Wrangling Westerns again

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In a Western mood...

The Thicket
by Joe R. Lansdale
Western, Coming of Age | Published: 2013 | Goodreads
Jack Parker thought he'd already seen his fair share of tragedy. His grandmother was killed in a farm accident when he was barely five years old. His parents have just succumbed to the smallpox epidemic sweeping turn-of-the-century East Texas -- orphaning him and his younger sister, Lula.

Then catastrophe strikes on the way to their uncle's farm, when a traveling group of bank-robbing bandits murder Jack's grandfather and kidnap his sister. With no elders left for miles, Jack must grow up fast and enlist a band of heroes the likes of which has never been seen if his sister stands any chance at survival. But the best he can come up with is a charismatic, bounty-hunting dwarf named Shorty, a grave-digging son of an ex-slave named Eustace, and a street-smart woman-for-hire named Jimmie Sue who's come into some very intimate knowledge about the bandits (and a few members of Jack's extended family to boot).

In the throes of being civilized, East Texas is still a wild, feral place. Oil wells spurt liquid money from the ground. But as Jack's about to find out, blood and redemption rule supreme.

Stay tuned: movie pre-production is in the works directed by Elliott Lester and starring Peter Dinklage as Reginald - perfect! He is the one I imagined in that role when I read the book.

Spaghetti Western by Carol Ostberg
Piecework (1,000 pcs)
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Alice's Trading Post: A Novel of the West
by Kerry Dean Feldman
Historical, Western | Published: 2022 | Goodreads
Alice's Trading Post is the story of an untamable, unforgettable woman with a wry wit who lives 103 adventurous years. She survives all the west could throw at a woman, fights to be herself, live free, and find love. Treat her with respect, you walk away safe. If not, there will be consequences. Alice never met her young Army of the West officer father stationed in Oregon Territory, 1860s. She's raised like a boy by her Canadian trapper stepfather and lovely, feisty, Indian mother alongside the Columbia River. She can shoot a beaver eye at a hundred paces, doesn't know how to cook or sew, can fight blade up with knives, hunt bear on her own, never wears a dress. This idyllic life in the Willamette Valley ends when she begins her woman moons, and her family travels across the Mullan Road to wild Fort Benton on the Upper Missouri, Montana Territory. Circumstances force her mother to trade her to an old fur trader. Young Alice must learn how to become a woman on her own, wonders if she's Indian like her mother or white like her father. She longs for family, love, and knowing where she fits in a violent Plains era. Alice's stories are found, as recorded by her grandson, under her burnt-out trading post in South Dakota, then transcribed by the Buffalo Gap Historical Society.

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Vengeance (2022)
Director/Writer: B.J. Novak
Stars: B.J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Issa Rae
Mystery, Thriller, Comedy | imdb | my rating: 5
Western-ish, with thoughts on modern day connections
A writer from New York City attempts to solve the murder of a girl he hooked up with and travels down south to investigate the circumstances of her death and discover what happened to her.

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* image source: The Onlooker by Gray Malin (here)

Books and Puzzles: Tiger

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR
Year of the Tiger ~*~ Beasts of A Little Land
by Juhea Kim
Historical, Korea | Published: 2022 | Goodreads
An epic story of love, war, and redemption set against the backdrop of the Korean independence movement, following the intertwined fates of a young girl sold to a courtesan school and the penniless son of a hunter.

In 1917, deep in the snowy mountains of occupied Korea, an impoverished local hunter on the brink of starvation saves a young Japanese officer from an attacking tiger. In an instant, their fates are connected—and from this encounter unfolds a saga that spans half a century.

In the aftermath, a young girl named Jade is sold by her family to Miss Silver’s courtesan school, an act of desperation that will cement her place in the lowest social status. When she befriends an orphan boy named JungHo, who scrapes together a living begging on the streets of Seoul, they form a deep friendship. As they come of age, JungHo is swept up in the revolutionary fight for independence, and Jade becomes a sought-after performer with a new romantic prospect of noble birth. Soon Jade must decide whether she will risk everything for the one who would do the same for her.

From the perfumed chambers of a courtesan school in Pyongyang to the glamorous cafes of a modernizing Seoul and the boreal forests of Manchuria, where battles rage, Juhea Kim’s unforgettable characters forge their own destinies as they wager their nation’s. Immersive and elegant, Beasts of a Little Land unveils a world where friends become enemies, enemies become saviors, heroes are persecuted, and beasts take many shapes.

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Tiger King
Smith Street Gift (500 pcs)

On The Nightstand: Vampires

On the Nightstand
books about vampires
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Carmilla
by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Classics, Horror, Gothic, Vampires | Published: 2013 (first 1872) | Goodreads | my rating: 4
Predating Bram Stoker' Dracula, Carmilla is the ultimate gothic vampire tale—stylish, menacing, sensual, and spellbinding

You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one for ever.

When a mysterious carriage crashes outside their castle home in Styria, Austria, Laura and her father agree to take in its injured passenger, a young woman named Carmilla. Delighted to have some company of her own age, Laura is instantly drawn to Carmilla. But as their friendship grows, Carmilla's countenance changes and she becomes increasingly secretive and volatile. As Carmilla's moods shift and change, Laura starts to become ill, experiencing fiendish nightmares, her health deteriorating night after night. It is not until she and her father, increasingly concerned for Laura's well-being, set out on a trip to discover more about the mysterious Carmilla that the terrifying truth reveals itself.

Dowry of Blood
by S.T. Gibson
Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ, Vampires | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
A lyrical and dreamy reimagining of Dracula’s brides, A DOWRY OF BLOOD is a story of desire, obsession, and emancipation.

