Category: Books-Fiction

Van Jones’ Beyond the Messy Truth Kick Starts My 2019 Reading!

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Van Jones’ Beyond the Messy Truth – How We Came Apart-How We Come Together Kicks Starts 2019

So last year I reached what I thought was an unreachable Reading Challenge goal of reading 65 books. At some point in the next week or two I will recap what I read and how those books fit into my various sub-Reading Challenges! Additionally, I will be creating and writing about my 2019 Reading Challenges.

However, let’s get started by writing about what I have already read in 2019. As well as,  the books that I plan to read in January.

Beyond the Messy Truth – How we Came Apart – How We Come Together

First the first book I finished, actually on the first day of January, was Van Jones’ Beyond the Messy Truth – How we Came Apart – How We Come Together

I think Van Jones gets it and presents some really good ideas in this book. His overriding thought is that our divided country needs to take a step back and start to find common ground.

In Beyond the Messy Truth Jones presents open letters to both Liberals and Conservatives outlining many things that they get right and those they get wrong. I will say many of his points made me stop and think about my actions toward some conservatives.

He presents examples of policy areas where liberals and conservatives can come together for the common good. In these chapters he discusses the policy initiatives led by the unlikely duo of conservative Orrin Hatch and Liberal Ted Kennedy!

The Duality of The Founding of America

A highlight for me  were his statements about the duality found in the founding of our country

FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF this country, America has been two things, not one. We have our founding reality and our founding dream. And the two are not the same.

The founding reality is that there were around when our country was founded. Those realities included slavery and the fact that it was founded by rich white males. But there was also a founding dream. The Declaration of Independence best says that dream, when it states that “all men are created equal’

At our best, our mission is simple. For more than two centuries, we have been working to close the gap between the ugliness of our founding reality and the beauty of our founding dream. Each generation tries to narrow that gap a little bit more than the last one did.

We need to be guided by both our conservative values coupled with our progressive principles to close that gap.

 The Bottom Line

I believe that his book should be passed out to everyone working in Congress and the White House. It should also be read by anyone who is concerned about shrinking the divide between conservatives and liberals   . Uh, which should be basically everybody!!

Two Opposites Have Praise for Beyond the Messy Truth!

Here’s what two people with divergent opinions on just about everything have to say about Beyond the Messy Truth….

 

“Van Jones is a light in the darkness when we need it most. Beyond the Messy Truth breaks with the tribalism of today’s politics and offers us a way forward. In the tradition of the great bridge builders of our past, Van’s love for this country and all its people shines through.” —CORY BOOKER, U.S. senator, New Jersey

“If I say I’m actually friends with Van Jones, will that cause conservatives to read the book or just cause progressives not to? I hope they all read it—I disagree with Van on just about everything, but I respect him for being authentic in his convictions and for having the ability to articulate them forcefully but fairly.” —MIKE HUCKABEE, former governor of Arkansas and Republican presidential candidate.

Find It Read It, Think about It and Act!

Links for Further Exploration of Van Jones

Van Jones

The Dream Corp

Rebuild the American Dream 

So how good would a post be about coming together without “Get Together by The Youngbloods

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spDh6EY761U

Where My November Reads Took Me -Part 2

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After Dial D for Deadman, I reluctantly left the world of Dan Deadman and returned to Earth. I landed in Siglufjörðurhe a quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland. Here I met Ari Thor Arason In Ragnar Jonasson’s Nightblind.

Nightblind – Rgnar Jonasson

Siglufjörðurhe is an isolated village only accessible via a small mountain tunnel. The small close-knit town is one where no one locks their doors. In Nightblind their world is rocked when a policeman is killed at a quiet house with a disturbing past.

The murdered officer was Ari Thór’s partner. Thor would have been on-duty the night of the murder but he had called out sick. Thor and the town’s former police chief are tasked with the job of unraveling the mystery. It’s complex mystery involving the compromised new mayor. Along the way the reader is also given glimpses of a psychiatric ward in Reykjavik where a patient writes about his confinement and the reason for it!

