Were you ever told "go outside and play"? Do you remember games you might have played on a long road trip? The Art of Stone Skipping and Other Old-Time Games: Stoopball, Jacks, String Games, Coin Flipping, Line Baseball, Jump Rope, and More, by J.J. Ferrer is a collection of games from the past. Ones that needed no batteries, charging, tablets, etc. All the rules are here, as are variations of each game, both in the names (some were regional) and how to play. This book was a lot of fun!

Did you get advice from your mother? Did you roll your eyes? This book brought up memories of some of those, um, interactions. Your Mother Was Right: All the Great Advice You Tried to Forget, by Kate Reardon is a collection of tips from her web site. A rather fun read.

Here's something that harkens back to a "You read WHAT?" post I did back in January 2015. I'm not in to the 'tell all' sort of books, usually, but this one caught my eye. Backstairs Billy: the Life of William Tallon: the Queen Mother's Most Devoted Servant, by Tom Quinn. Born into a poor family, William started writing to the royal family at a very young age, asking for a job ... any job. That worked! Starting at the bottom (polishing a lot of shoes), he proved to be a hard worker, adaptable, and most of all, very discreet about the Royals. He was also flamboyant, loved to party, and was known to add gin to every drink (he thought it would make folks relax and the party would be more fun). He was the Queen Mother's favorite. (Did you know she created that term?) Truly a rather odd book for me to read! (Did love learning that the QM loved to waltz, though)!

Reading Hermit With Dog