May & June 2013 Reads

Between gardening and house-sitting and a road trip, I didn't keep very good track of my reads in May. So I decided to combine May and June into a single list, and move on. I caught up on some favorite authors, and read a lot on my latest passion: learning to fly fish. More on that in a later series of blogs.

Here's what caught my interest in May & June:

Ann Stillman O'Leary | Rustic Revisited. Lots of good ideas to fuel my ongoing search for the perfect rustic style for our cabin.

Fly fishing | Dave's learning to tie flies, and it's been so fun to tag along and learn the process. So far I've worked my way through the Fly Pattern Encyclopedia, the L.L. Bean Fly-Tying Handbook, Essential Trout Flies, Flies That Catch Trout, and the Orvis Guide to Beginning Fly Tying, all courtesy of our library. 

Idaho road trip | Flyfisher's Guide to Idaho, Silver Creek: Idaho's Fly Fishing Paradise, Idaho Off the Beaten Path

Workout | I've been thinking about taking a class in yoga or Pilates, but in my usual style, I've been doing some advance research. I tried out three different Jane Fonda Prime Time videos, and also Yoga for Wimps and Pilates for Wimps. I loved them all. In the old days, I needed a VCR and television and workout space all in the same place. Now all I need to do is take my laptop to the patio on a nice day, or the studio if it's raining, and have all the privacy I need. Maybe I don't need that class after all.

Fiction

There hasn't been much time for fiction lately, not with gardening and fly fishing classes, road trips and high school graduation, time with family and friends. But I still managed to reserve way too many books at the library, and it was tough to get through them before they were due.

Kate Alcott | The Dressmaker. Imagine taking a job as a lady's maid for a world-famous clothing designer... as she sets sail on the Titanic. I wasn't disappointed.
Stephen White | Line of Fire. The latest (and second-to-last) in the Alan Gregory series. The last book will be out in August, then the series is over.
Kelli Stanley | City of Dragons
P.D. James | Death Comes to Pemberly. If you're a Jane Austen fan, you'll enjoy this book. It continues the story of the characters from Pride & Prejudice, all wrapped up in a murder mystery.
Steve Hamilton | Die A Stranger. Catching up on the Alex McKnight series.
Steve Hamilton | The Lock Artist. A new departure for the author; great book and characters.
Kate Morton | The Secret Keeper. I love Kate Morton's books, and have been waiting anxiously for my turn at this one. She's a master at plots that take the reader from past to present, and keep them turning the pages. This was a cover-to-cover read for me. I couldn't put it down.
Michael Connelly | The Black Box
Robert Crais | Taken.  #13 in the Elvis Cole Series.
John Sandford | Silken Prey. The long-awaited next book in one of my favorite series.
B. A. Shapiro | The Art Forger. Picked this one up off the "Good Reads" shelves at my library. It was the title that grabbed my attention, and I was fascinated by the painting techniques and descriptions throughout the book.