From the Corner of his Eye by Dean Koontz

On September 9, 2021September 7, 2021 By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Perhaps the BEST Koontz book I’ve read so far.

And the most like Stephen King. It’s long. Sprawling. Surprising.

Supernatural horror.

MANY original and interesting characters.

One of the leads makes a pilgrimage to thank Dr. Jonas Salk for inventing the Polio vaccine.

Bartholomew Lampion is born on a day of tragedy and terror that will mark his family forever. All agree that his unusual eyes are the most beautiful they have ever seen.
On this same day, a thousand miles away, a ruthless man learns that he has a mortal enemy named Bartholomew. He embarks on a relentless search to find this enemy, a search that will consume his life.
And a girl is born from a brutal rape, her destiny mysteriously linked to Barty and the man who stalks him.
At the age of three, Barty Lampion is blinded when surgeons remove his eyes to save him from a fast-spreading cancer. As he copes with his blindness and proves to be a prodigy, his mother counsels him that all things happen for a reason and that every person’s life has an effect on every other person’s, in often unknowable ways.
At thirteen, Bartholomew regains his sight. How he regains it, why he regains it, and what happens as his amazing life unfolds and entwines with others results in a breathtaking journey of courage, heart-stopping suspense, and high adventure.
deankoontz.com

visiting Sage and Cole

On September 8, 2021September 7, 2021 By Rick McIn friends, travelLeave a comment

Sister and brother Sage and Cole hosted me in Olympia WA while I organized my Covid test within the 72 hour limit required for my international flight home to Canada.

THANKS.

Did you own a huge house, big lot and a 3-car garage when YOU were Cole’s age?

They schooled me on Anime. Demon Slayer.

One night we watched the first few episodes of Only Murders in the Building.

We went out to lunch, one day, for a HUGE meat pie.

I travelled Portland to Olympia via Flixbus, an excellent service. They carry bicycles under the bus. Recommended.

The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz

On September 7, 2021September 6, 2021 By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Whispering Room is the 2nd book in his Jane Hawk series.

Jane’s husband inexplicably committed suicide. And the badass superwoman is determined to bring down the killers.

It’s an interesting plot.

Some terrific characters.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Disaster Artist by Sestero & Bissell

On September 6, 2021September 5, 2021 By Rick McIn books, movies1 Comment

Rocco recommended this non-fiction book. It’s hilarious.

And it is excellent.

Truth stranger than fiction.

… details the troubled development and production of the 2003 cult film The Room, his own struggles as a young actor, and his relationship with The Room director Tommy Wiseau.

A film adaptation of the same name was released in 2017, directed by and starring James Franco as Wiseau and his brother Dave Franco as Sestero.

I’d recommend the audio book:

The Disaster Artist

My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Cycling Newport, Oregon Beaches

On September 5, 2021 By Rick McIn cycling, friends1 Comment

I happily joined in the Adlard family and friends vacation to Newport, Oregon following our climb of Mt Adams, Washington.

Newport only has a population of 11,000 yet is a big tourist destination. Great beaches.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

On September 4, 2021September 3, 2021 By Rick McIn books, TV1 Comment

Of the books, TV shows and films I’ve seen about Bletchley Park, I’d say Rose Code was the most entertaining for me.

1940.
As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.
Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets.
Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband.
Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.
But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart. …
Kate Quinn Author