Tuesday, March 20, 2012

A Bic Lighter, a Large Suitcase and a Screaming Salesman

We are about to embark on a vacation that begins in Istanbul, Turkey.  I've been fortunate to have visited that great city on a number of occasions.  But what I want to try to bring to life for you is our first shopping experience in the Grand Bazaar.  The building of the Bazaar began in 1455 and was completed in 1730.  It has 61 covered streets and over 3000 shops.  It is not a place to go for the feint of heart or for the OC set.  If you don't know what you want or haven't scoured a map in advance or hired a guide, it will be like trying to see all of Pompeii in a few hours.  Can't be done.  One section is rugs, another semi-precious, precious jewels, another silver, leather, ceramics, souvenirs. Read more...

Friday, March 9, 2012

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

My blog has moved to www.satisfyingmycuriosity.com.  If you've enjoyed this blog, please check my new site out for other interesting comments on culture, travel, book reviews, and music.


Take some old, but real, weird pictures
Add a rocky, bog ridden isolated island off of the coast of Wales
Add an old orphanage

Stir and you get creepy.  Let's deal with the old but real pictures that are scattered throughout the book.  The author, Ransom Riggs, began collecting what is called "found photography".  That is pictures taken by others that you "find" at flea markets, antique shows etc.  When his publisher suggested he create a story around his "found" photos, he began constructing a world based on an orphanage that housed children with "peculiar" powers.  The cast of the book would consist of the children he "found" in his photos. 


Image-for-top
He ended up using 44 of the pictures he found. Read more...

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Book Club Bliss: Bibliochix

I can't believe that the book club I belong to, The Bibliochix, has been together 10 years.  We were once so young...I'd like to be clever and try to tie in book titles throughout the blog.  Something like:  After our summer get together, we certainly didn't try to Purge. Or, it's a good thing that Mildred didn't try to Pierce her navel.  We don't have a Mildred but you get the picture, and I'm sure you're saying, don't do that.  OK.  We are a sort of diverse group.  I'm the oldest by blah blah blah years.  But let's just say the majority of the chix are not baby boomers, some have adult children, some have high school aged, some have high powered jobs (including being the moms they are), some are entrepreneurs, and some, as an aside,  raise chickens and bees.  I'm the baby boomer and proudly retired (at a young age I might add). We have, at times, 10-12 members and, at times, may have only 4-5 members attend a discussion.  But that's OK.  I'm also the only one who lives in the suburbs.  At first we tried meeting at Starbucks but it was just too noisy.  So, one of the girls suggested we meet at the Ritz Carlton in their bar called "the Library".  The Cafe at The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead  Read more...