June 2022 Books I Read

 

Pushing Cool by Keith Wailoo (library) about the racist advertising aimed at Black consumers for menthol cigarettes

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (library) an interesting thriller set in Sausalito, CA and Austin, TX. 

The Hound of Death by Agatha Christie collection of short stories, one is the first incarnation of Witness for the Prosecution. 

Easy to Kill by Agatha Christie this one holds a fond place in my heart, because I think this was the very first Christie that I ever read. We bought it at a bookstore on Kauai, Hawaii in 1977. 

Steak by Mark Schatzker (library) another book about how food is just not as good as it used to be!

Mysterious Mr Quin by Agatha Christie short stories with a mysterious enigmatic Mr Quin

The Last Slave Ship by Ben Raines (library) the story of the Clotida and Africatown in Alabama. 

Something to Hide by Elizabeth George (library) ripped from the headlines. Lynley and Havers investigate deaths related to female genital mutilation among immigrants. It slogged on a bit and I found myself wanting to jump ahead to get to the good stuff. 

Billy Summers by Stephen King (library) really more of a thriller than a horror book. I quite enjoyed it. 

The Peach Rebellion by Wendelin Van Draanen (library) set in 1930's with immigrant migrant workers and 3 young girls who bond despite different backgrounds. 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (audiobook) It has been decades since I read this book and it was fun to listen to it in the car.

An American Marriage by  Tayan Jones (library) I wasn't excited about reading this, picked it for my summer reading bingo card for the Seattle Library, but I was pleasantly surprised. A man and woman are married and he gets falsely charged with rape and incarcerated --she sticks by him for a while (he is innocent), but she finally goes back to an old boyfriend and wants out of the marriage. Then he gets released early from jail (the charge finally overturned) but it has been 5 years and he wants to get back together, but she has moved on. Set in Louisiana and Georgia.

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole (library) a lesbian love story, which basically is just a regular love story, but the characters happen to be lesbians. Also picked for the summer reading bingo. This one reads like a Harlequin or a Hallmark movie type love story. 

The Intuitionist by Colon Whitehead (library) fantasy/sci-fi in a world wear elevators are new and amazing technology. I had a hard time getting into this one. But it all boils down to a mystery at it's heart. An elevator accident happened and a woman is being framed for the responsibility of it.She is trying to clear her name and figure out what really happened. 

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie still trying to read all of Agatha Christie before the end of the year. I still have about 47 more books to read yet!!!

Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie (library) this one is actually 4 novellas. Easy reading and fun to pick up and put down again when I am reading at work. 

The Power of Regret by Daniel Pink (library) extremely interesting book about regret and how it affects our lives

Atonement by Ian McEwan (audiobook) UGH why did I listen to this? This book makes me so angry (and the movie) I think Briony is the most self absorbed, selfish, arrogant, self important character in all of literature. Every time I read or hear or see the movie I get angry all over again. It is a tragic tragic tragic story. be warned --I only read it because I needed to read something with an unreliable narrator for my summer reading bingo this year. As my evidence, when the older Briony is a nurse and comforting a dying soldier, she wants him to say her name (when he is mistaking her for someone he knew)  Because it is all about HER. She is being a nurse as her "penance" but she is still the star of her imaginings. UGH And so she as a writer creates this alternate reality where Cecilia and Robbie are together like a GOD (which they say in the book, about writers being like God) UGH the whole thing makes me angry all over again

Aviation Postcards: Denver

 

This is the original Stapleton Airport

Aviation Postcards: Northwest Airlines

 

Aviation Postcards: Planes in Alaska

 

Aviation Postcards: Air New Zealand

May 2022 Books I Read

 

4:50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie This is a fun Miss Marple Mystery. I like all the following up of the clues, checking the train time tables and figuring out who the victim was, fun. 

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie This was the first Tommy and Tuppence book and one of my favorites. 

Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark (library) I am a Sylvia Plath fan, so I really enjoyed this biography of her. It was very well researched. Lots of great photos too. 

The Listerdale Mystery by Agatha Christie A collection of short stories

Anne & Henry by Dawn Ius A version of the Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn story but told from the point of view of a High School romance. It is a YA novel and I enjoyed it!  

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (library)  a very interesting serial killer thriller. Different for sure

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (library) Very controversial because of who the murderer ends up being....But I think it stands up, very good. 

Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie Short stories and the first time we get the Death on the Nile Mystery. If you are a Death on the Nile fan you need to read the short story from 1933 !! 

Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie (library) This is the one where Agatha uses Nicotine as the poison that the killer uses! 

The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker (library) Excellent book about how food has evolved over the last 50 years and not in a good way. 

Righteous by Joe Ide (library) Isaiah avenges his brothers death, I quite enjoyed it and will read more by this author 

Maid by Stephanie Land (library) depressing. And she even says it herself, she represents a palatable poor person. White, educated...but just trapped in this horrible system--horrible family

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie A total classic and really so well done, it spurred so many parodies and spoofs of the genre.

