

>29 lkernagh: Great review, Lori. I've just added the series to my wishlist at the library. I'm not sure if I'll go with the audio or ebook version but it will probably be audio, I hate seeing "you are on page 50 of 14,896 pages" or similar.

>29 lkernagh: - I'm glad you enjoyed the series too. I was always amazed at how quickly I flew through the books. They were just too engaging to put down.

Belated happy new thread Lori! I'll be interested to see your review The Rosie Result, I've read the first and enjoyed it but for some reason am hesitating over picking up the next one.

I have that trilogy on my wish list; glad it got another glowing review!

>30 VivienneR: - Glad to see you have added the series to your wishlist, Vivienne. It is a great read if you like stories built around 20th century events. I also agree with you about the annoyance of being reminded as you are reading just have far you still have to go. I have actually turned off that display function on my e-reader. ;-)

>31 LittleTaiko: - Happy to see we came away from the Century Trilogy with a similar experience, Stacy. Have you read his Kingsbury trilogy? I have recently started book three in that trilogy - again on audiobook - but unless Follett wows me with this final book, I am going to be rating the Century Trilogy over the Kingsbury Trilogy.

>32 SouthernKiwi: - Thanks Alana and lovely to see you stopping by! I really loved The Rosie Project! The Rosie Effect, the second book was okay so I am curious to see where Simsion lands on my "like" meter with the third book in the series.

>33 Tess_W: - Glad to see you also have Follett's Century Trilogy on your wishlist, Tess! I like Follett's straightforward storytelling. Makes it more pleasurable to sit back and just enjoy the story for entertainment value.

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Still chipping away at current reads, so no new books reviews ready for posting. Spring 2.0 is the weather report for the weekend, today being sun shine and a balmy 8'C. How about I distract you with walking and currently reading updates instead?

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 10 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 41.41
Kilometers walked in total: 402.12
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: South of Kalama, hugging the east side of the Columbia River, heading for Woodland.
Points of interest along the way:: First observation I have to make is I was not expecting the Washington - Oregon boarder to flow through the middle of the Columbia River, and all of it bends. Okay, maybe not all of its bends, but still surprised to find myself still within Washington State, given the continual southbound journey I have been making all the way. The things you learn.

Communities passed through or near by this week include, Castle Rock, Rocky Point, Longview, Vision Acres, Carrolls and Kalama. Castle Rock is named for a volcanic rock outcropping over the Cowlitz River, rising 190 feet high on the south side of the city. The rock formation, resembling a castle, became a geographic landmark for Cowlitz Indians and Hudson's Bay Company traders as early as 1832. Castle Rock is also the gateway to Mount St. Helens, an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County. Mount St. Helens is most notorious for its major 1980 eruption, the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history.


St. Helens Plume from Harrys Ridge - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Lyn Topinka (CC0)

Interesting facts about Kalama:

- Anna Kashfi (born Joan O'Callaghan) Brando Hannaford, the first wife of Marlon Brando, was a long-term resident of Kalama until her death. Kashfi and her son Christian Brando are buried in Kalama.
- The Montgomery House Bed and Breakfast home was built in 1908 on lands that was once a congregating site for the Cowlitz Indians, who were decimated by diseases such as small pox and malaria. Since its original construction as a single family home, the house has been a bordella with a doctor's clinic, a nine room hospital, as storage for an antique store and a bed and breakfast. The house is reported to be one of the most haunted locations in Kalama, and solid bodied apparitions as well as clear disembodied voices, or EVPs, were captured on film in 2009 feature documentary "Montgomery House: The Perfect Haunting" by Danielle Egnew.

Longview has a wonderful fun fact for sharing: It is home to the Nutty Narrows Bridge. I LOVE this one! Titled the "World's Narrowest Bridge" and the "World's Narrowest Animal Crossing", here is the back story: On March 19, 1963, Amos Peters, after seeing many squirrels being flattened, decided to protect squirrels and give them a way to cross a busy thoroughfare without getting killed by passing cars, by building them a bridge. Yup, the original sky-bridge was built over Olympia Way near the Civic Center in downtown Longview and was designed to look like a mini-suspension bridge.


Squirrel Bridge - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Avi (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The bridge gets a lot of attention and given the community's support for the fury little animals, Longview began a new annual festival, known as Squirrel Fest, in 2011. As part of the festival, a new squirrel bridge has been unveiled each year, and as of 2014, there are now four squirrel bridges in the city. How cool is that?

Continuing with the interesting bridge theme - but not located on my designated I-5 walking route, is the Lewis and Clark cantilever bridge that spans the Columbia River between Longview, WA and Rainier, Oregon. At the time of completion (1930), it had the longest cantilever span in the United States. The bridge was named to honor the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Here is an image of the current bridge:


Lewis and Clark Bridge - Washington State Department of Transportation - as posted on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

... and now is the perfect time to mention my love for Rainier Cherries. This hybrid(?) cherry was developed in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle, and named after Mount Rainier. It is a cross between the 'Bing' and 'Van' cultivars. 'Rainiers' are considered a premium type of cherry. They are sweet with a thin skin and thick creamy-yellow flesh. They are divine cherries, IMO (and this is coming from someone who also loves BC grown cherries)!


Rainier Cherries - as posted to Flickr by digitonin (CC BY ND 2.0)

... So, not exactly sure when I will cross the Washington- Oregon border (I kind of thought I was doing that this week, but borders can be wonky). On that note, I will share a wonderful short YouTube video about unusual borders that I found amusing and informative, especially given the number of borders that are determined by rivers (apologies, there seem to be commercial breaks in this video - you can click Skip Ad):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iidmb0EM6A

Currently Reading:
...

Audiobook:
A Column of Fire by Ken Follett - Book Three in Follett's Kingsbridge Trilogy - Currently 8 hours into this 30 hours, 30 minutes audiobook. Yes, I am hoping to wrap up yet anther trilogy I started and then stalled reading. ;-)
ebook:
The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion - I enjoyed the first two books in Simsion's Don Tillman series so I was very happy to receive an advanced reader copy from the publisher through NetGalley!
Physical books:
The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky - Continuing my current Author Reading Project with Bronsky's second novel. Currently 50 pages in, and loving our narrator, Rosalinda Achmetowna. Best way to describe Rosa: If you have ever seen the British comedy series Keeping Up Appearances think a rather wicked Tartar version of Hyacinth Bucket,completely fixated on her granddaughter Aminat while considering Sulfia (Rosa's daughter and Aminat's mother) completely useless and you get the idea. ;-)
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Plan to start Part 4 later this week to keep me on track with the tentative check-in days for this group read.

>30 VivienneR: What I like about my kobo ereader is that instead of the 'you are on page 3 of 67,894', it just does it for the chapter you're reading rather than the whole book. I'm sure that's why I'm reading ebooks faster these days - I think 'oh, I'll just get to the end of this chapter', and then I see that the next chapter is only 6 pages, so think I might as well read that one too.

>35 lkernagh: Great walking progress! I remember the Mt St Helens blast - I was 11 that year, and I think that was when I really started taking note of the news (I remember that was the year that martial law was declared in Poland, although I don't know why I remember that particularly!).

>25 lkernagh: I'm pleased to own a copy of Broken Glass Park. Your review has moved it up my tbr stack.

>35 lkernagh: My Great aunt & Uncle lived in the vicinity (I don't remember where now) collected volcanic dust from Mt St Helen's and sent it to me. In case I should decided to be a volcano when I grew up, I suppose. I found it when clearing Mum's house out a few years ago and donated it to a science teacher friend who was hugely excited by it.

Some great bridges you've found.

I really should try some of the Follett books sitting on my shelves.

>37 Jackie_K: - I also like the "pages/percentage read in chapter" option for e-readers. Especially handy if, as you mentioned, I am trying to decide if I can finish the chapter or need to bookmark the current page. ;-)

The Mt St Helens blast was a doozy! I love how our memories of certain events are linked to other events. I am intrigued that you remember the Poland fact in that way.

>38 RidgewayGirl: - Glad to see the review has moved your copy closer to getting read. Bronsky has a sharp, witty humour that appeals to me, as well as a keen eye for detail. That, and it is always interesting to read a story from an immigrant point of view.

>39 Helenliz: - Well, that is definitely a novel gift to receive. Not sure how I would have reacted if I was on the receiving end of that gift. Nice to see your were able to pass it on to an appreciative friend!

>40 hailelib: - Bridges seem to crop up a fair bit in my walking so far this year. As much as I loved the Century trilogy, my overall Follett reading experience has been a bit uneven. Here is hoping you have better luck with your Follett books.

------------------------

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend, everyone! I am in the throws of March Madness, and no, I am not talking about the US College/University basketball tourney going on right now. March Madness is what we at work call the month in the lead up to our fiscal year end and the insane craziness of getting projects/contracts wrapped up and new ones set to go as of April 1st. Busy time!

So, what new happened for me this past week? Well, my other half came home with a new, one-person kayak for me (we bought one for him last year), so we are now a two kayak family. My task this weekend is to purchase a PFD (life-vest) and then I am all set for after work and weekend kayaking. So looking forward to being able to come home, pick up the kayak, and head for the water for some post work relaxation.

On the reading front, not much physical reading has been happening. To tired at the end of the day to actually sit down and actively read so I have been focusing all my weekday reading energy into passively listening to my current audioread. Looking forward to shifting back into actual reading mode. In the meantime, here is the review of my latest audioread.

Book #24 - A Column of Fire by Ken Follett - audiobook narrated by John Lee
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: September 12, 2017
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 928 pages / 30 hours, 25 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. As power in England shifts precariously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clash, testing friendship, loyalty, and love. Ned Willard wants nothing more than to marry Margery Fitzgerald. But when the lovers find themselves on opposing sides of the religious conflict dividing the country, Ned goes to work for Princess Elizabeth. When she becomes queen, all Europe turns against England. The shrewd, determined young monarch sets up the country’s first secret service to give her early warning of assassination plots, rebellions, and invasion plans. Over a turbulent half century, the love between Ned and Margery seems doomed as extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva. Elizabeth clings to her throne and her principles, protected by a small, dedicated group of resourceful spies and courageous secret agents. The real enemies, then as now, are not the rival religions. The true battle pitches those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else—no matter what the cost."

Review:
This final book in Follett’s Kingsbridge trilogy was an okay read, but not anything spectacular or riveting for me. Nothing wrong with Follett’s customary storytelling, although he does have a habit of recycling similar plot themes with some of his character pairings, leaving this reader with a “this is oddly familiar” sensation. I should admit that I struggled with this trilogy as a whole compared with his Century trilogy. I loved the first book, Pillars of the Earth, as a great introduction to the Middle Ages period and cathedral architecture. World Without End was a bit of a dud given the huge time jump, so I didn’t go into A Column of Fire with any high expectations. Probably a good thing. At least the final book more or less picks up where the previous book left off (beginning in 1558, and continuing through 1605), so I already had a nodding familiarity with a number of the characters. The story, not surprisingly, has a strong royal and religious focus as we have Tudor family infighting along with Protestant versus Catholic rebellions, neither topic of any great interest to me. It is a bad sign when I find myself skipping forward every three minutes through a chunk of the story because it was dragging. The best part of the story, for me anyways, is near the end where Follett presents the reader with his literary take on Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.

Overall, a rather dud read to wrap up a trilogy that just wasn’t all that riveting for me.

Happy Monday everyone! The weekend was fabulous! As I compose this post, it is sunny and 18'C outside so I think it is safe to say that Spring has finally arrived. I have been having a lot of fun with the new kayak. As today was a day off, I hit the water a little after 9am and had a good 2-hour paddle around in the Inner Harbour. The other half snapped the following pics as I was heading out.

.

I believe my reading this year will depend on the weather. Good weather days I will be out kayaking and not reading. ;-)

I did manage to finish one book this weekend - The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky - but will have to wait for the written review. In the meantime, below please find my walking update (a day late) and my "Currently Reading" update.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 11 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 43.18
Kilometers walked in total: 445.30
Current province/state: (WA)
My current location on the map: In Vancouver, Washington on the bank of the Columbia River about to cross over into Oregon.
Points of interest along the way:: Communities travelled through or past this week include Woodland, Ridgefield, Salmon Creek and Vancouver. Woodlands is home to Planter's Day. Started in 1922, Planter's Day, the longest continuously running civic celebration/community festival in the State of Washington, is a four-day festival celebrating the completed construction of the dikes along the Columbia and Lewis Rivers, preventing the annual flooding in the Woodland area. Woodland is perhaps best known as the home of the Hulda Klager, known as the "Lilac Lady", who was a prolific breeder of lilacs. After her death, her house and lilac gardens were saved in 1964 from being torn down to make room for an industrial site, and are currently maintained as a state and National Historic Landmark by the Lilac Society.


Lilac "Sensation" at the Hulda Klager Lilac Garden - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by PDTilman (CC BY 2.0)

Woodland is also home to Horseshoe Lake. Yup, the lake is shaped like a horseshoe:



Ridgefield is headquarters of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and is notable for the significant Native American (Chinookan people) and Lewis and Clark Expedition history of the area. The American equipment rental company U-Haul, had its start in Ridgefield in 1945. Renamed Ridgefield in 1890, it was formerly known as Union Ridge, named by the many Union veterans among the first large wave of settlers after the Civil War to settle in the area.

Vancouver (WA) is part of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area and was originally established in 1825 around the Hudson Bay Company fur-trading outpost, Fort Vancouver. Based on an act in the 1859–60 legislature, Vancouver was briefly the capital of Washington Territory, before capital status was returned to Olympia, Washington by a 2–1 ruling of the territory's supreme court, in accordance with Isaac Stevens' preference and concern that proximity to the border with Oregon might give some of the state's influence away to Oregon. Vancouver has one sister city (and no, it is not Vancouver BC): Joyo, Kyoto in Kansai, Japan. Vancouver WA previously had a sister-city relationship with Arequipa, Peru between 1961 and 1993. Notable people from the area include U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, singer Willie Nelson and writer Chuck Palahniuk.

Currently Reading:
....

Audiobook:
The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye (narrated by Kirby Heyborne) - Book Three in Faye's fabulous Timothy Wilde trilogy. Hoping to start it tomorrow morning on my way into work. ;-)
ebook:
The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion - Haven't started this yet, but it is on the short list of books to read over the next week.
Physical books:
The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri - 23rd installment in Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series. Will be reading this one next as it is due back to the library on the 25th.
Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky - Continuing my current author project read.
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - I will get around to starting Part 4, just not sure when.

Your kayaking spot looks gorgeous Lori! What a great way to spend a few hours.

Your kayaking pictures are gorgeous Lori - what a beautiful day and what a great activity!

Great photos! Hope you get more lovely weather to enjoy the kayak in.

>34 lkernagh: - No, I haven't read the Kingsbury trilogy yet, but do have Pillars of the Earth on my shelf at home. It'll be interesting to see how it compares.

>43 lkernagh: - How fun! I'm super envious of your kayak and hope that you have lots of opportunities to use it.

>43 lkernagh: Thanks for posting the kayaking pictures, it looks so peaceful. I've done some kayaking but around us we have mostly white water and I'm not brave enough to tackle much of that.

Yay for your walking and your kayaking!

I also have Pillars of the Earth and World Without End on the shelf to read...not sure when I will get around to this trilogy though.

>46 SouthernKiwi: - It is a great location, Alana, although I should point out that the view you saw in the picture is the end of the Inner Harbour. This is a working harbour so there is a lot of traffic. Some might be daunted at the idea of paddling in the same waterway as ferries, barges, float planes and larger yachts, but there is a lot of room to "share the water" and "up the waterway" the local university and other canoe/rowing clubs use the water for training purposes. Even with all this activity, I find the water to be more calming, and as you have noted, more relaxing, than joining all the walkers on the waterfront paths.

>47 DeltaQueen50: - Hi Judy, I am loving the upper body workout my arms are getting paddling! If we have another summer like last year, I will be spending a lot of time on the water (with the necessary sun glasses and sunscreen lotion on).

>48 rabbitprincess: - Thanks RP, I have been very lucky with the weather conditions so far. One Saturday was a bit of a wash out (too many dark clouds for my liking) but I do seem to manage at least time on the water one day each week so far. Loving it!

>49 LittleTaiko: - I will be curious to see what you think of Follett's Kingsbridge trilogy. Definitely helps to appreciate the Middle Ages period when reading it. As for the kayak, super fun and kicking myself that I it took me this long to get one.

>50 clue: - Like you, I am not a big fan of white water so I wouldn't be kayaking where you are located! I am more of a calm lakes and waterways kind of boater. ;-)

>51 LisaMorr: - Thanks Lisa, on both counts!

------------------------------------

Hello everyone and my apologies for the late responses above. As I mentioned "somewhere" up thread, I hit that very busy period of time at work that rolls around every year at this time. That means that at the end of the day I am too tired, physically, and don't want to continue to look at a computer screen. The good news is that "technically" we are a wrap on the year-end work craziness, and can now return to the normal work craziness (the craziness never stops, it just takes on different levels of craziness at different times). ;-)

I continue to love the kayak and the time I am able to get in on the water. Given the tide cycles, the best time to head out are in the mornings - tide levels in the evenings are rather low and it can be challenging with the light angles (setting sun) and the near surface underwater rock formations that I need to avoid - so I have already turned my Sunday mornings into "my kayaking" time. Already making "water friends", just like you make when you walk a certain path at a set time and discover regulars on the same schedule, so that is kind of fun. My other half, the absolute darling that he is, surprised me this past Friday by calling me as I got home after work to let me know that he had my kayak and if I wanted, I just had to change into my kayaking clothes (which is pretty much yoga pants and t-shirt), meet him at our local docking point (which I happily did) and I went for a wonderful 1-hour paddle that completely removed all the built up stress from the week. Perfect way to unwind and start the weekend!

No kayaking this past Saturday. Too busy with spring cleaning activities and having to start a batch of freezer meals for the other half. I will be heading to Alberta for a family visit this coming Saturday and need to make sure the other half has food options while I am away (he tends to live on cereal and chips otherwise). Even with steam cleaning carpets and washing curtains, I still had an enjoyable kayak today, getting to observe the university women's team doing some training and included a rather unexpected close encounter with either a really big sea otter or a smallish sea lion (I really don't know the distinction but the head alone gave me the impression of a rather larger body beneath the surface of the water). He/she was very curious about me but I managed to convince the animal that they were more that happy to observe me from where they were and not come closer. The last thing I want/need is an animal with teeth and sharp claws taking an interest in my inflatable kayak! All worked out well and we both went our separate ways. ;-)

On the reading front, I have finished a couple of books and even pulled together some "slap-dash" reviews. I am behind with my walking updates but I have managed to get those pulled together and will be posting them as well.

Plans for Monday: Flex day for me means "Kayak" day!

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 12 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 34.25
Kilometers walked in total: 479.55
Current province/state: . (WA/OR)
My current location on the map: South of Portland, heading for Wilsonville.
Points of interest along the way:: Portland has a wonderfully rich history, filled with some fun facts. Portland lies on top of an extinct volcanic field known as the Boring Lava Field. I love the story how two founding members - Francis W. Pettygrove and Asa Lovejoy - both wished to name the area (at the time known as "The Clearing") after their respective hometowns (Lovejoy's being Boston, and Pettygrove's, Portland). This controversy was settled with a coin toss that Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses, and Portland became the new name. The coin used for this decision, now known as the Portland Penny, is on display in the headquarters of the Oregon Historical Society.



Because I gravitate to towards history that has a bit of the nefarious activity, I was also happy to discover that, at the turn of the 20th century, Portland had a reputation as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world, a hub for organized crime and racketeering (according to Wikipedia). Not surprising, given that it housed a large number of saloons, bordellos, gambling dens, and boardinghouses populated with miners after the California Gold Rush and sailors passing through the port. This "notorious" reputation continued for some time as Portland became of hub of underground criminal activity and organized crime between 1940s and 1950s. ;-)

The city has acquired a diverse range of nicknames throughout its history, though it is most often called "Rose City" or "The City of Roses", the latter having been its unofficial nickname since 1888 and its official nickname since 2003. Other nicknames listed are: "PDX", which is also the airport code for Portland International Airport, "Bridgetown", "Stumptown", "Rip City", "Soccer City", "P-Town", "Portlandia" and "Little Beirut".

Portland is also home to the Pioneer Courthouse. Built in 1869, it is the oldest federal building in the Pacific Northwest.


Pioneer Courthouse - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Another Believer (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Closing off this update with a bit about Oswego Lake and the city that surrounds it, Lake Oswego. (Confused? it gets better). Because the "lake", while naturally occurring, has been significantly altered by a concrete dam, the United States Geological Survey actually records it as a reservoir. In 1865, the Oregon Iron Company was incorporated with the goal of making the town of Oswego an industrial center for the smelting of the abundant iron ore in the area. The company purchased the entire town of Oswego, including the lake and surrounding hills, which were rich in not only iron ore, but trees that would be turned into charcoal to feed the furnaces. That industry eventually faltered due to availability of cheaper coke-fired iron and steel mills. The remains of the Oregon Iron Company Furnace can be seen in Lake Oswego's George Rogers Park:


Oregon Iron Company Furnace restored - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Esprqii (CC BY-SA 3.0)

A controversy exists over ownership and access to the lake. Despite a decades-old status quo in which the Lake Oswego Corporation maintains that it owns the lake and has the authority to restrict access to it, state and local law enforcement have recently indicated that they consider the lake to be public and that they will not pursue charges against anyone for using it. To control the waters, the corporation has posted "no trespassing" signs and issued permits to select individuals who overcome various administrative hurdles.


Oswego Lake sign - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Esprqii (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The ability of the corporation to restrict access to the water has been questioned on numerous occasions and a federal lawsuit over the matter was filed back in 2012, only to be dismissed from federal court, state court judge ruled the city has the right to block access, which was upheld by the Oregon Court of Appeals with plaintiffs appealing the ruling to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 13 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 39.89
Kilometers walked in total: 519.44
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: Southeast of Brooks, heading for Hayesville, Four Corners and a eastern pass by Salem.
Points of interest along the way:: I should point out that Wilsonville is located within the Portland metropolitan area. The city also includes the planned community of Charbonneau (I am mentioning this now for a fun fact to follow). Fun facts about Wilsonville: Alphonso Boone, the grandson of Daniel Boone - Yes, the very same Daniel Boone of American frontier legend - settled in what would later become Wilsonville in 1846 and established the Boones Ferry across the Willamette River in 1847. Of course, the community was first named Boones Landing after the ferry, but the name was changed to Wilsonville in 1880, named after the first postmaster (so original). Gordon House, the only house in Oregon to be designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was built in 1963 near what became Charbonneau and moved to the Oregon Garden in Silverton in 2001.


Gordon House Front - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Andrew Parodi (CC BY-SA 3.0)


Gordon House Floor Plan - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Freiluft (CC BY_SA 3.0)

Author Walt Morey owned an estate in Wilsonville and after his death in 1992, his widow sold the property to a developer. The housing development built on that property, Morey's Landing, bears his name as does the children's section of the Wilsonville Public Library. Walt Morey Park, a bear-themed park located in Morey's Landing, contains a life-size 8-foot-tall wooden statue of Morey's most famous literary creation, Gentle Ben.

Book #25 - The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky - translated from the German by Tim Mohr
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Main Title has 6+ Words
Category: Author
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: Original German publication - 2010; English translation - 2011
Acquisition date: April 30, 2016
Page count: 262 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"When she discovers that her seventeen-year-old daughter, "stupid Sulfia," is pregnant by an unknown man she does everything to thwart the pregnancy, employing a variety of folkloric home remedies. But despite her best efforts the baby, Aminat, is born nine months later at Soviet Birthing Center Number 134. Much to Rosa's surprise and delight, dark eyed Aminat is a Tartar through and through and instantly becomes the apple of her grandmother's eye. While her good for nothing husband Kalganowspends his days feeding pigeons and contemplating death at the city park, Rosa wages an epic struggle to wrestle Aminat away from Sulfia, whom she considers a woefully inept mother. When Aminat, now a wild and willful teenager, catches the eye of a sleazy German cookbook writer researching Tartar cuisine, Rosa is quick to broker a deal that will guarantee all three women a passage out of the Soviet Union. But as soon as they are settled in the West, the uproariously dysfunctional ties that bindmother, daughter and grandmother begin to fray."

Review:
I definitely preferred this one over Bronsky's debut novel, Broken Glass Park. Why? I like the fictional memoir approach to the story and I really, really like our snarky/sneering narrator,Rosalinda! Crazy, I know, especially given the character's rather disturbing cynical narcissistic personality - one reviewer has described Rosalinda as the "Tartar babushka from hell" - which should be an immediate turn off. Okay, she is not quite that bad - from hell, that is - but boy, does Rose have quite the interesting tunnel vision focus when it comes to her family and the world around her. Think Hyacinth Bucket (Keeping Up Appearances) meets Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest) and you get the general idea. Thrown into the mix is a really fascinating portrayal of a Tartar who, on one hand, will do whatever it takes to fit into the Russian mold "to get ahead" while at the time, has an internal struggle about losing her Tartar roots. Rose has a lot of common sense ideas that, in principle, are jewels of wisdom so it is pretty easy to start to see things from her point of view (always a slippery slope!). It is Rose's determination to get out of Russia - the economy is collapsing after all - that we really get to see just how ruthless Rose can be. Of course, I am saddened at the state of the family dynamics but I love how each character - from down-trodden on the surface, mousy Sulfia to loud, energized Aminat - add life to what could have been a rather antagonistic story. End result: Bronsky proves once again that she has a gift for constructing compelling narrators. You don't have to like Rose to appreciate Bronsky's keen eye for observation and captivating wit.

