A Review of "Killer Move" [44]

Killer Move by Michael Marshall
William Morrow, ISBN 978-0061434426
June 28, 2011, 368 pages

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As the book  open, John Hunter is being release from prison after 16 years, for a murder he did not commit.The murder of the woman he loved. And he has a plan. Those responsible are going to pay.

"He is going to get hold of a gun.
And then he's going to start using it."

Meanwhile, on the west coast of Florida, we meet Bill Moore. Bill is a pretty successful guy, with a good job as a realtor, a very nice house, a luxury car and a wife with whom he is deeply in love. But it is not quite enough for Bill, because he has a Plan, a five year plan that is now in it's sixth year. So Bill decides that perhaps he needs to step it up a bit. But it seems as if someone may have something else in mind for Bill. First, he gets a book, a rather pornographic 'art' book delivered from Amazon that he swears to his wife he never ordered. He thinks it is just a mistake. Then, even more upsetting, a racist joke is sent from his e-mail account to friends and business acquaintances. Again, at first, he doesn't take it seriously, thinking it is some sort of joke, some sort of misunderstanding. Like the card that turns up on his desk at work with just one word printed on it..."MODIFIED".

Things quickly turn even nastier. He agrees to meet a potential client at his house in the evening to discuss the possible sale of the wealthy man's home. When the man does not turn up, Bill is sent of a wild goose chase to a bar some distance away by the man's assistant, but again the man does not show up. Bill goes home to find the next day that somehow some nude photos of a female co-worker were loaded on his computer, dated and timed when he told his wife he was waiting for that Mystery Client. It is even more unsettling when he see the name of the file the pictures are in..."MODIFIED".

He has a techie guy that works for his company try to figure out, unsuccessfully, how someone is doing this.  It seems someone, for some unknown reason, somehow has gained access to his passwords, his computer, all sorts of aspects of his life, his very identity.

"In the old days identify meant your face,or your signature at the very least. Now it is a collection of passwords, each chosen with less thought than you'd use to name a pet. Know my passwords, be me-functionally, at least-and we are what we do or appear to have done."

Bill has no idea who is behind it, what he can do to stop it, who he can even trust.
When the Mystery Client turns up missing and appears to be the victim of foul play, Bill becomes the police's number one suspect and things are turning very, very bad indeed, quickly spinning out of control.

Mr. Marshall is the author of several other books, none of which I have read, but I must say, I loved this one.
For a significant part of the book, the reader is as confused as Bill Moore as to what is going on. There is the whole other story of John Hunter, the released convict, and the question of what this has to do with Bill's dilemma. But don't worry, they are related, and in good time it will all become clear. Well, maybe not totally clear but clear enough to keep the reader flipping those pages as the story tears along, veering this way and that, keeping us on edge, holding on, as the bodies starting to pile up, all leading to a totally surprising twist at the end. If you like your stories all black and white, everything all spelled out simply, this might not be to your taste. The reader has to pay attention, figure some things out. Good guys may be bad and some bad guys may be good, everything is certainly not what it seems and it will not all be neatly tied up with a bow at the end.
But it is very good indeed..

Bill starts out as not the most likable character. His relationship with his wife is his one saving grace but otherwise he is rather naive, very ambitious and really, a bit of an ass. But by the end of the story..a rather open ended ending...he is indeed a changed man. I think he becomes someone the reader will like, if only because we will identify with him and what happens to him. How easy would it be for our entire life, our very identity, to be turned on it's head in an instant. Way to easy it seems.
I am sure many readers will we changing all their passwords on their computers by the time they reach the last page.

"We're all pebbles on a beach. One lying here, one over there, another handful down by the tide line. They're all brought there by the same ocean, though,quietly moving us to and fro when everyone's asleep. Whichever way you're looking, there's a lot more going on behind your back than there is in front, where you can see. Count on that."

If you enjoy a good thriller, with a healthy dose of conspiracy thrown in to get you thinking, Killer Move is a book I would certainly recommend!

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My thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this book to review.

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A Review of "Shut Your Eyes Tight" [43]

Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon
Crown, ISBN 978-0307717894
July 12, 2011, 528 pages

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Dave Gurney may be retired from his former job as a NYC homicide detective, but that does not mean he can turn his back when he is invited to try and solve a truly bewildering crime.

