tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304650032024-03-13T03:41:10.962-04:00Mugsy's MusingsMusings on writing and authors, primarily mystery fiction and events celebrating the genre. Comments on just about anything that I feel like talking about, including travel, food, sports, and should I be so foolish, even politics.David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-52472588310950416562023-05-04T20:54:00.000-04:002023-05-04T20:54:21.931-04:00Last Call at Cougan's: The Life and Death of a Neighborhood Bar by Jon Michaud<b> </b>I grew up in a small coal-mining town in southwestern Pennsylvania. I learned as the years went by the importance of our local bars to the communities they served. The larger ones housed a restaurant serving comfort food and providing a forum for entire families to socialize or burn off some of the stress of a day’s work.<div><br /><div> These businesses provided jobs. They sponsored sports teams. They often housed banquet rooms where celebrations were held. They acted as information highways where the latest news was shared with a pre-internet, news-hungry populace.</div><div><br /></div><div> In <b>Last Call at Cougan’s: The Life and Death of a Neighborhood Bar</b>, Jon Michaud provides a rich history of one such social hub: Cougan’s. Located in Washington Heights, at the upper reaches of Broadway at 169th St., Cougan’s became much more than an Irish bar and restaurant. Michaud shows how during its almost four decades of existence, “…it became a beloved community hub so essential that it was sometimes called Uptown City Hall”. </div><div><br /></div><div> Cougan’s provided a place where people from varied walks of life and different ethnicities and races were able to have a drink or a meal in harmony. It provided a haven for doctors and nurses working at the nearby hospital, for police from the nearby precincts, for downtown workers blowing off some steam at the end of a tough workday, and many others. Well-known personalities walked through its doors from New York City and beyond: Lin Manuel Miranda (“In the Heights” means in Washington Heights), Mayor David Dinkins, and Gerry Adams of the IRA are just three. </div><div><br /></div><div> Michaud provides a historical review of Cougan’s existence overlaid with most of the important local and national issues of the time: the AIDS epidemic, the crack epidemic, stop and frisk, race riots, the various financial meltdowns, 9/11, and finally the COVID crisis. </div><div><br /></div><div> He demonstrates how Cougan’s management was versatile and open-minded in its out-of-the-box thinking. Cougan’s held book launches, mounted plays, staged poetry readings and karaoke, facilitated community outreach and arbitrated conflicts when they arose outside its doors. It helped resurrect the use of an armory building and began an annual 5K run fundraiser. </div><div><br /></div><div> Any business that exists for almost forty years will have challenges and changes. Cougan’s was no different. Bars and restaurants tend to have more than their share. Michaud illustrates how Cougan’s navigated those challenges and changes, and mostly accomplished them in a moral way. </div><div><br /></div><div> Through his extensive research and straightforward writing style, Michaud brings Cougan’s, and everyone who walked through its doors, alive. I could imagine sitting at this neighborhood gem, drinking a cold beer, and hearing about all the interesting people who graced its history. Last Call at Cougan’s provides a slice of Americana that you should discover for yourself.
</div></div>David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-22481289081439143562022-09-02T14:44:00.000-04:002022-09-02T14:44:04.374-04:00Real Bad Things<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58755566-real-bad-things" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Real Bad Things" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659473568l/58755566._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58755566-real-bad-things">Real Bad Things</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15270038.Kelly_J_Ford">Kelly J. Ford</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4935627539">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
First, I’d like to thank Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Kelly J. Ford for a DRC of Real Bad Things.<br /><br />After twenty-five years, a body is found near the dam on the Arkansas River near Maud, AR., a divided town of the well-to-do – Maud Proper, and Maud Bottom, for the struggling unfortunates like Jane, who have always found life a struggle. For Jane Mooney, the probability that the body is Warren Ingram, her stepfather whose murder she confessed to at the age of seventeen, it brings back a terrible period in her life. When she hears the news, she leaves her unsettled life in Boston, MA and returns to face whatever awaits her in Maud. <br />In Real Bad Things, Jane confronts her past that is littered with strained relationships: her mother, Diane, who insists on making every second of Jane’s return a deep regret, her former girlfriend, Georgia Lee, who is now married and has two boys, her half-brother, Jason, who resists Jane’s efforts to rekindle their sibling closeness from decades earlier, and good friend, Angie, whose anger after all these years later puzzles Jane.<br />Ford deftly leads her readers through the story using the alternative viewpoints of Jane and Georgia Lee. She shows that memory can be an unreliable tool, especially when you draw conclusions based on incomplete information. It seems all these characters have a secret to tell and it’s only when each of them raises their curtain of deception that Jane has any chance at freedom and peace.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-74058771469336606272021-05-28T17:04:00.000-04:002021-05-28T17:04:38.975-04:00The Truth about Lies: The Illusion and the Evolution of Deceit by Aja Raden<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138072-the-truth-about-lies" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Truth about Lies: The Illusion of Honesty and the Evolution of Deceit" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590447319l/53138072._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138072-the-truth-about-lies">The Truth about Lies: The Illusion of Honesty and the Evolution of Deceit</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13610645.Aja_Raden">Aja Raden</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4000069839">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />Imagine you’re sitting in a bar nursing an afternoon cocktail and a person takes the stool next to you. It’s a lady with raven-colored hair and an enigmatic smile. She begins telling you in colorful, bar-type language about many of the ways people have been deceived, lied to, and otherwise led to believe in a variety of dodges and gimmicks that never end in their favor.<br /><br />In The Truth about Lies: The Illusion of Honesty and the Evolution of Deceit by Aja Raden I felt exactly like that. I was entertained, educated and often amused by Raden’s story of lies and the myriad ways that unethical people have taken advantage of the unsuspecting, the greedy, or merely foolish victims. Raden describes the various ploys, including the simple shell game, Ponzi schemes, forgeries, and the “long con” that people fall prey to and have for centuries. What was most illuminating was that the reason many of the deceptions were so successful was that they took advantage of the human brain and its receptors operating just as they should.<br /><br />Raden has assembled an impressive source list and then presented it in an off-hand, fun, but comprehensive way. The sad thing is that after reading it, like Diogenes, you’ll be left looking for an honest man. <br /><br />Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-805038837365118212021-04-22T12:20:00.002-04:002021-04-22T12:32:17.955-04:00Olive Kitteridge<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44804333-olive-kitteridge" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554634213l/44804333._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44804333-olive-kitteridge">Olive Kitteridge</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/97313.Elizabeth_Strout">Elizabeth Strout</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3951785869">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Olive Kitteridge is a woman who can't get out of her own way. The former teacher not only has trouble understanding the motivations and feelings of others, she often has no insight into her own. Her rigidity in dealing with strangers, friends and family very often undermines any attempt she makes at negotiating a pleasant detente with society. Told through a series of mostly connected stories, most featuring Olive, but some only including her tangentially, we watch Olive's struggles with the world at large. <br />Strout's stories are insightful, rich in feeling and full of wonderful characters who will leave you hoping for more. I anticipate Strout's "Olive, Again" will be a current read of mine very soon.<br />I enjoyed Kimberly Farr's narration. She captured Olive in all of her emotional struggles and provided a nice balance with the other characters as they sometimes saw in Olive aspects of herself that she missed.