Book #26 - The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri - translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: SeriesCAT - Series by a Favorite Author
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: Original Italian publication - 2015; English translation - Feb 5, 2019
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 272 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.65 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"The day gets off to a bad start for Montalbano: while trying to break up a fight on Marinella beach, he hits the wrong man and is stopped by the Carabinieri. When he finally gets to the office, the inspector learns about a strange abduction: a woman was abducted, drugged, and then released unharmed a few hours later. A few days later, the same thing happens again, but this time the woman abducted is the niece of Enzo, the owner of Montalbano’s favorite trattoria. The only link between the two events is that both women are thirty years old and work in a bank. Alongside this investigation, Montalbano has to deal with an arson case. A shop that sells household appliances has burned down, and its owner, Marcello Di Carlo, seems to have vanished into thin air. Has he run off with his lover after a holiday in the Canary Islands? Is he fleeing from his creditors, or was he murdered by the mafia for not paying their protection money? At first this seems like a trivial case, but a third abduction —yet again of a girl who works in a bank—and the discovery of a body bring up new questions. Whose body is it? And where has Di Carlo’s secret lover gone?"

Review:
I am always happy to spend time with Montalbano and his team. Camilleri continues to amuse me with the strange cases (and awkward situations) that seem to find their way to Montalbano. Always a challenge to read these books on an empty stomach, what with all the wonderful food descriptions (especially the cannoli!). Always fun as Catarella continues to "garble" names, and Fazio continues to exasperate Montalbano by almost always being one step ahead of him. For me, this series is just as much about the lovable, quirky personalities of its repeat characters as it is about the crimes to be solved.

Book #27 - The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye - audiobook narrated by Kirby Heyborne
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: SeriesCAT - Series by a Favorite Author; AlphaKIT - "L" - Lyndsay
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: May 2015
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 450 pages / 15 hours, 57 minutes of listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"No one in 1840s New York likes fires, copper star Timothy Wilde least of all. After a blaze killed his parents and another left him with a terrible scar, he has avoided flames of all kinds. So when a seamstress turned arsonist threatens Robert Symmes, a corrupt tycoon high in the Tammany Hall ranks, Timothy isn’t thrilled that Symmes consults him. His dismay escalates when his audacious and charismatic older brother, Valentine, himself deeply politically entrenched, decides to run against the incumbent, who they suspect is guilty of assault and far darker crimes. Immediately after his brother’s courageous declaration, Timothy finds himself surrounded by powerful enemies who threaten to harm those he cares about most. Meanwhile, the love of Timothy’s life, Mercy Underhill, unexpectedly appears on his doorstep and takes under her wing a starving Irish orphan who may be the key to stopping the combustions threatening the city—if only they can make sense of her cryptic accounts. The closer they come to deciphering her wild tales of witches and angels, however, the closer Timothy comes to the fiery and shocking conclusion that forces him to face everything he fears most. "

Review:
Always sad when you know you are reading the final book in a trilogy. Faye continues to astound with her wonderfully atmospheric setting of 1840's New York City. The Wilde brothers continue to have that fabulous sibling tension Faye introduced us to in The Gods of Gotham, as well as the street slang "flash" and its unexpected uses. The political angle of the story was just okay as I am not that interested in the details and dealings of 1840's politics. I was more intrigued but the arsonist and the woman's rights angles to the story. Faye does a good job of wrapping up the trilogy, but my favorite book in the series is still Seven for a Secret. Overall, a good conclusion to a fabulous series set in the changing, turbulent times of 1840's New York City.

>56 lkernagh: I need a Camilleri fix, but there wasn't an audio I hadn't read/listened to available this evening. I ended up downloading a Duncan and Gemma for my audio pleasure.

>57 lkernagh: I think I have another Lyndsay Faye on the wish list--probably the next in series or next one written. I'll get to it, but I wanted something outside the U.S. at the moment.

>52 lkernagh: that sounds a lot like dragon boating on our harbour Lori, we have the added bonus of people walking along our popular waterfront and gawking at us but we don't have to dodge float planes though :-)

Love the Pioneer Couthouse and the Frank Lloyd Wright house.

>58 thornton37814: - Hi Lori, I totally understand the need for a Camilleri fix! Happy to see you have a Faye book on your wish list. I am continuing to read Faye's books, now that I have finished her Timothy Wilde series.

>59 SouthernKiwi: - Hi Alana! I love watching the dragon boat races they have every year here in Victoria. These are probably very similar to the dragon boat races you have in New Zealand. Lower Vancouver Island is home to a number of racing teams, including a number of Canadian Olympic rowing teams. The University of Victoria has a on-going competition with the University of British Columbia for the Brown Cup, currently in its 28th year. The race occurs on the Gorge Narrows, one of the areas where I paddle and the UVic rowing team trains. Luckily the float planes, ferries, barges and recreational boaters have found a way to share the waters. ;-0

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Ukrainian Easter Eggs - Colby Stopa - as posted to Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Hello everyone and Happy Easter to all who celebrate! Image above is a homage to my Ukrainian roots on my mother's side. I have fond memories of watching my grandmother making wonderful decorative eggs like these, while my actual Easter activities tend towards the consumption of copious amounts of chocolate and other sweets. ;-)

RL Update: I am back home after spending time in Alberta visiting with family. A wonderful trip filled with the consumption of too much food and alcohol (Yes, I am now on a diet) and chores around the house for my dad that included thatching the lawn and preparing it for spring growth. Was painfully reminded of just how large a plot of land dad's house sits on and how much lawn he has (and discovering back muscles I don't usually employ in the process!). I have been back home for a couple of days helping the other half with car repairs and a car stereo replacement (other half likes to do his own wiring which can be a bit tricky). Took advantage of the wonderful weather yesterday to get out in the kayak and go for a paddle:





Not looking forward to going back to work after 2 weeks off but, oh well.

Reading Update: I managed to get in some good reading time over the past three weeks and spend a fair bit of time pulling together some reviews for posting.

Walking Update: While not up to my usual walking, I did still get in some walks most days, and have managed to pull together a walking update for posting.

Bear with me as I transition back into a more routine posting schedule. This may take some time. ;-)

Book #28 - Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky - translated from the German by Tim Mohr
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: AlphaKIT - "B"
Bingo DOG: Eastern European author or setting - Russia
Category: Author
Source: GVPL
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2015
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 135 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Government warnings about radiation levels in her hometown (a stone's throw from Chernobyl) be damned! Baba Dunja is going home. And she's taking a motley bunch of her former neighbors with her. With strangely misshapen forest fruits to spare and the town largely to themselves, they have pretty much everything they need and they plan to start anew. The terminally ill Petrov passes the time reading love poems in his hammock; Marja takes up with the almost 100-year-old Sidorow; Baba Dunja whiles away her days writing letters to her daughter. Life is beautiful. That is until one day a stranger turns up in the village and once again the little idyllic settlement faces annihilation."

Review:
This is my third Bronsky book and my favorite one to date. Why? In part, because Bronsky’s writing style and story telling continues to refine and polish. Her characters are offbeat personalities that radiate off the pages – and no, that is not a deliberate pun on the fact that this story involves a group of settlers that have returned to live in Tschernowo (which I assume is Chernobyl or a nearby village) after the nuclear accident. Not exactly my first choice for residence but we learn that Baba Dunja and her neighbors each have their own reasons for choosing to come and live in the “dead zone”, to the horror of the authorities. This story offers a rare juxtaposition: the impression of an idyllic, peaceful village life where the residents take the odd visits from scientists (in radiation suits), reporters and authorities as a minor annoyance to just shrug off. For Baba Dunja, this was her home before the reactor accident, she is old (over 80) and her closest living family are her daughter Irina and granddaughter Laura (who she has never met), who live in Germany.

Each one of Bronsky’s stories draw a connection between Russia and Germany. While the previous two books – Broken Glass Park and The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine – had more of a German setting, this one is squarely set in Russia. Once again, Bronsky has managed to take weighty topics and communicate them as delightful antidotes from the vantage point of her wonderful characters. At a mere 136 pages in length, a quick read.

Book #29 - The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss - audiobook narrated by Paul Micheal
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: AlphaKIT - "B"
Bingo DOG: Prize-winning book - 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
Category: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 2012
Acquisition date: May 1, 2016
Page count: 432 pages / 13 hours, 31 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Here is the remarkable true story of the real Count of Monte Cristo – a stunning feat of historical sleuthing that brings to life the forgotten hero who inspired such classics as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. The real-life protagonist of The Black Count, General Alex Dumas, is a man almost unknown today yet with a story that is strikingly familiar, because his son, the novelist Alexandre Dumas, used it to create some of the best loved heroes of literature. Yet, hidden behind these swashbuckling adventures was an even more incredible secret: the real hero was the son of a black slave -- who rose higher in the white world than any man of his race would before our own time. Born in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), Alex Dumas was briefly sold into bondage but made his way to Paris where he was schooled as a sword-fighting member of the French aristocracy. Enlisting as a private, he rose to command armies at the height of the Revolution, in an audacious campaign across Europe and the Middle East – until he met an implacable enemy he could not defeat. The Black Count is simultaneously a riveting adventure story, a lushly textured evocation of 18th-century France, and a window into the modern world’s first multi-racial society. But it is also a heartbreaking story of the enduring bonds of love between a father and son."

Review:
So, it is not surprising that I was enticed to acquire this one, given my love for the author Dumas' story, The Count of Monte Cristo. Reiss delves deep into General Dumas life and his military career during both the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. In pulling together this historical biography, Reiss brings to light the shifting attitudes towards race and slavery of pre- and post-revolutionary France and its colonies as well as the conflicts slavery and plantation ownership - key to economic survival of France - were at odds with the revolutionary ideals of "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" versus the economic interests of the colonial plantation owners, which resulted in the re-emergence of racist bigotry that allowed for the re-enslavement of its black population and erasure of the memory of the valiant contributions they made to France - including those of the Black Count.

Reading this, it is easy to see how author Dumas senior felt such admiration for his father, who was a source of inspiration for some of his stories. On the downside, the book goes into a fair bit of detail about military strategies (not a favorite topic of mine). I was intrigued to learn of the conflicts between General Dumas and some senior military personnel, including Napoleon, where Dumas principals did not co-exist well with Napoleon's "empire building" vision.

Overall, an interesting glimpse into the Count/General Dumas and 18th-19th century French empire.

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Book #30 - The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: April CalendarCAT - Autism Awareness Month
Bingo DOG: Related to Medicine or Health - Autism, Albinism
Category: Series
Source: Net Galley
Format: e-book
Original publication date: May 28, 2019
Acquisition date: March 6, 2019
Page count: 386 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Don and Rosie are about to face their most important project. Their son, Hudson, is having trouble at school: his teachers say he isn't fitting in with the other kids, and they'd like Don and Rosie to think about getting an autism assessment. As his parents debate whether a diagnosis might help or hinder, Hudson has his own ideas. Meanwhile, Rosie is battling Judas at work, and Don is in hot water after the Genetics Lecture Outrage. The life-contentment graph, recently at its highest point, is curving downwards. For Don Tillman, geneticist and World's Best Problem-Solver, learning to be a good parent as well as a good partner will require the help of friends old and new. It will mean letting Hudson make his way in the world, and grappling with awkward truths about his own identity. And opening a cocktail bar."

Review:
Having thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in the series, I was excited to receive a copy of Simsion's latest book. In this final book in the Don Tillman series, Simsion has hit his writing stride. His characters are now settled into comfortable, familiar roles, and provide a solid anchor for the struggles/challenges of parenting captured in this story. The title, "The Rosie Result", is a bit of a misnomer, in my opinion, as the story focus is more on Don and 11-year old Hudson, with Rosie taking more of a supporting role, but that does not make the story less appealing. If you enjoyed the first two books, chances are you will enjoy this one. A number of characters from the previous two books are back, offering their own brand of support to Don, Rosie and Hudson. I love that we get to meet new characters, some who are facing their own challenges (Hudson's friend Blanche, with albinism), some who are full on quirky/offbeat (fellow scientist Minh) and some who are strong supporters of activism (Liz, aka "Autism Activist" and "Black T-shirt"). I am a huge fan of quirky, forthright characters, so Don, Minh et al appeal to me. While there is a lot of fun, laughs and giggles to be had, this story also hits home as Don comes to terms with his own childhood and the parenting styles he experienced as he searches for ways to help Hudson "fit in socially" with his peers. The discussions while Don and Rosie grapple with the idea of autism testing for Hudson are open, candid and balanced.

Overall, a charming, poignant story and a delightful, thought-provoking conclusion to the trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Text Publishing for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Book #31 - Echoes of Grace by Caragh Bell
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: AlphaKIT - "B"
Bingo DOG: Artistic Character - Singer, Actor, Photographer
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: e-book
Original publication date: December 20, 2018
Acquisition date: January 9, 2019
Page count: 571 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Even in death, love survives. Grace Molloy was the darling of the theatre scene. Young and dazzling, she gave it all up to marry the playwright Henry Sinclair, thirty years her senior. Then, one stormy night, she died giving birth to her daughter, Aurora.Left with no memory of her mother, Aurora is raised by Henry and her nanny, Maggie, in a huge old house on the Cornish coastline. All the little girl has of Grace is a portrait – a painting of a woman in a white dress, her beautiful face frozen in time.Aurora grows up, resembling Grace in looks and talent. She pursues her dream of being on the stage and soon achieves great success in the world of theatre, like her mother before her. Then a secret unfolds – a secret that could threaten all that she holds dear . . .Echoes of Grace is the story of a young woman who, having overcome a painful past, must now embrace it to find her real self."

Review:
I loved the opening chapter to the story as it captures the nuances of a deliciously gothic tale, what with a stately manor house situated on the wind swept coast of Cornwall, a young girl (Aurora) raised in seclusion by her playwright father and secrets of her theatrical singer/actor mother who died in childbirth. Oh, yes, I was soooo excited at the prospect of a good gothic tale. Sadly, the story grew into a more contemporary story of family, relationships and love. Yes, there are two evil step-brothers (evil in that they want nothing to do with their father's daughter by his second wife - always amazing how greed comes into play when an inheritance is in the offering) and a new "instant" family when Aurora's father marries for the third time. Aurora as a character has some very naive, childish views, even when she is an adult living in London and New York as she follows in her mother's footsteps to become a singer/actor, and those were a little difficult to take in. While the author tries to wrap the story and the various plot lines at the end, my overall impression is a story that was a tad too long to get to where it was headed.

This story will probably best appeal to readers of contemporary family/romance stories that provide glimpses into the lives of wealthy families with a connection to the theatre world.

Book #32 - Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye - audiobook narrated by Susie Riddell
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Children's or Young Adult
Category: Author
Source: GVPL
Format: audiobook
Original publication date: March 22, 2016
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 427 pages / 12 hours, 15 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.45 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"“Reader, I murdered him.” A sensitive orphan, Jane Steele suffers first at the hands of her spiteful aunt and predatory cousin, then at a grim school where she fights for her very life until escaping to London, leaving the corpses of her tormentors behind her. After years of hiding from the law while penning macabre “last confessions” of the recently hanged, Jane thrills at discovering an advertisement. Her aunt has died and her childhood home has a new master: Mr. Charles Thornfield, who seeks a governess.

Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognito and learns that Highgate House is full of marvelously strange new residents—the fascinating but caustic Mr. Thornfield, an army doctor returned from the Sikh Wars, and the gracious Sikh butler Mr. Sardar Singh, whose history with Mr. Thornfield appears far deeper and darker than they pretend. As Jane catches ominous glimpses of the pair’s violent history and falls in love with the gruffly tragic Mr. Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: Can she possess him—body, soul, and secrets—without revealing her own murderous past? "

Review:
Having never read Jane Eyre - something I plan to rectify thanks to this story - I can only comment on the story as it stands on its own merits. Having loved Faye's Timothy Wilde trilogy, I was rather intrigued to dip further into Faye's story telling offerings. Jane is a fascinating character. Strong. Gutsy. Determined. As for the setting, yes we are in my favorite of elements: The Gothic Tale. I did enjoy the vengeance piece and seeking to discover the mystery around Jane's possible inheritance of the manor house. So, what not to like. Not much, except for the overall feeling that this is a novel geared towards a younger (YA) reading audience and I found my mind wandering as I listened to certain parts of the story. Some parts were also a bit unbelievable - like the reveal by police constable/inspector(?) Sam Quillfeather and the dramatic Dickensian-like environment of the school run by Augustus P. Sack - which, while adding to the plot delivery, were a little hard to swallow for the this reader.

With a "This book is humbly dedicated to Miss Eyre and Mr. Nickleby" dedication, this book will probably best appeal to Bronte and Dickens fans (or not, given that it comes across a bit like a satirical romp). I liked it enough to want to read Jane Eyre, so kudos to Faye for peeking my interest in that classic novel!

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEKS 14, 15 and 16 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 106.28 (Week 14=38.55; Week 15=35.95; Week 16=31.78)
Kilometers walked in total: 625.72
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: South of Coburg, about to enter the northern area of Eugene.
Points of interest along the way:: Over the past three weeks my virtual walking took me through or past Salem, Jefferson, Millersburg, Albany, Tangent, Shedd, Brownsville, Halsey, Coburg as well as the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge.

Salem is the Oregon state capital. The state has had three capital buildings: A two-story state house, which had been occupied for only two months, burned to the ground in December 1855. Oregon's second capitol building, built on the site of the original, was destroyed by fire on April 25, 1935. The current Oregon State Capitol was completed on the same site in 1938. It is recognizable by its distinctive pioneer statue atop the capitol dome that is plated with gold-leaf and officially named the Oregon Pioneer.


Salem Oregon Fountain (with State Capital in background) - Edmund Garman as posted to Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Interesting connection to Salem: 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover, spent three years in Salem, working as an office boy for his uncle's land settlement company. Born in Iowa, Hoover lost both of his parents by the age of 10 and moved to Oregon to live with his aunt and uncle. Hoover credited his Sunday school teacher in Salem, Jennifer Gray, with positively influencing his life, according to Salem History Online. When he became the President, Hoover decided to donate his entire salary to charity. He remained attached to Salem his entire life, returning in 1955 for an 81st birthday celebration and a dedication of his boyhood home.

Millersburg originally was the name of a station on the Southern Pacific railroad line, which was named for a local farming family. Millersburg came into being in 1974 as a way to prevent the city of Albany from attempting to extend its city limits (and increase its industrial tax base) to include the Wah Chang Corporation operated zirconium processing plant.

Albany is called the "rare metals capital of the world," producing lots of metals with a specific focus on zirconium.


Downtown Albany Oregon - M.O. Stevens as posted to Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Albany is home to the Historic Albany Carousel & Museum, housing over 50 hand-carved animals on an antique mechanism, plus exhibits of historic carousel artifacts.


Albany Carousel building - Joe Mabel - as posted to Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Welcome back, Lori! Glad to hear you had a good vacation and that you were able to spend lots of time with your family. The kayaking photos are gorgeous! Want to send some of that nice weather over here? ;)

Happy Easter!

>67 rabbitprincess: - Thanks RP! Vacation was super relaxing (when I wasn't exerting myself with physical activity) and good to reconnect with family. Will try to send some nice weather your way, but no guarantees. ;-)

Time for a "Currently Reading" update, I think!

Currently Reading:
..

Audiobook:
The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye (narrated by January LaVoy) - Continuing my exploration of Faye's published works. Hoping to start this one tonight.
ebook:
Home to Cavendish by Antoinette Tyrell - A long, loooong overdue LTER read. So far, 30% in and getting to know the characters but not being "wowed" by what I have read so far.
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - I am seriously far behind the group read on this one (My print copy not exactly conducive to easy transporting while traveling on vacation). ;-) Hoping to find time this week to try and get caught up.

>60 lkernagh: I take it that the photos are of Victoria Harbour. I've been to Victoria a couple of times but have never seen that bit!

>70 haydninvienna: - Good eye! Yes, the kayaking pics were taking in the Victoria Harbour and up the Gorge Waterway. The first picture is boats docked near the new bridge, the second picture is heading towards the Bay Street bridge, capturing part of the cements works area and the third picture is taken in the paddle corridor between Songhees and the new International Marina for the super yachts.

Thanks so much for the pics of Albany and the Carousel Museum! One of my closest friends lives in Albany and has started volunteering at the museum since I was last there. She absolutely loves it. I live in Arkansas and she did too for about twenty years but after the kids were grown she and her husband headed back to the area where they grew up. Every two years she, I and two others take a trip together and we're throwing around ideas now for a fall trip/get together. The other two lived here for at least 10 years as well but one went home to New Jersey and the other moved to California. She was there 8 years or so and then moved back to Arkansas but lives a couple of hours away. I so look forward to the four of us being together again!

Hi Lori, great to see you out on the water enjoying the Victoria scenery! Hope the whole "going back to work" routine goes well.

>66 lkernagh: The Albany Carousel looks like a marvelous place to visit. There is a working carousel at The Columbus Zoo and it is a Grand Carousel with all hand carved horses. When we were there they told us there are less than 200 of them in the world.

>72 clue: - How fantastic that you know someone who volunteers at the Carousel Museum! I would find that to be such a fun and interesting volunteer position to have! It is always hard when good friends live far apart so I like that you all make the effort to get together.

>73 DeltaQueen50:- Hi Judy, what can I say, I am hooked on kayaking! Sadly it was just too darn windy to go out on the water today but maybe that was for the best as I had a lot of stuff around the house to work on. As for the "going back to work routine", it has been busy but I am still riding that "time off wave" (having a short four day work on return - thanks to Easter Monday - sure did help!)

>74 Tess_W: - It does look like a marvelous place to visit. I wanted to post pictures of some of the amazing hand carved carousel animals but could not find any with creative commons or other open licensing. Oregon Live did a great write up (with pictures!) that can be accessed here: https://www.oregonlive.com/travel/2018/03/oregon_carousel_is_a_whimsical.html I absolutely love the blue merhorse!

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Happy Saturday everyone! No kayaking today - too windy on the water, with winds gusting to 50km - so instead I have been busy with some sewing projects (taking in two tops that I love but are a tad too baggy fitting for my tastes) and pulling my bike out of storage so that it can get a spring tune up (finally getting back into cycling after a number of years) and experimenting with cleaning up/re-dying our Jeep's original carpet floor mats (clean up some rust stains) and return them - as close as possible - to their original colour.

Not much reading happening at the moment. While I have made progress with my current reads, no books finished so no new book reviews this weekend. At least I managed to pull together my latest walking update, so I can at least share that.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 17 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 30.27
Kilometers walked in total: 655.99
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: Due east of Walker.
Points of interest along the way:: The city of Eugene intrigues me as it has the same name as one of my uncles. ;-) The city is actually named after Eugene Franklin Skinner, a colonial settler who came to the area back in 1846. Nicknames (for the city, that is) include "Emerald Valley", "The Emerald City" and "Track Town" (I admit I am a little baffled by that last one). The Wilamette River flows through Eugene and is enjoyed in the summer months:


Eugene Oregon Willamette River Summer - as posted to Flickr by Don Hankins (CC BY 2.0)

Eugene is also home to the Shelton McMurphey Johnson House, or "Castle on the Hill". The house is named after the three families who called it home over the years.


Shelton McMurphey Johnson House - as posted the Wikimedia Commons by d70focus (CC BY 2.0)

A fascinating history about the house can be accessed here: https://smjhouse.org/about/history/

Apparently, the athletic apparel company Nike had its beginnings in Eugene, as did the food franchise chain, Taco Time. In January 2006, the FBI conducted Operation Backfire, leading to federal indictment of eleven member of the Eugene-based cell of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), becoming the largest investigation into radical underground environmental groups in United States history. Run Gum, an energy gum created for runners, also began its life in Eugene. Okay, seriously, there is an energy gum for runners??? Who knew! Eugene is also known for its original 1960's hippie population. Author Ken Kesey, best known as the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, is from Eugene. Cycling is popular in Eugene and many people commute via bicycle. The North Bank Bike Path is a popular trail for cyclists:


North Bank Trails - posted to Wikimedia Commons by Grrarg (CC BY-SA 3.0)

I don't have a month end wrap up ready - maybe tomorrow - but I did manage to finish two books and have reviews ready for posting, so I am halfway towards a month end wrap up. ;-)

Book #33 - The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye - audiobook narrated by January LaVoy
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Author
Source: GVPL
Format: audiobook
Original publication date: January 8, 2019
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 432 pages / 13 hours, 22 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"“The year is 1921, and "Nobody" Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong. Desperate to get as far away as possible from New York City and those who want her dead, she has her sights set on Oregon: a distant frontier that seems the end of the line. She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of Harlem, who leads Alice to the Paragon Hotel upon arrival in Portland. Her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be the only all-black hotel in the city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the premises. But as she meets the churlish Dr. Pendleton, the stately Mavereen, and the unforgettable club chanteuse Blossom Fontaine, she begins to understand the reason for their dread. The Ku Klux Klan has arrived in Portland in fearful numbers--burning crosses, inciting violence, electing officials, and brutalizing blacks. And only Alice, along with her new "family" of Paragon residents, are willing to search for a missing mulatto child who has mysteriously vanished into the Oregon woods. Why was "Nobody" Alice James forced to escape Harlem? Why do the Paragon's denizens live in fear--and what other sins are they hiding? Where did the orphaned child who went missing from the hotel, Davy Lee, come from in the first place? And, perhaps most important, why does Blossom Fontaine seem to be at the very center of this tangled web?"