A young bride is killed at her own wedding reception, moments after her marriage to a famous psychiatrist. Police believe that she was decapitated by a machete wielded by her husband's Mexican gardener, who then seems to almost disappeared into thin air. But her mother, a very wealthy society woman, is not buying the story..or the local police's inability to make any headway in solving the crime. She approaches Gurney and offers him whatever resources he needs to bring justice to her daughter. Although Gurney's wife is less than thrilled with the interruption to their attempt at a more bucolic existence, once Dave starts to look into the facts of the crime and all the people involved, he can't turn his back.
Even if it may put both he and his wife in the path of the killer.

This is the second book in the series, and while I did not read the first, I am not sure it would have changed my opinion of this one either way.
Don't get me wrong. It is not a bad book. It is well written, the characters are pretty interesting and while I figured out the murderer, there were a few twists and turns that were satisfyingly surprising. But, I think it could have been a much better book. If you look at the description up at the top, where the publisher and such is, one reason why may be clear.

528 pages is just too long for this story and a judicial use of the Big Red Pen could have been helpful. I would say much of the first 100-150-200 pages is full...FULL...of descriptions of his wife complaining about him getting involved in this case and his inner mental turmoil about what he should do, fertilize the asparagus or go talk to witnesses. We get it...they have different ideas about how they should be living their lives. And you know what? I don't really care! It might have been an interesting little aside but to go on...and on..and on about it adds nothing to the story. Sometimes less is more and that would have been the case here. Add to that a few illogical aspects of the mystery,  a few over the top, melodramatic side trips and the book had a number of troubling issues.

A fairly good mystery in the 'locked-room' genre...but one that could have benefited from some tightening up.

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My thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book

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Wordless Wednesday...Istanbul-The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia

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We start our visit, sailing into Istanbul, on an overcast and gray day...

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The Blue Mosque on the left...Hagia Sophia on the right

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The Church of the Holy Wisdom... Hagia Sophia

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The Blue Mosque

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which is blue inside

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...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.

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Musing Monday...Don't Let The Classics Scare You!

I am late to my posting this week. It seems the folks at Blogger decided to change all their screens this weekend...and I was a wee bit confused.
Then I am also having some online access issues...maybe my router is giving up the ghost. So let me get this posted ASAP, before the thing dies again...


Let's check out this week's question from  MizB at  Should Be Reading ...

This week’s musing asks… Do you think it makes you NOT (or less) “well-read” if there are certain genres that you won’t read because you KNOW you won’t enjoy them? Why?

This week’s musing asks… Do you think it makes you NOT (or less) “well-read” if there are certain genres that you won’t read because you KNOW you won’t enjoy them? Why?

I guess it depend on how you define "well read". Personally, I don't see it as reading a wide variety of genres. If I read self-help books, and romance, and biographies, history, and science fiction, would I be well read? Well, in a sense maybe. And I certainly think, as I have discussed before, that people should be opening to reading good books in every genre and not pre-judge that you will necessarily not enjoy something in one particular genre. I think we are really limiting ourselves unfairly otherwise. So many good books...
But I am not really sure that is what is usually meant when someone is called "well read".

I think of a person as "well read" if they have read a fairly large number of what are usually considered "the classics". Of course, then you have the question of how you define "the classics" . The whole thing is a bit subjective, isn't it?
But, if you go on line and google something like "100 Best Books" and compare all those lists, while they are certainly not exactly the same, there are a great many books in common between them all and if you take those as "the classics"...well, I would consider myself fairly well read. I think I had a post about it once and I had read a good percentage of them...by which I mean anything over 50%. lol

Now, I will be honest..as I always try to be with you, my dear readers, and admit that the vast majority of those classics were read long ago, back those many years ago when I was in high school and college. Some of them were required, but actually, most of them were read by choice. Because here is the thing about many of these so-called classics...they are often just rip-roaring good stories! The very phrase is enough to make some of you yawn, "The Classics" making you think of dry and dusty old books, long and boring, irrelevant tales by dull old men. But I would disagree...strongly.

Take a look at the Modern Library's list as one example. The Grapes of Wrath...The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder....Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (one of my personal favorites of all time) ...Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh...Yes, they are all considered "classics" by folks, and if you have not read them, bottom line, let me tell you that, in my humble opinion, they are just really good stories. Sometimes, some of these books may be a little more work to read than most popular modern novels, (although I have tried to read a couple of current books that were like slogging through oatmeal in hip boots) maybe because the style may be different than we are used to. But really, they are worth it. In fact, that is why they are classics. They speak to the timeless qualities of the human condition. The settings may be different that the world we live in today, but the essence of the stories speak to us today as clearly as when they were written 50 or 100 or 200 years ago.

