Category: Potpourri

Male Book Bloggers? and a Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt!

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So for part of this evening I have looked at other blogs about books and reading. What I found is that a ton of them are out there, and the majority are written by women! It also appears that they do a lot of communicating between each other (something that us guys don’t do all that well. So my questions is – Are there any male book bloggers out there??? And then if there are, say hi and let’s talk!! Whatcha’ been reading??……

I also saw several interesting book reading challenges that are part of the Bout of Books 12. The one that kicked off Bout of Books 12 was from Caught Read Handed and was a bookshelf scavenger hunt. The instructions are to……

Find a book with the following criteria on a bookshelf:

1. Find an author with the same initials as you
2. Find a book with the color yellow on it
3. Find an author’s name with the letter “S” in it
4. Find a book with a female protagonist
5. Find the longest book you own
6. Find a book with a map in it or on it
7. Find a book with a face on it (photograph or illustrated)
Bonus: Find something on your shelf that isn’t a book.

While I am not actively a participant in the Bout of Books  12, I did scour my bookshelves trying to find the above items. Here’s what I found…..

1. I couldn’t find any authors with both my initials E K . I did find some Evans and  Ethan Black, and Karin Fossum and Karin Slaughter and Janet Evanovich but no EKs

2. ….a book with the color yellow on it

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3. & 4….. an author’s name with the letter “S” in it
             ….a book with a female protagonist

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Author: Dana Stabenow Protagonist : Kate Shugak

5…..the longest book you own

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6.   …. a map in it or on it

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Maps in it map on the front page!

7. …. a book with a face on it (photograph or illustrated)

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first one I spotted!

The sad thing is that I’ve only read the last two……..maybe this is the year for the others!!! But now it’s time for bed!

Six Great Mystery Series and Their First Books!

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Today, I received an email from Barnes & Noble and they are having a Nook Book Sale on the first book of a series. I checked out the first books Mystery series  that were on sale, and here are six books that started some of my favorite mystery series!

Navajo Mystery Series

1.The Blessing Way – Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee – Tony Hillerman – Tony Hillerman wrote 18 Navajo Mysteries featuring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee and his daughter Anne Hillerman recently picked up the series and has written book 19!!

I stopped reading the series after book 14, not because I didn’t like the series but because I just started to read too many other mystery series. I always enjoyed the character of Jim Chee, who tried to walk in two worlds the modern and his ancestral Navajo and as a police officer that wasn’t always easy!!

It’s a great mystery series and The Blessing Way is a wonderful start to the series!

The Surgeon - Book 1 Rizzoli & Isles Mystery Series

 

2.. The Surgeon – Rizzoli and Isles – Tess Gerritsen – This was a book that just blew m away when I read it. The suspense and the characters were both great. Using the Hoyt character for the TV show was a great way to start the series just like The Surgeon was a great way to start the literary series!!

 

 

Book 1 - Carved In Bone - The Body Farm Mystery Series

3. Carved in Bone – Dr. Bill Brockton – Jefferson Bass

“Fantastic forensic detail and an engaging hero … an authoritative, compelling new voice to the forensic mystery.”
— Jeff Abbott, USA Today bestselling author of PANIC

The above quote about says it all. The about this mystery series that is still going strong.  Dr Bill Brockton is still a lovable hero and the forensic detail is still some of the best around, The series is now at  Number 9 which is due out in June of 2015!!

Blindsighted - Grant County Mystery Series

4. Blindsighted – Grant County – Karin Slaughter –  The whole crew of characters of this series – Sara Linton pediatrician, county medical examiner, Chief Jeffrey Tolliver,and Detective Lena Adams are all introduced in this riveting novel. Blindsighted like The Surgeon just was great right from the start as was the series! The novel was a Barry Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2002) and a Macavity Award Nominee for Best First Mystery Novel (2002)

Deal Breaker - Myron Bolitar Mystery Series

5. Deal Breaker – Myron Bolitar – Harlan Coben – while Harlan has had far more success with his stand-alone thrillers my first introduction to his writing was through sports agent extraordinaire Myron Bolitar’s mystery series. The stories and the characters were always well-developed and interesting, especially  Myron’s best friend  “Win” Lockwood who has saved Myron’s butt throughout the series!

Win was introduced in Deal Breaker. He was  a 31 year-old bachelor working closely with Myron Bolitar, his best friend since college. Win is also very close to Esperanza Diaz, Myron’s assistant (and later business partner) whom he meets through Myron. Wikipedia says that Win can be best  described as….