Review:
A lavish story that is hard to review without giving away spoilers so I will just provide some of my general impressions. Faye’s skill at immersing the reader in the time period of the story shines here. Prohibition-era Harlem and Portland Oregon is richly captured. Faye’s characters are equally lush in personality and development. Alice “Nobody” James fits the bill of a young woman who has witnessed too much and is on the run from a gangster/mafia past. What she finds in Portland – thanks to a Black Pullman porter, Max Burton – is love, friendship and resilience at an all-black hotel where Alice’s Welsh-Italian roots stick out like a sore thumb. While racial intolerance is part of this story, Faye exposes the reader to fascinating personal stories of many of it’s varied characters. Yes, Faye managed to surprise me with a couple of those stories, but they do not detract from the even flow of the main story.

It is easy to see that Faye has delved into Portland’s historic past, including its notoriety of having the largest KKK organization west of the Mississippi River, to come up with such an unbelievably believable story. Of course, I was intrigued by Faye’s choice of title and name for the hotel in the story. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary provides the following explanation of the Old Italian roots for the word Paragon:

Paragon derives from the Old Italian word paragone, which literally means “touchstone”. A touchstone is a black stone that was formerly used to judge the purity of gold or silver. The metal was rubbed on the stone and the color of the streak it left indicated its quality. In modern English, both touchstone and paragon have come to signify a standard against something that should be judged.

After reading this description, The Paragon Hotel is an apt title for this story.

Overall, while the author’s Timothy Wilde trilogy still remains my favorite of her works, it is lovely to be once again captivated by the author’s storytelling abilities.

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Book #34 - Home to Cavendish by Antoinette Tyrrell
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: February 1, 2019
Acquisition date: January 9, 2019
Page count: 266 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.15 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"The Irish Civil War is raging across County Cork, and sixteen-year-old Edith Cavendish, bored within the confines of her privileged life, embarks on a forbidden love affair with local rebel Tadgh Carey. But Edith is unaware of the dark secrets surrounding her, both outside Cavendish and within its walls, in the very rooms through which she walks.

Eighty years have passed, and Elenore Stack has inherited her beloved childhood home, Cavendish Hall, from her recently deceased parents. Charming and magical, if in need of much loving and expensive care, Cavendish is woven into the tapestry of Elenore’s life. She must somehow find a way to ensure its survival while preserving its dignity. Then she meets and falls in love with Donnacha O’Callaghan, a property developer, and together they begin to work on changing Cavendish into the family guest house of her dreams. He, however, unbeknownst to her, has plans that will change the house beyond recognition and wipe away her precious childhood memories. As Donnacha’s past shady dealings surface and the prospect of losing Cavendish looms once more, Elenore’s life begins to unravel. Then a fateful discovery in a forgotten corner of the house links her to a young woman from Cavendish’s past – Edith Cavendish – and becomes her lifeline."

Review:
I typically enjoy stories that contain two parallel plot lines, one set in present day and one squarely in the past. If there is a grand manor house with a wonderful European setting at the heart of the story, even better! Tyrrell’s debut novel shifts comfortably between 1922 (thanks to the diary-entry chapters) and more modern times (early 2000’s?). This story fits the bill of a contemporary, lightweight romance with an historical intrigue to it. If you are looking for a story that has complex characters and a riveting storyline, you might be a tad disappointed. I usually steer clear of contemporary romance stories so it is not surprising that I found Eleanore a bit too naïve for my liking. As for Donnacha, he is just a cardboard cut-out of a modern day rake, a gorgeous and shady character of questionable morals. I found it easier to connect with Edith as a character, keeping in mind that Edith’s diary entries are written as a 16-year-old girl “to the manor born” who has very little knowledge or experience of the great wide world or Irish politics of the time period. The story wrap up was just a bit to easy and pat for me, being added on as a “1-year later” epilogue, but that is a minor quibble.

Overall, a decent first novel that appeals to my love for stories with grand manor house setting. If your reading tastes tend towards contemporary romances of the lightweight entertainment variety, with some drama, a historical puzzle to unravel and a stately manor house as the story anchor, or if you are like me and sometimes just feel in the mood for a bit of fluff reading, then I can recommend this one. Definitely fits my idea of a “beach read”.

>78 lkernagh: - I'll take a BB for this.

>80 dudes22: - :-)

APRIL RE-CAP:

BOOKS READ:
28. Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky -
29. The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss -
30. The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion -
31. Echoes of Grace by Caragh Bell -
32. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye -
33. The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye -
34. Home to Cavendish by Antoinette Tyrell -

April STATS:
No. of Books read: 7
ROOTs read: 1
Largest book read by page count: - Echoes of Grace by Caragh Bell at 571 pages
Smallest book read by page count: - Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky at 135 pages
# Pages read: - 2,649 pages
Average # pages per book read: - 378 pages
Average # pages read per day: - 88
Audiobooks / eBooks / Physical Books: - 3/3/1 - With one audiobook used to read a physical read off my TBR pile.
Male vs. Female Authors: - 2 vs. 5
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction Reads: - 6 vs. 1
Average Decimal/ Star rating for books read: 3.74 out of 5 /
Publication date range of books read: 2012 to 2019

BingoDOG Update:


April squares read:
9. Eastern European author or setting - Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky -
14. prize-winning book - The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss -
6. related to medicine or health - The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion -
8. artistic character - Echoes of Grace by Caragh Bell -
10. children's or young adult - Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye -

---------------------------

Overall, while I love my books read total so far this year and my series completion tally is looking really great (9 series completed so far this year) I really need to work more on my Author and Europa Editions reading. That, and I seriously need to get cracking on my ROOT reading (I am appalled to discover that I have only read 9 ROOTs so far this year!) Half tempted to dedicate May to Europa Editions, but I find I am also itching to finish my Bingo card. Something will win out, just not sure what, but I think it just might be completing my Bingo card.

You'll be finished your BingoDog by the end of the month!

Whether it's Bingo or Europa - happy reading in May!

>83 RidgewayGirl: - That does seem do-able, doesn't it?

>84 DeltaQueen50: - Thanks Judy!

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We made it to the weekend. Weather-wise, it is not looking all that promising at the moment, but that can change. Plans tonight are to watch Miss Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries. Yes, you read that correctly, they have come up with a new Miss Fisher, in the form of a spin off. The spinoff involves Phryne Fisher's long-lost niece, Peregrine taking on her aunt's mantle as lady detective in 1960s Melbourne. Not sure how I will react to this - I love the original series and tend to be wary of spinoffs - but no point in passing judgement with out watching first.

About to take advantage of a perfect Sunday to head out kayaking but wanted to post my weekly walking and currently reading updates first.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 18 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session:51.15 - My best walking week so far this year!
Kilometers walked in total: 707.14
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: In Kopp Creek.
Points of interest along the way:: This week my virtual walking journey took my through Cottage Grove. What a tranquil name for a place. Unfortunately, all was not peaceful and tranquil historically. When the Southern Pacific railroad was built through the area in the 1870s, the Cottage Grove station was located on the east side of the river, more than half a mile northeast of the post office. As you can't have a railroad station without a post office nearby, talk of moving the post office caused a neighbourhood dispute that lasted for nearly 20 years as no one living near the post office wanted it moved.

Cottage Grove, known as the "Covered Bridge Capital of Oregon", has six covered bridges near the city and the location of what was the only existing covered railroad bridge west of the Mississippi River:


Chambers Covered Bridge - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Bruce Fingerhood (CC BY 2.0)

The Chambers Covered Bridge is 78 feet (24 m) long and spans the Coast Fork Willamette River. The original bridge (pictued above) was build in 1925 to carry rail traffic hauling logs from the Lorane Valley to a lumber mill. When the mill burned down (for a second time) in the 1950s, the mill closed and the railroad tracks were removed. The original Chambers Covered Bridge was removed in 2010 an replaced with a carefully constructed bridge identical to the original bridge. The new bridge is open to pedestrians.


Interior of new Chambers Bridge - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Akampfer (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Fun Fact: Portions of the movie Stand By Me were filmed along the railroad tracks east of Cottage Grove, now the Row River National Recreation Trail.

Cottage Grove is also a city of murals, twenty-one in fact, that commemorate stories of Cottage Grove's past. A number of the murals can be viewed in this short two and half minute YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CalTx2p_RCo

Currently Reading:
.

Audiobook / ebook:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (narrated by Flo Gibson) - Yes, I was enticed enough with my reading of Jane Steele to finally get around to reading this classic. Currently at the halfway mark and can understand (after a rather slow beginning) why this book is a favorite for some readers.
ebook:
See above.
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - I know, I keep saying that I will get back to this one (it has now been over a month since I last picked up A Suitable Boy). Something tells me I am going to find myself binge reading at some point to catch up with the group read.

Today was a truly wonderful day. Went for a paddle as planned. Spent a good 2 hours on the water and developed a whole new appreciation for the harbour ferry pilots who have to weave and dodge the various kayakers, canoeists and paddle boarders who don't think (or pay attention) while out in the busy harbour area. As I believe I have mentioned before, Victoria Inner Harbour is a working harbour. It sees daily ferry traffic between Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle and Port Angeles. It also sees daily traffic float planes, barges and pleasure crafts,so kind of busy, even on a Sunday, and people should be paying attention as they are out on the water. Today I witnessed Transport Canada put on the flashing blue lights on their boat - I didn't even know they had flashing blue lights! - and hail over their loud speaker two kayakers who thought they could paddle in the corridor that is used by the float planes and the larger ferries. Even with that mini-drama (quick conversation and the kayakers were back on the shoreline area of the harbour), I still find it very relaxing out on the water. Because my kayak in inflatable and I can basically just lift and carry in on my shoulder, I always have interesting conversations with walkers along the pathway as I carry the kayak home. ;-)

I hope everyone is enjoying a lovely weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of my "mom" visitors that will be celebrating Mother's Day tomorrow.

I have had a pretty good week. The weather has been quite lovely. This weekend is the annual book sale sponsored by the local newspaper. Every year, the line up for the first day of the sale gets longer and longer. As I have stopped purchasing print novels (we are in the process of downsizing, so new purchases are ebooks) I was there today with a mission: To see if I could find:

1) a repair manual for our Jeep (no luck); and
2) a bicycle repair manual (scored a good condition copy of Richards' Bicycle Repair Manual by Richard Ballantine and Richard Grant).

I am happy with my one purchase. Looks like I will have to purchase the Jeep repair manual online.

I managed to get out on the water after the booksale for a 2 hour paddle before the winds started to pick up and make the water rather choppy. While paddling, I had a visit from a curious sea otter and managed to gently glide past two Great Blue Herons, one standing on a boat dock and the other standing in the water on a rock. I have never been so close to these magnificent birds before:


Great Blue Heron in mid flight - as posted to Flickr by Scazon (CC BY 2.0)

Not my picture. I was too busy enjoying them to take my phone out of the waterproof pouch and run the risk that they might fly away before I could snap any pics. According to the details posted with this image, it was taken at the Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Sidney, which is roughly 20 km away from Victoria. Apparently, herons on Vancouver Island are the largest in size of the herons found in North America and are considered their own subspecies. Unlike other herons, the Vancouver Island subspecies are isolated from migrating herons and have their own unique characteristics.

I am planning to get back out on the water again tomorrow... hopefully with calmer winds.

On the reading front, I haven't been doing all that much. I have been distracted with streaming episodes of Reilly, Ace of Spies, the 1983 TV miniseries dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies to ever work for the British. The lead is played by a young Sam Neill - who is very easy on the eyes! - and the period setting is wonderfully captured cinematic-ally. I was not able to find any trailers for the miniseries but I did enjoy this fan video of clips of the series set to the tune "Secret Agent Man". :-)

I did manage to finish Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and can understand why this story may appeal to some readers more than, say, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Will try to find the time to pull together a review.... but not today.

Time for some updates.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 19 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session:47.06
Kilometers walked in total: 754.20
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: South of Roseburg and heading for Myrtle Creek.
Points of interest along the way:: This week my virtual walking journey took me beside or through Oakland, Sutherlin, Wilbur, Winchester, Roseburg and Green. It also took me - a couple of times - across the Umpqua River (Once cross the North Umpqua River and twice cross the South Umpqua River).


Sport fishermen on the upper Umpqua River - as posted to Wikipedia Commons by Llywrch (CC BY 2.5)

The Umpqua River is approximately 179 KM (111 miles) long and is named after the Umpqua, a band of the Coquille Native Americans. The river boasts some of the world's best fly-fishing, salmon fishing, and sturgeon fishing.

Roseburg, traditionally a lumber industry town, has for its motto, "Timber Capital of the Nation". Originally known as Deer Creek due to the confluence of Deer Creek and the South Umpqua River the city was named for settler Aaron Rose, who built the first building in the area, which was used as a grocery store, backed by a dining room and kitchen. Original spelling "Roseburgh" was changed to "Roseburg" in 1894. In the early hours of August 7, 1959 the "Roseburg Blast" destroyed buildings within an eight-block radius and severely damaged 30 more blocks. The cause of the blast: the Gerretsen Building Supply Company caught fire and unbeknownst to the firefighters battling the blaze, a truck parked in front of the building earlier in the evening (before the fire broke out) was loaded with two tons of dynamite and four-and-a-half tone of nitro carbo nitrate, a blasting agent and blew up. A total of fourteen people died in the blast and fire, and 125 were injured. Damage was estimated at 10 to 12 million dollars.


"The blast" Ground Zero, Roseburg, Oregon 1959 - as posted to Flickr by curtis roberts (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Alina Bronsky - Author Project Read: Calling this one completed so I can move on with a new project read
While I haven't 100% completed reading all of Bronsky's English translated works, I have read 3 out of 4. While I find Bronsky's stories make for interesting - and at times very entertaining reading - I have been unable to source the fourth book locally (including a run through the second hand shops) and I am not really that keen on Bronsky's stories to shell out $10 for an ebook copy, so calling this project closed, for now.

Stand Alone Novels:

...

Broken Glass Park - Read February 22 to March 3, 2019 - 3.85 out of 5 /
The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine - Read March 9 to March 18, 2019 - 4.20 out of 5 /
Baba Dunja's Last Love - Read March 24 to April 4, 2019 - 4.30 out of 5 /
Just Call Me Superhero - Not read

Domenico Starnone - New Author Project Read:

Stand Alone Novels:
Taking advantage of the fact that I have easy access to copies of the three Starnone novels that have been translated into English, with one already sitting on my TBR pile and the other two sourced through my local library system. As a bit of a teaser, I was intrigued to learn last year - not sure who brought this to my attention - that Starnone and the author who writes under the pseudonym Elena Ferrante are/were a real life couple and both have written stories about the end of the marriage, Ferrante's The Days of Abandonment as the wife's point of view and Starnone's Ties from the husband's point of view. Having read The Days of Abandonment late last year, I will be looking forward to reading Ties. ;-)

..

First Execution - ROOT, currently reading
Ties - Pending
Trick - To read

Currently Reading:
...

Audiobook:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke (narrated by Suzanne Toren) - First book in Fluke's Hannah Swensen Mysteries series and a perfect fit for the "food-related title or topic" Bingo square.
ebook:
One of Ours by Willa Cather - Started this one this morning while I was standing in line for the booksale, reading it on my phone using the Kobo app. I love Willa Cather's writing and she has already swept me away with this one (currently 17% read). Conveniently, this one also is a perfect fit for the "alliterative title" Bingo square.
Physical books:
First Execution by Domenico Starnone - Yes, I am staying true to my word and getting back into reading Europa Editions books. This is also a ROOT read. Given that only three of Starnone's books have been translated into English so far (all by Europa Editions), I have borrowed the other two books through my local library system, making Starnone my next Author Project.
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - I know.... really, I will get back to this one at some point. Good thing the group read is spread out for the entire year. ;-)

Book #35 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - audiobook narrated by Flo Gibson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Mentioned in Another Book - Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
Category: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: eBook / Audiobook
Original publication date: 16 October 1847
Acquisition date: January 21, 2018
Page count: 492 pages / 18 hours, 52 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from various sources:

"Orphaned at an early age, Jane Eyre, leads a lonely life, abused by her aunt and cousin and then attends a harsh charity school, until she finds a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There she meets the mysterious Mr. Rochester and sees a ghostly woman who roams the halls at night. While Jane remains strong and determinedly refuses to allow a cruel world to crush her independence or her strength of will, what is the sinister secret that threatens her and her new found happiness?"

Review:
What can I say, I love Jane, she is such a strong and likeable heroine. Not one to shy away from adversity, and I think an introvert at heart given that she doesn't like to draw unnecessary attention her way. The story was a bit slow at the start. Is it just me or does anyone else think that Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall and her time spent at Lowood School has a rather Dickensian atmosphere to it? It was when the scene shifted to Thornfield that I really became engrossed with the story. The interplay between Jane and Rochester is captivating! The drama. The intensity. Just perfect. I loved their intellectual conversations and the way the two would engage in word play, dancing around the elephant in the room. Readers who have read this one may understand where I am coming from when I say that my love for the story tends to ebb and flow: parts were riveting and other parts were... good, if a bit slow and sometimes a tad clichéd. The story has some really great scenes of high drama - loved those bits! - but some of the plot resolutions are a little too perfect and a bit too convenient. That being said, if I had read this one in my youth, like I did Wuthering Heights and other stories, I don't think I would have appreciated it to the level that I do reading it now, so chalking this up as being a worthy read and one that I am glad I finally got around to reading.

Hi Lori! Looks like you've been up to a lot of interesting things! Good restraint at the book sale -- your willpower is much stronger than mine :) I'm glad to hear your kayaking is working out so well and that you had some beautiful herons to watch! Hope you have a good week this week.

>95 lkernagh: I enjoyed reading your thoughts on Jane Eyre. I'd reread it myself a few years ago and like you, I felt I appreciated it much more than I had when I had first read it as a teenager. I'm not so keen on forcing teens to read classics. I figure that, if they can develop a love of reading by choosing the books that seem most relevant and appealing to them, they will eventually discover the classics. That's my hope anyhow. I'm still waiting for my children, now in their 20's, to pick up many of my favourite classics. :)

>96 rabbitprincess: - Hi RP! My willpower at the moment only seems to extend to curbing print acquisitions... my ebook acquisitions seem to see no end. ;-) The kayaking is great and now that my bike is all fixed up and road worthy, I have the perfect outdoor exercise regime: walking (cardio), cycling (legs) and kayaking (arms).

>97 mathgirl40: - Hi Paulina. My experience with reading classics in school was hit and miss. Loved Great Expectations as a teen (and still love it to this day) and hated Beowulf. Shakespeare was just so-so for me - why we HAD to read a Shakespearean play each year I still do not understand. sighs I like your solution of letting teens develop a love of reading and choose the books that appeals to them.

------------------------

Happy Victoria Day to all of my Canadian visitors. The weather today is overcast and rainy - not the best weather for a holiday parade - but I guess better than a scorching hot day and risks of sun and heat stroke, so not complaining. Besides, this means I can enjoy the afternoon curled up with a book, something I have not done very much of these past couple of weeks. This past Friday we finally finished fixing up my bike (new breaks, new pedals, etc) so I went for my first bike ride of the year yesterday and have a sore/tender derrière today. I am sure that that part of my body will adjust, just like my arm muscles did after my first day out in the kayak. Looking forward to a summer of walking, kayaking and cycling for outdoor exercise. ;-)

While I have finished a couple of books I have not had the time to pull together any reviews so just a quick walking update for now.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 20 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session:32.24
Kilometers walked in total: 786.44
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: South of Canyonville, about to pass beside the Canyon Creek Forest State Park, heading for Azalea.
Points of interest along the way:: This week my virtual walking journey took me beside or through the following communities: Cow Creek Reservation, Round Prairie, Myrtle Creek, Tri-City, Riddle, Surprise Valley and Canyonville, while continuing to travel beside (or crossing over) the South Umpqua River.

Myrtle Creek, nicknamed "Gateway to the 100 Valleys of the Umpqua", was named for the groves of Oregon myrtle (also known as California laurel), growing nearby. Myrtle Creek is also the start and end point for Cycle Oregon's week-long ride. According to Wikipedia, gold was discovered in the area in 1860. By 1890, two large hydraulic mining machines, or "giants", were operating in the area. These machines used high pressure jets of water to dislodge sediments, but were only functional for about three months each winter, when sufficient water was available. To expand the machines' usefulness, the company decided to build a 30-mile (48 KM) canal that would carry water to North Myrtle Creek where the sites were located. This canal, known as China Ditch, was built in part by 100 Chinese laborers.

Unfortunately, the ditch was build only two years before the glory gold mining days for the company came to a close, stacking up unpaid wages and other debts. Today, portions of the ditch remain visible and an 11-mile (18 KM) section is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


A portion of the China Ditch today, near Myrtle Creek - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Ian Poellet (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Well, the rainy holiday Monday was a lovely relaxing day. Clear skies and sunshine are now back in the forecast for the next 5 days so this evening after dinner, went for a bike ride. Came home wonderfully exhausted (and with a foot cramp to boot)! Thankfully, eating a spoonful of mustard is a remedy that actually works for me to relieve muscle cramps. Before I go and hit the hay, thought I would post two book reviews I have managed to pull together. Will try to get around to the remaining review that is outstanding... maybe tomorrow. :-)

Book #36 - Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Food-related Title or Topic - Cookies
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2001
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 336 pages / 9 hours, 34 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Hannah already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother's attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden's most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah's famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, her life just can't get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets out to track down a killer. But if she doesn't watch her back, Hannah's sweet life may get burned to a crisp."

Review:
Yes, I admit I approached this book with a little bit of trepidation, as cozies are typically not my thing. I found myself pleasantly surprised with this one. Okay, so it's a bit far-fetched to imagine a bakery/coffee shop that only sells cookies and still has a regular morning breakfast crowd, but who am I to judge another person's business/ food choices? ;-) I found Hannah to be a lot of fun. She has a penchant for nosing around when she shouldn't be and her lack of tact (she has a habit of speaking before thinking) makes for some fun moments. Of course, having a cop for a brother-in-law who doesn't seem to mind Hannah's digging around for information and a sister who is happy to "sleuth" along with Hannah, it is not surprising that it is rather easy to connect the dots and solve the mystery, and I am okay with that if I am being entertained in the process. Hannah's relationship with her mother amps up the entertainment value for me as I can relate to some of the conversations Hannah is forced to endure as her mother pursues what she believes to be the right thing for Hannah. For me, Hannah comes across as an amateur "wanna be" equivalent to Sue Grafton's more spunky private detective Kinsey Millhone, living in a quaint lakeside community, baking and selling cookies for a living. Not surprisingly, cookies are mentioned an awful lot throughout the story. I am one of those people who enjoys reading recipe books so I found the cookies recipes that were included throughout the story to be nice bonus. With 24 books in the series to date - and all available in audiobook format - I think I have found my next audiobook series to keep me going during my workday walking commute.

Overall, a fun, light and entertaining first book in Fluke's Hannah Swensen Mysteries series. I am already enjoying the next book in the series.

Book #37 - First Execution by Domenico Starnone - translated from the Italian by Anthony Sugaar
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Author, Europa Editions
Source: TBR
Format: eBook
Original publication date: English Translation - March 6, 2009
Acquisition date: May 1, 2016
Page count: 160 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Mild-mannered retired teacher Domenico Stasi learns that Nina, a former student of his, is being held as a suspected terrorist. His first thought is to contact her-only her innocence can reassure him that his teachings have not contributed to the creation of a monster. But instead of the comforting proclamations of innocence Stasi was hoping to hear, Nina coolly alludes to her guilt. She then entrusts him with a simple task that soon turns deadly serious. A lethal game has now been put intoplay and nothing can stop its course.

Yet matters may not be entirely as they appear. Into the story steps Domenico Starnone - author, retired teacher himself, a character in his own fictional world - and First Execution becomes an voyage to that murky terrain where fiction and real life mix, raising philosophical dilemmas in the process: to what extent do we bear the responsibility for actions taken or not taken? While searching for an answer, it appears only one thing is certain: that no one is innocent."

