Month: June 2014

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THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

The Hound of the Baskervilles (Image Source)

One morning in London, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson receive an intriguing visit.  Dr. James Mortimer, of Devonshire, has come to London to report strange happenings on Dartmoor.  First his friend, Sir Charles Baskerville, was found dead under suspicious circumstances – apparently frightened to death in his own yew walk, not a mark on the body, but mere feet away from the print of a giant hound.  Dr. Mortimer believes the baronet was haunted to his death by a spectral hound that has plagued the Baskerville family for generations – and now he fears for the safety of the heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, recently arrived in the country to claim his title.  Sir Henry has already experienced strange and mysterious circumstances – since arriving in London, he has been followed by a strange man, had two single boots stolen (and one returned), and received a cryptic warning.

Holmes is intrigued by the case, but he doesn’t believe for a moment in the ghost-dog theory.  He dispatches Watson to Dartmoor to guard Sir Henry and report his findings, and what Watson finds is a complicated web of intrigue surrounding the new baronet.  The danger seems to mount daily – will Holmes unravel the threads of the mystery in time, or is Sir Henry destined to meet the same fate as his uncle?

I really enjoyed my first visit with Holmes and Watson.  The mystery was absorbing, the characters intriguing, and the setting spooky.  This is one that has been on my list for some time, and I’m so glad I finally made time for it.  As a reader of both classics and mysteries, there was no excuse for my continuing unfamiliarity with Sherlock Holmes!  And after this delightful encounter, I’ll be seeking him out again very soon.

I am submitting this review to The Classics Club challenge.  Check them out here!

Buy The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, here (not an affiliate link) or support your local indie bookstore.

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Reading Round-Up: May 2014

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Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby.  I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book.  Here are my reads for May, 2014…

Henrietta Sees It Through: More News From the Home Front 1942-1945, by Joyce Dennys – You may recall that I read and loved Henrietta’s War last month, and the first thing I did upon closing that volume was pick up the second installment of Henrietta’s letters to her “dear childhood friend” Robert.  Much is the same in the sleepy Devonshire village, but there are some changes.  Lady B has moved into smaller digs, Faith is finally married to the Conductor, and tempers are beginning to fray from the lengthy war effort.  These letters contain some bitterness about the restricted role of women in the war effort, and I think the bitterness is rather a good thing – it both tempers the sweetness and paints a realistic portrayal of what folks went through.  All in all, a lovely read and I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment I’ve spent with Henrietta.  Fully reviewed here.

The Pericles Commission (The Athenian Mysteries #1), by Gary Corby – Nico is training to follow in his sculptor father’s footsteps, and none too happy about it, when a dead body falls literally at his feet.  The body is that of Ephialtes, Athenian statesman and father of democracy.  Ephialtes’ friend Pericles engages Nico to investigate the killing and what Nico finds is an Athenian political landscape more treacherous than a pit of snakes.  To be honest, I wasn’t overly thrilled with this.  I found the language too much of an anachronism and I wasn’t over-fond of Nico, the hero, of Pericles, his boss, or of any other character.  I try to make allowances for the first novel in a mystery series because it can be difficult to introduce characters and plot arches while also putting forward an absorbing mystery, but even with those allowances The Pericles Commission fell flat for me.  I may or may not continue with the series but it’s not going to be high on my list.

Miss Hargreaves, by Frank Baker – Norman Huntley has a most distressing and surreal problem: the things he imagines come to be.  One day Norman and his friend Henry, on a lark, invent an eccentric old lady that they name Miss Hargreaves.  Taking the joke too far, they mail her a letter… and are shocked when she writes back and invites herself for a visit.  Norman is about to discover the kind of chaos an overactive imagination can create when his imaginary friend gets well out of hand.  This book was funny and clever, and Miss Hargreaves was a wonderful character (well done, Norman!) but the conclusion also left plenty of food for thought.  Highly recommended.

