I still haven't finished yesterday's book so I've nothing to report today.
Here are a couple of interesting links instead. The first is the website of Ben Goldman, the author of Bad Science:
Bad Science
Even if you are not particularly interested in science and statistics (and I'm not, possibly because I find them too difficult ...), if you are at all interested in logical thinking you will find this site fascinating. Or if you've ever been tempted by such things as detox patches, then hop over there straight away!
My other link is to the 365 Project. That seems to be its original name anyway, but I've heard that lots of people are doing this - taking a photo a day. I didn't think that would be very hard, but having experimented with my camera phone last night I realised that the main difficulty for me would be in taking a GOOD photo each day! I think it's a good project though, especially if you used it to document your life for a year (for example! I'm not obsessed with doing things for a year at a time, honest). Here's the link:
365 Project
People are uploading their photos to photo-sharing websites like Flickr, but for me and my fellow scrapbookers it would be harder because we would want to scrap all the photos. Hmmm, could be fun if it didn't become overwhelming!
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Monday, 5 January 2009
New Year, New Books!
I read lots of books over the holidays* so I'll group them by author.
Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor was another good one in the series, where Agatha goes on holiday to a town with the unlikely name of Snoth-on-Sea and of course murder ensues ...
The non-fiction Bad Science by Ben Goldacre was excellent. If you have ever listened to TV nutritionists telling you things like "take milk thistle to support your liver function" and have wondered how exactly it would do that, Ben Goldacre gives you the scientific facts to be able to resist this sort of mumbo-jumbo. "Sciencey" skin cream advertising comes in for his scorn as well. It's a very funny as well as factual book and well worth reading.
I finally finished the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly, with The Reapers which Mr F was kind enough to buy for me in hardback for Christmas. Thanks Mr F! This one takes a slightly different angle from the other books but ties up many loose ends.
I continued the adventures of the Roman private detective Marcus Didius Falco in the series by Lindsey Davis. In The Iron Hand of Mars Marcus goes to Germania with a mystery to solve. The dark forests of the north are very scary ... He returns succesfully for Poseidon's Gold and looks set to make a fortune.
Alison Lurie is a new author for me. She is an American whose work has been compared to Jane Austen and that is true I think in that she writes about a small social circle and her works could be considered comedies of manners. Her books are mainly set around the fictional Corinth university and will be particulary interesting to anyone with academic connections. The War between the Tates and Truth and Consequences both feature academics behaving badly, with the latter "starring" the monster of selfishness Delia. The Last Resort is potentially a tragedy but you will suddenly find yourself laughing at the most outrageous moments.
Second Glance is a book by Jodi Picoult and is as involving as usual. This is a love story and a mystery first of all, as well as a social commentary on the misguided enthusiasm by some Americans in the 1930s for eugenics. Funny how eugenics are only ever to be applied to other people ...
Ann Rule is the author of many true crime books. I had read Small Sacrifices before but had forgotten some of the details of the mother accused of shooting her own children in 1980s Oregon. Ann Rule is well worth reading: she does not focus on the sensational aspects of a crime, but rather on the psychological aspects.
Death du Jour is by Kathy Reichs. The author is a real-life forensic anthropologist. This mystery was involving and I wasn't put off by the descriptions body recovery from crime scenes. Ironically I was put off by so much detail that it became rather tedious!
Finally I read Night Sins by Tami Hoag. This author has been recommended to me before and she does write a good crime novel. However I got rather fed up with the romance which kept intruding when I wanted to read more about the solving of the crime!
*although not as many as I thought! I've only caught up by one book.
Day 89; Book 87
Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor was another good one in the series, where Agatha goes on holiday to a town with the unlikely name of Snoth-on-Sea and of course murder ensues ...
The non-fiction Bad Science by Ben Goldacre was excellent. If you have ever listened to TV nutritionists telling you things like "take milk thistle to support your liver function" and have wondered how exactly it would do that, Ben Goldacre gives you the scientific facts to be able to resist this sort of mumbo-jumbo. "Sciencey" skin cream advertising comes in for his scorn as well. It's a very funny as well as factual book and well worth reading.
I finally finished the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly, with The Reapers which Mr F was kind enough to buy for me in hardback for Christmas. Thanks Mr F! This one takes a slightly different angle from the other books but ties up many loose ends.
I continued the adventures of the Roman private detective Marcus Didius Falco in the series by Lindsey Davis. In The Iron Hand of Mars Marcus goes to Germania with a mystery to solve. The dark forests of the north are very scary ... He returns succesfully for Poseidon's Gold and looks set to make a fortune.
Alison Lurie is a new author for me. She is an American whose work has been compared to Jane Austen and that is true I think in that she writes about a small social circle and her works could be considered comedies of manners. Her books are mainly set around the fictional Corinth university and will be particulary interesting to anyone with academic connections. The War between the Tates and Truth and Consequences both feature academics behaving badly, with the latter "starring" the monster of selfishness Delia. The Last Resort is potentially a tragedy but you will suddenly find yourself laughing at the most outrageous moments.
