Superman never made any money for saving the world from Solomon Grundy

Monday, December 25, 2023

Grit City Xmas

Happy Isaac Newton's Birthday, everyone!

 
So, Coco wasn't satisfied with the way her Christmas-Eve Brownies™ came out last night, so today we bounced out in the rain to the local to get more ingredients for she could make some Christmas-Day Brownies™ for the guests (and we get the keep the irregulars for ourselves).
 
Shout out to all those folks who work the holidays so the rest if us can enjoy ourselves! 

And off-kilter holiday post here for our first holiday in Tacoma. No monster movie marathon today; we're hosting the Putnam fam this afternoon and heading out to a "regular" movie together after. But no fear: Coco and I did see Godzilla Minus One in the theater a few days ago (it was grrrrreat!) so the streak is maintained in spirit if not in fact!

This has been a year of transitions, as so many have.
 
For Coco, it was the end of her master's program and the beginning of her practice as a mental health counselor - a practice which is going strong already!
 
For me, it was opening up and then tying off so many threads, as we managed the move and I began to really lean into retirement. Just this week I passed a landmark - I merged my work desk and my art desk and have just one station instead of two. I realized I don't have a work-me and a play-me anymore and I get to be just-me. And that feels pretty good.

Anyhoo, still lots of holiday fun to be had over the next week, and beyond until our Steel Anniversary in January. 
 
I think I owe this space three book reviews and should update my other spaces too. In the meantime,for anyone here who doesn't already have it, this is me:


One last thought: all of this can seem so trivial compared to the struggle and privation so many people are undergoing this year all across the planet. Let us all hope for and work toward a world free from the hate, cruelty, and greed that blights us.

One love.

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Solitaire Book Club for days

Lightning Round! Time to catch up on all the reviews I haven't posted since I have been so busy... um... being retired. So, in no particular order:

 

 

The Tumbling Girl by Bridget Walsh. Wonderful evocation of late nineteenth century, appealing characters, and a suitably macabre mystery marred by a slightly unsatisfying resolution that does our protagonists no justice. I'll check out the second in the series, but warily.


 

 

The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman. An engaging and ultimately delightful story not without its perils. Haldeman's story reads like he has given H.G. Wells's Time Traveller and name and updated his adventure for modern times - a rousing success.

 

 

 

 

 Paved Paradise by Henry Grabar. Not since Suburban Nation have I read a book that so clearly explains and illustrates how land-use regulations -- some well-intentioned and some the result of greed -- have so drastically shaped our landscape and our lifescapes. A must-read for anyone who has ever complained about about parking.

 


Soonish by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. The SMBC cartoonist and his much smarter wife take us through a journey of technicalities that could exist, might exist, and maybe shouldn't exist. Enough science to be creditable and useful and enough fun and funny pictures to be accessible.

 

 

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood. I usually try not to start a series with a book later than the first, but this second adventure of these older women amateur  (but quite capable) detectives pulled me right in. A great locked-room cozy with witty writing and fun characters. I will certainly seek out the rest.

 

The Sorcerer of Pyongyang by Marcel Theroux. A North Korean boy is exposed to the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide and the trajectory of his life is changed forever. The D&D game features not so much as nerd service as it does as an extended metaphor for luck, agency, and destiny. A great read for anyone.
 



 

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. In my mind, Scalzi is the spiritual heir to Ron Goulart and with every book I read is creating a as strong on hold on my aged heart as Goulart ever did on my young one. This rollicking tale of a kaiju NGO (think Save the Monsters instead of Save the Whales) packs more humor, wit, adventure, and pathos in its relatively short length than it has a right to.



Just got a hold notice today so it'll be off to the library soon for more!