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Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amos - a James Bond book review

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 This book is about James Bond saving M from a kidnapping. It is a continuation of the James Bond series, but is the only one written by this author. Let's jump in.  It starts with James Bond visiting M, after a health concern led him to stay home and be cared for by others. Bond comes in and something is wrong. Bond nearly gets kidnapped with him in the ensuing fight, where he is temporarily drugged after escaping the crew taking M. He then has to get captured in Greece on purpose to have a chance at saving M. From there things get complicated. You have a Nazi man and Colonel Sun to contend with at the very end, both trying to sabotage a political conference and blame the English.  The Review The Bad This one was a three star. Why three stars? Let's talk about sexism. I know Ian Fleming was sexist. I know that. Some authors drop that sexism and others don't. Yet others who continue the series will tone it down (making the character, but not the narrator, sexist). You hav...
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Spooks (1930) - An Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon

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 I have never watched an Oswald cartoon until today. It was definitely...something. Here we have a take on Phantom of the Opera and it is interesting. I can't say it makes me feel sane. This was a journey and it was only five minutes.  Courtesy of intanibase.com Today we look at my research journey into 1930's era cartoons. Oswald is somewhat lost to history. I'm not real sad about it when I look at this cartoon. It is a drug-trip of a cartoon with a horrible script that sounds like a bad radio drama. To be fair, it is 1930, but whoever animated this and wrote the voice lines must have been on drugs. It makes no earthly sense.  Now, 1930 featured some real weird cartoons to begin with. It is not just Oswald that is like this. I can't say watching Betty Boop makes me feel sane, either. The anatomy of the cartoons is deeply in question. This is voice acting in infancy and I know it. But even that knowledge makes me think someone slipped stuff in my morning coffee while I ...
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The Whim Challenge #1 - Reading books that you bought on a whim

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 Today's challenge is something I thought of while staring at my home bookshelves, and thinking about the many ebooks I acquired over the years. We all buy or pick up books on a whim, but how long do these books sit on your shelves before you read them? This challenge is directed straight at that category of books.  This challenge is simple, allowing for some mood reading. You go up to any shelf of your choice, or all of them, and decide on one or more books. You read it, you decide if you'll keep it, and do this as many times as you please.  Rules:  1. The book can't have a familiar author. 2. The book can't be given by friends/family or suggested to you before you acquired it. If you had it suggested after you got it, this rule doesn't count.  3. If you are familiar with the movie plot, leave it. 4. It has to be a book you picked up on a whim. 5. If you DNF (do not finish) the first book, you pick up another. With these rules in mind, go up to any bookshelf yo...
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The Goodbye Coast - a Marlowe mystery review

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The Goodbye Coast is a Marlowe mystery that was not written by the original author. This series continued past the original author's death into the 2020s. Joe Ide gives him a bit more of an edgy presence and introduces you to Marlowe's police father. It's a new taste on Marlowe, I'll admit, but it does stay true to the character Raymond Chandler created.  There will be spoilers. Be warned now.  We have two cases (both chaotic). One is a case Marlowe's past mentor shoved him into and the other came from a rich woman whose daughter ran away. The first was Ren, whose ex-husband had taken their child and refused to return him to her home. The second was a washed-up actress who's home was a wreck and a half socially. She didn't care about her daughter and her husband had been killed. It turns out the daughter, Cody, had something to do with that and had many, many issues. Cody's brother was actually afraid of her because she had violent outbursts and no remor...
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One by One by Ruth Ware - A book review

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 This book was an easy five stars. It's one of those books where you're just waiting for something to go wrong. The tension is already piano-wire tight and only tightens by the end. I didn't predict the murderer until the end setup made it obvious and said it outright. Let's get into it.  We have two perspectives in this whole book, both women. It reminded me of The Hitchcock Hotel or a modern twist on an Agatha Christie novel. Ware's a modern Agatha Christie. If you like Christie's stuff, you'll love this. Basic plot, a bunch of coworkers (all rich and kind of hipster) get snowed in after an accident on the slopes. As the lights go out, the heat wanes, and everyone gets more and more upset, things get worse. Someone is now dead in the chalet and they don't know who did it. Worse, help has not come, yet.  Spoiler territory So, you want to be surprised by the culprit? Don't read on just yet. It was a twist that made sense and yet, took me by surprise....
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The Second Murderer - a Philip Marlowe book review

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 This book is a Philip Marlowe mystery, one that isn't by the original author. The Marlowe series continued under modern authors (just like James Bond) into the 2020s. Some are set in modern day, but this one is set in the same period as the original Marlowe series (1940s-ish). You can tell by the Depression-era references.  This contains spoilers. You've been warned.  I collect Philip Marlowe books. I currently have all of them, unless they come out with more. I'd love to read more of them. This one starts with a rich, eccentric client who lies to him (as usual, for Marlowe) and ends in a strange sort of ending, where you aren't sure whether you should be happy or not. The client wanted a daughter back, allegedly, but was definitely abusive toward the missing woman previously. In other words, she's an adult and left on her own to avoid abuse. Marlowe shelters her for a while, but she ends up coming back when the client is killed by his own mistress.  By the way, th...
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Read It or Unhaul it - 2025 Summer Edition

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This is a decluttering challenge. This round I've decluttered all three books. This was not the intention, but I'm glad I have more space for what I love. Usually, I like at least one. Not today. Read on to see why I decluttered all three.  The rules of this challenge are simple. I picked three random books from "the unread" tab of my book inventory (not including the series I collect). I read them or DNF them. I decide what to do with them at the end of the challenge. I chose three, a good number to handle for one blog. I can do up to five if I DNF two in a row (a rule I added this past year). That's about it for rules. I'm going to go one book at a time.  If you take on this challenge, it is a good rule of thumb to read ten percent or four to five chapters before making a decision. Unless, of course, you hate it already, then you know what to do. I recommend this challenge to book dragons like me. We hoard books, but don't always read them all. We need s...
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