Review:
When it comes to intelligent, metaphysical books, I am probably not the best person to weigh in with an opinion. I tend to get bogged down in the logical weeds and at some point, become a frustrated reader. I am also not usually a huge fan of books written as a “story about a story” where we have an author agonizing about the story he is trying to write, so I wasn’t sure how I would take to this one. For such a short story – clocking in at a mere 160 pages – Starnone packs a lot of action, suspense, and intriguing monologues into this slim volume. If you are looking for a straightforward story, this isn’t it. In fact, it is easy to get confused. It does not help that both the character Stasi and the author Starnone have the same first name (thankfully, last names seem to predominate) and that the POV shifts are not always easy to spot(hence, some of the confusion while reading). The re-writes of the “story within a story” lend to some deja-vu experiences, which further blur the lines. Within all this “mess”, Starnone surprisingly manages to pull of a compelling psychological thriller, tapping into such interesting topics such as interpersonal relations, family, aging and the all important question of personal responsibility. Suffice to say, the philosophical dilemma taking shape is a layered effect.

Like I said, I am probably not the best person to review this type of story and my comments are probably not very helpful. How about I just say that overall, I found this to be an intelligent, page-turning meta-fiction thriller read, and a better than I was expecting going in.

>93 lkernagh: Fantastic. I'm so pleased that you're tailoring your author projects to authors I'm very interested in! I really enjoyed Ties and have purchased a copy of Days of Abandonment to read soon. Looking forward to your reviews. I'm going to ask my library system to get a copy of First Execution.

>103 RidgewayGirl: - LOL, happy to accommodate and here is hoping your library system gets in a copy of First Execution. I finished my read of Ties and will be curious to see if our experience of the story is similar. ;-)

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Happy Thursday and one day closer to the weekend. Another beautiful day but I am a little tapped out energy wise so homemade pizza for dinner and an early night, I think. Managed to pull together another review (and finished my latest audioread) so I am still in deficit with my reviews... a rather normal trend of late.

Book #38 - Ties by Domenico Starnone - translated from the Italian by Jhumpa Lahiri
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Author, Europa Editions
Source: GVPL
Format: eBook
Original publication date: English Translation - March 17, 2017
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 144 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Like many marriages, Vanda and Aldo's has been subject to strain, to attrition, to the burden of routine. Yet it has survived intact. Or so things appear. The rupture in their marriage lies years in the past, but if one looks closely enough, the fissures and fault lines are evident. It is a cracked vase that may shatter at the slightest touch. Or perhaps it has already shattered, and nobody is willing to acknowledge the fact. Domenico Starnone's work of fiction is a powerful short novel about relationships, family, love, and the ineluctable consequences of one's actions. "

Review:
I read Elena Ferrante’s Days of Abandonment late last year. When I discovered that some commentators view Starnone’s Ties as a counterpoint / rebuttal of Ferrante’s story, my interest was peaked. Even though I hated Days of Abandonment, I am one of those readers who like to be exposed to varying POVs of the same event, hence the motivation to read Starnone’s story. Ties is broken down into three parts, exposing the reader to different POV’s, from the wife to the husband and then the two children, now adults. The story punches high right from the start with sharp, barbed and accusatory correspondence from the wife to the husband, taking readers of Days of Abandonment down very familiar ground, even if the characters names have been changed. The majority of the story is told from the husband’s point of view and is really a very sad commentary on a loveless marriage and the destruction wreaked on the entire family. It is obvious from the books I have read so far that Starnone has a fixation for puzzles, secrets, and the bonds – the Ties of the title – that can cripple us if we let them.

Translated from the Italian by the American author Jhumpa Lahiri, it is clear that Lahiri went to great pains to produce an English translation that captures the subtle Italian meanings. I definitely recommend that readers read both books. It doesn’t matter which one you start with. While both books capture the wife as a self-absorbed, angry and emotionally destructive individual, the husband has his faults and, IMO doesn’t deserve any pity. I found Starnone’s book to be more subtly nuanced and, I don’t know, more “even keel” and not as emotionally dramatic as Ferrante’s stories tend to be.

Overall, an interesting examination of marriage and fidelity.

>101 lkernagh: I like Fluke's series a bit better than a lot of the cozy series out there. I think they are fun listens if you are into audio books.

>106 thornton37814: - Hi Lori, I agree... I am finding the Hannah Swensen Mysteries series to be perfect for audiobook reading! Between Hannah, her sister Andrea, her mother Delores and the rest of the cast, it is a lot fun.

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Happy Saturday, everyone! It is Swiftsure weekend here in Victoria. For those visitors wondering what Swiftsure is, it is considered to be the premier long distance sailing race in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia area. Starting and ending in Victoria, the event is considered international because the midpoint markers for the four long courses are in U.S. waters. Swiftsure is organized by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club and the race occurs during the Memorial Day long weekend in May. The race is most popular with sailors from British Columbia and Washington, but it has drawn boats from as far away as California, Hawaii, New Zealand, and even Russia.

In some years, light winds have lead to the race being dubbed the “Driftsure;” in other years, the winds have been so strong (up to 35 knots) that boats had to drop out, some were even suffered broken masts! As with previous years, all available moorage spots were filled with boats racing this weekend. The rain - and lack of wind - for most of today does not bode well for the racers. The rain has stopped, and the wind has picked up, slightly (but still in single digits) so it is possible that we may be in for another "Driftsure".

I am taking things easy today but have managed to pull together a review, my walking update and a new Currently Reading update.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 21 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session:36.48
Kilometers walked in total: 822.92
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: In Wolf Creek Park due south of the community of Wolf Creek, heading for Grants Pass.
Points of interest along the way:: Not much of interest to share this week as the communities I passed through- Azalea, Quines Creek, Galesville and Wolf Creek - are unincorporated communities and not much information about them except for this nugget:

Wolf Creek is home to the Wolf Creek Tavern, built around 1883 and according to Wikipedia, is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Oregon.


the tavern at Wolf Creek - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Bruce Fingerhood (CC BY 2.0)

Book #39 - Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2002
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 320 pages / 9 hours, 8 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"When the president of Hartland Flour chooses cozy Lake Eden, Minnesota, as the spot for their first annual Dessert Bake-Off, Hannah is thrilled to serve as the head judge. But when a fellow judge, Coach Boyd Watson, is found stone-cold dead, facedown in Hannah's celebrated strawberry shortcake, Lake Eden's sweet ride to fame turns very sour indeed. Between perfecting her Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie and Chocolate Crunchies, Hannah's snooping into the coach's private life and not coming up short on suspects. And could Watson's harsh criticism during the judging have given one of the contestants a license to kill? The stakes are rising faster than dough, and Hannah will have to be very careful, because somebody is cooking up a recipe for murder. . .with Hannah landing on the "necessary ingredients" list."

Review:
Another entertaining visit to Lake Eden and its residents. Yes, Hannah is expanding her baking repertoire to include more than just cookies (but cookies are still the staple food item on offer, and yes, recipes continue to be included in the story). While the mystery is not too much of a head scratcher, Fluke still manages to include a couple of twists and some suspenseful moments as amateur sleuth Hannah works her way through the clues. As for the setting, I really enjoy the small town vibe where everyone knows everyone. Of course, this makes it easier for Hannah to makes use of her mother to keep her ear to the gossip mill while Hannah and her sister Andrea search far and wide (and make a few blunders in the process) in their hunt for clues. Even Hannah’s love life is on the upside, adding to the overall charm of the story. Of course, I am starting to notice the ever growing body count and cannot help but ponder that this would make Lake Eden an alarming crime statistic if this were real life. That and the fact that Hannah is starting to exhibit nine lives like her cat, given her uncanny knack for exposing herself to dangerous situations, time and time again.

Overall, another delightful bit of escapism mystery reading that makes for easy audio listening.

Currently Reading:
...

Audiobook:
Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke (narrated by Suzanne Toren) - Yes, I admit I am addicted to these stories, so probably not surprising that I am making this my current series project. ;-)
ebook:
One of Ours by Willa Cather - According to my e-reader I am 39% of the way through this one, about to start Chapter 11. I love Cather's writing style and like to savor her stories, so taking my time reading it.
Trick by Domenico Starnone - Approximately 43% of the way through this one. Given the strong connection / homage to Henry James' short story, The Jolly Corner, I will be reading the short story as soon as I finish Starnone's story, to see what influences Starnone drew on when writing Trick.
Physical books:
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - I know.... really, I will get back to this one at some point. Good thing the group read is spread out for the entire year. ;-)

>109 lkernagh: Of course, I am starting to notice the ever growing body count and cannot help but ponder that this would make Lake Eden an alarming crime statistic if this were real life. That and the fact that Hannah is starting to exhibit nine lives like her cat, given her uncanny knack for exposing herself to dangerous situations, time and time again.

That is the general problem with cozies. Some place becomes a crime capital, and the sleuth never learns not to put herself into those situations. That's why I tend to prefer the ones featuring DIs and DCIs. Still I like some of the amateur sleuths, and Hannah, in spite of her stupidity at times, is one of the ones I enjoy. I prefer Miss Zukas and Torie O'Shea and a few others, but I'm caught up on them, and the authors quit giving us new installments. Rumor says Rett MacPherson is writing a new Torie book after a long absence. I can't wait for it! (Oh, she did write one in 2018, but I think there is another one coming soon.)

>11 rabbitprincess: - Well, now you tell me about the "cozies problem". ;-) That is okay, I can get used to a rather high body count in a quaint town.... I am a huge fan of the Midsomer Murder Mysteries and one cannot help but wonder, after all these years, how those little villages still manage to have inhabitants. Oh wait, they move there from other areas and don't know about the crazy crime stats. ;-)

Making note of the authors you have listed. Many thanks!

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Wow, cannot believe that we are already at the end of another month. This year is just flying by! I have managed to pull togther the reviews for the remaining books that I finished in May and will post those. I probably won't get around to preparing a monthly recap until some time this weekend.

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Book #40 - Trick by Domenico Starnone - translated from the Italian by Jhumpa Lahiri; and The Jolly Corner, short story by Henry James
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Author
Source: GVPL
Format: eBook
Original publication date: October 11, 2016 / December, 1908
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 176 pages / 38 pages
Decimal/ Star rating:

Trick - 2.80 out of 5 /
The Jolly Corner - 3.35 out of 5 /

Book description/summary:
Trick: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Imagine a duel between two men. One, Daniele Mallarico, is a successful illustrator who, in the twilight of his years, feels that his reputation and his artistic prowess are fading. The other, Mario, is Daniele's four-year-old grandson. Daniele has been living in a cold northern city for years, in virtual solitude, focusing obsessively on his work, when his daughter asks if he would come to Naples for a few days and babysit Mario while she and her husband attend a conference. Shut inside his childhood home - an apartment in the center of Naples that is filled with the ghosts of Mallarico's past - grandfather and grandson match wits as Daniele heads toward a reckoning with his own ambitions and life choices."

The Jolly Corner: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Spencer Brydon returns to New York City after thirty-three years abroad. He has returned to "look at his 'property,'" two buildings, one his boyhood home on "the jolly corner." The second, larger structure is now going to be renovated into a big apartment building.These properties have been the source of his income since the deaths of his family members. Spencer finds he is good at directing this renovation, despite never having done this work before, and he starts to wonder who he would have been if he had stayed in the U.S. He starts to prowl the house at night to try to meet his American alter ego. "

Review:
I chose to read these two books - well, one book and one short story – as a package deal, given the direct references to The Jolly Corner in Starnone’s story and the allusions identified in translator Jhumpa Lahiri’s introduction. Trick was a decided let down for me after having read First Execution and then Ties, Starnone’s earlier English translated works. I should probably mention right up front that Trick only has a passing connection to James’ wonderful short story, unless you are one of those readers who loves to spend oodles of time dissecting a story and scrutinizing it for allusions. I am not one of those readers. I read for (hopefully!) the pure joy of the story in my hands, not to search for connections between stories.

What did I think about Trick? I felt tricked by the author, if you must know. Starnone’s story started out with such potential. We have Daniele, an older man in his 70s, set in his ways, finding himself exploring his identity and reflecting upon his past ( and implications of choices made) while he babysits Mario, his precocious 4-year old grandson in his former home in Naples. Perfect setting for a haunting story of memories, familial images and deeply insightful revelations, I would have thought. Instead, we find an energetic child testing the limits of his grandfather’s patience (which, to be honest, are on a bit of a short fuse). The grand revelations hoped for never seem to materialize, although we do see some exploration of what it means to lead an authentic life and not one overshadowed with illusions. I found the balcony scene to be overly dramatic and even the “ghosts” that come to haunt Daniele fail to give this story the spiritual life it seems to be looking for. In the end, I was left feeling disappointed by this story.

Now on to the James short story. I read somewhere that The Jolly Corner is considered to be the second greatest ghost story written by James, after Turn of the Screw, so I was happy to learn that my maiden voyage into James’ works was with such a worthy story. I was surprised by the depth and complexity of the story’s structure. James wrote such lush prose, even if the concept of the story – a man haunted by himself – is a strange situation to encounter. I am a fan of narratives that involve internal musings with a writing style that leads to thoughts flowing together. Stories written in this manner are meant to be read at a more leisurely pace, especially as the pacing of the story is key to the building psychological suspense.

Overall, while I found myself to be disappointed with Trick, I am happy to have finally taken the plunge to read a work by Henry James, something I probably wouldn’t have done without the impetuous of Trick.

Book #41 - Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2002
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 320 pages / 9 hours, 28 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Preparations are underway for Lake Eden, Minnesota's annual Winter Carnival--and Hannah Swensen is set to bake up a storm at her popular shop, The Cookie Jar. Too bad the honor of creating the official Winter Carnival cake went to famous lifestyle maven Connie Mac--a half-baked idea, in Hannah's opinion. She suspects Connie Mac is a lot like the confections she whips up on her cable TV cooking show--sweet, light, and scrumptious-looking, but likely to leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Hannah's suspicions are confirmed when Connie Mac's limo rolls into town. Turns out America's "Cooking Sweetheart" is bossy, bad-tempered, and downright domineering. Things finally boil over when Hannah arrives at The Cookie Jar to find the Winter Carnival cake burnt to a crisp--and Connie Mac lying dead in her pantry, struck down while eating one of Hannah's famous blueberry muffins. Next thing Hannah knows, the police have declared The Cookie Jar's kitchen crime scene off-limits. She's a baker without an oven--and the Carnival is right around the corner. Hannah's only alternative is to cook up a plan to save her business--by finding the killer herself. . ."

Review:
Another fun installment in this cozy mystery series. We get to see things slowly heating up on the romance front for Hannah (can anyone say “love triangle”) , but the story is still focused on the murder mystery and quaint small town living that drew me into the series in the first place. The mystery is a decent one in that I didn’t figure out who the suspect was right away. With a town full of visitors for the local Winter Carnival and a celebrity chef with a reputation for making more enemies than friends, the potential list of suspects (and motives) is high, leading me to make multiple guesses as to the identity of the murderer as clues are revealed. Hannah’s stylish real estate agent sister Andrea is an eager accomplice as Hannah snoops around for clues and yes, their on-going sibling banter adds to the charm this story holds for me. As for Hannah’s poised and polished mother Delores, I love that woman. When she is not trying to angle for a husband for Hannah, she is aghast at Hannah’s love for casual wear, wild hair and her habit of continuing to be the one to discover dead bodies in Lake Eden. Delores doesn’t pull any punches when she makes her opinion known through comments like this one:

“Hannah! You've simply got to stop finding bodies. I swear you attract them like a magnet. If you're not careful, everyone's going to get the wrong impression of you."

Just the kind of comment I would expect to come out of Delores' mouth, and brings a smile to my face.

Overall, another delightful, mystery romp filled with tantalizing goodie recipes.

Book #42 - Dancing on a Moonbeam by Kate Perry
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: RandomCAT - dance, dancer or dancing in title or as subject
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: eBook
Original publication date: June 12 2016
Acquisition date: December 6, 2018
Page count: 278 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Eleanor Westwood-Fehr gave up being a prima ballerina for dreams of love. Big mistake — and one she won't make again. Determined, she won't let anything stop her from opening a dance studio. Not her doubts. Not her teenage daughter. And certainly not her new mysterious neighbor, Max, even as she strikes a deal with him: if Max withdraws the complaint that stopped renovation on her dance studio, she'll help him with his movie score. Being a muse shouldn't be hard, right, because, for Eleanor, there's too much at stake to fail. She just never realized that rousing Max's imagination means rousing his passion too — for the music, and for Eleanor. Which is a problem, because what was supposed to be a simple deal becomes so much more as Eleanor lets Max dance his way into her heart. It should be win-win, except Eleanor isn't sure she can ever be triumphant in love... "

Review:
This definitely fits the bill for an easy reading, frothy contemporary romance story. No real big surprises as the story unfolds, right down to the expected tension between Eleanor and music composer Max. The added family drama of a teenager rebelling against her mom, a dad who has checked out as being a father and the meddling of Eleanor's ex mother-in-law Barbara - nicknamed "Brunhilde" - who is determined to keep Eleanor from chasing her dance studio dreams, keeps the plot going beyond the basic romance lines. Sticking to the sweet, modern fairy tale approach of the story, evil Brunhilde is offset by the calming, supporting and enticing influences of Eleanor's friends, including two friends who do double duty in the fairy godmother department: metaphysical shopkeeper Luna and the dramatic (and highly entertaining) Russian prima ballerina Anya.

Overall, if you like to read stories that fit the bill as a light romance bit of escapism reading, where hope and love wins, Kate Perry (the pen name for Kathia Zolfaghari) may be the author for you.

Domenico Starnone - Author Project Read: - Completed May 27, 2019

Stand Alone Novels:

..

First Execution - Read May 8 to May 18, 2019 - 3.90 out of 5 /
Ties - Read May 18 to May 20, 2019 - 3.80 out of 5 /
Trick - Read May 24 to May 30, 2019 - 2.80 out of 5 /

Overall, I enjoyed this author project read, even though the last story read was not up t o snuff compared to the earlier works, IMO.

MAY RE-CAP:

BOOKS READ:
........

35. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -
36. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke -
37. First Execution by Domenico Starnone -
38. Ties by Domenico Starnone -
39. Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke -
40. Trick by Domenico Starnone - / The Jolly Corner by Henry James -
41. Blueberry Muffin Murder by JOanne Fluke -
42. Dancing on a Moonbeam by Kate Perry -

May STATS:
No. of Books read: 8 - Not counting the James short story as a book
ROOTs read: 3 - Slowly getting back on track with my ROOT reading.
Largest book read by page count: - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte at 492 pages
Smallest book read by page count: - Ties by Domenico Starnone at 144 pages
# Pages read: - 2,262 pages - Yes, I am counting the short story in my pages read count. ;-)
Average # pages per book read: - 283 pages
Average # pages read per day: - 73
Audiobooks / eBooks / Physical Books: - 4/4/1 - With one audiobook used to read an ebook off my TBR pile.
Male vs. Female Authors: - 4 vs. 5 - counting the James short story read here.
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction Reads: - 8 vs. 0
Average Decimal/ Star rating for books read: 3.41 out of 5 /
Publication date range of books read: 1847 to 2016

BingoDOG Update:


May squares read:
5. mentioned in another book - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -
23. food-related title or topic - Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke -

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 22 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session:40.55
Kilometers walked in total: 863.47
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: In Rogue River, heading for Medford.
Points of interest along the way:: Communities passed through or beside this week include: Sunny Valley, Hugo, Three Pines, Merlin, Grants Pass and Rogue River. Sunny Valley is located near the Applegate Trail Interpretive Center, which offers visitors a glimpse into the colourful history of the region through stories of pioneer settlers, the impact of the stageline, the building of the railroad and the discovery of gold. The Applegate Trail is named after the Applegate family, lead by brothers Charles, Jesse and Lindsay, who sought an easier and safer southern route to the Willamette Valley from Missouri.


East Applegate Trail - as posted to Flickr by the Bureau of Land Management (CC BY 2.0)

Attractions in Grants Pass include the Rogue River, famous for its rafting:


Hellgate Canyon Viewpoint on the Rogue River - as posted to Flickr by the Bureau of Land Management (CC BY 2.0)

Grants Pass is also located nearby the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, a protected area that includes a marble cave:


Oregon Caves National Monument in Oregon - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Jeffhollett (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The site also has a six story hotel, the Oregon Caves Chateau, that was completed at the site in 1934. The chateau is built across a steep ravine. All floor levels except the top two have ground level entrances because of the steep slope. From the main front entrance the building appears to be only three stories high, but from the creek bed below the hotel, all six floors can be seen.

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Exterior shot posted to Wikimedia Commons by Acroterion (CC BY-SA 3.0) / Chateau coffee shop, as posted to Flickr by throgers (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

I just love the look of the coffee shop... so retro!

I like your idea of your author binge reading and might think about making that part of my challenge next year. Although, I say/think this every year and never manage it.

Lori, it looks like you are also going to be finishing up your Bingo Card very soon! Thanks for mentioning the Oregon Caves, my husband, my mother and I spent a day there - we ate in that retro coffee shop and went on a tour of the caves. My Mom and I opted to leave the caves at the halfway point as we both felt very closed in but it was a fascinating look at all the strange underground formations.

>119 dudes22: - Hi Betty, I know what you mean about collecting new challenge ideas around this time. I have to admit, I was a little
uncertain about my reading plans (author, series, Europa) this year. On the one hand, I feel FREE as I get to choice what series/ authors I want to read. On the other hand, I start to agonize about whether to commit to an author/ series read when choices are being driven by the desire to clear books off my TBR shelves and I only have a limited sampling of the books. It is a trade off and luckily, if I need to, I can focus my author/ series project reads to match my Europa Edition ROOT reads as I won't have to commit to a huge oeurve. ;-) That being said, I am enjoying my challenge reading enough to thing about a repeat performance for 2020.

>120 DeltaQueen50: - Hi Judy! I have decided that I will finish my Bingo card this month and so happy to learn that you have actually visited the Oregon Caves and the Chateau! I can understand the uncomfortable feeling of being underground in a close environment must have felt... must make booming business for the coffee shop!

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Wow, Tuesday. Where the heck did the weekend go? Oh, that's right. I spent part of the weekend transferring over to a new cell phone carrier. Other half has convinced me to abandon the carrier that I was not all that enamoured with and to sign on to a newer carrier that has recently expanded into the Victoria market. For my Canadian visitors, I have officially flipped from Bell to Freedom. Am I happy? So far, ecstatic! I am getting 5X the data plan, totally unlimited Canada-wide phone and text (previous plan had a 1000 minutes weekday, daytime limit) for half the price. I have experienced no difference in coverage (In fact maybe an increase in bandwidth - go figure) so no brainer on the decision. I inherited my other half's gently used iPhone 6S and already see a huge difference compared to my rather older Samsung Galaxy Alpha (which served me very well for the 4.5 years I have had it but it was starting to limp along).

Sunday was a beautiful day, with a touch of a breeze, so I went for a bike ride on some of the local trails. Fabulous morning.
Logged a 23 KM ride (I not counting bike rides towards my walking challenge) and I am already looking forward to a different trail ride this coming weekend. Here are some pics taken from my Sunday ride:

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The bike trail view is part of the Galloping Goose Trail. The water view is a body of water known as Portage Inlet in the neighboring community of View Royal. I should mention that Sunday can be a busy time on the trail - with cyclists, walkers, joggers and bike racers. When I stopped to take a picture of the water view, a lovely elderly gentleman (of European background) I had passed on the climb up to the view caught up with me. We had a wonderful conversation about the view and how way too many bikers just wiz by and don't stop to take in the view. Life is too short to not slow down and enjoy the wonders on your very doorstop.

It is a beautiful view!

Great pictures! And happy new phone :) Sounds like a significant improvement!

That is a great view - I'd be very happy to have that nearby!

>122 Tess_W:, >123 rabbitprincess: and >124 Jackie_K: - Thanks Tess, RP and Jackie. I love sharing the wonderful scenery I encounter with others.

>123 rabbitprincess: - the "new" phone is working out really well. Spent an oodles amount of time personalizing it but I am happy that I have all the network and privacy settings for all the various apps set how I want them and yes, it is an improvement. Ironically enough, Bell, my previous carrier was completely ambivalent about extending any kind of loyalty deal to me (they even had the audacity to actually jack up my plan by $5 just out of the blue) and now that I have switched to a new carrier, their loyalty department has called my phone (but does not leave a message) every day for the past three days. Soooo annoying! What can I say, a company that is completely out of touch with how to retain customers.

--------------------------
Weekend time and my plans are currently up in the air. The weather has been rather unsettled for the past 4 days - windy, clouds threatening rain (which never seems to materialize), etc. Windy means no kayaking. Windy and rain means no cycling, so this could potentially be a reading weekend, but I am going to take a wait and see approach.

Book #43 - One of Ours by Willa Cather
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Alliterative Title
Category: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 1922
Acquisition date: May 2, 2019
Page count: 406 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"One of Ours tells the story of the life of Claude Wheeler, a native of Nebraska around the turn of the 20th century. The son of a successful mid-western farmer and an intensely pious mother, thus guaranteed a comfortable livelihood, Claude Wheeler nonetheless views himself as a victim of his father's success and his own inexplicable malaise. It is a portrait of a peculiarly American personality: it is the story of a young man born after the American frontier has vanished, yet whose quintessentially American restlessness seeks redemption on a frontier far bloodier and more distant than that which his forefathers had already tamed."

