Dear Readers,
no time for lamentation. I took it as a good sign that I could finish a book today. Beside that I continued to work of the update of my digital library before I started to read the backlog of posts and searching for content for this post.
On Monday my wife and I went to cinema and had a good time with Hail, Caesar!
It is not the film of the year but it delivered good actors, a good insight into Hollywood of the fifties.
Only five working days left until I have five consecutive days off. Unfortunately the sun decided to take the weekend off after a pleasant Friday. That means I have to play Fallout 4 on Sunday in order to get some sunshine .... ;-)
ENJOY READING ....
Edi's Guidepost
The Lighthouse
News and information straight from the horse's mouth by Lighthouse keeper ediFanoB
Reading progress
Books
The latest report from our shelf shop net correspondent Bona
New books on my shelf/reader or when one book leads to another
Blogosphere
Messages from the depths of the blogosphere by spheronaut Bona Fide
Enjoy reading?
Molasses
Ten years
Submarine concepts
Doors and windows of the world
Movies
Remote control junkie Fide and his zapping highlights
Fallout 4: Automatron
X-Men: Apocalypse
Quotes
The member of the house of quotes and a quote himself the Keeper of the minutes ( we call him Kotm) fished for you
German proverbs, sayings and idioms Quote related to age
The Lighthouse
Again I finished at least one book. For me every book is like a holiday. That means I enjoyed so far 15 extra holidays.
I finished
- The Guns of Ivrea (digital, 9th February 2016) [ Kindle Edition ASIN: B0193FBVR8] by Clifford Beal.
I wrote on GOODREADS:
"The cover and the description convinced me to read the book. I liked the setting, the characters and the story which seemed straight forward in the beginning. But the more I read and the more the author revealed the more interesting the story itself got. Unexpected twists and turns gave the story more depth. I thought I identified the pawns in the game and I was wrong.
Normally I'm not a fan of stories where religion plays a greater role. But here religion plays an important role and I liked how religion is involved. The book does not end with a cliffhanger but with wide range of speculation.
In the beginning I rated the book with three stars which turned into five stars at the end.
Now I look forward to the sequel. I want to know if I guessed right or not.
NO PROGRESS
- 168 pages in Betrayal's Shadow (digital, 30th November 2015) [Kindle Edition ASIN:B018S2U4Z2] by Dave-Brendon de Burgh which is the first book in the Mahaelian Chronicle.
- 112 pages in A Fever of the Blood (digital, February 2016) [Kindle edition ASIN: B00NPIUILA] by Oscar de Muriel.
Enjoy your weekend ....
Books
Dear readers, I'm the one to tell you about books - only books? What about novellas and other stuff? My name is Bona. I scour shelves, shops and the net for books. If you call me a book whore I would not gainsay you. But be aware I have my own, sometimes elusive taste.
New books on my shelf/reader or when one book leads to another
Last week my wife started to read
The Yard (hc and digital 2012, pb 2013 [ hc ISBN-13: 978-0399149542; pb ISBN-13: 978-0718159672;Kindle ASIN: B007Z8ZK8M] by Alex Grecian
"1889, LONDON.
JACK THE RIPPER’S REIGN OF TERROR IN FINALLY OVER, BUT A NEW ONE IS JUST BEGINNING.
Victorian London—a violent cesspool of squalid depravity. Only twelve detectives—The Murder Squad—are expected to solve the thousands of crimes committed here each month. Formed after the Metropolitan Police’s spectacular failure in capturing Jack the Ripper, the Murder Squad suffers the brunt of public contempt. But no one can anticipate the brutal murder of one of their own…
A Scotland Yard Inspector has been found stuffed in a black steamer trunk at Euston Square Station, his eyes and mouth sewn shut. When Walter Day, the squad’s new hire, is assigned to the case, he finds a strange ally in Dr. Bernard Kingsley, the Yard’s first forensic pathologist. Their grim conclusion: this was not just a random, bizarre murder but in all probability, the first of twelve. Because the squad itself it being targeted and the devious killer shows no signs of stopping before completing his grim duty. But Inspector Day has one more surprise, something even more shocking than the crimes: the killer’s motive." [Source]
I read this crime novel set in Victorian London in July 2014 and like it a lot. It is the first book in the Scotland Yard's Murder Squad series. In the meantime three more novels and a short story are available. Furthermore a fifth book will be published in June 2016. As a lover of series I checked my digital library and found out that I did not own copies of book three and four. Therefore I bought digital copies of these books and ordered a copy of book five in advance.
The Devil's Workshop (digital, 31st July 2014) [Kindle ASIN: B00I8AKG2G] by Alex Grecian
"The Devil's Workshop is the third historical thriller in Alex Grecian's acclaimed Scotland Yard Murder Squad series.
April, 1890.
London wakes to the shocking news of a mass prison escape.
Walter Day and the Scotland Yard Murder Squad now face a desperate race against time: if they don't re-capture the four convicted murderers before night settles, they'll vanish into the dark alleys of the London's criminal underworld for ever.
And in the midst of this mayhem and fear, the city's worst nightmare is realised: Jack the Ripper haunts the streets of London once more . . ."
From The Yard and The Black Country author, Alex Grecian, comes The Devil's Workshop - and the return of Jack the Ripper. Expect another gruesome foray into the underbelly of Victorian Britain and early crime forensics. This is historical thriller heaven for fans of Sherlock and Ripper Street." [Source]
The Harvest Man (digital, 18th June 2015) [Kindle ASIN: B00SAGZU6A] by Alex Grecian
"Murder Squad 4: Alongside Jack the Ripper there is another brutal serial killer roaming the streets of Victorian London.