Second Glance is a book by Jodi Picoult and is as involving as usual. This is a love story and a mystery first of all, as well as a social commentary on the misguided enthusiasm by some Americans in the 1930s for eugenics. Funny how eugenics are only ever to be applied to other people ...
Ann Rule is the author of many true crime books. I had read Small Sacrifices before but had forgotten some of the details of the mother accused of shooting her own children in 1980s Oregon. Ann Rule is well worth reading: she does not focus on the sensational aspects of a crime, but rather on the psychological aspects.
Death du Jour is by Kathy Reichs. The author is a real-life forensic anthropologist. This mystery was involving and I wasn't put off by the descriptions body recovery from crime scenes. Ironically I was put off by so much detail that it became rather tedious!
Finally I read Night Sins by Tami Hoag. This author has been recommended to me before and she does write a good crime novel. However I got rather fed up with the romance which kept intruding when I wanted to read more about the solving of the crime!
*although not as many as I thought! I've only caught up by one book.
Day 89; Book 87
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Signing off for Christmas
Your intrepid reader is now signing off for Christmas and will be back again in the New Year. I hope you all have a nice, relaxing time (or exciting time if that's what you prefer!)
I'm reading Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon. Having Agatha open a detective agency has given M C Beaton the opportunity to introduce new characters to interact with the old ones. What I like about Agatha is that she is so human. Flawed characters are so much more fun!
Happy reading, everybody!
Day 77; Book 74
I'm reading Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon. Having Agatha open a detective agency has given M C Beaton the opportunity to introduce new characters to interact with the old ones. What I like about Agatha is that she is so human. Flawed characters are so much more fun!
Happy reading, everybody!
Day 77; Book 74
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
The Unquiet by John Connolly
I finished this last night and it was excellent. I really recommend the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly. Here is John Connolly's website for those who are interested in this author. You will notice it is a suitably black colour for these "Maine noir" books!
Day 76; Book 73
Day 76; Book 73
Monday, 22 December 2008
Happy Birthday Holly!
It's the Rock Chick's 21st birthday today, so I can be pretty sure that I wasn't doing any reading on this day all those years ago ...
More John Connolly
I read another in the Charlie Parker series, The Black Angel, and I think this was the best one yet. More mysteries, supernatural stuff, flawed hero and wisecracks! Now I'm half way through The Unquiet which I thought was the last but I see that The Reapers has come out so I definitely want to get that (it's probably still only available in hardback though ...)
For a bit of light relief I had ordered two books from Amazon, The Cat that Could Open the Fridge: a Curmudgeon's Guide to Christmas Round Robin Letters and The Hamster that Loved Puccini: the Seven Modern Sins of Christmas Round Robin Letters, both by Simon Hoggart. Luckily they came within a couple of days. I have never received a round robin letter myself, but the examples given (with the names changed to protect the guilty) were hilarious, the letters obviously having been sent by people with absolutely no self-awareness of how pompous, boastful and plain boring they were! Part of the fun is Simon Hoggart's commentary. He manages to point out the faults of these awful letter writers without being mean-spirited so that we can laugh without feeling too guilty.
I should finish The Unquiet tonight but then I have to decide what to read next ... so many books, so little time.
Day 75; Book 72
For a bit of light relief I had ordered two books from Amazon, The Cat that Could Open the Fridge: a Curmudgeon's Guide to Christmas Round Robin Letters and The Hamster that Loved Puccini: the Seven Modern Sins of Christmas Round Robin Letters, both by Simon Hoggart. Luckily they came within a couple of days. I have never received a round robin letter myself, but the examples given (with the names changed to protect the guilty) were hilarious, the letters obviously having been sent by people with absolutely no self-awareness of how pompous, boastful and plain boring they were! Part of the fun is Simon Hoggart's commentary. He manages to point out the faults of these awful letter writers without being mean-spirited so that we can laugh without feeling too guilty.
I should finish The Unquiet tonight but then I have to decide what to read next ... so many books, so little time.
Day 75; Book 72
Friday, 19 December 2008
Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
Finished this although it took me two days. I now have several other John Connollys to read, which seem not to be part of the Charlie Parker series. I wonder if they will be as dark.
Thanks to Jo I now have some more Agatha Raisins to read. You couldn't call these dark, even though at least one person dies horribly in each novel. They are in the Great British tradition of "cosy" murders! Also on my holiday reading list: Alison Lurie (new to me and again thanks to Jo); more Marcus Didius Falco mysteries thanks to Anna, and P G Wodehouse and Jackie Kay thanks to Lorraine. I should have called this blog "A book a day for a year - without having to buy any!" Thanks everybody.
Day 72; Book 69
Thanks to Jo I now have some more Agatha Raisins to read. You couldn't call these dark, even though at least one person dies horribly in each novel. They are in the Great British tradition of "cosy" murders! Also on my holiday reading list: Alison Lurie (new to me and again thanks to Jo); more Marcus Didius Falco mysteries thanks to Anna, and P G Wodehouse and Jackie Kay thanks to Lorraine. I should have called this blog "A book a day for a year - without having to buy any!" Thanks everybody.
Day 72; Book 69
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