Having got hooked on the books, the only place I could find to watch the TV series was on YouTube in low resolution. Surprisingly, I liked the show just as much as the books.
Angie Harmon was a terrific choice to play Lindsay Boxer, the main protagonist. She has the gravitas — though Lindsay in the books is a blonde.
I laughed out loud many times. A bit of a black comedy.
Eleanor Oliphant, our heroine, is a disaster. Anti-social. Disconnected from society and culture. A functioning alcoholic. Potentially suicidal. Perhaps slightly autistic.
Her only previous relationship was abusive — ex-husband putting her in the hospital multiple times.
Somehow … you can’t help but cheer for Eleanor.
She lives in Glasgow, Scotland, and works as a finance clerk for a graphic design company.
The novel deals with themes of isolation and loneliness, and depicts Eleanor’s transformational journey towards a fuller understanding of self and life.
It’s modern. Exploring loneliness in an internet age, the vulnerability of being uncoupled in a culture that prizes relationships.
The character I liked best in this book is Raymond Gibbons, an I.T. help desk co-worker who awkwardly tries to help Eleanor.
Uniquely, the most important relationship in this novel is friendship.
Name another hit novel without some kind of romance central to the plot.
Jenny Colgan, reviewing for The Guardian, described the novel as “a narrative full of quiet warmth and deep and unspoken sadness” with a “wonderful, joyful” ultimate message. …
Sarah Gilmartin of The Irish Times called the title character “one of the most unusual and thought-provoking heroines of recent contemporary fiction”. …
I’m not smart enough to explain his thinking — but here’s a ChatGPT summary of the non-fiction tomb.
Main Focus: Nexus explores the intersection of technology, human evolution, and the future of societies, emphasizing the merging of biological and digital realms.
Technological Convergence: Harari examines how advancements in genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology are changing humanity’s relationship with itself and the world.
Human Enhancement: A central theme is the idea that humans may soon be able to enhance their biological and mental capacities through technology, leading to “post-human” forms of existence.
Ethical Implications: The book raises questions about the ethics of altering human biology, creating artificial life, and the consequences of tampering with the essence of what it means to be human.
Social and Economic Impact: Harari discusses how these technological advancements could lead to social divides, with some individuals or groups gaining access to powerful enhancements while others are left behind.
Surveillance and Control: A significant concern is the potential for increased surveillance and control over individuals’ minds and bodies, both by governments and corporations.
Evolution of Consciousness: Harari reflects on how human consciousness may evolve or change in response to these new technologies, as well as the philosophical questions surrounding free will and identity.
End of Homo Sapiens: The book suggests that humanity might be on the verge of an epochal shift, where Homo sapiens could be replaced by a new, technologically-enhanced species—either through natural evolution or deliberate engineering.
Uncertainty of the Future: Harari emphasizes the unpredictability of the future, acknowledging that the developments discussed could lead to both utopian and dystopian outcomes.
The air is polluted. World has heated up, requiring more air conditioning. Water supply questionable.
People spend a lot of time in ‘wooms’, something like a climate controlled capsule.
“hums” – humanoid robots – are increasingly taking the jobs of humans.
Mary is out of work — and hears of an opportunity to earn several months’ salary by receiving an experimental facial injection, and takes it. The injection will render May’s face unrecognisable to the ubiquitous hums. She’s a guinea pig for a form of adversarial AI.
With the new TV series launching 2024, there was more than usual interest in the 2024 release of 33rd book in the series.
I’d say this is one of the better books. Entertaining escapism.
It’s timely. Set around the inauguration of a new President.
Judges on the list of potential Supreme Court candidates are being murdered.
Why?
A body believed to be the vigilante serial killer called “M” is found after a car wreck in Nevada.
Bree believes that he was the mastermind behind the criminal organization Maestro. She and Sampson pursue to the lair in British Columbia. And disappear.
Very early, 4:45 on a bitterly cold Minnesota morning, three big men burst through the door of a hospital pharmacy, duct-tape the hands, feet, mouth and eyes of two pharmacy workers, and clean the place out. But then things swiftly go bad, one of the workers dies, and the robbers hustle out to their truck — and find themselves for just one second face to face with a blond woman who’s driven into the garage.
Weather Karkinnen, surgeon, wife of an investigator named Lucas Davenport.
Did she see enough? Can she identify them? Gnawing it over later, it seems to them there is only one thing they can do: Find out who she is, and eliminate the only possible witness….
Another kinda dumb, non-stop action, entertaining read.
19th Christmas is the nineteenth novel in the Women’s Murder Club novel series by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.
Better than average, I’d say.
Christmas is coming …
Detective Sgt. Lindsay Boxer, her family, and her friends of the Women’s Murder Club have much to celebrate. Crime is down. The courts are slow and the medical examiner’s office is quiet.
Journalist Cindy Thomas is working on a story about the true meaning of Christmas in San Francisco.
Then a series of crimes and threats of horrific crimes to come put the entire police force into nonstop action.
At first, all they have is a name, “Loman,” behind the threats. It takes until Christmas before enough pieces come together to find enough to hope to pinpoint where Loman can be caught.
I enjoyed it. This is the 5th book in the Clay Edison series.
Crime Scene (2017) A Measure of Darkness (2018) Half Moon Bay (2020) The Burning (2021) The Lost Coast (2024)
I only downloaded because The Lost Coast is a terrific hike in California. 😀 … Unfortunately, there’s only one short day hike in the novel.
It’s been almost a year since Clay Edison was forced out of his job at the coroner’s bureau.
Now he’s on his own, working as a private eye.
When a client brings him a fraud case, Clay dives into a decades-old scheme targeting the vulnerable.
His investigation leads him to a bizarre town buried in the remote California wilderness. The residents don’t care much for outsiders. They certainly don’t like Clay asking questions. And they’ll do just about anything to shut him up.
I liked the missing person plot — it kept me guessing.
And I was charmed by the refreshingly simplistic writing style. Unpretentious.
The first half of the book was all good. The second half dragged a bit. Could have been shorter.
This is one of her typically long books. Many characters. But Roberts is such a terrific story teller that it’s easy to follow.
It’s got a paranormal element, as some of her best books include.
You could still call this a Romance novel, but it’s much, much more. Her books are uplifting for me.
Told in three parts – Tragedy, Living, and The Gift – Roberts proves that her prolific creative mind (at age-79) is still as sharp as ever.
When the tragic murder of her parents ignites twelve-year-old Thea Fox’s psychic abilities, her grandmother Lucy is not surprised because she, too, has the Sight.
Along with those abilities awakened through the tragedy is a connection to Ray Riggs, the man who murdered her parents and who dreams of killing her, too. …
I recommend the audio book as January LaVoy is such a terrific reader.
Rick McCharles 