Review:
One of Ours, winner of the 1923 Pulitzer Prize, is my third Willa Cather read, the first two being her more well-known stories Death Comes for the Archbishop and My Antonia. Cather’s prose is fabulous, as is her ability to bring to life her portrayal of Midwest Plains life. Her character development is exceptional, as is her vivid descriptions. Reading this one, it was like being exposed to a series of Impressionist agrarian paintings, where time (and technological advancements) move (are accepted) at a slower pace. I feel as though I intimately know both the land and the characters. The story focus is on Claude, an intelligent young man from a Nebraska farming family, who finds that his life does not have any purpose until he decides to enlist in the army to go and fight in the Great War. For Claude, this decision provides him with a way to fight for a higher purpose and contribute to the common good. Cather approach to war fiction (the second half of the story) is the same contemplative, introspective approach she takes when writing about hardscrabble Plains living. She does not sugar coat or exclude anything but she also does not dwell on graphic war details or focus on military strategy. Cather’s writing takes on a more holistic approach to the war, although the parts of the story set in France do not come across with the same graceful flow of the earlier sections of the story. Cather captures all of this through a slightly dreamy lens that may frustrate fans of war fiction like Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms (apparently, Hemingway was a vocal critic of One of Ours when it was published).

Overall, another wonderful story communicated through Cather’s simple, straightforward, descriptive prose.

Book #44 - Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2003
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 334 pages / 9 hours, 45 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Hannah Swensen thought she’d finally discovered the recipe for a perfect life. But her sometime beau Norman Rhodes tosses a surprise ingredient into the mix when he phones to tell her he’s just bought a house from local drugstore clerk Rhonda Scharf—which he plans to tear down in order to build the dream home he and Hannah designed. It seems the plan has been cooking for quite some time, and Hannah’s shocked. Especially since her ring finger is still very much bare. The good news is that the soon-to-be-torn-down house is full of antiques—and Norman has given Hannah and her mother first dibs. They uncover some gorgeous old furniture, a patchwork quilt . . . and Rhonda Scharf’s dead body. A little more sleuthing turns up the half-eaten remains of a very special dinner for two—and one of The Cookie Jar’s famous lemon meringue pies. Now it’s up to Hannah to turn up the heat—and get busy tracking down clues. Starting in her very own kitchen. "

Review:
Another fun mystery visit with the folks of Lake Eden. Yes, some of the dialogue and social expectations come across a dated. Hey, the story was written in 2003 and we are talking about a small lake town community - not some bustling metropolis - so while Hannah's "leaps" of concern regarding her "kid" sister's fashion (and boyfriend) choices and her reason for going on a diet tended to make me roll my eyes - Hannah has a re-occurring habit of making some interesting assumptions without knowing all the facts - it is what it is and probably should be tempered considering her own interesting "playing the field". No big surprises with this mystery. I enjoyed this story more for the overall community spirit - and the recipes, especially the pecan praline and orange snap cookie recipes - but I have to admit, not the greatest story in the series so far, but still entertaining to listen to while I am out walking.

Joanne Fluke - Series Project Read:

Hannah Swensen Mystery Series: I initially dipped into this series to read a food-related book for my Bingo card and in the process discovered that I rather enjoyed the characters, the quaint small town Minnesota setting and THE RECIPES, so, this has become my latest Series project read. This series should carry me through the next few months (there are currently 24 books in the series) as perfect audio material for my walking commute.



1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder - Read May 13 to May 17, 2019 - 3.30 out of 5 /
2. Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Read May 17 to May 23, 2019 - 3.30 out of 5 /
3. Blueberry Muffin Murder - Read May 24 to May 30, 2019 - 3.40 out of 5 /
4. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder - Read May 31 to June 7, 2019 - 3.10 out of 5 /
5. Fudge Cupcake Murder - To read
6. Sugar Cookie Murder - To read
7. Peach Cobbler Murder - To read
8. Cherry Cheesecake Murder - To read
9. Key Lime Pie Murder - To read
10. Carrot Cake Murder - To read
11. Candy Cane Murder - To read
12. Plum Pudding Murder - To read
13. Apple Turnover Murder - To read
14. Devil's Food Cake Murder - To read
15. Cinnamon Roll Murder - To read
16. Red Velvet Cupcake Murder - To read
17. Blackberry Pie Murder - To read
18. Double Fudge Brownie Murder - To read
19. Wedding Cake Murder - To read
20. Christmas Caramel Murder - To read
21. Banana Cream Pie Murder - To read
22. Raspberry Danish Murder - To read
23. Christmas Cake Murder - To read
24. Chocolate Cream Pie Murder - To read

Currently Reading:
....

Audiobook:
Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke (narrated by Suzanne Toren) - Still addicted to the series, even if some parts are getting predictable.
ebook:
The First Rose of Tralee by Patricai O'Reilly - An LTER win, and last outstanding LTER book, so far. ;-)
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - Admitting here that I have actually never read the story so taking advantage of the "pick a card, any card" RandomCAT for June (I drew the Queen of Hearts) to finally read this classic.
Physical books:
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths - A book bullet from VancouverDeb (and others) and a perfect fit for the "book bullet" square of my Bingo card.
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Still trying to get back to this one. Might just do a binge read to get caught up my next extended break from work.

>126 lkernagh: I've thumbed your review of One of Ours, Lori. This is probably my favorite book of Willa Cather's of the the one's that I have read so far and your description of it is spot on.

Excellent review of Ties. I've skipped over your review of Trick, but I made note to return to it after reading it myself. I managed to get an interlibrary loan for Day of Execution and I'm reading it now.

>130 DeltaQueen50: - Thanks Judy! Cather is such a wonderful writer, and One of Ours was just a perfect read for this time of year.

>131 RidgewayGirl: - Thanks! It is Day of Execution or First Execution that you are reading now? If First Execution, I will be curious to learn what you think of it!

----------------

Happy Saturday everyone! I ended up taking things easy today - after the usually Saturday errands were done - and settled in this afternoon with a delightful book/beer pairing:



BC Russell Brewing Company White Rabbit Lemon Raz (Raspberry) Radler was the perfect light, summer fruity brew while I went down the rabbit hole with Alice. I know... you are probably thinking that tea would have been a better pairing but the weather was just too darn lovely for tea (and interestingly, the Mad Hatter initially offered Alice wine when she sat down to the crazy tea party).

Plans tomorrow are to take a different bike trail and see where my two wheels take me. Monday is a day off for me and the tide tables indicate that Monday morning would be a good time for some kayaking so my outdoor activities are mapped out for the next few days.

.... now, how about a walking update? ;-)

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 23 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 47.48
Kilometers walked in total: 910.95
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: Due south of Talent, heading for Ashland.
Points of interest along the way:: Communities passed through or beside this week include: Gold Hill, Tolo, Central Point, Medford, Phoenix and Talent. Gold Hill, not surprising, is named for the fact that a nearby hill was the site of a 19th-century gold discovery. Gold Hill is home to the Oregon Vortex, a roadside attraction that consists of a number of gravity hill optical illusions, which the operators of the site like to think are the result of paranormal properties in the area, and not basic science. Prior to any construction of the area, local legend had it that Native Americans in the area referred to the site as a "forbidden" land, and travelers passing through would often find their horses refusing to go through the area. A gold assay office was built in the area in 1904, which slid from its foundation in the early tens, coming to rest at an odd angle, and creating the illusion of objects rolling uphill or off kilter.

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Oregon Vortex sign - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by James Wellington (CC BY 2.0)/ Inside the Oregon Vortex - as posted to Flickr by Major Clanger (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Gold Hill is also located nearby to Nugget Falls, a popular destination for whitewater kayaking.

Medford is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Oregon and, apparently is known for its excellent pears. Until the 1960s, Medford was a sundown town where African Americans and other nonwhites were not allowed to live or stay at night. According to Wikivoyage, one of the touristy things to do in Medford is to go on the Haunted Brothels and Opium Dens of Medford walking tour. Another suggestion is to visit Medford Railroad Park to tour the tour preserved locomotives and train cars or ride the operational miniature train line.


Medco Willamete 7 - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Drew Jacksich (CC BY 2.0)

>133 lkernagh: That Vortex sounds very interesting!

>134 Tess_W: - Thanks Tess, I like oddities and would visit the Vortex if I am ever in the area. ;-)

---------------
Cloudy and cool today - perfect cycling weather! - so I grab the bike and hit the trails. Went for a good 42 km ride along the Galloping Goose Trail and Lochside Trail. I headed up the peninsula and made it as far as Mount Newton X Road before deciding to turn around for the journey home. The route today was an interesting combination of residential streets as well as paved and unpaved recreational trails. Tons of bikers, joggers, walkers and even two riders on horseback on the unpaved part of the trail. Only one picture to share today, because of the interesting information found on the following trail sign (and enlarged image of the artistically rendered map):

.

Reproduced below is the small explanatory text displayed on the sign:

"The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Victoria purchased a plot in the Swan Lake area in 1891 and could not use it as a cemetery because of opposition from nearby farmers. The precise location was unknown until Dr. David Chuenyan Lai, Professor of Geography at the University of Victoria, developed an auspicious Feng Shui model to locate the site on the southern slope of Christmas Hill (formerly Lake Hill). The site is flanked on the east by Lake Hill (the Green Dragon) and on the west by a lower ridge (the White Tiger). It is a vitalizing spot backed by Christmas Hill (the Pillow Mountain) and faces a hillock (the Desk Mountain) and an expansive plain (the Grand Hall). Swan Creek and Blenkinsop Creek form a symbolic belt of wealth linked by Swan Lake (the Luminous Pearl). Tolmie Peak (the Worshipping Mountain) in the distance completes the circle of hills around the site. This location is a significant historical site in Saanich because it is the first auspicious Feng Shui site identified by the Chinese in Canada."

If I am not taking in the scenery, I am learning something while enjoying the fresh air and exercise!

>135 lkernagh: That's fascinating! I know the area well, and my husband was a tour guide at Swan Lake, but I haven't heard of this before.

>132 lkernagh: Ha, yes, of course it is First Execution and I'm very much enjoying it. I like the way he switches from his fictional story into his account of writing the story. I've been thinking about how much I want to read Days of Abandonment and the titles must have converged in my head.

I'm enjoying your walking tour. There are so many places in the world I still haven't seen.

I'm enjoying your walking tour as well - all the tidbits, and lore and photos are a better tour guide than I think I could find. This might be a crazy or silly idea, but I think you could pull it all together and publish it!

And in addition to enjoying the walking tour guide, I also took BBs for Baba Dunja's Last Love, The Paragon Hotel and First Execution.

>136 VivienneR: - That is so cool that you now the Swan Lake area so well! I used to work near Mayfair Mall 8 years back and do not remember ever seeing that sign when we would go for a lunchtime walk in the area, so a bit of a surprise encounter for me as well.

>137 RidgewayGirl: - So glad to see you are enjoying First Execution! I thought it was cleverly done - and now I actually feel motivated to consider attempting If on a winter night a traveler by Italo Calvino... I tended to shy away from that novel before. ;-)

I hear you on the places "haven't seen". Just like books - so much to see, so little time.

>138 LisaMorr: - So happy to discover you also enjoy my slap dash walking tour! ;-) If I ever decide to do a physical walking tour, I will keep a diary, that may - and that is a really big MAY! - find its way into some sort of rough manuscript, but I am one of those travelers that feels pictures make up at least 50% of the story (which makes writing so much easier, IMO).

Wow, a triple hit on the BB front! All very different stories and all wonderfully written, IMO. enjoy!

----------------------------------
Well, the weekend can and left in like a blink of an eye. I hate when that happens. Last week was rather busy on the work front. Summer has arrived on the island, already experiencing dry, warm conditions. Personally, I am hoping for rain this week, for a couple of reasons:

1. The lush green I am used to is turning to dried brown.
2. I (inadvertently) managed to get a minor sunburn on part of my legs while out kayaking on Saturday.

The kayak story is this: Went for a lovely 3.5 hour kayak that took my up the Gorge Waterway and back. Stopped to take in the dragon boat races that were happening on the waterway (nothing like a waterside seat!) and had a lovely time chatting with other kayakers. It was later on back at home that I discovered the developing sunburn. While I was really good about applying sunscreen to my arms, neck and face, I was distracted and forgot to apply sunscreen to my exposed legs (beyond the hem of my yoga pants). Because of how I like to sit in the kayak, I exposed a 2 inch strip of unprotected skin to the sun (the skin protected by the opaque black yoga pants and the kayak was fine. Suffice to say, this is going to be one of those "bad tan lines"kind of years.

Good news is I have been busy reading and have book reviews and a walking update ready for posting.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 24 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 27.60
Kilometers walked in total: 938.55
Current province/state: (OR)
My current location on the map: In the southwest region of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, heading for the Oregon-California border.
Points of interest along the way:: For those of you that thought I would have crossed over into California this past week... well.... Nope, didn't happen., I promise to cross the border in my next report. For a rather short KM walking week, I was rather surprised at the number of points of interest along my way: the community of Ashland (home to Southern Oregon University), Siskiyou Mountain Park, Emigrant Lake (and the Emigrant Lake Recreation Area), Buckhorn Springs and Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

Ashland - originally called "Ashland Mills" and named after Ashland County, Ohio - is home to Southern Oregon University and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Stated as a summer outdoor series in the 1930, the festival season now stretches from February to October and incorporated both Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean plays at three theatres. They even have an Elizabethan stage for productions:


Elizabethan Stage at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by T. Charles Erickson (CC BY-SA 3.0)

FUN FACT: In 2009, Ashland was the setting for the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Didn't know that, did ya? Well, I didn't. ;-)

Emigrant Lake, a tributary of Bear Creek, is a reservoir that is impounded by Emigrant Lake Dam. The resevoir was created in 1924 when the original dam was built for irrigation and flood control. Emigrant Lake looks like a lovely recreational area (and a lovely place to go paddling!):


A beach on the shore of Emigrant Lake, Oregon - as posted to Wikimedia by Melikamp (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Mt. Ashland Ski Area gets a special mention here as it is owned and operated by the Mt. Ashland Association, dedicated to providing alpine recreation experience for people of all ages and skill levels. The association offers the After School Youth Program, a low-cost/ free instruction to local youth as well as a crew internship program to give young people the opportunity to grow and develop at the ski area:


Mount Ashland Ski Area - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Joe Parks (CC BY 2.0)

Book #45 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: RandomCAT - Pick a card, any card - Queen of Hearts
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 1865
Acquisition date: May 2, 2019
Page count: 70 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the penguinrandomhouse.com book listing webpage:

"On an ordinary summer’s afternoon, Alice tumbles down a hole and an extraordinary adventure begins. In a strange world with even stranger characters, she meets a rabbit with a pocket watch, joins a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and plays croquet with the Queen! Lost in this fantasy land, Alice finds herself growing more and more curious by the minute . . ."

Review:
Delightfully fun, whimsically amusing and what an imagination! Between the outlandish characters, the silly puns and the play with logic, it is easy to see how this book is such a great story for both children and adults. Obviously, a reader needs to love - or at least appreciate - the nonsensical fun to fully enjoy this story, especially given the caricatures and the mayhem that is Wonderland. I can see where some adult readers may revisit this one for nostalgic childhood reasons, but I think I probably appreciate the story more as a adult reader, than I would have reading it as a young girl.

Overall, very happy to have finally read this children's classic.

Book #46 - Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2004
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 334 pages / 9 hours, 6 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.35 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"Bakery owner Hannah Swensen just can't keep her hands out of the batter when murder stirs things up in Lake Eden, Minnesota, leaving the sheriff dead, a deputy accused, and a killer on the loose. . . For years, Sheriff Grant's been the iron hand in town. But now, Hannah's brother-in-law Bill is giving the old blowhard the fight of his long, dubious career--and Grant's not taking it well, especially once the polls show Bill pulling ahead. But before anyone can taste victory, things go sour. While Hannah's emptying the trash, she makes a very unappetizing discovery: Sheriff Grant's body in the Dumpster behind the high school where she's teaching her cooking class. And as if that weren't bad enough, the poor man still has fudge frosting on his shirt from one of her cupcakes. The number one--and only--suspect is Bill, but Hannah's not swallowing it. Plenty of people had reason to hate Sheriff Grant. Soon, Hannah's dishing up scandalous secrets, steaming hot betrayals, and enough intrigue to keep the gossip mill at The Cookie Jar going through several pots of decaf. And the closer Hannah gets to the truth, the closer she gets to smoking out a murderer with a very nasty recipe for silencing people. . . "

Review:
Continuing with my Hannah Swensen Mystery binge audio reading. While the charm of the stories is not as delightful as my first encounter, I do still enjoy the sibling banter between Hannah and Angela, the community and small town life aspects of the stories. What I really liked about this one is there are two mysteries to solve: the expected murder mystery and a bonus culinary mystery. There is nothing more intriguing, IMO, than a closely guarded family recipe that lists a "secret ingredient". While I had no difficulty in solving the murder mystery - and listened as Hannah once again uselessly exposing herself to the risk of yet again finding herself in a murder's cross-hairs (so to speak) - the culinary mystery was a fun head scratch-er! I had a couple of ideas and was pleasantly surprised when the secret ingredient was finally revealed after numerous baking attempts by Hannah and Lisa, her Cookie Jar partner. On the downside, Hannah's love life drama is starting to grate on me.

Overall, another fun visit to the murderous sleepy town of Lake Eden.

Book #47 - The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: Book Bullet
Category: N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Hardcover
Original publication date: 2018
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 352 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare’s colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. M. Holland’s most famous story, “The Stranger,” left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the storylines of her favorite literature. To make matters worse, the police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her closest confidant, her diary, the only outlet she has for her darkest suspicions and fears about the case. Then one day she notices something odd. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary:

Hallo Clare. You don’t know me.

Clare becomes more certain than ever: “The Stranger” has come to terrifying life. But can the ending be rewritten in time?"

Review:
This story - billed as the author’s first stand-alone novel - caught my eye earlier this year as a number of Librarything members were reading and commenting on it. Having never read any of Griffiths previous works, I was happy when I finally got my hands on a copy and settled in for what I was hoping would be an atmospheric Gothic read. What I discovered instead was a modern day police procedural, more along the lines of Tana French’s The Secret Place, the weakest book in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, IMO, and not just because of the school setting similarities. With three narrators – Clare, her 15 year-old daughter “Georgie” and D.S. (Detective Sergeant) Harbindar Kaur – Griffiths manages to juggle the varying perspectives, with some success. The end result is a mixed bag of tidbits for readers to analyze, red herrings and all. Griffiths does a decent job ramping up the suspense but suspense only carries a story so far. This one tends to falter, largely in part to my reaction to the characters. I like D.S. Kaur, but I found Clare to be a bit of a cold fish and even Georgie came across a bit “off” for me. I am also not a fan of the added white witch stuff, either. As for the ending, that was pushing things a bit for me on the believe-ability scale.

Thankfully, Griffiths did provide a wonderfully atmospheric Gothic horror story, but in the form of “the Stranger”, a short story revealed as excepts throughout the book (and repeated in its entirety at the end of the book). Now that was fabulous writing! Everything I expect in a first rate Gothic horror story. Too bad the whole story wasn’t written in that vein. sighs

Overall, I get the feeling from reading some other reviews that this book is very different from Griffiths Ruth Galloway series, which is good to know. For rating this one, I would give the Gothic horror short story full marks (or at least 4.5 stars) but I struggle to give the main story more than a 3.2 stars.

>142 lkernagh: I think I read that one before LT, but I'm not sure so I'll read it, perhaps again, at some point. It's on my TBR list on Overdrive.

>143 lkernagh: I didn't even like the Gothic element that much. I rated it lower than you.

>139 lkernagh: Sorry to hear about the sunburn. It's not a problem we're experiencing much of in Scotland this summer. We've seen a very disappointing amount of sun this year (after last year which was glorious and thoroughly spoiled us).

That is unfortunate about the sunburn. My daughter is scrupulous (ever since a sunburn a few years ago, she has stopped thinking all of my nagging is just me being a mean mom) about sunscreen, yet came home from the beach yesterday with an odd half-moon-shaped burn on her back - she missed a spot when applying it.

I've finished First Execution and I thought it was brilliant. The way he moved between the story of Stasi and of his writing the story of Stasi was so unusual and clever. This would make a great book club book, although not for my book club who prefer more traditional novels.

>144 thornton37814: - Hi Lori, the culinary mystery was a pleasant surprise. While some aspects of the Hannah Swensen Mysteries are starting to become "same-old, same old", it is the perfect type of story for listening when I am doing other things as I don't have to give the story my full attention.

Gothic horror can be a turn off so I can understand your reaction to both The Stranger Diaries main story and the short story. I am not too bummed out as I like to use my local library as the source for new authors I am "trying out".

>145 Jackie_K: - Oh dear, sorry to learn that the sun has been so absent in your part of the world this spring, Jackie. We appear to be heading for another potential drought summer, which I am not looking forward to. It seems that climate change is drenching some parts of the world while leaving others parched. Just no balance.

As for the sunburn, it is turning to brown with no peeling but I have had to resort to wearing pants to work this week, mainly so I don't have to continuously explain the weird tan lines on my legs. So annoying, but totally my own fault!

>146 RidgewayGirl: - Thanks, It is a lesson learned (which you would think I would have learned a long time ago). Oh no, on your daughter's moon shaped burn! I totally get how difficult it can be to get sunscreen applied to all exposed skin areas. You think you managed to apply it everywhere, but never know for certain until after it is too late. ;-)

So happy to see you loved First Execution! Clever is the perfect work to describe that book.

>147 lkernagh: I'm with Jackie, sun? what's that?? It's been a very miserable and wet summer so far. I'm sure we could parcel the excess rain and send it to you...
I did a lot of running once upon a time and had an equally silly looking tan. (very) white legs to just below the knee, then brown to just above the ankle, then white under the socks. Coloured tights cover a multitude of sins >;-)

>148 Helenliz: - Oh no.... spring was a no-show and now summer is starting to look the same? You know, I would happily accept any rain that you are able to send this way. ;-)

Runner's tan. Ranks up there with biker's tan (with cycling shorts coming just above the knee) and my crazy kayak tan. I haven't resorted to coloured tights yet - too warm this past week to think about tights! - but I have resorted to summer weight long pants and calf length capris. I spent part of yesterday and today out in the sun (with two different strengths of SPF lotion strategically applied) to try and even out the result of last weekend's kayaking, but my legs still look uneven and silly. *sighs* ;-)

---------------------------
I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend last week and a lovely weekend. Weather on the island has been blustery, so no cycling or kayaking this weekend. Spent the first weekend of summer swimsuit shopping. I have decided that I am no longer a bikini kind of gal, so spent time scouring the store racks for a one piece that was in a colour/design I liked and did not have a bunch of strategically positioned cutouts. I also wanted one that would be suitable for swimming (not just sun bathing). I had no idea it is so challenging to find a suitable bathing suit. I finally hit success with a modest yellow one piece with a tropical floral print design, so I counted the shopping trip as a success.

I only managed to finish one book this past week. RL has been really busy lately so not much time for reading, etc.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.



Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 25 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 47.74
Kilometers walked in total: 986.29
Current province/state: . (OR/CA)
My current location on the map: In California, south of Yreka, heading for Grenada.
Points of interest along the way:: This week's longer walk saw me virtually walking past or through the following communities: Hilt, Hornbrook and Yreka.



Yreka is home to the College of the Siskiyous, Klamath National Forest Interpretive Museum and the Siskiyou County Museum. The town's gold mining heritage is commemorated by the high school, which uses a gold minor as their name and mascot. The core of the historic downtown, along West Miner Street, is listed as an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places:


West Miner Street in Yreka, CA - as posted to Wikimedia Commons by Publichall (CC BY-SA 3.0))

Book #48 - Sugar Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2004
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 384 pages / 6 hours, 4 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"The holidays are the icing on the cake for bakery owner Hannah Swensen. Surrounded by her loved ones, she has all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas--until murder is added to the mix. . . When it comes to holidays, Minnesotans rise to the occasion--and the little town of Lake Eden is baking up a storm with Hannah leading the way. The annual Christmas Buffet is the final test of the recipes Hannah has collected for the Lake Eden Holiday Buffet Cookbook. The recently divorced Martin Dubinski arrives at the buffet with his new Vegas showgirl wife--all wrapped up in glitter and fur. His ex-wife, however, seems as cool as chilled eggnog. And when Hannah's mother's antique Christmas cake knife disappears, its discovery in the décolletage of the new--and now late--Mrs. Dubinski puts the festivities on ice. With everyone stranded at the community center by a blizzard, Hannah puts her investigative skills to the test, using the ingredients at hand: half the town of Lake Eden--and a killer. Now, as the snowdrifts get higher, it's up to Hannah to dig out all the clues--and make sure that this white Christmas doesn't bring any more deadly tidings. . ."

Review:
Hum, a decidedly shorter novel “audio-wise”, compared with previous installments but longer in page count. It turns out, the print version of this installment has 81 appended recipes (considerably more than the average 10 recipes in the earlier installments of the series). It appears that Fluke continues her diligence in providing recipes for all food items mentioned in the stories. Since this one takes place at the Lake Eden holiday buffet, the recipes run the full gamut of appetizers, soups, sides, mains and desserts (for all the foodies out there). Not the best story to read on an empty stomach!

