Everybody has a cat or dog story. I’ve also read one about horses. Cathy Rentzenbrink is a reader like me, well, probably better than me. She read a book a day, sometimes two, after her brother died. She did a lot of boozing. Went a little mad, finished her degree and got married to a man she loved. Then she got divorced, but, hey, nobody’s perfect. Her brother, Matthew, was perfect, but never lived long enough to unperfect himself. He was born...

An easy read. Like picking a magazine from a rack. Fling in a bit of philosophy. Sprinkle with maxims. Challenge yourself to live the best reading life you can. Jean-Paul Sartre: Life begins on the other side of despair. ‘Every life contains many millions of decisions. Some big, some small. But every time one decision is taken over another the outcomes differ. An irreversible variation occurs, which in turn leads to other variations.’ Aristotle...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000zhk8/the-keeper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Trautmann I usually check out late-night films to see if there are any worth watching. I wasn’t sure of The Keeper . Advertised as a biopic of Bert Trautmann, my first thoughts were it was something to do with music, and I probably wouldn’t like it. Before I pulled up the preview, I realised it might have something to do with goalkeeper, Bert Trautmann...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000z8p5/911-inside-the-presidents... Hagiography (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) any biography that idealizes or idolizes its subject Around 3000 United States citizens were killed in what has become known as 9/11. This is A Day in the Life of President George W. Bush. A ticking clock. The rest is a history of good guys and bad guys, when 9/11 became shorthand for President George W. Bush can-do...

$5K - 52 Weeks - 20 Penny Stocks One Winner!! Current Status ( -$3,290.30 ) Week - 29 September! ------------- In like a hurricane! Out like a... --------------------------------- Can’t wait to find out! We watched tv until the power failed then stood outside on the front porch with the neighbors on tornado watch. Exciting stuff! At least two sizable twisters passed closer than I feel comfortable with. They both passed us by several miles while...

And here we are, hurtling towards to autumn. I saw my first advert for an Advent Calender the other day. Just...wrong. Story of the Week goes to The Prologue of Drew Gummerson's new tale 'The Long And Spectacular Life of Agnes Magnusdottir'. It's beautifully written, with vivid characters and this author's customary wit and flair. You'll want to got straight on to the next bit. The Long and Spectacular Life of Agnes Magnusdottir | ABCtales Poem...

The man standing at the funeral in bubble-gum pink hair is P.J. Crowe. His career as a detective is in tatters - he's facing dismissal, and his wife's about to leave. Lying low in a small seaside town he spots a ‘Help Wanted’ ad in the kitchen of a local café. It offers him an escape and it's where Thea Farrell worked – until she was found dead at sea. And herein lies the problem: Thea was an Olympic medallist, silver for swimming and Crowe’s...

$5K - 52 Weeks - 20 Penny Stocks One Winner!! Current Status ( -$3,331.06 ) Week - 28 Every now and again! ------------- There’s an emptiness I feel at times... --------------------------------- A hollow ring inside It starts whenever I stop to think That there is really no place to hide A world of many wonders turns And on the other side I wonder at the horror of hundreds who have died They wanted just as I want to live and realize Simple times...

Imperium (1993) Kapuscinski is a hero of mine, Imperium isn't a novel, but a biography of growing up under Moscow Rule and a series of essays and observations. Kapuscinski traveled around the satellite countries of the USSR post collapse of the Berlin Wall. It is the last book of the the 9 books that inspired me to write . Imperium is a travelogue, reportage but more than that; Kapuscinski takes far flung countries and weaves their beauty into...

A big thank you, firstly, to everyone who participated in the ABC virtual reading. There was a brilliant and varied contribution. Also huge thanks to Mark for all the organisation and hosting. This week's Poem of the Week is Di_Hard's ‘jörmungandr’ - such a beautiful and moving poem. https://www.abctales.com/story/dihard/jormungandr This week’s Story of the Week is jxmartin’s latest Corona Log Entry. Always so well written, carefully reporting...