Wordless Wednesday

I'm posting over at Wordless Wednesday today.

Taken in Frankenmuth, Michigan in 2006.

Ruby Tuesday

                               

I'm posting at Ruby Tuesday today.  And at Tina's PicStory.

Tina's theme tis week is *wet*.

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago in Toronto. This is the mural outside the OK OK Diner on Queen St. E that we often go to for breakfast.

It depicts a Toronto streetcar or Red Rocket. It was taken on a very dull muggy day a couple of weeks ago as it started to rain. 

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.


This week I finally downloaded an app for my Kobo Vox ereader so that I can borrow books from the Toronto Public Library.

I am enjoying borrowing books from the library, I think the app works quite well once you get used to where things are put.

FINISHED THIS WEEK:

Synopsis here.

I started reading this with great expectations as the storyline really appealed to me. Overall I liked the characters and the writing was good. However as it moved (slowly) along I got more and more bored. The execution of the story left a lot to be desired. As I neared the ending I was just plain disappointed. I just felt it was too trite an ending.

Also FINISHED THIS WEEK:

From the book jacket:

From the winner of the 2009 Impress Prize for New Writers (U.K.) and finalist for the Sunday Times Short Story Award, a stunning debut novel about an extended Sri Lankan family--a kaleidoscopic view of contemporary immigrant life, by turns darkly funny, sad, poignant, and uproariously beautiful.

It's New Year's Eve 1982. At Victor and Nandini's home in southeast London, the family and their friends gather to ring in the new year. Whiskey and arrack have been poured, poppadoms are freshly fried, andbaila music is on the stereo. Upstairs, the teenagers have gathered around the television to watch The Godfather again while drinking pilfered wine. Moving back and forth in time, from the 1970s to the present day, and from London to Sri Lanka and back again, we follow Victor and Nandini's children: Rohan, Gehan, and in particular dyslexic Preethi--funny, brash, and ultimately fragile. We also meet troubled Lolly and her beautiful sister Deirdre; wonderful Auntie Gertie; and terrible Kumar, whose dark deed will haunt the family.

Homesick reads more like a collection of short stories that are tied together by one central family, Preethi's family.  Stories range from a wedding, would be terrorist, a rocky marriage, daughter trying to find her father, and so on. The stuff life is made of.

She does a remarkable reveal of the range of emotions and experiences of Sri Lankans in the UK and how their background still impacts the second and third generations. 
She writes beautifully and I am looking forward to reading her next novels.

ALSO FINISHED THIS WEEK:

From the book jacket:

On the busiest shopping day of the year, some idealistic college students believe they're about to carry out an elaborate media stunt at the largest mall in America. They think the jamming devices in their backpacks will disrupt stores' computer systems, causing delays and chaos. What they don't realize is that instead of jamming devices, their backpacks are stuffed with explosives, ready to be detonated by remote control and turning them into suicide bombers.

Caught up in a political nightmare, battling a new interim director and still mourning the death of her boss A. D. Cunningham, FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell must put her own troubles aside and fly to Minnesota to help figure out what's behind this terrorist attack--a massacre that is all the more frightening because no group has claimed responsibility.

The search becomes personal when a tip reveals that one of the college students involved is Patrick, Maggie's brother. Afraid and on the run, Patrick must decide if he can finally trust Maggie enough to help her unravel this horrifying nightmare.

Sifting through the debris for answers, Maggie is joined by Nick Morrelli, who has recently taken a job with a national security company that oversees security for the mall. Although Maggie and Nick have investigated several cases together in the past, they've never investigated a relationship with each other. Nick would like to change that.

When an informant confides in Maggie that there are other attacks on the secret agenda, she knows that she's running out of time. In less than twenty-four hours she'll need to figure out exactly when and where the second attack will take place, who to look for and how to keep her brother from becoming one of the casualties.

Meh, what can I say? I downloaded this from the library as a test of checking out a book that was immediately available.

The premise is good, bombs in the biggest mall on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day. I do like conspiracy theories as well.

I can't say any of the characters were more than one dimensional to me. Even the story needed more development.

ALSO FINISHED THIS WEEK:

From the book jacket:

It was clearly no ordinary drowning. Inspector Louise Rick is immediately called out to Holbraek Fjord when a young immigrant girl is found in the watery depths, a piece of concrete tied around her waist and two mysterious circular patches on the back of her neck.

Her name was Samra, and Louise soon learns that her short life was a sad story. Her father had already been charged once with assaulting her and her mother, Sada, who makes it clear that her husband would indeed be capable of killing Samra if she brought dishonor to the family. But she maintains that Samra hadn't done anything dishonorable. Then why was she supposed to be sent back to Jordan? Samra s best friend Dicte thinks it was an honor killing. A few days later Dicte is discovered, bludgeoned to death, and Samra's younger sister has gone missing.

Navigating the complex web of family and community ties in Copenhagen s tightly knit ethnic communities, Louise must find this remorseless predator, or predators, before it is too late.

