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Book Review Update

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It took some time, because I couldn’t find a plugin that could help, but I am pleased to say that I’ve gone through every book review on this website (all 143 of them). All links have been updated where possible, or otherwise removed. All affiliate links have been deleted. All book cover images have been updated, and all reviews without a book cover now has one. I have also added ratings to the reviews where I had a rating on Goodreads but not here, leaving a handful with no rating (sorry, I didn’t want to give a guess based on what I had written).

My early reviews were a bit of a mess, and I have updated them as best I can so that they fall into line with the later ones.

As previously stated, the posted reviews are from 2005 to 23 February 2019. My next task is to try and find a later backup with the rest. Failing that, the other option is to copy and paste them from Goodreads and/or LibraryThing. Honestly, I don’t fancy that option at all. I’ll keep you posted (excuse the pun).

And on another note, I discovered something interesting (or at least it was interesting to me). During this long, tedious update process, I discovered the first audiobook I listened too was Shadows by John Saul in September 2009 and the first ever ebook I read was Realmshift by Alan Baxter in November 2009. 2009 was a big year of discovery it seems. Sadly, I cannot tell you the title of the first book I read or what year it was read. It was far too long ago, and I have no idea.

Edited on 30 January 2023: Lucky me, I found another backup and have uploaded another 55 reviews today, so the reviews now go up to November 2020. All are up-to-date as far as I can tell. Please let me know if you find anything amiss.

I Survived COVID-19 (so far)

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For me, COVID-19 started when I noticed mayhem in the toilet paper aisle of the supermarket, and I wondered what was happening. I didn’t need toilet rolls, so didn’t buy any. More fool me because I didn’t see any more for six weeks. And then, I had to leave home at 6.45 am to ensure I got some (happily, I did), but it was another four weeks or so before I managed to get any more. During that time, my husband struck gold when he managed to get his hands on an industrial roll, but that got us through those tough weeks.

By the time we got used to seeing no toilet paper anywhere, other items had started to become rare commodities. Things like soap, sanitizer, flour, pasta, rice, long-life milk, cereal, oats, canned goods, and then fresh meat disappeared from the shelves as people started to stockpile. The hoarders left nothing for anyone else. Mass panic seemed to take hold. Suddenly store owners imposed limits to these sort after products. Some people turned nasty and actually threw punches over toilet rolls. Can you believe it? It was a scary time, yet my husband and I managed to eat proper meals every day. We improvised. We tried new products. But above all else, we continued to only buy what we needed.

For the world, we are told that COVID-19 started at a wet market in China. Something about cross-contamination of animals that should never be near each other and are not in the real world.

And the conspiracists believe something about worldwide population control. But I won’t go into that.

COVID-19 has changed the world. In general terms, the whole world went into lockdown. And within countries, some of its people were forced to stay within their district. While in other countries, people were confined to their own homes.

Suddenly we could not travel overseas. We were not allowed to congregate in large numbers. Family members could not visit each other, let alone their elderly relatives in nursing homes or care facilities, or hospitals. Weddings had to be postponed, while only ten people could attend funerals. Businesses closed their doors, leaving thousands of people jobless or stood down until further notice (actually, I think I could say millions here). If we went for a walk and found ourselves standing admiring the view, we were at risk of receiving a fine for loitering.

Due to an emergency eye test, I visited a shopping centre in the middle of a weekday. A majority of the shops were closed, and it felt dark and eerie walking through the deserted complex alone.

Everywhere we went (and still go) we were expected to stay one and a half metres from the people around us. And sanitizer was (and still is) thrust at us before we could step into a shop, a business, or anywhere else we want to go.

Governments asked us to do these things to stop the spread of the virus and to stop the death toll from rising.

To date, there have been over 7M confirmed cases worldwide, with over 400,000 deaths.

In Australia, where I live, we’ve been lucky. We acted quickly. One day everything was normal, the next we were working from home. We were asked only to leave our homes for essential purposes only, such as buying food and for medical reasons, and to go to work if we couldn’t work from home. Believe me, most people quickly found a way to convert an area in their home to a workspace. Children sat on one side of the room, doing their school work digitally. Meanwhile, their parents sat on the other side of the room, conducting Skype meetings and performing work duties electronically. We adapted. Fast.

