I have known Libby for years. We have a great relationship. In fact, on meeting Libby, I would say it was love at first sight. But after checking the Microsoft Access file I keep of books I’ve read, I discovered that Libby and I could have been going out on a lot more dates than we have so far. Allow me to explain.
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This post is not a book review of Daniel J. Brown’s The Indifferent Stars Above (see screen capture). Instead, it’s about a family connection the author has to the book’s subject—the ill-fated Donner Party, a California-bound group of emigrants who were trapped by heavy snows in the Sierra Nevada during the winter of 1846–47.
Continue readingPosted in Books & Movies
Converted from an old newspaper vending box
Does your neighborhood have a book exchange box (see photo), often called a Little Free Library? If you walk or bike much on the streets near your home, you most likely know the answer to this question. Rocky Point, my neighborhood, has one. Marine Drive, a smaller neighborhood just to the west of us, has three. Perhaps Marine Drive has more readers and more community spirit.
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Posted in Books & Movies, Mud Bay & Rocky Point, Other Local Places
Tagged Marine Drive
At the end of last year I wrote a post titled 10 Books I Read in 2011. This post does the same thing for 2012.
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Posted in Books & Movies
I lifted this entry’s title from the Home.Spice.Life blog. Her (or his) recent post about books read in 2011 was recognized in WordPress’s Freshly Pressed section, meaning it was judged to be among the best posts of the day. Congratulations! My list of books is different.
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Posted in Books & Movies
To offset a world that gets more bad news every year, The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha describes dozens of simple things that can make us happy and should be celebrated. For example, “When cashiers open up new checkout lanes at grocery stores.” The book’s entries are a mix of author originals and suggestions sent in from all over. One of them is the idea behind my favorite greeting card of all time.
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Posted in Books & Movies
Until I read Deceit by Brandilyn Collins last week, I didn’t know there was such a thing as Christian suspense. But a quick search on the Internet turned up numerous web sites, a blog, and a category on Amazon.com devoted to promoting and selling quality fiction in this specialized literary genre. Christian suspense books appear to be popular.
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Posted in Books & Movies
At Kitsap Regional Library a little green shamrock sticker denotes a “lucky day” book—one that’s reshelved right away instead of going to the next person on the hold list. Today I got lucky at KRL’s main branch. After all, what’s the expected shelf life of the latest Robert Crais novel in the new-book section during a rainy Saturday afternoon in February?
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Posted in Books & Movies
January 30th was the last time the Port Orchard Library—or any Kitsap Regional Library branch—was open on Sunday. It was a downer day for me. Stopping by the funky old gray-and-blue building on the Port Orchard waterfront was part of my Sunday afternoon routine.
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Posted in Books & Movies, Government
Michael Connelly has published three novels about L.A. defense attorney Mickey Haller, whose office in the first book is the back of a Lincoln Town Car. A fourth Haller novel is due out this spring. Connelly’s novels also feature a far better-known character, veteran L.A. homicide detective Harry Bosch. Bosch has his own series and has also appeared in some of the Haller books. Although I don’t plan to read any more Bosch novels (more on that later), I would watch a Bosch movie.
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Posted in Books & Movies
Mud Bay Blog 