It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 
It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. For this meme, bloggers post what they finished last week, what they're currently reading, and what they plan to start this week. 
You might also like to check out my Friday Finds highlighting new reads I discovered during last week that got added to my TBR (to be read) list over at Goodreads. 

I also posted about the Irish Book Awards shortlist and 2012 Book Pilgrimage a challenge is to read a book, or books, and then visit (make a pilgrimage!) to either the location where the book is set or to the author's home (or grave). 

FINISHED THIS WEEK:

Synopsis here.

 I enjoyed it perhaps not as much as I have enjoyed Steve Berry previously. It's pretty fast paced and action
packed. I like the way that history becomes an integreal part of the story. But I must admit to glazing over
some of the Napoleon background included.

STARTED THIS WEEK:

From the book jacket:

Out of the rich culture of India and the brutal drama of the 1947 Partition comes this lush and eloquent 

debut novel about two women married to the same man.
Roop is a young girl whose mother has died and whose father is deep in debt. So she is elated to learn 

she is to become the second wife of a wealthy Sikh landowner in a union beneficial to both. For Sardaji’s first wife, Satya, has failed to bear him children. Roop believes that she and Satya, still very much in 

residence, will be friends. But the relationship between the older and younger woman is far more 

complex. And, as India lurches toward independence, Sardarji struggles to find his place amidst the 

drastic changes. 

Well, I did stick with this mainly because we drove to Montreal for the weekend so I forced myself to finish in 
the car.
But it was a painful read. I especially skimmed over the many, many pages of Indian politics in the 1930s and 40s. 
Most of the reviews are excellent so it must only be me that ended up being exasperated with these women, I need
to remember the times and location to generate any sympathy for them. I do think being the second wife at 16 to a
in his forty's  cannot be easy. The first wife is a very smart woman, though and her husband might have been wise 
to listen to her!

I will be on vacation for the next couple of weeks so I'll catch up with everyone when I return.

2012 books read (34 to date):

The Coast Road - John Brady
Still Midnight - Denise Mina
The Bulgari Connection - Fay Weldon
Good Bait - John Harvey
The Heretic's Treasure - Scott Mariani
Dead I Well May Be - Adrian McKinty
The Devil's Elixir - Raymond Khoury
A Darker Domain - Val McDermid
The Impossible Dead - Ian Rankin
GB84 - David Peace
The Emperor's Tomb - Steve Berry
Stonehenge Legacy - Sam Christer
Inquisition - Alfredo Colitto ABANDONED!
The Troubled Man - Henning Mankell
Nineteen Seventy-Four - David Peace
Faithful Place - Tana French
Dead Like You - Peter James
Brother and Sister - Joanna Trollope
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton ABANDONED!
A Beginner's Guide to Acting English -Shappi Khorsandi
The Snowman - Jo Nesbo
The Leopard - Jo Nesbo
The Stone Cutter - Camilla Lackberg
Miramar - Naguib Mahfouz
The Gallow's Bird - Camilla Lackberg
Nineteen Seventy- Seven - David Peace
Timeline - Michael Crichton
Millennium People - JG Ballard
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins 
Birdman - Mo Hayder
Clara Callan - Richard B. Wright

The Paris Vendetta - Steve Berry

Copenhagen Weather Forecast

Macro Monday

Macro Monday is hosted by Lisa at Lisa's Chaos.























Another lion from Italy. This one was taken just to the north of the centre of Rome is the large and heart-shaped park known as the Villa Borghese. It is named after the building to which these were originally the private grounds - that building, on the eastern side of the park, now houses the impressive Galleria Borghese. Both building and grounds were handed over to the state in 1902.

All photography on this post at Junk Boat Travels are under copyright. If you would like to use any of my photographs please contact me first.

Mellow Yellow Monday

I'm posting over here  today.

Taken in Manhattan last summer.

All photography on this post at Junk Boat Travels are under copyright. If you would like to use any of my photographs please contact me first.

Flat Stanley - Montreal

I first mentioned Flat Stanley in a previous post and some background on him and his travels over here.

