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OUR TRIP TO LEGOLAND FLORIDA

October 14, 2019 /

When I’m not reading, I’m planning vacations. I like to share our experiences in case I can help someone else. Plus it’s fun for me to relive my vacation while writing this.

Today I’m going to tell you about the first stop during our fall break travels, LEGOLAND in Florida.

Because it’s near Orlando, LEGOLAND has a reputation as an add-on to Disney World, and compared to Disney it doesn’t get much love. But we just went to Disneyland last year and my kids (who love building Legos) are at the upper range of this park’s audience (ages 2-12), so we decided to make LEGOLAND a primary destination and even stay on property. I’m so glad we did!

NEW WWII READING – ‘THE THINGS WE CANNOT SAY’

October 6, 2019 /

I’ve just returned from a wonderful vacation – which I will tell you about in future posts – and I’m not even unpacked, but I HAVE to tell you about the amazing book I read while traveling. It was so good:

The Things We Cannot Say: A Novel by Kelly Rimmer

Just when I think I may have reached my limit for WWII historical fiction, I find another book in this genre to recommend.

YOU’LL WANT TO DRINK CHAMPAGNE AFTER READING ‘THE WINEMAKERS WIFE’

September 26, 2019 /

I’ve read so much WWII historical fiction, but I’m always looking for something new in this genre that gives me an additional perspective. This new book by Kristin Harmel, an author I’ve previously enjoyed, is set in the Champagne region of France during German occupation:

The Winemaker’s Wife

Mixing past and present, love and betrayal, this is the story of two couples who run a winery and another that run a restaurant, each making different choices to survive while serving the Germans.

‘MEET ME IN MONACO’

September 8, 2019 /

I want to recommend new historical fiction about an American actress who married the Prince of Monaco. It was delightful:

Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly’s Royal Wedding by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Grace Kelly is attending the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 when she first meets Prince Rainer of Monaco. This story covers their awkward first meeting and builds to the royal wedding that captured the world’s attention while intertwining a secondary story about “normal” people who meet because of Kelly’s visit to Cannes.

ODE TO MY CD COLLECTION – also in my bookcases

September 6, 2019 /

This is a companion post to one from my archives: Ode to vinyl records.

In an effort to declutter and minimize, I have been going through my house: selling, tossing, and donating. This week, I ended up staring at the bookcase that held my CD collection.

Like many people, I have not listened to an actual CD for years…but going through my collection renewed my appreciation for my CDs. Because these CDs were really important to me at really important times in my life.

‘STONER’

September 1, 2019 /

This title is likely to get some attention, as it did laying around my house, but the book I just read, Stoner (New York Review Books Classics) by John Williams is not about drugs at all; the main character William Stoner doesn’t event drink alcohol.

William Stoner moves from his modest family farm to attend the University of Missouri in 1910, initially to study agriculture but instead he falls in love with the study of English literature. He stays on to get his PhD, joins the faculty, and teaches for 40 years. This is a serious novel about a professor who experiences personal and professional agonies but also times of determination and exuberance.

‘THE CUBAN AFFAIR’

August 20, 2019 /

I picked up The Cuban Affair: A Novel by Nelson DeMille because I was eagerly anticipating a cruise to its settings (Key West & Cuba).

Mac, a 35-year-old veteran has settled in Key West as a fishing boat captain. When he is approached by an anti-Castro group to charter his boat to Cuba for a dangerous mission under the guise of a fishing tournament, Mac accepts the job with the hopes of earning $3 Million for his trouble.

This book is set during the “Cuban Thaw” (2014 or 2015) when America was relaxing its restrictions related to Cuba. But between the time I picked up this book and actually read it, my own travel plans suddenly changed due to President Trump’s policy reversal that Americans can no longer travel to Cuba.

‘THE GOWN’ – FOR FANS OF “THE CROWN”

August 11, 2019 /

I have read so much WWII historical fiction it’s nice to come across more post-WWII historical fiction. Recently I have read a couple of novels set during this time period in New York but just yesterday I finished The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson. I want to thank Aunt Jean for the recommendation; her book club was reading it!

As the title suggests, this book is set in 1947 as Great Britain anticipates the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth) to Lieutenant Phillip Mountbatten.

A PAT CONROY BOOK’S JOURNEY FULL CIRCLE

July 28, 2019 /

A family friend “Fred” often recorded his reflections in the back of his books. “MY BOOK, MY NOTES” he announced before noting reflections, disagreements, favorite paragraphs etc. I do this with a dog-ear to a page and on this blog but not to Fred’s detail.

Fred and my dad would exchange books, several at once. My friends do this too. Recently, my parents passed me a book of Fred’s they found while cleaning out shelves. They thought I might enjoy reading Fred’s notes in the back of The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son before I was to pass it along to Fred’s daughter. Fred had also noted in the front of the book that it had been a gift from her, Christmas ’13.

And yes I did enjoy Fred’s notes in the back – so much so that I ended up reading the book itself. I loved this book. How Conroy writes about both the horror and humor of his dysfunctional family is completely fascinating.

‘CITY OF GIRLS’

July 25, 2019 /

I recently picked the perfect vacation read! It was: City of Girls: A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert.

What makes the perfect vacation read? For me, it is a book that passes the time during travel but still tempts me to pick it up when I could just as easily sit and watch the waves roll in. Also, I need some substance; my perfect “beach reads” are not mindless.

This new book by the author of Eat, Pray, Love is set during 1940s New York, in the theatre district. This was especially fun for me since I just read another book with similar setting.

Vivian is 19 and has recently been kicked out of college. Not knowing what to do, her affluent parents send her to New York to stay with her aunt who runs a midtown theater. Vivian quickly gets another kind of education.

Leslie's Bookcase

Page 10 of 29

OUR TRIP TO LEGOLAND FLORIDA

NEW WWII READING – ‘THE THINGS WE CANNOT SAY’

YOU’LL WANT TO DRINK CHAMPAGNE AFTER READING ‘THE WINEMAKERS WIFE’

‘MEET ME IN MONACO’

ODE TO MY CD COLLECTION – also in my bookcases

‘STONER’

‘THE CUBAN AFFAIR’

‘THE GOWN’ – FOR FANS OF “THE CROWN”

A PAT CONROY BOOK’S JOURNEY FULL CIRCLE

‘CITY OF GIRLS’

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