December 2020 Books I read

The Same River Twice by Chris Offutt (library) another, "I got away from my hill-billy upbringing" story. Guy "squanders" his  youth (his words), but brings it together when he gets married and has a kid. 

Leave Yesterday Alone by Richard Matheson (library) an autobiographical story and the addition of a journal that Matheson kept make this very interesting. 

The Cracker Factory by Joyce Rebeta-Burditt a female type "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" Published in 1977, so that era of psychological treatment. 

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult (library) what if you had made a different choice and it changed  your life? That is basically the story. This character experiences a plane crash and survives and goes back to change her life from that choice she made in her youth. 

The Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager (library) interviews with authors about the books that they love. I really enjoyed it and I now have a HUGE list of books to read! LOL

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis (library)  I really enjoyed it. The mini series stays very true to the book. About a chess prodigy who happens to be a girl. 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbary (library)  Reminded me a lot of a Man Called Ove.   Same kind of thing, someone decides to commit suicide, but then is thwarted by life happening around them. 

The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham (audiobook) (library) 2 women are pregnant and one has a secret. And actually both are living lives that are a sham. 

My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni (library)  A woman becomes a cop after her sister is abducted and missing for years. As the book begins, they find the body and the case is fresh again. I enjoyed the PNW locale. 

Butterfield 8 by John O'Hara (library) The book that the movie is based on, I liked it and I want to read more John O'Hara

Hieroglyphics by Jill McCorkle (library) I really enjoy this author and I read everything she writes. After surviving a plane incident a woman leaves her family and goes off to reconnect with the life she left behind during college. It is about the choices we make and what would we do if we could go back and get back on that track to another life? 

Postcards 2020 Wrightsville Beach The last one

If you have enjoyed my postcards of Wrightsville Beach and would like to learn more about the history of this beach town, some good resources are the books “Land of the Golden River” by Lewis Philip Hall, “Cape Fear Beaches” by Susan Taylor Block and “Tide and Time: A History of Wrightsville Beach” by Virginia Whiting Kuhn. The Wrightsville Beach Museum is at 303 West Salisbury St., housed in an old beach cottage. It is a great place to visit.

Christmas Ornaments 2020

 Some ornaments that I collected this past year

A Nancy Drew themed star that I created myself

A gorgeous mountain on a spool

big foot in copper

                                                            Felted wool ornament

Airplane in tin

wine ornament

                                                                     oysters ornament

ornament from Ryan's mom's new home

                                                                Cork Angel ornament

Postcards 2020 Wrightsville Beach: Intra Coastal Waterway

 At first I was going to just lump this card together with another for the Intracoastal Waterway, but the message on the back of the card was so interesting, that I felt it deserved it's own post! Postmarked from Wrightsville Beach December 1965, so this was a Christmas card to someone in Omaha, Nebraska! And the sender notes that they were staying at the Blockade Runner --which at the time, was barely a year old, so very modern and brand new!! The sender says that they had Christmas Dinner in the new dining room overlooking the ocean.

The sender also says that "the ocean has been like a lake" and having lived there, we used to call it "Lake Atlantic"

So this was a fun postcard to have in my collection.

Postcards 2020 Wrightsville Beach Churches

I could have sworn that I had postcards of Mount Lebanon Chapel (Episcopal) and Little Chapel on the Boardwalk (Presbyterian) but I cannot find them. So St. Teresa's is what I have to show you.

Mount Lebanon is regarded to be the oldest known surviving church structure in New Hanover County, it was built in 1835.  I was raised Presbyterian, so I did attend some services at Little Chapel on the Boardwalk over the years.

Postcards 2020 Wrightsville Beach Holiday Inn

The Holiday Inn deserves it's own post because my sister worked there! She has many colorful customer service stories from her time there, but I will only share one "insider hotel clerk" story. 

They had a room that had a Murphy Bed and it was always the last room they would ever sell, so it was sort of an employee lounge when they were on break, they would go there and watch tv or just relax. If they were needed, it was always known to call that room to find them.

November 2020 Books I read

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby (library) Fun essays. I laughed a lot while reading this book.

Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump (library) growing up in the rich, dysfunctional family of Trump. I read this before the election results

The Lady in the Van and other stories by Alan Bennett (library) there are two additional stories in the book besides the Lady in the Van story. And they are all good. 

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (library) memoir about growing up in a poor, dysfunctional "hill-billy" family in Kentucky and Rust-Belt Ohio. It was okay, what intrigued me more was the backlash and an entire book that was written in response to this book. 

Appalachian ReckoningAppalachian Reckoning, Book: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy (library) Folks from Appalachia write essays and poems and share their own stories about growing up poor and fighting against the "hill-billy" stereotype perpetuated by the J. D. Vance book. 

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson (library) Lots of twists in this thriller. Right up until the very last page. Of course if you read these all the time, you see some of them coming. But I was entertained for sure

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin (library) I thought I had read this years ago, but it felt fresh to me. I had checked this out of the library for Halloween reading, but just now getting around to it. 

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (library) This is a movie on Netflix -- very creepy vibe and there are twists

Late Show by Michael Connelly (library) (audiobook) I actually have enjoyed Michael Connelly more by listening to his work than actually reading it myself. Odd. But when I try to read his books, I just don't get hooked into them as much. I guess because listening to them is more passive. I don't have to work as hard and I just absorb it. 

The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen (library) I was curious about how to grow more vegetables and stuff on my deck and this book came across with lots of other ideas on how to conserve and be more self sufficient in an urban setting. Humorous too. 

For Nobody's Eyes Only by Nick Redfern (library) Great Conspiracy Theory reading! So suspicious that all those Roswell documents conveniently disappear.  

Day After Night by Anita Diamant (library) the book was okay, what I found more interesting was how she came to write this book. She found a photo of some girls and she created the story around that photo inspiration. 

Cooked by Michael Pollan (library) very enjoyable book about the transformation of food. I enjoyed the descriptions of cutting onions and making sauerkraut.  

Midnight Water by Geoffrey Norman  very much like a Travis McGee novel

The Girl With a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson (library) another twisty thriller from Swanson. Not his best, but still a fun read.

Grace by Natashia Deon (library) about a Slave during the late 1800's