I love these cooler days and nights. We enjoyed our summer, even though there were days that we felt like we were meeting ourselves coming and going! We went with friends to Buffalo one day and visited the Perce-Arrow Auto Museum, I am ashamed to admit that I’d never heard of that brand before. It was a classic that became a legend. I encourage everyone to make the trip to Buffalo, it is an amazing collection! Then we had a guided tour of the Martin House, a lovely, large, ultramodern Frank Lloyd Wright House, near the university. What a story behind it too. It was a fun and worthwhile day. We have traveled often to Buffalo over the years, and we’d never heard or knew about these gems. Better late than never.
We also finally visited the new Marilyn Horne Museum in Bradford, but only because we had guests who were interested in seeing it. We attended the opening ceremony when Marilyn Horne and her family were in town last spring. But it was incredibly cold and we didn’t stay for a tour that day. It’s a magnificent museum and we all loved it. Since then I ordered her Christmas cd with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from Amazon. It arrived a couple days later, and I listened to a few of the songs, breathtakingly beautiful music!! My husband thinks I should downsize, (i.e. throw away!), all my other Christmas music, but I say, how can I get through a Christmas without, Grandma Got Run Over by Reindeer?
My writer friends came for a Saturday Writers Workshop the first Saturday of August. We accomplished so much and I have been working like a busy bee since…more about that next month!
Our family reunion was on August 13th at the family farm where my mother and all of her siblings were born and raised. All of her generation have passed by now with the exception of Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Elmer, the youngest two siblings. Next year will be our 50th Annual McCauley Family Reunion. We are fortunate that our cousin and his wife, the current farmer/owners, are such gracious warm hosts as they are invaded with dozens of cousins on the second Sunday of August, year after year. They do so much for all of us, even a hayride every year!
I have continued to read, perhaps not quite so many this month as before.( I did break down and buy a Kindle. But it is still an unused novelty for me. Much to learn - yikes!)
Bear Town by Frederic Blackman. Fiction. Very different from his other books, but with great character development and plot. I highly recommend it. You will quickly forget it’s set in Sweden and feel you are reading about a town in Alaska or Canada.
The Girl with Seven Names, Escape from North Korea by Hyeonseo Lee. Nonfiction, memoir. A gripping story with much insight into the current lives of the North Korean people. Compelling, chilling and brave. Excellent writing. I highly recommend this one too.
The Japanese Lover by Isabelle Allende. Historical Fiction. Allende is a passionate storyteller, a master of the art. Focuses on two very different survivors of the carnage of WW2. Not my favorite Allende novel but still a good one.
The American Spirit by David McCullough. Nonfiction. A collection of speeches he has given over the years. I can’t remember a time when our country ever seemed quite so divided. This is a book all Americans should read, especially now. “…harked us back to core American values to which we all subscribe, regardless of which region of we live in, which political party we identify with, or our ethnic background. This is a book about America for all Americans that reminds us who we are and helps us to guide us on our way forward.” (–per jacket cover of book.)
The Girl Before by J P Delaney. Fiction. This was a tough book for me to read since I couldn’t make myself care about any of the characters. I am sure there will be readers who like this book. Sadly, I am not one of them.
Exposed by Lisa Scottoline. Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. This book is only a couple notches slower than her last one which places several notches above most writers! Her character development, wit, and plots are amazing and this is one writer I never know what to expect at the end. (I accurately predict the ending of most writers by the middle of their books.) And I’m usually correct. Not so with Lisa Scottoline. I highly recommend this unforgettable novel.
We watched The Light Between the Oceans last week, we got it from Netflicks, it was so well done. I had read the book for Book Club a couple years ago. It’s a story that stays with the reader and a memorable movie too. Sad, complicated and lovely.
The Big Sick, a new movie, it was an excellent movie and should be watched my everyone, it is cross cultural and cross racial…maybe could diffuse some tensions that are rampant in our country at this time. (We saw it on Long Island when we visited our granddaughter who is a student a Stony Brook U. She did an internship there so we visited her since she wouldn’t be home much this summer. She showed us around Long Island. Wow! Some of those single family mansion on the north end of the island look like resorts. Also showed us all around Stony Brook U.)
Till next time, keep reading my friends.
Later, Ann