spring came early!

This week has been such lovely weather (sorry MA family and friends!) I have managed to get in a lot of reading and Keegan and I have gone on a few adventures!

more photos later

I have been using the kindle a lot lately, loving having access to library books right from my bed!
I read two historical fiction books this week by Susanna Kearsley: Mariana and The Shadowy Horses.

Mariana is about a woman who has felt an intense compulsion to move to a specific house in the English countryside since she was a child. Finally in her early thirties circumstances come together and she leaves London and moves into her dream house. Soon after she begins having intense hallucinations to what may be flashbacks of a previous life - dreams of a young woman names Mariana who lived during the plague in the same house. This book was fine, I think the character development was sub par and Kearsley has written better novels.

Much better novels like this one! The Shadowy Horses takes place in England as well but revolves around an archeological dig that is hunting for the long lost Ninth Roman Legion. They have decided to dig in this particular spot because there is a little boy who lives nearby who claims that he can see the ghost of a Roman legionnaire haunting the area….whooooooooooo! I enjoyed this novel a lot (although I think i may have read it before?), it really made me want to go dig for artifacts!

continue for more reviews and spring weather (incl some cute birds)!

looking up

Hello! It's rainy and gross here (but not cold like in Woods Hole where there is the possibility of anywhere from 2 - 22 inches of snow coming).

I read three books these past two weeks, but I'm only going to tell you about two because the one I read  last night/today was free on the kindle - I finally learned how to get ebooks! - and not worth talking about.

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett took me about two weeks to read because it was almost 1,000 pages long. I was shocked that enjoyed it so much! Normally I am not into books that are so long and although I love love love historical fiction, the novel is about building a cathedral which sounded suspiciously boring to me. However, this really is Follett's masterpiece and I will never look at churches the same. Although the book revolves around the cathedral being built at the Kingsbridge Priory (England, early 1100s), the story jumps around and focuses on different characters who are all somehow involved: Prior Phillip, the master builder Tom and his family, Tom's step-son Jack, William and his allies who want to destroy the cathedral, the beautiful Aliena, etc. so you get architecture, fights and wars, a love story, revenge, curses. I hauled that book around with me everywhere I went, very worth it.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey focuses on a modern day police investigator who is laid up in the hospital. While there he begins an historical investigation into the disappearance of the two princes in the Tower of London, supposedly killed by Richard III. I won't spoil all the details but I am thoroughly convinced that Richard did not do it and I am very pleased because I always liked him and wished that he was less of a murderous jerk. Really clever book, lots of interesting historical facts and a very important reminder not to believe everything your history book (or history teacher!) tells you.

I've been very excited about taking photos of birds lately!

This little guy I saw while I was home over break. From my online research I think that he is a Cedar Waxwing.

click read more to see more birds!