May's Mutterings

May’s Mutterings: Rants and Ramblings

  • Book review: The Adventures of the Bloody Tower by Donald MacLachlan

    The Adventure of the Bloody Tower: Dr. John H. Watson’s First Case by Donald MacLachlan My rating: 4 of 5 stars The question of who murdered the Princes in the Tower (Edward V and his younger brother, Richard) has puzzled historians for centuries. Richard III, their uncle, has long been the leading suspect for those…

  • Book review: The Scribe’s Daughter by Stephanie Churchill

    The Scribe’s Daughter by Stephanie Churchill My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’m a fan of the fantasy genre and picky about my books. This is a very well written book with several interesting plot twists and surprises. The characters are well drawn, and the heroine is especially entertaining with her sarcastic sense of humor…

  • Ten Fabulous Days in Honolulu!

    There’s not much more to be said about Hawaii that I haven’t already said, but I’m going to talk about it anyway. This trip was the first time the entire summer that all four of us were in the same geographical location. We stayed at the Halekulani and a wondrous time was had by all!…

  • Book review: Outlaw by Angus Donald

    Outlaw by Angus Donald My rating: 4 of 5 stars A good friend recommended this book to me, since I am also a huge fan of Sharon Kay Penman’s and Bernard Cornwell’s books. I won’t admit this to my friend, but he was spot on with his recommendation. 🙂 “Outlaw” is the story of Robin…

  • Tokyo and the US-Japan Leadership Program

    We traveled to Tokyo in late July to participate in the US-Japan Leadership Program alumni weekend but arrived a few days early so that we could do the important things in Tokyo—Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland. 🙂 (Our son came with us on the trip, but our daughter was doing her community service project and…

  • Book review: Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

    Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the second in my newest mystery series discovery, the Maisie Dobbs series. This time, Maisie is looking for a woman who has disappeared on behalf of the woman’s father. She discovers that the daughter’s disappearance is somehow linked to the…

  • Book review: Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

    Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoy the Stephanie Plum mystery series. The books are perfect beach reads (regardless of whether you are actually at the beach or not). I enjoyed “Notorious Nineteen” immensely, and it’s one of the stronger entrants in the series of late. The plot…

  • Restaurant review: Minibar by José Andrés

    We dined at Minibar the other night, which is most accurately described as “better food through chemistry.” Seriously, dining at Minibar is a gastronomical experience (rather than simply dining) and a seriously impressive (and delicious) look at molecular gastronomy in cooking. We started off with a series of appetizers, which included: Yogurt carnation (not pictured)…

  • Movie review: Inside Out

    Once again, Pixar hits it out of the ballpark with a movie alternately funny and touching that appeals equally to kids and adults. The nominal story is about an 11 year old girl, Riley, whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, and how she copes with this move. (Without detracting from the trauma of…

  • Restaurant review: Peter Chang (Arlington, Virginia)

    Peter Chang is a Chinese chef who has owned and operated pop up restaurants throughout the mid-Atlantic region over the years. He has established a cult following of fans who have traveled enormous distances to have his food. He recently opened up a place in Arlington, Virginia, and we paid a visit last week with…

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