….an anti-hero, being very psychopathic in nature. In many of the books, Myron and Win debate the ethical nature of various actions, often Win’s.

Suspect - Joe O'Laughlin Mystery Series

6.  The Suspect– Joseph O’Loughlin – Michael Robotham – I was thinking about my favorite lead characters from mystery series, that are not Private Eyes or Policemen and certainly psychologist Joe O’Laughlin is probably at the top of the list.

Joe is one of my favorite all-time characters making this mystery series one of my favorites. Like Lay’s chips if you try this book, you won’t want just one…. you’ll be back for more and more and you won’t be disappointed!!!

“Into the Morning” with Kenny Barron and Dave Holland Part 1 – “Billie’s Bounce”

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Kenny Barron Dave Holland

So over the last few days, I have listened to the new album from Kenny Barron and Dave Holland The Art of Conversation and I will try to write about it tomorrow. But for now let’s go “into the morning” with a video of Kenny and Dave performing “Billie’s Bounce” and for folks like me, here’s a little about the song… from Wikipedia…

“Billie’s Bounce” (also known as “Bill’s Bounce”) is a jazz composition written in 1945 by Charlie Parker in the form of a 12 bar F blues. It was dedicated to Billy Shaw by the Yardbird. The original recording by Charlie Parker and His Re-Boppers was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.[1] Copyright 1945 by Atlantic Music Corp. Copyright renewed and assigned 1973 to Atlantic Music Corp.

The players on the original 1945 recording

Charlie Parker – Eb alto saxophone
Miles Davis – Bb trumpet
Dizzy Gillespie – piano (Gillespie also plays trumpet in other recordings from the same session)
Curley Russell – bass
Max Roach – drums

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Enjoy!!

American Forces Begin “Operation Hastings” in Vietnam -July 15,1966 – Music from Phil Ochs!

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imageOn July 15th of 1966,  US forces began “Operation Hastings” an operation to drive North Vietnamese forces from the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam. From Wikipedia….

Operation Hastings was an American military operation in the Vietnam War. The operation was a qualified success in that it pushed the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces back across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). As the NVA clearly did not feel constrained by the Operation Hastings was an American military operation in the Vietnam War. The operation was a qualified success in that it pushed the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces back across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). As the NVA clearly did not feel constrained by the “demilitarized” nature of the DMZ, US military leadership ordered a steady build-up of U.S. Marines near the DMZ from 1966 to 1968.

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I was 15 in 1966 and on the cusp of caring about what was happening in Vietnam, but over the next few years, as I approached draft age, my concern would obviously, grow. Eventually, I ended up on the side that thought the war was wrong, and wanted to bring our troops home.

When I think about this period of my life, the musician who comes to mind is Country Joe McDonald….”and it’s 1, 2, 3 What are we fighting for….”  No really, it’s Phil Ochs and the song that comes to mind and really sums up for me,  why we were destined to fail in Vietnam, and with a change in colors Iraq, is “White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land”….

PS – You know just because we were against the war, it doesn’t mean we were not for the men who fought the war. What everyone wanted more than anything was for those men to come home and no more to be sent there to die in what had become a senseless war. There’s  a scene in the classic show Taxi .

When Tony angrily confronts Jim with the bitter accusation that he fought in Vietnam so that burnouts like him could stay home and get loaded at protest rallies, the philosophical Ignatowski can only stammer a heartfelt, and utterly sincere, “Thank you.” Read More

and while I did not get loaded at Protest Rallies I also say – Thank You!

Alexander Butterfield Reveals the Existence of the White House Taping System – July 13, 1973!

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The White House TranscriptsSo as I sit here, I just opened the book Subversives: The FBI’s War on Student Radicals and Reagan’s Rise to Power to continue reading, the paragraph that I began with started: H.R. Haldeman was having a dinner party... That took my mind quickly back, to what I had read earlier, about famous events that happened on this date in 1973.

The existence of the White House taping system was first confirmed by Senate Committee staff member Donald Sanders, on July 13, 1973, in an interview with White House aide Alexander Butterfield. Three days later, it was made public during the televised testimony of Butterfield, when he was asked about the possibility of a White House taping system by Senate Counsel Fred Thompson.

