Monday, August 03, 2020

Still Here

Somehow I am reading four books at once. One at lunch (Star Machine), one in later afternoon (Pale Rider) one when I walk or clean (The Lives of Edie Pritchard) and one at bedtime, the Ferrante book. I watched three movie this week and like them all. The Nighy one was on Hoopla from my library and so too the Larry Watson audiobook. What a great deal Hoopla and Kanopy are.

Pale Rider is really scary. But at least the 1918 flu took breaks. This one doesn't seem to and I think the third scenario, where is it never lets up until we get a vaccine, is the most likely now.

Watching Dark and Halt and Catch Fire on TV. As well as the HBO shows.

Finally some rain and boy do we need it.

What about you?

15 comments:

Steve Oerkfitz said...

No books from the Library for two weeks than they all show up at once. Right now I'm reading Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. The others I received are the new Joe Lansdale (Hap & Leonard), Ace Atkins, Sarah Weinman (Collection of true crime essays), Loren Estleman and Leo Banks. Before the deluge I finished Lennox a Scottish thriller by Craig Russell and Greybeard a 60's sf novel by Brian Aldiss.
Watching the usual HBO fare and the Detroit Tigers games. Rewatched a lot of films-Kurosawa's High and Low, Bergman's The Silence, Polanski's The Tenant and the new 4k disc of Spartacus.
Can't believe it is august already. I enjoy being outside. Once it cools down I'm pretty much trapped in my apartment all day unless I need to shop. They still have not opened up the exercise and activities rooms. Depressing.

pattinase (abbott) said...

That always happens with library books doesn't it. I have ten on hold but nothing is happening. The one I got was large print and I couldn't read it. High and Low was remade but I can't think of the US title. Good movies both. Fingers crossed the Tigers don't pick up covid. Yeah, pretty scary the thought of being inside, which could happen in six or eight weeks. Ugh.

Margot Kinberg said...

That's an accomplishment, reading four books at a time! Not something I've been able to do.

Jeff Meyerson said...

You know I tend to read several books at once. Now I am reading the Collected Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, BROKEN by Don Winslow (6 unrelated stories, about 50-60 pages each), Heather Lende's IF YOU LIVED HERE, I'D KNOW YOUR NAME (her life in southeastern Alaska), Val McDermid's fourth Insp. Karen Pirie (Scottish Cold Case Squad) book, OUT OF BOUNDS, and a little of Richard Ford's memoir about his parents, BETWEEN THEM. Except for the Fitzgerald, these are all library downloads. Typically, I go from nothing to having several books come in one after another. They have a new policy which I like: when a book comes in, you have three days to download it. If you are not ready for any reason, you can postpone it for one or two or three weeks, but you will retain your position at the top of the list (helpful if there are a lot of people waiting), and after that period is up, you get the next available copy. I had postponed the Winslow twice already.

And now I got a notice that my first "real" book (by Lee Goldberg) is available at the reopened library branch, so I need to pick that up by Thursday. Feast or famine, I guess.

It was another hot (four 90s, two upper 80s) and quiet week here. Mostly books, pickups from restaurants, shopping, and television. The show that stands out now is probably the Norwegian NOBEL. Continuing British series - SHETLAND (finished series 4), VERA, MARCELLA, LEWIS (up to the final episode) - with others mixed in. Now sure what it is with Finland (or Scandinavia in general?), but DEADWIND just had a story similar to one on BORDERTOWN, with an abusive "Christian" cult. And the Danish DICTE had her driven from home as a pregnant teenager after rejecting her parents' religious fanaticism. We're enjoying the second series of the Israeli SRUGIM (except the awful Nati, who never improves), and have added THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY.

Will have to look for that movie as Jackie is a big Bill Nighy fan. Also, I need to watch THE COMMITMENTS again. We loved that movie. (I also read the trilogy it was part of.)

Jeff Meyerson said...

HIGH AND LOW was based on KING'S RANSOM by Ed McBain.

Jerry House said...

Tony Bennett turned 96 today. To celebrate I will be humming I LEFT MY HEART INN SAN FRANCISCO all day, driving Kitty mad.

Isaias hit Florida and completely missed us so that was something good, although not for residents of the East coast.

SpaceX splashed down near us and completely missed our apartment building so that was also something good. So happy the US is back in space.

COVID19 is ravaging Florida but Kitty and I both tested negative. Nyah, nyah to the pandemic! We have not yet gone crazy self-isolating -- me because I have my wife, and Kitty, who knows?

