Books

16 Hours in airports (both ways) leaves me with a lot of reading time.

 I finished Robert Kroese's Mercury Rises, which is a sequel to Mercury Falls, and while not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as the first, I still enjoyed it. and the main characters (an angel, a writer, and The Antichrist, as well as a whole bunch of other Heavenly, and The Other Place, whackdoodles). It looks like  Mercury Swings, a free short story (or maybe a novella), is a prequel to the other books. I didn't know it existed until just now, but it's safely on my Kindle already, so I'll let you know.

 Our favorite sociopathic serial killer is unaccountably dense in Double Dexter. Even for a guy who isn't quite up on actual human emotions and reactions, he seems awfully slow to catch on to a few really large hints. That said, I enjoyed this journey into his twisted mind.

 I did not love all of the short stories in West Coast Crime Wave, but I liked enough of them to make the read enjoyable. I especially liked Steve Brewer's contribution to the collection. There was a bit of formatting weirdness in the book, one story was completely underlined, but I imagine they'll work those kinks out soon.

 Just in case I got stuck in strange cities, I loaded up the Kindle before I flew out. I bought several of Christopher Moore's novels, starting with Practical Demonkeeping. I only just started the book, but I'm pretty sure that his twisted sense of humor is right up my alley.

 J.D. Rhoades' two short stories in The Caretaker were both quick and satisfying reads. I didn't love the Courier Font, but I adjusted pretty quickly.

 J.A. Konrath's The List is described as a technothriller (one word). I started reading it last night but it's not striking my fancy at the moment. I think I'll put it aside for awhile, and try again later.

 My good friend Ann recommended Mary Stanton's series, so I started with the first, Defending Angels. It's probably the polar opposite of The List. I'm enjoying it but it's maybe just a tad too cozy for me. We'll see.

 I've been listening to Tarzan books as I treadmill, for the past couple of months (letting the Kindle read them out loud to me).  In Tarzan the Untamed, Tarzan is a very very busy Lord of the Jungle: he becomes a widower, he reverts to his savage roots, he takes on the German Army single-handed, he rescues a downed English pilot, he is wary of a pretty German Spy (who, of course, falls in love with him)(and of course, he doesn't even notice), he tames a wild black lion, he crosses deserts, he discovers a hidden city of maniacs, he rescues his friends, and finally he learns something that we probably knew already. Whew...


This is the seventh Tarzan book that I have listened to in a row, and they're all a hoot. At least once in every book, I laugh out loud (and an out-loud laugh while you're dripping on the treadmill is a very good thing). This time around, after having been previously warned that shooting a lion with a pistol would only piss the lion off : (Lieutenant Harold Percy) "Smith-Oldwick drew the pistol from his shirt. 'If he has made up his mind to kill me,' he thought. 'I can't see that it will make any difference in the long run whether I infuriate him or not. The beggar can't kill me any deader in one mood than another.'"

Next up is Tarzan the Terrible, which is the last book in the Tarzan Omnibus. Though I try not to learn too much about the books before I listen to them, I am pretty sure that there are dinosaurs in this one, y'all.

There are many more Tarzan books (I think there were 24 total), but after I finish listening to Tarzan the Terrible, I'm going to switch to Burrough's John Carter of Mars series. From what I can tell, John Carter is another gorgeous hunk of invincible man-meat. I suspect I'm going to enjoy these books every bit as much. In fact, I just bought a 5-book collection. Just this minute.

The Kindle is a wonderful and dangerous thing.

Books

 I finished the Jungle Tales of Tarzan, a loosely connected series of short stories in which a young, pre-Jane Tarzan falls in and out of love, tries fatherhood, steals, murders, kidnaps, is confused by dreams, contemplates the existence and meaning of God, and stays perfectly still as poisonous insects crawl on his eyeballs. Whatta guy!

 It is rumored that Edgar Rice Burroughs did not like Jane and wanted to get rid of her. Like A. Conan Doyle, he swiftly found out that fans don't like it when favorite characters get killed off, especially with no warning (and in a really nasty way). So though we know that Jane's death isn't permanent, in Tarzan the Untamed, Lord Greystoke doesn't. And he really, and I do mean really, doesn't like the Germans.

I have no idea how to classify Robert Kroese's Mercury Falls, but this story of a weary reporter, an angel, and the Antichrist, all fighting to postpone The Apocalypse, made me laugh out loud three times in the first three chapters. I understand that this book was self-published, and I only found it through Amazon's Kindle Deal of the Day, and I would not have bought it if it had not been 99 cents, but it's solid proof that self-publishing does not automatically equal a poorly written book. I don't know if the story will hold up, but so far, I'm wildly entertained and have already ordered the next book in the series, Mercury Rises.

Nothing but this 'n that these days

With the clock ticking for SAFF and my stuff ready and sent on ahead (and safely in place), there's really nothing much for me to do before I leave next Thursday, except twiddle my thumbs...

 ...and read, and observe that Edgar Rice Burroughs surely did not like the Germans.

 ...and knit. I'm making progress on Forest Canopy with the marigold-dyed handspun Romney. It still looks like an amorphous blob, but it's a pretty yellow amorphous blob.

 ... and spin. Another 163 yds (4.6 ozs) of self-striping Romney. I'm amassing quite a bit of yardage.

 ...and play Jewelry Maker. These are amethyst stones, and pink opal.

...and admire my new CafePress goodies, from Curt's Store (link at the top right of this page).

But mostly, I'm twiddling my thumbs, and mentally commanding the leaves in North Carolina to wait until I'm there to turn.