Thursday, June 30, 2016

June 2016 Reading



The Spider Sapphire Mystery by Carolyn Keene  Yes, I still read Nancy Drew books. This one was actually written by Harriet Adams in 1968.  I belong to a book club that reads the Nancy Drew books and discusses them!!
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple by Anne Hart A "biography" of the fictional Miss Marple. If you are a fan, this is a must read. She has one about Hercule Poirot that is now on my TBR list as well.
Winterkill by C J Box There is nothing better than reading a book set in the Snowy Winter of Wyoming during a hot summer day!!
Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart (library) Oh I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it. Set in NJ in the 1900's so if you are a Downton Abbey fan give it a try, also if you are a Girls Series Collector, this one is a lot of fun,
Empire of Things by Frank Trentmann (library) I liked this one, although often it felt like homework, like I was reading a textbook. But I found the subject very interesting. The history of the consumer and how we are compelled to buy and collect things.
They Do it with Mirrors by Agatha Christie (audiobook) One reason I like to "hear" books that I have already read before on audiobook, is like why I can watch a Shakespeare Play over and over again. I like to hear the different voices of the book done differently and I sometimes see something new in the plot or characterization that I might have missed reading. I like how it becomes a little different in my head, my imaginings of the place or the people.
The Longest Night by Andria Williams (library) a fictional account of a nuclear accident in Idaho Falls, ID in 1961. I liked it and I am often intrigued by so much of the history of the USA that we do not know about. Three Mile Island you know about, but 3 people died at the accident at Idaho Falls and no one knows about it.
Girl About Town by Adam Shankman (library) a fun book (I think this is a YA title) set during the depression in Hollywood. With a fun heroine and hero who join forces to solve a murder mystery. I liked it
Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets (library) another cold weather book to read on a hot day. It is about a female hunter who gets lost in the Colorado Wilderness and the female BLM search and rescue ranger who hunts for her. I really liked all the detail about the search process and the hunting process (not being a hunter myself)
The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall (library) a spoof of Gone with the Wind, from the point of view of the slaves. Very interesting/entertaining
Extreme Prey by John Sandford (library) The latest Lucas Davenport thriller. It concerns a threat against a presidential candidate. I liked it as usual and read it in about 6 hours!
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (library) I recently watched the TV series based  on this book and really enjoyed it. About an English Family who go to live on a Greek Island.
The Life and Times of Hercule Poirot by Anne Hart. This one is the Biography of Hercule Poirot. If you are a Christie fan, check these books by Anne Hart out. Very enjoyable.
Pilgrim with No Direction by Brian R. Murdock  In anticipation of hiking the Portuguese Camino de Santiago later this year. I got this book about a guy hiking the trail It is wonderful. I loved it and now I am looking forward to the hike so much more!! The guy is really funny and I laughed out loud several times and had to read parts aloud to Ryan, I am even going to give you a link where you can buy the book (Kindle or paperback) cause I liked it that much!! Just click on the name of the book!!
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons by Ann Rinaldi So my car breaks down and I was lucky that I have a few books in the car that I save to trade into Little Free Libraries that I see around town. This book had come out of a Little Free Library and had not made it into the house yet!! So I was happy to read it while I waited for the AAA guy to come save me. It is a YA book about Slavery
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (audiobook) I had not read this book in several years and it is really really interesting. It concerns the murder of the boys in the tower by Richard the Third.  Tey's Inspector Grant is laid up with an injury and spends his convalescence trying to figure out the truth of this historical murder.
Trespassing Across America by Ken Ilgunas (library) So I saw this one at Third Place Books in Seattle and picked it up thinking that it was going to be mainly about his hike from Canada down to Texas across America...well, it is really about the XL pipeline that they are proposing to build to bring oil down to the ports in Texas from the oil fields in the north. So I was ready for a lot of environmental preaching. Surprise!! This is still a very interesting hiking story and I learned about the pipeline and why it is a bad idea.
Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben (library) I am a fan of Harlan Coben and this book no exception. He writes a good thriller.
Manzanar to Mount Whitney by  Hank Umemoto (library) This is a book about a Japanese American man who was interned at Manzanar as a boy and dreamed of hiking Mount Whitney (which you can see from the camp) and the hike he makes later in life to fulfill that quest.
The Girls by Emma Cline (library) one girl's story of getting swept up by a cult. I am always amazed at what people will do to be liked and accepted as part of a group. Maybe because I am introverted, I never felt this aching need to be part of a group. I could be content to be by myself.
Like a Beggar by Ellen Bass (library) a book of poetry and if you have been following my blog entries for some time, you don't see much poetry here. I am not really a poetry reader. I LIKE poetry. But it takes slow and contemplative reading and I just don't do that. I usually tear thru books just soaking them up like a sponge. Poetry wants you to wallow in it. Or at least that is my take on poetry. So WHY am I reading poetry all of a sudden? Well, I am participating in Reading Book Bingo at the Seattle Library this summer. It is a cool summer reading program for adults where you have to read certain things to fill in your bingo card. So I needed Poetry and I needed "something out of my comfort zone" and I needed something by Seattle Art and Lectures participants. What this means is that you are going to see more poetry in my reading list next month as well!! LOL cause Poetry will help fill all three of those squares! So about these poems. I really liked them. I LIKE the classics like Frost, Yeats, Longfellow, Wordsworth, etc. But usually the "modern" poets I don't like so much. exceptions are Sylvia Plath, Dylan Thomas and Robert Service. So I was not prepared to really enjoy these as much as I did!! I would definitely read more Ellen Bass.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Monday's Postcard 2016: The Far Side


