Books and PEZ museum Oct-Dec 2018
I love the PEZ museum! It is the smallest museum ever and yet I have been there at least 3 times and will happily go again. They have a complete collection of PEZ dispensers, a short tour and and bonus exhibit of toys that were so dangerous they go removed (the chemistry set with radioactive material, the lawn darts game with super sharp darts and the twirly barbie that would wind up kids hair in the twirling mechanism). Anyway! These photos were from the last visit with my cousin Steve before dropping him off at the airport.
-by John Hodgman
Vacationland: Autobiographical short tales. Love this guy! He gets me-especially the tale of how he is worried about needing a story to go with his garbage drop-off. I listened to him read it-great choice!
17-Mile Drive: Not sure I should have finished this one, but I needed an audiobook and like to give new things a try. I thought it was a mystery, but it was part true crime, part romance-ish and with a persistent golf theme. Ugg
-by Lemony Snicket
1-4 of All the Wrong Questions: The author has a very distinct style which might drive some people away. Fun fantasy/mystery story, don't expect a happy ending.
-by Francesca Lia Block
Weetzie Bat and 4 others in the series. Read this way back in the day and there is a movie being made, couldn't remember a thing about it, so... It was okay. I don't like it as much as the current YA style. This is more fantastical-everything has this soft-focus veil so that even though it actually brings up hard topics it doesn't address them in a realistic manner. Not a problem, but a style that meant it's a fast read but not something I would really recommend. Felt like there is a lot of food discussion. I think some people will love these and some will hate them.
-by Janet Evanovitch
Hardcore 24: Another set that I continue to read even though they don't add a lot to my life since it is pretty much the same story over and over. 24 is the one with zombies. This time I listened to it which was kind of fun.
-by David Sedaris
Calypso: I think I have read all his stuff and so some of this is a bit familiar but worth it.
-by Patrick Ness
A Monster Calls: Turned into a movie that looked interesting, but not so good that we actually saw it. Super fast read since it is maybe for tweens? But it is designed to pull all your heart strings very quickly.
-by Rainbow Rowell
Attachments: Fun twist on an office romance. Not a memorable as her others but still different enough from the usual that I liked it.
-by Lisa Genova
Still Alice: I saw the author speak a couple years ago and she really had an impact/improvement on how I interact with my aging father. Wow, this book did a number on me-in a good way, but a bit emotionally wrung out at the end.
-by Mark Kurlansky
Paper: A history of paper, how it has been made, it's influence on the world, generally interesting history. Similar to his other books on cod and salt, but perhaps a bit too long.
-by Liane Moriatry
Big Little Lies: randomly picked it up in the airport because I heard the tv show is good. The book is easy to read. It feels like light and fluffy writing but the topic is heavy so I was surprised at how fast it went.
What Alice Forgot: Loved the first one so much I bought another...not as dramatic, but same writing style. Fast and reveals bits over time so you end up changing your mind about what you thought was going on.
-by Peter Lynch
One Up on Wall Street: My type of investing philosophy so have been meaning to get to this. 30 years old and though there have been technological changes, these fundamentals are still sound.
-by Tamora Pierce
Circle of Magic: Our library audio book selection doesn't have many books on my 'to be read' list so I check out adjacent ones. She is a classic fantasy writer that I should have read in my younger years. Loved this! Total YA fantasy magical misfits come together. But the manifested magic is a bit more interesting than I was expecting. We'll see about the reading the rest of the series.
Goodbye 2018!
