Another charming British novel with an elderly heroine.
The Marlow Murder Club (2021) focuses on a group of older women who form a club to investigate a series of killings in Marlow.
It was published in January 2021 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. … The second book in the series, Death Comes to Marlow, was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe award for Best Cosy Crime novel published in the USA in 2022.
… Set in late Raj India, The Sleeping Dictionary tells the story of a young peasant girl, who makes her way to Calcutta and is caught between the raging independence movement and the British colonial society she finds herself inhabiting. …
While the term “sleeping dictionary” was originally coined for young women who slept with Europeans and educated them in the ways of India, Kamala turns the tables on the colonial establishment, using her talents for readings languages and men to work for India’s independence. …
There’s a Hollywood film with the same name and theme — The Sleeping Dictionary — from 2003.
Thursday Murder Club are British pensioners living in a retirement village who solve murders as a hobby.
Quite humorous. Very insightful regarding elderly life in the U.K.
Shocking news reaches them—an old friend has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.
The gang’s search leads them into the antiques business, where the tricks of the trade are as old as the objects themselves. As they encounter drug dealers, art forgers, and online fraudsters—as well as heartache close to home—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim have no idea whom to trust. …
One important and touching side story is Elizabeth’s husband Stephen declining with dementia.
While still in full mental capacity, Stephen wrote himself a letter explaining his medical condition. Elizabeth must read it to him every day as he’s already forgotten.
On the down side, the murder mystery is absurdly simplistic.
We don’t yet know who will play whom in the upcoming film adaptation.
New steam powered spinning looms require fewer people to operate them, throwing many people out of work.
Luddites, followers of Ned Ludd, destroy as many of the new machines as they can, but to no avail.
It’s a story we know well. New technology displacing old. The buggy whip industry disrupted.
Currently ➙ Artificial Intelligencethreatening the jobs of many.
Instead of fighting AI — we need to regulate it as best we can to maximize the benefits, minimize the harm.
AI won’t take your job. Somebody who understands AI better than you will take it.
A good analogy is robotsreplacing factory line workers. Those maintaining and repairing robots are doing well.
This book continues through 1824 against the backdrop of social unrest occasioned by revolutionary ideas from America and France. And the Napoleonic Wars.
What I like about the book is the coming-of-age story of a young Japanese woman, relocated to Chicago from an American incarceration “Camp” during WW II.
It feels very natural and believable. Almost like reading her diary.
She learns about racism, sexism, corruption, and violence in the USA.
Set in 1944 Chicago …
… the story of a young woman searching for the truth about her revered older sister’s death, brings to focus the struggles of one Japanese American family released from mass incarceration at Manzanar during World War II.
… The life in California the Itos were forced to leave behind is gone; instead, they are being resettled two thousand miles away in Chicago, where Aki’s older sister, Rose, was sent months earlier and moved to the new Japanese American neighborhood near Clark and Division streets.
But on the eve of the Ito family’s reunion, Rose is killed by a subway train.
Aki, who worshipped her sister, is stunned. Officials are ruling Rose’s death a suicide. Aki cannot believe her perfect, polished, and optimistic sister would end her life. Her instinct tells her there is much more to the story, and she knows she is the only person who could ever learn the truth.
Rob is Canada’s most successful philosophical fiction writer.
The Downloaded is his 25th book. So far only available on Audible.
A print version will be available sometime 2024.
In 2059 two very different groups have their minds uploaded into a quantum computer in Waterloo, Ontario.
One group consists of astronauts preparing for Earth’s first interstellar voyage.
The other? Convicted murderers, serving their sentences in a virtual-reality prison.
But when disaster strikes, the astronauts and the prisoners must download back into physical reality and find a way to work together to save Earth from destruction …
Audio book narrated by Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser • Emmy Award-winner Luke Kirby • Dora Award-winner Vanessa Sears • Kim’s Convenience star Andrew Phung • and Gemini Award-winner Colm Feore.
I know Rob personally and have enjoyed his books for decades. But I’m not sure I can recommend Downloaded.
I like the plot.
But the unusual format of the book didn’t work for me.
Rather than telling the story directly, it’s a series of dialogues and interviews.
Originally intended to be released as a series of audio episodes over some weeks — like Shakespeare — the final decision was to keep it together as one audio book.
If It Bleeds (2020) is a collection of four previously unpublished novellas by American writer Stephen King.
“Mr. Harrigan’s Phone”
“The Life of Chuck”
“If It Bleeds”
“Rat”
With Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, once again King proves he is the best of all the great story tellers.
Craig gets a job working for the retired Mr. Harrigan, who gifts Craig a winning lottery ticket.
Craig then buys Mr. Harrigan a cell phone using some of the money won from the lottery ticket.
Eventually, Mr. Harrigan dies and later, Craig leaves a voicemail on Mr. Harrigan’s old phone about a bully. The bully is later found to have died by suicide. …
I also enjoyed If It Bleeds,a stand-alone sequel to the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, specifically The Outsider.
King is a terrific story teller. You quickly relate to his fictional characters.
The story follows the journey of Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin in a corrupt kingdom with a tyrannical ruler …
Celaena is given the chance to leave the slave pits, and become the king’s personal assassin. She’d have to survive a contest with the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. …
I listen to more audio than anyone else you know. 😀
Mostly audio books and podcasts. Mostly when I am on the move or exercising.
I cursed Steve Jobs thousands of times for not promoting wireless headphones.
Steve died too young in 2011 (aged 56) — RIP.
AirPods were launched 2016 alongside the iPhone 7.
My entire life was instantly 13% 😀 improved.
I’ve used the least expensive 1st generation AirPods until 2023 and have been very happy. Amazingly, I’ve only lost two individual AirPods and kept using the rest, often syncing one AirPod at a time.
Finally I upgraded to AirPods Pro 2 in 2023. Expensive. But worth it for me.
I somewhat appreciate the improved sound quality and noise cancellation capabilities, and extended battery life — but the main reason I’m endorsing the product are the volume adjusting gestures and better Find My tracking.
The original AirPods had no physical volume adjustment.
The case has an external speaker so you can more easily located it when lost between pillow cushions.
Pausing audio by clicking is far better than the old double tap.
Maximum volume is quite a bit higher in the Pros.
Another plus is faster connection via Bluetooth.
I don’t like AirPods switching automatically. The default. But it’s easy to turn that off. AirPods stay connected to the device of your choice — unless you tell them to switch.
Of course I got the case engraved with my email address in case I leave it somewhere. 🙏
The sound has more base. Not super important for me, but it does seem to make female voices richer in podcasts.
The plot centers on five pivotal moments in the life of a self-proclaimed “lummox” named James “Jimmy” Tock. …
Moments before his grandfather’s death, the old man makes 10 cryptic predictions: among them that his grandchild will be named James—but that everyone will call him Jimmy.
Josef also predicts five terrible days to come in his grandson’s life. And announces those dates.
As the prophecies are fulfilled one by one, and he survives each, Jimmy learns many things.
Rick McCharles 