Review: Hidden in Snow (Viveca Sten)

 

Snow. Cold. Mountains. Darkness.

You find these things a lot in Nordic Noir. And while Viveca Sten isn't usually included in lists of Swedish Nordic Noir writers, this book is probably one of her "noir-iest" yet. I had to sit with it for a few days after finishing it and let things process before I could put my thoughts down. Set in midwinter, in the leadup to Christmas, Hidden in Snow is the story of a young girl who disappears after a party and is later found dead on a ski lift in a mountain resort area. But it's so much more than that: this is about what happens to her family and town in the aftermath of that discovery.

My Favorite Authors of 2022

 Based on how I rated the books I read last year, here's my favorite authors of 2022. Keep in mind this is strictly my opinion and it's pretty subjective. But it's fair to say I'll be watching for more from these authors in the future, as well as going deeper into their backlists. I've linked to the author's website where possible. Some obviously, don't have websites. A few websites seem to be having some trouble.

First, no surprise, is Agatha Christie. Long a favorite in a favorite genre.

Update to Currently Reading

 Time for an update to the books I'm currently reading. Cemetery Boys (by Aiden Thomas, readng for the Read Harder challenge); Dune (by Frank Herbert); Hidden in Snow (by Viveca Sten, reading for the Cloak and Dagger challenge); and Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder (by Joanne Fluke, reading for the Cruisin' Through the Cozies challenge).

Currently Reading (Challenge Books)

Cloak and Dagger: Hidden in Snow (Viveca Sten, 12/1/2022) - 4%
Cruisin' Through the Cozies: Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder (Joanne Fluke, 2/23/2021) - 7%
Read Harder: Cemetery Boys (Aiden Thomas, 9/1/2020) - 5%

Read Harder Challenge 2023

I'll admit: I really like genre fiction. But I'll be the first to tell you, it's not always the most challenging stuff out there. So to up my reading a little, I've decided to do Book Riot's Read Harder challenge this year. It's only 24 books, maybe two a month, but the books selected have to meet certain criteria. Most of those are books I probably wouldn't normally read. For example, the first listed criteria is it has to be a book by a trans author about a trans character. I've chosen Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas. It's a book I've actually had for a while (audio), but I've never finished it. This time I will. It's not that I don't like the book. In fact, I do like the story of a Latine transgender person dealing with spirits and his (not always supportive) family very much. I just keep getting distracted by easier reads. It's time to fix that and get the book done. An hour a day, and I'll have it finished in two weeks.

2023 Reading Challenges

I've started looking for 2023 reading challenges, and I've found a couple that appeal to me. I believe I'll be doing the Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge, hosted at Carol's Notebook, and Cruisin' Through the Cozies at Socrates' Book Reviews. These will be the first time I've done any challenges since I switched to audio and ebook as my preferred formats. Should be interesting! I realize they're both mystery challenges, but that is my favorite genre these days, so I think it will work for me. Since they're similar genres, I won't count the same book for both challenges. Both run from Janury 1 to December 31 of 2023.

For Cloak and Dagger, I intend to try the Inspector level (26-35 books). i figure that will be about half the books I plan on reading in 2023, maybe a little less. Cruisin' Through the Cozies, I plan on going for the first level (Snoop). I'm choosing option B, one cozy from each listed subgenre (culinary, animal, crafting, paranormal, outside USA, career-based, holiday, travel, historical, and reader's choice). If anyone has a recommendation for another challenge (not mystery), let me know in the comments and I'll take a look at it.

Also, today I started the audiobook version of Dune (Frank Herbert, Macmillan Audio). I must be the last American in my generation reading this book. I'm in the process of disconnecting from Goodreads and moving to StoryGraph, so if you're interested you can follow me there.

I hope everyone had some good holidays, and I'm looking forward to 2023!

Currently Reading, 8 June 2021

 I'm not doing Goodreads anymore, but here's a list of the books I'm currently reading (or listening to) Most of what I'm doing these days are audiobooks. I have quite a collection!