So, don't read them so you can be considered "well read".
No, read them because bottom line, they are very, very stories that can be entertaining, pleasurable and memorable reads!

Weekend Cooking... Shack Stew in the Summertime

Oh my, I forgot to add the basil before I took the picture!

When I was a kid, we lived in the Urban Paradise of the City of Newark, NJ...which also happens to be the carjacking capital of the US.
I was fortunate that a number of my Mom's family lived in South Jersey, at the 'shore,  so as soon as school was out every year, I was shipped down for the summer. I would stay with my grandmother and aunt who lived in Atlantic City, roaming the Boardwalk and taking the jitney buses up to the inlet, to Captain Starn's to spend the day checking out the lobster tanks and sea lion pens and the fishing boats coming in, loaded down with tuna. Sometimes, I would stop on the way back at the public library, a beautiful Carnegie library building.
But every summer, I would also spend a week or two at my Uncle Ed's house, with four of my cousins. I seem to remember a lot of catching fireflies, and throwing fire crackers and the two oldest boys blowing up their sister's Barbie dolls...oh, fun times.

And then there was the summer my uncle rented a cabin up in the woods of north west NJ, a place called Branchville. I only remember two things about that summer. One was the  pool, in which I spent way too many hours, floating on my back, watching the clouds float by and getting nasty sunburns.
The other was a dish my Aunt Dottie seemed to whip up quite often that summer. It had ground beef and tomato sauce, very thick and served on rigatoni...I have loved rigatoni ever since. She would make a huge pot of it and no doubt, ladle out bowl fulls to all those kids when she could drag us into the house for dinner. In my mind, I have always called it shack stew but I am not sure if that was her name for it or I made that up.

I am sure many of you have a similar dish that you make.
Ground beef, some veggies, tomatoes. You might add beans and call it a chili or use cubed meat and call it a stew. You can use beef, or ground turkey or use all veggies and no meat at all. I love it with pasta, but you can serve it with rice or couscous too.
It is limited only by your imagination.

I had some beef left from the 4th of July burgers and went from there, adding more veggies and spices than I think we might have had in the dish as kids. Actually I have no idea how Aunt Dottie made it, so I am winging it.
All I know is I got a big old pot of this stuff! And it is might tasty!

Shack Stew

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 1/2 lb Italian sausage, casing removed
• 2 large onions, chopped roughly
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2-3 red peppers,  chopped roughly
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 2 grated carrots
• 1 lb sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, 
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted)
• 1- 24 oz jar tomato sauce (I used Tomato/basil/garlic)
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
• 1-2 Tbs. chopped flat leaf parsley.
• 1 lb. rigatoni, cooked

Brown the meats over a low heat, breaking up as you saute. When the meat is brown, pour off any extra grease that was released. Add the onions and garlic, saute for a couple of minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables and give it a big old stir.
Add the spices, the tomatoes, the sauce and the wine, stir and bring up to a nice simmer.
Reduce heat and cook over a low heat, being careful not to let it burn, for about 20-30 minutes, uncovered, until nice and thick. 


Before serving, add the fresh basil and parsley,and serve over the pasta, topping with some fresh grated cheese.

I topped my with some ricotta salate..it was on sale...which I doubt was in the original. And I really doubt she added wine, but I had an open bottle in the fridge. In fact, I doubt there were an mushrooms in the original either....
But whatever was in it, I  remember that first Shack Stew...and that pool...fondly.

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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Have You Watched "Downton Abbey"?

Was I living under a rock, am I not the only one that never heard about this series Downton Abbey?

I just read that it was broadcast on PBS in the USA in January of this year, but I missed that and I first read about it on A Reader's Respite a few months back. Her glowing review was enough to peak my interest. Sort of a new version of Upstairs/Downstairs, for those old enough to remember that series.
What is it about? Well here is a little description from my friends at Wikipedia...

"The series is set in the fictional Downton Abbey, stately home of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants early in the reign of King George V. The series spans the two years prior to the Great War, commencing with news of the sinking of the Titanic, an event that sets the story in motion."

And of course, we the viewer, know that the specter of WWI and how it will change all their lives, is brewing just over the horizon.