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-27086108755894560542021-01-31T17:19:00.000-05:002021-01-31T17:19:47.475-05:00Amity and Prosperity<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41556009-amity-and-prosperity" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556178995l/41556009._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41556009-amity-and-prosperity">Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/532652.Eliza_Griswold">Eliza Griswold</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3650098242">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
<b>Amity and Prosperity</b> by Eliza Griswold is an excellent, balanced exposition of the history of the fossil fuel industries in southwestern Pennsylvania and the recent effects that one of those industries , the natural gas fracking industry, had on a couple of families in the area.<br /><br />Stacey Haney and her two children, Harley and Paige, live on a small farm in Amity, PA, next door to Beth and John Voyle, and their daughter, Ashley. Both families enjoy hard work, the outdoors, and working with animals. Stacey also works as a nurse at the regional hospital. When the natural gas boom arrives in their area, Stacey and the Voyles decide to get involved to make some money off of their land, and also do the right “Patriotic thing” for the country.<br /><br />It doesn’t take too long before they have to consider whether they’d made a deal with the devil. A nasty odor permeates the air, animals and the children become sick, and their water becomes foul and unpotable. When they complain to the gas company, Range Resources, the company denies any responsibility, even claiming there isn’t even a problem. <br /><br />Griswold covers the struggles of the Haney’s and Voyles, a few other neighbors, and a heroic husband and wife legal team as they battle for their health, their homes, their land, and their reputations in the community. Their foes are a company with deep pockets and government bureaucracies, local, state, and federal, seemingly aligned against them. Griswold unfolds the narrative in a straight-forward way, providing an in-depth examination of the legal and emotional aspects that guide industry practices in the United States, often at the expense of the people they’re intended to help.<br /><br />Griswold does a wonderful job showing the spirit and industriousness of the people of southwestern Pennsylvania. I grew up in SW PA. The people there are a proud people who enjoy working. They’re a communal people who support each other. My dad and most of my friends’ dads worked in either the coal and the steel industries as they faded and left thousands of families wondering where their next job or meal was coming from. After decades of work, some employees found they didn’t even retain the pensions they were relying on. Griswold shows that pain.<br /><br />Highly recommended.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-14405278562050345792021-01-18T13:50:00.000-05:002021-01-18T13:50:42.468-05:00An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138073-an-extravagant-death" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="An Extravagant Death (Charles Lenox, #14)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598393372l/53138073._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138073-an-extravagant-death">An Extravagant Death</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/520296.Charles_Finch">Charles Finch</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3630088863">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch<br />In his 14th Charles Lenox mystery, Charles Finch has written an entertaining, if uneven, entry in this long-term Victorian series.<br /><br />
Charles Lenox has just spent two months investigating a series of robberies that led him to trouble within Scotland Yard, identifying three of four Detective Chief Inspectors involved in corruption, shocking Parliament and the people of London. To minimize damage to the ministers who recommended these detectives initially, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli believes it would be better if Lenox provided his testimony in writing and was out of the country during the actual trial. Disraeli proposes that Lenox “should meet with the police in the major American cities to establish international investigative cooperation and exchange the latest methods.” <br /><br />
As Lenox rides by train from NYC to Boston for the second leg of his visit, at an interim stop, he receives a telegram requesting he help with the investigation of the murder of a young woman in Newport, RI, where the wealthiest citizens of NY have “cottages”. One of those residents, a Wm Schermerhorn IV has requested the urgent assistance in investigating the murder. When a follow up telegram remarks on the unfitness of the local police, Lenox decides to put aside his future appointments and head to Newport to assist in the investigation.<br /><br />
Lenox’s investigation takes him to the cliffside mansions of Newport, where in addition to dealing with the murder of Lily Allingham, he finds preparations ongoing for Lady Caroline Astor’s annual ball opening the spring season in Newport. There, Lenox is treated to the wealth, glitter and glamour of 1880s Newport, surely something that would rival scenes to be found in aristocratic London. <br /><br />
Lenox’s charm is ever present, and he moves through the Newport society with his normal steadfastness. However, the pace of his investigation is restrained and the path to the resolution is exciting, but somewhat strained. Still, fans of Charles Finch should find much to like in his latest Charles Lenox mystery.<br /><br />
I thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book.
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-26578933366158179122021-01-06T11:56:00.000-05:002021-01-06T11:56:02.084-05:00The Splendid and the Vile<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51187948-the-splendid-and-the-vile" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567638164l/51187948._SX98_SY160_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51187948-the-splendid-and-the-vile">The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5869.Erik_Larson">Erik Larson</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3733938843">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson<br /><br />Histories take various forms. Some concentrate on broad ranges of people and events. Others focus on singular events and a small number of historical figures. Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile captures a middle position, and does it very well. Larson examined the World War II period of May 10, 1940 to May 09, 1941 and focused the narrative on Winston Churchill and the German bombing of England during that period.<br /><br />Larson deeply researched his work, using personal diaries and official histories from both sides of the conflict, to paint an intimate picture of the Churchill family and the circle of friends and government officials with a significant impact on the year he’s expansively covered. Unlike many histories, Larson avoids the pitfalls of densely cloaking his narrative just with facts, figures and events and ignoring the personal sides of history. This is a history that will enthrall history buffs, but also interest the casual reader as well. It is graced with humor, drama, and tragedy that unfolds as excitedly as a best-selling thriller. <br /><br />Highly Recommended<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-49196610370415434052020-05-14T16:24:00.000-04:002020-05-14T16:24:45.914-04:00Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14318.Chronicles" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Chronicles: Volume One" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348218030l/14318._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14318.Chronicles">Chronicles: Volume One</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8898.Bob_Dylan">Bob Dylan</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1670805312">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Chronicles provides a look at the inside Dylan, but you have to work for it. Dylan moves around without being very specific on dates through most of the book. He does refer to historical moments to provide some context, but few. He loved Woody Guthrie. He liked staying with folks who would give him a free place to stay. His descriptions of the people he knew were esoteric and often confounding. Here he talks about Bono of U2<br /><br />"One night, Bono, the singer from U2, was over for dinner with some other friends. Spending time with Bono was like eating dinner on a train - feels like you're moving, going somewhere. Bono's got the soul of an ancient poet and you have to be careful around him. He can roar 'til the earth shakes. He's also a closet philosopher. He brought a case of Guinness with him. We were talking about things you talk about when you're spending the winter with somebody - talked about Jack Kerouac."<br /><br />The overriding sentiment I took away from the book was how Dylan abhors the fame that his success brought him. He didn't want to be a symbol or prophet or any of the labels that people tried to assign to him. He just wanted to write and play music and be around others that did the same. He wanted to be a family man and enjoyed being at home, eschewing the glitter and raucous adulation that many seek. He is a more complex man than some give him credit for, but doesn't want to be defined by any component of his complexity. He mainly just wants to be left alone.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-16998918015178065602020-03-05T11:50:00.000-05:002020-03-05T11:52:59.949-05:00The World We Knew by Alice Hoffman<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43821604-the-world-that-we-knew" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The World That We Knew" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573074196l/43821604._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43821604-the-world-that-we-knew">The World That We Knew</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3502.Alice_Hoffman">Alice Hoffman</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3204710069">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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I'm not usually a reader of books with magic, sorcery, or religious mysticism so the fact that I chose this book and enjoyed it so completely is a real departure for me. Alice Hoffman is a consummate writer, blending character, plot, setting, and emotion into a deeply moving reading experience.<br />
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A Jewish mother's love for her daughter at the onset of World War II in Germany impels Hanni Kohn to seek out a Rabbi's help to protect her young daughter, Lea. When she's turned away by the Rabbi's wife, the Rabbi's daughter, Ettie, performs the ancient, biblical ritual to create a golem (Ava) that will protect Lea from the ravages of German persecution. The story follows Lea, Ava, and Ettie as they seek escape into Paris, France, find strength, love, and heartbreak, and deal with the sometimes cruel, sometimes joyful, paths that they each must follow. <br />
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Highly recommended. The audio narration by Judith Light is excellent.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-77741695043276976742019-10-07T16:00:00.000-04:002019-10-07T16:00:51.196-04:00PLAYING THROUGH THE WHISTLE: Steel, Football, and an American Town<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28818904-playing-through-the-whistle" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1473588761l/28818904._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28818904-playing-through-the-whistle">Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/407594.S_L_Price">S.L. Price</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2992929762">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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I grew up in western Pennsylvania during a time when the coal mines and steel mills of Jones & Laughlin Corporation provided employment for my dad and most of my friends’ dads too. In fact, other than a stint with Uncle Sam, my dad spent his entire working career with J&L. <br />