As far as the mystery goes, Fluke has made use of a classic “whodunit” strategy by employing a blizzard to contain the investigation (and the suspects) to the snowbound community hall where the holiday buffet occurs. Once again, this becomes a Swensen "family and friends" investigation, even though the police, in the form of detective Mike Kingston and a couple of constables, are on site. Hannah can be an annoying character as she tends to be driven to action too often by her emotions, not logical thought. I found some of what she gets up to in this installment – fueled by the green eye of jealousy – unappealing as she takes on the antics of a woman who just doesn’t understand when she should back down and let the police handle things. Maybe this appeals to some readers – having the female amateur detective prove she is smarter than her sometimes boyfriend detective Kingston - but that ploy is starting to wear thin with me. It is really the fun supporting cast (sisters Andrea and Michelle, mother Delores, alternate boyfriend Norman Rhodes and other Lake Eden residents) that really help carry the story along.

Overall, an alright story and a really quick read and a perfect if you are looking for a December holiday-themed story to read.

Currently Reading:
...

Audiobook:
Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke (narrated by Suzanne Toren) - 7th book in the Hannah Swensen Mystery series. These are kind of like eating potato chips, munching along even though the flavor isn't all that exciting anymore.
ebook:
The First Rose of Tralee by Patricia O'Reilly - Currently 1/3rd the way through this 19th century historical fiction set in Ireland.
Physical books:
Billie by Anna Gavalda (translated from the French by Jennifer Rappaport) - Dipping back into my TBR stash of Europa Edition books and pretty much a random choice selection.
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Still trying to get back to this one. Might just do a binge read to get caught up my next extended break from work.

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian visitors!

It has been a fabulous weekend. Taking a break from various events and looking forward to fireworks later this evening. Hard to believe that we are now halfway through 2019. I won't be posting a monthly or half-year recap. Just too busy and just no time right now.

The winds we were experiencing all last week finally abated and I was able to get in some kayaking time on Saturday, but the big crunch of my weekend exercising occurred on Sunday when I embarked on a 58 KM bike ride. Longest bike ride I have ever done and boy did my body inform me of that later on when I crashed in bed at 8:30 pm. I am not a late-night person at the best of times but 8:30 is early, even for me! ;-) Tying to stay out of the sunshine today with more intimate daytime activities.

In the meantime, book reviews, walking update and a Currently Reading update are ready for posting (so I can enter July with a clean slate).

Wishing all of my visitors a wonderful week ahead.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 26 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 31.71
Kilometers walked in total: 1,018
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: South of Edgewood, heading for Weed (yes, Weed) ;-)
Points of interest along the way:: This week's walk saw me virtually walking past or through the following communities and locations of interest: Grenada, Gazelle, Lake Shastina and Edgewood. Given that I didn't find any interesting facts to share of my virtual walking, I am going to share my 58 KM bike trip up the peninsula to Sidney this past Saturday. A beautiful day to hit the connected trail system of asphalt, wooden bridges, gravel and packed earth, traveling through residential neighbourhoods, conservation wet lands, farm lands, wooded areas and beach front:



Upon arriving in Sidney, discovered a local classics car event along the pier front and of course, had to take a picture of the Fish Market building on Sidney pier (to prove I made the distance!):

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The ride was filled with wildlife. Encountered 8 adult deer, a young fawn and young rabbit bounced across my path and, saving the best for last, stopped to observe a bald eagle perched on a rock in Lake Blenkinsop, one of the nature conservation areas on the trail route:

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All I had with me was my iphone so my close up shot of the bald eagle is not all that close.

Overall, a wonderful, exhausting day!

Book #49 - Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2005
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 381 pages / 8 hours, 49 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.65 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"With The Cookie Jar, Hannah Swensen has a mouthwatering monopoly on the bakery business of Lake Eden, Minnesota. But when a rival store opens, tensions begin to bubble. . . The southern hospitality of Lake Eden's two Georgia transplants, Shawna Lee and Vanessa Quinn, is grating on Hannah's nerves — and with their new Magnolia Blossom Bakery - cutting into her profits. At least Hannah has her business partner Lisa's wedding to look forward to, until Hannah finds out that Shawna Lee has been invited, and will be bringing the Magnolia Blossom Bakery's signature Peach Cobbler for the reception. Hannah doesn't like having the Georgia Peach in the mix, especially when both Shawna Lee and Hannah's sometime-boyfriend, Detective Mike Kingston, are no-shows to the wedding. Hannah has suspected that Mike is interested in more than Shawna Lee's baking abilities. So when she sees lights on at the Magnolia Blossom Bakery after the reception, she investigates. Everyone in town knew the Cookie Jar was losing business to the Magnolia Bakery--a fact that puts Hannah at the top of the initial list of suspects. But with a little help from her friends, Hannah's determined to prove that she wasn't the only one who had an axe to grind with the Quinn sisters. Somebody wasn't fooled by the Georgia Peaches and their sweet-as-pie act--and now it's up to Hannah to track down whoever had the right ingredients to whip up a murder. . ."

Review:
So, my experience with the Hannah Swensen Mysteries series continues to dip in a negative way, as I am finding certain aspects of the stories are starting (or continue) to wear thin with me. This review is going to be a bit of a rant... apologies in advance.

I don’t mind protagonists that tend to unwittingly and repeatedly expose themselves to dangerous situations. Some authors tend to write the stories this way on purpose to add suspense to the story, but Hannah’s hypocrisy is really starting to grate on me. I am growing very tired of Hannah’s “grammar policing”, correcting everyone’s grammar at a drop of a hat. *cue eyeroll* Also annoying is the whole love triangle. You cannot have a long term love triangle on the go and then get all uppity and complaining because one of your boyfriends might be seeing someone else. No Hannah, you can't have your cake and eat it too. No spoilers, but the ending to this one was just plain garbage IMO, as we have Hannah proving that she really is clueless and self-serving when it comes to personal (love) relationships. Yes, when push comes to shove, Hannah still doesn’t get her act together. Suffice to say, this type of contemporary romance drama does not appeal to me. Here is hoping it resolves in the next installment or I may just have to give up on the series.

On the mystery front, the mystery/murder cases continue to be predictable but I will give Fluke credit for tidy murder mystery details that, while somewhat implausible, still work. Too bad she didn’t pay closer attention to some of the non-mystery elements as some irregularities do crop up (kind of like continuity blunders that crop up in some movie scenes). I do like how this story picks up nicely from the previous installment and closes the loop on some unfinished business. You really do need to read this series in publication order to fully understand some of the character drama! Lake Eden residents continue to charm, but I am waiting for the day when Hannah pushes things too far with interfering in police business (she really came close to the mark in this installment, IMO, even if the chief of police is her BIL). I guess there wouldn’t be much of a series left if that did happen and she could only make inconsequential inquiries.

Overall, never a good sign when the protagonist starts to get on a reader’s nerves, so calling this one just a ‘meh’ read.

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Book #50 - The First Rose of Tralee by Patricia O'Reilly
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: E-book
Original publication date: 2019
Acquisition date: May 6, 2019
Page count: 300 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Mary O’Connor, beautiful daughter of the local shoemaker, dreams of a life beyond the hardship and poverty of Brogue Lane but must resign herself to life as a lowly kitchen maid. William Pembroke Mulchinock, heir to West Villa, is obliged to let go of his dream of being a poet to run the family estate. When they meet they are dazzled by love. The Great Famine is about to grip the country, Daniel O’Connell is holding monster rallies, pushing for Repeal of the 1801 Union, and the young lovers are caught up in the politics of the time. Can their love survive political turmoil and bridge the great divide between rich and poor?"

Review:
O’Reilly’s novel gives poignant life to the local Irish lore that the poem “The Rose of Tralee” (attributed to Edward Mordaunt Spencer and set to music by composer Charles Glover) was written by a local wealthy Protestant (William Pembroke Mulchinock) for a Catholic servant girl (Mary O’Connor) employed in his parent’s house. The characters, and their circumstances, are richly drawn. Both William and Mary seek a change to the status quo: Mary resisting the tradition of a parent-brokered marriage while William sees the appeal in the raising voices supporting the idea of Irish self-rule. Anyone familiar with the poem knows that this is a tragic love story. Under O’Reilly pen, our star-crossed lovers exhibit a purity of passion that literally shines through the turbulent times, makes this story such a compelling read. Rich in historic details, O’Reilly's novel beautifully captures the Irish landscape, class differences, the rising political tensions of the time period and touches on the tragedy of the Great Famine.

Overall, a wonderfully written story that is not overshadowed by the tragedy it captures and would make for perfect summer reading in the lead up to the annual Rose of Tralee Festival (at the end of August).

Book #51 - Billie by Anna Gavalda - translated from the French by Jennifer Rappaport
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category, ROOT
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Europa Editions
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2013
Acquisition date: June 11, 2017
Page count: 192 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.65 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"A brilliant evocation of contemporary Paris and a moving tale of friendship, Anna Gavalda’s new novel tells the story of two young people, Billie and Franck, who, as the story opens, are trapped in a gorge in the Cévennes Mountains. Billie begins to tell stories from their lives in order to calm herself and Franck as darkness encroaches. In alternating episodes, the novel moves between recollections of the two characters’ childhoods and their dire predicament. Franck’s life has been impacted by a childhood spent with a perennially unemployed father who toyed with Christian extremism and a mother aestheticized by antidepressants. A bright kid, Franck’s future was menaced at every turn by the bigotry surrounding him. As for Billie, her abiding wish as an adult is to avoid ever having to come into contact with her family again. To escape from her abusive and alcohol-addled family, she was willing to do anything and everything. The wounds have not entirely healed."

Review:
All I can say is "Wow". I am struggling to gather my thoughts on this one. Gavalda has created a wonderful narrative voice in Billie. A bit of an unreliable narrator, but that is in keeping with her divided personality: a strong, outspoken "no filters" speaking (and acting) young woman on the outside while a very shy, insecure and damaged individual on the inside. From a character development perspective, both Billie and Franck stand out. They are examples of individuals who have chosen to make their own path, and suffer knocks along the way. I cannot speak to the contemporary French setting, except to appreciate that it works as a backdrop for the fantastic character development. This story is very much a story of the unbreakable bonds of a friendship that survives insane stuff (most of the insane stuff is directly due to Billie, but hey, it is all about how true love goes beyond the typical (and overrated) sexual romance aspect of love).

At times, the story flows beautifully. At other times, the story takes odd turns that are a bit jarring. Overall, a story that at its core is an uplifting tale about hope, love and dignity and a positive message about overcoming the stuff that life throws your way.

Book #52 - Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanna Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2006
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 384 pages / 10 hours, 34 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Hannah Swensen and her bakery, The Cookie Jar, bask in the glow of Hollywood glamour when Main Street becomes a movie set. And although tensions simmer as the cameras roll, no one expects the action to turn deadly. . .until it's too late. . . There's no such thing as privacy in Lake Eden, but Hannah never thought things would go this far. Everyone has been telling her what to do ever since she got not one but two marriage proposals. Movie mania soon shoves Hannah's marriage dilemma into the background and even gives her cat a shot at stardom. The Cookie Jar serves as snack central with Main Street rented out for the week. She stirs lots of fresh gossip, whipping up treats for cast and crew, including demanding director Dean Lawrence's favorite--cherry cheesecake."

Review:
Okay... a bit of an improvement over the drama of the previous installment, but not by much. Even with the change of having a movie shoot happening in Lake Eden, Fluke tries to wrap everything up with a tidy bow by having two of the movie production team as Hannah's former university friends. That would have been okay except that we know have a new romantic interest to add to the love triangle already on the go. The fact that all three guys behave as they do (being overly accommodating, IMO) is just so darn fictional it really needs to been taken in with a huge grain of salt. Yes, my binge audiobook reading is probably starting to wear on me, but I cannot help but notice that Fluke has been imbuing our lead protagonist with certain behavior and personality traits that I am not all that keen on. As I noticed in the previous installment, continuity in details isn't Fluke's thing. At one point we learn that Delores (Hannah's mother) is the owner of a laptop computer and then later on we learn that Norman (one of Hannah's now three beaux) "hooked the computer up" for Delores. Really? She needed help with connecting the power cable to the wall power outlet? Little details like that can drive me bonkers. That, and I could have done without Fluke treating her readers like they don't know the first thing about a movie location shoot and explaining everything). Yes, the mystery angle was okay - it helps that there was a surprise mystery that gets revealed - but sometimes that just isn't enough to carry the story. Even the Lake Eden folks were not as fresh and inviting as in the earlier installments.

Overall, a cotton candy fluff cozy mystery fun with a movie shoot angle, so long as you don't mind Hannah's ever growing list of beaux and how she, yet again, decides that she needs to be the one to confront the suspect. I think I need to take a break from these stories.

Currently Reading:
...

Audiobook:
Oh Pioneers! by Willa Cather (narrated by Barbara McCulloh) - Taking a break from my Hannah Swensen Mysteries series and looking forward to dipping into another Cather read.
ebook:
Bethlehem by Karen Kelly - A NetGalley "Read it Now" book that caught my attention. A debut novel set in 1920s to 1960s with a grand ancestral home, secrets, tragedy and a cracking marriage. Sounds interesting!
Physical books:
Old Filth by Jane Gardam - A re-read for me in preparation for reading the other two books in the trilogy that have been languishing on my TBR shelves, way too long.
A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth - Still trying to get back to this one. Might just do a binge read to get caught up my next extended break from work.

Hello everyone!

Wow.... hard to believe it has been 2 months since I last posted. Time has just flown by! So, a quick update on what I have been up to is in order. It was a working summer for me. No vacation time this summer, although I do have this next week off, so BONUS that! Usually things slow down at work during the summer months, but not so this year. When I wasn't busy staying on top of work, I have had a busy summer outdoors kayaking, biking, walking and taking in various local events. This year was the first year I paddled in and joined the boaters taking in Victoria's Symphony Splash from the water. What a great way to enjoy the music, have a front row seat (the symphony plays from a barge floating in the Inner Harbour) and even better, no traffic at the end for the commute home!

Not much reading has occurred. I am embarrassed to admit to having read a whole 4 books in the past 2 months. Yup. You read correctly. 4 books. Reason: I have acquired two new time sucks: listening to podcasts and playing Township, a sim game on my smartphone which I have to say, is a brilliant way to learn manufacturing and supply chain management... just saying. ;-)

As mentioned, I have been walking and have continued to track my walking so at some point, I will have some walking updates. Given how long it has been, these might either be condensed or merged... not sure how best to approach this.

Now for those pesky book reviews, etc.

Book #53 - Oh Pioneers! by Willa Cather - audiobook narrated by Barbara McCulloh
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1913
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 148 pages / 6 hours listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.65 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"O Pioneers! tells the story of the Bergsons, a family of Swedish immigrants in the farm country near the fictional town of Hanover, Nebraska, at the turn of the 20th century. Alexandra, inherits the family farm when her father dies, and she devotes her life to making the farm a viable enterprise at a time when other immigrant families are giving up and leaving the prairie."

Review:
I should probably start off this review by admitting that I have not been reading Cather’s Prairie Trilogy in order, having read My Antonia around this time last year. Cather’s strength – IMO anyways – is her wonderfully descriptive prose. She knew how to paint a picture with words! Like My Antonia, Oh Pioneers! gives readers a strong female protagonist, this time in Alexandra Bergson, the eldest child of a Swedish immigrant family who takes over the running of the family farm when the father dies. Like other women in Cather’s stories, Alexandra is an individual with grit and determination, valuable characteristics to have to survive and thrive in the American frontier of the early nineteenth century. Alexandra faces family struggles as her younger brothers side with societal views of the time period and feel that it is inappropriate for Alexandra to be free to do as she pleases, so very much a story about a woman claiming her rights outside of the bounds of traditional social norms of the time period. While a short novel – more a novella – the story only hits a couple of stutters/lurches to the otherwise even flow of the story.

A common theme I have found in the Cather stories I have read so far is her ability to communicate to the reader the spiritual connection of land and people. Her characters are grounded, driven with a purpose and not flighty as one might find in some other novels. For me, the high points of this story are the strong female protagonist, the mosaic of immigrant characters from the “old country” that would have populated the American frontier of the time period and Cather’s wonderful, descriptive prose, written in plain, accessible language.

Book #54 - Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanna Fluke - audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2007
Acquisition date: N/A
Page count: 384 pages / 10 hours, 3 minutes listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"It promises to be a busy week for Hannah Swensen. Not only is she whipping up treats for the chamber of commerce booth at the Tri-County fair, she's also judging the baking contest; acting as a magician's assistant for her business partner's husband; trying to coax Moishe, her previously rapacious feline, to end his hunger strike, and performing her own private carnival act by juggling the demands of her mother and sisters. With so much on her plate, it's no wonder Hannah finds herself on the midway only moments before the fair closes for the night. After hearing a suspicious thump, she goes snooping–only to discover Willa Sunquist, a student teacher and fellow bake contest judge, dead alongside an upended key lime pie. But who would want to kill Willa and why? Now Hannah needs to crank up the heat, hoping that Willa's killer will get rattled and make a mistake. If that happens she intends to be there, even if it means getting on a carnival ride that could very well be her last. . ."

Review:
Back for a visit with the Lake Eden folks and I noticed that not much has changed (not surprising). Murder continues to be an ongoing occurrence for the lake town, and Hannah continues to dither in choosing between her two romantic interests. The town fair is a nice change of pace, introducing some new characters, even though I had to groan when Fluke rolled out the county fair baking contest as part of the story. Yes, it gives Fluke an opportunity to share more food recipes, something that is unnecessary given that Fluke doesn’t seem to have any difficulties in bringing food into any part of her stories. The mystery is okay, albeit a weak one, and it took a looong time before the murderous act occurs. When it did, I had to rewind back a few minutes to identify the murderous moment. And here I was thinking/hoping that this installment was going to be a murder-free murder mystery. Silly me. Of course, this means that the actual clues gathering and investigation is rushed through the final part of the story, and another strike against the overall effect the mystery had on me. Yes, I still enjoy the cast of Lake Eden townfolk that, IMO, give the series its overall appeal. I just wish I could understand why Fluke has taken to having her characters make Hannah feel self-conscious about weight, body shape and dieting…. I found that just, odd.

Book #55 - The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather - audiobook narrated by Barbara Caruso
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: Series
Source: GVPL
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 1915
Acquisition date: March 5, 2019
Page count: 275 pages / 15 hours listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"Set in the 1890s in Moonstone, a fictional town located in Colorado, The Song of the Lark is the self-portrait of an artist in the making. The story revolves around an ambitious young heroine, Thea Kronborg, who leaves her hometown to go to the big city to fulfill her dream of becoming a well-trained pianist, a better piano teacher. When her piano instructor hears her voice, he realizes that this is her true artistic gift. He encourages her to pursue her vocal training instead of piano saying ... "your voice is worth all that you can put into it. I have not come to this decision rashly." The novel captures Thea's independent-mindedness, her strong work ethic, and her ascent to her highest achievement. At each step along the way, her realization of the mediocrity of her peers propels her to greater levels of accomplishment, but in the course of her ascent she must discard those relationships which no longer serve her."

Review:
I am writing this review almost two months after reading the story so I will just provide some general observations, as memory serves. The Song of the Lark is Cather’s third novel, and is considered to be the second book in her Prairie’s Trilogy. The story itself is straightforward. Readers follow Thea Kronberg as she grows from a young girl with a beautiful singing voice to a woman who’s focused ambition leads her to become a prima donna singer. Not a “rags to riches” story. Thea’s story is one of how no matter how high your ambitions or how far you move away from your home, one never really leaves their past behind them. Thea is a strong woman, but she does have her flaws. I found it hard to emotionally invest myself in Thea’s character. Her driving ambition, at the expense of her relationship with her Swedish Methodist family, is laudable as it does achieve its end goal, but at an enormous cost, IMO. As with other Cather novels I have read, the setting – and Cather’s wonderful descriptions – play a key role in our heroine’s character development. Different aspects of Thea’s character come forward in different settings. Cather’s beautifully descriptive, straightforward prose makes this story a joy to read, although I did find the characterization to be more forced/contrived than I have found in other Cather novels I have read. I struggled with the last section. While it brings closure to the story, I found it came across as something that Cather may have rewritten a few times, never fully satisfied with the result.

Even with these less than perfect aspects, I loved this story, as I have with the other Cather novels I have read so far.

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Book #56 - Bethlehem by Karen Kelly
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: NetGalley
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2019
Acquisition date: June 24, 2019
Page count: 304 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"A young woman arrives at the grand ancestral home of her husband’s family, hoping to fortify her deteriorating marriage. But what she finds is not what she expected: tragedy haunts the hallways, whispering of heartache and a past she never knew existed. Bethlehem is a multi-generational saga that weaves together the lives of two prominent families during the historic steel boom era of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Inspired by the true titans of the industry, Bethlehem is a mystery, a love story, and a tragedy. It is a story of temptation and regret; a story of secrets and the cost of keeping them; a story of forgiveness. It is the tale of two complex women: the dynamic and beautiful Susannah Parrish Collier and her daughter-in-law, the outsider Joanna Rafferty Collier. Thrown together in the name of family, they will unravel mysteries long hidden and complex that have threatened to tear apart a dynasty."

Review:
A family of privilege. A majestic ancestral home. A strained marriage. A tragic accident. A family secret lurking in the shadows. If you like character-driven historical fiction novels that have more than one story-line and provides readers with an atmospheric experience of time and place, this may be the perfect read for you. This is definitely the kind of story I tend to gravitate towards on a lazy weekend when the weather makes staying indoors, curled up with a cup of tea and a book, so appealing. The story starts off rather slowly - more of a slow wandering pace - that is coupled with the author's detail oriented prose. I am a reader who appreciates descriptive setting details and don't mind when a story takes a bit of time to get going. This story isn’t all glitz and glamorous, fancy parties, chauffeur-driven cars and a life of privilege. At its heart, this is a story about love, temptation, regret, loss, acceptance and forgiveness.

As I have mentioned, the author's prose is delightfully descriptive. I found it easy to visualize the grand rooms at Brynmor and the lavish – bordering on decadent – 1920s debutante ball. The two story-lines – one set at the onset of the 1920s focuses on Susannah’s generation and the 1960s story-line representing the 'present day' - work well together. I found myself growing to appreciate Susannah and marveling at her strength. Joanna, not so much, but that stems from my difficulty in seeing Joanna's situation as a hardship or struggle. That being said, this story is strong on relationships and how relationship dynamics can change into surprisingly unexpected friendships. As for the family secret, I admit, I am a sucker for stories with a family secret at its root, and the author has created a lovely web of intrigue that slowly reveals the truth to the reader.

Overall, a wonderful historical fiction story set in the American steel-boom era.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Podcast Reviews/ Status Update:


Podcast #1 - The Black Tapes created by Paul Bae and Terry Miles - COMPLETED
Podcast provider: Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale
Website: http://theblacktapespodcast.com/
Publication Dates: Original run from May 21 2015 to September 7 2017
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.70 out of 5 /
Podcast description/summary: from the podcast website:

"The Black Tapes is a serialized docudrama about one journalist's search for truth, her enigmatic subject's mysterious past, and the literal and figurative ghosts that haunt them both.

How do you feel about paranormal activity or the Supernatural? Ghosts? Spirits? Demons?

Do you believe?"

Review:
Shout out to all X-Files fans out there.... this is a goodie! If you like stories about the unknown and enjoy radio/podcast dramas, this might appeal to you. The characters are fabulous. As with any audiodrama, the voices of the characters are just as important as the story itself. Alex Reagan (voiced by Lori Henry) plays the role of our docu/journalist host who is interested in the unsolved cases of Dr. Richard Strand (voiced by Christian Sloan), a man on a personal mission, through the Strand Institute, to debunk claims of the supernatural. We learn quite quickly into the story that Dr. Strand has a mysterious side that intrigues Alex just as much as his unsolved "Black Tapes" collection.

I do have a love for the spooky and paranormal, but in a form that isn't of the spine-tingling fear producing variety. The Black Tapes hits the perfect sweet spot for me.... but have to say that the last episode was not up to pare with the rest of the episodes in the series. Of course, I am upset that I have finished all of the episodes available through Apple Podcasts (apparently there was a tweet in March of 2018 that the show would return for an other season, but there is nothing on the podcast website so I am resigned to have finished what I found to be a binge-worthy fictional podcast series. I can highly recommend this podcast series!

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Podcasts in Progress:
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Welcome to Night Vale created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Podcast provider: Night Vale Presents (since March 15, 2015)
Website: http://www.welcometonightvale.com/
Publication Dates: on-going bi-monthly podcast, first episode June 15, 2012
Podcast description/summary: from the podcast website:

"WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of

community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events.

Turn on your radio and hide."

Comments so far:
What can I say... I am sooo late to the podcast world, and this podcast. Nothing like a bit of quirky, off-beat weirdness to catch my attention! Love the radio-show format, and I can understand why there is such a cult following. To many things to like to comment on here but I will give a special mention to the weather section which showcases an eclectic mix of music. Not something I can binge-listen to, but it is working out quite nicely as my audio-listen for my week day walking commute. Give that I am currently on Episode 31, I might be all caught up with the series

some time in the new year. ;-)

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Wolf 359 created by Gabriel Urbina
Podcast provider: Kinda Evil Genius Productions
Website: https://www.wolf359.fm/
Publication Dates: 61st and final espisode on December 25, 2017
Podcast description/summary: from the podcast website:

"WOLF 359 is a radio drama in the tradition of Golden Age of Radio shows. Set on board the U.S.S. Hephaestus space station, the dysfunctional crew deals with daily life-or-death emergencies, while searching for signs of alien life and discovering there might be more to their mission than they thought.

