Leslie's Bookcase

celebrating books & the literary lifestyle

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The Long House Cliff Dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park.

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

July 2, 2021 /

This is #1 of a 3-part travel series on my family’s summer vacation, on which I also read 4 books!

Mesa Verde National Park is a lesser visited national park, which was fine by me with some of the other national parks getting slammed with visitors this summer.

Located in Southwest Colorado, Mesa Verde -also a World Heritage site – is the only U.S. national park that focuses on culture; its lands include hundreds of cliff dwellings where the Pueblo people made their homes hundreds of years ago. Many of these dwellings can be viewed and even walked through. It is incredible to think of the skill and construction that went into these and especially because the dwellings have lasted so long.

This park also has jaw dropping views but the dwellings and other historical artifacts provided something “extra” especially for my kids who can only appreciate scenery for so long.

Prior to visiting, I was confused about how to approach this park, so hopefully I can explain some things here to help you maximize your own trip if you decide to go – and you should!

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Selfie with my beloved bookcases before I sold that house.

THE TIME I BOUGHT A HOUSE FOR ITS BOOKCASES

May 16, 2021 /

In 2005, I had no business buying a house. But I felt like that was the next logical step to make me into a responsible adult.

Much like today, the market was hot. Houses were overpriced, and you had to get an offer in immediately or the house wouldn’t be available the next day.

I strongly considered a house in another part of town. But they declined my offer. When I drive by that house, even today, I wonder how my life would have turned out differently if they had accepted my offer. Because I’m so glad they didn’t.

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The book I meant to take on vacation; I ended up downloading it.

RE-READING A FAVORITE

April 7, 2021 /

Before our recent trip to St. Augustine, Florida, America’s oldest city, I searched for historical fiction set there. One of my favorite books of all time kept coming up:

The Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton

It has been several years since I first read this (in my early 20s?) so I was happy to have an excuse for a re-read.

I forgot my hard copy but was able to download on Libby, which is tied to my local library. If you aren’t using this app, check it out!

This post contains spoilers. If you haven’t read this book, please do and come back to my post later!

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My first Atlantic sunrise!

ST. AUGUSTINE!

March 28, 2021 /

After visiting Jamestowne last summer, I became interested in the even earlier Spanish settlement of St. Augustine, Florida, “America’s oldest city.”

My family enjoys traveling to historical places, and I love the beach, especially the Atlantic, so I expected this would be a great spring break destination for us. The famous city also checked the fishing (my husband) and ghost tour boxes. We stayed at the perfect campground, and there was so much to do in the area we could fill up several more trips with activities. St. Augustine exceeded our expectations!

We traveled in our motorhome, and I realized I had never been in Georgia before, having always flown to Florida and therefore never had the “experience” of driving through Atlanta…I’m not sure how soon we’ll be doing that again!

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The pretty gold specks on the inside covers of The Four Winds.

KRISTIN HANNAH DOES IT AGAIN!

March 7, 2021 /

Once again Kristin Hannah has written an engrossing book that takes us to a difficult place and time alongside a strong female character. This new book may actually be my favorite by her:

The Four Winds: A Novel by Kristin Hannah

The initial setting is Texas during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. But when this environment truly becomes unsafe for her family, Elsa takes her kids to California looking for a better life. But so is everyone else! As refugees pour into California, their life is not much better there with the rough conditions, low wages, and prejudices against them.

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MY FAVORITE BOOK SO FAR THIS YEAR

February 6, 2021 /

I am making my way through my reading list for early 2021 and can already enthusiastically recommend this new historical fiction about the city of Savannah and the “Titanic of the South”:

Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan

In a dual timeline, Callahan tells the story of the doomed steam ship Pulaski, which set sail from Savannah in 1838. Many of the city’s most prestigious families were on board to sail to Baltimore for the summer. But during the second night, a boiler exploded, and the ship sank. Many perished and those who did survive waited several days for rescue in the open sea or faced a harrowing journey in a lifeboat. Families were broken, assets (many took their gold, silver, china with them) were at the bottom of the ocean; this tragedy affected Savannah for years to come. But until reading this book, I knew nothing of this disaster!

The present day timeline follows Everly who is curating a museum’s exhibit on the disaster while recovering from her own personal tragedy.

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