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We lived in “The Patch”, a community of duplex houses in alternating green and red shingles built by the company for its laborers. We shopped at the company store where my mother worked for a time until meeting my dad and allowing him to take her away from all that. There were patches all around the area supporting the particular mines and mills where their residents worked. It was the natural state of things.<br />
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S. L. Price, a writer for Sports Illustrated and other magazines, writes in “PLAYING THROUGH THE WHISTLE: Steel, Football, and an American Town” about one of those J&L patches: Aliquippa, a large steel town of ethnic neighborhoods with more than its share of high school football mastery throughout the decades. Price exhibits his own mastery by blending the elements of those ethnic identities, steel, and football into a rich history of American life.<br />
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Over the decades, western PA has provided more than its share of top NFL Players, and Aliquippa has been a rich resource of those players ranging from Mike Ditka to Darelle Revis. Price explains why the rich work ethic of the steel workers manifested itself into successful football programs. In many cases, racial tensions, unemployment, drugs and violence, made this success seem more than improbable, and Price examines the families, coaches, players, and their changing environments that made that success more difficult and unlikely.<br />
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Price’s history is an honest look at the people who have lived for their community, and their community, in many ways, lived for football. It is a an American story, and Price tells it well.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-74884743675159308792019-07-03T01:11:00.000-04:002019-07-03T01:11:03.885-04:00Living to Eat in Italia<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve often heard it said that many people eat to live, but, ah, the Italians, they live to eat. I’m convinced that is true. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In 1861, when Italy was unified into a republic, a founding father wondered how they would create Italians from all of the disparate regions and dialects that existed throughout the country. Guiseppe Garibaldi, the great general said, "It will be spaghetti, I swear to you, that will unite Italy." And so it seems that pasta was the great unifying ingredient that made Italy and Italians what they are today. *</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is a long post and it will probably only cover the first ten days of my vacation. Food was a big part of my recent Italian vacation and if you were thinking of going there, I hope this will help you decide in the positive. I'm not going to talk about EVERY meal I had, so don't worry. I could, however, go on for quite awhile writing about all of the delicious meals I enjoyed in Italy. . </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just to summarize my trip briefly: On my own, I spent five days in Siena in the Tuscany Region and five days in Perugia in the Umbria Region, doing day trips here and there. Then I spent nine days with family hopping from Rome to Florence to Venice, and then back to Rome before our trip home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">When I think of Italy, one of the first things I think about is its food. There are antipasti, pasta, pizza, gelato, and many regional specialties developed from what is fresh and seasonally available. One of the greatest of Italian specialties is salumi. Yes, salumi, not salami.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A salumi shop in San Gimignano.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Salumi is a catchall for cured meats, including those you may have heard about like prosciutto, salami, and peperoni. Ones that may not roll off your tongue so easily are speck, culatello, pancetta, porchetta, capicollo, and guanciale, just to name a few more. One of the most notable salumi is Parma ham. I think I had a dozen different kinds of salumi in Italy. Worth every salt-infused calorie. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seasoning the guanciale.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Here is a </span><a href="https://www.tastymeat.net/italian-salumi-guide/">Salumi Guide</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> site on what specialties come from the various regions of Italy. On one of my tours, the Salumi, Candle, and Cheese tour by <a href="http://www.lifeitalianstyle.com/" target="_blank">LifeItaliantStyle</a>, we sampled the butcher’s wares as we watched him prepare guanciale, or pig jowls. It’s like bacon.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most countries have their own culinary customs and Italy is no different. It is rare to find eggs as a feature of the standard Italian breakfast. Typically, breakfast will consist of a pastry of some type and coffee or tea. A fuller breakfast might add a selection of breads, cheeses and salumi, accompanied by fresh fruit. Your experience could differ based on where you stay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">My first evening in Italy I checked into my hotel and went to a nearby restaurant for a bite. I started off with a pecorino cheese appetizer and then had a pizza. The pizza was a little water-logged (I was told by a chef this was because they didn’t press the moisture out of the fresh mozzarella and let it sit for 15 minutes or so). The appetizer, however, was out of this world. Pecorino cheese with figs and slathered in honey. This was my top food find…I think. I’m sorry I didn’t take a picture of it. It was built up like a small Jenga tower..</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpeiUGeU8zTDoAu2SOMCcXkM0DnhcO2gn9pQJ7MM22yWDmDZae-fRViwUfDCFYf17M5dU56WuyHyhloAEfNGF_02v0IT4Kyk9-7HtXxd1L1vHYDWABxoNslaR43F5g4iLlumqv/s1600/20190630_170004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1227" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpeiUGeU8zTDoAu2SOMCcXkM0DnhcO2gn9pQJ7MM22yWDmDZae-fRViwUfDCFYf17M5dU56WuyHyhloAEfNGF_02v0IT4Kyk9-7HtXxd1L1vHYDWABxoNslaR43F5g4iLlumqv/s200/20190630_170004.jpg" width="153" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">As I was planning my trip and considering Italian foods I would encounter, the message that came through loud and clear was to look beyond pasta in red sauce and pizza. I also wanted to improve my kitchen skills in advance of a cooking lesson I would be taking. I was directed by a friend to see Mary Giolitti at <a href="https://www.giolittideli.com/" target="_blank">Giolitti Deli</a> in Annapolis, MD. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mary guided me to a book by Ada Boni: Italian Regional Cooking. It was last published in 1994, but I managed to find a used 1982 copy and obtained it at a reasonable price. It contains nearly 300 pages of Italian deliciousness. It covers 14 regions of Italy and the specialties attributed to each region. It helped me find some incredible meals once I finally landed in Bella Italia.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A satisfying meal.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pasta, beans and diced potatoes in pesto.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">My first tour was a small group tour with seven others to Pienza and Montepulciano. Guillermo, our guide, took us to Podere il<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>Casale, an agritourism farm, for a great lunch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We started with a charcuterie board that held an array of cheeses and salumi, accompanied with crispy chunks of bread. That was followed by a plate of lentils, an eggplant dish, and greens, and then a bowl of beans, pasta and small bits of potatoes. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. Of course all of this was accompanied by l'aqua minerale (mineral water) - frizzante or naturale, and great wine. Vacation was starting off well. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marjorie (who was on my Siena walking tour) and <br />
me after our dinner at La Taverna</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">That evening I went to the Siena Opera, arriving early but starving. They sent me to Fonte Guista Trattoria where I had another traditional Tuscan dish: Pici pasta with Cinghiale Ragu (wild boar sauce). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pici is a hand-rolled pasta, typically made with just flour and water, although sometimes with egg and olive oil added. With the hearty wild boar sauce, it was to die for. I ate every bit, wiping up the sauce with bread. I was a little late for the opera, so had to sit in the back. At intermission I found out the people I was seated beside were from Arlington, VA. Small world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">One of the recipes from the Boni book, credited to Tuscan origins, is Ribolitta Soup. It was born of a combination of day-old vegetable soup with crusty two-day old bread to produce a hearty meal in a bowl. It is a peasant meal, but served in many fine restaurants now, so I guess it is shrugging off its peasantry. Here</span> <a href="https://youtu.be/Rs0NGSw0H9E">Pasta Grannies - Ribolitta</a> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, you can see how to make it yourself. I had some in Siena at La Taverna del Capitano and it was delicious and filling.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another dish that I had from Boni's book, and also at La Taverna, was Coniglio in Porchetta, which is rabbit stuffed with a shredded Parma ham mixture and prepared with fennel. It was delicious, tender, juicy, and flavorful. It was another of my favorite meals. This meal, as with several others, was finished off with limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur (I've made my own at home before). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had the company at La Taverna of Marjorie, a young lady from Florida, who was studying Italian in Venice and had come into Siena for the weekend. We had a great meal and great conversation. A meal with company is much better than one alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, I came across this in my reading: 'Italian proverbs testify to the national antipathy to a table for one: "Chi mangia solo crepa solo" (Who eats alone dies alone). "Chi non mangia in compagnia è un ladro o una spia" ("Who doesn't eat with a companion is a thief or a spy"). "Chi mangia solo si strozza a ogni mollica" ("Who eats alone chokes on every bite").' * Although, playful jests, messages to take to heart. I was fortunate to find some very good company for most of my meals after that.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Viviana, me, and Simone</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">One of my activities was a cooking class at a Tuscan farm outside Quercegrosso, just north of Siena. The chef and I each prepared tagliatelle al ragu and tiramisù. We found it necessary to polish off a bottle of Chianti Classico while we were doing that because, well, cooking is hard work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was rewarding to mix everything together for the pasta without a bowl and not get anything on the floor except a little flour. Eating what we made was even better. It was delicious. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had a great time spending the afternoon with Simone and his wife, Viviana, who are expecting twins in October. Uncle Dave will be waiting patiently for the news.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A truffle from our hunt</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">One of the highlights of my trip (there were so many) was a truffle hunt at Black Truffle Lodge outside of a little village called Pettino. My GPS signal dropped five kilometers from the meeting place, so luckily, I fell back on the map in my head and made it there OK. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">To give you an idea how remote the place is. Mack, a New Zealand emigrant who together with Francesca, his wife, run Black Truffle Lodge, has to drive their kids 3o minutes down the mountain to catch the school bus everyday, and then again go pick them up in the afternoon. It is a treacherous, winding, and steep drive. But I digress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">On a truffle hunt, the guests don't really do any truffle hunting. That is all done by dogs. The dogs are small hound size, maybe twenty five pounds. They smell out the truffles, usually in the vicinity of oak or beech trees, then dig them out and carry them to their handler. The </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">handler then exchanges a dog treat for the truffle, and the dog is off again. The dogs are quite active and the guest part of the hunt is to trail after them and watch where they find the truffles and try not to slide down some fairly steep points or trip over tree roots. For the most part, our group was successful.