Books I read in February 2015

Another Country by Mary Bray Pipher (library) about aging in America and dealing with our aging parents, the change in the family over the years. A great book
Cooked by Michael Pollen (library) loved it, especially the bit about NC BBQ :-)
The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene (library) okay. nothing to rave about
Savage Girl by Jean Simmons (library) okay, fiction about a girl raised by Indians? Wolves? in 1800's frontier, found and brought back to NYC and there is a murder mystery too
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty (library) Caitlin works in a cemetorium/funeral home. I really enjoyed it.
Revival by Stephen King (library) One of his better in recent years
Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach (library) a girl takes over someone else's identity online
Worst Noel (library) a collection of short stories about horrible Christmases
The Long Valley by John Steinbeck short stories by Steinbeck
Deadline by John Sandford (library) a Virgil Flowers thriller
The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel (library) I really like her stuff, I have another one in my library queue. This one was about a man whose family is involved in fencing stolen goods and he tries to get out of the family business and go straight
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper (library) The book that the movie was based on....a little slow in bits, but enjoyable over all
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey (library) A future where folks have special gifts (sort of like intellectual X-Men) and a terrorist plot....it was okay
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson  getting excited about Ryan's hike of the AT starting next month, so was enjoying this one again!
The Lola Quartet by Emily St John Mandel (library) I am just a huge fan of this author now!! Can't wait for her to write some more stuff!! I liked this one for the same reason that I liked Station Eleven. The characters stories are all interwoven and they are all connected on many different levels.
An Attempt At Exhausting a Place in Paris by Georges Perec I read a wonderful review of this book and it made me want it. It is all about sitting and observing and what happens when nothing happens. No murder or divorce or fighting or shoot outs. Just life happening all around you.I liked it, but it is definitely not for everyone

Monday's Postcard 2015: Connecticut

Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. Commemorative stamps issued by the United States Postal Service with Connecticut themes include Nathan Hale, Eugene O'Neill, Josiah Willard Gibbs, Noah Webster, Eli Whitney, the whaling ship the Charles W. Morgan which is docked in Mystic Seaport, and a decoy of a broadbill duck.
I'm looking forward to spending more time in Connecticut this year when Ryan hikes the Appalachian Trail!

Monday's Postcard 2015 - Colorado

Colorado is one of my favorite states to visit The state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish explorers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy (Spanish: colorado) silt the river carried from the mountains. On August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th state. Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it became a state in the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Monday's Postcard 2015 - California

California is so big....I had to include more postcards!!  It is the most populous state,  home to one out of eight Americans (38 million people), and is the third largest state in area (after Alaska and Texas).  Sacramento is the state capital.  California contains both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States (Mount Whitney and Death Valley), and has the 3rd longest coastline of all states (after Alaska and Florida)

Monday's Postcard 2015 - Arkansas

Arkansas is often stereotyped as a "poor, banjo-picking hillbilly" state, a reputation dating back to early accounts of the territory by frontiersmen in the early 1800's.  Arkansas has in reality produced such prominent figures as William Fulbright, Douglas MacArthur, Sam Walton, Johnny Cash and Bill Clinton.

 

I don't have many postcards from Arkansas, maybe Susan Noecker Michel  and Deborah Stevens can help me out with that!!