If you don’t know what “dust pneumonia” is, you need to read this novel by Rae Meadows. She writes with such grace that she breathes color into a 1930s landscape that very likely had little in reality. Set in Mulehead, Oklahoma, the novel tells the story of Annie Bell in unsparing and relatively unsentimental detail but with such deftness that you can taste the grit of the dust that storms through the town and plagues the citizens as they depart one by one. She writes with a tenderness that lays her characters bare, so that the book is free of the cloying element that often accompanies historical fiction. I devoted an entire rainy evening to this book and enjoyed it very much, to my surprise. Not my usual read, but there you go. Books, like life, have a disconcerting way of surprising you, and that is one of the many reasons I love them!
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I Will Send Rain By Rae Meadows-A Review
If you don’t know what “dust pneumonia” is, you need to read this novel by Rae Meadows. She writes with such grace that she breathes color into a 1930s landscape that very likely had little in reality. Set in Mulehead, Oklahoma, the novel tells the story of Annie Bell in unsparing and relatively unsentimental detail but with such deftness that you can taste the grit of the dust that storms through the town and plagues the citizens as they depart one by one. She writes with a tenderness that lays her characters bare, so that the book is free of the cloying element that often accompanies historical fiction. I devoted an entire rainy evening to this book and enjoyed it very much, to my surprise. Not my usual read, but there you go. Books, like life, have a disconcerting way of surprising you, and that is one of the many reasons I love them!
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City Of Mirrors By Justin Cronin-A Review
In City Of Mirrors, Justin Cronin brings to an end his Passage trilogy. I am a lover of apocalyptic literature (note to self-google to see if there is a term for this), and have followed this trilogy with some interest. The writing is decent; the characters, well-fleshed (no zombies eating them ,lol), and the plots not too romance-driven, always a plus to my aromantic mind. I was waiting to see would the world survive, or at least a remnant of the U. S. population. As is my practice, I’m not going to spoil the plot with publishing any details-you want to know, you’ll have to read the book yourself! Though not so hackneyed an author as to offer a grand showdown between the forces of good and evil, Cronin does skirt the edges of this just a little too closely for my taste, but you will not doubt think I have a jaundiced eye. And the ending made me want to gnash my teeth and fling the book across the room, as it was so CLEARLY a set-up for the start of a new series. Please, could you not be so transparent? Have a little respect! We’re loyal readers but have our limits!
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City Of Mirrors By Justin Cronin-A Review
In City Of Mirrors, Justin Cronin brings to an end his Passage trilogy. I am a lover of apocalyptic literature (note to self-google to see if there is a term for this), and have followed this trilogy with some interest. The writing is decent; the characters, well-fleshed (no zombies eating them ,lol), and the plots not too romance-driven, always a plus to my aromantic mind. I was waiting to see would the world survive, or at least a remnant of the U. S. population. As is my practice, I’m not going to spoil the plot with publishing any details-you want to know, you’ll have to read the book yourself! Though not so hackneyed an author as to offer a grand showdown between the forces of good and evil, Cronin does skirt the edges of this just a little too closely for my taste, but you will not doubt think I have a jaundiced eye. And the ending made me want to gnash my teeth and fling the book across the room, as it was so CLEARLY a set-up for the start of a new series. Please, could you not be so transparent? Have a little respect! We’re loyal readers but have our limits!
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Hillbilly Elegy By J.D. Vance-A Review
Back to books, after a hiatus! I think that Hillbilly Elegy has garnered the amount of attention it has by seeming to offer insight on the demographic that might elect (shudder) Trump as POTUS. I confess that I read the book with some anticipation of finding a fresh perspective on an Appalachian connection, seeing as how I’ve lived in this region for almost twenty odd (in all senses of the word) years now. I was disappointed. Vance serves up the the usual fare I’ve come to expect from Appallit-there’s drinking, drug addiction, and violence aplenty, down to the almost stereotypical gun-toting “Mamaw,” but in the end he offers no fresh perspective on the the people he writes almost cruelly about, unless it that’s there’s little hope to be found among them. I HAVE been reading Appalachian authors for awhile now, and they do tend to a grim, dark, and cheerless worldview. Hillbilly Elegy, though a memoir, certainly follows that same tradition. So, here’s my take: this is a matter of the fortuitous book: Vance published the right book at the right time. It’s not a BAD book, but it’s certainly not a GREAT one. You want to read really GREAT Appallit, try Ron Rash.
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Hillbilly Elegy By J.D. Vance-A Review
Back to books, after a hiatus! I think that Hillbilly Elegy has garnered the amount of attention it has by seeming to offer insight on the demographic that might elect (shudder) Trump as POTUS. I confess that I read the book with some anticipation of finding a fresh perspective on an Appalachian connection, seeing as how I’ve lived in this region for almost twenty odd (in all senses of the word) years now. I was disappointed. Vance serves up the the usual fare I’ve come to expect from Appallit-there’s drinking, drug addiction, and violence aplenty, down to the almost stereotypical gun-toting “Mamaw,” but in the end he offers no fresh perspective on the the people he writes almost cruelly about, unless it that’s there’s little hope to be found among them. I HAVE been reading Appalachian authors for awhile now, and they do tend to a grim, dark, and cheerless worldview. Hillbilly Elegy, though a memoir, certainly follows that same tradition. So, here’s my take: this is a matter of the fortuitous book: Vance published the right book at the right time. It’s not a BAD book, but it’s certainly not a GREAT one. You want to read really GREAT Appallit, try Ron Rash.