Went beaching almost every day this week. Our dolphin spotter (Kitty) fell down on the job -- only one or two dolphins in the distance where the rest of us couldn't see them. Our sand crab spotter (Christina) did excellent work and spotted a bunch of those tiny little critters each day (they blend in the sand pretty well). With my poor eyesight I am the official maybe-that's-a-bird spotter for things that are about ten feet away. I threw my back out yesterday and did not beach and the rest of the gang enjoyed watching three dolphins a-romping in the water. **sigh**

I finally finished THE COMPLETE STORIES OF J. G. BALLARD, which I have been dipping into over the past few weeks. Except it wasn't complete: a lot of his stories weren't included. Hmm. Also read a 30s costumed pulp hero novel about The Spider. Luckily, most vigilantes really only exist in pulp novels, men's adventure books, and white nationalist groups.

Season Two of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY was very entertaining. Also liked the Polish crime drama SIGNS on Netflix, although it ended with a lot of unanswered questions. Season Two was released this year and I hope it will be picked up by Netflix.

I'm going to miss John Lewis.

As always, Patti, have a great week and stay safe!

George said...

We managed to survive the hottest July on record in Western New York. August has start off hot, too. But, of course, there is no Global Warming.

Diane is baking up a storm. She's working on a Peach Pound Cake right now. I, on the other hand, hope to watch Season Two of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY this week. Season One was okay.

I'm still fighting with Medicare so I can buy my CPAP supplies. It seems everything dealing with the Government is dysfunctional.

Surprisingly, I'm caught up on Library books. I have about a dozen on RESERVE but they haven't come in yet. Stay safe!

Jeff Meyerson said...

My library has bought (yay!) two new self-checking machines. The old ones they had were terrible. One or the other broke down frequently, or you would have to repeatedly scan your card until it finally worked or you gave up and went to the desk to make the librarians (who were otherwise sitting there twiddling their thumbs) do their job and check you out.

The new ones are like the ones we used in the Palm Beach County library in Florida. You stick your card under the scanner and it shows your account, how many books are on hold, if any are available (of course, I wouldn't have gone if I didn't know one was available). Then you stick the book (on shelves in the outside lobby) under the scanner and Voila! Finished.

Kevin R. Tipple said...

Still here as well. Numerous issues with Covid case numbers here. Hospital counts are increasing in all areas so things are not good.

We got some rain which was good. Even better, we got some labwork back on Scott and things are improving post seizure with the muscle dissolving syndrome deal. He is not back to normal on that and he is still in a lot of pain. But, at least things are on the right track. I am not much better. We both are dragging. We both see our primary doc late this week for a followup visit after our hospital deals.

Have not been reading much. Still working on SOONER THAN GOLD by JR Lindermuth.

pattinase (abbott) said...

So sorry your life has been so hard for so long, Kevin. I am glad you and Scott have each other.
Our hot weather has been more intermittent, George. Today is lovely. I wish Diane would come and bake for me. No, no I don't. Can't afford the calories. But it sounds delicious. I don't bake at all. Neither did my mother.
We had machines when I lived in Grosse Pointe but not here. Tiny library.

Gerard Saylor said...

I've been thinking about rewatching THE COMMITMENTS. I am on vacation all week so maybe I will. Especially now that the internet is working again.

I started reading a Jean-Patrick Machette novel, NADA. I should finish it tonight but probably won't.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I was mildly disappointed in it. Loved the music but the hi-jinx got tired for me. Probably I am too old for it.

TracyK said...

That is a lot of reading. I want to read Star Machine someday. Glen has that (and a lot of other books about film and studios and related). I am now reaching the third Lee Child Jack Reacher book, Tripwire, which is more violent and creepy than the others I have read. But I like some aspects of his books, so will continue, I think. And short stories in the Clarkesworld Year 5 anthology (that Rick sent to me).

I love Bill Nighy. We are watching more TV shows (NCIS, Person of Interest, Poirot) than movies, I don't know why.

Kevin R. Tipple said...

The new John Sandford/Lucas Davenport suddenly showed in eBook form via my library as I put every version they had on hold months ago. Everything else has been dropped to see what Lucas is doing this time. :)

Cullen Gallagher said...

How are you liking Star Machine? I've read parts of that one, I need to read the whole thing, but I really like Basinger's writing, one of my favorite film historians.