June Reading

Books I read in June

Salt, Sugar, Fat, How the Food Giants Hooked Us  by Michael Moss (library) this book really has me looking at my eating (and cooking) of processed/canned foods from the grocery store.
The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen reading more in the Rizzoli and Isles series
The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie (library) this book got great reviews and it is part of a series, I might have to check out more by this author
The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan (library) great story about the ballerinas who inspired Degas
The Third Son by Julie Wu (library) about a Tawainese man who leaves during the time after WWII when   the Chinese and Japanese were fighting  for control of Taiwan, for a better life in the US. I enjoyed it
Truth in Advertising by John Kenney (library) enjoyed it, I am a fan of Mad Men and this is an advertising story from present day
Snapper by  Brain Kimberling (library) great, memoir type story of a boy from Indiana. He is also a birder, loved it
Dirt Work by Christine Byl (library) great book about a woman doing trail work in Glacier National Park and Alaska much better than wild by strayed
All But My Life by Gerda Klein (library) a holocaust memoir made into an HBO film
The Last Runaway by Tracey Chevalier (library) loved this book about a Quaker quilter who is involved in the Underground Railroad in Ohio
Kinsey and Me by Sue Grafton (library) short stories loved it
Finding Betty Crocker by Sue Marks (library) nonfiction about the creation of Betty Crocker as a marketing tool very interesting
The Sunshine When She's Gone by Thea Goodman (library) father runs off with infant daughter okay
The Edge of the Earth by Christina Schwarz (library) story of an 1800's lighthouse keeper's wife I enjoyed it
The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz very sweet
Waiter Rant by The Waiter (library) after reading Heads in Beds and Kitchen Confidential, this was the obvious next choice :-)
Bay of Fires by Poppy Gee (library) murder mystery from Australia okay
We Need New Names by Noviolet Bulawayo (library) I liked it
Southern Cross the Dog by Bill Cheng (library) story of a black man during the Jim Crow era. Interesting
Last Ape Standing by Chip Walter (library) about human evolution very very interesting, quite enjoyed it

20 books read this month

Monday's Postcard: Shanghai Girls

Shanghai Girls were very popular in advertising through the 1920's and 30's. I have also read a great book by Lisa See called Shanghai Girls It is a fictionalized account of sisters who are calendar models in China during the 30's.

Monday's Postcard: California Desert

The California Desert is so exotic. Both of these postcards are postmarked from 1942. "Spring Time on the Desert, Cholla Cactus and Daisies in Bloom" and "Date Gardens on the Desert."

Monday's Postcard: One of my Oldest

The undivided back of this postcard says "This side is exclusively for the address"


This is one of my oldest cards. It is from Niagara Falls, Canada and features the Legend of the White Canoe.
It is a postcard with an undivided back. The entire back of the postcard was for the address and stamp. The front of the card would have the picture and a space for writing your message. Although, not always would there be space for your message, this is why you see many postcards of this era with writing on top of the photo or picture of the card. In 1907, they began producing divided back postcards which made it possible to put the address and message together on the back of the card. It prevented the face of the card from being written on and used cards became more collectible as a result. So I can date this postcard as being pre-1907.

Monday's Postcard: Victoria, BC

Victoria, BC, Canada.

May Reading

Books I read in May



Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (library) I enjoyed it --about two literary professors and their wives tracing their marriages from when they first meet til the end of their lives
The Patriotic Murders by Agatha Christie  a Hercule Poirot originally titled An Overdose of Death
To Sleep with the Angels The Story of a Fire by David Cowan and John Kuenster An elementary school fire in the 1950's in Chicago, very tragic
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson (library) interesting way to tell the story (downton abbey era family) with alternate timelines--
The Next Time you See Me by Holly Goddard Jones (library)--great mystery, highly recommend
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell (library) Great short stories by the author of Swamplandia
Dear Lucy by  Julie Sarkissian (library)   Poignant

The Under Dog by Agatha Christie short stories
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline (library) still with my fascination of the orphan trains, this is a fictional account and I loved it, made me cry
America's Cheapest Family gets you Right on the Money by Steve Economides (library) great advice for saving money in your day to day budget
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (library) YA and very entertaining, although somewhat predictable. I hope to read more by this author
Murder at the Gardner by Jane Langton Boston Mystery I read, since I was spending time in Boston at the end of the month :-)
The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory (library) I enjoy reading about English History from Philippa Gregory, she really makes it come to life for me! lol
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult (library) a holocaust story, not my favorite Picoult, but entertaining none the less
Flora by Gail Godwin (library) I loved this book, it really spoke to me. I think I am going to buy it so I can read it again and again. It just touched something in me--very summer of my german soldier or something
The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory (library) More English History from Gregory, this one had ties to the Joan of Arc story, pretty interesting
The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen books that the TV show Rizzoli and Isles are based on

17 books read this month