• Pains and Penalties (Sarah Biglow) - Book one in her Geeks and Things mystery series, and the only print book I'm currently reading.
• Red, White & Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston, read by Ramon de Ocampo)
•  A Quest of Heroes (Morgan Rice, read by Wayne Farrell) - The first book in Rice's Sorcerer's Ring series.
• Cemetery Boys (Aiden Thomas, read by Avi Roque)

So far I really like the McQuiston and Thomas books. I'm not so sure about A Quest of Heroes. Of course, the mystery is just some light summer fun reading. I'll let you know more about my opinions as I finish the books.

Random Music: 6 June 2021

Been a while, so let's do the first 10 songs recommended for me by Apple Music:

1. Thank You (Meghan Trainor, 2016)
2. Holiday (Madonna, 1983)
3. The Loco-Motion (Kylie Minogue, 1987)
4. The Look (Roxette, 1988)
5. Eye of the Tiger (Survivor, 1982)
6. Adventures in Funk Space (Bingo Boys, 1991)
7. We're Going to Ibiza! (Vengaboys, 1998)
8. Rich Boy (Galantis, 2017)
9. All for You (Spada, 2017)
10. Music Is My Life (Andras & Oscar Key Sung, 2014)

This random list started strong, peaked with Kylie Minogue, and then kind of faded. Nothing was really bad, but some are definitely better than others. Some I had never heard before, so that was pretty good. Overall, a decent list.

Chromebook Experiment Results

This is a followup to my Chromebook Experiment post from November of 2011.

I did purchase a Chromebook a few years ago. A Samsung Chromebook 3. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with it. Yes, it can be slow (it uses a Celeron processor and has 2 GB of RAM), but as far as limitations imposed by the OS, I haven't really found any. To be completely honest, it's faster than the little desktop computers provided by my employer.  It's not by any means usable for more than casual gaming, like Solitaire, but it does what I need it to do, it's lightweight, and has incredible battery life. I have two users set up on it, and I'm thinking about adding a third one (don't ask 😆). I can access pretty much any document I need to, and I haven't really found a website that won't work with it. Granted, I miss MS Office, since we use it heavily at work.

The main thing I miss is good design programs. But, I'm not doing nearly as much design work as I used to, and if I need to I can use my desktop at home. So, my verdict?

I don't regret getting it. It suits my needs, although I sometimes think about getting one that's a little more powerful. As long as you understand it's limitations and can work with them, It's an excellent little laptop. I love the way I don't have to worry about updates. Chrome OS just does them, and if I need to restart, it tells me (which, btw, is a lot faster than restarting Windows or Mac OS X). If you're on the fence about Chromebooks, and you can find it at a good price (mine was about $150 US), I think you'll be pleased with it.

New Writing Project

After spending so many years reading, I think it's time I tried something new. So starting today, I'll be working on writing. Of course, I'll be writing here, but I'll also begin some creative writing: fiction, poetry, maybe some short stories. I have things I want to say and this seems to be the best way for me to say those things.

This morning, I was looking for articles to help me learn how to write better. In a moment of serendipity, look what showed up in my Twitter feed: Writing Tip: The Three Act Structure. Exactly what I was looking for.So time to start!

Kentucky Genealogy: Bays

To help document, here's the Bays part of my family.

• Charlene Riley Bays (born 13 September 1937, Jefferson county, Kentucky - died 11 January 2013, Marion county, Indiana) - my mother
• John Riley Bays (born 30 May 1910, Kentucky - died 21 May 1997, Floyd County, Indiana) - My grandfather
• Joseph Walter Bays (born 2 December 1879, Carter county, Kentucky - died 1 May 1968, Rowan county, Kentucky) - John's father
• Newton White Bays (born 11 December 1853, Magoffin county, Kentucky - died 27 January 1922, Carter county, Kentucky), Joseph's father
• Rufus Garland Bays (born 7 June 1816, Tennessee - died July 1865, Carter county, Kentucky), Newton's father
• Joel Bays (born 1782, Scott county, Virginia - died 28 September 1852, Scott county, Virginia), Rufus's father

Where to Find Ohio River Bridges Project Information?

