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Robin, thank you, as always, for this wonderful thread! :grouphug: I read Death in a Strange Country - 2 Stars - I really like the protagonist in this series and I enjoy the Venetian setting, but this book was disappointing in that there was no resolution. It just ended and I was beginning to lose interest by that time anyway. Although I’m not American, I didn’t particularly care for the subtle anti-American sentiments in this story. The first book was far more enjoyable. I do plan on reading a few more in this series, since I have heard that they apparently take off after the fourth book. I’ll see. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Me too! These threads with product links are the best! And yes, my dh wears a money belt also.

I love Pacsafe and heard about them here. I've bought a few different-sized bags from them as needed. The only places where I really and truly didn't want to even carry my Pacsafe bag or anything for that matter (not even a watch) was in Santiago and Buenos Aires. I have used my Pacsafe bags in Europe.

I haven't gotten much reading done since I've either been too busy and/or too tired. As soon as I put my head on the pillow, I fall asleep within minutes. I read Relish: My Life in the Kitchen - 3 Stars - I love food and I also enjoy graphic books. This graphic memoir is a fun and light read about cooking and enjoying food. Unlike her first book, “French Milkâ€, which had quite a bit of complaining, this one seems more mature. Lucy Knisley shows deep appreciation and passion for life’s blessings. Each chapter ends with a recipe, none of which I have tried. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: You have been in my thoughts and prayers almost every single day.

I really need to start reading them. Too many books and too little time!

Kindle book on sale today. The third in the Dublin Murder squad series, which I haven't yet read, but plan on doing so.

I just found out about these two companies and the first one especially looks lovely. France Luxe Ficcare

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If you like historical fiction, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte is on sale today.

I read A Thousand Days in Tuscany - 2 Stars - I usually love reading about travel and food and I started out enjoying the descriptions of Tuscany, but then I got bored since there wasn’t much of a story. It was just a bit slow and boring for me. I also had a difficult time trying to understand some of the characters. In all fairness, the story did pick up a bit near the end. I’m happy that I’ve learned how to properly pronounce bruschetta! I’m not sure as to whether I will read more in this series. I think that I like the idea of her books more than the books themselves. The attractive covers help also! Some of my favorite quotes: “Look at that Tuscan landscape. This is where everyone in the world would like to live." “Living in the moment and being content with one’s portion makes for the best of all lives.†“Don’t be afraid of your children. If they’re going to love you, they’ll love you on their own, without your having to pander to them. If they’re not going to love you, there’s nothing to do about it.†MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I read A Thousand Days in Venice - 4 Stars - I'm feeling generous giving this 4 Stars. To be fair, I would give it 3.5. This is a beautifully written narrative of life in Venice. It’s a tiny bit flowery with the romance, at least for me, but it still remains sweet. The food descriptions are incredible. The author is a chef and has included recipes. I always enjoy books that weave recipes into the stories. I assume that others in the series will have recipes also. The author is a chef and she not only loves food, but simply loves life. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I read If This is a Man/The Truce - 3 Stars - This is a powerful story of Primo Levi who was imprisoned in Auschwitz. I’m giving it 3 stars, since I felt that his writing style was confusing and tedious. I believe that this is the first holocaust account that I have read that has been written from an objective, rather detached and unemotional point of view, or at least the first that I can remember. I know that if I had gone through all those horrors, there is no way in God’s green earth that I could have felt the same way. No way. Some of my favorite quotes: "One of the most important things I had learnt in Auschwitz was that one must always avoid being a nobody. All roads are closed to a person who appears to be useless, all are open to a person who has a function, even the most fatuous." “I am constantly amazed by man's inhumanity to man.†and The Rage and the Pride - 5 Stars - When I started reading this book, I did not realize that the author, Oriana Fallaci, died over a decade ago. In fact, I didn’t know much about her at all. She definitely had a unique style and lived through some turbulent times. As a teenager in Italy, she had fought Mussolini’s fascist regime. Then later as a war reporter, she covered major conflicts throughout the world. She was probably the only Western journalist to have interviewed Ayatollah Khomeini twice. She called the chador, “a stupid, medieval ragâ€. Fallaci spent her last years between her native Tuscany and New York City. The U.S. was her adopted homeland and she loved it dearly. She wrote this book after the horrific 9/11 attacks, while living in Manhattan. In true Italian anger and passion, she lashed out at everyone that she felt was responsible in even the most minor ways – from Islamic fundamentalists all the way to those that she refers to as the “cicadas†– the politically correct elite. This was entertaining to read. Her rage was not only with regards to 9/11, but also what she could see happening to her native Italy and throughout Europe. She was not one to spare words or feelings. She just let it run. No political correctness for her! One of my favorite parts is when she refers to historic landmarks throughout the world – the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, Notre Dame, and so on, but then she reminds the reader that as an Italian, she worries about the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Dome, and and on and on. swears that if the terrorists destroy Italy’s landmarks: “I swear. It is I who would become the holy warrior. … War you wanted? War you want? Good. As far as I am concerned, war is war and war will be. Until the last breath.†Naturally, she made many enemies from the time that this book was published until the few short years when she died. I believe that she would be devastated by all that has been happening in Europe, her beloved United States, and her native Italy. This is not really a book per se. The author intended it be a sermon, a wake-up call. Do not read it if you are easily offended. Otherwise, I wish that everyone would read this thought-provoking and important work. These are things that need to be said. I wish that this book as well as books by Ayaan Hirsi Ali were mandatory reading in high school, or at the very least, in college. I would like to read more books by her. I’m not going to include my favorite quotes here. They can be found on my Good Reads review. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I went to college in Portland. I still keep in touch with one of my friends from there and my husband got to meet her several years ago. She's an absolute angel - sweet and kind. While I was in Portland, my husband lived in San Diego. He worked with a lovely person there. This former coworker and her husband are still very good friends of ours. A few months ago, the same Portland friend contacts me via Facebook to say that she and the San Diego friend are actually second cousins! She saw our "mutual friends" and was shocked to see that we're all friends. It makes sense. Both of them, their entire families are the sweetest people ever.