Yes, Chef: A Memoir, by Marcus Samuelsson – Marcus Samuelsson is a truly international chef.  Born in Ethiopia, he and his sister were adopted by a Swedish couple and raised in Goteburg, Sweden.  After a disappointment in his burgeoning soccer career left Marcus without a sport to play, he devoted himself fully to his other passion: food and cooking.  Soon Marcus was applying the lessons he had learned at his grandmother’s stove to his experiments building flavors in highly regarded restaurants in Europe, on a cruise ship, and finally in New York.  Marcus is best known as the former head chef of Aquavit, a Swedish restaurant in New York, as the winner of Top Chef and as a celebrated cookbook writer.  His memoir was a joy to read: honest and engaging, and full of the layers of flavor he adds to his foods.  Marcus is not perfect, but he readily admits to his mistakes and explains how he is trying to right any wrongs he has caused.  He’s a likeable writer and his love of food comes through in every page.  It’s no coincidence that I cooked dinner three nights in a row after finishing this book!

Inkheart (Inkworld #1), by Cornelia Funke – When Meggie was three years old, her father Mo, reading to the family, accidentally brought to life three characters from the book Inkheart.  One of those characters was the diabolical villain Capricorn, and another was his henchman Basta.  Capricorn and Basta have been wreaking havoc ever since.  Now Meggie and Mo must find a way to harness the evil Mo accidentally released and rid their world of Capricorn’s vengeful presence forever.  This book was entertaining, but went on a bit too long.  I did enjoy it and will most likely continue with the trilogy, but I didn’t find it quite as compelling as I’d expected to.

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are surprised when they receive a visit from a Devonshire doctor with a tale of a giant spectral dog that hounded (excuse the pun) the Dartmoor baronet Sir Charles Baskerville to his death.  Even more distressing, the new baronet Sir Henry, recently arrived from Canada, is already being terrorized by strange events.  If anyone can solve this bizarre riddle, it’s Holmes and Watson!  I’ve been meaning to read Sherlock Holmes for some time now and I really enjoyed The Hound of the Baskervilles.  Full review to come on Friday.

May was a fairly slow reading month for me.  I had some events that took up time during the weekends and am still getting adjusted to my new, tighter schedule since returning to work.  But a smaller book count doesn’t mean a less enjoyable reading month, thankfully!  Henrietta continued to delight in early May, and I also particularly enjoyed my visit with Holmes and Watson.  Next month I expect another short stack, since between house hunting and marathon training my weekends are looking pretty hectic.  But I have a stack of bookish delights waiting for me so if quantity is low for a little while, quality will be high.  Stay tuned…

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Skyride 2014

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The Skyway is the popular name for the segment of New York State Route 5 which passes over the Buffalo River, connecting downtown Buffalo with the Southtowns (what Buffalonians call their southern suburbs).  The road has a certain utility, since it provides the most convenient route for thousands of people to get to their jobs each day.  In general, though, it’s reviled here as a massive eyesore, a barrier to the kind of development Buffalo wants, and possibly “structurally deficient” (the government’s words, not mine).  There’s a large camp advocating for the city or the state or whomever is responsible for such things to just tear it down, and that may happen if they can’t find a way to repurpose it into something the city really needs.  (There are other routes in from the Southtowns, so it’s not like ripping the thing out would deprive people of their ability to get to work.)  I heard an idea floated that it should be turned into something akin to New York City’s High Line, which I love, but hubby pointed out that it’s too windy up on the Skyway for walkers.  So I’m back in the tear-it-down camp… except for on this past Saturday, because I discovered one great use for the Skyway: riding my bike over it.

Go Bike Buffalo organized a new bike event this year: the Skyride, starting with an epic climb and hair-raising descent and continuing through 29 miles of Buffalo streets.  I had such a blast at the Five Boro Bike Tour that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do another bike event, especially when it was right in my backyard (seriously, I rode my bike to the starting line) and posed such a cool challenge.  After all, how many people can say that they rode their bikes over this monster?

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Before Saturday, probably hardly anyone could have said as much.  But now, about 700 of us claim the honor!

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The ride was scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m.  I headed down to the start line a little after 8:00 to make sure I had plenty of time to sign in and hydrate.  To be honest, I wasn’t really feelin’ it – I’m sick, thanks to Peanut who picked something up on the playground and shared it with me.  I took my temperature on Saturday morning and was running a 100.1 degree fever, which is very high for me – I normally run cool and so to run a temperature at all means I’m pretty sick, and I don’t remember the last time I was over 100 degrees.  Hubby and I also had a 2:30 appointment to see more houses with our realtor and I was a little worried that I’d make it back on time.  I knew that riding 29 miles in the blazing sun, with a fever, was probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but I really wanted to do this event.  So I promised myself that if I felt too sick to keep going after the first half, I’d peel off to the finish line early (quite a few people took this option), and if I decided to keep going but either ran out of time or felt sick during the second half, I’d head home early (since part of the ride swung by a point less than half a mile from my house).  I decided to just play it by ear and see how it went.

