Watch Out

Not everyone is lucky enough to own a Watch Camel. Some people have dogs to watch the doors, we have a camel. We've had the camel since Adrian was young. So was Julie. When she decided that a camel would be a perfect gift for Aunt Peggy, the aunt was curious. It became clear over the years that the camel is here to make sure nothing bad happens to us. This apartment has the perfect look out spot. Some may say it's a 50's design feature. The camel calls it home.

Just behind the camel, the needlepoint has progressed. At one point there was still a lot of blank spaces.

Now I'm writing words and outlining owl's eyes. My punny friends and families would like the catcentric titles of these books: Tale of Two Kitties, Three Wined Mice, and Caterbury Tales. Oh my, almost too silly even for me. I'm almost half way through the finish work.

As I needle, I listen. One of the things I've been doing is re-reading books in my Audible library. I'm very happy that I decided to listen to Legends again. This book won the Times' Book Award for Mysteries a few years ago. Littell did not leave his home in the south of France to pick up his prize. How smart of him. He would have had a huge admirer gushing all over him all evening. This book is probably too brutal for squeamish souls because it starts with a man being buried alive. It's hard to say those people shouldn't worry, because ... Because I can't tell you why. And besides, bad stuff happens all through the book.

It's about a CIA agent who can't remember who he is, he just remembers the legends that were created for him when he took on other persona for his missions. I really love the complexity and language of this book. I may have to read it in another three years.
Audible had a sale on first books in series. They were just $5.00 each. What avid reader of series could resist? First was the beginning of the Kurt Wallender series, Faceless Killers. Good for a $5.00 book. Stuff happens, mysteries are resolved. These are plodding stories. I wonder if the cold has something to do with that.
Harry Bosch is never plodding. I'm sure I read The Black Echo when it came out. Michael Connelly had just left The Times. It was fun to have a guy I knew from afar as a best selling author. The book is rich with the feeling of Los Angeles. Good book, nicely unraveled solution to the mystery.
Red Hot Lies as brought to you by Harlequin. In other words, chick-lit with a mystery twist. OK. Nice look at corporate culture.
Baltimore Blues is about the city of Baltimore and the ever shrinking newspaper world. It's not the Baltimore Sun, but some made up newspaper (I think) that has let the protagonist go. This leaves her at loose ends to pursue her rowing and amateur sleuthing. It was fun to know a bit of the city, she talks about the baseball park and the nearby Lexington Market. Adrian and I got to explore a bit of each. The mystery was OK.Rain Fall takes place in Tokyo. Never been there, probably never will. I have a friend who goes there a couple of times a year. I think he's 75. I kept trying to picture him in this very crowded and fast moving city. Maybe he knows some quiet spots.

John Rain, not my friend, is a middle-aged assassin. He's one of my favorite type heroes who can kick anyone's ass at any time. Do these people really exist? I liked this book so much I read the second in the series, Hard Rain. Why is this so much more satisfying than the Baltimore lady detective? I don't think it is gender. Maybe it's cluelessness. Maybe it's because she could possibly be a real person and John Rain could never be. It is fiction, after all.