On July 16, 1973, Butterfield told the committee that Nixon had ordered a taping system installed in the White House to automatically record all conversations; it was possible to concretely verify what the president said, and when he said it. Only a few White House employees had ever been aware that this system existed. Special Counsel Archibald Cox, a former United States Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy, asked District Court Judge John Sirica to subpoena eight relevant tapes to confirm the testimony of White House Counsel John Dean.

The revelation of the presence of these tapes consumed the nation for the next two years, leading us to things like: the 18 1/2 minute gap, the Stennis Compromise, and the Saturday Night Massacre. Of course, the whole tragedy came to an end after the release of the “smoking gun” tape on August 5th of 1974, which lead to Nixon’s resignation three days later. The smoking gun” tape was among  42 tapes subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee in April of 1974

In late July 1974, the White House released the subpoenaed tapes. One of those tapes was the so-called “smoking gun”[17] tape, from June 23, 1972, six days after the Watergate break-in. In that tape, Nixon agrees that administration officials should approach Richard Helms, Director of the CIA, and Vernon A. Walters, Deputy Director, and ask them to request L. Patrick Gray, Acting Director of the FBI, to halt the Bureau’s investigation into the Watergate break-in on the grounds that it was a national security matter. The special prosecutor felt that Nixon, in so agreeing, had entered into a criminal conspiracy whose goal was the obstruction of justice.
Once the “smoking gun” tape was made public on August 5, Nixon’s political support practically vanished. The ten Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee who had voted against impeachment in committee announced that they would now vote for impeachment once the matter reached the House floor. He lacked substantial support in the Senate as well; Barry Goldwater and Hugh Scott estimated no more than 15 Senators were willing to even consider acquittal. Facing certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and equally certain conviction in the Senate, Nixon announced his resignation on the evening of Thursday, August 8, to take effect noon the next day. Read More

I can still remember being in a Political Science class at the University of Florida, when the tapes were first released. My professor came in slam the paper on his desk and said “Damn the son of a bitch knew all along. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but that’s gone now!”

So on this day, I like to thank Mr Butterfield for letting us know about those tapes! You know, the sad thing is that the whole mess really didn’t even have to happen. While I wished it could have been otherwise George McGovern never really had a chance to win that election anyway. H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and the rest of Nixon’s staff had though had just created an “Us against Them” mentality in the White House opening the doors for this type of action, that eventually led to their downfall.

Read More

Newly Released Tapes Show Nixon Maneuvering as Watergate Unfolds

40 Years Ago: A Very Popular Paperback Book

Kathy’s Korner – More Magical Photos from My Wife’s Camera!!

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If you watch my wife take pictures, many times she’s bent over, with the camera focused on something small. She can really capture the details of life, like these three shots of a spider and its victim!

 

 

Then of course there’s the ubiquitous squirrels in the neighborhood – What me? I have no acorn!

Finally, there are times that she’ll just take a picture that is magical, like this one of Delaware River at Amico Island!

Magical did I say Magical, hum maybe it’s a Magical Connection that my wife and I have!!

[spotify track=”spotify:track:1HNwL5VVBuKBXchv0HUtRJ”]

Thoughts about Abiyoyo and grandbaby Oliver Edward Karn

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Abiyoyo - Pete Seeger

So sometime this month, my wife and I will become grandparents for the first time, when my son Andrew and his wife Meaghan have their baby, Oliver Edward Karn!!

Well, it’s actually Meaghan doing all the work right now and Andrew just gets the congratulations!! A couple of weeks ago, they had Meaghan’s baby shower.and Oliver’s gifts from Andrew’s brothers and sister and my wife and I were books and not just any books, but ones that were special to us.

The kids picked ones that were read to them and my wife and I picked either ones that were read to us or ones that we read to the kids! After my wife, whose idea it was first announced the idea. Peter immediately said “I’ll get Where the Wild Things Are” – though Bossy Boots may have been a better choice! What surprised my wife and I, was the first book that Elizabeth picked, which was Abiyoyo! The picture book based on the Pete Seeger song….

Four out of the five books that I gave Oliver were ones that I read to the kids. The only one that I could think of from my childhood was The Little Engine that Could. I remember that my mother’s mother always read that one to me!! Here’s my other four….

In the Night Kitchen - Maurice Sendak

In the Night Kitchen – Maurice Sendak –  I always loved to read this one to the kids and I think that the controversy over the nudity of Mickey is ridiculous!

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola – I always enjoyed the mayhem created by Strega Nona helper Big Anthony when he does what he is not supposed to do!