To date, there have been just over 7,000 confirmed cases in Australia and 102 deaths.

For some, working from home has been a challenge, especially for those living alone. They report feeling isolated and lonely. For me, I loved working from home and would be happy to continue doing it indefinitely. I work harder, and I’m more focused. There’s less stress. But we’re all different.

In Australia, the restrictions are slowly lifting. On Saturday, I went to a shopping centre again and, this time, I found the number of people to be confronting. I felt the social distancing requirement was not adhered to and, to be honest, I couldn’t wait to leave the complex and get away from the mass of people. I worry that we’ll become complacent and end up with a second way of the virus that is more devastating than the first.

I believe we have had other harmful viruses. I also think there has been a toilet roll shortage once before in our history. But regardless of that, 2020 has been a year like no other. Part of me feels as if we are transitioning between what we know (the old) and something totally new. Part of me worries that life will never entirely be like it was. That may not be a bad thing, but it will depend on how the future shapes up. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.

For now, I find myself hoping that the coronavirus disease or COVID-19 soon disappears from the world, never to return. Only then will we be able to start living our new normal. Fingers crossed that the new normal isn’t a bad one.

Rant: Fallout 76

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Image copyright to Bethesda.net

I have been into gaming since time began … or since gaming began, at least. I have all the PlayStation consoles (PS1 through to PS4) and I have over a thousand games. I’m not joking.

I love gaming. I’m a loyal PlayStation fan. However, this is my first rant in regards to gaming.

For Christmas, I received more games than books last year. I think my family wanted to buy something different, so each present (almost) was a new game. Honestly, I was in my glory.

This was especially so when I tore open a present and found a Fallout game. My family laughed and said my eyes lit up. Sounds a bit evil to me! 😊 Anyway, last year, I played Fallout 4 for several months. I became totally addicted. It was brilliant and I couldn’t get enough of it. But eventually all good things must come to an end and I was disappointed on the day I had to admit the game had run its course and I had to admit I had completed it. *sigh*

So when I opened Fallout 76 on Christmas Day, I was excited. I could return to a well known place and legitimately become engrossed in a new adventure, through a game I loved.

To savour the moment, I played the other games first!

Yesterday, I pulled Fallout 76 out and sat patiently for four hours while the system downloaded and updated the latest patch. When I finally gained control of the game and it was about to launch me into the world I’d eagerly waited for, I was over the moon.

I pressed any key as instructed … and that’s where my rant really begins. I could have, of course, started my rant at the stage where I had to wait four hours for the patch to download, but I was willing to let that go. So my rant starts here…

When I pressed any key to start the game, instead of being taken to the start of the game — as one would expect — I was taken to a subscription page. I scanned the page, decided I didn’t want a subscription (thanks for asking) and pressed the key to go on to the game. Instead I was returned to the main PlayStation start up page.

Right, now I’m confused, something must have gone wrong. I started again. I was offered the subscription, I rejected the subscription, and ended up back at the start up page.

Now I’m concerned, what’s wrong? Maybe I have to find the “No Thanks” option on the subscription page. I go through the steps again, search the subscription page to find no other options, except purchase options. Yes, I end back at the main start up page.

I head to the internet. What am I doing wrong? And naturally I found the answer pretty quickly.

Nothing.

That’s right, I was doing nothing wrong. You cannot play Fallout 76 without purchasing a subscription!

What a bloody cheek. A family member has purchased the game for me and it cannot be played unless I’m online and have a PlayStore+ subscription. The dirty, rotten mongrels.

Of course, I later discovered that it does say that on the front cover of the game. In tiny letters, that no one is going to read. In my opinion, this is important information and that wording should be large and bold and highlighted in every way. Look at me. Read here. Only buy this game if you like playing online and you have (or want) a subscription. If not, put me down now and don’t waste your money.

I feel I’ve been ripped off. Totally. No, I didn’t buy the game, but someone did in good faith. They threw money away. I will not be forced to purchase a subscription. And if this is the way of future gaming, I think I’m going to swap over to the anti-gaming campaign. All those gaming companies out there have to remember that not everyone has an internet connection, for one thing. Not everyone wants to play online with strangers. I’ve always been quite happy to go solo, and that’s the way I prefer it to stay. I should have the choice. Not everyone wants to, or can afford to, purchase the subscription.

