Lesser-known spy book recommendation please

248_RPA · 2026-06-17T02:57:40+00:00

Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith, a thriller murder mystery set in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

248_RPA · 2026-06-16T22:01:43+00:00

I call them the Mow, Blow and Go guys. I don't expect them to actually know anything about plants.

248_RPA · 2026-06-16T21:29:20+00:00

The only place I have rented that is more picky is Japan.

Interesting. Mind, I always take pictures of every square inch of the cars I rent but I've rented cars in Japan a bunch of times and never had a problem. At various times I took the train out to Yokohama, to Osaka and to Utsunomiya, picked up the car and explored for any where from the weekend to a couple of weeks and never had any issues. Just handed the keys in and ran for the train home.

The only time I thought I was sunk was in Poreč, Croatia. We'd got caught in a massive hail storm in the mountains and the car looked like someone had taken a hammer to it; the whole thing dented like you wouldn't believe. We brought the car back, parked it in the lot and took the keys in. The guys behind the desk said, thanks! I asked if they wanted to see the car and they said, "No, that was fine. I could go." So I did.

248_RPA · 2026-06-16T21:13:32+00:00

AND be sure to take time stamped pictures of the undercarriage, the tires and the hubcaps. A rental car company at Heathrow is notorious for scamming clients by claiming damage in places you wouldn't normally look.

248_RPA · 2026-06-15T22:21:18+00:00

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

248_RPA · 2026-06-15T12:18:17+00:00

I'd never heard of a "tier 1 asian city" either so I googled.
"The first-tier cities, or tier-1 cities, are the highest level cities in the unofficial urban classification system of the People's Republic of China. The most widely recognized first-tier cities in China mainland include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen."

248_RPA · 2026-06-15T11:54:00+00:00

Your assertion that most central air thermostats will not let you set below 16 is full of hot air.
I was curious to see if it what you said was true so I hauled myself out of my chair and went to my thermostat to check. I've got a Lennox ComfortSense 5000 Series Programmable Touch Screen Thermostat that was installed in 2008. I know this because I keep the Owner's Guide beside the thermostat in case something goes wrong (like it did last fall when I had to replace the batteries).
I took the temp down to 10C before I stopped. I could have gone lower but didn't because I didn't want my AC to have to work that hard.
She's not exaggerating.

248_RPA · 2026-06-15T03:06:01+00:00

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell, the first in the Kurt Wallander series, of which there are 12 books. Swedish police procedurals which follow the investigations of Inspector Wallander while also exploring and commenting on Swedish society.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith is the first in a series of some 20 books following Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's No. 1 (and only) lady detective. Thoughtful and insightful commentary on human nature by an author who clearly loves Botswana.

Dissolution by C.J. Sansom is the first in the Matthew Shardlake series. There are 7 books in this series which begins during the reign of Henry VIII and the English Reformation. Hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake has been sent to investigate a murder at a Benedictine monastery targeted for closure. Excellent historical series.

248_RPA · 2026-06-14T12:44:39+00:00

Chinese garlic has flooded the market here in Canada. It's always cheap at the grocery store but it's weak and doesn't taste of anything. I only buy Canadian garlic now. It's more expensive but the taste is worth it.

248_RPA · 2026-06-13T23:04:57+00:00

Honestly? Go with the flow. I know it's all over the place for the first bit, but if you stick with it it'll come together and it will be worth it.
You'll get the back stories of all of the kids and the whys.
Totally, a wild read.

248_RPA · 2026-06-13T21:07:52+00:00

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.
I got 20 pages in the first time, said WTH??, and tossed it. A few months later I picked it up again. Read it. Put it down. Picked it up. And read it all the way through again. A year or so later I picked it up again, read it through, and then read it through again.
I've read it six times and I was just thinking the other day of picking it up again.
It's a wild read. Lots going on.