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A little after 10:15, we were off!  The first part of the ride circled a few Buffalo city streets before making for the Skyway, which had been closed for the morning, just for us.

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(Accidental snap.)

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Annnnnnnd there’s the ramp… up we go!

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It was a gorgeous day for riding, and the views over the Skyway were breathtaking.  My snapped-while-pedaling iPhone photos do not do it justice.

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Honestly, I found the Skyway to be one of the easiest parts of the ride.  I thought the climb would be deadly, but it was fine – probably because we did it on fresh legs and got it out of the way!  I was enjoying the view and having a fabulous time.

Just as I reached the crest of the Skyway, I heard a cracking sound like a gunshot and then the two words no cyclist wants to hear – “Flat tire!”  I looked over to my left and a rider was hopping down to perform triage on his bike.  Poor guy.  I felt badly for him, but we had a do-not-stop order and I was just about to begin the descent (and I stink at changing tires anyway), so I shot him a sympathetic look and put my phone away for the descent (I’d promised hubby I’d try not to go over the side).

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When we reached the bottom of the Skyway, a guy riding near me shouted “Let’s go back up and do that again!”  I couldn’t have agreed more – what a ride.

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Sadly, we only got to go over the Skyway once, and now we were on our way toward Tifft Nature Preserve and the Outer Harbor area.

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The ride continued through the South Buffalo streets and into the Botanical Gardens, where I waved hello to the beautiful building that houses Peanut’s best friends in the koi pond.  From there, we swung through more South Buffalo neighborhoods and then rolled back into the downtown area.  As we approached, a volunteer was directing riders who wanted to finish only the first half of the ride back toward the finish line, and motioning those who wanted to ride the full 29 miles onward.  I was feeling decent (relatively speaking) and saw on my watch that it was only 11:30 a.m. – I’d done the first fifteen miles in just a little over an hour and had plenty of time before we had to meet our realtor.  So I decided I’d continue on the route.  Go big or go home, right?

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We rode up Delaware Avenue and all I could think, the entire time, was “We’re going the wrong way!”  The Turkey Trot runs down Delaware Avenue and it’s a lovely downhill.  Riding my bike up the hill for several miles was considerably less relaxing.  I distracted myself by staring at the gorgeous architecture and looking for the course markings to make sure I was still on the right track.  At this point the crowd had thinned out and there were times when it was just me and Blue.  But we always found other cyclists.  After Delaware – which felt much tougher than the Skyway – we rolled into the Japanese Gardens and Delaware Park.

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Delaware Park was my decision point.  It was the last spot where I could peel off and head home if I wanted to.  After a quick glance at my watch, I saw that I still had plenty of time to finish the ride and get home in time to clean up before our afternoon appointment, and the ride was heading for the Scajaquada Creek Trail – one of those mystical bike paths that I’ve heard about but for which I’ve never been able to find an entry point.  Turns out I’ve run and biked past the trail head countless times and never realized it.  Fail.  Anyway, I wanted to see the trail so I kept pedaling.

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The views were beautiful!  Especially when the trail popped out next to the river.

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The water was a beautiful blue and I enjoyed the views of the Peace Bridge and Canada in the distance.  As we got closer to downtown there were families enjoying the trail and old men fishing (and quite a few of them had something on their lines as I rode by).  I waved to the kids and soaked up the sun.  The trail ended near the downtown area and I continued on my way, rolling into the finish line just after 12:30.

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Because I rode so quickly, the party hadn’t really gotten started yet.  I rehydrated, refueled, and chatted with a few other early-finishing cyclists before heading home.  I wish I could have stayed to enjoy the finish line party, but I had to get home and get ready for our house-hunting expedition (yep, that’s still going on, and getting progressively more stressful with each day that we come closer to our lease expiring).

Fever notwithstanding, I loved the Skyride!  I’ll definitely do this ride again next year (hopefully, sans illness).  The ride was well-organized, the volunteers were helpful and friendly, and the course was beautiful.  I was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in such a cool event right in my own backyard – and especially for the great cause of making Buffalo more bike-friendly.  Riding the Skyway was the perfect way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning – and definitely a cool, unique experience!

Anyone else enjoying the outdoors this weekend?