Monday, April 9, 2018

A bookish update...

I'm back from my trip!

Egypt was amazing! I loved the temples at Abu Simbel and Edfu. And going inside several of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. And seeing the pyramids for myself. I ate yummy koshari, kebab and kofta (some delicious Egyptian food). I even got to take a hot air balloon ride over Luxor and Karnak. It was a great trip, and I took a ton of pictures ... I just haven't had time to go through them all yet. (I spent the weekend unpacking and sleeping instead.) But I promise to post some of my favorites when I'm not feeling quite so jet-lagged.

Birding update:
I saw about 21 different kinds of birds in Egypt, 16 of which I could identify, and 12 that were new birds I could add to my birding list. We had one afternoon when our boat was cruising down the Nile from Edfu to Luxor and I spent most of that time spotting birds along the way (when I wasn't reading Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile). But the very first bird that I saw in Egypt was actually in Cairo in the courtyard of our hotel.  A hoopoe:


Isn't it cute? My other favorite bird of the trip, besides all the carrion crows we saw everywhere and the brown raven I spotted at Kom Ombo, was the pied kingfisher. I saw several of these fast-flying birds darting past our boat in search of food: 


(I actually didn't take these photos, but I did see these birds!)

Book read before my trip:


This latest Lady Darby mystery takes Kiera and her husband to Langstone Manor, the home of Viscount Tavisock, Sebastian Gage's maternal grandfather. Family secrets vie with local superstitions as the two search the moors for Gage's missing cousins. I really love this series, and these two characters. And A Brush With Shadows is no exception. 
Anna Lee Huber has done it again!

Also read:


I didn't have time to post about this one before my trip either, but it was Kathy's recommendation that made me want to read this (interesting, if slightly outdated) May Sarton novel in the first place; so if you want to know more about The Small Room, be sure to check out her excellent review.

Happy Reading!

33 comments:

  1. I'm glad to hear you'd a wonderful trip in Egypt. The hoopoe looks adorable. Hope you've a good rest and do update more after you're settled. :)

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    1. Thanks, Melody! It was a lot of fun, but boy am I tired. :)

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  2. Thanks so much Lark for your nice words about my review. I really enjoy your reviews and very fine blog as well. Glad to hear you had a great trip to Egypt. Agree, the Small Room has a dated 1950's feel. If you get around to it I would love to read your review of the book.

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  3. Your trip sounds so fun! I’m glad you enjoyed it saw so many new birds.

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    1. It was an added bonus. (As if the pyramids weren't bonus enough.) :D

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  4. Lark, sounds like you had a fabulous time :) I'm so glad for you. That's so cool you saw so many new birds on your trip - how fun! Can't wait to see your photos :)

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  5. That does sound amazing - I'm glad you had a good time! I love the hoopoe and the pied kingfisher :)

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  6. I bet it was an experience of a lifetime - how fun! Can't wait to see some of your pictures. And those birds are so cute!

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    1. It was an experience I will never forget! :)

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  7. What beautiful birds! Sounds like you made the most of your trip!

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  8. You're back! I look forward to the pictures!

    And I will pop over to Kathy's blog to check out the May Sarton. She is a favorite of blogger Thomas (of Hogglestock) and I have meant to read her books for a while...but haven't yet!

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    1. I've only read one other book by Sarton, but I'd like to read more. :)

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  9. Welcome home! I'm glad you had such a fabulous trip. Can't wait to hear all about it and see your pictures. So fun!

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    1. Thanks, Susan! It was a pretty amazing experience.

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  10. Welcome back! You are so brave doing the hot air balloon!! You couldn't pay me to do that. :)

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    1. You're not the only person to say that to me! :D Apparently, a lot of people feel that same way, but it was actually a lot of fun and not scary at all. Best of all? I survived!

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  11. Never mind about the pyramids, love the birds!! No, just kidding of course, but I do love the birds and I am so happy for you you had such an amazing trip. I cannot wait to read more about it.

    Kind regards,

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    1. Thanks, Bettina! The pyramids were awesome, but I really liked the birds, too. :)

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  12. I'm looking forward to any more photos you post of your trip! I've always been fascinated by Egypt but I doubt I'll ever travel overseas again now.

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    1. After making that 20+ hour trip home from Egypt, I don't think I'll be going overseas any time soon either. Not until they invent Star Trek like transporters. ;D

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  13. How exciting that you got to go to Egypt. I love your photos of the birds, they are beautiful!! A Brush with Shadows sounds like a book I would greatly enjoy.

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    1. That whole series by Huber is one of my favorites! :)

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  14. That sounds like an amazing trip! Was that your first time traveling to Egypt? I hope you feel back in the proper time zone soon! :)

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    1. It was my first time traveling to Egypt! And I think I'm finally starting to function normally again. :)

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  15. Welcome back! I can't wait to see your pics when you're settled in.

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  16. Cool, cool, cool. My envy cup runneth over! I would dearly love to visit Egypt but always think of it as in an unsafe area. Clearly that didn't hold you back. Kudos for going!

    I adore the hoopee...and the pied kingfisher (I love the belted ones that follow me on my daily walks). 16 new birds! That's tremendous. Nothing like visiting a new part of the world to add to the list.

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    1. We felt VERY safe in Egypt; they really try to protect the tourists there. And we didn't run into any problems while we were there. It's countries like Syria that are scary.

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  17. I am so glad you had such a good time in Egypt! I would love to visit there someday. Alas for now I must rely on books to visit. Such pretty birds! We have such plain ones around here.

    A Brush of Shadows sounds good. I am glad you enjoyed it!

    I hope you have a great week!

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