Lettering by Mari

I have recently become obsessed with getting better at lettering. Check out my progress on Instagram. @letteringbymari

Quick Audiobook Reviews

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

This was a great listen for the entire family. We listened to it twice on our road trip this summer and were completely entertained. My 5 year old loved it. Scarlett Johansson did a fabulous job reading. She used different voices for all the characters and just brought the whole story to life. 

Seriously, this was perfect for entertaining a young kid on a very long drive. 

Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
I purchased the audio collection of this series of books to take along with us on a road trip with our five year old. She loves books and I thought she would love these as I once did. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its reading by Stockard Channing. One critique, though, I wish she hadn't given Ramona such a whiny voice.

The little girl enjoyed it but definitely got sad and upset when Ramona did some of her worst things.

We have yet to finish Ramona the Pest, due to some uncomfortable situations for the little girl. She doesn't like when Ramona is going to get in trouble. 

Happy Reading!

Summer In pictures...

Strawberry picking

Davenport, CA

The Exploratorium

San Francisco, CA

Red Rocks

Sedona, AZ

Rio Grande Gorge

Taos, NM

The Grand Canyon

Williams, AZ

Giants-Diamondbacks game

Chase Field

Phoenix, AZ

The Academy of Sciences

San Francisco, CA

Happy Summer!

Since She Went Away by David Bell

Since She Went Away by David Bell 432 pages, Paperback Published June 2016
Source: From publisher in exchange for review, NetGalley
The Diamond Mom. 
Celia disappears after heading out to a park in the middle of the night to meet up with an old friend. Has she been murdered, kidnapped or has she run off and left her husband and daughter for another man? 
The mystery of what could have happened to this woman haunts Jenna Barton for she was the one that invited Celia out to meet her. She waits nervously every day waiting to hear if she has been found. She visits online chatrooms hoping to find clues to what happened. I believe she has the detective-in-charge's number on speed dial.
Questions, family secrets, murders and suspicious newcomers months after her disappearance quick start the investigation and send Jenna, her son and Celia's family reeling when the truth to what happened is revealed. 
About the Author

David is the writer of Cemetery Girl, published by NAL, a division of Penguin Random House. Cemetery Girl (2011) went on to win the prestigious Prix Polar de Cognac in 2013. Since then, David has published five more novels with NAL: The Hiding Place (2012), Never Come Back (2013), The Forgotten Girl (2014), Somebody I Used to Know (2015), and Since She Went Away (2016) as well as a novella, Rides a Stranger (2013), with Mysterious Press. When he is not teaching or writing, David watches lots and lots of movies and reads lots and lots of books. He also enjoys walking in the cemetery near his house with his wife, writer and blogger Molly McCaffrey.
For more information about the author and book visit his WEBSITE.
Happy Reading.