All in all, it was a good visit. I enjoyed both the plot and the characters. Nightblind is the second book in Jonasson’s  Dark Iceland series.and you can bet I’ll be visiting Iceland again. First, to find out what happened prior to Nightblind in Snowblind and then after in Blackout! I can’t wait.

Noumenon – Marina J. Losteller

Following Nightblind,  I traveled back to space with Marina J Lostetter’s Noumenon.  More precisely I traveled wit a convoy to the anomalous star LQ Pyxidis and back. A book Kirkus reviews calls “A striking adventure story that could hold a galaxy in its scope’

Noumenon chronicles humanity’s first adventures beyond the solar system,  The story is chronicles the aforementioned mission to visit LQ Pyxidis. The mission was the brainchild of Astrophysicist Reggie Straifer. Starifer thousands of others join a convoy of nine ships on a mission to reveal the origins of this anomalous star.

Since the mission would take centuries, it was decided that the travelers would not be frozen. Rather the mission would be composed of clones of Earth’s best scientists.

The story is told through a series of vignettes each featuring a different set of lead characters at various points along the journey. The only consistent character, and maybe the most interesting, is the ship’s A1 or ICC, short for Inter Convoy Computing.

I didn’t like these vignettes t first. It seemed, I would just be getting to know and like a character and boom they were gone! However, as the book progressed and I became aware of the length of the journey I saw the need for different characters.

The bottom line is that I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to reading the next book Noumenon Infinity. Here is a great review of Noumenon from  BarnesandNoble.com.

Finally, I have caught you up on the six books that I read in  November. In addition, I’ve told you about all the great places I have visited without leaving the comfort of my home!

Next up my first two December reads!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where My November Reads Took Me – Part 1

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So as I finished Still Waters book number 61 for 2018, I  thought of a way to recap my November reads. The setting for Still Waters is the Swedish island of Sandhamn. Which made me thinks of all the other places I visited in November via the books I read. So here are the first three books I read…….

No Defense - Kate WilhelmKate Wilhelm  – No Defense

Kate Whilhelm’s No Defense (54) was the first book I read in November.The book is the fifth book in  Wilhelelm’s Barbara Holloway a lawyer working out of Eugene, Oregon. Most of the action in No Defense takes place in the high desert region of southeastern Oregon. In the book Barbara must defend a woman accused of killing her husband and making it look like an accident. Of course the woman has “no defense”. The characters were good and the story interesting with a twisting ending!

 Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke – Girl’s Night Out

After visiting Oregon, I traveled 3,700 miles in a southeasterly direction and visited Tulum in the Yucatán Penisula if Mexico. Book 55 was Girls Night Out  by the writing duo of    And Liz Fenton. In Girls Night Out  three long-time friends Ashley, Lauren, and Natalie who have been estranged for the last year are going on vacation to hopefully set aside hurt differences and become friends again. But when  Natalie wakes up alone on the beach after a night out and Ashley is missing their lives are turned upside down.

Flashbacks tell the story from the perspective of each of the main characters.I didn’t like this over the first few chapters, However, as the story progressed I thought it was a great way to present the tale. The chapters deal not it only  with Ashley’s disappearance but also the  issues that have driven them apart. This is not a book that I would typically read but I found it interesting and enjoyed it.

Karin Slaughter – Pieces of Her

After Tulum, Mexico I headed  to Belle Isle, Georgia where in the seashore town I met Laura and her daughter Andrea in Karin Slaughter ‘s Pieces of Her. (Book 56). In this book Slaughter explores the possibility your mother may not be who you think she is!  When put in a life and death situation Andrea’s mother responds in ways Andrea could never imagine her professorial mother responding. Soon Andrea’s mother tells her that her life is in danger and she needs to run away to Idaho! As she runs, Andrea discovers more pieces of her mother’s life. Slaughter also enlightens the reader about pieces of  Laura’s life via alternating chapter. They revealing both the past and the present. Once again a five star read from Karin Slaughter!!