If you live anywhere near, or travel through, Louisville, Kentucky you probably know there's some major construction going on. It's causing major traffic delays and frustrating a lot of people. It's all because we're getting two new bridges in the are. We need them badly.

Random Music: May 25, 2014

Here it is, the last Sunday before Memorial Day. We no longer have Sunday hours at work until the fall, the weather is heating up, and it's time to see what shows up on my Pandora shuffle. Here goes!

1. "Blue Moon" (Marcels: Sweet Soul Music)
2. "Everything is Sound" (Jason Mraz: Love Is a Four Letter Word)
3. "A Day Without Rain" (Enya: A Day Without Rain)
4. "Together Forever" (Rick Astley: Whenever You Need Somebody)
5. "Sentimental Journey" (Doris Day: Golden Girl)
6. "Cold Hearted" (Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl)
7. "Love Grows" (Edison Lighthouse: Barry Williams Presents: 70s Music Explosion)
8. "Why Should I Mind" (Tom Robinson Band: TRB Two)
9. "Long Long Journey" (Enya: Amarantine)
10. "Father Figure" (George Michael: Faith)

Not as good as yesterday. Pandora seems to be getting a little repetitive. I think I'm only going to do this once a week. Probably on Sundays. What do you think? More often? Less often? Let me know!

Cadillac Black Cologne: Initial Impessions

I'm a bit of a cologne aficionado. I don't spend a lot of money on them, but I do like to find them at a good price. While I was out today, I happened to see a 3.4 oz. bottle of Cadillac Black on sale for $9.99, so I figured I'd give it a try. There's not a lot of information on this cologne, which is a 2009 limited edition, out there. Different sites don't even list the same notes for it. The most common ones seem to be grapefruit, chamomile, tarragon, cinnamon and incense. It's not even listed on my go-to cologne site, Fragrantica.com.

Anyway, here's my first impressions. It's a pleasant scent, not overwhelming. I would definitely classify it as a fougère of some sort. Some people have said it reminds them a lot of Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male, and I tend to agree. That's not a bad thing for me, since I like Le Male very much. Initially, the grapefruit and cinnamon notes seem to be the strongest, but after it settles down, the incense takes over from the grapefruit. I don't know if it's anything really special, but it does make a nice addition to my collection. And the black matte glass bottle is very attractive, and easy to hold. It seems like a lot of cologne bottles these days are made to be interesting, but don't fit the hand very well. I don't know if it will be one of my favorite scents yet. That spot seems to be reserved eternally for CK One Shock. It's a good scent, though, and I think it's well worth what I paid for it. If you see it, give it a try.

First 10 Songs, May 24, 2014

Yet another fascinating installment of random music from my Pandora account. I might switch to iTunes Radio, though.

1. "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" (Shania Twain: Come On Over) - One of my favorite songs! A great way to wake up. I love the video!
2. "Blue Bayou" (Linda Ronstadt: Simple Dreams) - Two favorites in a row? This must be my lucky day! Personally, I consider Linda Ronstadt to be the greatest living female vocalist. A wide vocal range, and excellent taste in music.
3. "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" (The Puppini Sisters: Betcha Bottom Dollar) - Yet another favorite. I love the Puppini Sisters. I'm probably one of the few in my area that's even heard of them. And their take on this classic is just too much fun.
4. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: The Complete Duets) - A love the song, but I'm not familiar with this version. I like it.
5. "Les Vieux" (Jacques Brel: The Olympia - 1964) - A great French language singer and songwriter. Not nearly as widely known in the US as he should be.
6. "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" (Culture Club: Greatest Hits) - I'll admit it: I've always been a fan of Boy George and Culture Club. I love this song!
7. "Opposites Attract" (Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl) - This is becoming one of the best Pandora shuffles ever. In spite of what's happened to her recently, Paula Abdul remains one of my favorite singers. And this is one of her best songs.
8. "We've Only Just Begun" (The Carpenters: Close to You) - OK. This makes it official. Best Pandora shuffle ever! Karen Carpenter was the first singer I truly enjoyed. Her voice was perfect, and the music she made with her brother Richard was pure pleasure. There will never be another as good.
9. "Up!" (Shania Twain: Up!) - Two Shania Twain songs? Kind of unusual for Pandora, but I like it. I haven't heard this song before, but I like it.
10. "Adiemus" (Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary) - Very classical style music from Karl Jenkins. I really like the Adiemus albums. And this is one of the best.

