Member: Seajack

In all fairness to Wharton, I know I haven't read enough of her work to pass a verdict quite yet. An uncle just sent me a collection of her short stories so I'm picking away at that between classes. Part of me is praying that I can find at least someone from the US to enjoy.

posted by kabrahamson at 10:14 pm (EST) on Mar 4, 2009

Thanks for the headsup about "Geography of Bliss" It just got added to the library's download list, so I grabbed it. It's about #3-4 in my queue, but since I popped it over to my MP3, it won't expire. I'm looking forward to it. Tina

posted by tututhefirst at 10:01 am (EST) on Jan 30, 2009

I'm going to find the Topper books (if I ever get through World without End. I've been listening to it for ages). I usually only listen in the car and so I don't get as many listened to as I'd like. The movie Dodsworth was sort of the same. It seemed to take a long time for him to see what was going on with his wife.

posted by xorscape at 4:53 am (EST) on Aug 28, 2008

Hi!

I’m sending this note because you are a member of the Seattleites group.

A few of us are starting a book club and I hope that you will consider joining us.

Our first book is In the Woods by Tana French. Our first meeting will be on Thursday, October 2nd, at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park at 7pm.

See our thread called Book Clubs? on the Seattleites group or you can reply to me if you want more info.

Thanks - Carol

posted by CarolO at 1:17 am (EST) on Aug 28, 2008

Did you ever see the movie Dodsworth? It made me want to read the book but I keep forgetting about it when I'm at the library. I can see how it might have been draggy.

I loved the Topper movies. I didn't realize they were books too. I'm going to check them out. Thanks for the tip in the thread!

posted by xorscape at 8:36 am (EST) on Aug 27, 2008

Thanks for sharing your list. I see a number of books that interest me!

posted by Dennis_David at 11:47 am (EST) on Aug 4, 2008

Thank you so much for your audiobook recommendations! My local library does belong to a download program, so I'll look up those you suggested. :)

Thanks, again!

Mizbooks

posted by mizbooks at 7:54 am (EST) on Aug 4, 2008

Hi! I was just reading through the "Great Audiobook Readers" recommendations, and saw that you said you've listened to a lot of British audiobooks... would you be willing to give me some recommendations, please? I've been looking to try some new audiobooks, recently, and I LOVE British accents! :)

I like mysteries, romance, suspense... but not horror or biographies.

Thanks in advance!

posted by mizbooks at 1:53 pm (EST) on Aug 1, 2008

Hi, Seajack ~ re your comment that Rosalyn Landor does a good job narrating "Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford" by Julia Fox. Thank you! I am putting it on my TBR list, as I wanted to read it anyway as I just loved how Rosalyn Landor read "Mistress of the Art of Death"!

posted by Storeetllr at 12:06 am (EST) on Jul 31, 2008

hey seajack -

Good idea about checking cassettes if you're relying on batteries. That way you avoid a biblioemergency - I didn't coin that phrase but found it here on LT. There's nothing worse than not being able to read or listen when you want.

karenmarie

posted by karenmarie at 8:18 am (EST) on Jul 8, 2008

Thanks for the prompt for Miss Zukas - a while ago!

I have now managed to track down the first one, which I quite enjoyed. A fast read but plesant, I'm not quite sure how well she can be sustained over the series but I'll certainly read the rest as and when I find them.

posted by reading_fox at 10:29 am (EST) on Mar 13, 2008

No, I wasn't aware of that horrifying fact about Books On Tape. Oddly enough I just read an interview with director William Friedkin in which he spoke about the motion picture studios doing the exact same thing with the negatives of their older films. Hard to believe in both cases but it must be true. Perhaps we can somehow convince Congress to cough up the bucks to digitize the best copies of those audiobooks. Thanks for sharing your comments.

