May’s Mutterings: Rants and Ramblings
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Book review: Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read the Stephanie Plum novels for hilarious dialogue, funny and idiosyncratic characters and a completely unrealistic but entertaining plot. And that’s what you get with this addition to the series. If the book seems a bit formulaic, well, yes, it is, but that’s…
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Book review: Alpha by Greg Rucka
Alpha by Greg Rucka My rating: 4 of 5 stars My current favorite thriller genre authors are Greg Rucka, Brad Thor, and Lee Child (Tom Clancy’s earlier works are also favorites). Having just finished “Alpha,” the start of Greg Rucka’s new series, I have decided that he is my favorite of the three. His Queen…
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L’Abattoir (Vancouver)
For a variety of reasons (mostly due to a Disney cruise to Alaska by the kids and Jim’s mom and nephew), we found ourselves in Vancouver (that’s in Canada) for a few days. In addition to discovering the flagship Fluevog shoe store (a story for another time), we discovered wonderful food of all cuisines during…
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Book review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is classified as Young Adult fiction, but it is so much more than that. The plot is fairly simple–a young woman is caught by the Gestapo in occupied France and is writing her story about how she ended up as a…
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Book review: The Serpent’s Shadow by Mercedes Lackey
The Serpent’s Shadow by Mercedes Lackey My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have not read any Mercedes Lackey in quite some time (I really loved her Valdemar books), and I was thrilled to discover that she was as good as ever in “The Serpent’s Shadow.” (Being OCD, I will have to go back and…
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Book review: The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book really deserves a bifurcated rating. I give the actual story–the history–5 stars. Recovering and preserving the priceless art that the Nazis looted during their march through Europe is a…
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Photography Class – Sunflowers
In a previous blog post here, I talked about a fabulous photography class I took with a friend that took place at a Franciscan monastery. I learned so much about my camera and lighting and had a fabulous time. So much so that we decided to take another photography class, this time taking photos at…
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Book review: In the Time of the Poisoned Queen by Paul Doherty
In Time of the Poisoned Queen by Paul Doherty My rating: 3 of 5 stars I have concluded that I like the concept of the Nicholas Segalla mysteries better than I like the mysteries themselves. “In the Time of the Poisoned Queen” discusses the mystery of whether Queen Mary of England died a natural death…
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Book review: Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell
Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am late to the Bernard Cornwell fan club (many historical fiction fans have long since discovered him), but I am thrilled to have finally read one of his books, which has been on my to-be-read pile for much too long. “Azincourt” or “Agincourt” (the…
Got any book recommendations?