Ok, three in a row is enough for a while. The pattern has been quite consistent, although in the first book, the secondary victim was discovered before the primary victim which led to some confusion.
So far, the primary murder victim is someone who totally deserves to be murdered, and the second murder is to help hide the murderer. At some point, so far at the point of discovery, Hannah is threatened by the murderer and narrowly escapes with her life. Many cookies are baked, but the titles of the books have nothing to do with the stories.
On the other hand, the characters are appealing and the treatment is amusing. Besides, the recipes look pretty good.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Stop fussing! So I have just read two in a row of the same genre by the same author. So what? I enjoyed the first one - I had to see if they held up.
This time the primary murder victim is the high school basketball coach, who totally deserves to be murdered, but not for the reason for which he is murdered. Follow that? He is an all-round nasty guy who beats his wife, but that doesn't get him killed. The secondary victim also deserves to die - not a nice lady.
Hannah's relationship with the police detectives is a little beyond the usual, the junior detective is her brother-in-law and the senior detective is her boyfriend. And anybody in their little Minnesota town will do anything for cookies. I suppose that if I wanted strictly plausible, I would be reading true crime instead of cozy mysteries.
A minor irritant - this really is picky - the titles have absolutely nothing to do with the content of the story. Hannah is a professional cookie maker, so of course she is baking cookies. The title recipe is by no means the only one in the book. They do sound good, I may have to sit down and transcribe them for actual use. For me transcription will be necessary because I have them on my Kindle and I like to see the entire recipe on one sheet when I cook.
Another thing to consider, in this book she kills the high school basketball coach, and the secondary murder victim in book one was a busted up former high school football hero. Does this point to some standing bias against high school athletics? Hard to say at this point, I guess I will have to read another.
This time the primary murder victim is the high school basketball coach, who totally deserves to be murdered, but not for the reason for which he is murdered. Follow that? He is an all-round nasty guy who beats his wife, but that doesn't get him killed. The secondary victim also deserves to die - not a nice lady.
Hannah's relationship with the police detectives is a little beyond the usual, the junior detective is her brother-in-law and the senior detective is her boyfriend. And anybody in their little Minnesota town will do anything for cookies. I suppose that if I wanted strictly plausible, I would be reading true crime instead of cozy mysteries.
A minor irritant - this really is picky - the titles have absolutely nothing to do with the content of the story. Hannah is a professional cookie maker, so of course she is baking cookies. The title recipe is by no means the only one in the book. They do sound good, I may have to sit down and transcribe them for actual use. For me transcription will be necessary because I have them on my Kindle and I like to see the entire recipe on one sheet when I cook.
Another thing to consider, in this book she kills the high school basketball coach, and the secondary murder victim in book one was a busted up former high school football hero. Does this point to some standing bias against high school athletics? Hard to say at this point, I guess I will have to read another.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Change of Pace!
This falls in the subgenre of mystery novels called Cozy Mysteries and into the subsubgenre featuring culinary settings rather than knitting or cats - although this one does have a resident feline. Aforementioned feline is named Moishe, which is somehow supposed to be after Moshe Dayan, because he has only one eye. I don't know enough Yiddish to know if Moishe is a diminutive for Moshe. Whatever - nobody but the cat is Jewish - and he doesn't keep kosher.
The story is set in Minnesota and the heroine is named Hannah Swenson. She has a bakery/coffee shop which specializes in cookies. The story reminded me very strongly of the Goldy Bear mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson. Goldy is a full-time caterer, and Hannah "caters" (beverages and cookies) many events in addition to running The Cookie Jar. Both are closely associated with the local police or sheriff's department. And both, after describing the food in mouth-watering detail, provide recipes. Herein lies one of the major differences: Hannah's recipes sound like ones I might actually try - perhaps because they are for cookies, or perhaps because they only call for a normal number of ingredients and far less arcane culinary knowledge.
Good fun, reasonably well-crafted mystery, and entertaining characters and plot line, plus the series suspense of wondering which of her two boyfriends (the balding but very funny dentist, or the totally gorgeous police detective) she will end up favoring.
