Favorite Fictional Character --- Lady Georgiana Rannoch

A lot of you already know that I am a mystery addict.  That one genre makes up more than half of my yearly reading, a few years, quite a bit more.  The vast majority of that tends to be vintage mysteries, especially those written during the Golden Age, during the first part of the 20th century. With a few exceptions, I'm not a huge fan of police procedurals or thrillers, and I really can give most cozies a pass.  And the vast majority of the modern mysteries I read, tend to be set in that Golden Age.  So needless to say, it's amazing that I fell in love with a character who has so far starred in 7 cozy mysteries, with the 8th coming in August.

Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie Rannoch, or Georgie for short, and since we are besties, that's what I will call her for the rest of this post, is the one mystery detective that I just want to hang out with.  I'm not sure we would ever have a serious conversation, or debate some far-flung conflict, but she would make the perfect shopping companion.  I can also see us having a great time over dinner, hanging out with some friends at a wine bar, or heading off to the movies for a day to catch our current Hollywood crush on the silver screen.  I'm not saying we couldn't have those serious conversations or intense debates because she is smart enough for it, I'm just thinking that hanging out with her would be too much fun, and that stuff would never enter my mind when I was paling around with her.

The poor girl is 34th in line to the throne, and because of that, she really isn't allowed to work, and lord knows, she needs the money.  Just because you are born into the royal family, doesn't mean you have the money to spend.  Who cares that you have an image to present to the rest of the world, or that you are expected to behave in a certain way.  All the rules kind of suck when you don't have the means to pay for them.  She has tried to be a maid for hire, a shop clerk, a fashion model, and a personal secretary, none of them worked out, and murder seems to be constantly getting in the way. 

Now in her defense, it's not as if she goes looking for trouble.  For the most part she is simply on the scene, normally at the behest of the Queen, when bad things happen.  Of course, she can't help but get involved, though the solution normally comes to her by a little hard work, and a whole lot of good luck. She doesn't really have an inherent ability to solve dastardly murders, it's more of having a great sense of timing.  Of course, having the dashing Darcy O'Mara around, to step in and help a girl out, doesn't hurt her track record either.  Now they just need to get married, and finalize their relationship.

Casino Infernale by Simon R. Green

Synopsis From Back Cover:

My name is Drood.  Eddie Drood, aka Shaman Bond.  For generations my family has protected you ordinary mortals against things that lurk in the darkness, just out of sight, but not at all out of mind.

Unfortunately, I've had a falling out with my near and dear (some of who were trying to kill me), so my true love and powerful witch, Molly Metcalf, and I are now in the employ of the Department of the Uncanny.  We've been given an Extremely Important Assignment: Attend Casino Infernale, and annual event held by the Shadow Bank, financiers of all global supernatural crime.  Our mission: Rig the game and bring down the Shadow Bank.

But as Casino Infernale, the stakes are high indeed - winner takes all, and losers give up their souls...

You have to love a book that plays off the James Bond theme, as often as it can, plus includes dinosaur riding Nazis, an entire race of people who remind me of Oompa Loompas (but better), inter dimensional travel, a sentient car, a game that reminds me of Merlin's battle with Madam Mim, evil banks, parent's who gamble with their son's soul, trips to Mars, an inheritance that can suck the world into a black hole, a giant horse god out for revenge, and bad guys you kinda of like.  And when I mean bad guys I like, I'm really referring to the Grey Bastards.

To explain the Grey Bastards, let's just pretend that James Bond had an overly horny uncle, who also happened to be a spy.  That uncle spread his progeny all over the world, the exact numbers are really not know very well, and almost every single one of them wants to be in the Family.  They are willing to do anything to accomplish that mission, and the Family is more than willing to use them and their desire to belong.  Now they know, and the Family knows, that they, for the most part, will never be accepted, no matter what they do, but that's neither here nor there.  Almost every books has showcased one of these Grey Bastards, and poor Eddie had to kill most of them, if not all of them.  This book features two, and again, they both die.  One of them, the one I didn't like as much, was partly responsible for the death of Molly's parents, and we do find out that truth behind that whole thing in this book.  The other, sent to help Eddie and Molly in their infiltration, turns on them when he thinks they are in over their heads.  I actually liked this guy, he was a little weaselly and slimy, but he was fun.  Too bad he had to make a stupid decision in the end.

As with the rest of the books in this series, Simon R. Green pays homage to his other works, as well as sprinkles in enough pop references to appease even the pickiest of geeks.  I can only imagine, and hope, that he has as much fun writing these books, as I do reading them.  I'm already looking forward to the next one, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, that the books have no ending.  I'll gladly devour them until the sun refuses to shine anymore, but I'm pretty sure that Eddie and his Family, will keep that from happening.

