Bagpipes! Love them? Hate them? How about plaid? Maybe it's because I have ancestors from both Ireland and Scotland, but I love them both. Not haggis, though, I draw the line there!

Author Hugh Cheape is the curator of modern Scottish history at the National Museum of Scotland. In Tartan: the Highland Habit, he traces the journey of the plaid from a 'love of display' in medieval times to it's development as a means of clan identity (which can be important in a time of war) in the Victorian times. Colors mean a great deal, and those are explained, too. (Side bar here .... many states have their own designated state plaid, including Washington!)

Thistle Soup: a Ladleful of Scottish Life by Peter Kerr is a heart-warming and heart-breaking memoir of life in the rural areas of Scotland. The author is three years old at the beginning of World War II, and will be the fourth generation to farm the land. Bagpipes will be his salvation, and an old folktale told by his grandfather will save the hay crop.

Bagpipe Brothers: the FDNY Band's True Story of Tragedy, Mourning, and Recovery, by Kerry Sheridan. Have a box of tissues near by when you read this, it's an intense read, I had to put it aside more than once. It starts with the history and traditions of the bagpipe and drum band made up of NY firefighters. One of which is that they play at a Brother's funeral. After 9/11 this is what they did (in addition to regular work hours, and digging for remains at Ground Zero) ... for every one of the services. Almost 400 of them. In some cases there were two services, a Memorial Service followed (weeks or months later) when remains had been identified. The toll this took on the members of the band was huge. The tragedy of 9/11 makes this a hard read, the response makes this a heroic read.

A delightful collection of short stories, epic poems, and one joke make up The Piper Came to Our Town: Bagpipe Folklore Legends & Fairy Tales, edited by Joanne Asala. This is an easy book to pick up and put down as you read others, or while waiting for a haircut, etc.

For a fun, fictional take on, oh, bagpipes,kilts and so forth, Kaitlyn Dunnett writes the Liss MacCrimmon Scottish Mysteries. Set in Moosetookalook, Maine these cozy mysteries are a hoot! The first title is Kilt Dead.

Reading Hermit With Dog