Winter birds have arrived and one of my favorites is the White-crowned Sparrow. They are a medium-distance migrant that can be seen across most of the US and Mexico during the winter and spend the breeding season in Northern Canada, Alaska and the arctic.
They are usually be seen scratching around on the ground for seeds in low foliage and shrubby areas and along walking trails. This is a bird that will come to backyard feeders to look for sunflower seeds dropped by other birds. A few times I have found them sitting on my feeder. Their distinct white crown with black lines makes them stand out from the ordinary House Sparrow and easy to spot.
A First Year Bird
Immature White-crowned Sparrow
One of the challenges for newer birders is identifying the young birds that arrive in the Autumn and Winter. Many of them look very much like their parents are easy to identify like robins and doves. Some of them look entirely different.
The young White-crowned Sparrow seen here on the right is brown during his first year and will not grow adult plumage until spring. This little guy was all fluffed up soaking in the warm morning sunshine when I spotted him last week.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. For the summer it will be hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Never List
by Koethi Zan
Narrated by Kristen Sieh
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: July 16, 2013
Format: Audio, 8 hours | 39 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 3½ of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
For years, best friends Sarah and Jennifer kept what they called the “Never List”: a list of actions to be avoided, for safety’s sake, at all costs. But one night, against their best instincts, they accept a cab ride with grave, everlasting consequences. For the next three years, they are held captive with two other girls in a dungeon-like cellar by a connoisseur of sadism.
Ten years later, at thirty-one, Sarah is still struggling to resume a normal life, living as a virtual recluse under a new name, unable to come to grips with the fact that Jennifer didn’t make it out of that cellar. Now, her abductor is up for parole and Sarah can no longer ignore the twisted letters he sends from jail.
My Thoughts:
This started out very strong as Sarah’s traumatic experience and the effect it had on her was revealed. Because of her ordeal she is paranoid of everyone and everything, and with good reason. She works from home, has her groceries delivered and hesitates to ever leave her apartment, doing so only when necessary. Her desire to forget what happened is so great that she even took on a new identify and began calling herself Caroline.
Now, ten years later, Sarah has decided it’s time to face her fears and testify against her abductor. She also wants to find Jennifer’s body which was never recovered. Inexplicably she sets out on an investigation on her own, without the help of the police. This takes her to some pretty seedy and scary places. This was the part of the plot I found implausible. It’s unrealistic that someone who has been that traumatized could undergo this kind of transformation and be able to function when the previous week she was frightened to leave her apartment. But Sarah did. As she repeatedly headed into danger I kept thinking, “Don’t go in there, anyone can see it’s a trap”, and in she went. And why didn’t she let the police help? I was never clear on that either.
Despite an at times unbelievable protagonist, this is a fast-paced, compelling psychological thriller that was hard to put down. The action moves quickly, changes direction a few times and doesn’t always head where you think it will. Considering the subject matter, an abductor that likes to torture and inflict pain, it wasn’t overly gruesome, although more sensitive readers might find parts of it a little graphic. The details of what happened to the girls during those years in the basement were left to the reader’s imagination.
The audio was performed by Koethi Zan and was a pleasure to listen to. She added just the right amount of urgency and suspense to her narration to match the fast pace of the story. In spite of a few flaws, I enjoyed the book and found it to be an entertaining eight and a half hours.
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Linked to the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, VIII event.
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Source: Review copy provided by Penguin Audio.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
I’m a big fan of science thrillers and and am looking forward to reading the recently released Perfect People by Peter James. Following is a little information about the book and the author.
Book Spotlight
Perfect Peopleby Peter James
Genre: Science Thriller
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publish Date: September 1, 2013
Format: eBook | Kindle
About the Book
In Peter James’ Perfect People, when a young couple learn they are both carriers of a gene likely to give their children a rare genetic disease, they visit a secret clinic for a ‘designer baby.’ But it does not all work out as planned…
After the death of their four-year-old son from a rare genetic disorder, John and Naomi Klaesson learn that if they have another baby there’s a high risk the same thing will happen. Desperate to avoid going through the pain of losing another child, the couple visit a clinic located on a converted cruise ship in international waters, free from any legal restraints, run by a maverick geneticist, Dr. Leo Dettore. For $400,000, they can choose all the genes of their child—literally have a designer baby. However, they don’t want half the choices on offer, they just want a healthy child. Dettore tells them that if they don’t do all they can, they will risk their child being born in a genetic “underclass” because so many parents will be enhancing theirs…
On returning home to LA, their first shock is that instead of being pregnant with the son they wanted, Naomi finds she is having twins. When John, drunk, admits to a journalist they are having a designer baby, it gets into the press and they start to be hunted by a group of religious fanatics who are violently against tampering with nature or God’s will…. They flee to the UK to get away, and John takes up a research post in Sussex. The kids are born a boy and girl, and very soon he and Naomi realise they are not just bright, they are unnervingly intelligent—even at a few years old already smarter than their parents in many ways. The teacher asks them to take them out of school as they frighten other children. One morning, John finds they have killed and postmortemed their pet guinea pigs, and they don’t understand why he is angry at them. So far as they were concerned, they were doing research.
About the Author
Peter James is the #1 international bestselling author of the Roy Grace series. An established film producer and scriptwriter, James lived in the U.S. for a number of years and produced films, including The Merchant Of Venice, starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, and Joseph Fiennes. A TV adaptation of the Roy Grace series is currently in development, with James overseeing all aspects, including scriptwriting.
