Still on vacation. Weather beautiful. Drove through Glacier NP yesterday; glaciers not impressive. Global warming triumphing.
The laptop that might allow me to post photos is working again (yay, Smokey!) but refuses to accept photos from my camera (boo, Microsoft!) or to go online (boo, generally!). I'm typing this two-fingered on Smokey's netbook, sitting at a table on the patio of the campground office and taking advantage of their wi-fi. If you are really, really good I'll post a photo someday of how picturesque this spot is.
Instead, I'm going to tell you about the books I brought along. A couple of you asked about them; I deliver :)
The Missing by Tim Gautreaux. I was reading this before I left but was not finding it terribly interesting. It's not a bad book, and it is well-written; no idea why I was so lukewarm. Once I gave up on it, the pace of my reading picked up.
Nemesis by Jo Nesbo. Police procedural translated from the Norwegian. Coincidentally, the NYTimes book review mentioned this author in its recent article about publishers' mad scramble to find more Scandinavian mysteries to follow up on Steig Larsson's three best-sellers. This one was okay, a bit depressing, 2-1/2 stars out of 5.
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke. Another ho-hum murder mystery, 2-1/2 stars. I tend to agree with the Washington Post review at the linked Amazon page.
The Last Child by John Hart. Another 2-1/2 stars; I had to read the Amazon synopsis to remember it, even though I read it last week. The 13-yo protagonist was not believable to me.
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston. Started it, decided I didn't want to read a novel whose narrator is such a loser. But it did seem entertaining; I may try this one again.
Those are the ones I read, or at least tried to read. Still TBR:
Just Kids by Patti Smith. Memoir.
The Innocent by Harlan Coben. Coben's books are always good.
Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA by Maryn McKenna.
Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn. Murder mystery set in South Africa in the 1950s.
The Odds by Kathleen George.
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
Muse and Reverie by Charles de Lint I am just starting this author's books. (Thanks, Chris!) I like his writing -- urban fantasy at its best.
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher.
A couple books to help out the vacation knitting:
Knit One Below by Elise Duvekot.
Knitting from the Top by Barbara Walker.
And finally, just for fun -- not. I am the chair of the governing committee for the county-owned nursing home, and I felt the need to learn as much as I can.
Planning for Long-Term Care by United Seniors Health Council
The Complete Legal Guide to Senior Care: A Plain English Guide to Making Sense of the Residential, Financial, and Medical Maze by Brett McWhorter Sember
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Long-Term Care Planning by Merilee Driscoll
There you have it. Now it is time to stop writing about books and go read them*. TTFN!
* For those of you at home keeping score, we have been on vacation for ~3 weeks and have 1 week left. I brought along 18 books and have read 5. What is wrong with this picture?
Reading books on vacation always seems so logical. But it never seems to work out that way. :)
Posted by: tammy | 27 June 2010 at 12:53 AM
I agree with Tammy. Though about half my trips back to the farm result in lots of reading because I don't change my schedule for the time zone difference and it being a dairy farm means very early mornings and thus early bedtimes :-)
Sometimes it is best to let a book go. Though I still have a tough time doing so. I just try to remind myself it is better to be reading rather than avoiding something you "should" ( for whatever reason) be reading.
Posted by: Kristi aka Fiberfool | 27 June 2010 at 01:18 AM
I always seem to get more reading done at home than on vacation. I don't know why that is.
You'll love DeLint. Excellent writer.
Posted by: gayle | 27 June 2010 at 06:04 AM
Happy Last Week of Vacation!!!
Posted by: Vicki | 27 June 2010 at 08:38 AM
It used to be that I'd bring a bunch of books on vacation with me and the first stop we'd make would be at a bookstore for more books. New books were always more interesting than books in hand? Whatevs.
Enjoy the rest of your vacation, see you when you get home!
Posted by: Diane | 27 June 2010 at 11:30 AM
My goodness. Such dedication in your planned reading!
Posted by: Chris | 27 June 2010 at 04:45 PM
I'm impressed you have gotten through 5. Maybe I'm just a slow reader. So what do I have to do to be really, really good?
Posted by: Big Alice | 28 June 2010 at 12:53 PM
Wonderful list! Now I have to go do that follow-the-links-thing...
Posted by: Sheepish Annie | 28 June 2010 at 05:55 PM
Think of the mashup you could make with all of those books:
'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wishful Drinking and The Fatal Menace of MRSA'
'Black Water Rising: The Complete Legal Guide to Senior Care'
'The Last Child: Muse and Reverie of The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death'
Posted by: Heather | 28 June 2010 at 09:25 PM
And who could forget:
'Knit One Below: Beautiful Place to Die' (a heartwearming tale of coming of age as a knitting zombie)
Posted by: Heather | 28 June 2010 at 09:26 PM
I don't see anything wrong. Who said "life is not a correspondence course"? I forget, but it's even more true of vacation.
Posted by: Lucia | 29 June 2010 at 03:41 PM
Nothing is wrong. (It might be wrong if you had to schlep books in your from hotel to hotel via bus and train transfer and foot and the wheels on your suitcase gave out; but that didn't happen. So you're o.k.)
Besides, more knitting this way?
Posted by: Bullwinkle | 29 June 2010 at 06:46 PM
Some vacations call for "reading" more than others; maybe this just isn't a "reading vacation." (I always bring more books and more knitting than is physically possible during my vacations.) Glad you're having a good time; can't wait to hear about/see pictures of your adventures.
Posted by: Kym | 30 June 2010 at 02:07 PM
Not enough 4 star books, that's what wrong with that picture. Oh well, what'a a vacation for?
Carrie Fisher always cracks me up. *And* she spells her name right.
Posted by: Carrie K | 01 July 2010 at 08:07 PM
I think you brought too many ho-hum mysteries; that's the problem! (can you tell I'm not a mystery reader?) I bet Carrie Fisher's book is entertaining enough without being work. Try that one?
Posted by: Jocelyn | 01 July 2010 at 11:48 PM
How sad you've not found one that's really grabbed you yet. I say press on! There has to be one in that pile that you'll love.
And may I suggest The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver? I am enjoying it quite a bit, although it's slow going ... some of us are not on vacation ;-)
Posted by: soxanne | 03 July 2010 at 01:49 PM
I have a couple of books by DeLint too -- didn't get very far in them, but may try again. To my HUGE (pleasure-reading) delight, I found new books by both Sandra Dallas and Ann B. Ross; both of them write delicious, pleasant, interesting stories that are the baklava-and-cup-of-good-tea of books. I enjoy them when I want a delightfl distraction. They're perfect "summer-" or "vacation-reading".......and they cleanse the palate for the slightly heavier required reading I have. (Think Ella Wheeler Wilcox's autobiography, for example). Sounds like you're having a great time - you two would be very compatible companions for the likes of us.
Posted by: Dale-Harriet in WI | 03 July 2010 at 03:13 PM
I often end up bringing more books than I actually read. I think it's a panic reflex: What if I run out of reading material and there's nothing to do?!
Posted by: Daisy | 10 July 2010 at 08:18 PM
Those look like good books - I've wanted to read The Sandman for awhile!
Posted by: elizabeth | 13 July 2010 at 11:25 AM