 

Barry J Hutchinson – Dial D for Deadman 

The next book took me to Outer Space and the world of Dan Deadman inn Barry J. Hutchinson’s Dial D for Deadman. Dan Deadman who has actual been dead for a while, first meets a strange girl . Dan and his leprechaun friend Artur are then tasked with finding a missing girl. Funny, fun book and Deadman and his friends are great characters! I am ready for the next book in this series.!

I came back to Earth for my next read and landed in Iceland……….. find out where in part two!!

 

 

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Nightblind – Ragnar Jonasson – Dark Island #2 an Outstanding Trip to Iceland

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Originally posted in December 2018 -updated Nov 2025

Nightblind is the second book in Ragnar Jonnasson’s Dark Iceland series. It is the first book by Jonasson that I have read. Since the I have read 4 out of the 6 books in the series. It seems that I am constantly re

Siglufjörður - the setting - Nightblind- Ragnar Jonasson

The Story

Siglufjörður is an isolated village only accessible via a small mountain tunnel. The small close-knit town is one where no one locks their doors. In Nightblind their world is rocked when a policeman is killed at a quiet house with a disturbing past.

The murdered officer was Ari Thór’s partner. Thor would have been on-duty the night of the murder but he had called out sick. Thor and the town’s former police chief are tasked with the job of unraveling the mystery. It’s complex mystery involving the compromised new mayor. Along the way the reader is also given glimpses of a psychiatric ward in Reykjavik where a patient writes about his confinement and the reason for it!

My Thoughts

All in all, it was a good visit. I enjoyed both the plot and the characters. Nightblind is the second book in Jonasson’s  Dark Iceland series.and you can bet I’ll be visiting Iceland again. First, to find out what happened prior to Nightblind in Snowblind and then after in Blackout! I can’t wait.

Ragnar Jonasson – “IS THIS THE BEST CRIME WRITER IN THE WORLD TODAY?” (THE TIMES) // “NEXT-GEN NORDIC STAR” (LA TIMES)

After visiting Ragnar’s website I discovered the following

Nightblind has won the 2016 Mörda Award – Dead Good Reader Award for Most Captivating Crime in Translation. Nightblind, translated by Quentin Bates and published by Orenda Books, is is the second book in the Dark Iceland series to be published in the UK.

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon

About Ragnar Jonasson

Jonasson is author of the award winning and international bestselling Dark Iceland series.

His debut Snowblind, first in the Dark Iceland series, went to number one in the Amazon Kindle charts shortly after publication. The book was also a no. 1 Amazon Kindle bestseller in Australia. Snowblind has been a paperback bestseller in France.

Nightblind won the Dead Good Reader Award 2016 for Most Captivating Crime in Translation.

Snowblind was called a “classically crafted whodunit” by THE NEW YORK TIMES, and it was selected by The Independent as one of the best crime novels of 2015 in the UK.

Rights to the Dark Iceland series have been sold to UK, USA, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia, Poland, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Morocco,”’

Goodreads

 

  • The Mörda Award was a specific category within the Dead Good Reader Awards, celebrating the best in translated crime fiction. The Dead Good Reader Awards were annual, public-voted prizes for crime and thriller novels, presented during the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, UK. 
  • Purpose: To recognize and celebrate a captivating crime novel that has been translated into English.
  • Winner example: In 2016, the Mörda Award for Captivating Crime in Translation was won by Ragnar Jonasson’s Nightblind,

No Defense – Kate Wilhelm – Rescued from the Giveaway Pile!

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Let’s Start A New Series – No Defense – Kate Wilhelm (Barbara Holloway # 5)
This afternoon I finished  No Defense by Kate Wilhelm. It is the 54th book I have read in 2018. And how I came to read it is a little different. A few weeks ago I came home with nine books from the used book sale at the library. Typically, when I do this my wife says “ that’s ok but now you need to get rid of nine books”. And I usually say “ yeah right!” Which of course means no way!
This time though, I thought maybe I should whittle down my to be read shelves of books. So I went through my paperbacks and came up with nine books to donate to the library for their next book sale. No Defense was one of the books I tossed in the box.
Anyway, the other night I looked over those books and pulled out No Defense to read figuring who knows maybe I’ll enjoy it! And enjoy it I did!
No Defense is book 5 in the Barbara Holloway series by Kate Wilhelm. It is the first book I have ever read in the series. It is also the first book I ever read penned by Ms. Wilhelm. From Goodreads….
 Barbara Holloway takes on a seemingly impossible case. Vinny and Lara Jessup’s wonderful marriage comes to a tragic end and Lara becomes the prime suspect when she is accused of staging the accident that killed her husband. With only the word of an accused woman and a mysterious box of papers about the unsolved murder of Vinny’s son, Barbara takes on the widow’s case. Read More
My Thoughts On No Defense
While I enjoyed the book overall. I did think that things moved rather slowly through the first half of the book. The second half of the book was much better. Especially when the pieces of the puzzle started to come together revealing what really happened.
I enjoyed the characters and felt they were well-developed. The blurb on the front cover of the book from The Chicago Tribune indicates that character development is one of Wilhelm’s strong points.
“Wilhelm cares as much about her characters as she does about the courtroom- which is why her books are such a genuine pleasure.”
I do think that I may have enjoyed the book a little more, if I had read the preceding four books. So will picking up a book that I was ready to give away lead me to another series to read. I guess we’ll  see!!
About Kate Wilhelm
While I was reading about Kate Wilhelm before writing this post I discovered that she passed away this past March. That was two months before her 90th birthday. Mirror, Mirror the 14th book in the Barbara Holloway series was released in 2017, fifty-four years after the release of her first novel!
Here’s  little bout Ms. Wilhelm from her Goodreads page…..
Kate Wilhelm’s first short story, “The Pint-Sized Genie” was published in Fantastic Stories in 1956. Her first novel, MORE BITTER THAN DEATH, a mystery, was published in 1963. Over the span of her career, her writing has crossed over the genres of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy and magical realism, psychological suspense, mimetic, comic, and family sagas, a multimedia stage production, and radio plays. She returned to writing mysteries in 1990 with the acclaimed Charlie Meiklejohn and Constance Leidl Mysteries and the Barbara Holloway series of legal thrillers.
 Hmm,  the acclaimed Charlie Meiklejohn and Constance Leidl Mysteries. Maybe I need to check out those books, too! So many books, so little time!! Anyway, check out No Defense

Catching Up- What’s Been Happening – Part One

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 An Attempt at Catching Up!
Ok so the question before me today is – “How do I get back to blogging again after taking a month or more off?” I think the way I need to do it is to first try to catch up with what’s been happening on my Life’s Safari over the last two months and then create some challenges for the rest of the year.
Basically, there are maybe four aspects of my life that I blog about: the books that I read, the music that I listen to, the ways I attempt to turn back my biological clock and my family. My family blogging includes both my current family and my past family, I learn about through my genealogical research.
Now I will attempt to catch up on all that’s been going on in a number of posts. Here’s a brief summary of what I hope to be writing about in those posts.
The Books I’ve Read
My 2018 Reading Challenge goal was to read 65 books. Currently, I have read 50 of those books. That means in order to reach my goal of 65 I need to average five books per month over the last three months of 2018. Well actually I need to read six in one of those months.
The last book I have written about was book 46. Loner by Hildur Sif Thorarensen. It is the first book in her Oslo Mysteries series. You can read my review here.
Two of the other books that I have read are from two of my favorite authors. The first book 47 was Desolation Mountain  by William Kent Krueger,while book 49 was Lost Creed from Alex Kava.
The two other books I read were written by authors whose work I am reading for the first time. Book  48 was Caged by Ellison Cooper. While my most recent read, and book 50 for 2018, was Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna.
Caught Up- Needed Reviews and New Mini-Reading Challenges
Now I need to create some Mini-Reading Challenges for the coming months. Obviously the biggest reading challenge is to read 15 more books. But I have also created several challenges concerning the types of books I want to read. You can read about those challenges here. Over the next few days, what I need to do is review all the books I’ve read. Then see which Reading Challenge that book meets to ultimately see what types of books I need to include in those final fifteen books.
I have now caught you up on the books that I have read. Hopefully, I will be posting reviews of each book over the next week. Along with a couple new mini-challenges I need to create to try to meet my various 2018 Reading Challenges!! Once again wish me luck!