The Earl's heir, his cousin, was killed on the Titanic and the next in line is a decided middle class (gasp!) young lawyer, who arrives, along with his mother, to take up residence in the village so he can begin to learn what his future duties as Earl will entail. Then, there is the issue of the three Crawley daughters, who must be married off but are decidedly less appealing in the marriage market, especially the eldest, since she will not inherit manor. And of course, downstairs, there are all sorts of dramas and intrigues going on as well. But it is all written in a believable and not overdone way...one of the most appealing things about this series. Still, as excellent and very entertaining as the story is, it is not the only attraction of this show.

I love when we get to see parts of this fantastic house where the series was filmed. They used Highclere Castle in Hampshire and wow, it is very nice.
Then, there is the cast, which is excellent. Perhaps my favorite is Maggie Smith, who plays Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, the Earl's mother. She steals every scene she is in, and with the quality of the rest of the cast, that is saying something. Also familiar to American viewers will be Elizabeth McGovern as the Countess of Grantham, the daughter-in-law of Smith's character. I must say that their scenes together are one of the highlights of the show. But to single out these two may be unfair because the whole cast is very good.

What I perhaps like best is that all the characters, all the storylines, Up and Down, are very good. I think the show's creator, Julian Fellowes, hit it on the nail when he said..

“I think the reason why people love Downton Abbey is because all the characters are given the same weight. Some are nice, some are not, but it has nothing to do with class or oppressors versus the oppressed. There’s no agenda here – I say, if you want to send a message, go to Western Union –Daisy’s crisis is as important to her as Lady Mary’s is to Lady Mary.”

The first part of the series, seven episodes ending with the announcement at a garden party that England is at war with Germany, is available on Netflix. You can get it on DVD or watch it instantly if you are a member.
Best of all, I read that season two started filming in March, to play in England near the end of this year and hopefully will be available in the US not too much later.

It can not be soon enough, because I am waiting for my next Downton Abbey fix!

A Review of "Before I Go To Sleep" [42]

Before I Go to Sleep: A Novel  by S.J.Watson
Harper, ISBN 978-0062060556
June 14, 2011, 368 pages

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When Tess Gerritsen, without doubt one of my favorite authors, calls a book the best debut novel she has ever read and Dennis Lehane say a book is an extraordinary thriller...well, you just know I have to read it.
And keep my fingers crossed that all the hype will not leave me disappointed.

The book in question, Before I Go to Sleep, starts with an intriguing premise.
Christine wakes up in a room that she does not recognize, sleeping next to a man that she does not know. She sneaks off to the bathroom to get dressed, looks in the mirror and sees a face that is 25 years older than she remembers herself. She is surrounded by photos, tacked to the wall, of herself at different ages, many with that man in the bed she woke up next to, none of which she has any memory of. The man tells her that he is her husband Ben, and that she suffers from a rare form of amnesia, caused by a head injury received in an accident. It causes her to wake up every day with no memories of the past except some vague images of when she was young. All she has is what Ben tells her and some photographs, photographs of places and events she does not know.

After Ben goes off to work, she receives a phone call from a man who identifies himself as Dr. Nash, a neurologist, and says that they have been working together to try to regain some of her memory. He calls her every day to tell her this, because of course she never remembers it, and to tell her that they have been doing this without the knowledge of Ben. He also tells her that she has been keeping a journal and tells her where she has hidden it, so Ben will not find it. She goes and gets the book and is very nervous as she opens it, wondering what secrets it might hold...

"The first page is unlined. I have written my name in black ink across its center. CHRISTINE LUCAS. It's a wonder I haven't written PRIVATE! beneath it. Or KEEP OUT!

Something has been added. Something unexpected, terrifying. More terrifying than everything else I have seen today. There, beneath my name,  in blue ink and capital letters, are three words.

DON'T TRUST BEN.

There is nothing I can do but turn the page.

I begin to read my history."

And so, of course, do we.
Can she trust Ben? Why couldn't she trust her husband?
How about this Dr.Nash? How do we...and Christine...know he is who he says he is?
Everyday she starts again, trying to figure it out, following the clues, re-reading the journal, adding to it what she has learn today, along with a few confused memories that have started to return. It is dangerous to not know who you can trust, but sometimes memories can be dangerous as well.