At the start of this book the author refers to a Danish honour killing that actually took place recently. However, much more recently we had an even worse honour killing here in Canada. Four female family members were killed by thier immediate family because they wouldn't conform to the father's rules.

I enjoyed this book. The writing was good. At a few points I thought I knew who did it but was pleasantly surprised by the twists in the plot.
She does an excellent job of describing an immigrant teenage girl trying to fit into a Western society, family morals and issues, bullying and a host of other cultural issues.

STARTED THIS WEEK:

From the book jacket:
Nick Morrelli is the Platte City, Nebraska, sheriff who must be smarter than he appears, since there's a framed Harvard law degree hanging on his wall. Not that appearances don't count. The reader is treated to a number of descriptions of his sexy, lady-killer looks and his charismatic effect on even the most hard-bitten woman character in this somewhat muddled, serial-killer thriller. Nick is investigating the kidnap-murders of two young Platte City boys when FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell shows up and all but takes over the investigation. Several years earlier, the former sheriff--Nick's father--capped his own career with the arrest of the last serial killer in the neighborhood, who abducted and tortured three boys in an eerily similar crime spree. When Antonio Morrelli returns from retirement to meddle in the investigation, and when Nick's own sister uses her connections to advance his career, Nick hardly raises an objection. And that's the central weakness of what would otherwise be a good, first effort. 

I've just started it and am not impressed. This is another one I quickly downloaded when I was setting up the library app.

2012 books read (54 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
Little Girls Lost - Jack Kerley

The Reutrn of the Dancing Master - Henning Mankell

Nemesis - Jo Nesbo

Dublin Dead - Gerard O'Donovan

City of Bohane - Kevin Barry

This Beautiful Life - Helen Schulman

The Copenhagen Project - K. Sandersen

Prague - Arthur Phillips
Fortunes of War - Gordon Zuckerman 
The Cold Cold Ground - Adrian McKinty
Before the Poison - Peter Robinson
The Mozart Conspiracy - Scott Mariani
Dancer - Colum McCann
Pig Island - Mo Hayder
Old City Hall - Robert Rotenberg
The Paris Wife - Paula McLain
The Last Good Man - A. J. Kazinski
Homesick - Roshi Fernando
Black Friday - Alex Kava
Only One Life - Sara Blaedel

Macro Monday

Macro Monday is hosted by Lisa at Lisa's Chaos. 
Macro Monday is easy to play, snap a macro (or any close-up) photo, post it on your blog and come back to Lisa's blog and sign McLinky.  


From my garden in June. The frame is from Pixlr, a new toy I found a while ago but hadn't used.

Blue Monday

I'm linking up over at Blue Monday today. 


Taken on the Danforth in Toronto- wall outside the Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Scenic Sunday and SOOC

I'm posting over here today! And at Straight Out of The Camera SOOC.

These photos were taken at Tryon Palace in New Bern, North Carolina in October 2011. Who would have thought there would be a palace in North Carolina!!!

We joined our tour guide and were lucky that there were only six of us on his tour.

Royal Governor William Tryon and his family brought architect John Hawks from London to design and build the Georgian-style structure. Completed in 1770, Tryon Palace served as the first permanent capitol of North Carolina and home to the Tryon family.

Tryon Palace was the site of the first sessions of the general assembly for the State of North Carolina following the revolution and housed the state governors until 1794. In 1798, fire destroyed the original Palace building. An extensive 30-year campaign to rebuild the Palace and restore the grounds was launched by the people of New Bern, state leaders, world craftsmen, and generous, dedicated citizens such as Mrs. James Edwin Latham. Their efforts led to the triumphal reopening of the Palace in 1959.

Saturday Snapshot

 

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

Beer delivery in Venice, Italy.

This is a repost from a couple of years ago. This happens to be one of my favourite photos from Venice.


Apart from the car parks by the mainland bridge, and a private port area, all transport in Venice is by boat. And the more you think about it, the more difficulties that presents. Deliveries, emergency services, taxis - everything that is done on wheels in other cities must here be done by boat.

Boats are a major part of everyday life, not just for passenger transport but for pretty much everything else too.

Delivery barges are the most common kind of utility vehicle you'll see. Big delivery firms like DHL and UPS have their own liveried boats. Other barges will pass by stacked with anything from casks of wine to shoeboxes. Some have freezers to transport cold food and drink. Once goods get as near to their destination as the canals permit, they are unloaded and wheeled on handcarts through the lanes to their destination. You can watch shop merchandise being unloaded alongside the Rialto Bridge.
The Italian postal service have their own delivery boats, and you can see these moored outside the central Post Office by the Rialto.

The emergency services also have to operate by boat. The fire brigade (Vigili del Fuoco), police and ambulances all have sirens, just like emergency vehicles on land, and woe betide any small boats that get in their way as they race down the Grand Canal, leaving a massive wake behind them. Police boats buzz all over the place. Italy has countless types of police force (military police, urban police, local police, prison police, finance police etc.)
Garbage collection is carried out by boat, too. Early in the morning the refuse barges chug along canals, meeting up with collectors who have cleared every lane on foot, using handcarts.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm linking up over here.
Today I'm not really wordless as I have a mission.
This metal sign(?) plaque is on Spadina St. where the streetcars run. It is one of several commemorating various Toronto events, including one that depicts the fashion district. I am trying my hardest to find out more about them and what they are called but not having a lot of luck. When I do find something I'll come back and update this post.