Spring 1890.
The spectre of Jack the Ripper still haunts Inspector Walter Day, his injured leg a daily reminder of his violent brush with London's most feared killer. He alone is convinced that the Ripper remains at large.
But, worse is to come for Scotland Yard's Murder Squad. A new killer is terrorizing the citizens of London. They call him the Harvest Man; he hides away in the attics of the unsuspecting, emerging at night to terrorize his victims.
This macabre new threat requires Inspector Day to confront his demons, but he soon discovers that the Ripper himself continues to toy with Scotland Yard's finest. The game has only just begun . . ." [Source]
You may know that Tad Williams is the author of several series. One of them is the epic fantasy series Shadowmarch. The four volumes have been published from 2004 to 2010. I found out that I own paper copies of the first three books (even the first one in German!) but so far I did not read them. What a shame! As a first step I decided to buy a paperback copy of the fourth and final book.
Shadowheart (reprint, 2012) [ISBN-13: 978-0756407650] by Tad Williams.
"The long-awaited concluding novel in Tad Williams's thrilling epic Shadowmarch series.
Southmarch Castle is about to be caught between two implacable enemies, the ancient, immortal Qar and the insane god-king, the Autarch of Xis. Meanwhile, its two young defenders, Princess Briony and Prince Barrick, are both trapped far away from home and fighting for their lives.
And now, something is awakening underneath Southmarch Castle, something powerful and terrible that the world has not seen for thousands of years. Can Barrick and Briony, along with a tiny handful of allies, ordinary and extraordinary, find a way to save their world and prevent the rise of a terrible new age-an age of unending darkness?" [Source]
I think it is a good idea not to forget all the books published years ago. In an ideal world there would be a perfect mix between new and old.
No more today, see you next week ......
Blogosphere
Hey, I'm Bona Fide. I just came back from my last foray through the blogosphere. What can you expect from me? I tell you: Everything from Art to Fart as long as there is any faint connection to books. And here is some honey from the beehive blogosphere...
Enjoy reading?
Yesterday I came across and interesting post related to reading. Author and avid blogger Roland D. Yeomans asked following question over on his blog Writing in the Crosshairs
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT READING?
After reading the post I felt the need to give a proper answer because it helped me to reflect why I love reading. A love which started BEFORE I learned to read. Head over and share your thoughts. It is worth the time and takes you back to your roots.
Molasses
It is something which can be lethal. It happened in 1919. Head over to Atlas Obscura and have a look at the presented video and read the text.
100 Wonders: The Great Boston Molasses Flood
Maybe you are interested in the book mentioned in the video. I put together the details for you
Dark Tide (pb, September 2004 [ISBN-13: 978-0807050217] by Stephen Puleo.
"Around noon on January 15, 1919, a group of firefighters was playing cards in Boston's North End when they heard a tremendous crash. It was like roaring surf, one of them said later. Like a runaway two-horse team smashing through a fence, said another. A third firefighter jumped up from his chair to look out a window-"Oh my God!" he shouted to the other men, "Run!"
A 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses had just collapsed on Boston's waterfront, disgorging its contents as a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that at its outset traveled at 35 miles an hour. It demolished wooden homes, even the brick fire station. The number of dead wasn't known for days. It would be years before a landmark court battle determined who was responsible for the disaster." [Source]
Ten years
In 2006 author Tom Lloyd entered the world of fantasy books with the release of
The Stormcaller (first published 16th March 2006, paperback July 2007) [ISBN-13: 978-9780575079267].
This is the first book in the five book series Twilight Reign. I read the book in 2009 and bought copies of the other four books BUT I never read them. The fifth and final book has been published in 2012.
How do I know the date? Because I read following post by Tom Lloyd.
The Stormcaller – ten years on.
I read reviews over at GOODREADS and I scanned my blog posts. It seems the books stay a long time in the TBR towers of a lot of people. I belong to this group. I posted twice about the Twilight Reign series in 2011 and 2014.
Do you have an overview about all the series you did not finish? I think it will be worth for me to create a list after reorganisation of my digital library.
Nevertheless such posts show how fast time pass by ...........
Submarine concepts
"In the town where I was born
Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines"
Don't worry. This is not about a famous song. But I thought I would be a good introduction to an awesome post over at Dark Roasted Blend full of pictures and interesting facts. Enjoy
Amazing Submarine Concepts
Doors and windows
Around the world doors and windows are in use. They are like cards. How do the differ from country to country? Is it possible to identify a country by pictures of dorrs and windows? You may find answers over at WebUrbanist. Head over and have a look at
Aperture Art: 360 Doors & Windows of the World Sorted by Country
That's it for today. Come back next week for more ......
Movies
Hey, it's me Fide. I'm a remote control professional. I'm that fast that I can watch two movies at the same time.
Like a lot of other gamers I look forward to 22nd of March 2016. On that day the first add-on for Fallout 4 will be available. I bought the season pass and that means I will get Automatron for free. And this is the official trailer.
There is a new X-Men: Apocalypse trailer available and I must say it gives a first glimpse of how the apocalypse will look like.
That's it for today. Come back next week for more ......
Quotes
I 'm the Keeper of the minutes. But I don't mind when you call me Kotm. No, no. I don't explain to you how to pronounce.
I fully agree with the following quote!!!
"You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there.”
George Burns, American singer, writer, actor, and humorist, 1896 - 1996