There you have it: a great Pandora shuffle. What's some of your favorite music? Let me know in the comments.

Currently Reading: Fiction and Nonfiction

Books are pretty important to me. So what am I currently reading? Only two books right now. I'm trying to get to where I only read one book at a time.

First, I'm reading The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries, by Emily Brightwell.  I like genre fiction, and I've been meaning to try this series for quite some time. It's not bad. The story is good, although the writing is not to my taste. The two main characters seem very much of a type: the clueless inspector, in over his head, and his brilliant housekeeper who pretty much leads him by the hand in solving his cases. I'm not sure I like those characters. I hope later books improve. I'm a little over halfway through, and as I usually do with mysteries, I haven't let myself think about who might have done it. I like to be surprised, so I let myself get carried along by the story. This one is easy to read, but not so easy to care about the people in it. I'll finish the book, but I'm not sure I'll read more of the series.

The second book I'm reading, I just started the other day. Marcus Borg's Meetiing Jesus Again for the First Time. This is a good book, very different from the other I'm reading now. It's not easy reading. I'm only about 10 pages into the book, so there's not a lot I can say about it. I'll finish it, and I believe I'll enjoy it. I'm working on a list of books about Postmodern Christianity, and this is the first on my list.I may put the list on this site, just in case anyone else is interested.

So what are you reading right now? Let me know in the comments.

First 10 Songs, May 22, 2014

It's been a while. So to start things of easy, here's the first 10 songs from my Pandora shuffle this morning.

1. "Parallel Woman" (Shonen Knife: Burning Farm) - Not one of my favorites, but it'll do to start the day.
2. "Careless Whisper" (George Michael: TwentyFive) - Still, after all these years, one of my favorite singers.
3. "Distant Early Warning" (Rush: Grace Under Pressure - remastered) - A great band. Great music.
4. "Queen of Argyll" (Emerald Rose: Archives of Ages to Come) - Celtic music, some of the best.
5. "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Avalon: Faith: A Hymns Collection)
6. "It's Magic" (Doris Day: It's Magic) - How can you not like Doris Day?
7. "I Can't Help Myself" (The Four Tops: Essential Collection) - Another great song from long ago.
8. "Red Swing" (Puffy AmiYumi: Nice) - Happy music!
9. "Dogfight" (Move: Boulder) - Not a song or group I've heard before. Not bad, though.
10. "2-4-6-8 Motorway" (Tom Robinson Band: TRB Two) - Great way to end this shuffle! One of my favorite songs, by one of my favorite bands. Look it up!

A good mix. Some new stuff, some old favorites. A great way to start the day.

First 10 Songs, 29 July 2013

It's kind of late in the day, but here's my first ten songs from my Pandora shuffle:

