Rutabaga

Bummer. On top of everything else. R

Meanwhile I’m up to chapter 12 in the first Billy Boyle volume mentioned above. I wasn’t sure about it early on, but now the pace has picked up. Chapter 12 is about 1/3 of the way in, according to the Kindle progress dot. Some of Boyle’s comments (he is first person narrator) remind me of Archie Goodwin. R

This new story by Alan Dwight, narrated by Max, shows what can happen with two boys who hate each other's guts. There are some surprises. R

Very funny. R

And of course now I have to keep reading to figure out what the Arnot case is all about and what's going on with agent Nichol. Sneaky, this author. R

I've now finished the second title, "A Fatal Grace," and it proved to be a much better piece of writing than the first one. And I never suspected the actual "whodunit" actor revealed at the end. If the subsequent volumes are up to this standard I will keep reading . . . but I am on waiting lists for them at the library. R

Well, I read the first title in the Louise Penny series and almost did not finish it -- I was too appalled by the horrible and clumsy writing. It did do enough to get me to finish and find out "whodunit," but I lamented that anyone with such poor craft could experience success as a writer. I had the next volume, "A Fatal Grace," available, and decided to start in on it and see whether things had improved. Almost immediately I discovered that they had. The writing is light years better (though not perfect), the number of sentence fragments has dropped precipitously, and the level of overall coherence is much higher. Either Ms. Penny has gotten much better at he craft, or she has brought in editorial help to clean up the manuscript. This one is actually pleasant to read by comparison. I still object to the hopping point-of-view habit she has, which in my opinion often spoils the overall effect in some of the scenes, but I can live with it at the reduced level it has here. R

And, years later, leading to the Village People. Or not. R

I've started on the first Louise Penny book. For me the jury is still out - the writing is a little uneven and as you know I'm not a big fan of hopping point-of-view. But it's early days yet. R

When I was little my family would visit friends who lived in rural New Jersey. Their phones had no dial -- when you picked up the handset, an operator would say, "number please," and you needed to say it. And the phone numbers on that exchange had only 3 digits. R

A new short story in which Peter learns how fast he can run, Sam finds a new friend, and Aunt Alice learns a lesson. R

I checked out the first Billy Boyle book from the library, and will take a look at it. Is Louise Penny a mystery series? R

I know from personal experience that shoulder injuries take a long time to heal. Be patient but persistent, especially in faithfully doing any exercises that a physical therapist may recommend. I found that working in a pool with hand-held paddles and other resistance devices was an ideal way to recover range of motion without damaging anything. Get well and feel better soon. R

Undoubtedly, addresses in the 900 block of W. 35th Street would be out in the Hudson River. I do recall that his house was supposedly between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue, which would mean the 300 block. Again, though, all of the books I just read no longer exist in my Kindle reader -- they have all been returned to the library. So I can't go back to check. Apparently a group of Nero Wolfe fans decided the true address must have been 454 W. 35th Street -- see this article. R

My recollection from the books (they're all returned so I can't go back and check) is that Wolfe's brownstone was at 318 W 35th Street in Manhattan. That's between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue, close to Penn Station and definitely not in the East River. And if there ever was a brownstone at that address, it's long gone today. Here's what that block looks like now: R

For no apparent reason -- but probably because I ran out of Nero Wolfe stories to read -- I have returned to this story. It definitely ranks as one of Cole's best. I'm probably half way through at this point -- Matt is about to organize the four-clarinet program for a Spring concert. R ADDENDUM: The one thing that could make this story even better would be for the AD Elves to add “Next Chapter” buttons at the end of each page.

Not the East River, since it’s between 8th and 9th Avenue on the west side. But it would be close to the Hudson, a block or two away R

I have five wall clocks in different rooms, all the identical model from La Crosse Technologies. They are supposed to synchronize themselves automatically with the National Bureau of Standards time code broadcast, and to switch to standard from daylight time (and vice versa) automatically. Only one of the five actually does that. The other four require manual resetting, and their time display drifts. Obviously the claimed synchronization with WWV is not happening. I would have been better off with plain vanilla clocks that are easier to set and that inherently keep better time. R

Finished “Family Affair” and have now exhausted the entire Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. Based on the listing of other titles at the back of each volume, I’m fairly confident I have now read the whole series because I think the library has all the titles in its collection. Having lived briefly in New York City myself, it’s interesting to correlate the locations mentioned in the books with my own memories. Wolfe’s brownstone would have been just east of the Javits Center on West 35th Street, though I’m not sure when the Center was built. Archie seemingly never used the subway system, but he would have benefited from being on the west side where the tunnels are wider and the cars more modern. I’ll miss those characters. R

Neither did my 2020 Toyota Camry. R

Just thought I'd check in and mention that I have been working my way, as chronologically as possible, through Rex Stout's "Nero Wolfe" novels and short-story collections. The L.A. Public Library seems to have virtually all of them available to borrow electronically. I started with the first novel, "Fer de Lance," from 1934. I'm about to wrap up with "A Family Affair," which I believe is the last Nero Wolfe novel published during Stout's lifetime. I know I read it many years ago, so I already know a big piece of the story that comes as a shock on first reading, but I am sure I will still enjoy reading it again. R

Definitely takes a prize for "woo-woo" content. 😎 R

Found here. This tale, set in the early 19th century, follows the path of a young orphan boy named Zachary who, after some harrowing experiences, finds himself aboard a US warship serving as a "powder monkey" -- one of the young crew whose job it is to ferry powder from the stores to the cannons while the ship is engaged in battle. Needless to say, more harrowing experiences follow as the ship sails to north Africa. But fate leads him to a wonderful finish. Good read. R

Or this:

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