Blanko!

[bluebird24]

P

[Frybabe]

One letter left.

P A C __ I N G    F O R    M A R S:


T H E    C U R I O U S    S C I E N C E


O F    L I F E    I N    T H E    V O I D


Letters used: A, C, D, E, F, G, I, H, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V

[PatH]

And it's a K.

Packing for Mars: the Curious Science of Life in the Void

[Frybabe]

Winner      Winner      Winner      Winner      Winner      Winner       Winner

What took you so long PatH? I thought you'd have it way before now. 

Mary Roach has done it again. I liked her Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers so much I put this one on my list at the library. Her latest is called Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach which came out on April 1 of this year. Other books she's written: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places , Six Feet Over: Adventures in the Afterlife.

I Six Feet Under and Spook are apparently the same book under two different titles. I got a kick out of the English title translations from two of the Japanese and Korean editions: Alive Everyone Corpse, Human Recycle.

[PatH]

I'm glad to hear you liked Stiff, Frybabe.  The reviews were so good I put a hold on it at my library, but it's still on order, so it'll be a while.

[JoanK]

Are these popular science books? they sound intriguing.

[JoanK]

Now you've done it. I went into Amazon and ordered samples of three of her books. So much for my plan  of dutifully taking care of paperwork today. Oh well. it will be there tomorrow!

[PatH]

What took you so long PatH? I thought you'd have it way before now.

I really should have, since I just finished a sci-fi book about going to Mars.  I'll describe it on the sci-fi site.

New quiz: mystery


T  ___  ___

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[marjifay]

E's?

I think the Mary Roach book sounds good.

PatH, was the Sci-Fi book you mentioned about going to Mars THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir?  About a man who is accidentally left behind on Mars and has to figure out a way to survive?  It gets very good reviews at Amazon.  I started it, but didn't get far before giving it up.  Too much technical science stuff for me. 

Marj

[Frybabe]

N?

[jane]

T's?

[PatH]

No Ns, no more Ts, but you hit the jackpot with E.

T  ___  E

___  E  ___--___  E  ___  ___  E  ___

___  E  ___  ___  ___  E

Letters guessed: E, N, T

[JoanK]

S

[marjifay]

D'?

[PatH]

No, I read The Martian a couple of months ago, and liked it.  The technical stuff eases up some after Weir gets into his stride, though it's still there.  The book is quite good, and suspenseful.  A gazillion things either go wrong or work better than you would think, leading to suspense to the end.

The book I just read is Rescue Mode, by Ben Bova and Les Johnson, and it has a lot of similarities to The Martian.  It deals with the first human expedition to Mars too; the spaceship gets hit by a meteor when it's gone too far to turn back.  They manage to repair the damage, but are left with a fuel shortage and, if they do the Mars flyby (which they have to do in order to turn around) and pick up the water stored there for the short stay they meant to have, they still won't have enough to last them all the way home.  What to do?

The technical stuff is kept to a minimum, and there is a lot more about the politics of supporting the expedition and whether this will kill future manned expeditions.  Johnson works for NASA, as well as writing, mostly factual articles.

It's slicker than The Martian.  Weir's inexperience shows, especially at first, while Bova is a practiced old hand.  There is more character development and interaction, since we're following 8 people cooped up together.  But I found them equally enjoyable.  If you thought you would like The Martian, you will probably like this one.

I'll put my review in the sci-fi site too, for those who don't play word games.  Marj, you should join us there more often.

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=81.2240

[PatH]

No Ss, but the Ds will probably give it to you.  Marj, you're making all the good guesses today.

T  ___  E

___  E  D--___  E  ___  D  E  D

___  E  ___  ___  ___  E

Letters guessed: D, E, N, S, T

[marjifay]

let's try R's

[bluebird24]

W

[PatH]

One R, no Ws.


T  ___  E

R  E  D--___  E  ___  D  E  D

___  E  ___  ___  ___  E

Letters guessed: D, E, N, R, S, T

[marjifay]

A's?

[PatH]

T  ___  E

R  E  D--___  E  A  D  E  D

___  E  A  ___  ___  E

Letters guessed: A, D, E, N, R, S, T

[PatH]

Hint: it's a short story.

[marjifay]

Yes, and I think it is:

THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[PatH]

     WINNER WINNER WINNER

Indeed it is.  Good work, Marj.

[marjifay]

I have a book of the complete stories of Sherlock Holmes, but haven't gotten to that one yet -- but I will.

I have a subscription to the old time radio programs (SiriusXM.com) on my car radio, and we love to listen to the Sherlock Holmes stories.  Will often go out of our way driving home so we can take time to hear the end of a story.

Marj

[marjifay]

Here's a new puzzle   Recent nonfiction.  I'm waiting to read this one.

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___   ___   E

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[Frybabe]

I knew it was a Sherlock Holmes. J just couldn't remember the full title. I read Sherlock Holmes stories so long ago, I couldn't tell you which I read. Conan Doyle wrote other things too, one of which I started, but didn't get very far. It had to do with the Roman Legion as I recall and wasn't very good in my estimation.


Okay, than. How about O?

[marjifay]

Only one O, but good start!



O   ___   ___   ___   ___   ___

___   ___

___   ___   E

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[PatH]

I?

I was a Sherlock Holmes nut when I was young, read them all several times.  I still occasionally reread some.

[marjifay]

One I.

O   ___   ___   ___   ___   ___

I   ___

___   ___   E

___   ___   ___

___   ___   ___   ___   ___

[bluebird24]

T

[marjifay]

One T



O   ___   ___   ___   ___   ___

I   ___


T   ___   E

___   ___   ___

___   ___   ___   ___   ___

Letters guessed:  I, O, T

[Frybabe]

W?

[marjifay]

One W!


O   ___   ___   ___   ___   ___

I   ___


T   ___   E

___   ___   W

___   ___   ___   ___   ___

Letters guessed:  I, O, T, W
 

 
 
 

[PatH]

Bet there's an N or two.

[marjifay]

You bet right!  Two N's. 


O   ___   ___  N   ___   ___

I   ___


T   ___   E

N   ___   W

___   ___   ___   ___   ___

Letters guessed:  I, N, O, T, W

[PatH]

Orange is the New Black

[Frybabe]

That'a a book? I thought it was a new TV show.

[marjifay]

WINNER!!    WINNER!!        WINNER!!

PatH IS THE WINNER

It's a book, nonfiction, by Piper Kerman that was made into a a TV series.   The TV series was nominated for an Emmy Award, under a category which surprised me (COMEDY) because of the book's title  ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK; MY YEAR IN A WOMEN'S PRISON.

Marge

[PatH]

New quiz, non-fiction, not recent:

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I  ___

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