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprCYfb16HfE9xtstP69b4US9fe-MFbJ_jGIQw9PAfjwhc11kINdywQ6Qs3j36pPX7KVqKYij3fGM828MbB6Nd0JZwvlGVWB0Cr7E1yZswotzCxntw_ocOdEbi2qBJJttTB7li/s1600/20190529_113046+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprCYfb16HfE9xtstP69b4US9fe-MFbJ_jGIQw9PAfjwhc11kINdywQ6Qs3j36pPX7KVqKYij3fGM828MbB6Nd0JZwvlGVWB0Cr7E1yZswotzCxntw_ocOdEbi2qBJJttTB7li/s200/20190529_113046+Blog.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">At some signal the hunt part of the excursion was over. A scale was brought out and they measured the haul of truffles. The results of our hunt were relatively modest. We then hopped back into the vehicles and drove further up to the top of the mountain. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJGj_f2KijdYdUsMNQ8DVhELH1Dwl0L94MDi6TKrO4VTEGH8NZDRA7wCv4QyKJe0Ugct3CfudLDEEDfemKZdrCrBb0GL9gRgXmnCn4A7accOX3mspZ4_HLuBuvwjtEJ-shWQa/s1600/20190529_115839+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJGj_f2KijdYdUsMNQ8DVhELH1Dwl0L94MDi6TKrO4VTEGH8NZDRA7wCv4QyKJe0Ugct3CfudLDEEDfemKZdrCrBb0GL9gRgXmnCn4A7accOX3mspZ4_HLuBuvwjtEJ-shWQa/s200/20190529_115839+Blog.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">While Marco, one the of the dog handlers, scrubbed up a truffle, Mack opened a couple bottles of prosecco and handed out glasses of the bubbly to everyone. Then Mack prepared an open fire and made scrambled eggs with melted pecorino cheese and sliced truffles. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Damn, it seemed so decadent, and was it good? </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1uZd6dbFu0nVLeZ0izSd7DFajodGuuYKrXtEr-oM3866SuucgjT8tdVIwrevHT4V0vIJzQrDwt1-GmolDNhJ6UP3uxo1-g_-3ZXmO4Xd9rTU_aMVmh3qHzWF0KnT1NcIn-4B/s1600/20190529_122323+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1uZd6dbFu0nVLeZ0izSd7DFajodGuuYKrXtEr-oM3866SuucgjT8tdVIwrevHT4V0vIJzQrDwt1-GmolDNhJ6UP3uxo1-g_-3ZXmO4Xd9rTU_aMVmh3qHzWF0KnT1NcIn-4B/s200/20190529_122323+Blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mack, surrounded by Maremma Sheepdogs, <br />
prepares our scrambled eggs.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It was a pretty simple thing, but I had a hard time imagining life being any better at that point. Great food and drink, wonderful company, and gorgeous scenery any way you turned. The fields were full of wildflowers. The views from there must have been up to fifty miles distant.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUUa-UPXaaSTXdEeWAslQ-ZCIaghdRBCSzQlbvRdI0lk2D2xOPKf-l6V4xKbjJQucJmu-iPvsKnbI0QAloEU15AblqP6GU1etFE6uBb1F7E2IKLMljKMEwYZoCztt0vrZ05BZ2/s1600/20190529_122129+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUUa-UPXaaSTXdEeWAslQ-ZCIaghdRBCSzQlbvRdI0lk2D2xOPKf-l6V4xKbjJQucJmu-iPvsKnbI0QAloEU15AblqP6GU1etFE6uBb1F7E2IKLMljKMEwYZoCztt0vrZ05BZ2/s200/20190529_122129+Blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We still had half a day to go. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We collected all the tableware and glasses, piled back into the vehicles, and headed back down the mountain. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQeSWjOimpOQ1yb9nBvE5rnta-cxV5kRUPGWHMYmzX26EshGew4BIlmEESfRQqUm2b9MdN0QEdNMAsTmkdWY6J-87EDkQSiT8EAlbcNJj4mT5oQ9eDOBSFxSHxncNHlebOHRO/s1600/20190529_134609+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQeSWjOimpOQ1yb9nBvE5rnta-cxV5kRUPGWHMYmzX26EshGew4BIlmEESfRQqUm2b9MdN0QEdNMAsTmkdWY6J-87EDkQSiT8EAlbcNJj4mT5oQ9eDOBSFxSHxncNHlebOHRO/s200/20190529_134609+Blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pecorino Cheese being aged.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BSM-0ADo4EqTjN-BE3hVmKOj8J9B_0xzjaWoVpdNN-t8T-6FrOSFFoBboP-dpDUmDSjqeh5j0vhfcroSD45XTfUB2R9PLem-Dqplm5BfZLwiTRU78HI2psMdxNk6nH2QBTaf/s1600/20190529_121208+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BSM-0ADo4EqTjN-BE3hVmKOj8J9B_0xzjaWoVpdNN-t8T-6FrOSFFoBboP-dpDUmDSjqeh5j0vhfcroSD45XTfUB2R9PLem-Dqplm5BfZLwiTRU78HI2psMdxNk6nH2QBTaf/s200/20190529_121208+Blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Truffle Lodge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We were to learn about salumi and cheese making, and drink some wine. Then we could watch a full meal being prepared, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">and help if we wanted</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">Another specialty from the Boni book prepared at this meal was guinea fowl. It's a small bird with delicate and delectable meat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Francesca made two long rolls of pasta, cut it into 1/2" slices, then poked her knife through a hole at one end and flicked her wrist. Voilà! The pasta fell in a pile on the table ready for the pot. It was amazing watching that, since it took me long minutes to unroll mine during my cooking lesson. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWvVdWwczebKQ4lrTOM3-qkq1juBaT4BhTSoBhgOfpLOtIsum7MUq_RWRbOupzXp6v2pB0lEIQJVMchhLtyP0A5Yive9eGG-0mDc8LAIiJuKuIvmGe1ObvIPs77iQ56-xhKI3/s1600/20190529_141248+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWvVdWwczebKQ4lrTOM3-qkq1juBaT4BhTSoBhgOfpLOtIsum7MUq_RWRbOupzXp6v2pB0lEIQJVMchhLtyP0A5Yive9eGG-0mDc8LAIiJuKuIvmGe1ObvIPs77iQ56-xhKI3/s200/20190529_141248+Blog.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy smiles because I helped <br />
clear the table after lunch</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoqJt78OzjUsi9kVOnH33xvT2qbNH0CPPzF0a8KTs_tWOVTN6UlJLViGLDAhBJCgFn8XKFSWuWsf6j2yc09pS5rqaPDxJKUuQXrQOpYgs-cn8s1njo2rXQN9tHwRnwcIYJzUJS/s1600/20190529_135955+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoqJt78OzjUsi9kVOnH33xvT2qbNH0CPPzF0a8KTs_tWOVTN6UlJLViGLDAhBJCgFn8XKFSWuWsf6j2yc09pS5rqaPDxJKUuQXrQOpYgs-cn8s1njo2rXQN9tHwRnwcIYJzUJS/s200/20190529_135955+Blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francesca making a lot of tagliatelle</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGF5AasRmj56AUj4D3lyX6cp5nZ3MbkfXlk2iTHiXaorxeppwR2ZomtMJ07kqqbSgakYCpn8mdAVgor5E7QNJT-W1iRcyoCWgakjWJP7Xqr2TLQW6gGkSgxPduZ4nIPGPC_dw/s1600/20190529_153853+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGF5AasRmj56AUj4D3lyX6cp5nZ3MbkfXlk2iTHiXaorxeppwR2ZomtMJ07kqqbSgakYCpn8mdAVgor5E7QNJT-W1iRcyoCWgakjWJP7Xqr2TLQW6gGkSgxPduZ4nIPGPC_dw/s200/20190529_153853+Blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Truffle Lodge bids us Ciao!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">At my Perugia hotel, I met two ladies, Ann and Karen, from Minneapolis, MN and we went out for pizza my next to last night in Perugia. We walked a long way to one, only to find it had been closed, replaced by a parking garage. So we walked another good distance and found a hole-in-the-wall place called La Romantica in a residential part of town. It was fantastic. Other than us, it was all locals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It was the best pizza I ate in Italy. The crust was thin and crispy, the sauce sublimely seasoned, and the cheese perfectly melted. You couldn't have told what language we spoke because we were totally quiet as we chomped on our pizzas +. We'd been famished after all the walking we did and it showed. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0L2TNUOwQA4WGuGpo-ZU3ZxVFa_FnDcd6BIK2InMxi_yR7SjVyAtQjK1pnZ2gM0XdWPbVApbRpJsDDk0D1ih72UBm9PYWTIXjlXzR2Ru10xnTa97QDBW6zZ3f_w37t29Geim/s1600/20190531_204114+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0L2TNUOwQA4WGuGpo-ZU3ZxVFa_FnDcd6BIK2InMxi_yR7SjVyAtQjK1pnZ2gM0XdWPbVApbRpJsDDk0D1ih72UBm9PYWTIXjlXzR2Ru10xnTa97QDBW6zZ3f_w37t29Geim/s200/20190531_204114+Blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gnocchi in pesto sauce<br />with gorgonzola.</td></tr>
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+ Just a note: unless you're in a tourist-trap part of town, each person typically orders their own 12-14" pizza. It doesn't come sliced. You won't get small plates to share it.<br />
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My last night in Perugia I ate at an outside table at Caffè di Perugia. It was a perfect spring evening, mild and clear, with the low, pleasant buzz of people in conversation and enjoying their Friday evening.<br />
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I had a glass of prosecco, then ordered this remarkable gnocchi dish accompanied by grilled vegetables. I had never had gnocchi before that seemed to melt in your mouth. This was amazing.<br />
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I also had the pleasure of meeting two young ladies from Arizona, sisters who were studying at Università per Stranieri di Perugia (University for Foreigners). We talked about our experiences in Italy and we practiced our Italian a bit.<br />
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My last day in Perugia still held some surprises. On the Salumi, Candle, and Cheese tour I mentioned<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's the candlestick maker.<br />A poem comes to mind.</td></tr>
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above, we watched a candle maker ply his skills.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made Wildflower cheese.</td></tr>
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We learned about cheese-making and made some wildflower cheese.<br />
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Then met some of the barnyard animals that just needed to get a scratch behind the ears.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our barnyard friends</td></tr>
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We had a wonderful lunch (yes, another one).<br />
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One of the dishes we had was Fiori di zucca fritti, which is the flowers of zucchini, lightly battered and fried, and they are the most delicate, but tasty treats. They are sometimes stuffed with ricotta or a piece of cheese.<br />
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As the meal wound down and we drank our wine and sighed with satisfaction, our hosts brought out an exquisite cheese plate for each of us. Wow!<br />
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Italy is such a wonderful place to visit. The people are warm, friendly, and helpful. With its beautiful scenery, its culture, its art and architecture, its reverence for its religious history, it is interesting at every turn.<br />
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And then there's the food! Buon Appetito!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">* La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, The World's Most Enchanting Language, by Dianne Hales</span>
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-75324803206441789302019-06-18T17:50:00.000-04:002019-06-18T17:50:55.720-04:00Che io fatto in mi vacanza estate<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
not sure if I wrote that correctly, but it should say “What I did on my summer
