I finished book 39 which was Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain's, Murder, She Wrote: Murder in a Minor Key". Jessica is in New Orleans and finds herself trying to solve the murder of a acquaintance who was seeking rare, if they even exist, wax cylinder recordings of an old old jazz great.

I finished book 38 which was Esther Friesner's, "Here Be Demons". This was an amusing take on some under skilled demons and their rather unsuccessful attempts to corrupt n innocent soul. It's been a while since I posted book 37, going off grid to get a heart transplant will do that to you!

Hello Bluesky folks. I mentioned a while back that there was a very good reason for disappearing from here over the summer. I am ready to talk about it. I had a heart transplant! I get to live due to the generosity of the anonymous donor. That is the highlight of a year of absolute hell.

Today was my birthday. For reasons, it is a very important birthday to me. Kat did make the pizza I requested for dinner, it was great and after I asked her about it, she did make me a small cake. That too was great. That's all. Nothing else. Was a very uneventful, but important birthday.

They say heroes save lived. 18 year old Kimber Mills, may she rest in peace, is definitely a hero. It was not by any direct action that she saved lives, but due to a donation of her organs, she has the potential to save several lives. www.wvtm13.com/article/frie...

I want some Hell yes cheese!

Hello Bluesky. I wonder how many of you noticed that I have been absent from here for a few months. There is a damn good reason for is and someday I might even give details. For now I will say I had a serious medical condition, potentially fatal, but I now have a new lease on life. (cont'd)

I am losing my damn mind. As part of reading an ARC of a book, I promised to give a fair review of the book. It's a standard deal, here's an free early copy, read it and tell us what you think. I had it in my mind that I never did so. Went to do it tonight and I see I did so on 30 May.

I finished book 37 which was “Did You Say Chicks?!”, a short story collection edited by Esther Friesner. This is the second short story collection following “Chicks in Chainmail”. Details can be read at: substack.com/profile/2217...

I finished book 36 which was Andre Norton’s, “The Forerunner Factor”. This is omnibus book containing 2 of her books, “Forerunner” and “Forerunner: The Second Venture”. Details may be read here: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...

This is from today's military parade. I was going to comment on how much better I and my fellow cadets marched when we were in the Civil Air Patrol 30+ years ago. They are so sloppy and entirely out of step. After reading the comments, that might all been on purpose and if so, well done Army.

I finished book 35 which was Matt Dinniman’s, “The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook”. This is the 3rd book in the Dungeon Crawling Carl series. Carl and his now sentient cat Princess Donut explore the dungeon built after Earth is destroyed. Full details can be read here: substack.com/profile/2217...

I finished book 34 which was James R. Benn’s @jimmywriter.bsky.social , “Proud Sorrows”. This is the 18th book in the Billy Boyle World War II Mystery series. Billy is on leave, but finds himself investigating a 2 year old local murder. The full details can be read at: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...

On the cover of James R. Benn's (@jimmywriter.bsky.social) book, "Proud Sorrows", Charles Todd says, "Benn is the master of suspense; his work builds to the end ans never loosens its grip on the reader." True. I will be staying up until after 3:00 on a work night, to finish the remaining 40 pages.

I finished book 33 which was James R. Benn’s (@jimmywriter.bsky.social) “From the Shadows”. This is the 17th in the Billy Boyle WWII series. Billy finds himself in Southern France rooting out a rogue French resistance fighter. The full details can be read here: substack.com/profile/2217...

In honor of Memorial day, I am on the patio reading Stephen Fisher's "Sword Beach" and James R. Benn's (@jimmywriter.bsky.social) "From the Shadows". Both books come highly recommended. I'm also reading a Dungeon Crawling Carl book, but that does not fit the theme so well.

I finished book 32 which was the omnibus comic collection, “Star Wars Legends: The New Republic: Volume 8.” These stories take place after “Return of the Jedi” and center around the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy. Sometimes a common enemy indeed makes for some very strange alliances.

I finished book 31 which was Lee Hollis’s “Murder at the Spelling Bee”. This book is the 4th book in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series. Ex-cop Maya and US Senator's ex-wife Sandra work as private investigators in Portland, Maine. Full details can be read here: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...

I finished book 30 which was Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain’s, “Murder, She Wrote: Blood on the Vine”. I bought Kat the entire series of the MSW books and I enjoy them as well. They are a quick read that I enjoy between longer books. Full details can be read at: substack.com/profile/2217...

I finished book 29 which was Matt Dinniman’s, “Carl's Doomsday Scenario” which is the second book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. After a world ending event, Carl and his cat Princess Donut continue to explore a world-wide dungeon. The full details can be read at: substack.com/profile/2217...

I finished book 28 which was Matt Dinniman’s, “Dungeon Crawler Carl” which is the first book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat explore a deadly world-wide dungeon that is televised to the Universe. The full details can be read at: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...

Hey @starbucksgirl51.bsky.social ,proof Lemmy is occasionally a lap cat. Now she is embedded in the pile of comforters on the other end of the couch.

Great. Apparently Substack is evil now. Maybe it always was evil and I didn't know it. Guess I'll have to find a less evil place to store the longer version of my book reports. I might as well develop and run my own. Could be a fun project.

I finished book 27 which was Lee Hollis’s “Death of a Gingerbread Man”. This is the latest book in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series. Lee Hollis is the pen name of Rick Copp (@rickcopp.bsky.social) and his sister Holly Simason. Full report at: substack.com/.../22175895...

I finished book 26 which was Septimus Brown’s ( @septimusbrown.com) “When the Sky Breaks”. This is a ARC book that I received from the author. It'll be released May 30. This is a YA Sci-Fi book with some Fantasy elements. Was very good. The full details can be read at: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...