Tune into your home away from home... seven and a half light years away from Earth... "

Comments so far:
Think small-scale deep space mission (a crew of 4, if you count the AI) meets the character dynamics of Firefly. I personally love Communications Officer Doug Eiffel's witty sarcasm and attempts at procrastination when it comes to his assigned duties. Such a perfect foil for "down to business" Commander Renée Minkowski. I was a bit worried the AI unit would be a remake of the level-toned Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but thankfully, we have a wonderfully chipper Hera, the station's super computer that tends to suffer glitches. Yes,the station has a Chief Science Officer, Dr. Alexander Hilbert, who has his own interesting agendas. Suffice to say, I am finding it very easy to binge-listen to this podcast. I am currently on Episode 33, which means I am just past the halfway mark. Nooooo! This is a series I don't want to reach the end of (although there are 3 mini episodes, soooo one can always hope for more episodes to come)!

Good to see you back, Lori. We missed you. Sounds like you had a busy summer.

Welcome back from me too! I tend to binge-listen to podcasts, but also put one on after I've finished my evening book reading. Sometimes I fall asleep to them, other times I manage to finish the whole episode. I mainly listen to writing, comedy and documentary podcasts.

Great to see you back and posting!

Welcome back, Lori! Your work sounds like my work -- it was really busy this summer too! But last year was unusually quiet, so perhaps it just felt busier in comparison. Enjoy your week off!

Music on water sounds fantastic!

Do you work in supply chain? I did for 35 years, long before it was called that, but I retired in 2013. Unfortunately, the manufacturing plant I worked in all those years (but I eventually had responsibility for other plants as well) was shuttered in 2015. It still makes me sad to think of it.

I saw Bethlehem at the library last week in the new books, I'll be there tomorrow and will grab it if it's there. Sounds like my kind of book.

Great to see you back posting, Lori. I am currently reading O Pioneers and I am loving it. I also read the trilogy out of order having read My Antonia and Song of the Lark already. My favorite is My Antonia but O Pioneers is running a close second.

I can imagine how much fun the kayaking is - there are so many interesting nooks and crannies to explore in an about Victoria. Have you gone very far up the Gorge?

Welcome back, Lori! Thanks for the podcast recs -- "Wolf 359" sounds like it might be up my alley.

>166 VivienneR: - Thanks Vivienne, it is great to be back (so of, as I still need to return to my usual posting groove). I am just stunned that the summer has flown by so quickly. I am not ready for fall. ;-(

>167 Jackie_K: - Thanks Jackie! I would be that listener who would fall asleep listening to podcasts/audiobooks etc. I am curious to explore the variety of podcast genres out there. I mean, I know about TEDtalks (who doesn't), but there seems to be something for everyone. I am liking that!

>168 thornton37814: - Thanks Lori! Great to be back.

>169 rabbitprincess: - Thanks RP! I am not a fan of busy working summers but until I am ready to retire, I guess I have to take things as they come. ;-0

>170 clue: - The Symphony Splash is a wonderful annual event! I am blessed to live close enough to the Inner Harbour that I can usually hear the musical events from the comfort of my balcony but, yes, I have to agree, enjoying the music from the water was an extra special treat!

As to your question, no I don't work in supply chain (previously worked in biotech and now a public servant) and yes, it is sad when manufacturing plants shutter after a long time in operation. I can only assume that the industry has undergone quite the change as technology continues to develop and advance. I am quite happy with the more simplified version offered through my sim game: Product G requires Products E and F which are created from Products A, B and C (and sometimes even D) that you have to grow/manufacture (at a nominal cost to you) and ship to customer (sometimes with a time constraint). At least the game doesn't have any built in production malfunctions!

Oh, I will be most curious to see what you think of Bethlehemif you do pick up a copy from the library.

>171 DeltaQueen50: - Hi Judy! Oh Pioneers! is such a wonderful story. Cather's writing is fabulous, isn't it?

As for the kayaking, I have made a rather extensive exploration of the entire working harbour area. I always tend to start my trip from home as I find it more convenient to just carry the kayak to the end of our street (across from the harbour opening) as opposed to deflating it, packing it in the vehicle, driving to a location, unpacking and inflating it and repeating the process in reverse order when finished with the water fun (Yes, I am lazy that way). The farthest I have gone in a single trip is all the way up the waterway system to the head of the Gorge (to the bridge at Admirals Road near Craigflower Schoolhouse) and home. I really want to head further and explore Portage Inlet but it all comes down to timing: If I don't time the tides and water levels correctly, it is a bit of a bugger to make it through the reversing falls at the Tillicum Road/ Songhees Nation Bridge. The water looks reasonably calm but it takes an awful lot of paddle power to push through the counter flow at the bridge choke point! That and I have to say, I find the level of eel grass growing in the Gorge Park waterway to be disconcerting. While I appreciate the importance of the eel grass to the water ecosystem, I think the waterway is choking on it and it is not that pleasant to kayak through. I am still not comfortable enough to venture the other way (out the harbour entrance and hug the Esquimalt shoreline). Maybe next year. Either way, I am loving the kayaking! It is easy to pass three hours on the water and not even notice the time, so many interesting things to look at. This week alone I was able to glide silently past a Great Blue Heron; witnessed (I kid you not) two swans paddling along the shoreline near the Ocean Pointe Resort; and today witnessed a sea otter enjoying a "dirt bath" in a dirt area along the Songhees walkway. Thankfully, I was not out on the water during the two incidents in August where one and then two Orcas came into the harbour area. Wow, that became a rather long-winded response, didn't it?

>172 christina_reads: - Thanks Christina! I do hope you enjoy Wolf 359!

-----------------------------
It has been a fabulous week off from work. Kayaking and/or bike rides every single day, so lots of outdoor time. I did manage to find some indoor time to pull together a quick walking update for July (still need to do one for August, and then I can think about trying to get back on track). Plans for this weekend include my favorite food event (Ribfest) and some more outdoor time. Believe it or not, I have actually been reading a book (a Netgalley ER) and I hope to finish it sometime this weekend so I may even have a book review at some point to post!

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEKS 27, 28, 29 and 30 (the month of July) UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 149.47 (Week 27: 39.37KM; Week 28: 31.08KM; Week 29: 31.71KM; Week 30: 36.97KM)
Kilometers walked in total: 1,167.47
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: South of Cottonwood (and east of Hooker!) heading for Red Bluff.
Points of interest along the way:: Places passed through during this four-week walking period include: Weed, Black Butte, Mt. Shasta, Dunsmuir, the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Lakehead-Lakeshore, Redding and Cottonwood. Without even looking at pictures, I already know that the Weed to Shasta Lake part of the I-5 is filled with beautiful scenery. How do I know this? Because of how winding and curving the highway is on the map. I know, that seems like such a silly (an nonsensical) way to judge a road's scenic value, but this reasoning hasn't failed me so far. ;-)


Weed, CA as posted to wikimedia commons by Eric Guinther (CC BY_-SA 3.0)

Weed, with Mount Shasta in the background, unfortunately does not has as interesting a name as I was hoping. Apparently, the township is named after a pioneer and founder of the local lumber mill, Abner Weed. By the 1940's Weed's boasted the world's largest sawmill.
Book-related Fun Fact: John Steinbeck's novella-play Of Mice and Men begins with George and Lennie running away from Weed, where they got into trouble.

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Mount Shasta as posted to Flickr by Harold Litwiler (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) / Mount Shasta Police and City Hall as posted to wikimedia commons by Jim Heaphy (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Mount Shasta is both the name for the potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Mountain Range and the name for the city found in its flanks.


Sundial Bridge, Redding CA as posted to Flickr by Doug Kerr (CC BY-SA 3.0)

A couple of Fun Facts about Redding and area:
- The Sundial Bridge is one of the largest working sundials in the world--and serves as a pedestrian bridge over the Sacramento River in the heart of Redding.
- The Shasta Dam is the world's tallest center overflow dam - three times higher than Niagara Falls
- Redding is the second sunniest city in America, after Yuma, Arizona.

Happy Sunday everyone! I took advantage of a drizzly morning to prepare a short walking update to cover the month of August, so I don't fall further behind with my updates! Other than that, not much. Just a lazy day today, after a nail-biting Saturday afternoon watching the US Open women's final (YAY for Bianca!). With fall weather arriving, I may find more indoor time for reading.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

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Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEKS 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 (the month of August) UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 155.93 (Week 31: 30.37KM; Week 32: 22.17KM; Week 33: 31.49KM; Week 34: 35.09KM; Week 35: 36.81)
Kilometers walked in total: 1,323.40
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: Due south of Harrington, heading for Hershey and the outskirts of Sacramento.
Points of interest along the way:: Starting off this post with a couple of general observations:

1) the highway, once you get south of Red Bluff, is pretty darn straight (with the odd bends and curves visible on the map). Must make for a boring drive.
2) that the highway has different names as you drive along it from the Canadian border, through California. For example, the I-5 appears to have no additional names associated with it in Washington or Oregon state until you get south of Goshen, where it shows up on the map as the "Pacific Highway". When the highway crosses into California (more or less) the name changes to the "Cascade Wonderland Highway". South of Red Bluff, the highway name changes again to become the "West Side Highway/Freeway". I find that, well, interesting.

The month of August saw my walking diminish a bit as I was busy with other outdoor activities, but I did manage to virtually walk through or near the following communities: Red Bluff, Richfield, Corning, Wyo, Orland, Gapit, Artois, Bluegum, Willows, Loganville, Norman, Delevan, Maxwell, Cortena, Williams, Genevra, Arbuckle and Harrington. A lot of those names sound like the communities are named after founding or early prominent members of the community, but some of the names did seem worthy of investigation (Wyo, Gapit and Bluegum) but sadly all I was able to learn is that Wyo was formerly known as Stony Creek.


Main Street stores, Red Bluff California, as posted to Flickr by the Library of Congress

Interestingly, Red Bluff has undergone a number of name changes over the years. It was originally known as Leodocia, but was renamed to Covertsburg in 1853, only to be renamed Red Bluff one year later, in 1854. Claim to fame for Red Bluff is its annual Red Bluff Round-Up, one of the west's largest rodeos and is well known for its popular bull competitions. Trip advisor top things to do in Red Bluff include the Gaumer's Jewelry Museum and Lapidary and the Pumpkinland Chocolate Factory. I have to say, the company name brings an interesting vision of pumpkin-flavoured chocolate to mind.

>173 lkernagh: Thanks for the kayaking info, Lori. I spent a fair amount of time on the Gorge when I was a lot younger in a 1 person sail boat. We had a lot of fun and I do know how tricky the waterway under the Gorge Bridge can be, it's a long story, but when I was a kid, myself and a group of other girls had to be rescued from a rickety rowboat that had grabbed us by the bridge and carried us away. We were stupid kids who didn't have a clue as to the danger - but believe me, the father that rescued us made us work off our stupidity!

I read My Antonia first and will have to get to the others soon - really enjoyed your reviews!

I was excited to find out that the Alaska cruise we are on next year has added Victoria in place of Ketchikan, so I am looking forward to seeing your beautiful city!

And, taking a book bullet for Bethlehem.

>178 LisaMorr: I don't know what Ketchikan is like but you will definitely love Victoria. I used to live a short distance from where the cruise ships come in.

Lori, you'll have to visit Russell Books for me when the new location opens! I keep seeing posts about the move on Facebook and can't wait to hear all about it :D

>177 DeltaQueen50: - What a great story, Judy! I do like the Gorge as the waterway - except for the narrows - is pretty tame and makes for a relaxing paddle.

>178 LisaMorr: - Hi Lisa, happy to see you stopping by, enjoying my humble reviews. YAY for Victoria being a stop on your cruise trip! How exciting! Sad for Ketchikan but bonus for Victoria. All I know about Ketchikan is that it is the end point for the annual Race to Alaska (R2AK), an event I love to follow. I know the cruise ships are only in port for a very short period of time (some arrive mid-day and leave at midnight, etc) so I am happy to answer any questions you may have about the sights to see, etc. Feel free to PM me.

>179 VivienneR: - Oh, if you are on Facebook, you totally need to follow the Race to Alaska Facebook page!

>180 rabbitprincess: - I know! I am so excited that Russell's Books is moving into the previous Staples location on Fort Street. I love the fact that they can just "cart" the books across the street to the new location. ;-) Have you been following their Guiness Book of World Records quest to create the tallest pile of Guiness Book of World Record books?

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Well.... I guess it is "Good-bye" September and "Hello" October. I swear, I do not know where the time is going. I have decided to throw in the towel on my category challenge, which was pretty open ended to begin with, as I find I have a back log of LTER/Netgalley books I need to read and review. I guess I have just been too darn busy with other things. *hangs reading head in shame* Distractions continue to grab my attention, like the Acorn TV start this week of Season 9 of "Doc Martin". Love that show! Here is hoping that the cooler weather will get my reading energy going again. I hope to post a new walking update sometime this weekend (which will get me all caught up with that) and.... Surprise, surprise.... I finished a book! Even found the time to write a review (kind of had to... it is a NetGalley read).

Anyways, I will try to post more frequently than I have over the past three months, but no promises.

Now for that review.

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Book #57 - Singapore Sapphire by A M Stuart
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: NetGalley
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2019
Acquisition date: September 1, 2019
Page count: 384 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Singapore, 1910 -- Desperate for a fresh start, Harriet Gordon finds herself living with her brother, a reverend and headmaster of a school for boys, in Singapore at the height of colonial rule. Hoping to gain some financial independence, she advertises her services as a personal secretary. It is unfortunate that she should discover her first client, Sir Oswald Newbold--explorer, mine magnate and president of the exclusive Explorers and Geographers Club--dead with a knife in his throat. When Inspector Robert Curran is put on the case, he realizes that he has an unusual witness in Harriet. Harriet's keen eye for detail and strong sense of duty interests him, as does her distrust of the police and her traumatic past, which she is at pains to keep secret from the gossips of Singapore society. When another body is dragged from the canal, Harriet feels compelled to help with the case. She and Curran are soon drawn into a murderous web of treachery and deceit and find themselves face-to-face with a ruthless cabal that has no qualms about killing again to protect its secrets."

Review:
I tend to gravitate towards atmospheric historical fiction novels that transport the reader to a different time and place. With Singapore Sapphire, Stuart has captured colonial Singapore with an acute attention to detail. I am a firm believer that a good historical fiction novel is one that can effortlessly incorporate aspects of people, places or events from history into the fictional story-line. Stuart accomplishes this with ease. As with most “first in series” stories, there is a bit of a slow build as the author has to take the time to introduce us to our lead characters – in this case, widowed Harriet Gordon, who is seeking a fresh start away from England, and our British Straits Settlements Police Force inspector Robert Curran, who some of the local expatriate community feel is "going native".

Things I loved about this story?

One, that Stuart does not delay in providing readers with a dead body and a suspected murder to mull over. No point in shill-shallying around when the purpose is murder! While I found parts of the mystery rather easy to figure out, Stuart kept my interest to the end, throwing into the mix a wider web of intrigue and some suspenseful moments.

Two, Stuart has created well-rounded characters. Harriet is a strong female lead - independent, but not to the point of interfering in a police investigation (I hate it when characters think they can take over the police investigation as their own) - and is the perfect civilian "sounding board" for Inspector Curran.

Three, while we learn a fair bit about our characters in this story, Stuart has left room for further development. The author has imbued Harriet and Curran with enough chemistry for a possible romance, but leaves this as just a hint and leaves the field open, providing a possible rival for Harriet's affections. I should stress that this is not a romance novel, it just leaves the door open for a potential romantic relationship in future installments.

Four, Stuart adeptly captures the setting (right down to the humid, fetid climate), the romantic lure of the Far East and the colonial tensions, all without overshadowing the mystery plot.

Overall, I found this to be a solid mystery with engaging, well-developed characters and a descriptively detailed exotic location. Perfect piece of escapism reading for this reader and I look forward to more books being published in this series.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

That's a great review, Lori. I'll take a BB because I can always use another series (ha, ha). At least if I read it soon, I would be up to date on a series.

>182 lkernagh: Good review--you convinced me to put on my wishlist!

>182 lkernagh: I quite enjoyed that one as well.

>182 lkernagh: I thought it was a good start to the series too.

>182 lkernagh: Not a book bullet, but only because Singapore Sapphire was already on my TBR list! But your review is extra evidence that I want to give it a try. :)

>183 dudes22: - Thanks Betty, I really enjoyed the story and I hear you about needing another series to add to your reading list!

>184 Tess_W: - Thanks! It is a goodie, IMO.

>185 LittleTaiko: and >186 thornton37814: - So happy to see you both also enjoyed the story! Well researched and well written.

>187 christina_reads: - Ha, I love when I stumble across books that are already on my radar screen so I can relate! Happy to help nudge this one further up your potential reading list.

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Something tells me that I will probably spend the remainder of this year making only occasional visits to my threads. Real life continues to be super busy - I cannot believe that we are now in November. YIKES! I am definitely overdue for a quick update on my walking,which will have to be condensed into two monthly updates with no usual interesting facts research (sorry folks.) At least I can potentially surprise you all in that I have actually managed a bit of reading time - I kind of have to, I have way too many early reviewer books that I need to get through - so I even have two book reviews to post. Fingers crossed things will start to slow down in the coming months and I will be able to be a more active poster here, but I don't know when that is going to happen.

Any how... I hope everyone has been having an enjoyable past couple of months. Thanks for stopping by this rather inactive thread!

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEKS 36, 37, 38 and 39 (the month of September) UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 121.67 (Week 36: 25.97KM; Week 37: 35.97KM; Week 38: 25.61KM; Week 39: 34.12)
Kilometers walked in total: 1,445.07
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: Due south of Thornton, heading for Lincoln Village and Stockton.
Points of interest along the way:: Communities virtually walked through or near by during the month of September include: Yolo (love that name!), Woodland, Sacramento, Freeport, Franklin, Mokelumne City (another great name!) and Thornton.

Apologies for those hoping for my usual highlights. I just don't seem to have the time to do the research right now.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEKS 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 (the month of October) UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 153.90 (Week 40: 32.46KM; Week 41: 36.19KM; Week 42: 22.52KM; Week 43: 34.08KM; Week 44: 28.,65KM)
Kilometers walked in total: 1,598.97
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: Southeast of the O'Neil Forebay and the San Luis Reservoir, heading for La Jolla Ranch (strange, I tend to associate La Jolla with San Diego and I an no where near that far south!).
Points of interest along the way:: Communities virtually walked through or near by during the month of October are not much...Lincoln Village and Stockton seem to jump out from the map but other than that, small communities? I am guessing that this is part of the California freeway system that has been designed to bypass a number of communities. What really stood out for me as I was mapping my October walking? This one insane interchange in Sacramento:



Like, WOW! Okay, yes I am an island girl that like things kept simple so this would probably totally freak me out driving through it, especially if this was where I was changing freeways. It is just is so busy! To put things in perspective, the following - not interchange, not really sure what to call it - completely baffles me every time I have to drive out to the Victoria airport:



I don't know what it is... maybe it is the two roundabouts or just the whole complicated design that makes me tense up every time I have to drive the route. Anyways, long story short, I am one of those drivers that can do without playing a guessing game as to which lane I need to be in to safely maneuver through these types of complex roadways.

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Book #58 - Honoria by Marion Fitzgerald
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2019
Acquisition date: June 27, 2019
Page count: 546 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Local girl Honoria Kane is the scullery maid in the kitchens of Tyrone House, a job she took on reluctantly at her parents’ insistence. Christopher St. George is heir to the magnificent house and a vast estate in County Galway. His passion is horses, while his ambition is to become a member of the Turf Club and own his own racing stables at the Curragh of Kildare. Against all the odds they fall in love. But the road ahead is to be a long and rocky one.
Their worlds are wide apart and, if they are to be together, they will have to defy their families, social convention and the law of the land. Christopher is Protestant and Honnie is Catholic. In 1827, marriage between them is illegal. But to live together unmarried would disgrace both their families, break their parents’ hearts and affect the marriage prospects of their siblings. But Christopher is a risktaker, both on the racing track and off, and Honnie knows she has found the love of her life. They have to find a way to be together."

Review:
For historical fiction fans like myself, sometimes the longer the book is, the better. I like to be immersed in the time period of a story. It its obvious that this was a work of love for the author, by both her attention to historical details and, as we learn at the end of the story, her personal connection as a descendant of the real Honoria “Honnie” Kane and Christopher St. George this work of fiction is based upon. Now, I am one of those readers who tend to like to know about an author’s personal connection to the subject matter up front. In this case, that information probably would have made the story more appealing for me. As it is, I found the love story of Honnie and Christopher to be a bit of a snooze, starting off as yet another “big house story told from the perspective of a house maid” and venturing down typical plot themes. I was more interested by the historical facts woven through the story. Fitzgerald infuses this story with a number of historical themes, covering everything from horse breeding and racing, religion (Honnie is Catholic while Christopher is Protestant), Irish-English political tensions, Irish emigration and the devastating impact of the Irish potato famine.

Overall, this story may appeal to readers who can never get enough of an Upstairs, Downstairs-styled love story or readers interested in Ireland of the time period.

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Book #59 - The Immortal City by Amy Kuivalainen
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: September 19, 2019
Acquisition date: June 29, 2019
Page count: 256 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"In the heart of Venice, a woman is sacrificed to a forgotten god, sparking a mystery lost for thousands of years. Dr. Penelope Bryne is ridiculed by the academic community for her quest to find the remnants of Atlantis, but when an ancient and mysterious script is found at a murder site, she flies to Venice determined to help the police before the killer strikes again. Penelope has spent her entire life trying to ignore the unexplainable and magical history of Atlantis, but when she meets the enigmatic Alexis Donato, everything she believes will be challenged. Little does she know, Alexis has spent the last three years doing his best to sabotage Penelope's career so doesn't learn the truth--Atlantis had seven magicians who survived, and who he has a duty to protect. As Alexis draws her into the darkly, seductive world of magic and history, Penelope will have to use her heart as well as her head if she is to find the answers she seeks. With the new MOSE system due to come online, and Carnivale exploding around them, Penelope and Alexis will have to work together to stop the killer and prevent dark magic from pulling Venice into the sea."

Review:
Part murder mystery and part fantasy, I admit I wasn’t really sure how this genre combination would work, especially with the romance angle I discovered woven into the story. I am not a big fan of romance, but I am a sucker for murder mysteries, especially the police procedural kind. I also tend to like my fantasy to be in small doses, with a story having fantasy elements (like the magicians in this story) but still grounded in a reality that I can easily relate to. Add in beautiful, descriptive settings like Venice and throw into the mix something mysterious like the lost city of Atlantis and chances are I will find the premise intriguing enough to start reading. While I enjoyed the setting and the characters – especially Venetian police Inspector Marco and the other Atlantean magicians – I found the story was short on police procedural aspects and gave a bit too much attention to the sexual tension between Penelope and Alexis. Just a heads up if you are reading this review and like me, really don’t want romance as a prominent theme running through the story. I am also not a big fan of the ending. It just doesn't work for me, even if we are talking about a story with fantasy elements. For a first book in the planned The Immortal City series, the author has done a good job acquainting readers with the characters while still leaving room for further development in future books.

If I have to nail this book down for potential readers, I would have to say that this one will probably best appeal to readers who enjoy Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches, a book that was a fun read for me, but not something I would gush over with great enthusiasm.

Great to see you, Lori! I can't believe it's November already either. Hope you managed to get out and enjoy lots of kayaking this year! Is it still warm enough for that, or is it time to start thinking of winter outdoor activities?

Hi RP! I did get in a lot of biking and kayaking this year. The weather in October convinced me to prep and store my bike for the winter... that and some of the trails I like to bike on are undergoing in maintenance, so no incentive for me to bundle up and go riding. As for the kayak, I haven't put it away for winter just yet... Part of me is still hopeful for a last burst of warm fall weather, but my other half is starting to nag me to store it away. Downsides of living in a small space with limited storage space... can't just toss it into the basement, a spare room or a garage and just pull it out when the urge strikes. ;-)

I am still walking, which is the easiest of the winter outdoor activities for me, but I am keeping my eyes open for winter options.

>190 lkernagh: I found myself nodding along as you described your tenseness while driving that airport route, Lori. It's fine if I am going straight to the ferry terminal but getting off at that interchange and heading for the airport is downright confusing! Perhaps it's just a matter of getting used to the new roads.

>195 DeltaQueen50: - Hi Judy, so glad to see it isn't just me who finds that interchange so unnerving! I think I would have to drive that route rather frequently before I get comfortable. Good thing I donn't need to do that very often. :)

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Happy weekend everyone. I seem to be getting back into my reading and LT time groove (must be the colder, wet weather and the shorter daylight time). It is now craft fair season so I have been busy this weekend taking in two craft fairs - one focused on vintage and one showcasing various artisans. Saw some amazing pendants made out of broken shards of old china and happily found my favorite antipasto seller at one of the fairs, so stockpiled to get me though the next few weeks until the Out of Hand Craft Fair later this month. I also discovered oat shortbread - so good! - which I have to try and make myself as the vendor is not local and the cookies would probably suffer damage in shipping.

