The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling

tags: 18th century, adventure, humor, romance, satire

⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squire—though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own fortune and Sophia follows him to London to escape an arranged marriage, the adventure begins. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, Tom Jones is one of the greatest and most ambitious comic novels in English literature.

The novel is loooong (my copy has over 1 thousand pages), naughty, satirical, and very very funny. I loved it. 

Highly recommended.

Are You Hungry Tonight?

Felix Holt The Radical

tags: classics, politics, romantic triangle

⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

When the young nobleman Harold Transome returns to England from the colonies with a self-made fortune, he scandalizes the town of Treby Magna with his decision to stand for Parliament as a Radical. But after the idealistic Felix Holt also returns to the town, the difference between Harold's opportunistic values and Holt's profound beliefs becomes apparent. Forthright, brusque and driven by a firm desire to educate the working-class, Felix is at first viewed with suspicion by many, including the elegant but vain Esther Lyon, the daughter of the local clergyman. As she discovers, however, his blunt words conceal both passion and deep integrity. Soon the romantic and over-refined Esther finds herself overwhelmed by a heart-wrenching decision: whether to choose the wealthy Transome as a husband, or the impoverished but honest Felix Holt.

This is the last George Eliot novel I have read, completing all 7 novels and one collection of 3 short stories. This is my least favorite but still rates 3 stars IMHO. Middlemarch is still number 1 on my list of George Eliot novels.

The story is a tad convoluted with the story of Esther and also of Harold regarding their parentage. The storytelling is fine but with almost all characters being antiheroes, it is hard to like the book. I guess not everybody is into reading about vexing characters dominating a book. This is probably the reason it is the least popular of all her novels regardless of the interesting Radicalism politics. 

Love Village

tags: Becky, Japanese reality dating show, Netflix streaming

4 episodes every Tuesday, 30 - 35 minutes, total of 18 episodes

Becky has a new dating reality show to comment on. The dating show is for more mature unmarried people and those who have been married before looking for  a second or a third chance at love. The participants are all older than the usual romance seekers on reality TV, a version/mash-up of Terrace House and the Korean dating show Single's Inferno. The youngest is almost 40 and the oldest is 60.

The show is definitely different from other romance oriented reality shows. They help in renovating the old rundown house and grow vegetables in the garden to supplement their food allowance. The group is more open to sexual discussions because they are old and had more experience than shows with much younger people. The 2 oldest men had an argument early on which I've never seen in any Japanese reality shows. Japanese people are usually not prone to arguments.

At the end of the fourth episode the 2 oldest men left and were replaced by 2 40 year old men and one woman. There will be 5 women and 4 men next week. Interesting and addicting series, just like Terrace House and Love Wagon. Next 4 episodes will air on May 9.

BTW, Becky looks prettier and doesn't seem to age.

Pork Pie Pandemonium

Tags: British, mystery

⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Baking. It can get a guy killed.

When a retired detective superintendent chooses to take a culinary tour of the British Isles, he hopes to find tasty treats and delicious bakes … … what he finds is a clue to a crime in the ingredients for his pork pie.

His dog, Rex Harrison, an ex-police dog fired for having a bad attitude, cannot understand why the humans are struggling to solve the mystery. He can already smell the answer – it’s right before their noses. He’ll pitch in to help his human and the shop owner’s teenage daughter as the trio set out to save the shop from closure.

Is the rival pork pie shop across the street to blame? Or is there something far more sinister going on? One thing is for sure, what started out as a bit of fun, is getting deadlier by the hour, and they’d better work out what the dog knows soon or it could be curtains for them all. 

It is a short easy read and I enjoyed reading about a dog with attitude as a partner in detecting. The reason I cannot give it a 4 star rating is the ever present drugs as the main reason for the murders and crime. Why do modern day British authors dwell so much on drug crimes? It is getting boring. 

