Lame as it is, the trail here seems to be 'favorites'. :-)

Autumn is in the air, my favorite season!

From the title of this book I expected it to be filled with nice pictures. What is here is so much more! extraordinary leaves (yes, both in lower case) with photographs by Stephen Green-Armytage, text by Dennis Schrader. The photographs are divided into sections such as color, pattern, texture and so on. Leaves of all sizes, in all seasons, with a readable (as in not too scientific) text. A nice find. :-)

Leaves In Myth, Magic & Medicine, by Alice Thoms Vitale is one of those books that is perfect for browsing. It's in alphabetical order so it's easy to find and read about a leaf of interest. I enjoyed the entry on the flowering dogwood. Seems the flowers aren't really flowers, and the name may (or may not) come from the leaves being used to wash a mangy dog!

Pizza is a favorite food!

It started out as food for the poor and can now be found as a gourmet item on food shows. There are purists, those that think it's lost it's origins what with all the strange toppings, and those that feel that the change is fine. Find out why 'mama' or 'papa' is good to have in the name. Do you prefer a local pizzeria, or one from a chain? A nice little history of a simple food that became a world wide phenomenon. There's even a recipe for pizza for dogs! Read all about it in Pizza: a Global History, by Carol Helstosky.

Musicals are a favorite entertainment!

Throughout history musicals have reflected what is going on in society. Our Musicals, Ourselves: a Social History of the American Musical Theatre, by John Bush Jones is a detailed look at just that. There were the Follies, to offer a break from tough times, Oklahoma! and South Pacific which dealt with social issues. Some pushed the limits and caused controversy (think Hair). More recently musicals are more spectacle than story (Cats, Starlight Express). The author really did his homework on this book and while I appreciate that, I will suggest that readers be sure this is a topic you are really interested in because I found it a bit like reading a text book. Publication date was 2003, so it contains musicals up to then.

Reading Hermit With Dog