Stupid Amazon. It used to be easy as pie to get a .mobi file onto a kindle. For the Septimus Brown (@septimusbrown.com ) ARC books I am about to start, I had to email the .epub file to my kindle address, and then figure out how to look at my docs on Amazon to add it to both of my kindle devices.

I finished book 25 which was G. Harry Stine’s “Warbots”. This was the first book in his Warbots series. Soldiers don't fight wars in person. Warbots do the fighting, that is until a situation arises where boots on the ground is required. Read the full story here: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...

I finished book 24 which was “Star Wars Legends: The Original Marvel Years: Droids & Ewoks”. This is an omnibus of the Droids and Ewoks Star Wars comics. This is a good collection. All the stories were good including a 3 part version of the original Star Wars from the viewpoint of C-3P0 and R2-D2.

I finished book 23 which was the omnibus of the comic book version of Fritz Lieber’s “Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser”. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser had many adventures as Fritz Lieber wrote about them and this is the collection of a comic version book of those stories. They are a fantasy classic.

I finished book 22 which was James R. Benn’s (@jimmywriter.bsky.social) “Road of Bones”. This is the 16th in the Billy Boyle WWII series. Ike's special investigator Billy Boyle finds himself in the USSR investigating a double murder. The full details can be read here: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...

Today is another reading day. I have 5 books in progress, 2 graphic novels and 3 novels, but one of them is an omnibus book and I am between books. Let's see how many books I can finish today.

Fun fact, if you happen to have a ton of gold laying about, it is worth $100,717,282.62. Outside of national banks and treasuries, not a lot of people are dealing in tons of gold, but those that are will care about this fun fact.

When I came into work today, I parked next to a Swasticar. I hope if someone decides to tag it, the spray paint won't blow onto my car. It was a bit breezy so that is a risk.

I finished book 21 which was Terry Pratchett’s “The Bromeliad Trilogy”. This book collects the 3 books, “Truckers”, “Diggers”, and “Wings”. The little people known as nomes were 4 inches tall and they lived hidden from mankind. The full story can be read at: substack.com/profile/2217...

I finished book 20 was A.A. Milne’s (as in the guy who wrote Winnie the Pooh) “The Red House Mystery”. My only complaint is that while someone said the word “bother”, no one said “Oh, bother.” It was a very good book and the full report can be found here: substack.com/profile/2217...

Hey @kjheritage.bsky.social funny story: I saw that you had a title called "Shattered Oxygen" on Spotify so I said "Great! KJH has another song released I'll play it now." I did and liked it. I checked my Spotify library and already have that included. Not so new after all, but still good. :)

Hey @starbucksgirl51.bsky.social, I think I found the British equivalent of "May your sauce never stick to your pasta." :) “Your actions were the antithesis of everything Paddington stands for” indeed!

I finished book 19 which was “Chicks in Chainmail” a short story collection by various authors and edited by Ester Friesner. These stories are about ass kicking women with most of them being written by women. The full report can be read here: substack.com/profile/2217...

I finished book 18 which was Lee Hollis’s “Murder on the Class Trip”. This is the 3rd book in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series. Maya and Sandra solve murders, and this time it's in D.C. and not South Portland Maine. The full report can be read here: substack.com/.../22175895...

I finished book 17 which was David O’Keefe’s, “Seven Days in Hell: Canada’s Battle For Normandy and the Rise of The Black Watch Snipers”. This book details Canadian Black Watch and their 7 days of hell in France in July 1944. The full report can be read here: substack.com/profile/2217...

I finished book 16 which was Kurt Vonnegut’s, “We Are What We Pretend To Be”. This is a book put out after his death that contains his first and last works, neither of which was published before. The full report can be found on Substack at this link: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...

I finished book 15 which was James R. Benn’s (@jimmywriter.bsky.social)“The Red Horse”. This is the 15th book in the Billy Boyle World War II Mystery. This book, like the 14 before it have all been great. The full report can be found on Substack at this link: substack.com/profile/2217...

The Corrs, an Irish family band featuring the 3 very fetching sisters and their brother of the Corr family, put out an EP titled, "The Corrs celebrate St Patrick's Day". It's quite good an makes for good background music.

At work, in my server room with my noise cancelling earbuds. I'm listening to Mr. Ballen read his book "MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious". I have and read the book soon after it came out. He does a great job with the audio of his book. The man certainly can tell a good story. 1/2

Well shit. I probably have some of those DVDs.

I'm watching episode 2 of "The First World War: The War to End All Wars". This includes a lot of footage of hundreds and even thousands of armed forces from all sides. It is interesting to note that not a single one of them is alive today. Everyone on my TV is years long dead.

If these walls could speak, they would scream. - Billy Boyle's thoughts as he explored the asylum he was in. From James R. Benn's (@jimmywriter.bsky.social)"The Red Horse" page 110. Very profound. From what pics I've seen of the abandoned asylum in Rochester, that thought very much applies there.

I finished book 14 which was Alan Axelrod’s, “The Battle of Verdun: The Story of the Iconic WWI Clash, One of the Bloodiest Battles in History”. This book is focused on the Battle of Verdun that was fought in 1916. The full report can be found on Substack at this link: substack.com/profile/2217...

While writing this brief post on substack: substack.com/profile/2217... about World War I and chemical weapons I went down a rabbit hole of looking up different chemical weapons on wikipedia. Very interesting, and scary stuff. Probably got myself on some sort of list now.

I finished book 13 which was Kurt Vonnegut’s, “Player Piano”. I’ve been mixing in some Kurt Vonnegut books to class up my reading. The full report can be found on Substack at this link: substack.com/@jimbodie/no...