This is arm chair travel at a most unusual level: The Time Traveler’s Handbook: 18 Experiences From the Eruption of Vesuvius to Woodstock, by James Wyllie, Johnny Acton & David Goldblatt. Join WAG (see the last names) in some grand adventures back in time. Written like a guide book, you are told how you need to dress or speak, what you can expect to eat, what your lodgings will be like. You are also told how to behave, and what sort of behavior will have you removed! Witty and clever ... and you even get to be an extra in a movie!

Authors Wayne Grady and his wife Merilyn Simonds decided to avoid the harsh weather of December in the prairie provinces and take the long way home by traveling down the west coast of the US, across the south, and up the east coast. Well, the best laid plans and all that, it was an El Nino year with cold, wintery weather (including snow) in places that normally did not see that while at home, in Canada, the weather was unusually moderate. Still, they soldiered on, looking for the smaller motels, the mom and pop eateries, and meeting interesting people. The result was Breakfast at the Exit Cafe: Travels Through America. Look for some familiar pnw locations!

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I have friends who were nurses. In one of those odd twists of fate I've had lunch with both of them (at different times), both named Alice, both who worked in Emergency Rooms at some point, announce to those of us at the table (and probably anyone within ear shot) that if more women peed before leaving the house, there'd be fewer ruptured bladders in the ER. I thought of them when I was reading Rituals & Myths in Nursing: a Social History, by Claire Laurent. Much has changed, may still be changing for all I know, but this was an interesting look at how things were done and taught in the past.

This might be a fun, er, interesting, book to read with the one listed above, if nothing else it offers a different view of a similar subject! Quackery: a Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, by Lydia Kang & Nate Pedersen certainly lives up to the title! While I understand humans didn't know any better at the time these cures were used, what was a surprise was how long it took for some to fall out of favor when they were proved harmful, or even deadly!

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Canadian Reader followed some of the suggestions she saw in a book on hygge and tried some the interesting light features for dark winter months in her house this year. Hygge (pronounced "hoo-guh") is a Danish word for cosiness ... as in all things precious and gently worn. It is about making a comfortable and welcoming space. British author Laura Weir thinks it has become such a phenomenon that it now comes with a certain elitism since being "hi-jacked by hipsters and interior design magazines." (from the introduction) Her response was Cosy: the British Art of Comfort, an absolutely delightful book. There are chapters on tea (of course), cosy clothing (including socks), feasts, books, films and more. The author calls it a "hug of a book" and I agree. :-)

Another feel good sort of book for these troubling times is When You Love a Dog, by M.H. Clark and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi. It touches on all the wonderful things about having a dog in your life. There's the greeting you get when you come through the door, a walk, a tummy rub ... it should make you smile. :-)

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Joys of Spring: Spring Celebrations Around the World, by Heather Conrad is a sweet, informative book of events held to welcome spring. The guide is a wee, colorful bird who suggests looking for things in the illustrations, and there are more activities at the back of the book. So many ways to celebrate the return of the sun!

On a recommendation from Constant Reader I read How to Speak Cat: a Guide to Decoding Cat Language, by Aline Alexander Newman & Gary Weitzman. Cats are much more expressive than I knew! (Due to severe allergies I keep a healthy distance). They can, and do, communicate with their entire bodies. I had no idea how much could be 'said' with whiskers. :-)

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Seems even when on holiday James and Beth will come across a mystery to solve. A local festival is going on, with parades and parties ... and people who have vanished in crowd, in daylight, and yet no one sees what happened. Those snatched seem to have nothing in common, but do they? Lord James Harrington and the Cornish Mystery, by Lynn Florkiewicz is the sixth in this series.

I read and enjoyed lots of the Ellery Queen mysteries many years ago, so The Misadventures of Ellery Queen, edited by Josh Pachter & Dale C. Andrews was a no-brainer for me to pluck off the shelf. What a wonderful collection! There are parodies, and satires, and ... pastiche (a new word!) ... stories written in the style of the original. There is an elderly Ellery (weak in body, but strong in mind), and a somewhat silly Celery Green. If you liked the Dannay/Lee books, you should enjoy this.

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I quite enjoyed Iconic America: a Roller-Coaster Ride Through the Eye-Popping Panorama of American Pop Culture, by Tommy Hilfiger with George Lois, what with it's short entries and pictures of so many things that are familiar. I was puzzled however, by something that was not included, that was and is still popular, and was most important to me ... Star Trek! Oh, and the picture for Tupperware, which did not look like anything from the Tupperware collection, but more like a steak on a stick (it's actually just a bone)! Otherwise, this was a fun read.

Moving from the national to the local now is the book Wet and Wired: a Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Pacific Northwest, by Randy Hodgins & Steve McLellan. So much that is fun here! There are landmarks, music, beverages, team names, events, people, and, of course, the weather! The authors have a nice writing style and I found myself reading even the sports entries. (which is significant, trust me) (!) I did not see the 'troll under the bridge', though, and an index would have been nice.

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A friend once suggested that Martin Walker's Bruno mysteries should never be read when you are hungry. I tend to agree as some of the meals in The Body in the Castle Well made my mouth water! A young art student from the United States is working on her doctorate and has been interviewing a local war hero/art collector. She is well liked by all she meets, so it was a surprise when her body was found. The case develops slowly, with some interesting twists and turns, and a couple of rather unlikeable characters. Another great read in this wonderful series.

Aunt Bessie Solves is the next of the Isle of Man Cozy Mystery books by Diana Xarissa. A friend is visiting, a friend who is a police investigator who has been told to look into a cold case by his boss. Bessie, of course, is intrigued, and takes a look, and is able to offer a new possibility as to a solution. Turn about is fair play and Andrew takes a look at a cold case on the island. Following along as Bessie and Andrew work on both of these cases made for a fun read.

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The Iditarod starts tomorrow and I waited to post this book until now: Iditarod: the Great Race to Nome, with text by Bill Sherwonit and photographs by Jeff Schulz. It's an updated version of a book I used in the past, with some added chapters and race results. It's a wonderful history of the race, and the people involved, and, of course, the dogs!

(This is the only other book about dogs that is ready to post)! It was fun getting back to Sherlock and Watson ... not the most famous ones, but rather the two Corgi dogs owned by Zack, in the small town of Pomme Valley. Zack's girlfriend has purchased a run down, but historic house, intending to make it into a Bed & Breakfast, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done first. It also has a reputation of being haunted. Built during Prohibition, the owner was known for her, um, rather wild life style, flashy jewelry, and fancy car (and of course, liquor). Was the jewelry real? Did she stash said liquor on the premises? Loved this house! It is full of secret passages and hidden cubbies! Case of the Highland House Haunting is the seventh book in the Corgi Case Files series by J.M. Poole.

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I posted a picture book on this subject back in 2019 so when I saw My Own Words, by Ruth Baker Ginsberg I decided I needed to read it, too. It was amazing! She is a wise and witty author and I quite her enjoyed her insights (and opinions) on the law in opera, supreme court wives, her husband's cooking and so on. I'll admit I skimmed a bit on the chapters on the Supreme Court and how it functions, but everything else was of great interest. ;-)

Longer ago than I care to admit Constant Reader suggested the book Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History, by Tori Telfer and I am just now getting around to reading it. It was excellent! Grim, yes, given the subject, but nicely researched and written with a touch a dark humor (the author freely admits to a rather bizarre sense of humor). There have been more female serial killers than you might think, and the author has suggestions as to why we continue to be surprised they actually exist.

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