So Flat Stanley went on a road trip this weekend. He went from Toronto to Montreal which is about 350 miles each way (or approx. 510 kilometres each way as can be seen in the 2nd photo).

We took his picture as we headed back to Toronto, the sign behind him shows  the direction to either Montreal (east or est in French) or Toronto (west or ouest in French).

He is resting up now for his flight tomorrow night from Toronto to Copenhagen, Denmark where he starts his European trip.

You can see the Quebec license plate on the car in front.

 Crossing the "ever under construction" Mercier Bridge

 Heading back to Toronto - we're going right.

 510 Km!! until home!

Scenic Sunday

I'm posting over here today!
Before we had our house repainted we used to have a wall of photos from our travels. We could only select one photo from each place and we had it enlarged and mounted. This was our selection from Nova Scotia from 1990.
The lupins (also known as lupines) were in bloom along side this red clay road in the middle of these rolling hills.

Saturday Snapshot

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.

Taken in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few years ago.

All photography on this post at Junk Boat Travels are under copyright. If you would like to use any of my photographs please contact me first.

Pink Saturday

I'm linking up over here today.

Taken in Palm Springs at The Living Desert whose mission is Colorado desert conservation through preservation, education and appreciation. It contains animals and gardens and is a wonderful place to visit. It is best to go early in the day as it gets very hot and harder to see the animals as they rest during the warmest parts of the day.

All photography on this post at Junk Boat Travels are under copyright. If you would like to use any of my photographs please contact me first.

Friday Finds - Books

I'm posting over here today at Should Be Reading.




These are some new books I bought this week for going on vacation.
A few of them I had mentioned in my post on the 2012 Pilgrimage Book challenge. The synopsis for each of these can also be found in that post.

This one is set in Copenhagen, our fist stop.

Don't be fooled by the title, it is entirely set in Budapest, our second stop.

Vienna, another stop.

I selected the other books I bought from my Goodreads TBR list.


I mentioned this in a post on the Costa Awards list.


I wrote about this book found on the Toronto Star's 2011 must read books.

The next two I found atthis new blog (to me) Crime Always Pays.

Floral Friday Fotos

'm posting over here today!

Skywatch Friday

 

I'm linking up over here today! 

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Besides being known for its architecture and collections, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has in recent decades become an icon of American culture, thanks to the symbolic role it has played in the Rocky films--Rocky (1976) and four of its five sequels, II, III, V and Rocky Balboa. Visitors to the museum can frequently be seen mimicking Rocky's famous run up the front steps, as of course did my husband, now known widely as the "Rocky Steps".

All photography on this post at Junk Boat Travels are under copyright. If you would like to use any of my photographs please contact me first.

Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley from I Have a Notion's blog visited the CN Tower in Toronto yesterday. You can just catch a glimpse of a Toronto streetcar behind him, known as a Red Rocket.

Alphabe-Thursday

I'm linking up at Alphabe-THURSDAY today!
Today's letter is W.
When you drive by this bakery and take a whiff,  the smell of white bread baking is so mouth-watering that one just needs to wax poetic. The smell just wafts no matter the weather and would make one want to whistle as one wanders a winter wonderland with winds whispering, wishing for a warm loaf of bread with a well of butter as one waits for the yellow light to change.

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading and is hosted by Bermuda Onion.

Photo (by my Blackberry camera) taken at Easter brunch at Le Select Bistro . You can almost taste the lemonlyness (I know not a word)!
I love the atmosphere here, it reminds me of Paris. Not such a big fan of their menu though for an early brunch.

I was reading the Globe and Mail restaurant review section and the columnist stated she adores kvelling over good food. Well that lead me once again to the dictionary.

Main Entry: kvell
Pronunciation: \ˈkvel\
Function: intransitive verb

Etymology: Yiddish kveln to be delighted, from Middle High German quellen to well, gush, swell
Date: circa 1952
: to be extraordinarily proud : rejoice

Watery Wednesday

i'm posting over at Watery Wednesday today.

Sailing along the Nile in Egypt.

Wordless Wednesday - Toronto

I'm linking up over here.

Ruby Tuesday

I'm posting over here today.

Taken at the market in Yaroslavl Russia.