I'm glad I took these photos while the sun was shining because this week it has been raining and overcast.
I went to see the new movie, "Truth" today. The events depicted in the movie are those responsible for the resignation of Dan Rather and the firing of producer, Mary Mapes from "60 Minutes". The movie is a bit long and draggy in parts but is worthwhile going to see for the excellent performances of Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett, Dennis Quaid & Topher Grace. I don't remember this particular story that gripped the American press so it was a good insight into some of the history of the times.
I've also added two more books to my reading pile. One, Moonstone (written by Wilkie Collins), was recommended by blogger Frugal in France.
The other I got from a woman in the movie line up tonight. She was reading Girl in the Woods by Aspen Matis. When she and I discussed the book I thought it sounded like a very interesting read. Both books are now on hold through my local library and I should have them soon. This time there isn't a long wait list for either of them.
Oh my, the time is going quickly, so quickly. I know I've said that before. Before you know it Christmas will be here!
In the meantime, I've got a lot to catch up on; including reading. I'm still about 13 books short of meeting this year's reading goal of 45 books. It is a goal easy enough to reach but not if you've gone months without reading and are busy with many other things. I'm doing my best to catch up but it won't be the end of the world if I do not meet the goal. I will simply shift some books to next year.
This week I've finished reading the following books:
This was an easy read and had some good tips; especially for retirees in USA.
This is interesting because it gives insight into how a poor Puerto Rican rose to become a US Supreme Court Justice.
This book gives insight into the traditional spiritual ways of Lakota people.
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I enjoyed all three of these books for different reasons and if you are looking for some different kinds of reading material I think all three books qualify for different reasons. Please note if you are interested in reading Black Elk, this is not the book of a similar name, Black Elk Speaks. The book I read is written by a Native American scholar as told to him by a spiritual elder of the Lakota people. The book is not for anyone who rigidly adheres to grammar and finds it difficult to follow stories that are not told in a linear way. You need to be more open and flexible to reading and learning the contents of this book and I've read in reviews that some people just find it too frustrating.
I have a lot of reading material right now that I want to make progress on. Much of it is financial related (debt, estate planning, finance for women, that kind of thing). I also have a few books on my Kindle and my Kobo readers that have been suggested to me by various bloggers (more about that in a future post). I also came across some new to me Kenyan authors that I would like to read. However these books are not in my library system so I probably will have to purchase them down the line.
Here are the two books and on line descriptions of them. You will notice that both of them are set in the same area in Kenya. I'm interested in them because I enjoy all things Kenyan but I also enjoy learning more about those the white expatriates who went to live in Kenya.
The Ghosts of Happy Valley, Juliet Barnes
This is one of the write ups I found about the story line.
‘Happy Valley’ was
the name given to the region of Kenya’s Central Highlands where a
community of affluent, hedonistic white expatriates settled between the
wars. Including the writer Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), the pioneering
aviator Beryl Markham and the troubled socialite Idina Sackville whose
life was told in Frances Osborne’s bestselling The Bolter, the Happy
Valley set’s notoriety was sealed in 1931 with the sensational – and
still unsolved - murder of the Earl of Errol, the investigation of which
laid bare the extent of the set’s decadence and irresponsibility, and
made for another bestselling book in James Fox’s White Mischief. But
what is left now? Juliet Barnes, who has lived in Kenya for many years,
has set out to explore Happy Valley in a remarkable and indefatigable
archaeological quest to find the homes and haunts of this extraordinary
and vanished set of people – grand residences like Clouds up in the
hills that once hosted opulent and scandalous parties. With the help of
African guides, and guided by the memories of elderly expats she tracks
down to the Muthiaga old enough to have first-hand memories of the likes
of Idina and Lord Errol and the lives they led, what she finds - ruins
reclaimed by luxuriant bush, tumbledown dwellings in which an African
family ekes a subsistence living, or even a modest school – is a
revelation of the state of modern Africa that makes the gilded era of
the Happy Valley set seem even more fantastic. A book to set alongside
such singular evocations of Africa and its strange colonial history as
The Africa House, Happy Valley: The Biography is a mesmerising blend of
travel narrative, social history and personal quest.
Paul
Spicer, whose mother was a confidante of Alice's, used personal letters
and his own extensive research to piece together what really happened
that fateful evening. He brings to life an era of unimaginable wealth
and indulgence, where people changed bed partners as easily as they
would order a cocktail, and where jealousy and hidden passions brewed.
At the heart of The Temptress is Alice, whose seductive charms
no man could resist, and whose unfulfilled quest for love ended in her
own suicide at age forty-two.
There is a new movie coming out with Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett and Topher Grace. Its a 2015 American political docudrama film written and directed by James Vanderbilt. It is based on American journalist and television news producer Mary Mapes' memoir Truth and Duty: The Press, the President and the Privilege of Power. The film focuses on the Killian documents controversy and the last days of news anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes at CBS News. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and I understand is currently in limited release in Canadian cities and possibly cities in the USA. It should be more widely available at the end of October in North America and Australia.
We had not a bad day weather-wise here though I definitely feel the chill in the air at night. At least I have some scenic eye candy to help me through the next few months. I took these photos a few days ago down at Vancouver's waterfront area.
The water was very choppy but there were a lot of vessels out at sea, many of them pleasure craft.
There were also a lot of sail boats out for the day. The sun was shining brightly on the water.
This man had the right idea and sat and watched the waterfront for quite some time.
I've also added two more books to my reading pile. One, Moonstone (written by Wilkie Collins), was recommended by blogger Frugal in France.