Right now I’m disappointed in PlayStation and Bethesda. But mostly, I’m disappointed because I will NOT be playing Fallout 76. And now I’m angry too.

Getting Past the Road Block in Genealogy

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In 2009 I wrote a post entitled Genealogy: Taking Steps to Build a Family Tree. At the time I confessed that I had started my family tree and dove right in and added anyone who looked vaguely connected and didn’t bother with sources.

How stupid of me!

So with over 6,000 people in my tree, I started over. This time I did the research and sourced … every … single … detail. And if there was no source, it didn’t get added.

Now, in 2018, that same tree has just over 1,000 people. However, they are all sourced. And what I discovered is that some of those “sure things” that were added way back then, were not sure things at all. In fact, with the relevant research, I now KNOW that some of those people do NOT belong on my tree.

TIP: Do not, under any circumstances, believe the information you find on someone else’s family tree. Not until you have checked their sources (if they have them), and done the research yourself. I cannot tell you how many times I found information on another tree and when I’ve looked into the information I can prove that the information is incorrect.

For example, yesterday I noticed many family trees on Ancestry.com (and by many, I mean dozens) stated that my ancestor passed away in 1901. My records told me she passed away between 1901 and 1911. In effect, I could have agreed with the mass and added this information. But I didn’t do that. I checked their source, and they had sourced the burial for this person as 11 March 1901. Brilliant. I thought for a few moments I had discovered new information. However, the 1901 Census told me she was alive on 31 March 1901. She was with her husband and youngest child in the street they had lived in for many, many years.

My research then took me to the 1911 Census, where her husband was living with his grandson and his marital status was listed as “widower”. So, my person was alive on 31 March 1901 but had passed away by 2 April 1911. This proved to me that all those family trees on Ancestry are wrong! I continued my search. Using FreeBMD I did a search on deaths using my ancestors name and adjusting the date range from 1900 to 1912.

There were half a dozen possibilities. Two were in the area my family had lived all their life. But that doesn’t make the information conclusive. Luckily, the death details also provided the person’s age and as I had conclusive proof on when she was born, I could check the possibilities to see if any of them matched.

One did. And that one was in the area where they lived. I believe my ancestor passed away in 1909, not 1901 like all those other trees claim. I’ve added the information I found to my tree, but I will continue to research it as I want secondary proof so that I know without doubt that this entry is correct.

If you are stuck at a road block then it is okay to check what other people have included on their tree, but make sure you know it’s right before you add it to your own. Checking other people’s trees is a great way to get a clue that might set you off in the right direction, but don’t be lazy. Do the research.

Another tip is to actually look at the images you are using for your research. By this, I mean if you find your family in a Census record, check the neighbours on the same sheet as your family and on previous and following pages. The ancestor I previously discussed lived in the same street for three decades. When I checked the various Census records I had, I discovered that other family members did too! In fact, three households consisted of my family. I didn’t find them through normal searches, I discovered them by reading the images I was downloading and adding to my personal file. And from that information, I discovered all sorts of other information and family members.

And my final tips for today, is to search probate records. Often this source is overlooked, but it can give precious information. Or confirm information that you may already have. Remember how I said I’m going to research for secondary evidence for my ancestor? This is where I will start that research. Because often probate records will confirm the spouse’s name, the area they lived in and also provide a death date.

Some road blocks may never be resolved, as the information is unavailable at this time. However, as our world becomes more digital I believe the data will improve with time, so stay hopeful. In the meantime, keep searching and searching and build your tree. And then maybe one day, not too far into the future, that impossible road block will solve itself.

Game review: Heavy Rain

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Description:

Heavy Rain is an interactive action-adventure psychological thriller video game created by French developer Quantic Dream exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game is written and directed by Quantic Dream’s founder and CEO David Cage. Heavy Rain‘s story is a dramatic thriller modelled after film noir, featuring four protagonists involved with the mystery of the Origami Killer, a serial killer who uses extended periods of rainfall to drown his victims.

Ethan Mars is trying to save his son from being the next victim, while investigative journalist Madison Paige, FBI profiler Norman Jayden, and private detective Scott Shelby are each trying to track down clues to the Origami Killer’s identity. The player interacts with the game by performing actions highlighted on screen related to motions on the controller, and in some cases, performing a series of quick time events during fast-paced action sequences. The player’s decisions and actions during the game will affect the narrative. The main characters can be killed, and certain actions may lead to different scenes and endings.