This falls in the subgenre of mystery novels called Cozy Mysteries and into the subsubgenre featuring culinary settings rather than knitting or cats - although this one does have a resident feline. Aforementioned feline is named Moishe, which is somehow supposed to be after Moshe Dayan, because he has only one eye. I don't know enough Yiddish to know if Moishe is a diminutive for Moshe. Whatever - nobody but the cat is Jewish - and he doesn't keep kosher.
The story is set in Minnesota and the heroine is named Hannah Swenson. She has a bakery/coffee shop which specializes in cookies. The story reminded me very strongly of the Goldy Bear mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson. Goldy is a full-time caterer, and Hannah "caters" (beverages and cookies) many events in addition to running The Cookie Jar. Both are closely associated with the local police or sheriff's department. And both, after describing the food in mouth-watering detail, provide recipes. Herein lies one of the major differences: Hannah's recipes sound like ones I might actually try - perhaps because they are for cookies, or perhaps because they only call for a normal number of ingredients and far less arcane culinary knowledge.
Good fun, reasonably well-crafted mystery, and entertaining characters and plot line, plus the series suspense of wondering which of her two boyfriends (the balding but very funny dentist, or the totally gorgeous police detective) she will end up favoring.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher
And all the really bad guys got dead and all the good guys survived and they all lived happily ever after. Well, maybe. There is a major loose end left hanging - the Vord are still occupying the continent which was the home of the Canim - the aptly named dog/wolf people, and inevitably, they will someday want the rest of the world.
As for the strands running into this book from the previous one: my not exactly a prediction turned out to be correct - Aquataine's Vord-controlled wife, Invidia, does do him in in the end - making it unnecessary for Tavi/Octavian to do it. But they did NOT name the baby Nonus, I suppose because they are building a new Alera, based on Truth, Justice, and something or other and it was a good time to stop numbering the generations. Decius wouldn't be too bad, but Undecius - or, horrible thought - Duodecius?
In all fairness, I enjoyed this more than I usually do these monster series. (I finished it, didn't I?) Butcher held it together quite well, and the pattern wasn't too dreadfully obvious. You know - just when things are absolutely at their worst, they get even worse and Our Hero must save the day.
His nonhumans were quite creative, ranging from the merely different Marat, the quite likeable canim, the eerie Icemen, and the monstrously alien Vord. The Roman names and stuff went unexplained - at one point someone is reading a book on military strategy recognizeable as Caesar's account of the Gallic Wars. There is a hint at the Pern thing - the human civilization originated on another world but it is merely mentioned and dropped.
As for the strands running into this book from the previous one: my not exactly a prediction turned out to be correct - Aquataine's Vord-controlled wife, Invidia, does do him in in the end - making it unnecessary for Tavi/Octavian to do it. But they did NOT name the baby Nonus, I suppose because they are building a new Alera, based on Truth, Justice, and something or other and it was a good time to stop numbering the generations. Decius wouldn't be too bad, but Undecius - or, horrible thought - Duodecius?
In all fairness, I enjoyed this more than I usually do these monster series. (I finished it, didn't I?) Butcher held it together quite well, and the pattern wasn't too dreadfully obvious. You know - just when things are absolutely at their worst, they get even worse and Our Hero must save the day.
His nonhumans were quite creative, ranging from the merely different Marat, the quite likeable canim, the eerie Icemen, and the monstrously alien Vord. The Roman names and stuff went unexplained - at one point someone is reading a book on military strategy recognizeable as Caesar's account of the Gallic Wars. There is a hint at the Pern thing - the human civilization originated on another world but it is merely mentioned and dropped.
Monday, October 17, 2011
The Celtic Twilight by William Butler Yeats
I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. It all came about rather oddly, I saw a phrase from "The Second Coming" and looked it up to refresh my memory. I ended up reading not only that poem, but a number of others and various commentaries and criticism - and ended up considering whether or not I might actually like Yeats rather than just a couple of isolated poems. So ---- I went to Amazon to see what they had for free. After examining quite a number of pages of works by Yeats that were either free or nearly so, I just went back to the top and ordered the first thing on the list.
