Thursday, March 28, 2013

Fiction Stack With Two NonFic

Made-Up Stories

Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee.  I read something about this on some blog and figured people would read it.  The public library in small town Cherico, MS is threatened with closure.  Unless the library can increase it's circulation the City will spend the library's money on a business park.

Child's Child by Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell).  I've read a lot of nice reviews about Rendell's novels but have not yet read one.  Rendell has short hair in her author photo.

Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer.  Shoot-em up. Meltzer has no hair.  He shaved his head bald. Meltzer still has eyebrows but they are slim.

Tin Horse by Janice Steinberg.  Steinberg is originally from Wisconsin and has curly hair.

A Cold Lonely Place by Sarah J. Henry.  Henry's first book, Learning to Swim, won an Anthony Award.  I tried reading Learning but either I couldn't get into it or had a stack of stuff to read and had to bail because Learning was overdue.  Henry's hair is not curly but does look kinda wavy.  She went to school in Ontario.

A Deniable Death by Gerald Seymour.  I always like Seymour's thrillers.  I recently read some disparaging comment Seymour's work is run-of-the-mill.  I disagree.  I think Seymour does a good job mixing current politics and events with interesting characters.  Seymour must be in his eighties now.  Let me check.  Nope, he's only 71.

Little Elvises by Tomothy Hallinan.  Los Angeles burglar Junior Bender has become a private investigator for crooks. Hallinan has hair on both the top and front of his head.  The photo is too grainy to see what time his wristwatch says.  He was nominated for Edgar and Macavity Awards.

Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander.  Alexander's work circs here in Lake Mills.  Alexander spoke to me once and did not tell me to take a hike so you know she is a tolerant person.  Her author photo is new and credited to her husband, That English Guy.

Night Ranger by Alex Berenson.  The tree on the cover photo suggests the African plains.  Yep.  Some guy is tasked to find kidnapped Americans in East Africa.  Hey, Berenson has curly hair, too.

Cold City by F. Paul Wilson.  Wilson is a physician in New Jersey (I think it's New Jersey) and no author photo.  The Repairman Jack series (this is an entry) was touted by gun-nerds.  Gun-nerds are famed for writing to authors and complaining about errors regarding gun models, calibers, capacity, technical details, metal finishes, anachronisms, and pretty much any dang thing you can think of.

Things People Did Not Make Up

Ubuntu Unleashed: 2013 by Matthew Helmke.  My brother sent an old laptop to Boy #1 with Ubuntu loaded onto it.  Boy #1 wants to learn how to do stuff but I'm pretty certain he just wants to do games.  I need to find him a good programming tutorial and will likely take this home to try out.

The First Muslim: the story of Muhammed by Lesley Hazleton.  Hazleton's author photo is tightly cropped.

Audiobook on CD

Heart of Texas: volume 1: Lonesome Cowboy: Texas Two-Step by Debbie Macomber.  10 CD at 12.1666 hours.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Because You Love the Reno Photos

Renovation

New balustrades have been added to the stairs to fill the overwide gaps between the original balustrades.
2013 renovation

Old stairway has been re-carpeted.
2013 renovation

New chairs.
2013 renovation

Boxes for new chairs were delivered earlier today.
2013 renovation

New kid oak chairs.
2013 renovation

New adult oak chairs.  These are a darker stain.
2013 renovation

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

More Renovation Progress

Renovation

The main floor is looking very nice now that most ofthe new carpet is installed and all the paint is finished.

2013 Renovation

New balustrades to add to stairs.
2013 Renovation


The balustrades on top are the new charcoal color.
2013 Renovation

Monday, March 25, 2013

World Atlas of Roman Carpet

Carpet

New carpeting being installed today on the main floor.
2013 Renovation


2013 Renovation


NonFiction

World Atlas of Musical Instruments by Bozhidar Abrashev and Vladimir Gadjev.  We had an older, similar book that was kinda dingy with black and white photos.  This one is new with great color photos.

Fiction (Release date for tomorrow, March 26th)

Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear.maisie Dobbs investigates the death of an Indian woman in 1933 London.

Killer Honeymoon by G.A. McKevett.  Now that plus-sized P.I. Savannah Reid has finally walked down the aisle, she's ready for aromantic island getaway with new husband Dirk Coulter...but finding a dead body on the beach can be a real killjoy.

Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout. I read some references to this recently, maybe in the Sunday newspaper.  Speaking of the newspaper, the delivery person for the Madison paper seems incapable of getting the paper onto the porch.  The paper usually lands in the snowy yard or on the snow and up against the far side of the porch.

Death of Yesterday by M.C. Beaton.  Cover painting has a bicycle on the side of a rural road.  Maybe the newspaper carrier in this novel ditched his bike to go fishing on the background stream.

Let the Dead Sleep by Heather Graham.  Some sort of mystery or something.  Maybe I would know what the novel is about because maybe a review was in the Sunday paper.  But, since I did not want to traipse across the snow for the paper before church yesterday morning, and was busy the rest of the day, I did not find out. 

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger.  A brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world [or newspaper delivery] that seems to be falling apart around him.

DVD

Roman Holiday starring Gregory OPeck and Audrey Hepburn.  Peck and Hepburn tool around Rome on a scooter stopping to drink espresso and complain about newspaper delivery back home.

A New Kind of Love starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.  Romantic comedy.