Review:

Now this game was totally not what I expected. It was a Christmas gift from my son, who thought it was a ‘shoot-em-up’ game. He knows I enjoy that type of game and he told me that’s what he got me. So when I started playing that’s what I thought I was going to be doing. You know, shooting everything that moved, as well as the normal things that don’t move. In other words, shooting everything and anything!

But it’s not a ‘shoot-em-up’ game. It’s an interactive movie. That’s the best way I can explain it. At first I was thinking get on with the shooting but then I was drawn into the storyline and settled back and…well, I interacted.

Strangely, I was captivated. It’s like I (the player) was the director and I made the decisions on how the characters would react and what questions they would ask. I could have (and did) make some of the characters do good things and some, well, not so good. The decisions I made had an effect on the outcome of the story. The main characters can die if you can’t get them through certain scenarios and you gather less clues if you’re slow in responding too.

I literally spend hours at a time watching and playing as the storyline unfolded. I found myself eager to return to the ‘game’ whenever I turned it off. I wanted to know what would happen next. I wanted to solve the murders and work out who the murderer was. And, when the story ended, I was pleased to discover that if I play again and make different decisions then the ending will be different.

This is not a fast-paced game with earth shattering explosions every second of play. It’s a well thought out game that will have you totally focused on what’s happening on the scene. It’s a brilliant game that I wouldn’t have purchased for myself if I had read the reviews for it first. But it’s a game I’m certainly glad I’ve had the opportunity to participate with and enjoy.

I recommend this game.

The image and description are courtesy of Wikipedia.

DVD Review: Rosewood Lane

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Rosewood Lane is a horror/thriller movie starring Rose McGowan and Daniel Ross Owens.

The synopsis reads: Radio talk show therapist Sonny Blake moves back to her childhood home on seemingly idyllic Rosewood Lane after her alcoholic father dies. But upon arrival in the old neighbourhood, Sonny discovers her neighbours are terrified of the local paperboy. She thinks this is ridiculous, until she encounters the boy himself. It turns out that he is a cunning and dangerous sociopath, one who may have gruesomely killed her father… and others. When the boy starts to call Sonny’s radio show and recite eerie nursery rhymes, an unnerving game of cat and mouse begins, one where Sonny starts to doubt her own sanity.

Firstly, why do people insist on going outside when they know there’s a killer on the lose? It’s annoying, but I guess if they didn’t do it then there wouldn’t be a movie as no one would get murdered.

Apart from the obvious where that is concerned, this movie was quite good. It was entertaining. It had some moments when you think your own heart will strangle you. And it had tension. What I also liked was the ‘tease’ of information. If you sit and think about it afterwards, the movie does tie up all the loose ends, but when it actually finishes, you feel a bit ‘up in the air’ and some people may even feel a bit confused. There are clues throughout the movie which tie in perfectly with the ending. It was quite well done really.

Rose McGowan did a great job with her role. She was convincing…even though her character was a bit frustrating at times. I certainly wouldn’t do the things she did, in the same situation, but maybe I’m a coward.

Daniel Ross Owens was brilliant. His character was creepy, which is perfect for this type of movie.

Definitely worth watching, and a sequel could easily be in the future.

DVD Review: Hunger Games

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Recently, while on holiday, we came across The Hunger Games DVD in a quaint little shop. It was quite cheap and we couldn’t pass on the opportunity to buy it.

Of course, I have heard and seen The Hunger Games book but, to date, had too many other books on my reading list to be bothered with it.

The official synopsis reads: Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

I enjoyed this movie. It had a bit of everything – action, drama, love. It was a bit strange in parts too. However, overall, I felt everything fitted together nicely. I believe the premise of the story goes a long way as well. This is a story that promotes hope and humanity, even in the direst of situations. It shows that we do not have to let out standards slide or our integrity waiver just because things are harder than we expect … and just because most of the people around us have done so.

Naturally, I cannot compare the DVD with the book, but I was more than happy with the DVD. I certainly will be watching the next instalment when it is released.

DVD Review: Battleship

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Battleship DVDWe recently sat down and watched Battleship starring Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna and Liam Neeson. It is described as “an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force”.