After Eavan Boland and a blast of feminist criticism this summer, I suppose I expected this to be nationalistic and chauvinistic. On the other hand, maybe I have no idea what I was reading - or what I was hearing this summer.
This was low-key, nostalgic, and anecdotal. It was also a little wistful at the sense that even Ireland was joining the world of rationality and leaving faery behind. It was in no way an attempt to define and categorize the tales he heard, or to trace origins and antecedents. He simply told the stories as they were told to him. He also threw in a little verse here and there - if not stating outright, at least implying that it was traditional and not of his composing.
I'm a little concerned that those whose lifework is the study of literature would be happy to inform me that I have absolutely no understanding of the subtext, but, since they are unlikely to read this, I shall go on my merry way enjoying what I read - at my own undoubtably superficial level.
After Eavan Boland and a blast of feminist criticism this summer, I suppose I expected this to be nationalistic and chauvinistic. On the other hand, maybe I have no idea what I was reading - or what I was hearing this summer.
This was low-key, nostalgic, and anecdotal. It was also a little wistful at the sense that even Ireland was joining the world of rationality and leaving faery behind. It was in no way an attempt to define and categorize the tales he heard, or to trace origins and antecedents. He simply told the stories as they were told to him. He also threw in a little verse here and there - if not stating outright, at least implying that it was traditional and not of his composing.
I'm a little concerned that those whose lifework is the study of literature would be happy to inform me that I have absolutely no understanding of the subtext, but, since they are unlikely to read this, I shall go on my merry way enjoying what I read - at my own undoubtably superficial level.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Interesting. Not a page to page absolute delight like Good Omens, but still an interesting premise with a quirky execution.
It seems that all the immigrant peoples to come to America (clear back to the folks who arrived via the Bering land bridge) brought their gods with them. As time passed, these became less and less the focus of their people's worship as social groups homogenized and new gods arose to supplant them. These new gods are representative of the ills and icons of American society. We enter the scene as the old gods are preparing for war with the new gods.
Shadow, the central character, has been released from prison a day ahead of schedule because of the death of his wife in an automobile accident. An unusual old man with a glass eye, who is called Wednesday, accosts him and offers him a job as his general dogsbody - and since he has nothing else to do. Shadow eventually accepts.
My friend and my daughter agree that Shadow is too passive. I see their point, but I think there is more to it. He just floats along and does as he is told for most of the story, but something like this requires an observer, and Shadow is a perfect observer. He is placed to see everything, intelligent enough to understand much of what he sees, and passes the rest on to the reader.
And I love the part about having Thoth, Anubis, and Bast run a mortuary and funeral parlor.
It seems that all the immigrant peoples to come to America (clear back to the folks who arrived via the Bering land bridge) brought their gods with them. As time passed, these became less and less the focus of their people's worship as social groups homogenized and new gods arose to supplant them. These new gods are representative of the ills and icons of American society. We enter the scene as the old gods are preparing for war with the new gods.
Shadow, the central character, has been released from prison a day ahead of schedule because of the death of his wife in an automobile accident. An unusual old man with a glass eye, who is called Wednesday, accosts him and offers him a job as his general dogsbody - and since he has nothing else to do. Shadow eventually accepts.
My friend and my daughter agree that Shadow is too passive. I see their point, but I think there is more to it. He just floats along and does as he is told for most of the story, but something like this requires an observer, and Shadow is a perfect observer. He is placed to see everything, intelligent enough to understand much of what he sees, and passes the rest on to the reader.
