What I am reading

 Third time's a winner!!

I greatly enjoyed the other two Natasha Leister books I read, but this third one is my absolute favourite!

The Riviera House, like the other two I read, take place during World War II in Paris. The focus of this one is the art. In WWII, Hitler and his minions made a very deliberate and consolidated effort to steal and also destroy much of  France's art treasures. The Louvre was one of the buildings taken over, and it was there that art was either collected and shipped off to Hitler and Goering, or it was deemed sinful and burned.

Leister did such an amazing job of describing much of this process, and the anguish the local curators felt as they were helpless to stop the process. There was also a very concentrated effort by subversive factions to document which art went where, so that they could hopefully try to retrieve it, should the Allies win.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this one to anyone who has a curiosity about this time period.

What I read this week

 Last year I dove into a new author named Natasha Lester, with her book, the Paris Secret.  I very much enjoyed this book, and while I was in the city at my doctor appointment, I picked up a couple more of her books. 

This past week I entered the world of the Paris Seamstress, and re-entered WWII in Paris, and modern day New York

This book hovers between past and present, and does a good job of it. Far too many I read do that, and I get lost in the story and characters. I admit to a certain fascination about the world of couture clothing and all it entails.

I didn't love this book quite as much as the Paris Secret. I am still glad I read it.

What I read this week

 Yes, I am definitely addicted to stories about the Royal Family. Get that from my mom :-)

This one felt biographical, but of course it was fiction.

The Other Windsor Girl, by Georgie Blalock

This book was designed to give us a peek inside Princess Margaret's life, through a fictional Lady in Waiting.  I always wondered what a more modern Lady in Waiting did, as opposed to the world of Elizabeth I. 

It would appear a lot of it was placating the Royal, providing her with companionship for her outings, and helping to tame, a wee bit, the royal scandals.

I enjoyed this one much more than the biographical Lady in Waiting, by Anne Glencommer.  I guess truth is sometimes less exciting than the fictionalized version.

It certainly shows how a life of no purpose (other than pleasure, and a wee bit of duty to  Crown), can leave one feeling more than a bit lost.

What I read this week.

 Sometimes, when it's been a week, a girl goes back to her staples, hoping for familiar comfort.

I've been reading Danielle Steel since I was 14, and 90% of the time, she does not let me down.

I have always been intrigued by the Women's  RAF (Royal Air Force), and the role they played in WW2. Young women from Canada and the USA joined together with women from Britain.

This book is adjunct to that, and takes us to the world of the Flight nurses on these aircraft, and the critical role they played. They were often called the Flying Angels

One of my good friends from our College Hockey family serves in the military, and she accepted a post to work at Mildenhall in the UK for a couple years. Her stories of the folks she met were quite incredible.

This book captures a taste of some of those stories. It was exactly what I needed.

What I read this week

 I went a little more modern this time with Vintage, by Susan Gloss.

When I read this I am reminded of The Shop on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber.

Women of different backgrounds, coming together unexpectedly, and finding in each other, the strength to find themselves.

It wasn't an overly complicated read, but it definitely reminded me the power of connection with people.

What I read this week

 It's ugly bitter and cold out there, and my brain felt focused so I dove into a book for the first time in awhile. I had purchased a stash of them before Christmas but never really got into the reading.  

New year, new focus. Let's read.

The first book I chose was Lady in Waiting: My extraordinary life  in the shadow of the Crown.

Anyone who follows me knows I am a huge follower of the Royal Family ( not stalker paparazzo level though). I thought this would be an interesting insight from the point of view of some from the Ton, but not of the royal family.

It took me a bit to get into it, and once I did, I realized the tie in to Netflix The Crown. It is the wedding of Anne and her husband Colin, that princess Margaret is at, when she meets Tony for the first time. He was the photographer.

I found the details of how Mustique came about to be very interesting. It also gives a different glimpse of Princess Margaret than I have read about before.

Overall, though, it wasn't a book I will re-read. I found it to be a bit name droppy, more than stories. The behaviour of Colin, her husband, was a big turn off. I can't imagine living that life with him.