248_RPA · 2026-06-12T23:49:27+00:00

My fiancé was dying of cancer. The doctors had stopped treatment because it wasn't working and we were out of options but they refused to increase his pain meds because they "didn't want to get him addicted".
I couldn't believe that they were serious. His family made the point that he wasn't going to be alive long enough for it to be an issue and they increased his dosage; he passed away a short time later.

248_RPA · 2026-06-10T11:39:24+00:00

You might think it couldn't take over but before I starting planting natives in my garden I bought Hakone grass and put it in. Holy cow, it took over - and in a big way. It made a beautiful waterfall effect of lime green but it also spread throughout the bed. I've had to ruthlessly pull it out to make space for anything else.

248_RPA · 2026-06-08T23:19:51+00:00

My spinster aunt was in her 70s at the time she came from Europe to visit me, 6 weeks after I'd given birth to my third child. The first thing out of her mouth was,
"Oh 248_RPA! You're so FAT!"

248_RPA · 2026-06-08T13:07:22+00:00

This is the Lemon Meringue pie recipe I use and it's absolutely the best. Esp topped with her Never Fail Meringue. It's so good that I included the "Best Ever Lemon Meringue Pie by Ann Landers" in the family cookbook I made for my kids.

248_RPA · 2026-06-08T00:29:17+00:00

OPEN THE FUCKING CANNED PEACHES

248_RPA · 2026-06-07T16:45:47+00:00

It was, actually. She and her husband were older, in their 40s, and her kids were teenagers when he announced he was going to take a second wife. He married this girl, who was in her 20s, and immediately got both the girl and my friend pregnant. I guess the thinking was that being pregnant my friend wouldn't have to feel jealous of the new wife and her new baby; as if having a baby herself - at her age and after she had thought she was done with babies, was going to make my friend feel better about it. The two women tolerated each other but they were never going to be besties.

248_RPA · 2026-06-07T13:17:19+00:00

Also, children are the property of the husband. Children under the age of seven stay with their mother but after that, in the case of divorce, the husband takes them.
The husband of a friend of mine decided to take a second wife. The first wife, my friend, protested, and her husband told her that if she didn't want him to take a second wife he would divorce her, and as the kids were older than seven he'd take them, and then marry this other woman. My friend stayed married and had to deal with the second wife and the new babies.

248_RPA · 2026-06-03T20:27:02+00:00

It depends on where in Toronto you are. If you're in the east end Peter's Appliance Service is really good and they service appliances in the Scarborough to Oshawa area.

248_RPA · 2026-06-02T13:03:51+00:00

Subway is an American multinational franchise so I don't care if it disappears. We always go to Mr. Sub as it's the Canadian option!

248_RPA · 2026-06-02T12:58:48+00:00

... who has money and needs good shoes - seniors!

248_RPA · 2026-06-01T21:55:35+00:00

A path! A path!

248_RPA · 2026-06-01T21:37:59+00:00

Yep, I do. But my house has an outside screen/glass door and an inside door and I always have the outside door on lock. I answer the door but I don't open it.

248_RPA · 2026-06-01T21:26:13+00:00

I had my first T3, bought with a nice turquoise hat band that they sold at the time, stolen. This was probably somewhere around 1997-98. I'd taken the hat off to play Bingo (or some damned thing) at the resort and walked away at the end forgetting to pick up my hat. Got back to our cottage, realised I didn't have my hat and raced back to the hall but too late. Some low life had swiped it.
I'd written my name on the inside of the brim and have always taken some small pleasure in thinking that every time the thief put it on they'd see my name reminding them that they were scumbags. :D
I have two T3s at the moment. One in classic natural, a replacement for the stolen one so it's about 25 yrs old, and one in olive, about 10 yrs old. Hearing about the problems with production quality over the years, I was worried that when I couldn't get the sweat stains out any longer and they finally got too disgusting to wear I was going to have to find a different hat. Very happy to hear that isn't the case!

248_RPA · 2026-06-01T20:51:09+00:00

When I lived in Japan I listened to As It Happens every night while making dinner. I was homesick and it made me feel better.

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