I must say that I am usually a bit suspicious of books that have a gimmick at the center of the story, so the whole amnesia thing had me concerned. By and large, I think the author was quite successful at pulling it off. Yes, maybe it got a tiny bit repetitious and a bit slow toward the end but then things start to break loose, we get all caught up in what I thought was a good solid ending, nicely tying up all the loose ending, and that was forgotten. And am I shallow for enjoying a book that really only has three main characters, instead of a few that I have read recently that almost have me making a list to keep them all straight? Sometimes I appreciate quality over quantity.

On the one hand, this a fascinating portrayal of a woman dealing with, as best she can, an incredible and scary medical issue, and on that level alone it is very interesting. We can not help but put ourselves in her place and imagine how we would deal with it. I must admit I doubt I would do nearly as well as our heroine. OK, I would be totally freaked out.
Then, on the other hand, the book is also an intriguing and rather scary and creepy thriller that will keep the reader a bit confused and trying to make sense of what is going on, right along with Christine...right up to the exciting, if not totally surprising, ending.

A good debut thriller and I will certainly be watching out for Watson's next book.

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My thanks to the publisher and to TLC Books Tour for providing me with a copy of this book to review. Be sure to check out the other stops on the TLC tour for some more reviews.

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Wordless Wednesday...Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam

Yes,my lovely cabin

Aft view from the bridge

Tendering

Promenade Deck

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...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.

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A Review Of "Turn of Mind" [41]

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
Atlantic Monthly Press, ISBN 978-0802119773
July 5, 2011, 320 pages

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What should be the punishment for corruption?

She was playing with me, and I knew it. A dangerous game.

As I said, pure corruption is pure evil. 

Something to be eradicated.

Do you mean it deserves death? 

Yes, when it manifests itself in its purest form.

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As the book opens, we meet Dr. Jennifer White, once a brilliant and very successful orthopedic surgeon, now suffering from progressive dementia due to Alzheimer. And we find out that her long time friend and neighbor, Amanda, has been killed, four fingers on her hand surgically remove, a fact that makes Jennifer the number one suspect.
Of course, she really has no idea whether she did it or not.

As the story slowly unwinds, piece by piece, all told in Jennifer's own voice, we learn that the story may be more complex than we first thought. Yes, she and Amanda were friends for decades, but in many ways, they were also formidable adversaries. As we share her memories, tiny piece by tiny piece, we see that this friendship was often very complicated and not without a dark side.
We meet Jennifer's two adult children, Fiona, an economics professor and her son Mark, a lawyer like his deceased father, as they make arrangements to care for her mother as she starts to decline. They visit often, hire a full time caregiver, take over her medical and financial decisions, all to protect her. Or are their motives not quite as pure as we might hope. We start to have some suspicions, as we share some of Jennifer's memories, some recent, many from decades earlier. But are they real or a result of her growing paranoia and confusion? 

In part, this book is a straight out mystery, in part, it is a family saga and in part, a medical drama, and all are very well done.
The story is written in a linear way, starting just after the murder and following Jennifer as her disease progresses. It starts when Jennifer is still in a stage of her disease when she has good days and bad days. On good days, she knows who she is, knows she was a doctor, recognizes friends and family who visit. On good days she remembers that her friend is dead and even recognized that the police who are talking to her consider her a suspect. On bad days, she is surprised by the woman she sees in the mirror and lives increasing in a world that is a blend of fantasy and decade old memories. Surprisingly for her, and for us the readers, it is the good days that are the hardest, as we both share the heartbreaking understanding of what is happening to her.

Yet this is also a very non-linear book. Slowly we start to figure out the story, as, throughout the book, we share Jennifer's very disconnected memories. A hint here, a clue there, a conversation from years ago, all coming together. It is like a giant jig-saw puzzle, and piece by piece the picture starts to form, not complete until the very last pages. In lesser hands this could have been a confusing mess, but LaPlante displays a great deal of talent for holding it together in this, her debut novel. The resulting book is attention holding from start to finish, at times very dark, at times a bit funny, but always interesting and always with a tragic undercurrent, because this book is not going to have a happy ending.

Except for the happiness that can be found in acceptance..and the peace that forgetting brings.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for making a review copy of this book available.

Musing Monday...Surrender Is Your Only Option

This week’s musing (courtesy of the BookCrazy Yahoo! group) asks…

Below is a link to an NPR discussion about the simple fact that there’s no way you can read, see and experience all the things that are available to be experienced. The two methods for dealing with it are culling (i.e., cutting out certain genres that don’t interest you, etc.) or surrender (i.e., just making peace with the facts and enjoying what you can in the time that you have).

