Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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Books update - part the first
Since it was November when I last commented on my reading log, I'm going to break this up into manageable bites.
FLESH HOUSE Stuart MacBride
MacBride is one of a noteworthy group of Scottish authors, writing a grimy type of urban noir. His protagonist is an Aberdeen cop, Logan MacRae, who has been consigned to the most undesireable of duty assignments after he goofed up a case he was working on a few years ago. MacBride has consistently written suspenseful, semi humorous books, and with this one he adds gruesome to the mix. And it works!
ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION Temple Grandin
This was a book discussion group choice. Grandin is a well known authority in humane treatment methods for animals in all sort of environments, including slaughter houses - as incongruous as that seems. She herself has a type of high functioning autism, and has intersperses her analysis of animal welfare with comparisons to the various manisfestations of autism. While the subject matter is intriguing, I probably would not have picked this one up or finished it had it not been a book discussion choice.
WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS? Kate Atkinson
Atkinson's books have at least one continuing character - sometime private investigator Jackson Brodie - but they are not precisely a series. And not precisely suspense fiction, either. But still more than worth the read - she made my "best of the year" list again with this one. See my blog entry of December 30, 2008.
MURDER IN MYKONOS Jeffrey Siger
Siger is an American, living and writing in Europe. This novel was well received in Greece, and his American publisher convinced him to rework some passages and publish a distinct American version.
A Greek cop is sent down from Athens, after his investigation of corruption there began to move too close to persons of influence. While on duty in Mykonos, he uncovers the work of a serial killer. His skill in investigating the crime, while keeping unpleasant publicity at a bare minimum, earn the respect of his superiors and he is on his way back to Athens. This is good news, because it paves the way for a continuing series.
THE GREAT RAILWAY BAZAAR Paul Theroux
In the early 1970's, a young teacher had an idea for a trip and a book based on the trip. He would travel by train through Asia, in a huge elliptical loop. The resulting saga launched an impressive literary career. I've enjoyed several other books by Theroux, but never read the one which started it all. So when I read that he intended to retrace his steps and publish another book, I sought this first one out.
It's another classic I waited much too long to read. The book also made an excellent companion for the weeks I was in rehab after my knee surgery. Brief anecdotal chapters about time in India, in Burma, and all the other Asian countries he visited made for pleasant short reading sessions which were engrossing but not too taxing on the brain.
That's it for this list - more to come!
FLESH HOUSE Stuart MacBride
MacBride is one of a noteworthy group of Scottish authors, writing a grimy type of urban noir. His protagonist is an Aberdeen cop, Logan MacRae, who has been consigned to the most undesireable of duty assignments after he goofed up a case he was working on a few years ago. MacBride has consistently written suspenseful, semi humorous books, and with this one he adds gruesome to the mix. And it works!
ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION Temple Grandin
This was a book discussion group choice. Grandin is a well known authority in humane treatment methods for animals in all sort of environments, including slaughter houses - as incongruous as that seems. She herself has a type of high functioning autism, and has intersperses her analysis of animal welfare with comparisons to the various manisfestations of autism. While the subject matter is intriguing, I probably would not have picked this one up or finished it had it not been a book discussion choice.
WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS? Kate Atkinson
Atkinson's books have at least one continuing character - sometime private investigator Jackson Brodie - but they are not precisely a series. And not precisely suspense fiction, either. But still more than worth the read - she made my "best of the year" list again with this one. See my blog entry of December 30, 2008.
MURDER IN MYKONOS Jeffrey Siger
Siger is an American, living and writing in Europe. This novel was well received in Greece, and his American publisher convinced him to rework some passages and publish a distinct American version.
A Greek cop is sent down from Athens, after his investigation of corruption there began to move too close to persons of influence. While on duty in Mykonos, he uncovers the work of a serial killer. His skill in investigating the crime, while keeping unpleasant publicity at a bare minimum, earn the respect of his superiors and he is on his way back to Athens. This is good news, because it paves the way for a continuing series.
THE GREAT RAILWAY BAZAAR Paul Theroux
In the early 1970's, a young teacher had an idea for a trip and a book based on the trip. He would travel by train through Asia, in a huge elliptical loop. The resulting saga launched an impressive literary career. I've enjoyed several other books by Theroux, but never read the one which started it all. So when I read that he intended to retrace his steps and publish another book, I sought this first one out.
It's another classic I waited much too long to read. The book also made an excellent companion for the weeks I was in rehab after my knee surgery. Brief anecdotal chapters about time in India, in Burma, and all the other Asian countries he visited made for pleasant short reading sessions which were engrossing but not too taxing on the brain.
That's it for this list - more to come!
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