In 2009 James was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Brighton in recognition of his services to literature and the community. He is Patron of Crimestoppers in Sussex alongside Vera Lynn and in 2012 was made Patron of The Whitehawk Inn. In 2011 James became Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association. He was won many literary awards, including the publicly voted ITV3 Crime Thriller AWards People’s Bestseller Dagger in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize for Perfect People in 2012.
James’ novels have been translated into thirty-six languages and three have been turned into films. All of his novels reflect a deep interest in the world of the police, with whom he does in-depth research and has unprecedented access, as well as science, medicine, and the paranormal. James divides his time between his homes in Notting Hill in London and near Brighton in Sussex.
Visit his website at www.peterjames.com.
Connect & Socialize with Peter!
Purchase the book at Amazon
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Spotlight information and review copy provided by Wunderkind PR.
Almost wordless: A pair of Shaggy Ink Cap Mushrooms popped up in a grassy area in the park. I’m pretty sure they are edible but I draw the line at foraging mushrooms as mistakes can be fatal.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Circle of Thirteen
by William Petrocelli
Genre: Thriller / Science Fiction
Publisher: Turner Publishing
Publish Date: October 22, 2013
Format: Hardcover | 336 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
From the Publisher:
In 2082, a catastrophic explosion rocks the dedication ceremony of the new United Nations in New York City. Security Director Julia Moro is on the job, chasing after the misogynistic leader of Patria, a long-disbanded international terrorist organization now being whispered about again on the streets. This dangerous, shadowy figure has been linked to several bombing attempts and vicious attacks on women, including the Women of Peace—an organization headed by thirteen bold women who have risked their lives to restore worldwide peace.
My Thoughts:
The story opens with a jump back in time to 2012 where a violent event will have an effect on a young boy’s future. Fast forward to the present, 2082 New York, and the opening ceremony of the new United Nations headquarters where all the world’s leaders have assembled. A sculpture is to be dedicated to the founders of Women for Peace. The thirteen women were murdered by a terrorist attack years ago and today are symbols of the peace movement. As the ceremony begins, an explosion rocks the building and people around the world watch in horror.
Much of the novel takes place in the two weeks leading up to the opening ceremony. Julia Moro, Security Director for the event, has reason to believe the terrorist organization Patria, know to despise the leadership and power women have gained, is planning an attack. The shadowy, reclusive leader of Patria is not easy to find and Julia has limited time to track him and his group. We go back and forth in time as Julia races against the clock. Her investigation leads into her own past, revealing long buried secrets about her own family.
I almost didn’t pick this one up because of the title. It made me think of the way-too-many paranormal books on the market today, and I was not in the mood for one of those. Don’t be fooled, this is not about the supernatural. This is a fast-paced action thriller with a complex, compelling plot. The title refers to the thirteen women killed in the terrorist attack.
The story is multi-layered with many jumps in time and flashbacks that require a little extra concentration, but once I got used to the time shifts the plot flowed and moved quickly. The setting is believable and the world of 2082 feels familiar. There are some advances in technology and electronics, climate change has continued to warm the planet, and factory farming and genetic engineering has created world-wide food shortages. It feels like the future we are creating today. The story is more thriller than science fiction.
This is an exciting debut novel that will appeal to fans of multiple genres. Recommended.
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The author, William Petrocelli, is the co-owner of Book Passage a well-known West Coast independent bookstore. The book is available at Indie Bookstores everywhere.
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Source: Review copy from Turner Publishing.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week. Currently on tour, it is hosted by a different blog each month.
The October host is Book Dragon’s Lair.
Another busy week for me. I spent time doing everything but reading so it’s probably a good thing no new print books arrived in the mailbox. I’m always excited to receive more audiobooks as I’ve become a very good at listening while doing anything that doesn’t require total concentration. Three audiobooks arrived last week:
Audiobooks
From Simon & Schuster Audio:
Red Hill by Jamie McGuire
Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you’d die for becomes the one who could destroy you?
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially challenged professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. And so, in the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.
Inherit the Dead, edited by Jonathan Santlofer
Told in the same “serial novel” format that made 2011’s No Rest for the Dead such a commercial and critical success, Inherit the Dead is a collaboration among twenty of today’s bestselling mystery and thriller authors—each taking a chapter of the narrative and infusing it with their signature style.
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
When most people hear the word “sparrow” they think of the House Sparrow, but they are only one type of sparrow that inhabits North America. There are about 35 other species and, unlike the city dwelling House Sparrow, they spend much of their time out-of-sight, hiding in the grasses, shrubs and undergrowth.
The bird in the photo below is a Swamp Sparrow. They are common in the eastern and central portions of North America. They are migratory and will travel as far north as Canada in the summer and Mexico in the winter. The bird in my photo was foraging in the grasses along the DuPage River and popped up for a few seconds to look around.
Males and some females have a rusty colored cap, a gray face and a dark eye line. They have a short bill and longer legs than most other sparrows which allows them to wade into the water to forage for food.
As their name implies, the Swamp Sparrow prefers marshes and wetlands and can often be seen in the grasses along streams and ponds. I see them often but they rarely stay still long enough for a photo.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. For the summer it will be hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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