Links I love

 

Last weekend, we went up to Littleton, NH. We stayed at the Sunset Hill House and I took the above picture there.  That's Cannon Mountain in the background. This was sunrise. It looks like I ha ve a cyst in my sinus so I'm headed to an ENT and likely endoscopic surgery but hopefully I'll feel better!

1. America's best coffee cities.
2. Ten best books based on horrifying true stories. 
3. The Booker shortlist has been announced.
4. Crime novels should be set in Boston?
5. Five best historical novels set in India.
6. These recipes look interesting.
7. What science says about walking 10,000 steps a day.
8. Eight books that explore friendship.

Enjoy the week!

REVIEW First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

 

A friend and co-worker lent me this novel and the timing was good - it was a nice break after the heaviness that I had been reading.  In this fast paced novel, we follow Evie Porter as she navigates deceit, multiple identities and a manipulative boss. When we first meet Evie, she's living in the South with a doting boyfriend, a fancy house with a white picket fence and a solid group of friends. We learn relatively quickly that her identity is a constructed facade. The novel is really about the facade falling apart and how Evie handles it.

I really enjoyed how Elston told the story with two different timelines, eventually having them come together towards the end of the novel. In doing so, we learn about Evie, her background and her future. I found myself being drawn into this world effortlessly - which is a testament to the author's deftness and abilities. She also did a masterful job in making Evie a compelling protagonist with a compelling life and story.  The book itself moves briskly and so was a good and timely palate cleanser for me after reading the much slower (but lovely) book Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. 

Definitely a good, fast and easy read.  It's a nice break from heavy literature and well worth it. 

REVIEW The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

 

I've always been a fan of Russo - particularly since Empire Falls - because he writes about upstate/central NY, a place I spent some time in young adulthood.  He also has focused on the lives of blue collar workers in his books. This novel continues in that theme.

The book itself seems to focus on people that are seemingly unexceptional. They don't really stand out but their relationships with each other certainly do and that's what makes the book so good. We meet Louis Lynch (Lucy to his friends after an incident in school when they were young) when he is 60 years old and living with Sarah, his wife, in the town that he has lived in for his entire life. It's in the Mohawk valley of New York. The couple is preparing to go to Italy to visit Lou's oldest friend, who is an artist living in Venice. Lucy is writing the story of his life in the town and that narrative is the meat of the book, occasionally interspersed with modern views of both Lucy's life and his friend's life in Venice. 

The book's themes really hit home for me.  The book strove to answer the question of whether it is better to love or be loved and whether the comfort of family is better then actually leaving and heading out. The length of the book can be daunting - it's 528 pages. Every page is worth it - Russo paints an intimate and vivid portrait of the people in this novel and the town that they're in, as well as the workings of their emotions and minds.  It is completely intriguing and just lovely.

Highly recommend.

Links I love

 

I have been trying to figure out what is going on with my ear and sinuses this week and it has taken out a lot of my time. Unfortunately, it is also taking a lot of space in my mind, rent free.  Hoping to get down to the bottom of things soon.  I have two reviews upcoming this week so stay tuned!

• Why are British police officers called Bobbies?
• An author reports on gun violence and almost dies.
• 7 Hobbit themed books on Hobbit day.
• Romantasy vs. fantasy romance: is there a difference?
• 12 books NPR editors can't wait to read this fall.
• 5 ways to catch up on sleep on weekends. 
• Must read memoirs from this year. I love a good list.
• Toxic empathy is a thing.
• What happens when a cemetery runs out of space?

Enjoy your week!

Links I love

 

We've been cracking away at college visits.  The above is Syracuse University - I did my law studies there.  The photo is taken from the top of the college of engineering.

I got diagnosed this week with an ear infection which was not fun. I've eased off on running until I feel better.  My bathroom has been redone, which is exciting. 

1. What do you think of this AI generated Bible game?
2. The winning bid for Darth Vader's light saber.
3. Last Bear Brook victim has been identified.
4. Vitamin D and weightlifting.
5. Books set in the Middle East.
6. National Book Award for 2025 longlist announced. The longlist for translated literature has also been announced. 
7. Best Halloween decor on Amazon for under thirty dollars. 
8. Books that take on an epic journey.
9. Dan Brown has a new book out.
10. National book award longlist for nonfiction.
11. Pulitizer prize winning biographies.
12. This makes sense.
13. National book award list for fiction.
14. Giftable nonfiction books and must read new feminist books. 
15. A different kind of wellness retreat in the Catskills.
16. This book sounds interesting.
17. Banned! Some of the books they didn't want you to read.
18. Some easy fall recipes.
19. 8 times authors took revenge in fiction.
20. Some great fall hikes

I hope that everyone has a good week!

Links that I love

 

Another week has gone by.I am reading Richard Russo's new novel and taking another break from Outlander. I will return to it after I finish this book!  I hope to be done by the time the last season comes out.  Work on my bathroom starts on September 11. I'm hoping that it doesn't take more than the 2 days it has allotted. 

A few weeks ago, my fiancée and I hiked up Mt. Major and were afforded this view of the big Lake!

It was the second hike I've done since coming back from oral surgery.  This month, I'm doing Mt. Chocorua.  I'm excited about that too.  

My son and I are doing more college visits.  Those visits include Syracuse University, UVM and WPI. 

We did Syracuse on Friday. Here are my favorite pics:

Academic Quad - Carrier Dome on the left (with the structure that  looks like a roller coaster and Houghton Chapel straight ahead, also with a dome)

College of Arts and Sciences

You can buy this pie from a vending machine if you're in Texas!

• Fighting the urge to make everything about yourself.
• Our town library was featured on NHPR!
• In anticipation of fall, here are some witchy books to read that are being released.
• Most children, including mine, are headed back to school without their phones.
• Books with occupations in title.
• 20 vintage recipes for fall.
• Margaret Atwood's satirical response to book ban in Canada.
• Fall means apple pie spice.
• 13 quintessential Gen X books.
• New park map reveals changes at Animal Kingdom.
• Best Japanese novels of the 20th century.
• SNL has five new cast members. 
• 15 vintage casseroles that everyone ate. 
• This is a crazy mystery.
• Historical novels with strong female leads.
• Foods that people ate during the Depression.
• How did Boston Beans get their name?