posted by wlgordon at 9:00 pm (EST) on Nov 29, 2007

Hi,

thanks for your recommendations on 'Dr Wortle's School' in the Trollope group. A few of us have decided to read it in mid-November. You'd be more than welcome to chime in with any comments, if you like :)

posted by digifish_books at 4:41 am (EST) on Oct 27, 2007

I don't know...I just felt somewhat unsatisfied by Sharp Objects. I mean, it was definitely gross in places and I was disturbed by certain things, but only on an intellectual level, not on an emotional level. I guess I really wanted to be creeped out - wonder what that says about me... Then again, I have been inadvertently picking up a number of vaguely disturbing books lately - The Thirteenth Tale, Angelica, The Glass Castle, Blindness... Perhaps I'm on tragedy overload.

posted by fannyprice at 8:12 pm (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

Seajack, way back in May you asked the Trollope forum, under Neither Barset nor Palliser, whether you should read The American Senator or Ralph the Heir. Maybe the question is moot, but I'm halfway through Ralph and find it one of AT's best non-series novels. Far superior to the Senator.

And I can't believe we have NO books in common. There were two that came up in your Random list that I want to read: Pagan Holiday and Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel. What did you think of the latter? I've been terribly impressed by her courage, but can she write?

posted by stringcat3 at 3:05 am (EST) on Sep 26, 2007

Re: Wally Cox and UnderDog - I'm sure you're right, SeaJack. He had this sweet but "weinie" kind of voice that fit perfectly.

PS: From where I'm typing I can see your very first message about "The Egg and I." I just finished re-reading it for the first time in about 20 years. The humor holds up - I laughed out loud. But I learned some time ago that she divorced Bob after that book. Read with that in mind, you can see some undertones that she handles with humor, but maybe weren't so funny in real life!

posted by MerryMary at 10:07 am (EST) on Sep 4, 2007

Re: Fat Girl by Judith Moore

I haven't read or listened to this...I lean more toward escapist fiction. :)

posted by firecat at 5:42 am (EST) on Sep 3, 2007

Seajack, I negotiate modern-day treaties with Canada's aboriginal people. Since the first treaty was signed in 1701, I tell people I am in the third oldest profession: right after the shepherds and the hookers came the treaty negotiators. It is actually fascinating and rewarding work.

posted by LynnB at 10:32 am (EST) on Aug 19, 2007

Hi! I read Spellman Files quite a while ago. I got it as an Advanced Readers Copy. And I enjoyed it. It wasn't anything mind challenging, but it was a fun read. I got quite a few chuckles out of it.

posted by charlotteg at 11:37 pm (EST) on Aug 16, 2007

Hi. She is a Chaplain for the forrest rangers (for the lack of better description) of Maine. They are called Wardens. They call her in to be with a family when their daughter is lost in the forrest. Or when a hiker gets injured. Or another Warden is killed in the line of duty.

It is a very touching book.

posted by charlotteg at 11:07 pm (EST) on Aug 15, 2007

How is "The Spellman Files" coming along? I think I saw that you were having difficulty with it? Perhaps why I liked it was that I read it in print first, enjoyed it, then listened to it. I donated it to our "unofficial" collection at the office and several people have borrowed it since. Of course, my copy was slightly abridged being on CD. Not sure if the same person read the CD version as did the download version.

posted by heyjude at 6:18 pm (EST) on Aug 14, 2007

thanks for getting back to me. I just finished the last Harry Potter book - a good way to have a conversation with my 16 year old grandson. We don't have too much in common so I like reading the books he is reading. Recently been talking about 1984. He hated it.

What can we do to get a few more folks into the Seattlites group? got any good discussion topics?

posted by maggie1944 at 11:05 am (EST) on Aug 2, 2007

Re [The Spellman Files]: I enjoyed it. Not a true mystery per se, I would classify it more as a novel. There are some laugh out loud parts as well as some more serious parts. I can't remember the reader (it has already gone into our donated collection at work) but she did a good job. Enjoy!

posted by heyjude at 2:28 pm (EST) on Jul 29, 2007

Seajack: I see that you posted "I've Been In Sorrow's Kitchen And Licked Out All The Pots" by Susan Straight on the much-too-addictive-for-me List Five Books Parlor Game. What an incredibly expressive title! I must find that book.

posted by tropics at 12:42 pm (EST) on Jul 29, 2007

Thank you so much for the Thurber-related TV information! I've never heard of that. Just reading about it made me smile.