Reading reviews on amazon, I see people either loved it or hated it. 

Have you dived into this tell all?

A wonderful Monday

 So many wonderful non exciting things happened today.

It started off with  early morning coffee outside in my back yard beside the pond. The sound of the birds and the water moving was such a positive therapeutic launch of the day.

I had enough energy to go do a bit of grocery shopping and get the mail. There was enough mental focus to go through my finances and update my monthly spreadsheet and double check the planned savings accounts. 

I settled down to start my first book of the summer The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser. I am having trouble settling in to read for longer chunks of time, but I am hoping that will come.

After supper was grass cutting and taking care of my flowers, and just enjoying being outside.

The day ended with a glass of wine on the deck as sunset. 

What I am reading

 I am honestly not sure when I picked up this book. It's been on my shelf for awhile, perhaps even since our move in December 2019.

I think when I am reading, I just have to be in the right 'feel' for the topic. I would say I am still wounded from losing both parents so I steer clear of modern books that have parents passing as the primary theme. 

I seem to be on  a WW2 sort of kick lately. The topic is another 'I really didn't think of that' moment of different ways that the war impacted people in France. It is based off the them of the Resistance Movement of different home bases of wines like Veuve Cliquot.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book.

Reading thus far in 2021

 I have been carving out time to read more. Not that I don't have time. I do. It's more....forcing myself off the technology/ mindless scrolling that eats up ridiculous amounts of time.

I can hardly keep self complaining that I need to read more when I don't make the time for it.

It's purposeful and intentional time.

I have lost a lot of my reading stamina....that ability to just keep reading and reading without getting distracted.

So I set a timer now on my phone and put my phone on the charger....away from me.

That way I know how much time has passed without forever glancing at my phone.

This helps when I am reading something for school.

I never used to have this problem.

anyways...here is what I have been reading thus far.

What I am reading

I finished The Queen's Secret late last week. It was ok. Definitely not as good as her other books.

I also finished Who is the Dalai Lama and Who is George Lucas, both from the Who is /where is series.

Today I just started The Engineer's Wife, by Tracey Enerson Wood. It's based on a true story of the wife of the Engineer who designed the Brooklyn Bridge. I am hoping it's good.

I am also starting two more from the Who is Where is Series. This week..... Malala and Area 51.

What I am reading

I am slowly getting back into reading again. I am the queen at time wasting on my phone or having the TV on and not really watching. Time to get a little more productive with a bit of that time.

Personally I am reading The Queen's Secret, by Karen Harper.  It's about The Queen Mother and most of it takes place during WW2. I admit to knowing very little about her.

I have always been a fan of English monarchy and the stories that go with it. I started The Crown on Netflix earlier this Covid, and I ran across this title while pausing the series and exploring online.

I am 3/4 through and honestly, it's not as good as the other two books I read by her. I really really enjoyed those.

Professionally, I am reading a few YA books I stumbled across this past year. If you have younger teens or reluctant readers, these are quite interesting.

The books focus on Who is? Who was? Who were? Where is? Where was? etc

They are easy to read but still feel like you are learning about the topic. I will be using them for a Biography Unit. They are $6.99 on amazon, but at a bookstore in the city, they rotate a few of them into the discount bin at $3.99.

I just finished

and now I am starting

Here is the weblink if you want to check out what kind of books they have.

Who is? Where is?

First Day of Pause

ok well the second since Friday was the first day. Close enough

It only took til noon until I started to feel guilty not connecting with my kids' and their families. We were told to take the week and try to think of ways to keep interest in learning online, but mostly the week is for us.

So I unpacked some books, put a few more things away and started to make a list of things I could do so I wouldn't go crazy.

I am still trying to keep the bills straight between the houses, and the dates they are due.

I spent some time adjusting my budget to reflect 2 power bills, 2 water bills etc.  At some point we will get the boys to kick in but let's wait and see.  It shouldn't be so hard to keep it organized but it feels like a mess for me. Hopefully it will get better.


DS2 is up with his gf and experiencing that same pause. Except for her, she's only been teaching less than 3 months so she doesn't have that wealth of experiences and materials to draw upon.

