My Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2019!

Once again I’m very late to post my favorite books on the year, primarily because we were travelling over the holidays.

So, while I read many good books, here – in no particular order – are the books I enjoyed most and are most likely to recommend (all were reviewed this year):

The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

Educated by Tara Westover (non-fiction)

Becoming by Michelle Obama (non-fiction)

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

A Fun Site to Shop for your Favorite Book Lover: Literary Book Gifts!

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Photo by Porapak Apichodilok on Pexels.com

I recently heard from the very nice folks at LITERARYBOOKGIFTS.COM and they are offering a Promo for any of my readers who purchase from their website. They have all kinds of fun and unique literary tee-shirts and book bags for sale, including some relevant ones for me of Conan Doyle, Dickens, Poe, Austen, and more, and even the Concord authors (Alcott, Thoreau, Hawthorne) including a Little Women bag! (But no Little House things due to copyright restrictions).

If you use the Promo Code DRBETHNOLAN20 you can get 20% off as much as you like and as many times as you like!

Shop early for the holidays and for birthdays for all your favorite bibliophiles!

 

Saturday Snapshot: Hawaii, the Big Island

If you know us, you know we love to go to Hawaii! This year we went to the Big Island and enjoyed the sun and sand.

Here are a few pictures:

 

The Big Island is so unique with all it’s dark lava rocks! We were on the other side from the volcano and didn’t see it. It was a great week!

 

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at Westmetromommyreads.com.

See her site for participation details!

Saturday Snapshot: a few costumes from the Met

When we were in NYC, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of my very favorite places! One of my top choices there is to see what’s in the basement area – the costume collection. They were having a special exhibit of vestments and clothing from different Popes and no one could take pictures of it (not sure why). However, I came across two other intriguing “costumes” in an exhibition of visitors to Versailles. With my obsession with history, I love reading about Versailles and the opulent life there. I took a picture of a ladies dress from a visitor (not only magnificent, but amazingly well preserved!):

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I also took a picture of one of Ben Franklin’s suits. What struck me was that every picture or interpretation I’ve seen of Ben Franklin as an adult has him about 250-300 pounds (with the exception of his large statue at the Franklin Institute in Philly). While his suit was certainly a bit larger than those of his peers in the display, it really wasn’t very large at all (well, by American standards!): (no flash was allowed – sorry!)

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I found these two costumes memorable!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at Westmetromommyreads.com.

See her site for full participation details!

addendum: I just found online (if that’s to be trusted!) that the real Ben Franklin was 5’9 and 220 pounds.

Saturday Snapshot: St. Pat’s Cathedral

If you know me, you know we like to go to NYC. When we do, we attend Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I never tire of looking at the beautiful intricacies of the architecture there, the statues, the windows, the light.

Here are a few photos I took last weekend when we were there:

 

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at westmetromommyreads.com. Stop by her site for specifics on participating!

Some Summer Reads…

If you know me, you know I love my kindle. I can boost up the size of the print and not need my glasses and I can read when I wake up in the middle of the night (instead of staring at the ceiling and worrying about various things). However, summer is the best time for reading printed books for me because, as an educator, I have lots more time to read during the day and/or read when I’m not exhausted and bleary-eyed.

So – I recently gathered some of my paper books that I’ve been saving for summer and lined them up for a tbr pile picture:

Squee! I’ve got a little bit of everything in here — from Tudor times to a cozy mystery to some YA to a non-fiction laugh a minute memoir from a Little House on the Prairie cast member. Of course I have about 25 things on my kindle, but I’ll be getting to these while the days are long and there’s time to relax with a good book!

What are YOU reading this summer?

SHADOW BY THE BRIDGE by Suzanne Tewan — HFVBTours — with Giveaway!

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Today I’m giving a shout out to a historical fiction novel that is based on true events: Shadow by the Bridge by Suzanne Zewan. It takes place in the early 1900’s  when a serial killer was stalking a small town in New York. Check it out!

Shadow by the Bridge by Suzanne Zewan
 
Publication Date: November 1, 2017
No Frills Buffalo
eBook & Paperback; 368 Pages
 
Genre: Historical Mystery
 
11-year-old Fritz Reynolds recalled his father telling him that man is the only creature who can find amusement in killing. Little did he realize that those words would become the theme for his teenage years growing up in the rural hamlet of Linden, New York. In this coming-of-age story, Fritz takes us back to a simpler time when neighbors gathered at the general store to listen to radio shows, drank barrel-aged cider, and worshiped at the Baptist church every Sunday. All was picturesque in his close-knit farming community until terror was unleashed on them.
 
About the Author
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Suzanne is coordinator at Genesee Valley Educational Partnership and is an adjunct professor at Buffalo State College. She has a M.A. in English and Creative Writing and a M.S.Ed. in Career and Technical Education. Other publications include a poem in Jigsaw (2014), a short story and two poems in Jigsaw (2016), and a short story in Amaranth Review (2016).
But wait! There’s more! A Giveaway!!

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away two paperback copies of Shadow by the Bridge to one lucky winner! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on March 31st. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

CHRISTMAS AT WDW (a Saturday Snapshot)

 

As a family, we LOVE going to Walt Disney World, and this year we went the week before Xmas (less people than the week afterward!). To be honest, I rarely took my phone into the park (I like to roam free with just my Magic Band) but we love, love, love the Grand Floridian and enjoyed taking pictures there of the beautiful decorations that they have out for Christmas. And yes – that is a full size real gingerbread house made with gingerbread with adults working inside it! The top right has the tree from the Polynesian, which we love to visit as we love all things Hawaiian. Top right shows the castle from Mickey’s Holiday Party — it was fantastic. It also “snowed” on Main Street, which maybe would have been more exciting if I didn’t live in New England!

 

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at westmetromommyreads.com

Visit her site for more information!