Monday's Postcard: Lisbon

Yet another favorite layover....really are there any that aren't my favorites??? Lisbon is a fun city with lots of history and great weather!! USAirways only goes to Lisbon in the summer, so I have to take advantage of these layovers while we have them.  This is the Belem Tower, a symbol of Portugal's great age of exploration. It was built in the 1500's as a fortress at the entrance to Lisbon on the Targus River and it is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Monday's Postcard: Falling Water

Another place that I have not been to YET! This card is from my Granny.  I have visited several Frank Lloyd Wright properties all over the USA, but I have yet to visit Falling Water.  I can highly recommend the book, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.

Monday's Postcard: Silver Lake

Lovely camping in the Sierra Nevada's in California, this postcard was from friends who were here in 2001

Wild Card: Alaska

A postcard from friends of mine on a cruise to Alaska July, 2011.
I still have not been on a cruise to Alaska, maybe next summer!!

Monday's Postcard: Kentucky

A postcard from a visit to Louisville, KY in 1991. Did your favorite win the Derby this past weekend?? My pick was Gemologist.

Books I read in April 2012

Books with a view! A used book cart at a store in the Ferry Building, Embarcadero, San Francisco.

The Curse of the Spellman's by Lisa Lutz -more fun mystery, I read the first of this series in February and am totally enjoying these. They were recommended by my friend, Lea.
A Box of Darkness The Story of A Marriage By Sally Ryder Brady (library)

The Good Thief's Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan --I'm on a roll reading all of these!

Seven by John D. MacDonald (short stories)

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell- A kitchen maid's memoir that inspired UpStairs/DownStairs and Downton Abbey.

Crossed by Ally Condie YA dystopian fiction, I loved the first one in this series, this one not so much...

End of the Tiger by John D. MacDonald (short stories)

Nancy Drew Girl Detective Close Encounters by Carolyn Keene

The Flying Saucer Mystery by Carolyn Keene I am comparing and contrasting new Nancy Drew books with older Nancy Drew books

The Good Thief's Guide to Venice by Chris Ewan
Never Eat Alone and other secrets to success, one relationship at a time by Keith Ferrazzi (library)

The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide by Andrew Skurka (library) This was actually Ryan's book and I did not mean to read it, but it was sitting on the coffee table and I would pick it up and found myself fascinated with it. Ryan and I have seen Andrew Skurka do a talk here in Seattle about long distance hiking.
Judge Me Not by John D MacDonald
The House at Tynesford by Natasha Solomons (library) for fans of Downton Abbey and stuff like Sarah's Key. I really enjoyed this one about a Jewish girl from a wealthy Vienna family who is a refuge in England, her family sends her to be a house maid at a Manor house along the Dorset coast.

Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George. I am a huge fan and this is her latest, loved it
Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (library)

Ed King by David Guterson (library) this was the writer of Snow Falling on Cedars
No Angel by Penny Vincenzi (library) Downton Abbey fans, this one is for you!! I enjoyed it.
The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau (library) if you can't wait for the next Phillipa Gregory about the Tudors! This would be a good one. I quite enjoyed it.

abandoned books:

Hour of the Hunter by J A Jance--Jance is always being recommended to me, I started this one, but did not get into it--it is still sitting around the house, but I do not know when/if I will get back to it.

Hidden Star by Nora Roberts--found on airplane after I had finished all the books and magazines in my possession. Got home and threw it in the "used book store" pile without finishing it!!

19 books read this month