Life and Things
Happy Late Thanksgiving, all!
This week was full of ‘fun’. I entered into a liver study focused on NASH. It’s long-term, and will help further knowledge of the disease. I also had a visit to a retina specialist because of a unique pain in my eye. A pain I recognised- glaucoma. Sure enough, my eye pressure was elevated. They did an in-office angiogram. Thankfully, I didn’t need in-office laser surgery on my retina. Since the retina issues aren’t causing the elevated pressure, I see a glaucoma specialist on the 30th.
My care at the retina office has been transferred to a newer doctor who specialises in premature retinopathy. It turns out, he trained under Dr Toth, who treated me twenty years ago. At least I know I’m in great hands!
Books read, reviewed, and posted/scheduled this past week
Please Don’t Do Coke in the Bathroom by Sami Christianson, 3*
(Audiobook) I Bring the Fire: Wolves by C Gockel/ Barrie Kreinik (narrator), 4*
Creature Files: Dragons by LJ Tracosas, 4*
Creature Files: Reptiles by LJ Tracosas, Nov 24, 4*
London Theatres by Michael Coveney, 4*
Manga Classics/ Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling & Crystal S Chan, 4*
My Wounded Island by Jacques Pasquet & Marion Arbona, 4*
The Rain Never Came by Lachlan Walter, 4*
Age of Swords by Michael J Sullivan, 5*
Amazing World: Stars and Planets by Paul Beck, 5*
The Boy in the Suitcase by NV Baker, 5*
Favourite Read of the Week
‘The gods have been proven mortal and new heroes will arise as the battle continues in the sequel to Age of Myth–from the author of the Riyria Revelations and Riyria Chronicles series.
In Age of Myth, fantasy master Michael J. Sullivan launched readers on an epic journey of magic and adventure, heroism and betrayal, love and loss. Now the thrilling saga continues as the human uprising is threatened by powerful enemies from without–and bitter rivalries from within.
Raithe, the God Killer, may have started the rebellion by killing a Fhrey, but long-standing enmities dividing the Rhunes make it all but impossible to unite against the common foe. And even if the clans can join forces, how will they defeat an enemy whose magical prowess renders them indistinguishable from gods?
The answer lies across the sea in a faraway land populated by a reclusive and dour race who feel nothing but disdain for both Fhrey and mankind. With time running out, Persephone leads the gifted young seer Suri, the Fhrey sorceress Arion, and a small band of misfits in a desperate search for aid–a quest that will take them into the darkest depths of Elan. There, an ancient adversary waits, as fearsome as it is deadly.’
Current Read
‘Sixteen-year-old Bella Kynaston has been the victim of a brutal rape, by someone she can only describe as ‘the scar-faced man.’ With little recollection of what happened, she must somehow rebuild her life. Being the person she once was proves more difficult than she imagined.
To complicate matters, Bella has just met Jeremiah Detrone, the new guy in school. He’s attractive, funny, and smart. All things she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. Too bad she’s conflicted over so many unexpected emotions. Without realizing it, she falls down a rabbit hole and begins walking a dangerous line between addiction and self-preservation.
As Bella works together with the police to bring her attackers to justice, will she be able to see it through to the end? And even if she does, will it only bring her more pain and misery? Or will she find an anchor in Jeremiah and figure out how to move forward?’
Next Up (maybe)
Damn Fine Story by Chuck Wendig, NG
Gauntlet Fall by Maddy Edwards, Oct 20, Xpresso
The Everett Exorcism by Lincoln Cole, Oct 24, Independent
Your Crossroads, Your Choice by EP Apicello. ASAP
The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor CBR
Besieged by Kevin Hearne CBR
How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci, CBR
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton. CBR
Hour of Mischief by Aimee Hyndman
Season of Wind by Aimee Hyndman
Book Haul
Several egalleys. Most looking forward to the following.
‘In this spellbinding novel, a young man journeys from California to Cairo to unravel centuries-old family secrets.
Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father. One day, a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep, pulling him into a mesmerizing adventure to uncover the tangled history that binds the two sides of his family. For generations, the men of the al-Raqb family have served as watchmen of the storied Ibn Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, built at the site where the infant Moses was taken from the Nile. Joseph learns of his ancestor Ali, a Muslim orphan who nearly a thousand years earlier was entrusted as the first watchman of the synagogue and became enchanted by its legendary—perhaps magical—Ezra Scroll. The story of Joseph’s family is entwined with that of the British twin sisters Agnes and Margaret, who in 1897 depart their hallowed Cambridge halls on a mission to rescue sacred texts that have begun to disappear from the synagogue.
The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is a moving page-turner of a novel from acclaimed storyteller Michael David Lukas. This tightly woven multigenerational tale illuminates the tensions that have torn communities apart and the unlikely forces—potent magic, forbidden love—that boldly attempt to bridge that divide.’
