Book #2: The Singer's Gun, by Emily St. John Mandel

I got this book from the library because of the popularity of her book, Station Eleven, which I have yet to read.  It's the story of Anton Waker, whose past threatens to destroy the modest life he's built in trying to escape the shady world of his parents' 'architectural salvage' business and the influence of his amoral cousin Aria.  It is tinged with sadness and almost desperation, but is engaging nonetheless.  Three of five stars.

And now for a few movies

This year I've seen quite a few movies already. 

1. We saw The Hobbit, the Battle of the Five Armies just before New Years.  I was entertained, but CGI makes the battle scenes (which was 90% of the movie) a little formulaic.  It's just too easy to create massive armies, it seems, flowing over fields of blood and gore.
2. We also went to see The Imitation Game on New year's Eve.  This told the story of Alan Turing and the team that developed the machine that cracked the Nazi's Enigma Code during World War II.  Recommended for anyone.
3. Caroline and I watched Joss Whedon's version of Much Ado About Nothing.  Amy Acker, who plays Root on Person of Interest, was charming as Beatrice, and the whole thing was fun.  Shot in black and white with characters in modern dress, this dark Shakespearean comedy was wonderful.
4. Last Night I watched Nebraska by myself.  Bruce Dern was outstanding as the elderly father who is intent on getting from Billings< Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska (I've been there!) to claim his million dollar prize from some imitation Publisher's Clearing House.  His son decides to humor him,and the developments along the way chronicle the deepening understanding of a son for his father, and respect for the relationship between  his parents.  Well done!

Book #1: The Dark Horse

Okay, new year, renewed plan!  I intend to keep a record of the books I read in 2015, just for fun.  My first entry in The Dark Horse, by Craig Johnson.  This is the fourth book, I think, in the Walt Longmire series.  Walt Longmire is the aging sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming.  He's tough, he's a man of great integrity, but is not perfect.  My wife, Debbie, and I got hooked on the Longmire series from A&E via Netflix.  The characters have some meet on them, there are plenty of conflicts, tensions, and lots of room for development.  Unfortunately, only two of the first three seasons are available on Netflix.  A&E canceled the show, but, Gott sei dank, Netflix picked it up for a fourth.

But, on to the book.   A woman has confessed to murdering her husband, but Sheriff Longmire doesn't believe she did it.  He goes undercover, in his own clumsy way, in a neighboring county.   The action is plentiful, the solution surprising enough, and the writing is fine.  My only complaint is that sometimes our hero gets himself out of scrapes that should rightly end in his demise.  But such is life.  If you like mysteries set in the West (like the Joe Picket novels) I bet you'll like these.