Book List for March, 2023

 

It's the final day of March and the time has come for another list if the books I've read since the posting of my last monthly reading list.

The first in the list is The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara by David I. Kertzer. I first learned of the book and the story it told was from my reading of Richard Dawkins' book, The God Delusion. Kertzer's book tells the true story of the the Vatican's kidnapping seizure of a six-year-old boy from his Jewish family in Bologna, Italy, on the basis of the family's former servant's testimony that she had secretly baptized the boy as an infant.

Prefecture D is a collection of novellas by Hideo Yokoyama dealing with the internal politics of a large metropolitan in Japan.

In The Girl in the Spider's Web, David Lagercrantz continues Stieg Larsson's Millennium series.

Metropolis is a 1925 science fiction novel by the German writer Thea von Harbou. The novel was the basis for and written in tandem with Fritz Lang's 1927 film of the same name. Oddly enough, reading the novel makes the film more understandable....and vice versa. Each one helps the other.

In Just Babies, psychologist Paul Bloom explores our innate sense of morality.

For my thoughts on Highsmith's novel, check out my earlier blog post.

The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara     by David I. Kertzer
Prefecture D         by Hideo Yokoyama
The Girl in the Spider's Web    by David Lagercrantz
Metropolis    by Thea von Harbou
Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil    by Paul Bloom
Strangers in a Train     by Patricia Highsmith

"Strangers on a Train" - Novel by Patricia Highsmith

 

While searching for books to read, I came upon the name of Patricia Highsmith. Highsmith is best remembered for her 1950 psychological thriller, Strangers on a Train which was adapted to film in 1951 by director Alfred Hitchcock. I was familiar with Hitchcock's film and decided to put Highsmith's novel into the queue.

Having read just the first few pages, I became aware that Hitchcock had made changes in the story when bringing it to the screen. In the film, the story takes place in the Northeast corridor, between Washington, D.C. and New York while the novel begins in Texas. In the novel, Guy Haines is an architect - in the film, Haines is an amateur tennis star. In the novel, the other "stranger on the train" is named Charles Anthony Bruno later changed to Bruno Anthony in the Hitchcock version.

Before finishing the novel, I located the film online.

The changes in the film become more dramatic. I'm not going to give spoilers to the novel, except to say it is very different from the movie......completely unexpected.

I'll be moving on to other novels by Patricia Highsmith in the days ahead.

2,500 Miles

I mentioned in my blog post from Sunday, that during that morning bicycle ride, the odometer on my bicycle passed the 4,000 kilometer point. I also noted that when my odometer reached 4024 km that number would translate to 2,500 miles.

So, to commemorate that....um.....milestone, I'm posting a photo of the odometer at 4024 km and a photo of where I was when I reached that number. Metro Dumaguete College on E.J. Blanco Dr.

 

4,000 Kilometers

While out on my morning bicycle ride today, my odometer went past the 4,000 kilometer mark. This is not the distance I've ridden the bicycle since I bought it two years ago, but the distance ridden since I purchased the odometer. I don't have an exact date on when I bought the odometer, but as near as I can calculate, that would have been at the time I replaced my tires. That would put the date at around the last week of March or first week of April, 2022.

So, the 4,000 kilometers were put on in about one year's time.

The first photo is, of course, the odometer reaching the 4,000 kilometer mark. The other photos are of my location when I hit the mark. I'm making an effort now to keep track of the date.

In a couple of days, I'll be reaching another milestone, if you will. I'll soon be passing the 4024 km mark which will translate to 2,500 miles. I'll blog on that as well.

 

Two Volkswagens in One Day - Part Two

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I hadn't come upon a "new" VW in the area since November 2022 when I came upon an orange VW on E J.Blanco Dr. As luck would have it, I came upon two this morning while out on my bicycle ride thru Camanjac.

I felt that each VW deserved it's own blog post.

After photographing the blue VW, I headed back to the Diversion Rd. to continue my ride. I was nearing the intersection with the Dumaguete-Palinpinon Rd where I intended to turn around, when I spotted a white VW on the opposite side of the road. I travel this area several times a week and this was the first time I'd seen this particular car, so unlike the blue one I discovered moments before, this one did not appear to be derelict.

I crossed the road and proceeded to photograph my discovery.

When I had finished my photo-shoot, the owner of the VW appeared from out of nowhere. As can be seen from my photos, the owner isn't seen. He appeared to be disturbed that I was photographing his car. His English was only slightly better than my Bisaya so I had a difficult time explaining my hobby to him. I even showed to him the photos of the blue VW I had just taken, but he seemed to think from what I said that I lived in Katrina Homes 2 Subdivision. We talked for a few minutes. I don't know how much of our conversation he finally understood, other than my name and that I lived near the Magatas Barangay Hall.

At any rate, here are the photos of VW Beetle #76.

 

Two Volkswagens in one Day - Part One

Just when I thought that I'd managed to take a photo of every Volkswagen located in the Dumaguete area I happened upon two this morning while out on my bicycle ride.

I spotted the first - the blue one #75 - by traveling down a road which I had never traveled before. I had taken a detour off the Diversion road in the Camanjac area. I was near the Katrina Homes 1 Subdivision (I'd been that way before) but I had never ridden out toward the Katrina Homes 2 Subdivision. It's not currently shown on Google Maps. As I was passing what I believe to be the Fatima Chapel, I came upon the blue VW shown in these photos.

This was the first "new" spotting since November 2022 when I came upon an orange VW on E J.Blanco Dr

As I returned to the Diversion Rd - in an area where I frequently ride - I came upon my 2nd VW of the day. That will be the subject of my next blog post.