The recipe for Pork Pie at the end of the novel saved it from getting a low 2-star rating. I will still read the second installment because Rex Harrison, the dog, is interesting.

Democrats Hate Women

This speaks VOLUMES ! pic.twitter.com/ud8xqoY4d6

— Alex (Sasha) Krainer (@NakedHedgie) April 28, 2023

Blacks will soon find out dems will protect queers against them. Just you wait and see.

Cover The Beatles

In 2021, Leo Sayer released an album of Beatles song covers. Most people made fun of the whole album. I downloaded one song from Freegal and deleted it after listening to it once. IMHO, it is bad. Really bad. Poor guy. Ahh Ah-ha Ahh Ah-ha. He didn't "make me feel like dancing listening" to his covers. 😝

I never liked second hand Beatles songs but there are a few exceptions. 

Jimi Hendrix, the original Idol, playing live just 2 days after the release of the album.

Peter Frampton making his guitar gently weep.

Sandy Farina in the movie Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Billy Preston's more than A-okay.

 

From the movie I Am Sam (I never saw it)

The Prisoner of Zenda

tags: fantasy, historical fiction, satire

⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Best known for his political fairy tale, The Prisoner of Zenda, which saw four major screen adaptations, including the acclaimed 1937 incarnation starring Ronald Colman, Anthony Hope was one of the few novelists to achieve wide popular and critical admiration during his lifetime. Regarded by many critics as the finest adventure story ever written -- and certainly one of the most popular -- The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) tells the story of Rudolf Rassendyl, a dashing English gentleman who bears an uncanny resemblance to the ruler of the fictional kingdom of Ruritania. Rassendyl masquerades as the king in order to save the country from a treacherous plot and secures the release of the wronged prisoner. In the process he wins the heart of the beautiful princess Flavia, but ultimately surrenders the crown and the hand of his beloved princess to the rightful ruler. Full of swash-buckling feats of heroism as well as witty irony, these adventure tales are also wonderfully executed satires on late nineteenth-century European politics.

I liked the novelette's swashbuckling with plenty of dead men, evil half brother, and a bit of romance. Highly recommended. 

I'm currently watching the 1987 series available on Amazon streaming and it looks accurate to the book.

Death Of A Green Eyed Monster

tags: Hamish Macbeth, mystery, Scottish Highland series

⭐⭐

From Goodreads

Sergeant Hamish Macbeth , Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman is back and may have finally met the woman of his dreams in this new mystery in M.C. Beaton's beloved, 'New York Times' bestselling series.

Hamish's new constable, Dorothy McIver, may be the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. Completely bewitched by her sparkling blue eyes, Hamish spends the summer traveling with her up and down Sutherland until finally, he can take it no longer. He gets down on one knee beside the Land Rover and begs her to marry him—and to his amazement and delight, she says yes.

But just as the town of Lochdubh gets ready to celebrate, Hamish finds himself with a new murder on his hands. If he doesn't find the killer fast, Hamish's dream wedding could become a nightmare.

Sigh. I loved Hamish through all 33 books until M C Beaton's death a few years ago. She authorized writer R W Green to finish this last book she wrote before her passing. Hamish doesn't act like Hamish. He is prone to losing his temper more often despite his giddiness towards his new-found love. The other characters also don't feel the same. Something is amiss, that's for sure. I was hoping Hamish will finally have a happy ending with a woman he truly cares for but alas, it was not to be. Way to go Mr. Green.😒 

The author then continues on with a new book in the series, Death Of A Traitor, probably as requested by M C Beaton. I'm sad to say I won't continue reading. Hamish and Agatha need not continue, IMHO. They should have died with the author. 

Mr. Green's Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin are not the same characters that M C Beaton created. Very disappointing. I guess I have to say goodbye to my favorite policeman with flaming red hair and politically incorrect man-hungry female sleuth. 

Sturgill Simpson Playlist

Cover of Nirvana's In Bloom. I like the changes he made to a line of the lyrics.