1. "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" (Steven Anderson: History of the Hymnal)
2. "Any Man of Mine" (Shania Twain: The Woman in Me) - I really like Shania Twain, although this isn't one of my favorites. Kind of catchy, though.
3. "Freewill (Live in Rio)" (Rush: Rush in Rio: Live) - OK, is this the only Rush album Pandora has? Again, one of my favorites, but I prefer the studio version.
4. "Never Gonna Fall In Love" (Tom Robinson Band: Rising Free) - Tom Robinson and TRB in its various incarnations has been on the top of my list of great musicians since the early 80's. It's hard to find his work, but well worth the effort.
5. "Ukulele Bros." (Jake Shimabukuro: Peace Love Ukulele) - Shimabukuro is probably the best-known contemporary ukulele artist. His work is anything but traditional ukulele. And, he's coming to town in November! I really want tickets!
6. "Track 1" (Orange Range: Orange Range) - Another J-Pop group. What can I say, it's fun! Sorry, there doesn't seem to be an English language site.
7. "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" (Mormon Tabernacle Choir: Teach Me to Walk in the Light & Other Children's Favorites) - Can't help it, they really do great choral music.
8. "I Am the Day" (Libera: Free) - Another choral group, Libera is a wonderful, long-standing boys' choir. I love the arrangements they use.
9. "Carpe Diem" (Yellow Generation: Jpop CD) - Lots of J-Pop tonight. I'm not familiar with this one, but I like it. Again, no English site.
10. "Whenever You Need Somebody" (Rick Astley: Whenever You Need Somebody) - I'll admit it: I'm a Rick Astley fan.

Susanna Diehl, My Great-Great Grandmother (Updated)

Here's a genealogy post. We've known for a while that my great-great grandmother on my father's side was Susanna Diehl (spelled various ways) of Pennsylvania. She was married to David Rothenberger on 26 September 1867 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. By 1880, the family is in Clinton county, Indiana (according to the 1880 US Census). Susanna dies later that year at the age of 31, leaving behind four children: Peter J. Rothenberger (12 years old), Sallie V. Rothenberger (8), Olville O. Rothenberger (6, and my great grandfather), and Anna A. Rothenberger (2). The names are from the census, and are in some cases known to be incorrect. Anyway...

First 10 Songs, 28 July 2013

It's time to start some music lists again. Instead of what's on my iPod (which I don't use as much anymore) I'll be listing the first 10 songs that come up when I put my Pandora account on shuffle. Today's list has some really good ones:

1. "Yesterday Once More" (Carpenters: Now and Then) - After all these years, still my favorite group, and one of their best songs. I probably have the worst Carpenters crush in history!
2. "One More Try" (George Michael: Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael) - George Michael is another of my all-time favorite singers. I've liked him since the first moment I saw "Wake Me Up" on MTV, lo these many years ago. His voice and range is superb, and his songs always move me.
3. "Be Still My Soul" (The Talleys: Praise for the Ages) - Not sure why this came up. I think I need to review my Pandora stations. It's OK, but not really my kind of music.
4. "Penny in the Well" (Emerald Rose: Bending Tradition) - This is a treat! A song I haven't heard from one of my favorite Celtic Revival bands. If you haven't heard Emerald Rose, you really should give them a listen.
5. "Limelight: Live in Rio" (Rush: Rush in Rio: Live) -  A great song, but this isn't one of my favorite recordings. Let's face it - if you're not actually there, Rush is much better in studio than live.
6. "Caribbean Blue" (Enya: Shepherd Moons) - What can I say? I love Enya, and this is one of my favorites. She's really the closest thing I have to a replacement for the loss of Karen Carpenter.
7. "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (Carpenters: A Song for You) - Clearly, Pandora knows me. Another great Carpenters song today (not that there are any bad ones).
8. "Blue Oyster Cult" (Shonen Knife: 712) - I know, it's strange, but I really like Shone Knife. Maybe it's part of my fascination with all things Japanese, maybe they're just really good! With music like this, who cares?
9. "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)" (Stan Getz, with Astrud Gilberto: Getz Au Go Go) - The work Getz did with Gilberto produced, in my opinion, some of his best ever. His smooth jazz backing Gilberto's wonderful voice makes for some delicious music.
10. "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Sinead O'Connor: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got) - I've always liked O'Connor, no matter what she does. I also really like sad love songs, and this is one of the best broken-heart songs ever.

So there's today's list. Let's see what happens tomorow.