I'm impressed with your January - June reading list. I don't know how to give up TV though. :)

posted by Boudleaux at 10:40 pm (EST) on Jul 17, 2007

I'm definitely a multiple audio reader. I always, always have 2 going. You're not alone. I do try to keep whatever my audio reads are a little varied so I can keep them easily separated in my mind. Like right now I have Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" at home and Sedaris' "Dress your family in corduroy and denim" in my car.
I saw that you had read "Eat, Pray, Love" on audio. How was it? I heard it was great, but would love another opinion. I'm always thrilled to get recommendations from fellow audio readers.
Cheers!

posted by bookworm12 at 11:13 am (EST) on Jul 10, 2007

Thanks for the OtherVoices, Other Rooms video suggestion. I just put it on my Netflix list.

posted by careyi at 7:31 pm (EST) on Jul 8, 2007

Hello Friends,

Thought I'd post my Jan - June 2007 reading (asterisk = audiobook). Bear in mind I read quite fast, and have pretty much given up on television ...

Acito, Marc -- How I Paid for College*
Almond, Steve -- Candyfreak*
Anderson, Laurie -- Speak*
Bainbridge, Beryl -- English Journey
Bainbridge, Beryl -- Mum and Mr. Armitage
Balliett, Blue -- Nantucket Hauntings
Balliett, Blue -- The Ghosts of Nantucket
Baumbich, Charlene -- Dearest Dorothy, Merry Everything!
de Bellaigue, Christopher -- The Struggle for Iran
Bidulka, Anthony -- Stain of the Berry
Blumenthal, Sidney -- How Bush Rules
Booth, Alan -- Looking for the Lost
Burstyn, Ellen -- Lessons in Becoming Myself*
Buzbee, Lewis -- The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
Churchill, Jill -- The Accidental Florist
Clement, Blaize -- Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund
Cocteau, Jean -- Around the World Again in 80 Days
Cohan, Tony -- Mexican Days
Connelly, Karen -- Dream of a Thousand Lives
Crane, Nicholas -- Two Degrees West
Davies, Hunter -- A Walk Along the Wall
Davies, Hunter -- A Walk Around the West Indies
Davies, Norman -- The Isles*
Dean, John -- Conservatives without Conscience
Dean, John -- Worse than Watergate
Dereske, Jo -- Bookmarked to Die
Dew, Josie -- Slow Coast Home
Dickens, Charles -- Our Mutual Friend*
Edwards-Jones, Imogen -- Air Babylon
Ehrman, Bart -- Misquoting Jesus*
Eichler, Selma -- Murder Can Depress Your Dachshund
Ephron, Nora -- I Feel Bad About My Neck*
Evanovich, Janet -- Twelve Sharp
Evans, Polly -- Fried Eggs with Chopsticks
Flanders, Laura -- Blue Grit
Flynn, Gillian -- Sharp Objects*
Fogle, Bruce -- Travels with Macy
Fong, Michael -- Tankful of Time
Gallagher, Dorothy -- How I Came Into My Inheritance
Gibson, Wesley -- You Are Here
Gilbert, Elizabeth -- Eat, Pray, Love*
Goldhammer, Catherine -- Still Life with Chickens
Graves, John -- Goodbye to a River*
Grimes, Martha -- Cold Flat Junction
Grimes, Martha -- Hotel Paradise
Halliday, Ayun -- Dirty Sugar Cookies
Hammond, Sally -- Playing Chopsticks
Hammond, Victoria -- Letters from St Petersburg
Hart, Ellen -- Night Vision
Hess, Joan -- Damsels in Distress
Hillinger, Charles -- Hillinger's California*
Horn, Stacy -- The Restless Sleep*
Hunt, Linda -- Bold Spirit
Innes, Miranda -- Cinnamon City
Ironside, Virginia -- No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club*
Isikoff, Michael -- Hubris*
Jacobson, Rodolfo -- Diary of a Quite Unusual Tour
