Scrappy Travels

I have a chair in my home - a not all that comfortable chair, that has spent its life living in a corner in my library nook waiting to be useful. Currently, its use is an onslaught of books needing a bookshelf. You see, I'm completely out of room on my shelves. Books are stacked two deep in some places, and horizontally, and vertically. And yet, I still keep buying books at a ridiculous rate. I'm not sure who told me whoever has the most books, wins at life. But if that's true, I'm certainly winning some prize.  The very worst part of it is, I'm secretly in a book detox. I started the year off really well, reading at a furious rate. But, since the start of summer, I can't seem to focus. And the overflow of books is making it harder and harder to do so. One would think I would stop buying them at some point, seeing as it's contributing to my inability to decide on what exactly to read. But just this weekend I went to the Library of Congress Book Festiva...

A few weeks ago, I attended the National Book Festival in Washington DC. Only intending to purchase a few used books, I was not so pleasantly surprised when I realized this book festival did not have a used book area. What they did have was an entire area devoted to the books of the authors that were speaking that day, all run by Politics and Prose. That meant of course, I needed to at least peruse the bookshop area. And then since I have absolutely zero will power, it meant that I needed to buy an entire tote bag (Book-themed naturally...) full of very different books than I usually purchase. Since that time, I've read all but 2 of the books, and have varying degrees of feelings for each. I'll be honest, I purchased Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus specifically because I liked the title. But the story of a young girl who lives a fabulous life with her family, and just so happens to not have any arms, is a story of differences and how people can still ...

So embarrassing... This is a photo of my current stash of books I've yet to read - all of the books that are horizontal (and some vertical) are all completely unread. The stack has grown increasingly embarrassing over the last few months. Between attending book festivals, used book stores and new book stores, I haven't been able to help myself and have purchased a ridiculous number of books. What is wrong with me? Intellectually I know that the library exists. I also know that if I want to purchase books, many, many used book stores exist. Yet still, I enter knowingly into Barnes and Noble and exit with 3 books in my hand. What's even worse, is that in the midst of mulling over this post yesterday, I walked into a book store and walked out with 3 additional books to add to the list. In my defense that was a local used bookstore so the financial impact wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been for my wallet. But still...That's an additional 3 books added to ...

August Reads Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani: I've sort of become obsessed with graphic novels, especially when they're as creative as "Pashmina". This is a beautiful example of an important story creatively told. The Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford: I'm just so in love with this series. The story is a perfect mixture of mystery and fantasy. Can't wait to read the next! Nice Work if you can Get It by Celia Imrie: I'm a big fan of British books and travel books. This is a mixture of both. A British book based in Nice France, while also including a bit of a mystery. It's super cute and the perfect beachy read! Flora and Ulysses - The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo: This story of a girl and her superhero squirrel is just the cutest. If catchphrases are a sign of how much someone enjoys a book, my incessant use of the phrase "Holy Bagumba" should tell you just how much I loved it. The Little Cornish Kitchen by Jane ...

June Reads As is most of the summer, June was a very good month for books! All by Myself, Alone by Mary Higgins Clark: I'm a year behind on her books because I refuse to buy them in hardback anymore, yet I still get sucked into each and every one. They're all pretty much the same, but they're the perfect summer fare. The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro: This is the second in a series of Young Adult - focused Sherlock Holmes stories. Each book is sort of like the original but with a modern twist. The series is fantastic! Winterhouse by Ben Guterson: I wanted it to be as good as "Greenglass House", but it just wasn't. It was however, pretty entertaining. The Summer Seaside Kitchen by Jenny Colgan: Colgan is my very favorite British author and I hope she continues to write for years and years to come. I get so engrossed in her stories of England, that my heart starts to yearn for Great Britain. This book was no different. I'm now secret...

All the veggies at Reading Terminal Market In a lot of ways, April seems like it lasted for about 60 days. It was by far the longest and busiest month I've had in a very, very long time. In the span of 30 days, I celebrated Easter, 4 birthdays and an anniversary, had a mid-life crisis about my own birthday, traveled to 2 different cities, saw 10 shows (and reviewed 9 of them), saw and wrote about the Kennedy Center's new season and totaled my car (so I bought a new one).  In all of this time I was also working full time and attempting to have a life as well. Many, many parts of the month were fun, but stress creeps in after a while. And let's just say I'm very much looking forward to a more laid-back May (fingers crossed...) Birthday fun at Reading Terminal Market April Reads Oslo by JT Rogers : I loved this play!  I wanted very much to see it at Lincoln Center last season, but never got around to it. I have high hopes that some small theatre in Maryland wil...

March Reads The Normal Heart  by Larry Kramer: I'd read it before, but I plan to write about it so I thought it deserved another read. It will never not be powerful and terrifying at the same time.  The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street  by Karina Yan Glaser: I loved this book so much! I want to live in their brownstone in Harlem and join their family. It's positively perfect for anyone of any age. Inferno  by Dan Brown: He spends 500 pages telling the reader one thing, then switches everything on its head in the last 100 pages. To say I wasn't a fan, is an understatement. "Origin" was so much better! The Diamond Caper  by Peter Mayle: I've loved Peter Mayle's books since I first read A Year in Provence . Seeing as he passed away sadly, last month, this is my last read by this fabulous author. The book is great, which makes it so much sadder that there won't be any more. March Travels Since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas occurr...

Hiding my skepticism well, at the RV show After a long cold January, it's so nice to see the beginnings of Spring happening this month. There's sunshine, and blue skies and as I write this it's about 65 degrees outside. All I can say is it's about darn time! Though, it is supposed to be dreary again next week so I suppose we take what we can get for now and keep wishing for March 21. February Eats This may seem simple, but Lent started this month, which means no meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays until Easter. Of course, it also meant the absolute best bowl of French Onion Soup I've ever had, thanks to Chef Dad. So darn delicious! February Reads Origin by Dan Brown: I'm a sucker for a good mystery and Dan Brown is one of my favorite mystery writers. I ploughed through The DaVinci Code in a day. This one was a bit more dense, and it took a bit longer but it was fantastic. It succeeded in describing Spain so well, that I'm now dreaming of B...

Here in Maryland, January has been a bit rough. With temperatures hovering around the 20s, we are so over winter. However, that hasn't stopped me from exploring some new opportunities and having a bit of fun - though, that fun has been mostly in doors as of late. January Reads 2017 was a very bad year for reading for me. I started off so well, but then I got a little bored and a little restless - having a ridiculous President and a 24 hour news-cycle will do that. But this year, I'm hoping to find my way back on track by completing a challenge I read about on Adventurous Kate's blog . She is reading one book per month around a certain theme. In her case, she's reading authors from countries she's never traveled to. In my case, I'm reading Young-Adult fiction. There's just so many good books out there that the former Elementary school teacher in me is dying to have an excuse to read. I'll be reading many more books along the way - hopefully. But a...