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Shame On KY Gov. Matt Bevin!
Last weekend at the Values Voters Summit, a meeting of far-right leaders, KY Governor Matt Bevin suggested that the election of Hillary Clinton would be the occasion for bloodshed. He specified that this would be blood of the tyrants and the patriots but worried that the ensuing conflict could even engulf his nine children, perhaps even his grandchildren. Now, this kind of alarmist rhetoric is nothing new from the alt-right. They preach Armageddon regularly, repetitively, and at tiresome length. But Gov. Bevin is an elected sitting official of the state of Kentucky, and as such, should not be blathering this tripe. Bad enough we get overblown nonsense from candidates running for the Presidency. On the campaign trail, especially THIS campaign trail, I’ve almost gotten used to a certain tabloid-like style, as candidates tweet their way across the landscape. But I still expect (unfairly? unlikely?) a modicum of common sense and judgement from those holding office. DON’T DO STUPID SILLY SHIT like calling for Hillary’s blood! It just makes you look crazy or deluded or LIKE YOU SHOULDN’T BE IN OFFICE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Sigh.
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Shame On KY Gov. Matt Bevin!
Last weekend at the Values Voters Summit, a meeting of far-right leaders, KY Governor Matt Bevin suggested that the election of Hillary Clinton would be the occasion for bloodshed. He specified that this would be blood of the tyrants and the patriots but worried that the ensuing conflict could even engulf his nine children, perhaps even his grandchildren. Now, this kind of alarmist rhetoric is nothing new from the alt-right. They preach Armageddon regularly, repetitively, and at tiresome length. But Gov. Bevin is an elected sitting official of the state of Kentucky, and as such, should not be blathering this tripe. Bad enough we get overblown nonsense from candidates running for the Presidency. On the campaign trail, especially THIS campaign trail, I’ve almost gotten used to a certain tabloid-like style, as candidates tweet their way across the landscape. But I still expect (unfairly? unlikely?) a modicum of common sense and judgement from those holding office. DON’T DO STUPID SILLY SHIT like calling for Hillary’s blood! It just makes you look crazy or deluded or LIKE YOU SHOULDN’T BE IN OFFICE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Sigh.
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I Faced The Zombie Apocalypse Armed Only With A Smartphone
My computer died last week. The hard drive was fucked, and I found myself staring at the black screen of death. Just to make sure of this, I called tech support, they did their thing and confirmed the worst. I had been anticipating this, since my computer was an older machine, relatively speaking. It had been glitchy for some time, esp. after I gave in to the wheedling obnoxious and persistent demonic voice of Microsoft and installed the update of Win10. My PC and I were both perfectly happy with Win7, and I had every intention of ignoring the FREE update but hit WRONG key when the evil box appeared yet again….and ended up with Win10. Everything was fine for maybe a week, then the Troubles started. My browsers developed infuriating twitches and crashed like the Great Depression had hit. I’d call tech support, spend hours on the phone, be assured the problem was resolved, only to have it recur the next day. Finally an astute (or honest) tech told me that I was running Win10 on a system that was not intended for it. Well, yeah. I had figured that was part of the problem. But it was a little too late to do anything about it at this point. The damage was done; the horse had run; use whatever cliché comes to mind. Suffice to say, I knew the end was nigh; I was hoping, though, that the PC would last until I relocated in several months, just b/c I’m OCD and like everything tidy. But time and tech conspired to foil that plan. I had Dell build me a sweet new machine with all the bells and whistles I had been wanting, down to the color. (What, you didn’t I’d buy something cheap off the shelf from some big-box store, did you ?) It took about a week, so I had to spend that time WITHOUT A PC with only my smartphone! And I have discovered that a smartphone is NOT very smart, that is, it is no replacement for a PC. Here are some of the things I COULDN’T do on my smartphone: blog: amend an eBay listing; post reviews on sites; navigate around sites except in very restricted ways; empty my mailbox. I’m old enough to remember (before PCs were even around) when phones were constricted by landlines, and after this experience I found myself missing my old landline! Had the zombie apocalypse actually occurred, I probably would have used the smartphone for a weapon, and trust me, my aim is NOT that good. I’m far more accurate online. I’m comfortable with a computer and fairly geeky, but phones just drive me nuts. I often leave mine at home when I go out, simply b/c I refuse to be tethered to it-though I will take my laptop! Anyway, my PC has arrived-a wonderful little machine (thanks, Dell!), so I’m here, finally, and I survived !
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When The Music’s Over By Peter Robinson-A Review
The latest Inspect banks novel, this mystery did not seem as satisfying as his previous works. It tended to drag, and while the topic of historical abuse is a timely one, Banks failed to engage me. His development of the characters rang flat, and there was far less of Inspector Banks, Jazz Singh, and the others we’ve come to like in his novels. Even his descriptions of the landscape, usually evocative, captured only fragments of the harsh cityscape he meant to convey. He did present a nuanced representation of the racial tension in present day Britain and the problems that presents in terms of policing and pursuing cases. In view of the current struggles going in Europe and the U.S. over immigration, the novel did good a good job there. But, perhaps because he was concentrating on the politics of the novel, the book never quite rose to any heights. A pity, that.