On the reading front, I have finished another book (Deprivation by Roy Freirich, Meerkat Press), a gripping thriller/suspense/action/horror that I will be giving some good buzz about. I still need to write the review. It is an ARC that will not be published until March 2020 so I also need to figure out if I am okay to post a review early or if I need to wait until closer to publication date. This one came to my attention via an email from the publisher and I would like to thank the publisher for bringing this ARC to my attention, and for providing me with yet another source to access ARCs: Edelweiss+. So dangerous to have yet another source for ARCs!

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!

.






Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 45 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 24.72
Kilometers walked in total: 1,623.69
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: Due west of La Jolla Ranch, heading for Chaney Ranch.
Points of interest along the way:: Absolutely nothing but freeway. sighs

.... that and I really need to amp up my walking if I intend to get to Disneyland by New Years Eve.

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day so I plan to attend the ceremonies at the Legislature cenotaph.

Lest we forget:

The Thin Red Line - Harold H. Piffard (Original artist) Restoration by Adam Cuerden, University of Victoria Digital Collections - as posted to Wikimedia Commons

>182 lkernagh: I took a BB for Singapore Sapphire. I love both mysteries and historical fiction, and I enjoy reading stories set in Singapore, as my brother lives there. Thanks for the detailed review.

>198 lkernagh: That's a lovely painting.

>199 mathgirl40: - I hope you enjoy it, Paulina! So exciting to learn that your brother lives in Singapore! I spent part of my youth in Southeast Asia (we lived in Indonesia for a number of years for my dad's work with 'leave' visits to Singapore) and I have very fond memories of the region. Sadly, I haven't been back to Singapore since 1991 so I am sure it is probably a very different place now than my fond memories bring up. ;-)

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Happy weekend for all my LT visitors and happy Grey Cup weekend for my Canadian friends! I know that my visits here are continuing to be sporadic at best. Work continues to be busy and, of course, off-work time is now busy with things like craft fairs, etc. I do love this time of year for craft fairs! I am more of a foodie person - although I can be attracted to the jewellry and pottery displays as well! - and there have been a lot of great vendors this year.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!

One review and a walking update to follow.

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Book #60 - Deprivation by Roy Freirich
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: Edelweiss ARC
Format: eBook
Original publication date: Advertised publication date: March 3, 2020
Acquisition date: October 26, 2019
Page count: 275 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"Deprivation is a gripping psychological thriller set on a small New England coastal island stricken by an epidemic of insomnia. After a mysterious, silent child is found abandoned on the beach clutching a handheld video game, residents and tourists alike find themselves utterly unable to sleep. Exhaustion impairs judgment, delusions become hysteria, and mob rule explodes into shocking violence. Told from three perspectives: Chief of Police Mays tries to keep order, teen-aged tourist Cort and her friends compete in a dangerous social media contest for the most hours awake, while local physician and former Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Sam Carlson battles his guilt over a student's suicide and the blurriness of his own insomnia, to try to treat the sleepless - until he and the child must flee the violent mob that blames the child for the epidemic."

Review:
Freirich makes use of his screenwriting experience to give readers an easy to visualize, well paced story that kept me reading late into the night. When it comes to psychological thrillers, I gravitate toward stories that have a slow, building suspense where the boding premonition of bad things to come is a big part of the thrill experience. Deprivation is set, aptly, in a small waterfront community approaching the “end-of-season” visitor wind-down: shabby use-worn vacation rentals filled with half-hearted or overly boisterous holiday-goers mingling with tourist-weary locals. The perfect setting for just about anything to happen, right? The story is based on an interesting premise: What could happen if insomnia were to spread through an isolated community not adequately equipped to deal with the situation? Add to the equation a mysterious, abandoned child no one seems to know anything about and you have a human nature experiment not very different, in the abstract, from other fiction works likes William Golding’s classic Lord of the Flies.

Descriptively detailed and finely nuanced, the reader gets the impression early on that something is just not quite right. Told from the perspective of three characters – the veteran local police chief, the younger former psychiatrist now local GP physician for treating minor ailments and a visiting teenager – Freirich keeps the story on track, ratcheting up the suspense in sync with the growing fatigue/malaise/tension of the inhabitants. Yes, there are some shocking scenes (so be forewarned if acts of violence or depictions of self-harm disturb you) but the overall effect is hazy/muted, in keeping with the mental and physical toll the insomnia brings on our narrators.

Overall, a solid suspense/thriller story with a believable "what if" premise.

I would like to thank Edelweiss Plus and Meerkat Press for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!
.





Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEKS 46 and 47 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 72.66 (Week 46=31.41 KM; Week 47=41.25 KM)
Kilometers walked in total: 1,696.35
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: Due south of the West Side Freeway/S Ell Dorado Avenue exchange and heading for... Kettleman City?
Points of interest along the way: Okay,.... someone please inform me. Is the section of the I-5 south I have been virtually walking through for the past 6 weeks really this boring (devoid of interesting landmarks, etc?). I know it is a freeway and we do have loooong stretches of highway in Canada that is a complete snoozefest to drive through ("Oh, wow, look Hon, a house! A barn! A cow! A bend in the road, how exciting!) so I probably shouldn't bemoan that I really don't have anything interesting to report, YET AGAIN except to say that I really do have my doubts that I will make it to Disneyland before New Years eve. What can I say, I have been too busy the past few weekends attending Holiday craft fairs, and no, I do not count the walking I do in the various arenas and conference centres as part of my walking tally.... hummm... maybe I should be.

>200 lkernagh: My hubby grew up in Singapore in the 70s and early 80s. He hasn't been back either since the late 80s. And for some reason, I am drawn to books that include Raffles Hotel - who knows why?!

>202 lkernagh: Oh, there's *nothing* out there. Many, many years ago I lived in the Bay Area but went to LA for holidays. I started taking US 101 as an alternate because I-5 was so boring. The good news is that you *are* making progress and eventually you will see the mountains at the south end of the San Joaquin Valley ahead of you. Good luck!

>198 lkernagh: a beautiful pic!
>201 lkernagh: a BB for me!

>203 JayneCM: - The Raffles Hotel is such a fabulous landmark and piece of Singapore history! The phrase is that "You haven't visited Singapore unless you have had a Singapore Sling at Raffles". Your husband must have some interesting stories! Our typical haunting grounds were Orchards/Scotts Roads. I have fond memories of the C.K. Tang Emporium, which was such a fabulous warehouse-styled market before they became Tangs, which is more department store style and setup. I also have fond foodie memories of Newton's Circus. ;-)

>204 NinieB: - That is good to know! I always worry about boring roadways as it is easier for a driver to get bored or not pay as close attention as they should be. Thanks for the encouragement, I am going to need it!

>205 Tess_W: - Thanks Tess! Hope you enjoy the BB. ;-)

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Wow, another weekend. Belated Happy Thanksgiving wishes to my American visitors! We have now officially turned the corner and heading into the home stretch for 2019 holidays. I will be traveling to Alberta for the holidays this year (other half has commitments that will keep him in town), so we have been tossing around whether or not to put up the Christmas tree this year. Well, I should say that I have been asking if he wants me to put up the tree (because that is my job) and I am still not getting a straight answer, so who knows. Still have a few weeks where he can continue to debate the issue but at some point, the decision will be made whether he likes it or not. ;-)

On the RL front, work continues to be busy. Craft fairs continue. I am taking things easy today. yesterday evening I noticed that my left shoulder was starting to feel stiff and sore, just like the day after receiving a flu shot. By the time we went to bed last night, it was definitely sore and I had limited movement before the pain kicks in. It it pretty much the same today, making tasks like drive a tad uncomfortable. I had a frozen shoulder experience some three years ago in my right shoulder (this time it is the left shoulder area) and I am wondering if that is what is happening since I haven't done anything to strain or injure the shoulder. So frustrating!

On the reading front, I have managed to make continued progress on my backlog of ARC/LTER books so posting two book reviews, walking update and something I haven't posted in a while, my Currently Reading update.

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Book #61 - The Nanny at Number 43 by Nicola Cassidy
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: July 1, 2019
Acquisition date: August 13,2019
Page count: 344 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"When William D. Thomas’s wife dies in childbirth, he places an advertisement in his local newspaper seeking a nanny for his newborn child. He is thankful when an experienced nanny arrives at 43 Laurence Street and takes over from his frazzled housekeeper Mrs McHugh. Mrs McHugh confides in her bedridden friend Betty, who has a bird’s-eye view of all the happenings on Laurence Street, that the Nanny is not all she seems. Betty begins her own investigation into the mysterious woman. When the bodies of twin babies are discovered buried in a back garden, by a family who have moved from their tenement home into a country cottage, a police investigation begins. But it is Betty who holds the key to discovering who the Nanny really is … and the reason she came to 43 Laurence Street."

Review:
Billed by some as a historical mystery, I prefer to call this a “historical crime novel”, giving more weight to the sinister, malevolent aspects of the story. Told through shifting narration and a series of flashbacks, the pieces to the crime puzzle slowly come to light.

Things I like about this one:

Pacing – the story has a slower, methodical pace that some readers may find plodding but I found it helped to build the tension.
Character development – With any crime novel, I tend to want to know what makes someone do the evil things they do (the whys), not just the details about the crime. Through the use of flashbacks and multiple narrations this reader was left - at the end of the story - with a understanding of the motivations behind the crime.
Atmosphere – The story provides some interesting foreshadowing that really helps amp up the overall feeling of foreboding.

Things that I did not like (or struggled with):

Non-linear storyline – OK, I typically have no problem with stories that tend to jump around, but in this case, I found it was not clear until the end how two seemingly separate storylines converge. Definitely a story that you want to focus on and read through with only a few interruptions.
Details – It is rare for me to need to take notes as I am reading, but there were a couple of times while reading this one where I wish I had been taking notes (“I thought there was only one baby, why are we now talking about two babies?”, etc). Now, this may have been due in part to the fact that I had to put the book down for over a week as I was busy with real life matters and kind of lost the flow and story schema I had mapped in my mind. Also, a number of the details don’t seem important until the puzzle is complete, so if you read this one and start wondering where the heck the author is going, trust me, if you stick it through to the end, it all then makes sense.

Overall, a cleverly crafted historical crime novel that may appeal to readers who enjoy a psychological suspense read with a descriptively detailed, historical setting.

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Book #62 - Daughter of the Storm by Tina Callaghan
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: September 5, 2019
Acquisition date: August 13,2019
Page count: 245 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the fantasticfiction.com book listing webpage:

"Lia needs to find out why her father died the way he did, back on the island off Ireland's coast. The only way to understand what happened is to go to the isolated weather-beaten island herself. However, there's more to the island than cliffs and storms and history. It also has its close-knit community. Like Ed, a young man who's troubled and almost ready to leave; Lia's Uncle Harry and his secretive friends; heavily pregnant Becky and her worried parents Rose and Frank. Everyone is either dreading the violent winter storms to come or, strangely, praying for them. And then there's the Hall, the crumbling, brooding mansion that has held all of the island's secrets for centuries. It's out there, on the edge of the grey sea, and the coming storm will release all that it has hidden. As Lia, Ed and the others find themselves trapped on the island by the storm, they find they must fight for more than their survival. They must fight to save their immortal souls."

Review:
This is a solid piece of YA supernatural/thriller story-telling steeped in Irish Gothic/horror atmosphere. If you are a reader like I am and tend to give stories a bit of a reality fact check while reading, you might question some minor points as I did, like a 16-year-old who secretly decides to board a plane from New York to Ireland and on to an island she has never visited and just "show up" unexpected on her uncle Harry's doorstep. Each chapter is prefaced with a quote, usually from a novel. Given the frequency of quotes derived from Bram Stoker's Dracula, it is kind of hard to not take these quotes as foreshadowing. That being said, I enjoyed this one, predominantly for the secluded island setting and the overall dark, suspenseful atmosphere. The secret the island harbours and the outcome were okay, but didn't pull me in like I had hoped it would. I think I would have preferred it better if the secret had an Irish folklore aspect to it.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!
.





Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 48 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 31.49
Kilometers walked in total: 1,727.84
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: Due southwest of Kettleman City/Station, heading for Lost Hills.
Points of interest along the way: I am determined to have something to post this time. A bit of a challenge with the sparse communities my virtual walking took my nearby or through this past week. Most communities are too small to qualify for town or municipality designation. Even so, I did manage to stumble across something post-worthy: Bravo Farms in Kettleman City. According to the internet, Bravo Land is a fake frontier tourist attraction/pit stop for road weary travelers that opened in 2014. Sorry, no pictures. I couldn't find any with usage rights that would let me re-post here, so instead, here is a link to a short 1.5 minute YouTube video for anyone interested in 'virtually experiencing' the place:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgSxEJzUXz0

At least I am getting closer to Bakersfield. I am sure I will find interesting things to post about when I get there.

Currently Reading:
..
Audiobook:
Nothing. Still dipping into podcasts but with the lack of sunlight hours at this time of year, I am not "tuned out" listening to audios during my weekday walking commute.
ebook:
Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel - a Netgalley read that caught my eye.
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - Having seen on the buzz about the Serial Reader app, I have taken the plunge and have started reading Thackeray's work on my iPhone. Based on the daily delivery, I won't be finished this one until late February or early March 2020.
Physical books:
Nothing. I have decided that I have abandoned my participation in the group read of A Suitable Boy by Virkram Seth. Will be putting that one back on the bookshelf to be tackled again at some later date.

>210 lkernagh: Yay Serial Reader! :) I hope it works out for you.

>206 lkernagh: We've been to Raffles a couple of times, on package deals. It's a great hotel, but the most interesting thing for me was to sit somewhere in the foyer and watch people who had never been there before--looking around almost furtively and often with a "do I really belong here?" look. Fortunately, I learned some time back that with a really grand establishment like that, the only way to deal is to tramp in like you own the place.

OTOH I think Singapore Slings are disgusting.

>210 lkernagh: I've been reading Vanity Fair since March or April - I'm determined to finish it by the end of the year, as otherwise I won't have met my overall challenge, but I've been making heavy weather of it.

>210 lkernagh: Serial Reader was the only way I was able to read Moby Dick. I think I will start Vanity Fair soon.

>211 rabbitprincess: - Serial Reader is so convenient, RP! Thanks for nudging the app. ;-)

>212 haydninvienna: - Great observations about Raffles! I agree with you, best to not let the history, etc of an establishment deter someone for taking full advantage to enjoy their visit. I have taken many a visitor to the Empress Hotel here in Victoria for high tea and once they get past oogling the place, they do settle in and enjoy the tea, just as if they were at a quaint tea shop. ;-)

LOL re: Singapore Sling! I also am not a fan of the drink. I am a wine, beer and single malt scotch kind of gal. No cocktails for me.

>213 Jackie_K: - Wishing you good luck with completing Vanity Fair! I am only 18 installments into the story and so far, my observations are that Thackeray has a more accessible writing style than I found in Samuel Richardson's Clarissa, so I am optimistic that I will enjoy reading this one via the app.

>214 Tess_W: - I have yet to read Moby Dick. I have been considering that as one of the next reads so glad to see reading it via the app worked for you!

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It is a cold, windy, overcast Sunday morning. My shoulder is doing a little better. My other half did some online research and we decided last night that I should try sleeping with an extra pillow to prop up my shoulder/arm and a rolled up towel between by arm and my body, and that seems to have helped. I seem to have more mobility in the arm before I get pain or it resists moving in the direction I want it to move, so I think another day of just relaxing on the couch reading is in order. ;-)

>215 lkernagh: My problem with it is that I really dislike all the characters! So I am not always motivated to spend any time with them.

>216 Jackie_K: - Now, that is a good reason to have the reading drag on!

Happy Sunday, everyone! I don't have much to report. Still reading my books, playing Township and partaking in all sorts of festive season activities. Last night was the lighted truck convoy, that is just as much fun for the whole family as the Santa Claus parade is. No reviews for posting, but I did actually come up with something interesting to post about for my walking update, so that is something.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!
.





Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 49 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 32.45
Kilometers walked in total: 1,760.29
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: Due west of Kern National Wildlife Refuge, still for Lost Hills.
Points of interest along the way: I am determined to have something interesting to post about this week's walking. Good thing my virtual walking took me reasonably near some interesting places.

The Kern National Wildlife Refuge is a 1,249-acre (5.05 km2) protected area 20 miles west of the city of Delano. The refuge provides optimum wintering habitat for migratory birds with an emphasis on waterfowl and water birds.

"
Biologists from Kern National Wildlife Refuge paddle to one of the tricolored blackbird colonies.

Delano, albeit farther east and not really something my travels took me near, has some interesting facts: according to Wikipedia, Delano is particularily well-known as a centre for the growing of table grapes.



Back in 1965, thousands of Mexican-American and Filipino farm workers walked out on California table and wine grape growers in what became known as the Delano Grape Strike. The stike lasted more than 5 years and was a success as it generated an international boycott of California-grown grapes and lead to the creation of the United Farm Workers of America union, the first farm workers union in America. Activities during the strike included a 300-mile march from Delano to Sacramento.

.... I have also resigned myself to the fact that I will be carrying this walking challenge into 2020. No way I will reach Disneyland in the next three weeks. ;-)

A quick "pop-in" to add a review, a walking update and to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season as I will be winging my way home to family and won't be posting to LT over the holidays.

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Book #63 - Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: NetGalley ARC
Format: eBook
Original publication date: Advertised publication date: March 17, 2020
Acquisition date: November 23,2019
Page count: 320 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

"For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold. Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar. After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes. Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she's forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty Watts always settles a score. Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling... And she's waited such a long time for her mother to come home.."

Review:
If you like your psychological thrillers to be cutting, dark and twisted, with unreliable protagonists for narrators, than this may be the perfect story for you. Told in alternating POV format, both mother Patty and daughter Rose Gold come across as unlikable characters. Both are dysfunctional, self-focused, manipulating, controlling and revenge-seeking, albeit in different ways, given that one is able to present a better "public face" than the other one is, or is that just because the townfolk are unforgiving when they discover that they have been duped?

Overall, this made for a rather captivating read. Yes, dysfunctional characters can have a way with catching and holding my attention as I try to anticipate their next move. You just never know when Patty or Rose Gold are lying or actually telling the truth. Added to the mix are some unexpected (and cringe-worthy) plot twists – as well as one jaw-dropping reveal near the end – that kept me page-turning late into the night. If you don't like being "messed around" with as a reader, or if you need to have a likeable character before you can enjoy a story, than this probably isn't for you.

Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Stephanie Wrobel for the digital ARC I received in exchange for this early review.

Lori's 2019 Virtual Walking Challenge: Peace Arch to Disneyland via the I-5 S

The goal: To walk, in 2019, the distance it would take me to virtually walk the I-5 from the Peace Arch at the BC/WA border to Los Angeles/Disneyland Park (2,048 KM). Note: While I was trying to find a walk that would be 2,019 KM in length to celebrate the year, this is close enough!
.





Here is the link to my Google map where I am tracking my journey: https://tinyurl.com/yaa37ag9

WEEK 50 UPDATE:
Kilometers walked this session: 31.43
Kilometers walked in total: 1,791.72
Current province/state: (CA)
My current location on the map: South of Lost Hills, heading for Spicer City (and still due Northwest of Bakersfield).
Points of interest along the way: Nothing to report except to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season filled with family, friends and happiness!

Have a lovely holiday season!

I hope you have a great time with your family and a good holiday season.

>221 lkernagh: I've been seeing that book everywhere and thinking it was some YA fantasy thing, I've always scrolled right on by. So now I'm interested. Thanks for the review!

Happy holidays, Lori!

>223 MissWatson:, >224 dudes22: and >226 DeltaQueen50: - Thank you Birgit, Betty and Judy. I am looking forward to the down time and spending time with the family. I need to do some receipe searches in Pinterest as I have been asked to bring either salad or a vegetable dish to Christmas dinner and an appetizer for a appy-night gathering.

>225 RidgewayGirl: - That cover is a bit misleading. Glad to see that I was able to catch your interest with the review!

Just catching up on threads. Have a great holiday with family. I'll look forward to the completion of your walk in 2020.

Have a very merry Christmas and lots of good R&R with your family!

>228 VivienneR: and >229 rabbitprincess: - Thank you Vivienne and RP for the holiday wishes!

----------------------


Here we are.... first day of 2020. I had a lovely time with family over the holidays. A relaxing trip home with wonderful evenings filled with food, drinks and family. A little bit of snow - enough to satisfy this snow-deprived BC islander - and warmer temps than anticipated. I got virtually little to no walking in (icy sidewalks not ideal for walking for exercise) but I did manage to finish two more books to bring my overall 2019 reading to a total of 65 books and 21,961 pages read, so a decent year of reading. ;-)

Will post the last two reviews for 2019 here and then get a new thread set up over in the 2020 Category Challenge Group.

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Book #64 - A Great Beauty by A. O'Connor
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: October 23, 2019
Acquisition date: October 30, 2019
Page count: 486 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"It is 1920 and, as the War of Independence rages throughout Ireland, Michael Collins is the most wanted man in the British Empire. He lives a life in hiding, conducting guerrilla warfare, outsmarting the authorities, a figure of mystery and intrigue. Very few know even what he looks like. He occasionally finds rest and comfort with the family of Kitty Kiernan, his best friend’s sweetheart. Then Michael finds himself falling in love with the complex and enigmatic Kitty.

Lady Hazel Lavery, wife of famous artist Sir John Lavery, is considered the most beautiful and charming society hostess in London. An American of Irish descent, haunted by a tragic past, she sets out to use her friendships with men like Winston Churchill to bring peace to Ireland.

When Michael, recently engaged to Kitty, arrives in London as part of the Irish peace delegation, he finds himself the centre of intense public fascination. Hazel Lavery takes Michael under her wing and navigates him through London high society. They form a close bond and soon are engulfed in rumours of an affair and accusations that Michael has been seduced by the glamour of London and by Hazel. Kitty all but despairs at the situation but is determined to fight for him.

After the infamous Anglo-Irish Treaty, Ireland veers towards civil war. As Michael, Hazel and Kitty arrive in Dublin that fateful week in August 1922,the war is at its zenith – and this love triangle is about to implode with devastating results."

Review:
If you like historical fiction stories based on real people and events, set in the turbulent times of 1919 to 1922 Irish-English relations, this story may appeal to you. I admit that I did not have a real solid understanding of events going into this story, so I appreciated the author’s ability to convey the politics and emotional tensions that gripped both countries, especially Ireland. On the downside, I found the story was bogged down by the various romantic entanglements and a lack of character development. I found the characters to be too dramatic/emphatic for my tastes. I quickly grew tired of Hazel and the way she continually thrust herself into the political wrangling like some attention seeker who feels only they know how best to solve things. I am never a fan of characters with narcissistic tendencies. Add to that the fact that Hazel comes across as being devoid of any regard for the thoughts/feelings of her family, or anyone else her actions may be hurting, I ended up growing more and more annoyed with her. I had nothing but sympathy for John and Alice!

Overall, a story with the historical foundations to make for an interesting read, but rather heavy on the character dramatics for my personal preferences.

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Book #65 - Roman Holiday by Pamela G. Hobbs
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2018 Category
CAT/KIT: N/A
Bingo DOG: N/A
Category: N/A
Source: LTER
Format: eBook
Original publication date: October 31, 2019
Acquisition date: November 5, 2019
Page count: 345 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

"Realising that she can keep her secret no longer, Caro Fitzgerald heads to Rome in search of answers. However, what she discovers is not at all what she expected or indeed, hoped. Her world is turned upside down when tragic circumstances are revealed and all that she had previously believed to be true turns out to be a lie. But her secrets are not just hers anymore - her son deserves to know the truth, and now - she must break his heart. With the unwitting involvement of Nick Sullivan, a Hotel Manager and menace to all women - he's just that handsome - Caro sets out to build new family ties and create a loving home for her boy. Unfortunately she soon discovers many things, that Nick is absolutely not who he said he was, and that crimes of passion are not just for late night TV viewing....."

Review:
Billed as a romantic suspense read, I should probably start this review off with a brief warning: This is book 2 in the author's Fitzgeralds series, something I did not learn until I was preparing this review. I have never read the first book in the series - Family Affairs (sorry, no touchstone) - which does not appear to be listed here on LT. This may explain why I was baffled about the earlier "incident" that is only alluded to in this story. I am guessing that it is captured in more detail in the first book and the author assumes that the reader has read that one (which is a fair assumption to make).

This was a good vacation read. Not literary taxing for my mind, filled with good characters and I loved the Rome/Dublin/New York settings. Added bonus: There is a family mystery at the root of this story to solve. I do love a good mystery angle to an otherwise contemporary romance novel. On the downside (for me anyways), this story is geared towards readers who enjoy stories with a lot of lustful, hormone-laden sex scenes, which is not my cup of tea.

Overall, a good bit of holiday escapism reading but I do recommend that you read the series in order so you don't have the "Huh?" moments I had while reading this one.

Thread in the new group is now up:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/314908