Sunday, July 29, 2012
Thicker than Water
by Ralph McInerny
This is my first Father Dowling mystery, one of the few my wife keeps on her shelf. She's been saying I should read them sometime, that as a Chicagoland expatriate I would enjoy them. So let this stand as a testimony that, a) my wife was right and, b) I do accomplish things on my to-do list... eventually. Professor McInerny's tale made me feel back at home, his characters reminding me of the folks I grew up with. He took his dear sweet time with the mystery--the question of who killed a man and parked his body in front of the St. Hilary rectory--but I enjoyed the ride. I particularly enjoyed the spiritual underpinnings of the tale. It would have been so easy to write a detective character who just happened to wear a clerical collar. But Father Dowling definitely thinks and acts like a pastor.
Check it out!
LibraryThing link
This is my first Father Dowling mystery, one of the few my wife keeps on her shelf. She's been saying I should read them sometime, that as a Chicagoland expatriate I would enjoy them. So let this stand as a testimony that, a) my wife was right and, b) I do accomplish things on my to-do list... eventually. Professor McInerny's tale made me feel back at home, his characters reminding me of the folks I grew up with. He took his dear sweet time with the mystery--the question of who killed a man and parked his body in front of the St. Hilary rectory--but I enjoyed the ride. I particularly enjoyed the spiritual underpinnings of the tale. It would have been so easy to write a detective character who just happened to wear a clerical collar. But Father Dowling definitely thinks and acts like a pastor.
Check it out!
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
Saturday, July 21, 2012
The World at the End of Time
by Frederick Pohl
This one's a dual tale--two stories for the price of one. The first track is the tale of Wan-To, an energy creature of great age and immense power who lives in fear of his murderous offspring. The second is about the life of Viktor Sorricaine, a boy who is on Earth's second colony ship, heading to a distant star to join the colony there. Like any colony, it offers the colonists a life of hard work and unknown dangers, but the biggest danger occurs when their solar system plays a role in Wan-To's family feud.
'Twas very good waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
This one's a dual tale--two stories for the price of one. The first track is the tale of Wan-To, an energy creature of great age and immense power who lives in fear of his murderous offspring. The second is about the life of Viktor Sorricaine, a boy who is on Earth's second colony ship, heading to a distant star to join the colony there. Like any colony, it offers the colonists a life of hard work and unknown dangers, but the biggest danger occurs when their solar system plays a role in Wan-To's family feud.
'Twas very good waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial
Sunday, July 15, 2012
The Better Man
by Howard Weinstein
While there are no space battles in this book, it is pretty much standard Star Trek fare. Doctor McCoy discovers a daughter he never knew he had. Crises arise and the crew of the good ship Enterprise .... well, that would spoil the ending, wouldn't it?
'Tis just waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
While there are no space battles in this book, it is pretty much standard Star Trek fare. Doctor McCoy discovers a daughter he never knew he had. Crises arise and the crew of the good ship Enterprise .... well, that would spoil the ending, wouldn't it?
'Tis just waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: StarTrek, WaitingRoomMaterial
The Gifts of the Child Christ I
by George MacDonald
I'm not quite sure how to write this one up. It's a collection of 19th Century fairy tales, or Mährchen, a German word used by Mr. MacDonald in one of his collections. I didn't find the tales spectacular or anything, but there was a gestalt that I found pleasing. Perhaps the best way to describe it is a worldview of that is full of delight in all that's good. It's a familiar attitude, but one that's hard to hang on to now that I'm a grumpy grown-up. Anyway, if you can tolerate a bit of moralizing and a bit of 19th Century verbosity, check this one out. It'll be worth it.
LibraryThing link
I'm not quite sure how to write this one up. It's a collection of 19th Century fairy tales, or Mährchen, a German word used by Mr. MacDonald in one of his collections. I didn't find the tales spectacular or anything, but there was a gestalt that I found pleasing. Perhaps the best way to describe it is a worldview of that is full of delight in all that's good. It's a familiar attitude, but one that's hard to hang on to now that I'm a grumpy grown-up. Anyway, if you can tolerate a bit of moralizing and a bit of 19th Century verbosity, check this one out. It'll be worth it.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
Friday, July 06, 2012
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
by Tom Standage
This one's an interesting little book that looks at six influential beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. Mr. Standage looks at each drink's place in history--how it shaped and was shaped by the cultures around them. As a history fan, it was fun to read about something besides wars and politics. Of course, reading it also made me a bit thirsty...
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
This one's an interesting little book that looks at six influential beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. Mr. Standage looks at each drink's place in history--how it shaped and was shaped by the cultures around them. As a history fan, it was fun to read about something besides wars and politics. Of course, reading it also made me a bit thirsty...
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Sunday, July 01, 2012
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by J.K. Rowling
(First read in December 2007.) (Nothing to add.)
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
(First read in December 2007.) (Nothing to add.)
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, HarryPotter, JKRowling
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