Ruby Tuesday

                               

I'm posting at Ruby Tuesday today.  And at Tina's PicStory.

Taken in Beaufort, North Carolina in October 2011. Can you guess it's a seafood restaurant right on the boardwalk?

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. 

FINISHED THIS WEEK:

Synopsis here.

I completely enjoyed this book. That it is set in Toronto and can easily recognize all the places mentioned was an added bonus.
The story moves back and forth between four characters as they narrate their story.It is a clever plot with many twists to keep a reader's attention. The details about the Toronto courthouse and procedures kept me riveted as well.
Now I want to know if one can tour the Old City Hall based on his descriptions of the building!!
I also went and bought another of his books to read.


From the book jacket:
A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wifecaptures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. 

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will becomeThe Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for. 

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

This was a good quick read. It is a fictionalized version of Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson.
I was taken with all the writers mentioned who lived in Paris during the 20s that they mixed socially with.
I had read a biography of Hadley so was aware of their story. The author does a good job in the novel version.
I felt for Hadley, they started off as an ideal couple despite the fact that she is a few years older than him and a lot more old-fashioned and settled. But Ernest gets too big for his britches and falls into the rather decadent lifestyle of his rich and famous "friends". He's a bit of a moocher and whiner. He certainly doesn't go on to a better life, he had three more wives and several children after Hadley.
Hadley, however does go on and marries someone "steady" and has a good life that means something.

STARTED THIS WEEK:

From the book jacket:

In Jewish scripture, there is a legend: There are thirty-six righteous people on earth. The thirty-six protect us. Without them, humanity would perish. But the thirty-six do not know they are the chosen ones. In Beijing, a monk collapses in his chamber, dead. A fiery mark—a tattoo? a burn?—spreads across his back and down his spine. In Mumbai, a beloved economist, a man who served the poor, dies suddenly. His corpse reveals the same symbol. Similar deaths are reported around the world—the victims all humanitarians, all with the same death mark. In Venice, an enterprising Italian policeman links the deaths, tracing the evidence. Who is killing good people around the world? In Copenhagen, police are preparing for a world climate summit when they receive the Interpol alert. The task falls to veteran detective Niels Bentzon: Find the “good people” of Denmark and warn them. But Bentzon is a man who is trained to see the worst in humanity, not the good. One by one, people are crossed off his list. He senses their secrets and wrongdoings. Just as Bentzon is ready to give up, he meets Hannah Lund, a brilliant astrophysicist mourning the death of her son and the implosion of her marriage. With Hannah’s help, Bentzon begins to piece together the puzzle of these far-flung deaths. A pattern emerges. It is, they realize, a perfectly executed plan of murder. There have been thirty-four deaths—two more to come if the legend is true. According to the pattern, Bentzon and Hannah can predict the time and place of the final two murders. The deaths will occur in Venice and Copenhagen. And the time is now. 


2012 books read (50 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
Little Girls Lost - Jack Kerley

The Reutrn of the Dancing Master - Henning Mankell

Nemesis - Jo Nesbo

Dublin Dead - Gerard O'Donovan

City of Bohane - Kevin Barry

This Beautiful Life - Helen Schulman

The Copenhagen Project - K. Sandersen

Prague - Arthur Phillips
Fortunes of War - Gordon Zuckerman 
The Cold Cold Ground - Adrian McKinty
Before the Poison - Peter Robinson
The Mozart Conspiracy - Scott Mariani
Dancer - Colum McCann
Pig Island - Mo Hayder

Old City Hall - Robert Rotenberg
The Paris Wife - Paula McLain

Macro Monday

Macro Monday is hosted by Lisa at Lisa's Chaos. 
Macro Monday is easy to play, snap a macro (or any close-up) photo, post it on your blog and come back to Lisa's blog and sign McLinky. 




Taken at Alligator Landing in Myrtle Beach South Carolina in 2011. Yes, it is real!!

Blue Monday

I'm linking up at Blue Monday today.



Ad for Blue Moon beer on back of bus last July in Manhattan.

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. 

Scenic Sunday and SOOC

I'm posting over here today! And at Straight Out of The Camera SOOC.

Taken in the town of Atlantic Beach in North Carolina, October 2011.

Saturday Snapshot

Taken in Melrose Scotland in 2010.

Don't these pies look good? There's beef steak ale and stilton, chicken, wild boar and venison game, chicken ham and mushroom, Bombay potato, and beef steak and Guinness pies in this shop in Melrose, Scotland.

The fabulous cathedral in Melrose

Skywatch Friday

 
I'm linking up over here today.
CN Tower bookended by two new skyscrapers in downtown Toronto.