Monday, May 29, 2017

2017 Monday's Postcard: Hawaii





Well, if I have to pick a vacation destination to go back to TODAY....It would definitely be Hawaii. 
I love the history and the flora and fauna. 
There are Islands that I have still not visited and I feel there is always something more I could gain from being in Hawaii. And I am currently working a trip to Honolulu from Phoenix today! So I am very excited to be in Honolulu for Memorial Day Weekend. 

Monday, May 22, 2017

2017 Monday's Postcard: NJ Seaside Park Beach





Seaside Park, NJ Postcards from 1959-1967
In the years before they would make the trek down to Florida...had to make do with the Beaches of New Jersey. Not too shabby though a little cooler at night! 

Monday, May 15, 2017

2017 Monday's Postcard: Florida's Beaches

                                             Florida Beach postcards from the early 1980's

I don't want to live there, but I always like to visit Florida! 

Monday, May 08, 2017

2017 Monday's Postcard: Paris



Everyone loves Paris and our family is no exception!  And when you visit the city of light, send home a postcard why don't ya??

Tuesday, May 02, 2017

2017 Reading List April



                               Gustabve Leonard de Jonghe (Belgian)  Idle Moments, no date



What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan (library)British book about a missing child case. (Fiction)  Good, I recommend
Beyond the Truth by Anne Holt (library) I keep trying these Scandinavian crime novels hoping to come upon some that I really really like. Again, just okay. I wonder if it is the translations or the writing?
Bridge of Time by Lewis Buzbee (library) Juvenile book about a couple of kids who time travel to 1800's San Francisco and run around with Sam Clemens. (before he becomes Mark Twain) It was fun and I recommend.
Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal This is the second in this series. If you like Maisie Dobbs, Maggie Hope is a little more precious, but not as funny as the Royal Spyness series. Somewhere in the middle of those two. but I like them and will read more.
Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid (library) for fans of the movie Sliding Doors and/or time travel type stuff. What would happen in an alternate universe where you did not go to a party, or you did not go on a date or you did not get in that car that time....Alternating chapters, but I had no problem keeping the two different narratives straight. I recommend.
The Firefly Letters by Margarita Engle (library) poetry about Cuba, I recommend
The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin (library) a fictional story of reincarnation. loved it, recommend
Journey for Jennifer by Marjorie Vetter YA Cuba story from the early 1950's. Very interesting
 because it talks about the student riots and some of the class struggles during that time period
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum ( library) YA about a girl adjusting to a new school and new stepfamily and a move across country after her mother has died of cancer loved it highly recommend

The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse by Alan Bradley (library ebook) Ugh I hate hate hate ebooks, but that was the only way to read this Flavia deLuce story. ICK

The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn I still enjoy these mysteries from the Dog's point of view
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko I have been intrigued by these books for years, every time I visit Alcatraz in San Francisco, I see them for sale. Well, I found them at a Goodwill shop and they are even autographed by the author!! So I thought I would give them a go. Very entertaining and of course they are based on the fact that the families of the guards lived on Alcatraz.
Steinbeck's Ghost by Lewis Buzbee (library) Another California tale by Lewis Buzbee, these are for kids, but I really enjoy them.
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (library) NYC in the 1930's. I have this vision of NYC and it always lets me down. I have images from movies and books like this one and then I go visit in person and I have to stay at a crappy hotel or it is crazy hot and it is never as chic as That Touch of Mink, Sex in the City or Desperately Seeking Susan That being said, I loved reading this book. The New York that exists in this book, I wish I could experience. It's not gonna happen, but I can read about it. I recommend.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (library) another Sliding Doors, dual existence tale. I like this, it seems that there is a whole genre of these out there and I never knew. This one has a more sci fi bent to it, the protagonist is a scientist who invents a way to travel across dimensions. I recommend.
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee (library) You know when I say that I read everything by an author, I am not kidding you! I really do. This is a very cute little book about the love of books and bookstores.
The Ex by Alafair Burke (library) A lawyer gets involved when her Ex is the suspect when his second wife's murderer is murdered....convoluted, yes...but it kept me reading right up until the end.
Mary Anne Saves the Day by Raina Telgemeier (library) graphic novel in the Babysitters Club series. I have really enjoyed Raina Telgemeier's work and just got this because I loved her other books. Based on the Babysitters Club books by Ann Martin.
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner (library) Loved this one, although it is a bit sad, it ties together the Triangle Shirt factory fire with 9/11 interweaving the stories. I really liked it a lot and will read more by this author, this is a good one for book clubs too!!
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (library) The author of Room writes this book about a "fasting girl" in the early 1900's Ireland. A Nurse is called in to figure out how the girl is surviving on nothing. I got bad vibes of anorexic stories from this one, but it was interesting.
The Drifter by Nicholas Petrie (library) Poor Man's Jack Reacher? I kind of like Peter Ash, he is a flawed Iraqi, Afghanistan Vet home and suffering PTSD, He is helping the family of one of his soldiers, who committed suicide after coming  home. There are going to be more with this protagonist and I already have them on my TBR list.
Everything Under the Heavens by Dana Stabenow (library) Miss Stabenow actually had to self publish these books (this is the first of a trilogy. I liked it. It is not her usual Alaska stuff, but a tale of a strong female during the time of Marco Polo etc. The Silk Road setting was fun.
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier (library) another graphic novel by Telgemeier. This one concerns a girl who has to move to a new town, her sister is sick with Cystic Fibrosis and a Day of the Dead celebration. I really liked it a lot!
Gone by Randy Wayne White (audiobook) This one features a female fishing guide in Florida as the protagonist. Something new for Randy Wayne White. I don't know yet how I think about his female voice. I kept thinking that, yeah this is how a man thinks a woman thinks.....I might have to read another of these to see if I like it or not. Not totally thrilled about this one, but willing to give the character another go


To Be Read:
Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King
Burning Bright by Nicholas Petrie
Ten Years in the Tub: A Decade Soaking in Great Books by Nick Hornby
Letters from Yellowstone by Diane Smith
Ghosts in the Fog by Samantha Seiple


Monday, May 01, 2017

2017 Monday's Postcard: Australia




Postcards from Australia!
Thank You Holly for sending me a HUGE box of postcards!
Australia is still on our bucket list...gonna get there one of these days.