Death Comes As The End by Agatha Christie This one was slow going for me. It is set in ancient Egypt and so there is a bit of learning curve there, it is sort of like a soap opera of characters in a household, and the names are so crazy and obscure. I had to do what I do when I read Russian literature and shorten or change the names in my head. So Renisenb is Rene and Yahmose is Mo etc

Aviation Postcards: PHX

 

The Phoenix Airport

 

Aviation Postcards: Tampa

 

Aviation Postcards: Cats

I love these cat postcards

This one might be considered a train, but it still looks like a stewardess

 

Aviation Postcards: USAir

 

 

A Selection of several different USAir Airplanes. USAir and Piedmont merged in the late 1980's

Aviation Postcards: Boston

 

April 2022 Books I Read

 

Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon (library) The latest in the Outlander Series, loved it as usual. Listened to part of it on disc but finished it with the written word. (they don't give you enough time from the library to ever finish the book in audio format!! LOL)

Funerals are Fatal by Agatha Christie Another enjoyable Christie, maybe this will be the next one made into a movie by Branagh? 

Lord Edgeware Dies by Agatha Christie It is interesting that Christie often has actors and actresses as characters in her books. I am recently learning that she was actually hugely active in theater and wrote many many plays, (not just Mousetrap) so she was very familiar with actors 

IQ by Joe Ide (library) I really enjoyed this book about a smart kid trying his best to survive under circumstances beyond his control. There are more as this is the first in a series and I look forward to reading more.

The Whistler by John Grisham (audiobook) A lawyer blows the whistle on a corrupt Judge in Florida amid Indian Casino graft. 

Dreams of Africa in Alabama by Sylviane A. Diouf (library) the story of the Slave ship Clotilda and the Africans who were brought to America on that ship. 

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie murder on an airplane - talk about your closed room murder! So much fun to read

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (library)  this mystery is solved by the idea that the murderer kills more people to hide the real murder for which he has a motive.

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci (library) memoir of Stanley Tucci really great, I might have to purchase this one just to get all the great recipes he includes (plus the recipe for a fool-proof martini)

Holiday for Murder by Agatha Christie Should have saved this one for December, but it is really good and I was glad I read it now! 

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (library) The first Miss Marple mystery (not counting some short stories) 

The Storyteller by Dave Grohl (library audio book) loved it! Memoir of Dave of the Foo Fighters. Reading so many Agatha Christies, it was a nice break to read the memoirs of Tucci and Grohl this month. Both great artists within their realms of Acting and Music. 

The Runaway by Nick Petrie (library) The latest Peter Ash novel. If you are a fan of Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Nick Petrie's Peter Ash is the next great champion of the underdogs. This time he helps a runaway. 

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie AND

Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie It is so crazy that I just happened to read both of these books back to back and they both have GIRL GUIDES in them that get murdered. What did Agatha have against the girl guides! ha ha Both were great fun, one is Marple and one is Poirot (with Adriadne Oliver) I am going to have to be on the lookout to see if she murders any more girl guides!! LOL

Aviation Postcards: Biplanes

 

A wonderful movie about barnstorming is The Great Waldo Pepper with Robert Redford!  https://youtu.be/aYUEOSbh4IE

Aviation Postcards: Japan

 

Aviation Postcards: Eastern Airlines

 

Aviation Postcards: LaGuardia Airport

 

LGA is the city code for LaGuardia Airport near New York City

March 2022 Books I Read

 

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie (library) Another thriller style mystery from her early writing career. Full of crazy nicknames, folks called Bundle and Pongo and Socks

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie short stories featuring the eccentric Belgian detective 

The Hollow by Agatha Christie (library) Lots of star-crossed lovers in this book. A is married to B but loves C.  X also loves C.  Y loves A but A loves C, D loves Y but Y loves A. Etc Etc Etc. So when A is murdered who done it???

Agatha Christie the Finished Portrait by Dr. Andrew Norman (library) If you look at the Agatha Christie Autobiography and think, oh dear, I'll never read all that! This is the book for you. Dr. Norman condenses it all down to a few chapters AND he analyzes her 1926 disappearance, comparing it to her book, Unfinished Portrait (written under the name, Mary Westmacott. Unfinished Portrait is basically autobiographical. The story is the story of Christie's life only the names are changed.) 

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet twin sisters: one passes for white and one remains light skinned black. Very good.

The Patriotic Murders by Agatha Christie aka One, Two Buckle My Shoe, aka An Overdose of Death  why oh why did they feel the need to change the titles for the USA market? Several Agatha Christie books have different titles for the USA and I can get confused as to if I have read the book already or not. This book has 3 titles. UGH. But is is a good read. Who would kill the dentist?? 

Endless Night by Agatha Christie This one is more like a romantic melodrama than a mystery. Poor boy and Rich girl meet and marry and build their dream house on property with a Gypsy Curse! 

The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin (library) the story of Olive Oatman who was kidnapped by Indians and lived among them for many years before being liberated and returned to white society. 

The Boys by Ron and Clint Howard (library) Their memoir about growing up as child actors in Hollywood. I enjoyed it. 

Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie this is the one where they blame the death on the dog (who is the dumb witness) but Poirot figures out who done it. 

Second Wind by Dick Francis in this mystery, the protagonist is a weatherman/meteorologist. I like how Francis would use all sorts of different professions and still tie them to horse racing. 

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (library) quite fun. I had seen the mini series and so I just had to read the book. And the book is wonderful. 

Aviation Postcards: Passengers

Postcards that show the passenger experience from years ago! 

 

Aviation Postcards: Las Vegas

 

Wow Old Postcards of the Las Vegas Airport! 

Aviation Postcards: Boeing

 

These postcards are all from Boeing in Seattle, WA

There is a funny old movie called Boeing, Boeing

 https://www.tcm.com/video/193588/boeing-boeing-original-trailer/