When it first started I thought we had the wrong DVD in the case. However, the cast were right so we really didn’t know what was going on. The set up resembled a cross between a comedy and a romance story, but we were expecting action so I started to get restless. It took FOREVER to really get started. In all honesty, if the first 40 or so minutes were cut right back to less than 10 minutes it would have been much better.

Thankfully, I persevered long enough and when the action did start, it was brilliant! The effects were amazing. The storyline wasn’t perfect, but action movies are all about seeing explosions and hearing things being ripped about, not drawn out dialogue that no-one cares about. I wasn’t disappointed in that regard.

Primarily, I’d consider this movie propaganda. The main character started out as a useless, no-hoper and the movie is saying “join the Navy and we’ll straighten you out”. Propaganda or not, it was a entertaining movie and worth watching, but isn’t the kind of movie that I’d return to over and over again.

Game Review: Uncharted 3

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I’ve played the Playstation since they were first invented. I currently own PS1 and about 100 games, PS2 and about 200 games and PS3 and about 30 games (and counting). A couple of decades ago, we owned a Nintendo as well.

Most people give me a strange look when I say I play PS3 (or whatever console I might be using at the time). Few of them say it, but most of them think to themselves “she’s too old”. Well, I’m not too old and I never will be. I love playing games. Especially gory, blood-thirsty ones such as Resident Evil (Resident Evil 2 and 3 for PS1 are still my favourites). Yet I’ll also play war games, kids games, puzzle games, shooter games, whatever I can get my hands on except sports (hate them with a passion).

Every now and again I’ll write a review for the latest game I’ve completed. Today, I want to write about Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.

I received this game for Christmas and was excited as I own and have completed the first two games. And thoroughly enjoyed them both I might add.

Briefly, the plot follows Drake and Sully (and a few friends) as they travel the world trying to solve a puzzle concerning a lost ancient city and the treasures they believe they will find there. Of course, the baddies in the story also know of this lost city and want something other than the treasures for themselves, but it takes Drake and Sully a long time to work this out and death and unnecessary risks are not out of the question when you want something bad enough.

This is an adventure story which kept my attention and had me coming back for more. I highly recommend it.

The storyline for this game is superb. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it felt like an interactive movie … with me controlling events, to a certain degree. The graphics are amazing. The game itself is addictive. There are four levels of play – super easy, easy, normal and hard. There are puzzles that were easy to solve and some that I found impossible to solve, however the game seems to know you’re having problems and will offer hints after a certain amount of time or after several failed attempts. I was thankful for that at times and ignored the hint prompt if I didn’t want help.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Genealogy: 1901 & 1911 Irish Census Online

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I have a few Irish connections, but not many considering the number of people in my tree. G, on the other hand, has a direct ancestor who was Irish and moved to Scotland; one of his children (or maybe a few of them, I can’t clearly remember offhand) emigrated to Australia. This is a clear indication that genealogists can easily be looking in the wrong place for the information they seek.

Anyway, I was thrilled to discover that the Irish Census records for 1901 and 1911 have been made available online. From what I can see, the records are searchable and free. This is courtesy of The National Archives of Ireland.

About the 1901 and 1911 censuses

The 1901 and 1911 censuses are the only surviving full censuses of Ireland open to the public. Both censuses cover the island of Ireland. They were released to public inspection in 1961, because of the stream of requests for information about people’s ages, particularly those born before civil registration of births began in 1864.

The 1901 census was taken on 31st March 1901. The 1911 census was taken on 2 April 1911.

What information does the census contain?

Ireland is unusual among English-speaking census-taking countries in that our original household manuscript returns survive. These are the forms filled out and signed by the head of each household on census night. Most other countries only have Enumerators’ books, where family details were transcribed by the person charged with collecting the census information.

The basic topographical divisions for the census are: County; District Electoral Division; Townland or Street. This is a simple hierarchical structure which makes it easy to access any area in the country. The returns are arranged in clusters by townland/street within district electoral division within county. For each townland/street, there are a number of original household returns, filled in and signed by heads of households, and three statistical returns, dealing with religious denominations, classification of buildings, and out-offices and farm-steadings, filled out by the Enumerator for that townland/street.

– taken from The National Archives of Ireland website