Home Articles posted by Ekkarn (Page 31)

Book 2 in Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy – The Lewis Man – another winner!

The Lewis Man is the second book in Peter May’s wonderful Lewis Trilogy and in the words of The Guardian it is….. “As good as its predecessor…not only a good mystery, but also a moving and evocative portrayal of a place where the weather is matched only by the church’s harsh patronage….” The place is the Isles of Lewis, from the book’s  prologue…. On this storm lashed island three hours off the northwest coast of Scotland, what little soil exists gives the people their food and their heat. It also takes their dead. And very occasionally, as today, gives one up….

Continue reading

Today in Music – B B King was born!!

 Riley B B King   (September 16, 1925- May 14, 2015) So today is the  anniversary of birth of probably the greatest blues musician of all time. Certainly he was one who was at the top of his craft the longest – B.B. King!! Here’s  the obligatory background information from Wikipedia, like he needs an introduction: Riley B. King (born September 16, 1925- May 14, 2015), known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (previously ranked…

Continue reading

No Safe House – Linwood Barclay

No Safe House – Linwood Barclay (Book 24 for 2014)   The first Linwood Barclay books I read were his Zack Walker mystery books, and I loved them! After I fnished the third book and was ready to move on, I discovered that Mr. Barclay had left that series, and moved on to write stand alone thrillers. The first one was No Time to Say Goodbye and it was great! Since then I have read and enjoyed all of his books.  The latest is No Safe House. In No Safe House, Barclay treats his readers to further adventures of the Archer…

Continue reading

Karin Slaughter’s Cop Town – Atlanta – 1974 – A Wild Ride!

The first Karin Slaughter book that I read was Kisscut, which is book #2 in Karin’s Grant County series. After finishing the book; I immediately went out and found Book #1  Blindsighted and read it probably faster than Kisscut. Since then I have read every book she has written which includes both the Grant County and the Will Trent series, which are now intertwined! Cop Town is Karin’s first stand alone novel and for her first book she went back  40 years and recreated wonderfully the  feel of a changing Atlanta in 1974. My wife and I lived in Athens, Georgia…

Continue reading

Fuzzy Nation – John Scalzi’s Reimagining of H. Beam Piper’s Little Fuzzy done well!

Little did I know when I sat down to read Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi, that the story of Fuzzy’s story had been told before by H Beam Piper,in a very success trilogy starting with Little Fuzzy, and continuing in Fuzzy Sapiens and Fuzzies And Other People. (You can read more about H Beam Piper and his books at the H Beam Piper Memorial Website.). Even if I knew that the story was an update of these books, I don’t think that it would have hurt Scalzi’s marvelous re-imagining of their tale! Fuzzy Nation is the tale of Jack Holloway…

Continue reading

British Blues 2014 – Standing in the Shadows from King King

British Blues 2014 Album of the Year winner – Standing in the Shadows from King King congrats! The British Blues Music Awards were held last Sunday night. I will review the total list at some point today and write about the winners.But for now here is a post I wrote after listening to the album Standing in the Shadows from King King, which won the award for Blues Album of the Year. I have also reviewed the two runners up Aynsley Lister’s Home and Shake the Walls from Marcus Bonfanti!!   Awards for King King So it’s always pretty neat…

Continue reading

The Latest James Rollins & Linwood Barclay Books added to John Scalzi and Karin Slaughter ! Too Many Books – Never!!

Yeah, I finally change the currently reading book to John Scalzi‘s  Fuzzy Nation!! I could actually add two more books to the sidebar because I am also reading Karin Slaughter’s new release Cop Town, which is he first stand alone novel, along with Robert D. Kaplan‘s The Revenge of Geography.  The later of course is my current nonfiction read! Now with all that on my plate ,you’d think I’d  be satisfied, right!   Wrong! I went to the library to pick up a book that I hold at the library a while ago. I thought that I was still far enough…

Continue reading

John Lee Hooker’s birthday!! (August 22, 1917)

Let’s Have One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer to Honor John Lee Hooker On this day – August 22 –  in 1917 in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi John Lee Hooker was born. He was one of the most influential blues musicians across several generations. From Wikipedia John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was a highly influential American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally a unique brand of country blues. He developed…

Continue reading

Subversives: The FBI’s War on Student Radicals and Reagan’s Rise to Power – Now We Know!

After several months, yesterday I finally finished Seth Rosenfeld’s terrific book Subversives – The FBI’s War on Student Radicals and Reagan’s Rise to Power. usually when I ‘m reading a book like this and I then pick up other books while reading it, I most time don’t go back to the book. This book an exception the book is just so good and the story that it tells about the FBI and the student protests at the University of California so much a part of my past that I couldn’t give up! While I was at the University of Florida…

Continue reading

British Blues from Marcus Bonfanti – Shake the Walls

Marcus Bonfanti – Shake the Walls – and he does!! When I first reviewed the nominees for the 2014 British Blues awards, one of the many nominees whose name I was unfamiliar with, was Marcus Bonfanti. So I downloaded and put his most recent album, the one that is among the nominees for Blues Album of the Year Shake the Walls, on the iPhone. Where it has been in my regular rotation ever since. If I had a vote for the Best British Blues album, it would most likely get my vote! While Bonfanti may be unfamiliar to me, he…

Continue reading