The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher – Beatrix Potter –  I had to include a Beatrix Potter book on my list I think we wore out all the copies of the many books that we had!! This one was always a favorite but they are all great!!

Runaway Bunny –  Margaret Wise Brown – Now this pick was a little controversial only in that when my wife told me that it was one of the books I had on my list. I didn’t believe her. I thought that the fifth book on my list was Ezra Jack Keats’ Maggie and the Pirate and it wasn’t until she showed me my list that I believed her!! But I’m glad it is on the list because it’s a great book that talks of parental love!!

Other books included Ezra Jack Keats. The Snowy Day from Elizabeth. Gregory the Terrible Eater and The Tomten from Nick and Noisy Nora, Max’s Toys, and The Tale of Miss Moppet another Beatrix Potter favorite!

So Oliver we hope you enjoy these books, which are the start of a library that I know will get bigger and bigger, because you know Oliver, you can never have too many books!!

Now the reason that this all came to mind today is that I was looking at videos of Doc Watson’s music because today is his birthday (video to come soon) and while I was thinking about Doc – the other folksinger that came to mind was the late ( I hate to write that) Pete Seeger and I went and found this video taken from the show Reading Rainbow with Pete telling his tale of Abiyoyo!!1

https://youtu.be/uVGbgJqXuPc?si=iqhyQ5wBW4UQiotW

Postscript, 2025: My daughter recently read In the Night Kitchen to my granddaughter Emma — and, true to form, Emma didn’t bat an eye at Mickey’s lack of clothes! Some things age better than the headlines.

“Into the Morning” with blues from Kara Grainger!

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kARA gRAINGERAs I surfed around the Internet yesterday, I came across this great female blues artist!

A native of Australia, Kara Grainger draws inspiration from the blues of America. On Shiver & Sigh, her third solo album, the guitarist and singer/songwriter also incorporates elements of rhythm and blues and soul music in the mix.

I think Kara will have a place in my blues library! Let’s go “into the morning” watching her perform live!

Books that “Rocked Your World”!

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Narcissus and Goldmund

This morning is was thinking about reading and books that “Rocked your world”, well maybe not rock your world, but those that opens your eyes, maybe make you see the world in a new light.

Books that touch you! One of the first books of mine that came to mind was, Jonathan Kozol’s Death at an Early Age. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve read but I remember at the time, this book revealed conditions that I really didn’t know existed and I remember being so touched by Kozol’s actions!

Just recently that’s what Stones into Schools did for me. It smacked me in the face with the conditions that people live under in both Pakistan and Afghanistan and their need for and their thirst for education particularly for their daughters!

The Imperial Cruise did it, too, by opening my eyes to US actions both in Hawaii and the Philippines!

As I thought about this topic two other books that came to mind were Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha and Narcissus and Goldmund. While I loved both books, I remember that Narcissus and Goldmund was my favorite. For those of you who don’t know the book, here is a synopsis from Wikipedia:

Narcissus and Goldmund is the story of a young man, Goldmund, who wanders around aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany after leaving a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as “the meaning of life”, or rather, meaning for his life. Narcissus, a gifted young teacher at the cloister school, quickly makes friends with Goldmund, as they are only a few years apart, and Goldmund is naturally bright. Goldmund looks up to Narcissus, and Narcissus has much fondness for him in return. After straying too far in the fields one day, on an errand gathering herbs, Goldmund comes across a beautiful Gypsy woman, who kisses him and invites him to make love. This encounter becomes his epiphany; he now knows he was never meant to be a monk. With Narcissus’ help, he leaves the monastery and embarks on a wandering existence. Goldmund finds he is very attractive to women, and has numerous love affairs. After seeing a particularly beautiful carved Madonna in a church, he feels his own artistic talent awakening and seeks out the master carver, with whom he studies for several years. However, in the end Goldmund refuses an offer of guild membership, preferring the freedom of the road. When the Black Death devastates the region, Goldmund encounters human existence at its ugliest. Finally he is reunited with his friend Narcissus, now an abbot, and the two reflect upon the different paths their lives have taken, contrasting the artist with the thinker. Full Wikipedia Article

Now as I think about the book and read the reviews at Goodreads: Narcissus and Goldmund I think I want to read the book again. I’m sure it would be interesting to read after all the life experiences that have occurred since that first reading!

So the question of the day is: What Book “Rocked Your World” and why??

Oh, another book that popped into my mind that I read in college at the height of the Vietnam War that had an impact was Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun