Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts #6

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. This is the place where we can talk about anything that pops into our minds, bookish or otherwise.  Your rants (good or bad) are welcome here too.  Come and share anything you want with us today.

1.  I had to give up on Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton.  I so wanted to love it but unfortunately it turned out to be just a lot of politics.  No “this happened while I was in the White House”, no it was (up until I gave up) dry, play-by-play, commentary.  It was just “we moved from point A to point B and then the Democrats said this and the Republicans replied with that . . .”  OH.MY.GOODNESS . . . I wanted personal details and stories not history lessons.  I am not even interested in the politics of my own country . . .  very disappointing.  I really like and respect Hillary Clinton and think that she has had a hard public life (especially with a husband like Bill Clinton and the scandal he brought into her life).  I admire how she has come through everything as a strong independent woman.  That is what I wanted to hear about. 

2.  Since I was diagnosed in November last year, I have put most of my hobbies on hold.  It was not just that I did not have the energy, I also lost my mojo.  I did not see the point of going on doing such mundane things when there was some living to be done.  But this past weekend, I picked up my needle again (strange what a upcoming birthday present decision can make you do!).  I have only done a couple of rows of very basic stitches but how I have missed it!  I am eager to sort out our garage this coming weekend and search out the boxes with my supplies that I stored somewhere in a corner.  Here is an example of one of the peyote bracelets I made last year.  I am just making a very basic multi color bracelet as a birthday gift for my boss but it is just put me in such a good mood.

3.  I watched a documentary on Discovery this week about the Busiest Train Station in the world (Japan).  Some of the workers live inside the station in little cubicle worker quarters.  Their airbeds are automatically deflated at a certain time in the morning so that they are not late for work.  I think that is a brilliant idea!  I need it in my bedroom – I hate getting out of the warm bed when the rain is beating against the windows.  Just another 5 minute snooze . . .

4. I loved THE ROSIE PROJECT, I really loved it.  It was a five star read (listen) for me.   When I rated on Goodreads, it automatically tweeted my rating and this morning Don Tillman Phd favored the tweet.  Hie-Hie.  Don Tillman is the fictional lead character of the book.  How sweet is that – “they” (whoever they might be? Publisher?) created a twitter handle for him.  Too cute!  I had to start following . . . I loved the character, so I can imagine what might be said . . .

Hopefully my next week’s reads will be equally enjoyable.  I started Annihilation for a bit of horror and afterwards will start 
Before I go to sleep for some psychological scaryness.  The reviews seem to be glowing, so let’s hope.

                    

5.  I am so looking forward to the weekend – sometimes work can be such a shlepp . . . urgh, wish I could win the lotto!  I am definitely not a career-minded person.  I only work because I have too – I do not have a career, I have a job   Luckily the people I spend my day with are not too bad and on Friday we will be celebrating soccer fever.   Our different departments will be having a goal shooting contest. 

{Audiobook}Review: Mr Mercedes

Mr Mercedes
by Stephen King
 
Genre: Crime fiction
Date Read:  13 June 2014
Reading with my ears
Narrator:  Will Patton   
Unabridged audio - Length: 14 hours 21 minutes

A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who's haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular - the pre-dawn slaughter of eight people among hundreds gathered in line for the opening of a jobs fair when the economy was guttering out. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes.

The plot is kicked into gear when Bill Hodges receives a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again. Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing that from happening. Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. And he's preparing to kill again. Only Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, can apprehend the killer in this high-stakes race against time. Because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim hundreds, even thousands.

My thoughts:
Mr Mercedes is the journey of Bill Hodges, a police detective, with nothing to live for after his retirement from the force.   He puts away his father’s gun (and thoughts of using it) as he begins to tract the one crazy killer he was never able to catch. 

Brady Hartfield is very sick.  It is scary to think that he lives in real life too.  People blending nicely into society but with grandiose thoughts of being famous as the greatest killer. 

I loved how King revealed only little bits of the support characters at a time.  We never really got to know the the other characters in the book, just enough to give us glimpses into the reasons for Brady’s psychosis. 

One of these characters is Freddy, Brady’s younger brother.  He is only mentioned a few times in this book but I felt such empathy for him.  A poor little lost soul, born into a family that ultimately killed him.  Freddy was always slow and suffered brain damage during his short life which made caring for him a huge burden on the family.  I understand the frustrations that the family must have felt but poor little Freddy did not deserve his life.  Thankfully he would not have understood all that went on.

If you are looking for a scary horror by the great master, then you will be disappointed.  Mr Mercedes is only scary in the way that an insane person can be scary.   And Brady is scary . . .
This is instead a great detective story, defining the phrase “cat and mouse games”. 

Will Patton once again showed why he is such a beloved narrator.  He did an excellent job and the story flowed beautifully from scene to scene.  He is a true professional.  Love him!

{TV series}Review: Helix

A team of scientists are thrust into a potentially life-or-death situation in this thriller, which begins with the group being deployed to the Arctic to secretly investigate what could be a disease outbreak.

This is a roller-coaster ride of a series.  I loved it!  Each episode had you believing another version of what the truth might be!  The whole series is played out in a “secret” arctic science lab where more that just lawful experimentation might be going on.    A group of CDC scientists are up against a decease that not even the director of the lab can (or want to) fully explain.  The first season ended on a cliffhanger of sorts and I am very happy that a second season will follow in 2015.

Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts #5

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. This is the place where we can talk about anything that pops into our minds, bookish or otherwise.  Your rants (good or bad) are welcome here too.  Come and share anything you want with us today.

1.   I finished Mr Mercedes by Stephen King today.  I really enjoyed this crime story but I also miss his old terror-horrors.   I remember reading The Shining for the first time.  It was the first book that I had to put aside for a while because I was too scared (that was 20 or 25 years ago!).   I would love to find a really scary book again.  I haven’t read something truly scary in a long time.  If you have a favorite, I would love to hear from you . . .

2.  Next up I am debating if I am in the mood for something biographical – maybe Hillary Clinton’s new book – or maybe a light hearted romance – The Rosy Project . . . I will load both on my clip and see what I am in the mood for tomorrow.

                        

3.  My poor Roxy baby is still suffering . . . I spoke of her separation anxiety a while ago.  We have gotten the strongest medication that the vet could prescribe but still it is no help.  We have now tried everything.  Tried a dog behaviorist, tried “training” by keeping her away from us for short periods even when we are home.  We even tried medication . . .   I don’t know anymore.  And the looks from the neighbors are getting worse . . . I really am so despondent . . . I am unhappy and she is unhappy . . . I have heard of “doggy daycares” – wish there was one nearby . . .

4.   I just love the minions   I have a cover case for my phone and recently got a matching ringtone.  I can’t help smiling when my phone starts ringing . . . lifts my mood every time.

5.  Ever watched a movie and thought “. . . that is so much crap . . . “ but smiling broadly anyway . . .

Bookish (and not so bookish Thoughts) #4

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. This is the place where we can talk about anything that pops into our minds, bookish or otherwise.  Your rants (good or bad) are welcome here too.  Come and share anything you want with us today.

1.  I have been reading some blog post recently with people making little emergency kits for when disaster strikes.  I don’t really need that as we do not have any tornados or earthquakes, etc but it did make me think.  We don’t have a great First Aid Kit.  I could not even tell you if we have a Band-Aid . . . I need a kit!
2.  What is it with unfriendly receptionists (or service people in general)! You are working with people in a client service environment  – get over it or get another job.  I am feeling ill, don’t give me an attitude as well!
3.  I saw this classic talking dog youtube video again this week and it made me smile even though I have seen it so many times.  Soooooo cute – deserve everyone of the 150+ million views
4.  This year there seems to be Books-to-movies everywhere.  I love making to-do lists.  I should have a list and start reading all these books.  Any ideas?
5.  Watching Anthony Bourdain in Parts Unknown, I wonder if other cities/countries feel the same way when they see his program about their own country.  Frankly I was offended when I saw his South African program last night on Netflix.  Definitely not a balanced view of the country or of the food.  I used to love his shows, now I am beginning to wonder.  Was other places also as misrepresented . . . can I really believe what I saw and heard about some of the huge cities of the world . . .