The Travel Bug Bites Again!

Oh, dear... I'm supposed to be packing and here I am writing a post (read: wasting time).

I just read two really good books. One was expected to be good and the other was a risk taken in the library stacks. I read the second book by J. Maarten Troost, the author of "The Sex Lives of Cannibals." It is called, "Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu." In this book, the author and his wife (the girlfriend from the last book) are holding down steady jobs in Washington, when they chuck it all (ok, he gets fired) and move off to an island in the South Pacific. He continues to write with a sense of humor which makes me laugh out loud. (While I was in the middle of this book, API walked into our bedroom to find me curled up with this book and snickering to myself. He thinks I am very strange.)

The title of Chapter 6: "In which the author ponders cannibalism and discovers that he just doesn't get it--not at all, cannot get past the icky factor--and so, left to his own devices by his beguiling wife, he decides to seek enlightenment on the island of Malekula, where until recently, within his own lifetime even, they lunched on people."

And, yes, you Spanish and French speakers out there, if you sound out the name of the Island you will understand that when Captain Cook named the island in French, he was not having a particularly good time.

You should probably read "The Sex Lives of Cannibals" first, but both are very, very good.

The second book, which was a risky selection at the library, is "On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel" by Tony Cohan. While I very much enjoy reading about the young couple, or lone woman, or whomever chucking it all and moving to France (See Julia Child entry), I am very wary of the people who travel through Latin America. Most of this genre are travellers and they don't settle, so the book is usually about breadth instead of depth. I wanted depth, and this book delivered.

I'm also wary of the views from above of the lowly Latino, but these folks get right in there and mix it up! Sure, they have gringo friends and european friends, but they also have Mexican friends. It was surprisingly good.

Well, we're leaving for our own adventure in Mexico on Thursday night and I haven't started the packing process yet. This could be the trip which decides our summer plans, so keep your fingers crossed for us!

d

Ooo, and this one too

Lots of web-surfing procrastination going on today:

Library Smut

Book Reccomendation Database

Check it out!

What Shall I Read Next?

Julie and Julia--Finished at Last!

What a great recommendation! This was from one of Della's earlier posts and it is really enjoyable. It took me a while to read, because I read it one chapter per day...sorta blog style. I thought I would share what Julie Powell had to say about blogging:

"When we blog about our weight-loss problems and our knitting and our opinion of the president's IQ level, we do it on the blithe assumption that someone gives a shit -- even though there's a guy stuck in Baghdad who blogs, and a Washington DC staff assistant who gets paid by Republican appointees for sex who blogs, and our own jottings must all be dreadfully dull by comparison. Nowadays anyone with a crap laptop and Internet access can sound their barbaric yawp, whatever it may be. But the surprise is that for every person who's got something to say, it seems there are at least a few people who are interested. Some of them aren't even related."

I thought that last part was funny considering that I'm related to most everyone who reads this blog. Oh, and if you can't tell from that paragraph--beware Republicans. This may not be your book. Otherwise, enjoy! Thanks Della.

I enjoy books that start out sad and improve over time. I like to see characters progress. This book shows change with the main character, Violet. Violet definitely progresses from her unfortunate childhood to her fairly normal adulthood. You see a lot of growth with several of the characters. I will be looking for more by Lorna Landvik because her writing style is poetic--but not to the point of being impractical. Oh My Stars makes you think without messing with your brain.

How to Murder a Millionaire

This is yet another very light, requires no actual thinking book. Quite enjoyable if that is what you are looking for. This is very fun and has really good characters. They are not as predictable as characters in this kind of book usually are and they are very funny. Also, there are great clothes in them. If I can't actually afford to wear fabulous clothes the next best thing is reading about wearing them. I read through all of the books that have been written so far in this series and there are several issues that remain throughout and so far have not been solved. I won't tell you what the main unsolved problem is, but I like that it is still there. It makes for a little suspense in the series. Of course they are murder mysteries and have suspense because of the murderer in each book, but they aren't really about that.

My Life in France

So you can shelve this book under the topic of books which make you want to move to France. As if you need more books in this section of your library!

I also got this for xmas and it is a book you can disappear into. Grandma recommended it to me.

Very, Very good!

d

MarJane Satrapi

Alright, so the holidays are over, but I'm enjoying a quiet three day weekend and considering the books I read over the break. AJ gave me this one for xmas and if you haven't read any Marjane Satrapi, you should rush out and get "Persepolis"!

They are all graphic novels and the stories and the pictures work very well together. Satrapi tells a great story mostly from her or her family's point of view in Iran. I haven't read "Embroideries", about her life in France, but it's on my list.

I recommend Chicken with Plums (a story about her uncle), but you shouldn't start with it. Start with "Persepolis".

d

I Need More to Read!: Zorro

I Need More to Read!: Zorro

Zorro

This is the first time I have posted! I thought that I should pick up the slack since everyone else seems to be working or something. I start school next week so then my fun reading time will go away, but in the meantime I finished a book (a rarity these days). This book was a recommendation from Cali and it was a fun and easy read. I enjoy adventure books and so if you do as well I think you will enjoy this one. It's got sword fighting, pirates, gypsies, catholics, and of course a love story (but not what I expected). There is also some historical background presented and it was interesting to read this author's tale of how Zorro came to be. Hope you all are doing well.

Jeremy