Other Books In The Series:

The Man With the Golden Torc
Daemons Are Forever
The Spy Who Haunted Me
From Hell With Love
For Heaven's Eyes Only
Live and Let Drood

It's All Wet, On Wordsmithonia Radio

Earlier this week, it rained a lot.  Well maybe not a lot, but one entire day was taken up by rain.  Parts of our state have been in drought conditions for a few years now, so any time it rains, it's more than welcome.  Add in the fact, that I love overcast rainy day, and rain has been on my mind for a while now.

How can you not love a rainy day?  Okay, maybe you may not enjoy as much if you are having to work, but when you get to have the day off, and it's raining outside, it's almost like Heaven.  I love to stay home with all my curtains open, watching the rain come down.  I'll cuddle up on the couch, or in bed, and watch movies, read some great books, drink some tea, and just have a perfectly lazy day.  I love the way it looks cascading down my windows, the way it smells if I'm lucky enough to be able to leave my patio door open, and the way it sounds as it taps on the roof.  It's something that appeals to all my senses, whether is a gentle sprinkle, or a raging thunderstorm.  Rainy days make me happy.

So I thought I would share a few rain inspired songs with you. The songs can be literal or figurative, when its comes to their use of the imagery.  But they are all songs that I enjoy listening to, and can help take me back to a perfect rainy day, even if it's 105 degree outside with not a cloud in the sky.

One quick note, "Purple Rain" by Prince and "Thunder Rolls" by Garth Brooks would be on here, but apparently they don't allow their music on Youtube.

Wordsmithonia Is 5 Years Old Today!!!

I'm trying to remember back to July 18th, 2009, and I'm having a hard time doing so.  So many thing in my life have changed since then, I wouldn't even recognize the person I was then.  I had been hanging out on the Barnes & Noble Book Club pages, which are now defunct, for a year or two by then, and a few of my friends on there had started blogging.  My wonderfully talented friend, Deb of Book Magic, looked like she was having so much fun with it, that I felt I was missing out on something.  

When I first typed the words, Let The Maiden Voyage Begin, and hit the publish button, little did I know that I would still be doing this five years later.  I wouldn't still be here if it hadn't been for the wonderful reception I was given by fellow bloggers, both established and those who were just getting started themselves.  Everyone was accepting of the new kid on the block, and they were always willing to answer any questions I asked, no matter how small.  Overall the book blogging community is a terrific group of people, and I couldn't ask to be in better company.

Even when I hit my low point last year, and would disappear for weeks or months at a time, you guys were always here.  You gave me encouragement when I came back, and offered support when you found out the reason behind my absences. I couldn't be more thankful for you guys, if it weren't for you, I'm not sure I would have found the strength and energy to come back this year.  I love you all, and I hope we have each other in our collective lives for years to come.

I can't wait to see what the next five years has in store for the blog, and for me personally.  I'm hoping that the we both continue to grow, and that you guys continue along for the ride.

Since I've never shared my stats before, but I'm thinking after 5 years, I should share some of the raw numbers.  So that's the way I'm ending this Thank You Letter to all of you guys, showing off my crazy math skills.  Okay, maybe just my crazy being able to read numbers skill.

I've published 1,183 posts, and those posts have generated 10,120 comments.

There have been 431,760 page views.

The five posts with the most views are:

TV Guide Picks TV's 60 Nastiest Villains - 38,917 views
Simcha's Favorite Fictional Character --- Tom Sawyer - 15,807 views
10 More Of The Sexiest Vampires - 5,820 views
Favorite Fictional Character --- Pepe Le Pew - 5,445 views
Favorite Fictional Character --- Willow Ufgood - 5,194 views

I've reviewed about 383 fiction books, 43 nonfiction books, 20 movies, and 1 CD.

The five most reviewed authors are:

Agatha Christie: 32
Mary Roberts Rinehart: 22
Robert Jordan: 14
Mercedes Lackey: 14
Jacqueline Winspear: 9

I've done 177 Favorite Fictional Character posts, highlighting a total of 232 characters.

I've done 9 guest posts for other blogs, and I've had 29 posts written by other bloggers, posted to the blog.

How much I love you guys: To Infinity and Beyond!

Favorite Fictional Character --- Maisie Dobbs

Anymore, It's not often that I fall in love with a new mystery character.  I'm pretty addicted to Golden Age mysteries, so I'm not even one that loves to delve into newer offerings.  There are just so many vintage books out there, patiently waiting for me to read them, I'm not sure I have the time to devote to the new kids on the block.  As a book blogger though, it's bound to happen that I'm offered a book or series to review, one that the synopsis sounds too good to pass up, and I bite.  That happened with the first Maisie Dobbs book that I read, The Mapping of Love and Death, and now nine books later, I'm hopelessly devoted to her.