Loner by Hildur Sif Thorarensen. Everything You’d Want in a Nordic Mystery!

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NSo over the last several days,, after finishing Steve Hamilton’s Dead Man Running, I have finished two more books. The first was Loner by Hildur Sif Thorarensen. It is her debut novel and will be book #1 in the Oslo Mysteries series.

About Hildur Sif Thorarensen.

Hildur was born in Iceland but is currently living in Norway. Although, spending most of her adult years at the University, she’s been writing ever since she was a little girl and alongside Medical studies and a Master’s in Engineering, has also taken a year in Creative Writing.

Loner was written in Iceland and published in 2016. The English version of the book was published this year. Currently, she is writing the sequel. The sequel is to be concurrently published in both Icelandic and English. The anticipated release date is to be in early 2019. I for one can not wait.

About Loner

 

Loner, a police procedural finds  Oslo police detectives searching for a gruesome serial killer. From Amazon

Which is worse, trying to catch a cunning killer leaving decapitated women in the woods, or trying to tame an unconventional forensic psychiatrist that seems determined to go his own way?

The Oslo autumn is creeping in with its cold spells and Homicide Detective Julia Ryland is feeling pretty content with her team of three, but when the FBI behavioral analyst, Alexander Smith, is thrust upon her, the crisp autumn air doesn’t feel as refreshing anymore. A young Icelander is found dead, an arrow piercing his heart and the extensive list of his former lovers suggests that many long nights are ahead. The murdered lothario suddenly becomes the least of their problems as headless corpses start appearing in the woods, positioned in terrifying ways and on their bodies they find messages that don’t seem to have any meaning at all.

My Thoughts

 

Loner reminds me of several of the police procedural that I read. It’s like Bosch where Bosch is kind of the lone wolf and there are other detectives working on the case. In this case the odd man Alexander Smith is not a detective. He instead is a forensic psychologist. That makes him even more of an outsider, who needs to prove himself. He also has just moved to Norway. His mother is Norwegian and his father American. When his parents divorced his mom mother back to Norway.Alexander often visited but now has moved back to help her with her illness

.Alexander’s boss is Julia Ryland the head detective trying to hold the team together. Other team members are Hercules and Eric each with their own problems. Together they are an interesting cast of characters. Additionally, you can add the  serial killer to the cast of interesting characters. He was a stuttering member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Loner’s plot was consistently interesting and the pace of its unfolding kept me turning the pages rapidly. The ending of the book was satisfying and left me ready for the next installment! I think Tara Sariban of Bloody Murder Podcast sums up Loner nicely…

An atmospheric thriller with a heavy dose of humour that will have you laughing and full of suspense at the same time. The surprising plot developments made it impossible to put down!

Steve Hamilton’s Alex McKnight is Back!! Yeah!

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Dead Man Running - Steve Hamilton

 

Back in July, I wrote a post to both remind myself and to let readers know that books from three of my favorite authors were being released in August. The three authors ,whose books were being released on August 21st, were Karin Slaughter, William Kent Krueger and Steve Hamilton.

