Thursday, March 31, 2022

Books and fancy flower arrangements Feb and March 2022


-by TJ Klune
Under The Whispering Door:  The cover made me think this was a YA book.  The style/language is, but the content was surprising.  Death, acceptance, change?  Not sure if I liked it a ton, but I did put a hold on his other book.

-by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd:  I love mysteries, figured I should be reading more of the Dame of Mysteries.  This is the book that made people at the time lose their mind.  It's good!  Though not everyone loves Poirot.


-by Megan Abbott
The Turnout:  Thriller, sort of.  Not enough twists for me.  Takes place in the ballet world.  I would have liked it better if the bodily mention parts were edited down waaaaay more.  Maybe that's just me.

-by Michael Lewis
The Premonition, A Pandemic Story:  So Good!  And infuriating.  Details of some of what went wrong at the beginning of the pandemic regarding recommendations at the federal and state levels.  Might make you despair, but good to know that a coherent story is out there.  ML is the writer of Money Ball and The Big Short...both great...I should read more of his stuff.


-by Louise Penny 
A Fatal Grace:  Second in the series-still excellent.  There is now a bit of backstory that will likely go through a couple books.  There is a lot of art and poetry in these mysteries, but sprinkled throughout, I like it.
The Cruelest Month:  Third!  This is the one with the psychic who visits around Easter.  Important part of the backstory. 


-by Emma Donoghue
Room:  Couldn't put it down.  Thriller, but from a completely different view point.  19 yr old girl gets abducted and hidden away for 7 years, escapes.  Told from her 5 yr old son's point of view.  

-by Will Leitch
How Lucky:  Mystery adjacent, but much more a novel.  19 yr old girl gets abducted and hidden away for 7 days, gets rescued.  Told from the person who saw her get into the car.  He happens to use a wheelchair to get around and an iPad to communicate.  
(How is it these 2 happened into my book queue at the same time???  Should I find a third to make a trilogy?)

-by Brit Bennett
The Vanishing Half:  Very good!  Twin sisters.  One disappears from her family and lives a new life passing as white.  The stories of their lives and their daughters.  Family messiness, reminds me of Homegoing, but a much closer look.  

-by Michelle Zauner
Crying in H Mart:  Autobiography, haven't done that in forever.  Messy but loving mother/daughter relationship.  Especially focused on the Korean food her mom made.  Pretty good writing, lots of raw emotions.


-by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo:  Fictional movie star (think Marilyn Monroe-ish) and the true story behind her crazy antics that filled the tabloids.  

-by Richard Osman
The Thursday Murder Club:  A cozy mystery!  A group in the retirement village pools their skills to solve a local murder.  Lots of little improbable twists, likable people, couple points of view, fun read.


-by Jessamine Chan
The School for Good Mothers:  Holy cow this is a disturbing compelling read.  Modern Kafka story.  Maybe don't read it if you are a parent that worries a lot if you are doing it right.

-by Claire G Coleman
Terra Nullis:  Oh wow.  This is sci-fi, but it was hard to read the first quarter, because it didn't feel like sci-fi at all.  But then you get a shift in perspective and I couldn't put it down.


-by Oyinkian Braithwaite
My Sister, The Serial Killer:  okay, I mainly picked this for the title and fantastic book cover.  Delivers as a quick, not too twisty thriller.  Deep dive into the two sisters.

-by Walter Isaacson
The Code Breaker:  The science and people behind CRISPR.  A bit long, had to check it out from the library twice, maybe improved with some editing.  The science is accurate, but not too dense.



Kids books

-by Nathan Hale
The Underground Abductor:  Graphic novel about Harriet Tubman.  Love this guys history-makes it fun and memorable.

-by Lois Lawry
Anastasia Krupnik:  Love this author.  This is lightly silly, similar to Ramona.


-by Susan Cooper
Over Sea, Under Stone:  The kids in The Parker Inheritance loved this series so I gave it a try.  Similar to Narnia (siblings fighting good an evil) but Arthurian based.   Had trouble getting into it, but I can see how if you read it while young you would love it.

-by Johnathan Stroud
The Amulet of Samarkand:  Book 1 in a trilogy that is a magical world-darker than Harry Potter.  The genie gets to narrate some of the story and the sarcastic voice is the best part of the book.  Ok, but not amazing enough to read more. (more YA than little kid book)

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Solvang, March 2022

 A trip to Solvang, a Danish town, with some side trips.  Biggest trip in 2 years :)

First stop, Santa Cruz
Just after sunset, on a bridge, looking out to the ocean

The glow around the houses is magical.

We had a great evening hanging out with our friends.

Road trip to southern California!!
Just off the highway is Solvang, Danish capital of America

Did not have time to visit the museum-next time!


A quick walk around the town-it is now clearly a day trip for those in the LA area.

Christmas all year round shop


Danish clogs!

Lots of windmill/water mill themes.

We did NOT eat at the Tiki bar themed restaurant.  We went classic and ate at the most Danish looking restaurant-excellent sausages and dessert.


A day at Magic Mountain
Goliath-the best roller coaster.  We rode a quite a few, including Twisted Colossus.  It used to be a pair of racing coasters, but they refurbished it into a single long ride where you get to ride both sides of the original.  Super fun.


Funnel cake, the best amusement park treat.