DS1 is surviving and finding himself sneezing a lot from the cat hair. We've cleaned a lot but it's still there. I suspect the furnace vents all need cleaning.

I definitely need to figure out a rhythm for the days ahead.

What I am reading

I have had this book over at dad's since early last winter. During my visits with him I have read through it.  I finished it this morning while sitting out by his pond, listening to the water.

All politics discussion aside, I really enjoyed the behind the scenes perspective about their journey to the White House and how it affected the people in that role.

I may have to read another book or two on this topic. I see a few other first ladies have written one as well.

What I am reading

In continuing my curiosity with the Astor family, this week I read The Astor Orphan. This is a biography by Alexandra Alrich.

This biography is about the branch of the Astor family who lived at the country home called Rokeby. While the city Astors continued to live in splendor (and sometimes excess), this branch lived on a former glorious estate that was slowly crumbling due to a lack of money. The father of Alexandra was educated as an Astor but lacked money (as did his siblings). They lived very poorly, wrapped in the memories of what life used to be like for their family.

What I am reading - Astors

So apparently I am on a 'Gilded Age' quest.  After reading about the Vanderbilts I headed to the library to look for books about this time period. Up came a boatload of books about the Astors. None of them were in our library current rotation so I clicked 'order' on a few of them.

Much to my surprise ALL of them came. I looked like I was writing an essay as I checked them out. The librarian said "oh we are into Non Fiction are we? Doing a research project?"  What could I say?

Apparently I am this week, I smiled sweetly.

I had no clue where to start or which one to read. Some of them definitely have that 'old library' smell to them and some are newer.

I decided to start with When the Astors Owned New York, by Justin Kaplan

It really goes back. Allllll the way back. There are  a lot of details. A lot of names. A lot of 'begats'.

But once I let go of that incessant need to really understand all of that, I started to be able to relax enough to start to enjoy it.

It really is incredible how much wealth was amassed in such a short period of time. A lot of foresight about the future of New York. A lot of excess. And not a lot of understanding of what truly makes people happy. As I read it, I never really got a sense of any of them truly being happy. 

I read as the first big hotel was built in New York City. The best, the biggest, the most excessive...and then torn down about 60 years later. 

I got this sense of  them never being satisfied.

I guess money doesn't really buy happiness.

What I am reading

I loved the Devil Wears Prada. Movie form. I did not love Weisberger's Everyone worth knowing, that I read in 2007. But when I saw this one at the library I wanted to give it a shot. Light fluffy beach reading to start off the summer.

When Life Gives You Lululemons focuses on Emily's path. It was alright, but I wonder if the movie they plan to make about it will be as good as Prada?

What I am reading

Back to my roots. There is just something about these that makes me think of mom and gives comfort.  I have to force myself to slow down so I don't burn through these too fast or then....it's done :-)

What I am reading

I pulled out a popular novel from a decade or so ago. One I always meant to read and did not.

I always struggled with books that bop back and forth between characters. Just not my favourite style of writing. I am glad I read it. I have had students read it or want to read it and ask for my opinion so now I can offer them something substantial to get them reading. Anything to get kids reading.

Now to watch the movie, that I have also never seen :-) Boy I am out of touch.

What I am reading

I thought I would try something light.  A nice, fluffy beach read type book.

I borrowed Thin, Rich, Pretty from the library.

It was ok, but not something I would recommend, even as a beach read type book.

What I am reading

This week's selection is a YA book that I read because I am hoping to do it with students next year. Eric Walters is a Canadian Author who actually came to our school this year and presented to our students.  I love the relatability of the books he writes as well as the variety. There is something for every student in his writing and that is why so many of the kids read him.

90 Days of Different is the story of a girl graduating from High School whose boyfriend dumps her for being boring and unadventurous. Her best friend proposes that for the 90 days between graduation and college starting, she pushes Sophie ( main character) out of her comfort zone to try new things.

I turn 50 this year and am someone who definitely could stand to be pushed out of her comfort zone and experience a bit more variety in life.  This book may be for teens but the message definitely is not.

I definitely need a bit more Sophie in my life.