Thanks to the post I remembered to go to my library’s website and request the books. At the end of last week, the books from William Kent Krueger and Steve Hamilton became available. My hold position for the Karin Slaughter release is 47 of 57. I guess we see who the favorite is! Folks don’t know what they’re missing out on, by not reading Krueger and Hamilton. Of course it works out well for me because I get to read the books!

Dead Man Running – Steve Hamilton

 

The first book I chose to read was Steve Hamilton’s Dead Man Running, book #11 in the Alex McKnight series.It ist he first McKnight book Hamilton has written in five years! In the interim, Hamilton created a new series. He has written two books in that series, The Second Life of Nick Mason and Exist Strategy. Both are great reads. You can read what I wrote about these books here and here.

Who is Alex McKnight?

Alex McKnight is an ex-Detroit police detective, who lives now in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Alex takes care of and rents four cabins that his father and her built. He has also worked as a private investigator..  Currently he is employed as a fugitive recovery agent.aka a bounty hunter.

Dead Man Running: the Story

The story opens when a couple of vacation in the Mediterranean Sea watch the security camera feed from their  home bedroom in Arizona.  They watch a stranger enter the bedroom disrobe and join the dead woman laying on their bed Soon the man is caught when he returns to the scene to be with the woman a second time. After the police had been notified.Lewis T Livermore  is caught. He confesses to killing five other women. Under questioning, he reveals that victim number seven is still out there alive. He will take them to him on one condition that Alex McKnight comes with them!!

So begins the worst nightmare of Alex’s life! As just about everything thatcould go wrong does. And Alex must chase a killer, that knows all about Alex, while Alex has no clue about his connection to the killer.

My Thoughts

There’s no doubt that once again Steve Hamilton has delivered a page-turning thriller. Hey, I read it in two days! But there were a couple of things that kept it from being a 5 out of 5 stars.

First, overall liked the fact that the story took Alex out of his element and left him on his own in Arizona, far from his Paradise , Michigan home. However, I still missed the Upper Michigan Peninsula and his usual cohorts. Jackie McLean owner of the Glasgow Inn, Vinnie LeBlanc and Leon Prucell Alex’s one-time PI partner.

Additionally, I could easily see where the connection was going to be I was just not sure what the connection was. Finally, it’s a little thing but the chase for Livermore took Alex back across the country. Along the way, Livermore Alex and FBI Agent Larkin were ambushed by Livermore. I don’t think that Alex ever questioned how Livermore knew exactly where they were??

The Bottomline

Anyway the bottom line is that the book is great. The twists and turns from the moment that Livermore leads Alex and the FBI into the canyons of Arizona through to the end kept me turning the pages at a very rapid clip!! I think the book can be read without reading the preceding books. Mainly, because of the setting and the lack of familiar people around Alex.  However, if you want a real treat find book #1 A Cold Day in Paradise and work your way through the series

Ah! I just looked over the Alex McKnight series here at Goodreads and I see that I haven’t Let It Burn book #10 in thee series. I need to read that book!

Post Update: I did read Let It Burn so I have read the whole series.

Links for the Further Exploration of the Novels of Steve Hamilton

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon
Goodreads

Book 2 – Other Worlds Reading Challenge – Way Station – Clifford D Simak

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The other day I finished Way Station by Clifford D. Simak. It is the second book in my June-July  “Other Worlds” while Reading Challenge.I didn’t visit any “other worlds” in the novel, but there are beings from other worlds in the book.

Way Station – Clifford D Simak

 

Way Station by Clifford D Simak is based on the premise that there are millions of sentient being throughout the universe These beings travel from world to world via transporter  like machines. In order to travel to far reaches of the galaxy it is necessary to make frequent stops at Way stations along the way.

On Earth there is one way station. It’s located in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin and has been manned by Civil War veteran Enoch Wallace for the last 100 years.

Throughout the years, Enoch has met a variety of alien species almost all of which are far more developed than residents of Earth. Some have passed through only once while others have stopped several times and even become friends with Enoch. Most have left gifts for Enoch.

