Being on the farm with no booze, transport or entertainment and subsequently on the beach with lots of daylight and no plans, I've read a LOT of books lately. I've sort of enjoyed scavenging books at the places we've stayed. At home I would have been more selective since I didn't have hours a day to read. Now I'll pick up just about anything and almost always finish it, no matter how awful.
Oh, hott travel tip #54. Always carry a paperback so you have something to trade on the book swap shelves in hotels and coffee shops. We were able to save a small fortune in guidebooks this way and sometimes I even ended up reading something really super great as a result.
Survival of the Fittest by Jonathan Kellerman
I found this book in the cottage at the farm and selected because it was not covered in rat dung and did not appear to have been peed upon. I've never been much of a crime reader, but now I'm learning about authors who have one protagonist that appears in a series of books. In this one, that's Alex Delaware and he's as predictably handsome and wise cracking as all the crime stars. I enjoyed this fluffy number; the killers are picking off the genetically inferior and a greedy WASPy family is involved. Senators! Nazism! Disabilities (this was written when the word retard was still used by doctors)! I also find it entertaining to read books from the '80s, when the detective and his sidekick have to create a suspect list from several "print outs" from the "databases." There are pencils to be sharpened and libraries to be visited while researching the crimes. Old school solvation!
The Company She Keeps by Georgia Durante
The memoirs of a former model and mob wife turned stunt car driver and is fascinating if poorly written. The story is long and winding; its obvious that the author isn't a writer by trade and her editor should be flogged. The intrigue comes in having a peek into the psyche of an abused woman and a glimpse into the inner workings of the mafia. The frustration at the authors' relentlessly poor choices in men and continued neglect of her kids is just grating. If I hadn't been sitting on a beach for a month, I never would 't have finished it.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Awesome recommendation from Burgie. A SUPER charming and beautifully written book, its a series of letters between witty, hip characters at the end of the second world war. The history lesson is revelatory, but what makes it a non-stop read is the cast of sweet and quirky characters that the main narrator, writer Juliet, meets during her time in Guernsey. Definitely in my top 5 for the year.
Sahara by Clive Cussler
This one was on the shelf of our bungalow in Raratonga. The protagonist here is Dirk Pitt- also ruggedly handsome and handsomely rugged. And wise cracking. And tough and heroic. I sort of loved this ridiculous but smart novel which incorporated the civil war, gold mining in Africa, the decades old story of a female Australian pilot, naughty big corporate conspiracy, toxic waste, cannibalism, slavery, and shipwrecks. Getting into the crime genre, its hard not to notice how many salacious elements the authors manage to toss into the plot. What Clive, no Khmer Rouge? And what about theFreemasons? Perhaps in the next Dirk Pitt joint.
Bloodline by Tess Gerritsen
Also a paperback in the bungalow. Also a crime novel. More toxic waste, school shootings, witchcraft, big pharma, but in a small town setting. It was sort of like that show "Everwood," but with 'roid rage. Strange, but ultimately a fun read.
Oh, hott travel tip #54. Always carry a paperback so you have something to trade on the book swap shelves in hotels and coffee shops. We were able to save a small fortune in guidebooks this way and sometimes I even ended up reading something really super great as a result.
Survival of the Fittest by Jonathan Kellerman
I found this book in the cottage at the farm and selected because it was not covered in rat dung and did not appear to have been peed upon. I've never been much of a crime reader, but now I'm learning about authors who have one protagonist that appears in a series of books. In this one, that's Alex Delaware and he's as predictably handsome and wise cracking as all the crime stars. I enjoyed this fluffy number; the killers are picking off the genetically inferior and a greedy WASPy family is involved. Senators! Nazism! Disabilities (this was written when the word retard was still used by doctors)! I also find it entertaining to read books from the '80s, when the detective and his sidekick have to create a suspect list from several "print outs" from the "databases." There are pencils to be sharpened and libraries to be visited while researching the crimes. Old school solvation!
The Company She Keeps by Georgia Durante
The memoirs of a former model and mob wife turned stunt car driver and is fascinating if poorly written. The story is long and winding; its obvious that the author isn't a writer by trade and her editor should be flogged. The intrigue comes in having a peek into the psyche of an abused woman and a glimpse into the inner workings of the mafia. The frustration at the authors' relentlessly poor choices in men and continued neglect of her kids is just grating. If I hadn't been sitting on a beach for a month, I never would 't have finished it.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Awesome recommendation from Burgie. A SUPER charming and beautifully written book, its a series of letters between witty, hip characters at the end of the second world war. The history lesson is revelatory, but what makes it a non-stop read is the cast of sweet and quirky characters that the main narrator, writer Juliet, meets during her time in Guernsey. Definitely in my top 5 for the year.
Sahara by Clive Cussler
This one was on the shelf of our bungalow in Raratonga. The protagonist here is Dirk Pitt- also ruggedly handsome and handsomely rugged. And wise cracking. And tough and heroic. I sort of loved this ridiculous but smart novel which incorporated the civil war, gold mining in Africa, the decades old story of a female Australian pilot, naughty big corporate conspiracy, toxic waste, cannibalism, slavery, and shipwrecks. Getting into the crime genre, its hard not to notice how many salacious elements the authors manage to toss into the plot. What Clive, no Khmer Rouge? And what about theFreemasons? Perhaps in the next Dirk Pitt joint.
Bloodline by Tess Gerritsen
Also a paperback in the bungalow. Also a crime novel. More toxic waste, school shootings, witchcraft, big pharma, but in a small town setting. It was sort of like that show "Everwood," but with 'roid rage. Strange, but ultimately a fun read.
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