Monday Mash Up

Monday, July 10, 2023 ~ Books & More...

---

THOUGHTS

We got to see our niece and her son on Friday; we don't see them very often. They were visiting her parents (my brother-in-law) at their lake house just a short drive from where we live. Very convenient.  After breakfast at the pancake house, we sat by the lake and watched the world go by -- everybody on the lake has a boat of some sort (especially the folks who live on the island😉) and everybody comes floating past at one point or another. One lady was surveying the weed population. There are also loons on the lake; their call is very distinctive. Saw a blue heron, too. Later in the season, we would have seen blueberry pickers, picking blueberries from their boats. A few hours at the lake is very tranquil.

The big thing in my thoughts  the past few weeks has been my parents.  Just when we thought we had reached the bottom of the "schlittelbahn", we realized that the damned toboggan was still moving and  we had no idea how long the damn ride ride would be or where it was heading. I'm not going into details. Just saying that is where my head is at these days.

 

100 DAYS OF SUMMER

Book title includes the words June, July, or August or Six, Seven or Eight, or that is sixth, seventh or eighth in a series.
Evan Only Knows by Rhys Bowen
Pts: 12    RT: 198    Avg: 7.07

Book that primarily focuses on an immigrant experience.
Have You Eaten Yet? by Cheuk Kwan
Pts: 3   RT: 201    Avg: 6.93

Book set in, or written by an author born in, Africa.
A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith
Pts: 11    RT: 212    Avg: 7.06

Readers choice
Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith
Pts: 12    RT: 224    Avg:  7.22

Book that has a cover that is predominantly pink or purple.
Bill the Conqueror by P.G. Wodehouse
Pts: 9    RT: 233    Avg:  7.28

 

THE BOOKS

Evan Only Knows by Rhys Bowen

Another series I am slowly working my way through. Wow. Cozy goes edgy. Politics. Pedophilia. Questions of morality. Nicely done, RB!
3.5 stars

Have You Eaten Yet?  by Cheuk Kwan

Interesting view of the Chinese diaspora around the world, of racism and of nationality vs ethnicity. I might even watch the documentary series the book was based on. It's on YouTube.
3 stars

A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith

Not as well written as some of his other books. Not a mystery. Just a bit of time-out with the The No. 1 Lady Detectives, whose company I always enjoy. Love the cover.
3 stars

Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith

Slow start, as if the author was having trouble getting  into the story he wants to tell, making it an awkward start.  After that, I just felt that something was missing, something I just couldn't put my finger on.  "[High] moral ground is like that, slippery at the edges."
3 stars

Bill the Conqueror by PG Wodehouse.

Loving Simon Vance's dry delivery. It is understated, letting the words do their work without much interference from the narrator. The story itself is a hoot.
3.5 stars