vacation”. I know, technically it's still spring, but I don't care.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What DID I do? I’m glad you asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Well, I went to Italy, in case you missed that news. And what a trip I had. Twenty days of pretty near bliss. This is my 3,000 meter overview, with more details to come in follow-on entries.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The green fields of Tuscany with Siena in the background.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I went from home to BWI Airport to Philadelphia (there, had a four-hour flight delay - one of the low points) to Rome. I emailed my travel agent and when I landed in Rome had an email with a rescheduled train ticket and the name of my new driver in Florence. Hooray, Monica of <a href="https://culturalitaly.com/" target="_blank">CulturalItaly</a>!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Campo in Siena</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I took the train to Florence and a limo van from there to Siena.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I stayed in Siena, Tuscany, for five days and did day trips to Chiusure, Asciano, Pienza, Montepulchiano, Castellina di Chianti, Azienda, San Gimignano, Montalcino, and Quercegrossa. I visited an agriturismo farm, four wineries, attended a private cooking class, and had a walking tour of Siena. It was a packed five days.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dacia Stepway Sandero</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I rented a car in Siena and drove to Pergugia, Umbria, where, again, I stayed for five days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cars drive on the right side of the road. While there were some excitable and aggressive drivers, I didn't think any more so than in the US. I noted far less of a patrol presence on the roadways than in the US. I did have to accustom myself to clutching and shifting again. It had been awhile. Merge ramps are relatively short, so you have to be ready to launch or hit the brakes.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuLrrQzMdfH_sYbs5Kuel_C_dUJSS03LKgfMER079ZWzJhqxm9DCeqHo6MZll4C5wQto3N-9Z_uLTFlv2vqyRBTnAKNuwHMzntZdoejqtEZlbOqfH8w_LsAWu7XdU2Tct0-fl/s1600/DSCN0664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuLrrQzMdfH_sYbs5Kuel_C_dUJSS03LKgfMER079ZWzJhqxm9DCeqHo6MZll4C5wQto3N-9Z_uLTFlv2vqyRBTnAKNuwHMzntZdoejqtEZlbOqfH8w_LsAWu7XdU2Tct0-fl/s200/DSCN0664.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It was rainy and cloudy around Perugia most of my time there. However, the sites I was visiting were south a ways, so I had pleasant and sunny drives most of the time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I did day trips to Orvieto, Città di Bagnoreggio, the mountain top village of Pettino (no GPS signal) above Campello sul Clitunno, near Spoleto, for a truffle hunt experience, Assisi, and Bevagna. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Very </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">busy five days again. I had almost no time for gelato...but I managed.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cittâ di Bagnoreggio</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain top near Pettino</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I dropped off my rental car and took the train from Perugia to Rome to meet family there. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pantheon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxllYFu-FJitALTxc3RTSv0A29BRP3D7dPgDtRMk7_aVXipxL7IJxM8MgzU2k_BpuFULqew2aINqP5esmObnLSMTS2nE2fvIkP66aUtUDTensKdNlG_b7v3YV4-GTkKPuFTWQ/s1600/Festa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxllYFu-FJitALTxc3RTSv0A29BRP3D7dPgDtRMk7_aVXipxL7IJxM8MgzU2k_BpuFULqew2aINqP5esmObnLSMTS2nE2fvIkP66aUtUDTensKdNlG_b7v3YV4-GTkKPuFTWQ/s1600/Festa.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Italian Air Force displays Italian flag colors<br />
Credit: www.fanpage.it</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We had AirBnB's near the Pantheon, a very good coffee shop, a bunch of gelato places too numerous to count, and a restaurant we kind of adopted: <a href="https://www.clementeallamaddalena.it/" target="_blank">Clemente alla Maddalena</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We made our way around Rome for a couple days, taking in some sites, but unable to see some because of closures for <a href="https://www.italymagazine.com/dual-language/la-festa-della-repubblica" target="_blank">Festa di Republicca</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A photo of the parade taken from the Capitoline Museum</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">That's OK. Rick Steves says vacation or site see as if you're coming back. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Florence sunset</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">After a couple days we headed to Florence by train. We found our AirBnB and discovered a delightful place with a rooftop terrace. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Again, we had a convenient cafe nearby, an essential ingredient for beginning the tourist's day. We closed out our first evening in Florence witnessing a beautiful sunset from our terrace with a bottle of vino rosso. What could be better? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We tooled around Florence for a couple days, seeing its sites and succumbing to the beauty of its art, architecture, and gardens. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We then grabbed a train to Venice. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canal Living</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Venice! It really is as beautiful as advertised. We arrived in the evening, and fears about navigating the water taxi system quickly dissipated. They have set it up as fool proof as possible. That doesn't mean you won't have to ask a question or two to make sure you're heading in the right direction on the right number boat, but, still, fairly easy to use. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Building Bridges" by Lorenzo Quinn</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In the two days we were in Venice, we managed to see a good deal of the highlights, do some ambling around, and easily convince ourselves that, yes, Venice, we would be back.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view on Palatine Hill</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Then we were headed back to Rome for the final leg of our journey. Same rooms as before, so we </span><span style="text-align: center;">felt comfortable in our surroundings as if we were seasoned Romans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We climbed around Palatine Hill. We navigated the Metro system (yay, us) to get us to Vatican City and back. We ate at our favorite places. And then we were heading to the airport for our trip home.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dome of St. Peter's Basilica</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I felt a little guilty last week after returning home. I enjoyed this vacation so much, I felt like I had gotten away with something. I guess I did. I came home with wonderful memories, new friends, and a greater appreciation for a culture that I've always admired. I brought home over 130 Euros, so I guess I better plan on returning real soon.</span></div>
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-67839016487624358602019-05-05T11:43:00.002-04:002019-05-05T11:43:36.299-04:00Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38460023-forever-and-a-day" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Forever and a Day" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1520060014m/38460023.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38460023-forever-and-a-day">Forever and a Day</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/32590.Anthony_Horowitz">Anthony Horowitz</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2810223988">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
<b>Forever and a Day</b> is a nice entry into the Bond legend, serving as a prequel and showing Bond receiving his 007 designation. It's a typical James Bond story, with hidden laboratories, double crosses, sinister henchmen, and a femme fatale. The only thing missing is Q and his creative devices to aid Bond in an ingenuous escape. I had a few nits to pick, but none worth going into. So enjoy the story, appreciate a thriller that's not 500 pages long, and put your favorite movie Bond into the role. I did all three.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/762487-david">View all my reviews</a><br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-42585869958713638772019-04-15T11:10:00.000-04:002019-04-15T11:10:44.214-04:00One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42258946-one-small-sacrifice" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="One Small Sacrifice" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541560866m/42258946.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42258946-one-small-sacrifice">One Small Sacrifice</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/124015.Hilary_Davidson">Hilary Davidson</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2771220059">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson *<br /><br />Alex Traynor had been a war photojournalist and worked in the world’s most dangerous environments. After being shot during one of his battlefield forays, he came home with a damaged leg, a case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a drug addiction, and a fiancé, Dr. Emily Teare, Emily operated on his wound in the field and gave him his single purpose he has to go on living. <br /><br />It wasn’t always so cut and dried, though. A year earlier, at a low point in his life, a close friend, Cori Stanton, had fallen off the roof of Alex’s building and the circumstances were never clear. Alex blamed himself for not preventing it. Cori’s father and Sheryn Sterling, the investigating detective on the case, believed Alex had a more direct role in Cori’s death.<br /><br />Now, a year later, Emily has disappeared, leaving behind a type-written note and many questions. Detective Sterling believes that once again Alex is the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance, and she’s determined not to let him slip through her hands this time. <br /><br />In One Small Sacrifice, Hilary Davidson has combined the best aspects of a police procedural with a suspense novel. As the reader we follow both Alex and Detective Sterling as they try to solve the puzzle of what’s happened to Emily and who is responsible. We see things that each of them sees that the other doesn’t, but never everything, and that helps ramp up the narrative tension.<br /><br />Davidson’s plot is tightly written, but nuanced, the story seeded with enough alternatives to keep the reader guessing throughout. Characters are complex and interesting, with each of the main characters being given a suitable backstory that drives their actions. Davidson writes with a confidence and assuredness that will convince you that every line was written with extreme care. One Small Sacrifice is a novel written by a writer at the top of her game.<br /><br />* I received a complimentary copy of this novel to provide a review.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-5514408671480736252019-03-02T09:25:00.000-05:002019-03-02T09:25:03.992-05:00Italian. Bella Lingua!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Learning the Lingo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">American
tourists traveling to Europe today hardly need trouble themselves about a
language barrier, at least in the major cities or on organized tours outside of
the cities. Many Europeans, especially in the major cities, speak English as a
matter of course. In airports, major rail stations, and city retail shops,
you’re sure to have little problem making yourself understood and finding
answers to most common questions. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Whether you have need of knowing the unique hand gestures of Italia (or wherever you're going) probably
depends on whether you’re renting a car or not (just kidding).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
you may want to know a little of the lingo for the country you’re visiting. When
you visit on your own outside the major tourist areas you’re not as likely to find most people
speaking English. Also, native people generally appreciate when you try to
communicate in their language. For whatever reason you choose to learn a
language, there are numerous methods for pursuing your language education. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s ignore the hand gestures for the time being.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
trip to Italy is going to take me to Rome, Florence, and Venice, but also
outside those major cities to the smaller cities of the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/NPRYEuNvKLv" target="_blank">Tuscany</a> and <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/PevS2e617tx" target="_blank">Umbria</a>
provinces. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I decided I wanted to learn enough Italian to speak a bit and also to understand what people around me were saying. This, I think, is the most
difficult part of learning a new language, absorbing what you're hearing and
making sense of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Years
ago, I bought a package called “Just Listen and Learn Italian.” I now have more incentive to delve into it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> It came with
three 60-minute CDs and a book with dialogues, vocabulary, and illustrations.