I love the Daily Connoisseur and have read all of her books. I hadn't heard of Joy Forney and am off to look into her channel. Thank you!

It's a fabulous, fabulous book. I read it almost three years ago and plan on reading it again. I agree it's one of those rare books that I think everyone should read. Erin, yes, that's how I imagine it to be - a living museum. I've never been before. My husband has been a few times.

:( How sad.

Hoping to have more time to read everyone's posts later. Kindle book on sale today.

I read Evening Class - 4 Stars - Maeve Binchy has been a huge part of my reading life since I was 18, when a friend urged me to read “Echoesâ€. Since that time, I had read almost everything by her. One of my dreams in life was to meet her someday. Sadly, she died a few years ago. Her books are delightful, comfort reads, and I’ve decided that I would like to re-read them. I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first time that I read it. The setting is Ireland, as are pretty much all of her books, where several different characters from all walks of life come together to take an evening class in Italian. This, to me, is where Maeve truly shines – her realistic, everyday characters – and, of course, her storytelling. and Death at La Fenice - 4 Stars - I chose this book, the first in the Commissario Brunetti mystery series, because the setting is Venice, and my family and I will be briefly visiting there soon. Donna Leon does a wonderful job describing the city. If you’re looking for the type of mystery that you can’t put down, this isn’t it. Except for the ending, when it all comes together, this book is more about characters and the setting. A famous, but not particularly likeable conductor is found dead in his dressing room at the La Fenice theatre (Teatro La Fenice), an opera house in Venice. Brunetti is assigned to investigate the murder. I like him, as well as the fact that he adores his wife. This was an enjoyable read and I look forward to continuing with more in this series. Some of my favorite quotes: “He left his office and walked slowly up towards Piazza San Marco. Along the way, he paused to look into shop windows, shocked, as he always was when in the centre of the city, by how quickly their composition was changing. It seemed to him that all the shops that served the native population – pharmacies, shoemakers, groceries – were slowly and inexorably disappearing, replaced by slick boutiques and souvenir shops that catered to the tourists, filled with luminescent plastic gondolas from Taiwan and papier-mâché masks from Hong Kong. It was the desires of the transients, not the needs of the residents, that the city’s merchants answered. He wondered how long it would take before the entire city became a sort of living museum, a place fit only for visiting and not for inhabiting.†“Why was it that, when children loved you, you knew everything, and when they were angry with you, you knew nothing?†and The War Bride's Scrapbook - 3 Stars - As with her other book, “The Scrapbook of Frankie Prattâ€, this one is beautifully crafted with attractive text, photos, and illustrations. It’s just like reading a scrapbook. The story is compelling and so realistic that towards the end, I had to check to see if it may have even been partially based on a true story (it wasn’t). I do love Caroline Preston’s scrapbooks, although I prefer “The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt†over this one. They would make lovely gifts, and would also be perfect for reluctant readers or if you’re in a reading rut. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Thank you for letting me know. My wifi was wonky this morning.

More Kindle books on sale: The Woman Who Smashed Codes Killing the Rising Sun Killing Lincoln

Kindle book on sale today

Thank you for this thread! The idea of a capsule wardrobe has been on my mind for a while. This is something I'd like to start doing soon and I'm excited. Off to look into The Vivienne Files link.

Thank you. Robin. You are kind.