But now after all these years someone is watching Enoch and the watcher may have discovered something in Enoch‘s Family graveyard that could put Enoch‘s Way Station in jeopardy.

Additionally, the Inter-Galaxic Council, for which Enoch works is in turmoil. There is also a throughout the Galaxy.The reason is that the Talisman that connects beings to the universal spiritual force is missing.

Earth, as well, is on the verge of war. Ulysses the being who recruited Enoch to be the Station master gives Enoch a possible solution that will end all war. But the solution may be worse than war! Can Enoch speak for the whole world and accept the solution???

In addition to being under surveillance by the watcher, Enoch’s Way Station is also being threatened by a neighboring farmer. The neighbor is upset because Enoch has befriended the neighbor‘s deaf mute daughter. Enoch had previously saved the daughter from her violent father after he beat her and called her a witch.

Final Thoughts

 

Simak weaves all the various threads presented throughout Way Station into a satisfying ending for Way Station. It  left me wanting to know more about the aliens who visited the station and the Inter-Galactic council

Clifford Simak wrote Way Station in 1963 and I think it holds up really well. One aspect of Way Station  that stood out very early to me (uh, like in the first paragraph) was Simak‘s intricate and beautiful prose.

I also enjoyed the character of Enoch Wallace. Although I find it a little hard to fathom that somewhere in those 120 years he didn’t tell someone about the world out there! Even if it was only in a book! And what a book he could have written!!

Anyway Way Station is certainly a four star out of five book for me. I also know I will be reading more from this master of science fiction.

Way Station and My Reading Challenges

 

Way Station is book two in my mini- June July Other World’s Reading Challenge. Overall it is book 30 of 2018. The Book falls in overall in the Science Fiction Challenge.  The sub-Challenge it belongs is the Classic Science Fiction authors whose works I have not read Challenge. It is the first book in that category. The Challenge is to read five books in that category.

About Clifford D Simak

 

Clifford Donald Simak (/ˈsɪmək/;[1] August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award.[2][3] The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master,[4] and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement  Read More

Free Books at the Library Rekindle Memories of a Great Writer

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Ok so I don’t think there are may of you under the age of 40 who can identify this iconic mystery author…..

John D MacDonald

John D MacDonald

Yes, it is the great John D MacDonald, author of the also great Travis McGee series. MacDonald died 1986 at the age of 70. He left behind a legacy that included 21 books featuring Travis McGee.

Now I must say that I haven’t read a John D MacDonald book since, well probably 1986. And since, I didn’t start keeping a record of the books I read until 1987. I really can’t remember all of the Travis McGee books I read.

Now why am I bringing up John D McDonald today? It’s because yesterday, when I left the library with the new books I had checked out, I went back into the library to check out the free books. Among those books I found three hardback Travis McGee books with their beat up and worn dust jackets. Here they are in the order of their release.

 

No 5 – A Deadly Shade of Gold (1965)

 

No. 7 Darker Than Amber (1966)

 

 

No. 19 – Free Fall in Crimson (1981)

Now the main reason that I picked up the books is I love the cover, particularly, the two from the 1960s. Another reason is that I loved the Travis McGee books and I never read any of the early books. I believe I started reading the series at around book 16 The Dreadful Lemon Sky released in 1974. So I think it would be interesting to read the first two books at least from above.

Here are two interesting facts about the series. . First,  while the books are mysteries, Travis McGee was neither a police officer nor a private detective. He is a self-described “salvage consultant” who recovers others’ property for a fee of 50%. The other is that a color always appears in the title of the book.

Here’s what Kurt Vonnegut wrote about the books on the cover of  A Deadly Shade of Gold

To diggers a thousand years from now…..the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb Tutankhamen.

I don’t know it I’d go that far but I do think that 40 to 50 years later the Travis McGee books from John D. MacDonald are still worth checking out. Especially if they’re  free!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of John D McDonald

JDM Homepage
Wikipedia
Wikipedia:Travis McGee
Goodreads
Amazon