Maine Time: Reading Nonfiction & A Mystery

THREE RECENT READS In this post, I offer three books I’ve read recently. One is Doris Kearns Goodwin’s conversational inside scoop on the 1960’s as experienced by her and by her spouse, Richard Goodwin, politico, speechwriter, and occasional sounding board for both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Judith Jones was a book editor who …

Return to Manhattan & a Mystery

SECOND SPRING In May, we typically spend the month in Manhattan.  It’s a round robin of visits to great art museums, dining at favorite restaurants, sampling new eateries, people watching in the parks, discovering new titles from beloved bookstores, and spending lots of time with our delightful granddaughters—without being a drag on their busy schedules.   We …

Maine Memo: Maui, Mystery & Memoir

BEAUTIFUL MAUI Like many people, the Chief Penguin and I have fond memories of visiting Maui over the years and being treated to insider tours with good friends.  It is wrenching to see the wildfire destruction of so much of historic Lahaina and its residential neighborhoods.  On those earlier trips, we enjoyed meandering Front Street, checking …

Tidy Tidbits: Biography, Mystery, & Memoir

INTIMATE PORTRAIT The Chancellor by Kati Marton Members of my local book group enjoyed reading Marton’s portrayal of Angela Merkel.  It’s an accessible biography of an intensely private woman in a prominent public position.  It isn’t a comprehensive biography and does not provide detailed analysis of some of Merkel’s questionable decisions and actions.  And the author is perhaps too …