Sounds like the definition of "good" to me! 😁

Congratulations! That has to feel good.

I guess I really need to read A Pale View of Hills.

I hope everything goes well with your surgery. And enjoy your turkey broth and pumpkin pie for this year.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

That's a nice little score!

I read Pompeii. I thought the research was interesting, but the story and characters were rather lackluster. I've considered trying The Ghost, but don't know if it'd just be more of the same. Even the movie for Conclave started out intriguing enough, but fizzled at the end (I haven't read the book).

However, looking at your shelf, I think Red Gold and Kingdom of Shadows should be flipped around.

He's good, isn't he? If I had children, I'd gladly give the firstborn to find another writer like him, John le Carré, Graham Greene, or Martin Cruz Smith. 😁

Thanks! She's getting better, and her range of motion has improved a lot. However, she still has to eat my cooking. 😁

She's doing much better, thanks. Her range of motion is greater now, so she can do a lot more things for herself. However, she still has to eat my cooking. 😁

I checked out the other merch in that link. I'm curious about that fountain pen, but I was somehow under the impression your father had a Parker Duofold. Do you happen to know what fountain pens and inks he used?

For what it's worth, I didn't think his books faltered post-Cold War. While I did enjoy his former plots, I also really enjoyed his later narrative style.

Plotwise, he was at his peak from the mid '70s to the end of the Cold War.

Stylistically, he was at his peak from the very late '80s on into the '00s.