And I love the part about having Thoth, Anubis, and Bast run a mortuary and funeral parlor.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by John E. Sarno, MD
A friend recommended this to me many years ago. Somewhere in this house there is an actual paper copy. Suddenly about a week ago it occurred to me that the choir concert is coming up in just a couple of weeks - and I can't stand for much as five minutes without that deep pain in my back on the right side just below my waist. Sunday mornings with the doxology followed by a hymn followed by the choir special were a case in point. I can't afford a chiropractor, and one worth the money wouldn't guarantee to "fix" me in two weeks. Sufficient pain-killers to do the job would leave me in a stupor. So I decided to read the book - EC told me that she had not had back trouble since reading it.
The premise is that back pain is generally caused by repressed motion, particularly anger and can be cured by recognizing that.
Dr. Sarno is very gentle with his colleagues. He discusses institutionalized blindness, and a long history of traditional medicine. He even alludes to the risks incumbent upon challenging conventional wisdom.
He does not point out that palliative care is forever. If an individual is cured of a long-standing complaint, he goes away - and takes his money with him. He does hint that pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in extended drug treatments, but never suggests that members of the medical profession could share that view of treatment.
He also forbears to point out that many patients are unwilling to take any responsibility for their treatment beyond taking a pill. There is a
pervasive believe in the "magic bullet" - the drug that will fix everything. There is also the Munchausen contingent of the population which craves ever more expensive and exotic treatments for the sympathy which is lavished upon them. These patients do not want a simple, inexpensive, total cure.
As for me, I wish I had read it when she told me about it. Maybe I could have spent the last ten or fifteen years without the pain. I made a joke of it to Anne and told her that I was going to fix my back by the "think system" as in Music Man. It does sound like it. But it has been said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." And the truth is that there is nothing really wrong with my back - if there were, I would have had worse problems years ago. Early episodes of back pain many years ago can all be associated with visits from my husband's parents. It doesn't take a lot of insight to realize that I have been repressing a lot of anger for the last ten years at least. The beauty of this is that you don't have to "cure" the anger - you just have to recognize the fact that it exists and that your brain has hidden it by giving you some pain to worry about. I don't know that I can think myself well by the concert - but I really do think it can be done. Last Thursday, I wandered all over campus without any problems at all, until I headed over to the police station to get a parking sticker, knowing all the while that my driver's license is expired - has been for two years. I hobbled in and they gave me a parking sticker without even asking to see my license. -- And I walked back to my office without a twinge in my back.
The premise is that back pain is generally caused by repressed motion, particularly anger and can be cured by recognizing that.
Dr. Sarno is very gentle with his colleagues. He discusses institutionalized blindness, and a long history of traditional medicine. He even alludes to the risks incumbent upon challenging conventional wisdom.
He does not point out that palliative care is forever. If an individual is cured of a long-standing complaint, he goes away - and takes his money with him. He does hint that pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in extended drug treatments, but never suggests that members of the medical profession could share that view of treatment.
He also forbears to point out that many patients are unwilling to take any responsibility for their treatment beyond taking a pill. There is a
pervasive believe in the "magic bullet" - the drug that will fix everything. There is also the Munchausen contingent of the population which craves ever more expensive and exotic treatments for the sympathy which is lavished upon them. These patients do not want a simple, inexpensive, total cure.
As for me, I wish I had read it when she told me about it. Maybe I could have spent the last ten or fifteen years without the pain. I made a joke of it to Anne and told her that I was going to fix my back by the "think system" as in Music Man. It does sound like it. But it has been said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." And the truth is that there is nothing really wrong with my back - if there were, I would have had worse problems years ago. Early episodes of back pain many years ago can all be associated with visits from my husband's parents. It doesn't take a lot of insight to realize that I have been repressing a lot of anger for the last ten years at least. The beauty of this is that you don't have to "cure" the anger - you just have to recognize the fact that it exists and that your brain has hidden it by giving you some pain to worry about. I don't know that I can think myself well by the concert - but I really do think it can be done. Last Thursday, I wandered all over campus without any problems at all, until I headed over to the police station to get a parking sticker, knowing all the while that my driver's license is expired - has been for two years. I hobbled in and they gave me a parking sticker without even asking to see my license. -- And I walked back to my office without a twinge in my back.
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