What I like best about it are the recorded dialogues. When you hear the
segments about rail arrivals and departures, you hear the background noises of
a rail station, exactly the types of noises you’ll have to filter the real
announcements through when you’re traveling. I’ve started using the package
lately and I really enjoy the way it is structured. Early on the book shows
present-tense verb conjugations, talks about cultural issues, shows signs that
you’re likely to see as you travel, and gives a brief overview of Italian
geography. It has the written dialogues to follow that are on the CDs. It’s
helping me a great deal. Alas, this package is no longer available for retail
sale, but there are quite a few alternative packages for sale on Amazon and you can find one that you believe suits you best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are various language-learning Apps available to assist learning a language for your tablet and/or smartphone and
the ones I looked at present lessons on vocabulary, grammar, sentence
structure, and listening skills. I’ve been using two: <a href="http://www.duolingo.com/" target="_blank">Duolingo</a> and <a href="http://www.babbel.com/" target="_blank">Babbel</a>. I intentionally stayed away from the more expensive ones: Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Duolingo
is a free app, with plenty of frustrating ads, and plenty of opportunities to
buy your way out of them. I choose not to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Duolingo seems a little scattershot to me and doesn’t provide as much
guidance around grammar issues, nor does it introduce new words in a structured
manner as I’d like. One nice feature it does have is a random vocabulary match
quiz that includes words from past lessons, so they stay fresh in your mind.
The App provides groups you can join if you’d like to converse in writing with
fellow students.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Babbel
charges a nominal fee of $45 for six months (if I remember correctly), with 50%
off for initial signup. I like the way Babbel is structured and presents new
information. It follows a precise method for presenting new material and
important grammar areas are emphasized with a popup. It also has a nice review
function so you can go over the words and terms you’ve learned without
repeating the full lessons. The structured lessons can seem a bit repetitive,
but because the lesson subjects are more targeted, I didn’t mind that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Learning
to speak with proper pronunciation is important to advance in both apps. Babbel
provides a greater opportunity to listen to the spoken language and interpret
what you’re hearing. I think with a diligent effort, either of the Apps would be helpful in teaching you the language fundamentals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
latest tool to learn Italian is a course at my local community college.
Although the counselor told me that “Italian Grammar 1” meant that it was more
a reading and writing course, my teacher tries to ensure each class session
includes a routine of listening and speaking the language. She is native
Italian, born in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/V7a8hk66TiF2" target="_blank">Brindisi, Puglia</a> at the heel of the boot, and although
sometimes she doesn’t hear correctly what we’re asking her in English, her
perspective is helpful. The immediate feedback in a live class makes the
learning process more efficient. Although the book we're using is "Italian in 10 Minutes a Day", I can tell you it takes significantly more time than that to master the lessons. Our teacher helps students understand the
principles and then the shortcuts one can take. For instance, when we answer a
question in English, we don’t always formally repeat the full question in our
answer. That’s true in Italian too, and her tips on how to do that are
appreciated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I've found plenty of additional tools to help me learn Italian in my local Barnes and Noble. It takes a little help from all of them to feel confident that a lesson is adequately covered. Your experience may vary. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WoxWYj_xgUYrtgd-RrHE01tdV3mpmIkPa9InzRxGT3YyoOFekmvXeX_xprxFnLH2bjaoL8dBgMXuek5YX3Yo8XQj_SC-1-Ra6FaYkN2lEXa3VaCNo3q6u0TYbnXs_ukaRnHY/s1600/Barrons+Italian-English+Dictionary+Cover0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1098" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WoxWYj_xgUYrtgd-RrHE01tdV3mpmIkPa9InzRxGT3YyoOFekmvXeX_xprxFnLH2bjaoL8dBgMXuek5YX3Yo8XQj_SC-1-Ra6FaYkN2lEXa3VaCNo3q6u0TYbnXs_ukaRnHY/s200/Barrons+Italian-English+Dictionary+Cover0002.jpg" width="136" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5CYomL0AwkEbucVbKHjxtYZ5_M76Uysf-SUJDgSlD9ufgkaUrT5s5cg3OlrbGNUaVmnIzgAcUI6yQw5efOUhcDhKiPlfjkwfyETKELjuX8056vBBDASgsrh41NW3aylC-ix0/s1600/Barrons+Vocabulary0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="794" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5CYomL0AwkEbucVbKHjxtYZ5_M76Uysf-SUJDgSlD9ufgkaUrT5s5cg3OlrbGNUaVmnIzgAcUI6yQw5efOUhcDhKiPlfjkwfyETKELjuX8056vBBDASgsrh41NW3aylC-ix0/s200/Barrons+Vocabulary0001.jpg" width="133" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
really looking forward to trying out my new language skills on my trip to
Italy. I’m sure I’ll have many opportunities to embarrass myself as I try, for
instance, to ask for a beer and find I’m given butter. Nothing ventured,
nothing gained!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bella
lingua! Bella Italia!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">David, but not The David</span></div>
<br />David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-75513314864228593712019-02-26T22:18:00.000-05:002019-02-26T22:18:42.438-05:00Temporary Perfections by Giancarlo Carofiglio<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12075016-temporary-perfections" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Temporary Perfections" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1352667875m/12075016.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12075016-temporary-perfections">Temporary Perfections</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/122110.Gianrico_Carofiglio">Gianrico Carofiglio</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/210780411">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />Temporary Perfections is the fourth book in the Guido Guerrieri series written by Giancarlo Carofiglio, a former Italian prosecutor. Carolfiglio worked in Bari, Puglia, and that is where he bases his series character, Guerrieri. <br /><br />Guerrieri is an introspective loner who works out his problems or puzzles conversing with his big punching bag, both with his fists and in one-sided conversations. Occasionally the swinging bag’s release of momentum will provide a bit of insight for the intellectual detective, at least as he sees it.<br /><br />In Temporary Perfections, an attorney friend, Sabino Fornelli, asks Guerrieri to review the police report for the disappearance of a young woman, Manuela Ferraro. The police had been investigating for six months and with no new evidence were preparing to close the case. Fornelli was asking Guerrieri to look at the investigative file with fresh eyes. <br /><br />The girl had bought a ticket to return from Bari to Rome but never arrived. An ex-boyfriend with violent tendencies is suspected initially, but his cell phone records showed that he was out of the country. <br /><br />Even though, like Fornelli, Guerrieri is an attorney, not an investigator, he agrees to at least review the file. As he reviews it, he realizes that to do a complete job he is going to have to reinterview the friends of Manuela who were the most likely people to see her last. <br /><br />He interviews Manuela’s closest friends, her roommate Nicoletta, her best friend Caterina, and Anita, a girl who gave her a ride to the train station. He makes some mistakes, like having one witness be present as he interviews another and becoming too close with a witness. There were no thrills or spills, no shots fired, no knife work, and no blood flow. <br /><br />Still, I enjoyed the story. Carofiglio has a good voice. His characters are well-developed and speak realistic lines. The cozy plot has plenty of empathy and interesting side stories. Guerrieri is an interesting man who often gets overwhelmed with his inner dialog. An interesting side story where he befriends a former prostitute who he defended once and now has opened a gay bar near Guerrieri’s home really shows his heart…and his loneliness. <br /><br />If you need a nice palate cleanser after a particularly dark novel, Temporary Perfections would be a good choice.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-86758818521091872182019-02-16T19:55:00.000-05:002019-02-16T19:55:32.506-05:00The Library Book by Susan Orlean<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39507318-the-library-book" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="<b>The Library Book</b>" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524238338m/39507318.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39507318-the-library-book">The Library Book</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45374.Susan_Orlean">Susan Orlean</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2663178284">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
If you're an occasional reader or you've ever thought about a library, you need to read <b>The Library Book</b> by Susan Orlean. However, if you are an ardent reader, a person passionate about fine writing, a person captivated by a writer's ability to take dry information and turn it into magical prose, then you also need to read The Library Book. The Library Book could have been a simple and straightforward nonfiction account of a fire, possibly arson, that severely damage the Los Angeles Central Library building, the Goodhue Building, but in the hands of Susan Orlean it becomes something special.<br /><br />Orlean doesn't just lay out the facts of the fire, the people and processes of the investigation, and the years long ramifications that crippled the system's operations. She delves into the history of a library system as it built through fits and starts from a system supporting a small western city of 12,000 to one of the largest library systems supporting one of the country's largest cities. Orlean introduces readers to the leaders and many of the staff who, through a myriad of duties and hearts full of empathy, support everyone from Hollywood producers, to children, to the homeless community. Orlean informs readers about library science in general and we see how it has progressed over the decades. <br /><br />If you've ever wondered how librarians keep busy and how valuable their duties are to readers and the broader community, after reading <b>The Library Book</b> you won't fail to give every librarian you encounter a smile and a thank you. They are special people and in Susan Orlean's hands, we see why.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-50593266763337200442019-02-03T15:54:00.000-05:002019-02-03T15:54:41.064-05:00Being Mortal by Atul Gawande<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20696006-being-mortal" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408324949m/20696006.