May 17, 2018
Final Jeopardy Category: School Supply Words Final Jeopardy Clue: Adding “P” to a word for a chronic back condition gets you this synonym for graphite or pencil lead Scroll Down Final Jeopardy Answer / Question: Plumbago
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May 1, 2018
Final Jeopardy Category: Fashion Brands Final Jeopardy Clue: Translated from Roman numerals, “55” appears in luggage & watch product names from a company founded by this man Scroll Down Final Jeopardy Answer / Question: Louis Vuitton April 30, 2018
Final Jeopardy Category: Authors on Authors Final Jeopardy Clue: Whitman said this man’s poetry has a “propensity toward nocturnal themes, a demoniac undertone behind every page” Scroll Down Final Jeopardy Answer / Question: Edgar Allan Poe Nemesis (2016) Alex Lamb
The most be a thousand books with this title. Sci Fi, fantasy, fiction, and non-fiction. Come on! Can’t we do a little better? Anyway. Part 2 of the Roboteer (I do like that title even though it is stolen from a Disney movie) Trilogy. Will Kuno-Monet finished the Roboteer as the most powerful man alive infected with smart cells given him by the Transcended. Well he is finding living as the super being in a world of not super beings is not so easy. He makes his wife Rachel so frustrated that she gets lost exploring the edge of the galaxy. Mark Ruiz is a new character - a pseudo-son to Will who is a “super” Roboteer. A strong willed pilot who gets assigned to help lead a mission to explore a possible new alien contact. Will is also on the mission. Unfortunately, all is not as it seems and the whole thing is a ploy to destroy Earth and allow Galatea to rule. Of course, the whole thing backfires and a real alien menace is released. Think the “Borg” only they are called the Photurions. Their home-world is a world of tubular structures called “Snake Pit”. The key to salvation (maybe) is control of this world. Watch out for Anne Ludec. Alex Lamb writes long detailed books. I love it. It makes the scenes very real to me. Others might find it a burden and too slow. I think this is similar to Covey’s Expanse series and is ripe for development. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (2014)
Becky Chambers I lucked into this great book at my local library. Rosemary Harper is a rich girl trying to escape from a family scandal. She ends up part of the crew of the Wayfayer. The ship creates “Tunnels” wormholes in space. Their pilot is a sexy reptile Sissix, their engineers are two crazy humans – Jenks and Kizzy. Their doctor is also the chef (Doctor Chef). He is also one of 300 remaining examples of his soon to be extinct species. Corbin takes care of their algae supply. Lovey is their AI that keeps them out of trouble. Their navigator is a pair of Ohan who have their abilities thanks to an infection that shortens their lives. Captain Ashby holds it all together. I love this book and can’t wait to grab the next one in this series. Becky Chambers develops the characters and their friends (Kizzy’s friend Bear and the captains alien girlfriend Pei) so that you want to see them in their next adventure. I don’t rate books numerically as I think it is stupid. A one for me might be a five for you. This IS one of my top books in the past few years. January 18, 2018
Final Jeopardy Category: Snack Foods Final Jeopardy Clue: The name of this cracker that’s been around since 1903 suggests that it was baked 3 times Scroll Down Final Jeopardy Answer / Question: Triscuit December 26, 2017
Final Jeopardy Category: Canada Final Jeopardy Clue: As a response to new developments there, this territory was carved out of the Northwest Territories in 1898 Scroll Down Final Jeopardy Answer / Question: Yukon Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century (2010) Michael A. Hiltzik
The story of the building of Boulder re HOOVER Dam. What an incredible American Adventure! I always wondered how a dam could be built for such a raging river like the Colorado. The creation of the four bypass tunnels were amazing. Hiltzik captures much of the detail of the actual building and the labor issues involved. It would have been interesting to understand more of the basic engineering issues involved. The curing of the immense amount of concrete was astounding. Well over a hundred deaths happened during the construction and it sounds like it could have been many more. Hiltzik does a good job of placing this project in time along with the Great Depression and the New Deal Era of FDR. Overall a great read! December 14, 2017
Final Jeopardy Category: Americana Final Jeopardy Clue: In 2016 the Wingfoot Two, one of these, was christened near Akron Scroll Down Final Jeopardy Answer / Question: Goodyear Blimp Soft Apocalypse (2011) Will McIntosh
Jasper and his tribe and just trying to live from day to day as the world slowly crumbles around them. Not quite as exciting as other end of the world books but much more believable. That’s what makes it frightening. You could see yourself in the same situation. It makes you wonder what you would do in a similar situation. What (and who) would be your priorities and how far would you be willing to go to keep them? Will McIntosh makes you think - Check out two of his other books – Faller and Defenders. |
Nathaniel MaugerI am an enthusiastic Ohio State Buckeye alumni and fan. I am also an occasional trail runner and a supporter of medical missions. Archives
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