My Head Is Full of Books: Sunday Salon --- Summer Solstice

"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Saturday, June 20, 2026

Sunday Salon --- Summer Solstice

The photos are all dark since it was around 7 pm when we arrived for our picnic.

Weather -- Beautiful. We went to a beach on the Puget Sound with our grandsons last night and the temperature was comfortable and we stayed too late since sunset isn't until after 9 pm these days.

There's no place like home -- Sometimes one can travel the world over and find that the most special moments are near home. See photo collage, above, of the picnic we had with our grandsons and their aunt at Owen Beach, Pt Defiance Park, Tacoma.

Thomas Danbo's Mama Mimi

Mama Mimi -- Last week when I was giving you the update on our vacation trip to the National Parks (Home from our Trip, Sunday Salon) I forgot to mention that we stopped by to visit Mama Mimi at a park near Jackson, WY. Mama Mimi is a spectacular Thomas Danbo troll.

Moose gatekeeper -- As we attempted to walk around the lake to get the long view of Mama Mimi, we had to pass this female moose gatekeeper to get to the stone path across the water. She seemed pretty interested in napping so said we could pass.

After completing so many books during our trip or right after getting home -- I had to spend my week attempting to catch up on writing book reviews. Nine down, two left to go:

Why Read Moby Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick (Nonfiction; literary criticism)
The Man Who Moved Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Memoir)
Moby Dick by Will Eisner (Comic based on Melville's classic)
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Memoir)
Whistler by Ann Patchett (Fiction)
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson (Nonfiction; inspirational/religious)
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Sci-Fi)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Sparks (Classic)
Wild Rescues: A Paramedic's Extreme Adventures in Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton by Kevin Grange (Memoir)
Left to go:

Angel Down by Daniel Kraus (Pulitzer Prize winner 2026)
This Land is Your Land by Beverly Gage (Nonfiction, History)

Currently reading:

Kin by Tayari Jones -- the best/most popular (?) book of the first half of 2026. It fulfills my last Goodreads challenge of the quarter. Audio. 22% complete.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert -- My CC Spin book. I am slowly making progress, just passing the 300 page rubicon. Print. 83% complete.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai -- I just started this popular book from 2025. It is a long one and a book club selection. Luckily I have two months to read it! Print. 2% complete, I just started it.
Good Poems edited by Garrison Keillor -- I wanted something which wasn't as heavy as the three books I'm reading so I've been making my way through this collection of poems curated by the fame radio host.

Inspirational Event -- My sister asked me to post this clip of John Legend and Common singing "Glory" at the Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening Ceremony. Everything I've seen from this event is inspirational but I particularly like this song. Skip ahead to the 4 minute mark for GLORY.