Java Davis's Blog, page 7
June 12, 2016
Road Trip: Lewes Delaware #1
Road Trip: Lewes Delaware #1
I’m leaving in 11 days for a festival in Lewes, Delaware, the annual Sea Glass and Coastal Arts Festival. Who doesn’t love sea glass and coastal arts? Or is it just me?
I’m splurging on a four-star hotel because it’s situated in the festival zone. At their price per night, it had better be awesome!
On a personal note, I’m still grieving over the loss of my cat, but when I think about the nightmare in Orlando, Florida (50 dead, over 50 wounded — Allah Akbar!), my cat should seem so much less important. But she isn’t.
June 7, 2016
Book Review: Tempo Rubato by Brendan Carroll (5 coffee beans)
This is a very long book, but I’ve been looking forward to finishing it so that i can spread the word about Tempo Rubato. I can honestly say that I’ve never read anything like it. The author makes the reader believe in time travel, love across the centuries, and the man behind the myth of Wolfgang Mozart.
A young woman, Dr. Elisse Mannheim, who happens to be one of the world’s preeminent authorities on Mozart, is asked to leave her home in Vienna and come to the United States to be the companion of a composer. Elisse acts on a whim and accepts the job. Upon arriving at the compound, she meets William Masters, the man whose assistant she will be. He is brilliant, lively, and mercurial, and resembles Mozart uncannily.
Over time, Elisse learns that her predecessor was murdered, but by whom? The compound, and the company she works for, Left Field, are not what they seem. There is evil and international intrigue going on here. How safe is she? And how safe is William Masters, the strange man whom she has grown to love from afar?
The historical research, the writing style, the mysteries and discoveries, the author, Brendan Carroll, deserves kudos for an unbelievably great job. I wish that I had some sort of award that I could give to Brendan Carroll for Tempo Rubato.
June 5, 2016
Book Review: Pilgrim Spokes (1 coffee bean)
Pilgrim Spokes is the second book in a two-volume series about Neil Hanson’s cross-country bicycle trip. Being anal about reading things in order, I requested, and was given, Volume 1, Pilgrim Wheels. So I’m actually about to rip two books into shreds, not just one. This review is a two-fer.
I found the author, Neil Hanson, to be self-important and judgmental. His cheap attempts at philosophy were concepts that are old and stale. He always presumed to know what other people, including God, were thinking, based on where they lived, how they dressed, what they did for a living, or, in God’s case, which way the wind was blowing. Often, when he arrived somewhere new, he assumed that a man showing up in spandex and a bike helmut was like “an anthropologist on Mars,” to borrow a phrase from Oliver Sacks, something that was completely foreign. I dragged myself through Pilgrim Wheels so that I could honestly start reading Pilgrim Spokes. I found Volume 2 to be just as offensive and preachy as Volume 1.
What I found valuable were the practical discussions of what to wear and what to carry for such an expansive trip, and I see that the author has written a separate book to discuss just this arena, The Pilgrim Way: A Cyclist’s Guide to Ultralight Touring. If you’re brave, maybe you’ll try it and let me know what you think.
June 3, 2016
Book Giveaway: Triptych
Book Giveaway: Triptych
I have 5 copies of my book Triptych (in English) to give away. How do you enter? Use the Contacts page of my website. Send me a note explaining why you should be one of the winners by the deadline of June 10. The best 5 answers that I receive will win (I’m the judge!). Now’s your chance to show me your write-side.
Tell your friends! Everyone is welcome to enter, except for family members (sorry, Sis!).
Synopsis:
It takes three to make a decent love triangle — a triptych. Hannah has just driven across the country to take a job in Phoenix as a press room manager for the city newspaper. She’s never had such a responsible position before and is worried she’s made a huge mistake. Upon arriving in town, she accidentally meets Warrior, the man who lost a promotion to the job that she will bestarting. He’s smart and talented, but he’s entirely tattooed, making him a poor representative for a conservative newspaper. What Hannah doesn’t know is that her ex-boyfriend has also moved to Phoenix, and is Warrior’s bike mechanic. Declan, a charmer who never grew up, is definitely excited to see Hannah again. But Warrior is losing the chip on his shoulder and is warming up to his new boss. Can these three figure it out before the newspaper closes the press room permanently?
Triptych, a 5-star Award Winner from Readers’ Favorite.
May 29, 2016
Road Trip: Back from Cambridge MD
http://theroadtripwriter.com/road-tri...
Road Trip: Back from Cambridge MD
My road tripper pal and I both loved our visit to Cambridge, Maryland. This is the view from a restaurant on the wharf. The water is the Choptank River. The wharf was loaded with small boats, intimate seafood restaurants, and a weekly farmers market. As small as the town is, they boast TWO brewpubs. The one I tried was wonderful — I’ve never had grapefruit beer before, but I can’t wait to go back and have another.
I didn’t enjoy our stay at the B&B, but the breakfast in the morning was a farm-to-table breakfast with all the ingredients from a local farm stand. And they accommodated us with no pork products.
The townsfolk were friendly and helpful. When they heard we were visitors, they all wanted to give us tips on what to do and where to go. They all LOVE Cambridge! Nuff said.
May 25, 2016
Road Trip: Cambridge MD Tomorrow!
http://theroadtripwriter.com/road-tri...
Road Trip: Cambridge MD Tomorrow!
The road trip to Cambridge, MD, has finally arrived. My travel friend and I will leave first thing in the morning to discover and explore a new town. It’s not clear which of us will be driving, but either way, we’re leaving at 9 a.m. sharp EST. Send us some good wishes!
As a bit of traveling advice, I recommend using TripAdvisor to see what really goes on at your prospective destinations. I won’t say more, because I don’t want to be accused of being in TripAdvisor’s pocket, but I do find them very helpful.
May 22, 2016
Book Review: Stable Relation by Anna Blake (4 coffee beans)
I adored the beginning chapters of Stable Relation, by Anna Blake. Anna was a country girl who became a successful city girl as a goldsmith with her own gallery spaces. When her life in the city goes sideways, the country girl reemerges. Anna buys a run-down horse farm in Colorado and begins building a menagerie. These early chapters are filled with comic relief and wry, self-deprecating humor. The blend of drama and comedy was highly entertaining.
Somewhere close to the middle of Stable Relation, the tenor changes, and the stories become unrelentingly dark and deeply philosophical. I can appreciate those stories as well as the earlier ones, but the author never finds her comic voice again, and I missed it.
After Anna Blake moves to the farm with her horses and dog, she finds that there’s still room in her heart and her household for more animals, more species of animals. Over the years, she acquires cats, ducks, llamas, a donkey, a burro, and goats, and makes friends with wild ducks and geese courtesy of the pond on her property. Most chapters feature one animal, and is the story of Anna’s work to befriend all the animals on their levels, rather than request that they meet her on her level. She shows extraordinary patience and understanding. None of her animals are mere livestock — they are all family, playing out their own roles in the Blake family dynamic.
Anna has always had a level of discomfort in the human world. Adults who were neglected or abused as children never learn the socialization skills necessary to blend. Some of the chapters in the book refer back to her birth family and its tense and unhappy balancing act. Readers will see the the confusion of Anna reflected against her human family, and the grace of Anna reflected against her small, animal kingdom.
