Amazon Round Up

As the pace of life continues to pick up, I've neglected to let you know about a couple of good books and a CD that I've enjoyed over the last month or so. First up is a great light weight book to read on your next airplane trip. Never Tell A Lie is suspense novel that is pretty fast paced, and it doesn't go too deep making it the perfect travel distraction. See my review for more details. For something of a little more substance check out Shadow and Light. It is a noir novel set in Germany between the World Wars. Click here for more. Finally, I've been enjoying Jackie Greene's first CD, Gone Wanderin' (thanks, Dad!). It is pretty different from his more recent material, but it's still pretty good. My review gives you more details about his folk-based beginnings.

Until next time...
PH

Favorite Beer Places

I've been thinking about this one for a few weeks now, and I'm finally getting around to starting it. Most of you know that I am a fan of good beer. Early in my career I had the opportunity to travel on a regular basis, and I was able to go to a number of really good places to grab a brew along the way. So, I thought it would be fun to highlight some of them here in case any of you ever find yourself in these places.

My first business trip was to the San Francisco Bay Area for a class in San Mateo. Each day after class, we would drive up to San Francisco to see the sights and explore the many great restaurants. However the end game was always to find some place to wind down the evening with a beer. In many ways, the place I remember from both of my trips is maybe the best place overall that I've gone for beer. It was necessarily that the beer was the best ever, but the overall experience was hard to beat. The San Francisco Brewing Company had good beer but it didn't stop there. It must have been more frequent back in 1998, but I remember a three piece jazz band playing - piano, stand-up bass, and drums. I remember drinking the beer just a little be slower in order to prolong the experience. San Francisco is somewhat of a magical city (although I wouldn't want to live there), and this place was a big part of it.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: The Housekeeper and the Professor

I recently read a fairly short but good novel called The Housekeeper and the Professor. While the title sounds like it might be a cheap romance novel, it is far from it. It is about an unlikely coming together of society's misfits who form a special bond that centers on mathematics of all things. Check out my review for details.

Since I finished that one, I've been reading Never Tell a Lie. While it started slowly, it has turned into quite a page turner. I hope to finish it over the weekend. I am getting pretty close to catching up on my Vine books. I have two more currently on my list, but more on those in the weeks ahead.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: The Busy Family's Guide to Money

How are you with finances?  Perhaps good enough?  Are you like me, and you hate to even give the topic the time of day?  Fortunately, they've written a book for us called The Busy Family's Guide to Money, and I have just reviewed it for the Vine program on Amazon.  If you are already a finance whiz, there's not going to be much there for you.  However I learned a thing or two, and it's a book that points you to additional resources (mostly web sites) for additional information.  Enjoy.

Until next time...

PH

Amazon Review: Garmin Nuvi 205w

My HP GPS bit the dust, and I did a fair amount of research when choosing a replacement.  I decided that all I really needed was a basic, but quality, unit.  Office Depot sets up their GPS units to do simulations so that you can try them out in the store even though the unit is most likely not receiving a signal.  I narrowed it down to the Garmin Nuvi 205w, and after using it for a while I've written a review with details of its performance for anyone interested.  If you or whoever you are buying for is looking for a basic, easy to use unit, this is the one to go with.  A good deal would be somewhere between $100 and $150.  Enjoy!

Until next time...

PH