 A couple of my favorite Far Side comics on postcards. The Ship of Fools/Car of Idiots has been on my bulletin board for YEARS!!

Monday, June 20, 2016

Monday's Postcard 2016: Weddings






                                    These postcards were sent to me to announce weddings!

Monday, June 13, 2016

Monday's Postcard 2016: Cats






                          These Cat postcards were sent to me from a friend in Europe.

Monday, June 06, 2016

Monday's Postcard 2016: Antique Aircraft






                 I love these old aircraft themed postcards and I am always looking for cards that are        aviation related when I am at antique malls. I just had an opportunity to have empathy for those of you who have trouble finding postcards. Ryan and I were vacationing in Dallas, TX and we visited several touristy spots and the postcards were either very expensive ($1) or they were not very interesting and I had trouble finding anything that I wanted to send to anyone!! 

Wednesday, June 01, 2016

May 2016 Reading



Heat Lightning by John Sandford A Virgil Flowers mystery. I enjoy these and I usually have a few paperbacks in my luggage when I travel. This was one that I turned to while flying at the beginning of May.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Katie DiCamillo Some friends were discussing this book and I realized that I had not read it! So easily remedied. Read it quickly in one day.
Journey To Munich by Jacqueline Winspear (library) the latest Maisie Dobbs novel. Love it
Savage Run by C J Box another Joe Pickett novel as I make my way thru this series
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson (library) I always enjoy Bryson's observations about life
Mrs. Houdini by Victoria Kelly (library) I like the book and the story from Houdini's wife's point of view, however, I was a little annoyed at the back and forth from the story of how they met and lived with the things going on after Houdini's death. I would have prefered a more linear story. I would just be getting into their relationship and the author switches to the flimflam artists that duped Mrs. Houdini later in life. Just start understanding that and switch back again. Annoying.
Maphead by Ken Jennings (library). Yes the Ken Jennings who won at Jeopardy!  Loved this book. Totally awesome, all my Letterboxing friends need to run out and get it ( if only to get mad over the geocaching chapter). And I thought of my friend, John, who used to work at Caltrans when I read the Roadgeeks chapter!
Coronado by Dennis Lehane  a collection of Short Stories by one of my favorite authors
The Widow by Fiona Barton (library) good suspense and pseudo mystery Not as good as Girl on a Train or Gone Girl, but not bad
Inspector Cadaver by Georges Simenon I recently saw Maigret Sets a Trap on ITV in the UK and so now I am intrigued by Inspector Maigret. This is one of many books featuring this sleuth by Georges Simenon
Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. This is the guy who wrote The Strange Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I liked this book too.
Boar Island by Nevada Barr ( library) the latest Anna Pigeon mystery. This one takes place at Acadia National Park in Maine.
The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter ( library) story of a girl who spent her teen years institutionalized and her life as she tries to live in the real world, Coming to terms with the mother who had he locked away
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin (library) this is a collection of short stories and it is wonderful.  I loved just about every single story love love loved her prose, her use of words to paint a picture in my head.
Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown   My sister gave me this book and I had to hurry and read it before the movie comes out!! About the University of Washington crew team and their journey to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Very Good I went back and forth from reading the book and listening to the audiobook in my car. The audiobook is awesome just because it is read by Edward Hermann.
Face Off  ed. by David Baldacci an awesome collection of short stories. From the Thriller Writers of America. Each story has a famous protagonist from one author combined with the famous protagonist of another author, with the two authors combining forces to write the story. I thought it was a pretty interesting gimmick and really enjoyed it!!