Seems Canadian author/illustrator Ian Wallace really does have a cupboard full of interesting things from his travels across Canada. Find out what some of them are in The Curiosity Cabinet. Be sure to read the notes at the end, I'd missed several of the things he included in his drawings.

Red Again, by Barbara Lehman, is a wordless book. I'm not quite sure I 'got' all of the story it tells, but was intrigued enough to include it so that others can give it a try! (Seems it's a follow up to The Red Book, which I've not seen, but maybe that's the best place to start)? :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog

Greetings all! I had some connection issues this morning so I am doing my Tuesday morning post on this Monday afternoon while everything seems to be up and running. Computers! ;-)

I Shot the Buddha, by Colin Cotterill, is the 11th in the Dr. Siri Paiboun mysteries. If you are not familiar with it, I suggest you give it a try! Start with The Coroner's Lunch. This time, Siri and his wife are on the trail of a missing monk. Visiting and resident spirits play a part in their investigation (and giving a new definition to possession being nine-tenths of the law). Keep an eye on the dog! Oh, and instead of being an armchair traveler, how about being a sedentary nomad?

It looks as if I've not included any of the earlier Patrick Taylor books, which comes as a surprise, because I've read them all! An Irish Country Practice is the newest, but start with An Irish Country Doctor. Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly is the GP in the small town of Ballybucklebo. Over the years his practice has grown and partners have joined his practice. In this most recent one they take on a newly graduated doctor. This book feels a bit darker and sadder than early books, there are issues with abuse, addiction, and so forth, but it's still a great read. I love the feeling of community in this rural area of Ireland, and there are some lovely touches of humor.

Reading Hermit With Dog

This read started with a show Canadian Reader was watching ... an amazing show, she said, and one that was not airing in the U.S. (at least not then). However, I was able to find the book that inspired the series: Anzac Girls: the Extraordinary Story of our World War I Nurses, by Peter Rees. Powerful, intense, and well written this is a detailed and descriptive look at the brave women from Australia and New Zealand that served in WWI. Conditions are terrible, and go from bad to worse. It's a wonder anything could be done at all given the constant shortage of staff and supplies. Fair warning here, it is grim and sometimes almost overwhelming.

From this, Canadian Reader took me on to Coventry, by Helen Humphreys. It is November 14, 1940, a night of the "Bomber's Moon", a full moon that illuminates every building despite the town being in total black out conditions. Since it is an industrial town, it is targeted by the Germans. This is the story of the bombing raid that destroyed the town.

After these two very intense (but very good) reads I was in the mood for something lighter so was pleased to come across another of the periodicals from Centennial Presents. This time it was The Wonder of Disney: 80 Years of Animation. Walt Disney was not the best student, why, even in art class he didn't always follow instructions and put faces on the bouquet of flowers the class was drawing. Movies, and especially animation, intrigued him and it was while he was working at a commercial art studio when he met Ubbe "Ub" Iwerks. Together they would change the industry. From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (surely it would flop, who wanted to sit through 80 minutes of a cartoon?) to Frozen 2, this is a brief history of the Disney films. Nice pictures, too! ;-)

Reading Hermit with Dog

Here's a wonderful version of one of my most favorite songs from one of my most favorite movies! Singing in the Rain, based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown with pictures by Tim Hopgood. Follow the happy dancers from the city to the rain forest in the joyful illustrations. (This is supposed to be a spring rain, but I decided not to wait until then to post this). ;-)

Here's another charming book from Kenard Pak. Watch the season change as you read Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter. Wonderful illustrations, I've already read it twice and will do so again soon. The summer to autumn book may be found in the October 6, 2016 post.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Reading Hermit With Dog

Books of a Feather is another in the Bibliophile Mystery series by Kate Carlisle. This is a fun series and I've enjoyed learning about restoring old books. We see more of Brooklyn's hippie parents this time, who bring a chaos all their own! Be aware of all the connections with birds this time .... :-)

This is another early Christmas read, but I thought I'd put it with another mystery that featured birds. How the Finch Stole Christmas, by Donna Andrews is the next of the Meg Langslow series. These are always a fun and easy read, which make them perfect for when things get hectic and you just want a bit of a sit with a cup of tea and a book. There is the often drunk, always cranky 'over the hill' star of the Christmas play, an over abundance of illegal birds confiscated in a raid (and needing a place to stay), a possible puppy mill ... what could go wrong?

Reading Hermit With Dog

The Paris Spy, by Susan Elia Macneal is the seventh in the Maggie Hope Mystery series. This has been an excellent series, although I found this one a little sad. Maggie is undercover, in Paris, with two other agents. Their cover is blown and the results are not good. Who is the mole? On a mission of her own, Maggie is searching for her half-sister, who has vanished after being rescued from a concentration camp. Back in England we meet up with the man who will be responsible for misleading the Nazi forces (as in Magic Men). (See post of August 1, 2015 for books on this fascinating subject). I'm thinking we'll see more of him in the next book. The description of Paris, and how quiet it was, brought to mind the old song "The Last Time I Saw Paris" (by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II), a lovely and sad, nostalgic look at the city before the Nazi occupation.

An unexpected connection came in Smoke and Mirrors, by Elly Griffiths (and with fairy tales, too, actually). And, it's my first Christmas read for this year, as well! This is the next book in The Magic Men series, the first being The Zig Zag Girl (April 25, 2017 post). It should be a happy time, Christmas is coming, but instead the police are looking for two missing children, found dead in a setting with fairy tale overtones. Is it a clue, or a misdirection? (See the post of November 9, 2017, for a fun twist on fairy tales).

Reading Hermit With Dog

As much as I enjoyed Night Shift, by Jerrie Hartland, I couldn't help wonder if perhaps it is a big dated? (Copyright is 2007). Are all these jobs still done at night? I could be wrong! I love how one job connected to the next, and the next.

Here's a sweet little book about two special times of day: dawn and dusk. Good Day, Good Night, by Margaret Wise Brown and pictures by Loren Long. Really, just a nice story, good to read out loud, or for a beginning reader to read on their own.

Reading Hermit With Dog