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things. Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband’s dark secrets.

With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

Dracula
by Bram Stoker
Classic, Horror, Gothic, Vampires | Published: 2003 (first 1897) | Goodreads
When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries in his client's castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck; and a lunatic asylum inmate raves about the imminent arrival of his 'Master'. In the ensuing battle of wits between the sinister Count and a determined group of adversaries, Bram Stoker created a masterpiece of the horror genre, probing into questions of identity, sanity and the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

WATCH OUT: waiting for delivery of this puzzle before I start up the audio version Dracula

Bran Castle
art and puzzle by Holly Carden (here)
(1000 pcs)

Books and Puzzles: Outlawed

Outlawed
by Anna North
Western, Historical, LGBTQ | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw.

The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada's life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows.

She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she's willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all.

Love Letter from Laramie
art by Charles Wysocki
Buffalo (1000 pcs)

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* part of Wrangling Westerns (schedule)

Books and Puzzles: The Last Resort

The Last Resort
by Marissa Stapley
Mystery, Thriller | Published: 2019 | Goodreads
The Harmony Resort promises hope for struggling marriages. Run by celebrity power couple Drs. Miles and Grace Markell, the "last resort" offers a chance for partners to repair their relationships in a luxurious setting on the gorgeous Mayan Riviera.

Johanna and Ben have a marriage that looks perfect on the surface, but in reality, they don’t know each other at all. Shell and Colin fight constantly: after all, Colin is a workaholic, and Shell always comes second to his job as an executive at a powerful mining company. But what has really torn them apart is too devastating to talk about. When both couples begin Harmony's intensive therapy program, it becomes clear that Harmony is not all it seems—and neither are Miles and Grace themselves. What are they hiding, and what price will these couples pay for finding out?

First sentence(s):
He struggles to breathe. There's blood trickling into one of his eyes. His glasses are gone. He can hear the ocean rising to meet him. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

The Seaside
Gray Malin puzzle (1000 pcs)

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* part of Summertime time (schedule)

Books and Puzzles: Red Sky Over Hawaii

Red Sky Over Hawaii
by Sara Ackerman
WWII, audiobook | Published: 2020 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
island: Hawaii
Inspired by real places and events of WWII, Red Sky Over Hawaii immerses the reader in a time of American history full of suspicion and peril in this lush and poignant tale about the indisputable power of doing the right thing against all odds.

The attack on Pearl Harbor changes everything for Lana Hitchcock. Arriving home on the Big Island too late to reconcile with her estranged father, she is left alone to untangle the clues of his legacy, which lead to a secret property tucked away in the remote rain forest of Kilauea volcano. When the government starts taking away her neighbors as suspected sympathizers, Lana shelters two young German girls, a Japanese fisherman and his son. As tensions escalate, they are forced into hiding—only to discover the hideaway house is not what they expected.

When a detainment camp is established nearby, Lana struggles to keep the secrets of those in her care. Trust could have dangerous consequences. As their lives weave together, Lana begins to understand the true meaning of family and how the bonds of love carry us through the worst times.

Mickey and Minnie in Hawaii
Ceaco puzzle (750 pc)

Books and Puzzles: No Spring Chicken

Food, not food

book: No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging and Disability
by Francine Falk-Allen

puzzle: Bon Apetit! Summer Salad art by Tracy Flickinger
Ceaco (300 pc)

Books and Puzzles: The Principles of Uncertainty

Whimsical whimsy...

book: The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman

PeekAbook:

puzzle: Roadsides of the Southwest art by Stephen Moran
Masterpieces Inc. (550 pc)

cookie: Mustachioed sugar cookie from Angelina's

Books and Puzzles: Hidden Valley Road

Mixed feels: Happy memories and sad but hopeful memoir

book: Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

puzzle: Secret Cottage art by Dennis Lewan
Milton Bradley Puzzle (500 pc)

Books and Puzzles: Water, Wood & Wild Things

Small town theme with this pairing.

book: Water, Wood & Wild Things by Hannah Kirshner

puzzle: Sun Kissed Cabin art by Dominic Davison
Springbok (500 pc)

Books and Puzzles: Spring Snow

Spring pairing of a Japanese classic and Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival themed puzzle.
book: Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima

puzzle: Cherry Blossom Parade art by Heronim Wysocki
Sure Lox, Puzzle Time (300 pc)

Books and Puzzles: Black Lizard

This pairing includes two oldies - a puzzle of Vincent Van Gogh's Souvenir de Mauve which is a piece dated March 1888 and the March Japanese Mystery Readalong Book Club selection first published in 1928.

book: The Black Lizard / Beast in the Shadows by Edogawa Rampo

puzzle: Souvenir de Mauve art by Vincent Van Gogh
Toywea (1000 pc)

~*~ fyi: March 30 - Van Gogh's birthday

Books and Puzzles: Infinite Country

Spring pairing

book: Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

puzzle: The Rocky Mountains art by Charley Harper
Pomegranate (1000 pc)

Books and Puzzles: Love and Friendship

A Jane Austen and France pairing of Love and Friendship book and film by Whit Stillman and Camont jigsaw puzzle by Rifle Paper Co. that reminded me of Pemberley... with a cuppa tea on the side.

Books and Puzzles: Arctic Fury

Winter theme pairing... mmm, hit the spot ;-)

book: Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister

puzzle: Arctic is Coming art by Jan Patrik Krasny
Vermont Christmas Company (1000 pc)