Life and Things
So, this week has been slow with reading. Education of a Coroner took longer than expected. Not much done on the writing front either. I did add more to the Kruetzet Archives, on Port Jericho. In keeping with the theme of Port Jericho, I renamed my Weekly Recap and Month in Review to Mercenary Report and Hunter’s Report. XD
I paid a visit to the dietician again. I hadn’t lost as much weight as I’d hoped, but she was happy with it so it must have been sufficient. I did learn I need to drink 100 Oz of water per day! I’m going to float away, if I ever work up to that much each day…
This Sunday past, my family and I went to the local pumpkin festival. We went early so we could go to the pancake breakfast. I had decided to splurge and enjoy pancakes, since it’s a yearly tradition for us. Joke was on me though… My body wanted nothing to do with the pancakes…
The rest of the festival was a lot of fun. I snagged a new English driving cap and two Victorian era keys. These were sold as “storyteller” keys and have a 221B tag attached 🙂
I’m going ghost-hunting! One of our sister inns, Ocean View Inn, is getting renovated. Before it reopens my friends and I are going to investigate. Ocean View dates to the turn of the last century.
Tuesday was a trip out to Borderlands Books in San Francisco to meet some nifty authors and get books signed! SQUEE Next month’s hope is to meet Brandon Sanderson!
Lastly… another bad wyvern sketch
Books read, reviewed, and posted/scheduled this past week
A Journey to Yonder by Nidhi Kaur, 4*
Education of a Coroner by John Bateson, 5*
Favourite read of the week
Education of a Coroner by John Bateson
‘In the vein of Dr. Judy Melinek’s Working Stiff, an account of the hair-raising and heartbreaking cases handled by the coroner of Marin County, California throughout his four decades on the job—from high-profile deaths to serial killers, to Golden Gate Bridge suicides.
Marin County, California is a study in contradictions. Its natural beauty attracts thousands of visitors every year, yet the county also is home to San Quentin Prison, one of the oldest and largest penitentiaries in the country. Marin ranks in the top one percent of counties nationwide in terms of affluence and overall health, yet it is far above the norm in drug overdoses and alcoholism, and comprises a large percentage of suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Ken Holmes worked in the Marin County Coroner’s Office for thirty-six years, starting as a death investigator and ending as the three-term, elected coroner. As he grew into the job—which is different from what is depicted on television—Holmes learned a variety of skills, from finding hidden clues at death scenes, interviewing witnesses effectively, managing bystanders and reporters, preparing testimony for court to notifying families of a death with sensitivity and compassion. He also learned about different kinds of firearms, all types of drugs—prescription and illegal—and about certain unexpected and potentially fatal phenomena such as autoeroticism.
Complete with poignant anecdotes, The Education of a Coroner provides a firsthand and fascinating glimpse into the daily life of a public servant whose work is dark and mysterious yet necessary for society to function.’
Current Read
Riters by Roy Harris
‘Four generations in space searching for a new world and today they learn how their insignificant band came to command a monolithic ship known as Protostar…exactly, one hundred years after stepping aboard. From the depths of the NORAD command center, they trace the passion and sacrifices that lead to a last ditch effort to find civilization a new home.
“Riters” embodies the spirit of works like “Catch 22”, and the sixties cult classic, “Been Down So Long, It Looks Like Up to Me”. Combining the absurd and insightful with the hysterical and tragic, Harris choreographs an unexpected embrace of opposites in a world far stranger than one where machines are conscious.’
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
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton. CBR
Book Haul
Got a hardcopy of The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde while at Borderlands.
‘The kingdom in the Valley has long sheltered under the protection of its Jewels and Lapidaries, the people bound to singing gemstones with the power to reshape hills, move rivers, and warp minds. That power has kept the peace and tranquility, and the kingdom has flourished.
Jewel Lin and her Lapidary Sima may be the last to enjoy that peace.
The Jeweled Court has been betrayed. As screaming raiders sweep down from the mountains, and Lapidary servants shatter under the pressure, the last princess of the Valley will have to summon up a strength she’s never known. If she can assume her royal dignity, and if Sima can master the most dangerous gemstone in the land, they may be able to survive.
PRAISE FOR THE JEWEL AND HER LAPIDARY AND FRAN WILDE
“The Jewel and Her Lapidary is a splendid tale of courage and transformation in a world as exquisite as Wilde’s prose. You will be utterly entranced.”
— Ken Liu, Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award winner and author of The Grace of Kings’
Egalleys I’m most excited about:
Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict
‘From the author of The Other Einstein comes the mesmerizing story of love, power, and the woman who inspired an American dynasty.
In the industrial 1860s at the dawn of the Carnegie empire, Irish immigrant Clara Kelly finds herself in desperate circumstances. Looking for a way out, she seeks employment as a lady’s maid in the home of the prominent businessman Andrew Carnegie. Soon, the bond between Clara and her employer deepens into love. But when Clara goes missing, Carnegie’s search for her unearths secrets and revelations that lay the foundation for his lasting legacy.
With capturing insight and sunning heart, Carnegie’s Maid tells the story of one lost woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie’s transformation from ruthless industrialist into the world’s first true philanthropist.’
The Queen’s Mary by Sarah Gristwood
‘Mary Seton is lady-in-waiting to the legendary Mary Queen of Scots.
Torn between her own desires and her duty to serve her mistress, she is ultimately drawn into her Queen’s web of passion and royal treachery – and must play her part in the game of thrones between Mary and Elizabeth I.
Must she choose between survival, and sharing the same fate as the woman she has served, loyally and lovingly, since a child?
The Queen’s Mary is an engaging and insightful novel, which allows the reader to peek behind the curtain of history – and see into the heart and mind of a forgotten woman who helped shape the Tudor era.
Fans of Phillipa Gregory, Alison Weir and The Tudors will love The Queen’s Mary.’
Read any of these books? Met the authors? Thoughts?
I’m open to suggestions as to ways to tweak my posts, or otherwise improve Port Jericho. Ideas welcome!