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/27/137451477/you-cant-possibly-read-it-all-so-stop-trying

So, do you cull, or do you surrender? Or do you do both

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As they say in the interview, I assume that I, like most people, practice a mix of the two. You know one of my favorite sayings, "So many books, so little time." It is rather shocking if you think about..and since it is Musing Monday that seems appropriate, to think about it. There are thousands..thousands of books...published every years. Add to that the books that have been published in past years,tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and heck that is a LOT of books. In fact,  I came across an actual figure "How many books have ever been published in all of modern history? According to Google’s advanced algorithms, the answer is nearly 130 million books, or 129,864,880, to be exact." Divide that by how many you can read in a year,a hundred, two hundred,times the number of years you will live and what can you possible read? Let's be generous. Let's figure you read 200 books a year and you read for 80 years. That would only be 16000 books out of 130 million! So you must figure out some way to be selective.

Of course, I, like just about everyone, has favorite,go-to, genres. I love mysteries, suspense, thrillers. It is not the only thing I read,but it does make up a fair proportion of my reading matter in any year. I enjoy them, they entertain me and I make no apology for it. But I also totally agree with a point they make in this interview. What I think is important is that you don't hold a hostile opinion of genres that might not be your favorites. I think it is important to not get up on your high horse and think "Oh fiction is better than now fiction" or "Fiction is a waste of time" or "I would never never read science fiction or romance..it's all junk"
No, I think there are good and bad books in every genre and while we have to cull down to what we will pick to read in some way, don't get too rigid or you might miss some great, enjoyable books along the way.

Ultimately though, I think, you have to just surrender to the idea that it is a hopeless task. So many books...so little time. An excellent reason you should not waste you time on a book that you are not really enjoying.

But of course, it does not only apply to books.
Think about it.
There are billion of people in the world. Some of them, many of them, may be fascinating people...and there is no chance in the world you will ever meet them. There are so many places in the world that would be great to see, and chances are you and I will only experience a handful of them. I am never going to see the top of Mount Everest or dive to the bottom of the ocean. I am never going to Mars. If I am lucky enough to see a couple of new places a year for the rest of my life like I was this year, going to Venice and Greece and Turkey, still I will only see a couple of dozen, at most, in the rest of my life.

Really, most of us live very limited lives. We live in the same house every day, we interact with the same small group of people, our family, friends, the people at work. We do the same things over and over, punctuated by the occasional new experience. Compare that with all the stuff out there in the world, all the things you will never know, never do, never see or hear...We are the first group of people in time to have that hit home even harder by the existence of the Internet. The Internet make us even more aware of all the possibilities out there, possibilities that, at best, we might read a tiny bit about but never really experience. It is all right out there for the taking...if only we had the time. Millions of books we could be reading in seconds, picture of places we will never see in person, ideas we will never have the chance to understand...It just goes on and on. It could drive you mad!

I find medication helps.
You must surrender!

Art is long, and time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still like muffled drums are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Weekend Cooking...Greek Eggplant

One evening recently, I had the TV on, looking for something interesting to watch and saw a show about cooking in Mykonos. Hey, I was Mykonos!!
Seems the show part of a series called Cooking Odyssey, on PBS.

"A culinary television series that showcases the wondrous sights, sounds and tastes of Greece. Embark on a Grecian odyssey to explore the rich and authentic tastes and history of Greek cuisine."

Sadly, I only caught one part of the multipart series but happily it included what I though looked like an easy and tasty recipe.
And you know what? It is!

I roasted my eggplant on my charcoal BBQ, and I do think the smoky grilling add a nice touch, but as the recipe says, you can cook it under the broiler too.
Also, as usual, I added a bit more garlic than the recipe called for, but that is up to your personal taste.

The eggplant is delicious as soon as you make it, but I think it is even better after a day or so when the flavors have had a chance to meld together a bit. It is a nice dip, with crackers or pita, as an appetizer, with some Greek cheese, maybe some hummus, stuffed grape leaves, some olives..  but I found it is also great with grilled chicken or fish.

