Here's a book along the 'strong women' trail of some of my earlier posts, only this one has a twist. These women were strong and bad! Bedside Book of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the American West, by Michael Rutter is a collection of tales about serial murderers, cattle rustlers, bank robbers, and even one who imported young girls for brothels. Quite the interesting read!

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of books on where to go on a vacation, but just a few on where not to go. Visit Sunny Chernobyl (May 7, 2016 post) is one and Atlas of Cursed Places: a Travel Guide to Dangerous and Frightful Destinations, by Olivier Le Carrer is another. Full of descriptions of towns being covered by sand, beautiful tourist sites creating islands of garbage, underground coal mine fires consuming houses, huge (really huge) waves, nearby active volcanoes ... it's enough to encourage one to stay home. (Okay, so in my case that wouldn't take much). Wonderful descriptions, but I would have enjoyed some pictures. (Although, to be fair, the title did say atlas, and there were maps). ;-)

Here's a book that could fit on several past trails: dogs, Alaska, walking, vacations! Walking My Dog, Jane: From Valdez to Prudhoe Bay Along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, by Ned Rozell tells of the summer he and Jane hiked (mostly) along the Alaska Pipeline. Not as easy as you might think, given not only the terrain but also a vast amount of paperwork! Sometimes friends joined the pair for a day or two, sometimes not. Some of the people (and animals) they met were friendly, sometimes not! Nice descriptions, a bit of history, and an interesting personal account of the Exxon Valdez clean-up.

And as I've done before, I'll end with a cozy mystery. The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco is actually the first in The Bookclub Mystery Series, by Laura DiSilverio (see the July 9, 2016 post). I liked the second book a bit better here, but then, to be honest, I am more familiar with Agatha Christie than Dashiell Hammett, and that could be the why. :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog