What We Are Reading

Yes, there is… and Charlie Mortdecai is involved. The second in Kyril Bonfiglioli’s dark, caperish trilogy takes us on a romp to the Isle of Jersey, off France’s northwest coast. And if caperish is not a word, it should be.

Someone or something is ravishing the women of the S. Magloire Parish. Two of the wife’s husbands, affronted by the villain, join Charlie in a quest for corporeal retribution - Sam Davenant and George Breakspear. They are neighbors, best of friends, and now associates in crime solving. Closer inspection reveals a less customary menace of ancient, perhaps satanic lore: The Beast of Jersey.

Throw in some sleuthing about, a little Latin profundis grande, a silver bullet, consummate it with a pagan ritual, expertly overseen by Father Eric Tichborne, and voila you have a tale of Mortdecai stature.

Jock, Charlie’s remarkably faithful and experienced thug of a man servant is back. How? One shouldn’t ask that of such a resilient fellow. Just revel in his competency. Johanna has shrugged-off the unfortunate early demise of her husband, and peculiar though it may sound, has exchanged nuptials once again with the inimitable Mr. Mortdecai.

Beware – this story is of a conclusion, not for the faint of heart. You were warned.

Two titles for one reason: Kunstler (The Long Emergency) and Rifkin (The Hydrogen Economy) both explore the topic of peak global petroleum production, and both use very similar and consistent information and data. The big difference is in their outlook - Rifkin sees a de-centralized energy economy that manifests a better ecological world and a more democratized social environ; Kunstler sees a huge population contraction, complete with the catastrophic dynamics that accompanies social, political and economic collapse.

On a continuum with such extremes, a future reality will probably lie somewhere in between, so together they provide a thorough and balanced prognostic perspective. Cheap oil is a thing of the past - probably a good thing, considering the state of our environment, however, established economic industries and power bases (political and civilian) will resist an embrasure of such a distributed model of energy (and thus power) production.

Oil companies are huge and their political influence tremendous, and they make money by selling MORE oil. People have a choice, and the information is out there - this should be interesting!

This is a sweet, sad tale of Carole's marriage and the loss of her husband to cancer a few short years later. Anyone who has suffered through cancer with a loved one will empathize with the hours spent waiting and hoping and then the great loss at the end. Entwined with the cancer battle is the story of their best friends and their tragic end. These are famous people but that is not the point of this book and it only makes it more interesting.

This is truly one of the best books I have ever read. By turns informative, heartbreaking, funny, and fascinating, this book follows the story of the author's family as they try to live and survive in communist China.

The story focuses on the lives of Chang's grandmother, a concubine to a warlord general, Chang's mother, an official in the communist party, and Chang herself, a curious girl growing up during the Cultural Revolution. The story also takes asides into other family member's lives, as well as the local and national history of the time.

Chang does something truly amazing with this book: she makes China's recent history come alive through the eyes of her family. From the terrible (her father's imprisonment in a "Thought Reform" Camp) to the beautiful (her grandmother's second marriage), Chang writes simply, truthfully, and with such honesty that you can't help but get caught up in her past.

Charlie Mortdecai is a fine arts dealer in Britain, and has a perfect life - he sleeps till Ten, has a faithful man-servant (Jock Strapp) to take care of any adversary and every chore, eats and drinks without consideration of consequence, and never worries about anything. That is, until Extra Chief Superintendent Martland shows up, inquiring about a missing, priceless Goya.

If it weren't for the joy Charlie derives from serving the Superintendent vinegar, while his guest believes it is a vintage '31 Taylor port, I suspect Charlie wouldn't keep him around. Martland works for the SPG (Special Powers Group), whose primary interrogation tool is electric shock therapy - you really don't want to know where the electrodes are attached. Not surprisingly, Charlie is very motivated to visit his extremely wealthy customer, Dr. Milton Krampf, a well known art historian that resides in the Southwest United States, and save himself from further battery-operated episodes.

Charlie unwittingly (though very deservedly) becomes entangled in a tale of debauchery, intrigue and mystery that winds us through numerous twists and turns along the way of his licentious imbroglio with Dr. Krampf's vixeness wife, Johanna. Oh well, it's worth the read to see if Charlie makes it back to his native shores - Ciao

Reading the River: a Voyage Down the Yukon by John Hildebrand is a delightful book. He begins in Whitehorse and motors the entire lenght of the Yukon to the Bering Sea. He travels in a small boat not much bigger than a canoe. What makes the trip so interesting is he is not focused on the beautiful scenery but who lives along the river, both now and earlier. The book was published in 1988 so it is not new and what he saw along the river may be quite different now. He talks about the miners, trappers, Russians, homesteaders, and those who ply the river carrying freight to communities higher up the river. If you are an Alaska dreamer or just interested in the far North this is a good read.

Along the same geeky lines of 100 Words Every Highschool Graduate Should Know, I checked out this book on grammar in the hopes of improving mine.

This book is pretty amazing: it is a guide to English grammar that is clear, readable and even (gasp!) enjoyable to read. (Well that last one may be a stretch for some, but I must confess I enjoyed reading it.) With witty title headings (such as "Plurals Before Swine" and "The Which Trials") directing you to common grammatical mistakes and quick fixes, this book is a great guide for anyone who finds themselves writing an important paper or cover letter, or simply trying to improve their English.