I dare anyone to read one of these books, and not fall in love with Maisie.  I'm not sure there is anyone like her, though she would definitely fit in with a lot of the great detectives of mystery fiction.  She has a way of looking at the world that allows her to see things that many would miss.  There is a gentleness behind her keen mind and fierce determination, that allows everyone around her to instantly trust her, to confide in her.  She has solved murders, resolved missing person cases, assisted the government in spy cases, and availed herself of those who needed her.  She has a sense of justice that has been tempered by her time as a war nurse, personal loss of those close to her, and an inherit sense of right and wrong.  But she also knows when the truth is really going to benefit those that can be greatly hurt by it, and when it's best to let the past rest where it's at.

She comes from humble beginnings, put into service at a young age, it was through the generosity of her employers that her intelligence was not only discovered, but allowed to develop to it's full potential.  She was nurtured and taught, but because of that, she doesn't feel as if she really has a normal place in society.  During a time when class distinctions were still pretty rigid, she doesn't really belong in the life she came from, but doesn't feel comfortable in her new life, at least not in the way she should.  Because of that, she has few people who are truly close to her.  She doesn't seem to trust herself, or those around her, to really accept her.  It's a strange thing to read, someone who is so adapt at reading others in her professional life, but not really able to trust herself enough in her personal life.  

It affects her love life in ways I can't even get into right now.  Just when I think she is truly allowing herself to be happy, to fully accept love, she starts to pull back into herself.  I guess it's that insecurity and lack of personal self confidence, that keeps her from becoming a stereotypical detecting savant.  She never becomes complacent in her abilities, or overly confident in her strengths. She doesn't develop the ego that Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot does, patting themselves on the back all the time.

I can't wait to see how she continues to develop and grow.  I'm always hoping that her personal and professional lives will balance out, and become just a bit more in sync with each other.  But even if she never reaches that balancing point, I'll be there, happily lapping up whatever adventures Jacqueline Winspear can dream up.

Zoom: How Everything Moves by Bob Berman

Part Of The Synopsis From Back Cover:

If you sit as still as you can in a quiet room, you might be able to convince yourself that nothing is moving.  But air currents are still wafting around you.  Blood rushes through your veins.  The atoms in your chair jiggle furiously.  In fact, the planet you are sitting on it whizzing through space thirty-times faster than the speed of sound.

In almost five years, I've only reviewed two other science books, The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean and Animal Wise by Virginia Morell.  Given how much I enjoyed both of those books, I'm really not sure why I've tended to distance myself from science books, I'm not even sure if I've done it on purpose or not.  I do know that going forward, I'll be accepting them for review more often.  Science was always one of my favorite subjects in school, and I guess it still is.

In Zoom, Bob Berman makes Earth science fun again.  I know there is biology mixed up in here as well, but it's the Earth sciences that really get the author's attention. He doesn't make the material read as if you are in the middle of a boring lecture, being conducted by an even duller professor.  Instead he makes it feel as if you have gotten to go on a field trip to a local science museum, where you get to immerse yourself in hands on learning.  At the same time, he doesn't talk down to his readers, treating us as if we are in kindergarten, too dumb to understand hard concepts, or remember the names of scientists who really mattered.  It's a fine line for an author to walk, and Bob Berman not only managed to do it, he gives an Olympic level balancing act, worthy of Maria Olaru.

I'm not going to go into every fact and figure that the author shares with us.  But If you have ever wanted to know how blizzards works, get a definitive answer on what thunder is, how light really moves, or what causes the sap in a tree to move, this is the book for you.

Wordsmithonia Radio: My Top Ten Groups Of All Time

Now before anyone starts to yell at me, let me say something right off the bat.  This isn't supposed to be a list of the best groups/bands of all time.  Truthfully, a lot of the bands that everyone says are the greatest, I'm not really a huge fan of.  I can do without The Doors, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles.  They simply don't do anything for me.  Instead, this is a list of my ten favorite groups/bands of all time.

I've already done posts about my ten favorite female vocalists and my ten favorite male vocalists, so I thought it was fair to do one for groups.  This list was actually pretty hard to do, I don't like that many groups, and other than 4 or 5 of them, I had a hard time coming up with enough to fill out this list.  I'm happy with the end results, and I can honestly say that these are the ten groups I like the most.

So, for your listening pleasure, here are my Top Ten Groups Of All Time.

The Jets

Wet Wet Wet

New Kids On The Block

Fleetwood Mac

Chicago

Journey

Foreigner

En Vogue

New Edition

TLC