Archy McNally, #6.
The owner of a parrot store, called Parrots Unlimited (imagine that), thinks someone wants to harm him. Well, he was right. But who did it?
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"Thanks you so much, Professor," he said. "I learn a lot when I talk to you. It takes weeks of hard work to forget it."
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I took along my cellular phone -- See, he DOES have one!!!
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The schlub stared at him. "You got a search warrant?" he demanded.
"No," Al said, "I haven't got a search warrant. You got an operating sprinkler system? You got working smoke alarms? You got emergency exits clearly marked and lighted? You got garbage cans tightly lidded? You got rodents and vermin on the premises? I don't have a search warrant. How much you got?"
The super turned wordlessly and unlocked the inner door for us.
Archy McNally, #3. Archy meets a woman with a butterfly tattoo. Also, he has new (his first?) cellular phone now.
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Why, the man was a veritable polymath, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if my next interviewee claimed that Hector was a master bialy maker. -- Sure could use him in THIS burg!
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I had never been tempted to visit since the idea of sipping an overpriced aperitif while a naked young woman gyrated on my table seemed to me a betrayal of Western Civilization.
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a jeroboam of annelids -- What an unpleasant image.
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When I saw the muzzle I realized it wasn't a .38; it was the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.
Archy McNally, #1. Archy works for his lawyer father in the "discreet inquiries" department. A client had her rare stamps stolen. Archy figures out what's what and just who is who. Good story, I MUST have these back in the 90s, before I started keeping track.
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A Palm Beach music critic wrote of one of our recitals, "Words fail me." You couldn't ask for a better review than that.
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Lady Cynthia had two built-in saunas, dry and wet (if you're going to do it, do it right),
A Mobile Library Mystery. I wasn't much interested in this book, except for the library stuff, but as things proceeded to an end I found myself pleased with the ending. Rather witty in parts. I shall have to find the next book.
One of my favorite books, I actually PURCHASED after reading twice from the library so I could share it with others. Barbara and her husband bicycle around the world. Read--several times and more to come.
Ruthie makes a new friend at school. They become best friends, then Mitzi and her family are sent away because it's World War II and they are Japanese-American. A really good story, I liked it very much.
Lucinda is a ten-year-old living in "orphanage" with her aunts while her parents are in Italy for a year because of her mother's health issues. Lucinda is quite outgoing, and reminded me much of Anne Shirley. She loves to meet people, and is totally unconscious of "class". I thought this would be a "nice" story, but there were two deaths that came as quite a shock. Awarded the Newbery in 1937.
Words I Had To Look Up:
story of Diamond (pg. 21) -- the quote in the book is from At The Back Of The North Wind, by George MacDonald, a children's book published in 1871. Anton Seidl (pg. 92) -- Hugarian-born conductor who became conductor of the New York Philharmonic in 1891. He died in 1898. Robert Ingersoll (pg. 92) -- Lucinda notes that Aunt Emily said he didn't believe in God. Lucinda wonders "a great deal" why, but never finds out. A very interesting Wikipedia article I perused said he was a great orator and spoke on many topics, including agnosticism. guimp (pg. 142) -- A narrow flat braid used for trimming. Also spelled gimp. Cornelius Nepos (pg. 131) -- A Roman biographer. gertrude (pg. 178) -- A type of clothing for infants. More information is online in The Care Of The Baby, by J. P. Crozer Griffith, published 1900.
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The princess brought out a lacquered box, and out of this some cigarettes. She lighted one, lay back on the cushions, and smoked. Lucinda had never seen, had never dreamed it even possible that a woman could smoke. It only made the whole ending of that day appear more unbelievable. (pg. 100)
I'm sure I read H. Beam Piper's book back in the 60s, but I don't remember it. I'll have to find it! This one was pretty good, I liked it much more than Redshirts, even though I didn't weep at this one.
A 75 year old man joins the Colonial Defense Force, gets a new body. I was in tears by the top of the third page. I really enjoyed this book, very Heinelinesque, couldn't put it down. EDIT 20016: This time around I cried a lot more.
Human Division #1. e-ISBN 978-1-4668-3051-6
I really really like this story very much. The good ship Clarke is sent on an important diplomatic mission that must not fail!
Book One of a series, the name of which I don't know. Some snappy repartee, several memorable characters. My immediate favorite character gets killed pretty early, so I am VERY displeased by that. I just KNOW I am not going to remember any of the story or characters by the time the next book comes out. I rate this: A Promising OK.
I guess this is book two in the Interdependency Sequence. The author should maybe include a Glossary, I was unfamiliar with some of the words used, especially that one that started with "F"... Who talks like that? Well, except for my friend. Good story as I got more engaged with it in the second half. Laughed out loud a couple of times, even. Hope I remember the story when the next one comes out!