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20696006-being-mortal">Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3078.Atul_Gawande">Atul Gawande</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1990247027">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Spoiler Alert: We’re all going to die. <br /><br />For the majority of us that will come via the afflictions of old age or of some disease. How we, our families, our social framework, and the medical community deal with that inevitability is the basis of BEING MORTAL by Atul Gawande. <br /><br />Gawande is a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. He is a director of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and chairman of LifeBox, a nonprofit organization making surgery safer globally.<br /><br />Gawande walks his readers through the changing demographics influencing the landscape of care for the aged and the terminally ill. He covers the growth of secondary housing (nursing homes and assisted living centers) and the social aspects of who controls how residents interact with the world around them, how much autonomy residents have, and what is more important, safety or quality of life, for instance. He covers the development of advanced therapies for fighting cancers and how doctors must learn to decide when the best thing to do is nothing and how to communicate with families about those choices.<br /><br />Gawande uses examples from the patients of other medical professionals, his own patients, and even his own father to illustrate the problems facing society today. How do you tell a patient that entering a nursing home is necessary for their safety when they are used to being independent? How do you encourage patients to consider end-of-life issues when they want to keep fighting a terminal disease in its later stages? Gawande is careful to relate that he struggles with these issues too, and the right solution is probably different for every patient and their family.<br /><br />I lost my father to pancreatic cancer in 1988 and my wife to appendiceal cancer in 2015. Neither was a good experience, but the availability of hospice made having my wife at home in her last days of such value to her and our family. My wife’s passing was peaceful. My father spent the last three or more weeks of his life in a hospital bed and it was anything but peaceful.<br /><br />BEING MORTAL is an important book that everyone should read. Gawande doesn’t purport to have all the answers, but he does lay out a pathway for each of us to follow in trying to do what’s right for ourselves or our family members. It is an essential tool for all of us.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-24495078477774028392019-01-21T21:17:00.000-05:002019-01-21T21:17:16.745-05:00The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/450055.The_Reluctant_Tuscan" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Reluctant Tuscan: How I Discovered My Inner Italian" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386925131m/450055.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/450055.The_Reluctant_Tuscan">The Reluctant Tuscan: How I Discovered My Inner Italian</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/252721.Phil_Doran">Phil Doran</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2662900532">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Part of my planning for a spring trip to Italy has me inhaling almost anything I can find to read related to Italy, especially Tuscany and Umbria. Fiction or nonfiction, I'm reading it all. Including travel guides, this is my tenth book on Italy and one of my favorites.<br /><br />While much of the earlier parts revolve around the author's wife trying to convince him to give up the helter-skelter life of an L.A. TV writer, eventually he moves on to describing the Tuscan people, places and customs around the town of Cambione, and it is here where the book shines. Just from descriptions of the food I think I gained ten pounds. <br /><br />The Italian life is a slower-paced one (as long as you're off the highways) than almost anywhere in America. Following the author's transition from a frantic writer straniero (foreigner) to a calm (unless he's driving), accepted resident of this wonderful slice of Italy was delightful.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/762487-david">View all my reviews</a>David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-35692535842964070622018-12-28T16:23:00.000-05:002018-12-28T16:23:21.520-05:00Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37509644-jar-of-hearts" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Jar of Hearts" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1529690838m/37509644.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37509644-jar-of-hearts">Jar of Hearts</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4534486.Jennifer_Hillier">Jennifer Hillier</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2639264919">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier<br /><br />I had seen Jar of Hearts on many favorites lists for 2018 and seen its distinctive cover on multiple occasions in bookstores. So, when the audiobook became available at my library, I finally fell victim to its appeal and checked it out. Wow, I’m glad I did.<br /><br />Georgina Shaw was an executive at a cosmetics company. She was fiancé to the son of the founder. Life was wonderful, until suddenly, it wasn’t. Shaw was arrested for the fourteen-year-old murder of a high school friend, Angela Wong, and her world came crashing down around her. Shaw wasn’t blameless in the murder and managed to make a plea deal that landed her in jail for five years. <br /><br />The man Georgina (Geo, to her friends) testified against, Calvin James, was sent to prison for life. He had been her boyfriend when the murder took place. James had gone on to murder three additional women before he was caught. Once imprisoned, though, he didn’t stay there long, managing to escape and leaving a trail of bodies behind him.<br /><br />Geo makes a valuable alliance in prison and leverages her education and wiles to make prison life, if not comfortable, more tolerable for the duration of her stay. She is released from prison, only to find out that a new pair of murders points to her old boyfriend, Calvin. The detective leading the investigation, Kaiser Brody, is the same one who arrested Geo and had a crush on her during their high school days. Geo finds that more of her past will come back to haunt her before the case is settled.<br /><br />Hillier’s storytelling is masterful. She tells Geo’s story using flashbacks and current-day scenes to move the story along and the transitions are capably handled. Her characters are realistic and well-developed. While certain aspects of the investigation happen too easily, the case development is well-drawn out and logical, with no extreme leaps to conclusions.<br /><br />I now understand why this novel has been on so many favorites list for 2018. It is now on mine, too.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-46344464134752810942018-12-19T13:47:00.000-05:002018-12-19T13:47:21.281-05:00Italy, Here I Come!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Italy,
Here I Come!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
coming back, Italy. I need to know you more intimately. Show me what you have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
visited Italy, Florence and Pisa specifically, with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cindy.tambourine" target="_blank">Cindy Tambourine</a> in the summer of
2005. It was a brief trip for an award Cindy had won through her employer. It
was made even briefer when our flight leaving Dulles airport in suburban
Virginia was delayed, thereby making us late for our connection through
Frankfort, Germany. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We had to take a variety of hop-scotch flights to get to
Florence and we were eight hours later than originally planned. We had enough
time to put our bags in our room, do a presto-chango cleanup, and dress for an
evening cocktail party. At that point, other than a brief bit of airline
catnapping, we had been up for about 28 hours. We never caught up on this
three-day trip and we moved through it in a catatonic funk. We learned a
valuable lesson: plan plenty of time on international trips for the unexpected
to happen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Also, we learned, always start with a brand new roll of film (or go digital). Evidently this roll didn't take kindly to too many trips through the X-Ray machines so our photos didn't fare any better during our trip to Florence than we did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
year later when traveling to Vienna, we added a day on both ends. Naturally, all
flights were on time, so we just enjoyed being relaxed and comfortable spending
our couple extra days. One we spent walking around Vienna </span></div>
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and the other we took
a train down to Maribor, Slovenia <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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and enjoyed the offerings of that picturesque
little city.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
I’m looking forward to returning to Italy. Part of the trip will be
accompanying family as we travel around the major cities: Rome, Venice,
Florence, and Vatican City. I’ve decided to add an additional week to ten days
and travel around other parts of Tuscany and Umbria. Even though the trip is
months away, I’m getting excited. It never hurts to plan ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So,
what am I doing to plan? Well, first, I’m following a model of my good friend,
Kaye Wilkinson Barley, who before her trip to Paris, read probably every
book ever written about the City of Light. (Here along with everything else Kaye read those years, you'll find at <a href="http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/">Meanderings and Muses</a> all of the Paris books she inhaled during 2017 and 2016 </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2GqLe3M">https://bit.ly/2GqLe3M</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2EvpocR">https://bit.ly/2EvpocR</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> ). I can not read that fast. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve
added a number of books on Italy to my library, though, from <b><i>Barron’s Italian
Vocabulary</i> </b>to Frances Maye’s <i><b>Bella Tuscany</b></i>. I’ve finished Maye’s <b><i>Under the
Tuscan Sun</i></b> and Tim Park’s experiences riding the rail lines of Italy: <b><i>Italian
Ways</i></b>, and I’ve read Elizabeth Gilbert’s <b><i>Eat, Pray, Love</i></b>, primarily for the first
third of the book about her experiences in Rome (although I did finish the
entire book). I’m currently reading Michael Tucker’s (he of LA Law fame) book:
<b><i>Living in a Foreign Language</i></b>, his memoir of his and his wife, Jill Eikenberry’s,
experiences owning a home near Spoleto, Umbria. I’m also reading Donna Leon’s (author
of the Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries) <b><i>My Venice and Other Essays</i></b>. You
can see a few others in the photo attached. One I have on the Mt. TBR that I
will not likely read is Gibbon’s <b><i>The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</i></b>. That
can wait until another time. Here is my Italian Collection so far. </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do
you have any suggestions for reading on/of Italy? I’d be interested in seeing them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ll
write future pieces on decisions about transportation, boarding, sightseeing,
food and wine, and whatever else comes to mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ciao!