In Greek, this is called μελιτζανοσαλάτα, pronounced meh-leed-zah-no-sah-LAH-tah

Greek Eggplant Dip

Ingredients:

• 3 medium large dark eggplant
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2-3 shallots, minced
• 2-3 fresh tomatoes (plum if possible, do not substitute with canned), seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Pierce the eggplant with a fork and char it on the grill, or over an open flame until the eggplant turns black and is very soft. (Alternatively, broil for 10-15 minutes.) Set to cool and drain on a rack with paper towels underneath.
As soon as it can be handled, peel. The skin will come off easily by hand. Place in a bowl and chop with two knives. With a wooden spoon, stir in garlic, onions (shallots or scallions), tomatoes, and herbs. Mix the oil and lemon juice well and add slowly, with a fork or hands to work it into the eggplant (don't just add it and stir; it will separate). Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve chilled or at room temperature, with pita wedges, slices of crusty bread, and/or fresh vegetables, garnished with black olives and a sprig of parsley.
Melitzanosalata goes well with salty cheeses and fish mezethes like anchovies.

Yield: about 4 cups

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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A Review of "Now You See Me" [40]

Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton
Minotaur Press, ISBN 978-0312600525
June 7, 2011, 400 pages

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When Detective Constable Lacey Flint leaves her interview with a witness at a London apartment complex, all she is thinking about is getting in her car and driving home for the evening. And when she sees the well dressed woman leaning at the side of her car, at first she thinks the woman may just be looking for directions. That is until the woman turns around and Lacey sees that she has been horribly stabbed and in moments dies in Lacey's arms. At first, Lacey is just a witness, but when a journalist gets a letter from the killer, a letter that points out the similarities between this murder and the murders of Jack the Ripper and a letter that mentions Lacey by name, it is clear that her involvement is much deeper than just a haphazard coincidence

Of course, when we discover that Lacey wears what is almost a disguise to work, to make herself as plain as possible so that she will go unnoticed and that she keeps an 'escape' bag in her apartment, a bag she can grab if she must leave the life she has been living at a moments notice, we know that something else is going on. Lacey has a secret in her past and it is a secret she has worked very hard to keep that way. We don't know what it is...and we will not be fully sure what it is until the very last pages of the book...but the journey to discover her secret and how it ties in to these murders..because there will be more murders...will be a very entertaining one.

While I am not a particularly great fan of stories about Jack the Ripper, in this book the author has done a great job at tying together the historical story, with many facts about the murderer's tale that I never knew, together with a great modern day story, weaving it all together into one very good  mystery. It is full of all sorts of twists and turns, clues that will having you suspecting just about everyone in the book, with Lacey at the head of the line. Still Lacey is a great character and the reader can't help but like her, so  she can't be a murderer...can she? Best of all, just when you thing you may have finally figured it out, Bolton throws in just one more, final surprise.
Excellent to the very last page!

I have not read any of Ms. Bolton's other books...she has written three, Sacrifice, Awakening and Blood Harvest...but after reading Now You See Me, they will certainly be on my list.

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My thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers and the publisher for a copy of this book.

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Wordless Wednesday...On To Athens

On what was a more quiet day in the city.
We will start at the Acropolis..

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...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.

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Musing Monday...Storm the Barricades. Maybe This Afternoon. Or Tomorrow.

Let's check out this week's question from  MizB at  Should Be Reading ..

This week’s musing asks…

Have you ever read a book that inspired you to take up a cause? What book was it, and what is/was the cause?

Have I ever read a book that inspired me to take up a cause? Ok, I thought and mused and mulled...and my answer is....nope, not that I can remember.
I must admit that I wish I could say that I have. First, that I read books like that and second, that I have taken up a cause.

But no, I admit it. I read for pleasure. I read for escape. I read to relax. Certainly books, even the books I read can sometimes be inspiring...but honestly not enough to make me actually do something.
I will even be so honest as to admit that at this point in my life I don't even want to read books that are too challenging.

There are some bloggers out there that read and reviews book that are a bit out of my usual field of picks. Non-fiction, history, political tomes, science..and I think to myself "Wow, that sounds like a lot of work!" ;-)
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't want silly books, totally mindless books. I want interesting, complex characters and interesting plots. Yes, they made deal with important timely issues, social issues and hopefully I might even find them enlightening and thought provoking...but in a non-threatening way. Not enough to make me put the footrest down on the recliner.

The Boys Go To The Beach

Last year, Bandit went to the beach. This year is Sammy's chance...to see if he can swim! Swim...or sink!

HELP!!

Oh, at least my buddy Bandit is here now too!
Hey, I can swim!

Does anyone have a blow dryer??