The good, the not so good and the other one.................that's my take on 4 books read in the last couple of weeks from the most recent mobile library collection.
The good were two crime fiction books by two authors I'd read before and enjoyed. Both of these authors originally wrote some of their crime series over 10 years ago but I've only just discovered them.
The library have all the Christina Koning series which have all been recently republished either in stock or on order, as I suggested they purchase the two in the series they didn't have.
There are very few of Jim Kelly's older books in the library. He's written three different series going back to early 2000's. They've got all of his most recent Cambridge Nighthawk series (2018 - 2025) which I've read but the one below is from The Detective Inspector Shaw and DS Valentine series (2008- 2016) set on the Norfolk coast and they only have a couple of these. I don't know if they had them all at any time in the past.
The not so good was this collection of short modern crime stories all written recently specially for this book by various authors. Some were so weird I couldn't follow the story at all. Most of the authors I'd never heard of and won't be looking for more of their work for sure!
The other one was this non-fiction book by
Lucy Easthope, an emergency planner who has been called in to advise and support survivors in many disaster situations. She has stories of how some help in these situations is really no help at all and more about how long recovery can take. Not sure I learned from it although there is one idea that often comes up on 'prepper' websites and that is to have a 'grab bag' ready just in case it's necessary to leave home very quickly.
Just last week people living near Whitby in Yorkshire were advised to have a bag ready in case they were told to leave due to the huge moorland fires that were sometimes out of control around them.
Hopefully recent rain there has helped.
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In the past we haven't paid much attention to prepper things but following COVID and the weather extremes becoming more frequent I'm more mindful. A stocked pantry , first aid supplies, essentials etc are now in place, haven't done a grab bag yet but might be sensible. Expect the unexpected.
ReplyDeletePenny
Be Prepared. The Scout Motto - I was always prepared for Cub Scout meetings - not so prepared for the unexpected now!
DeleteThe grab bag idea made me think. The idea has been festering for a while now - years in fact. I have a very small old fashioned brown suitcase which my parents used to keep their documents in during the war to be grabbed and taken to the air raid shelter. Things like ration cards, birth/marriage certificates etc. I also have a power cut emergency kit as we recently had a long power cut at home. I was amazed how many elderly neighbours didn’t have torches.
ReplyDeleteI got home today and found the electric had been off, not sure how long for as it was back and OK the rest of the day.
DeleteI think about doing a grab bag but never actually get around to doing it!
One tends to joke about what one would grab in a fire but (a) it's probably bad luck and (b) one should have a bag ready, or at least a sense of what one would bring besides a purse, passport, phone and charger (I tried to think of another p word - papers!). A friend in California was once evacuating from wildfires and had her car full of children and her wedding photos (another p word) and decided at that moment to move to the North Carolina (where, of course, she has to worry about hurricanes instead).
ReplyDeleteLuckily we don't have to worry about hurricanes, tornados or earthquakes here, but climate change means wild fires are getting more common
DeleteReminds me of the packed you were supposed to have packed ready to go to hospital to give birth. I was taken eight weeks early from the antenatal clinic and had to wear a hospital nightie until my carefully prepared bag could be brought for me that evening. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI was trying to remember if I had bags ready for the three births, I suppose I must have done but can't remember a thing.
DeleteGoing in 8 weeks early must have been a bit of a shock
I will have to check and see if I can get some of those books here... Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHappy to share book news!
DeleteYour book reviews and recommendations are always reliable. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSince Covid, I am also well-stocked. The pantry and medicine cabinet are stocked with staples. The wood pile is large and the wood burning stove and fireplaces are ready to go. Important papers are in one metal lockbox. I guess I am prepared for whatever comes.
I have things for staying at home in an emergency but ought to have a bag ready just in case
DeleteThe crime author I've discovered recently is Archer Mayor. Setting is in Vermont and New Hampshire so I recognize the places. He started writing in the 80s and his last was in 2022 I think. I'm only on #3. Thankfully the local library has many of his.
ReplyDeleteNot an author available here in the library
DeleteWhen I lived alone, I often worried about being rushed into hospital and not having a bag ready and now although my Partner is great, I am sure he would struggle to find all the right things. I therefore keep a bag packed and left in my spare bedroom. It contains: Nightie, dressing gown, slippers, towel, a filled toilet bag, tissues, wet wipes, comb and a book to read. When my partner was taken into hospital, I just swapped nightie and dressing gown to his pyjamas and dressing gown.
ReplyDeleteJanet Evans (Cardiff)
You're right about living alone and having a bag ready for any emergency including hospital - I ought to do that.
DeleteA 'grab bag' sounds like a very good idea. Luckily we don't have any of the sudden extremes of weather like some of our readers and fellow bloggers, but the way things are going we might not be that far off them.
ReplyDeleteThere are the more 'usual' things like a big fire nearby or maybe a gas escape. It's something I ought to do being here alone
DeleteI have been a firefighter and fire educator for years. One of the things we advise people in fire prone areas to do is to have a grab bag ready: medication and prescriptions, water, phone charger, change of clothes, important papers such as passport and so on. It's also a good idea to photograph or scan into a memory stick important info such as insurance derails, bank details, important medical details. It's hard to remember details like that if your house has gone or you have needed to evacuate.
ReplyDeleteMy sister-in-law, when they lived in a very fire prone area, used to pack a box of precious photographs, her childhood teddy bear and other things she couldn't bear to lose, and took it to my mother's house in town each Summer.
Sorry, that's Denise, not anonymous!
DeleteIt's definitely something to have a plan for - wherever we are I think
DeleteI looked for Koenig at my bookstore and couldn't find her. I'm thinking she's not on this side of the pond, apart from Amazon. I'll remember Kelly too.
ReplyDeleteThe Koning books about the Blind Detective are good. They were previously published with different titles
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