Buon Natale! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-7425396794722718382018-11-02T13:44:00.000-04:002018-11-02T13:44:25.049-04:00The Puppet Show by M. W. Craven<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39346652-the-puppet-show" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Puppet Show (Washington Poe, #1)" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521730075m/39346652.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39346652-the-puppet-show">The Puppet Show</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17850464.M_W_Craven">M.W. Craven</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2405798915">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
First off, I do not tend to read serial killer novels. But, here, I made an exception and it was worth my time. If you feel the same way about serial killers, I urge you to reconsider this time too.<br />While often serial killer novels focus on a psychotic, all-knowing, ultra-evil antagonist, Craven focuses much more on the investigators and delves into their characters as they chase their killer. There is a good bit on the investigative procedure that also adds heft to the narrative, which is capably rolled out to the reader. <br />M.W. Craven is an emerging talent and I look forward to future entries in this series.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-85160936112386906962018-08-08T23:46:00.001-04:002018-08-08T23:46:39.889-04:00Skyjack by K.J. Howe<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35397910-skyjack" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Skyjack (Thea Paris #2)" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503337122m/35397910.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35397910-skyjack">Skyjack</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5767100.K_J_Howe">K.J. Howe</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2440593447">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I may expand on this soon, but for now, I'll just say that I enjoyed Skyjack more than The Freedom Broker and that's saying a bunch. Wonderful, convincing thriller, with rich characters, and nonstop action. Too often thrillers get saturated with calibers, gauges, barrel velocities, etc. K.J. Howe seems to know just the right amount to validate the weaponry without taking one out of the story. <br />Thea Paris #3 won't get here soon enough for me.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-42693631642189839172018-05-06T20:29:00.000-04:002018-05-06T20:39:40.474-04:00Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35098758-fools-and-mortals-cd">Fools and Mortals CD: A Novel</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12542.Bernard_Cornwell">Bernard Cornwell</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2381930700">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwOIqkvSMgqRS4VPHYuJZGAxY3AEZJwbooUYH1aR4WNm9zUr_sGqQdwYnq-CrLy1MxPH6fwqU4TByWHsmTwUvj9xNF170yvkH9q7uzQN_T2OMGCGuHqc75U3UCweQ-c7ONGo5/s1600/36467654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="98" data-original-width="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwOIqkvSMgqRS4VPHYuJZGAxY3AEZJwbooUYH1aR4WNm9zUr_sGqQdwYnq-CrLy1MxPH6fwqU4TByWHsmTwUvj9xNF170yvkH9q7uzQN_T2OMGCGuHqc75U3UCweQ-c7ONGo5/s1600/36467654.jpg" /></a>In a clever imagining of the first presentation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bernard Cornwell's <b>Fools and Mortals</b> tells the story of The Lord Chamberlain's Men through the eyes of Richard Shakespeare, William's younger brother. Cornwell's story provides an excellent overview of the society of the day, including the Catholic/Protestant religious strife, Elizabethan manners, filthy environment, rampant disease, sexual perversions, and the ease with which one might find oneself being hanged.<br />
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Richard is a small player in the company run by William and has been relegated to playing women's roles. He's also a small-time thief. Playing only women's roles is starting to grate on Richard. He desires more substantial men's roles. However, William views his younger brother as an annoyance.<br />
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A new playhouse is being built south of the Thames and the financiers are managing to get their hands on everything that they need except plays to perform. They devise a plan to abscond with William's plays, A Midsummer's Night and William's new one about a pair of star-crossed lovers in Verona, Italy, and perform them before William has a chance to play them before a public audience. Their plans include Richard. <br />
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When Richard finds himself suspected by William and the rest of The Lord Chamberlain's Men of involvement in the plays' thefts, Richard sees that the only way he can get back into William's good graces is to recover them himself, and the dangers he faces in doing so are very real. <br />
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<b>Fools and Mortals</b> has romance, history, intrigue, and thrills. Cornwell's descriptions of English city life during Elizabethan times is well integrated into the narrative. His looks behind the curtain at theater practices is comprehensive, and the players characters are greatly revealed through how they deal with the management of the troupe, how they go about preparing for their parts, even to their individual superstition practices before going onstage.<br />
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If you like history, theater, or just a plain old thriller, <b>Fools and Mortals</b> should suffice nicely.<br />
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David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30465003.post-34590447124836390582017-11-17T15:44:00.001-05:002017-11-17T15:44:26.506-05:00Where Does the Time Go?I've been busy with a bunch of different things over the past year, and as may be apparent, none of those have been blogging. I may have been doing a good bit of musing. I've just failed to write most of it down, and none of it here.<br />
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What have I been busy with? I've been reading quite a bit, going to lectures and theater any chance I could, working to keep up with the maintenance on a couple houses inside and out, and taking Marcie to dog training. So no lazy bones here. I guess I've also been disgustedly watching the antics of 45, waiting for him to hoist himself on his own petard, or should I say Tweetard.<br />
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But, what good is a blog if it's not blogged on, at least periodically? So blog we shall.<br />
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Hey, how about those Pittsburgh Steelers? They played one helluva game last night, throttling the Tennessee Titans 40 - 17 and taking a stranglehold on their division.<br />
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I love my sports, and in addition to football, I enjoy watching college basketball and the NHL. So I'll be keeping my eye on the Steelers, the Maryland Terps basketball teams, and the Capitals and Penguins in the NHL. That last one only gives me problems of allegiance when they're playing each other. Then I just want a good game.<br />
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Of course the main reason I started this blog was to muse about my current reading. This year it's been all over the place. I've tried to read a bit more outside of the crime fiction genre. Right now I'm reading Kazuo Ishiguro's <b>Never Let Me Go. </b>I didn't read the description of it, but I don't think I was expecting this great of a departure from <b>Remains of the Day</b>. I'm enjoying it and it's holding my interest, so we'll see what I think when I've finished it. I'm also listening to <b>Since We Fell</b> by Dennis Lehane, my car book, and my morning nonfiction, mind expansion book is <b>The Intellectual Devotional</b>, 365 daily one-page overviews of topics from history, literature, religion, mathematics and science, fine arts, philosophy, and music. My grey matter is just exploding all over the place.<br />
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Some of my other outside reads this year have been a short story collection by Flannery O'Conner called <b>A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories</b>, <b>Gilead</b> by Marilynne Robinson, <b>The Year of Magical Thinking</b> by Joan Didion, and <b>Born to Run</b>, Bruce Springsteen's autobiography. One favorite is <b>The Round House</b> by Louise Erdrich. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll renew the Goodreads link onto the blog that shows the titles of all the books I've read this year.<br />
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So I've blogged and I feel good about myself. And just because every blog should have some other media in it, here's a photo of Marcie, and to start you thinking about the coming spring, some peonies and azaleas too.<br />
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Have a great weekend, everyone.<br />
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<br />David Magaynahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17856263673051372800noreply@blogger.com0