Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King 3/5 StarsThe description of this book led me to believe that it was largely about one woman’s rape, but it seemed to be about everything but that. That crime was used to kick the book off, but then we learned about everyone and their cousin’s family history. Black, white, lawyers, out-of-town military, law enforcement: no one’s history was spared. There is an…
I feel like LA was the last major US city to cross off my list. It’s one that I’ve wanted to visit but hadn’t taken the time to make it a priority. It was pretty close to how I expected it to be; the trendier places were mostly nice to visit and everywhere else is pretty junky, except for skid row which we drove through after arriving early for our dinner reservation and wow. I’ve never imagined anything being that…
My first visit to Disneyland in California! I grew up in central Florida and have spent many, many days at Disney World. After spending four days in San Diego we spent two at Disney, one day for each park. One of the biggest differences between this park and both Disney World and Disneyland Paris is how expensive the hotels are. I know there are much cheaper ones right across the street but sometimes you just have to have the full…
San Diego Zoo I’ve wanted to go to San Diego since I was about 16 and was absolutely delighted when Joe told me I could join him for a conference there last November. It was actually a Christmas gift; four days in San Diego and a few more in Los Angeles, and a weekend at Disneyland. It was my first time in Southern California and I have to say, I get the appeal. Of San Diego at least, LA is…
Maine Boston I love, love, love New England. This was my second time visiting (we went for a friend’s wedding) and we split our time between New Hampshire, Maine, and Boston. Highlights include an L.L. Bean outlet, Portland Head Lighthouse, visiting Andover Bookstore (at the time of visiting it was the oldest bookstore in the U.S.), and tours at King’s Chapel and Old North Church in Boston. It was also the first trip where I shot in manual mode so…
For the last stop of our road trip, we stayed the night in Jackson, WY. We grabbed breakfast at Persephone, a French bakery, before driving to Grand Teton National Park. We walked about 30 minutes of the Jenny Lake Overlook Trail, hiked the first part of Lakeshore Trail at Colter Bay, and did a lot of driving. We happened along Snake River overlook where Ansel Adams took a photo. I did my best to get the same shot though obviously…
Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire 4/5 StarsDiscount Armageddon is the first book in McGuire’s Urban Fantasy InCryptid series. Verity Price comes from a long line of cryptozoologists; she is continuing the family tradition in New York City while also pursuing a career as a professional ballroom dancer and waiting tables at a strip club. There’s a lot going on with Verity and sometimes it feels like the author just thought up a bunch of random qualities someone could have and…
Bonjour, happy April and happy Wednesday! I haven’t published a Wednesday Whimsy in over three months and things sure are looking different these days. Many people are only two-three weeks into home quarantine for the COVID-19 outbreak but I’ve been staying at home for well over a month now. I’ve gone to the store once or twice a week but other than that I’ve been embracing the stay-at-home lifestyle (which is hardly different from normal for me). Some days are…
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo 5/5 StarsI have been on a serious roll this year with great Reese’s Book Club picks. I listened to the audiobook of The Light We Lost and it was both moving and devastating. I feel like this story could be yours, your sibling’s, or a friend-of-a-friend’s. The situation is so relatable and, most importantly, I feel that Lucy’s choices are too. In many books we like to read stories of the lives of…
A Murderous Relation is the fifth book in the Veronica Speedwell series. From the first book this has been one of my favorite series of all time but this installment proves that it is not immune to the mid-single-digit slump. For me, most series around book 5 or 6 take on a repetitive feel. I get not wanting to change what drew readers to the books in the first place, but no one wants to read the same book seven…