2017 Books

This year's book list. The (r) denotes a repeat read and suffice to say, it was a good read. A * means it was more than noteworthy and more *s mean it was much more betterer, DNF = Bad or a better book turned up that I couldn't wait to read and I didn't get back to it yet.

More Inspector Maigret books read this year and started reading Anne Holt's books out of order.

1. Maigret Gets Angry***, Georges Simenon(GS); 3 stars yet I don't remember the story line. Penguin is republishing his Inspector Maigret books, a list is here.
2. Maigret's Dead Man, GS
3. Pogue's Basic Money, David Pogue 
4. A Complaint Free Life, Will Bowen; It was too long, the font was hard to read, the pages felt scratchy, too many words strung together.
5. A Share in Death, Deborah Crombie
6. The Thinking Life, P.M. Forni; rebrowsed in August.
7. Maigret's First Case ***, GS
8. India Black and the Widow of Windsor, Carol K. Carr
9.  Pushing up Daisies, MC Beaton; An Agatha Raisin novel. She also writes the Hamish Macbeth series.
10. Secret Life of Fat **, Sylvia Tara; very interesting well written book and amazing how deviousfat is. 
11. Gently Does It, Alan Hunter; from the Inspector George Gently series
12. Red Harvest, Dashiell Hammet; This should be made into a movie. He also wrote The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man novels and wrote screen plays for the Thin Man series, some unpublished. I read The return of the Thin Man in 2014 which included screenplays for 2 more Thin Man movies staring Nick and Nora Charles. Some interesting stage directions.
13. By Its Cover**, Donna Leon; Book thefts in Venice, quite good.
14. Gently Down the Stream, Alan Hunter
15. Maigret's Holiday, GS
16. My Friend Maigret, GS
17. Maigret at the Coroners, GS
18. Maigret and the Old Lady, GS
19. Dog on It, Spencer Quinn; A Chet and Bernie mystery. We see things from Chet the dog's viewpoint.
20. Silver Swan, Benjamin Black
21. Madam Maigret's Friend**, GS; The most Maigret's wife is heard from in his books so far.
22. The Lion's Mouth, Anne Holt
23. Maigret's Memoirs, GS; Not as good as the others.
24. Travels With My Aunt(r), Graham Greene; Yes it returned this summer and it was plenty good, no humbug.
25. Maigret at Picratts, GS
26. Zero Hour, Clive Cussler; Dirk Pitt or Kurt Austin, I can't remember. Whoever it was, saved the day and definitely didn't die.
27. Cannery Row, Steinbeck; DNF
28. Hard Rain**, Barry Eisler; Number 2 in the series, now titled "A Lonely Ressurection"
29. Maigret Takes a Room, GS
30. Don't Try This At Home, DNF
31. Why we Eat What We Eat; DNF
32. The Name of the Rose, Umberto Ecco; Good book but way too wordy. Could have bee pared down easily by 100 pages. He died in 2016 at the age of 84, obit  from NY Times. He wrote some other book, maybe I will bring one on our next vacation.
33. Dead Joker, Anne Holt; Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen's life seems to be falling apart, yet she figures it out in the end.

Tables of Thanksgiving Past

Thanksgiving Tables over the years.
The weather changes, guest counts change, paint and rug and dogs all change, yet the table cloths persevere.

2009

2010

2012

2014

2015

2016

2017

I am missing some photos because the 2011 Thanksgiving table photos had people in it and I did not feel like getting all the permissions, I did not find a 2013 photo and the digital camera was not invented prior to 2009.  In 2016, the dining room furniture was rearranged with the sideboard and rectangular table trading places. Makes for more room and easier setup.

Guest Beers in the Fridge:
Got these from a friend from his northern travels.

Only tried the Pilsner so far and it was very good, clean and crisp and enjoyable. I may have tried the Whale's tale, but can't be certain.

A very nice Kolsch.

Beers in the Fridge:

Boddingtons Pub Ale (4.7% ABV) has a widget insert so you get to watch the bubbles settle out like a waterfall. Makes me feel like I'm in the UK when I drink this. Owned by AB InBev, no information provided on their website. A frequent visitor to the fridge.
The Hoffbrau Winter Spezial (8.4% ABV) is very malty, a bit hoppy, but doesn't seem like it is 8.4%. Liked it but, will try something else next time I'm looking for winter brews.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout also has a widget insert. 5.2% ABV. Very nice. A seasonal favorite.