Jones, Edward -- Lost in the City*
Kalder, Daniel -- Lost Cosmonaut
Kang, Hyok -- This Is Paradise!
Kaplan, Cynthia -- Why I'm Like This
Kerr, Peter -- A Basketful of Snowflakes
Kerr, Peter -- Viva Mallorca!
Klein, Joe -- Politics Lost
Kuusisto, Stephen -- Eavesdropping
Lancaster, Jen -- Bitter is the New Black
Lancaster, Jen -- Bright Lights, Big Ass
Lanyon, Josh -- Fatal Shadows
Larkin, Emma -- Finding George Orwell in Burma
Laurence, Murray -- High Times in the Middle of Nowhere
Lipsett, Suzanne -- Surviving a Writer's Life
MacDonald, Betty -- Anybody Can Do Anything
MacDonald, Betty -- The Plague and I
MacPherson, Rett -- Died in the Wool
Maron, Margaret -- Winter's Child*
Masood, Maliha -- Zaatar Days, Henna Nights
Maugham, Somerset -- Far Eastern Tales*
Maugham, Somerset -- The Painted Veil*
Mccormick, Patricia -- Cut*
Middleton, Nick -- Ice Tea & Elvis
Moore, Peter -- Vroom with a View
Mustoe, Anne -- Lone Traveller
Myers, Tamar -- Hell Hath No Curry
Myers, Tamar -- The Cane Mutiny
Myers, Tim -- A Mold for Murder
Nadel, Barbara -- Dance with Death
Newsham, Brad -- All the Right Places
Olszewski, Peter -- Land of a Thousand Eyes
Orwell, George -- Down and Out in Paris and London*
Ozick, Cynthia -- Heir to the Glimmering World*
Perrottet, Tony -- Pagan Holiday (a/k/a Route 66 A.D.)
Powell, Julie -- Julie & Julia*
Pullman, Philip -- A Ruby in the Smoke*
Pullman, Philip -- The Shadow in the North*
Pullman, Philip -- The Tiger in the Well*
Pye-Smith, Charlie -- The Other Nile
Rees, David -- Islands
Richards, Emilie -- Blessed Is the Busybody
Richards, Emilie -- Let There Be Suspects
Richardson, Louise -- What Terrorists Want
Robinson, Eugene -- Last Dance in Havana
Robinson, Marilynne -- Housekeeping*
Schultz, Connie -- Life Happens
Shah, Tahir -- The Caliph's House
Smith, Alexander McCall -- Blue Shoes and Happiness
Smith, Alexander McCall -- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
Smith, Alexander McCall -- The Full Cupboard of Life
Smith, Lee -- Family Linen*
Sorrentino, Steven -- Luncheonette
Spark, Muriel -- The Public Image
Stewart, Chris -- Driving Over Lemons
Summers, Marc -- Everything in its Place
Thomas, Abigail -- A Three Dog Life
Thomas, Leslie -- My World of Islands
Traig, Jennifer -- Devil in the Details
Werris, Wendy -- An Alphabetical Life
Wharton, Edith -- The Custom of the Country*
White, Tony -- Another Fool in the Balkans
Whittell, Giles -- Lambada Country
Wilensky, Amy -- Passing for Normal
Willis, Connie - To Say Nothing of the Dog*
Winchester, Simon -- Korea
Winspear, Jacqueline -- Birds of a Feather*
Winspear, Jacqueline -- Maisie Dobbs*
Winspear, Jacqueline -- Pardonable Lies*
Zevin, Gabrielle -- Elsewhere*
Zito, Chuck -- A Habit for Death

posted by Seajack at 2:44 pm (EST) on Jul 8, 2007

That`s very decent of you. thanks very much.

Nick

posted by nickhoonaloon at 5:16 am (EST) on Jul 7, 2007

Hi,

You might remember you were helping me `parlez American` not so long ago (bailiffs etc).
I`m reading a David Levering Lewis book at present and struggling as he uses words I don`t know that aren`t in English dictionaries. What`s `antebellum` ? There was also `prionism` or some such. We don`t come across these words much round our way.

Hope you are well,

Nick

P.S. Not related to DLL, but heard on TV recently - what`s a `carpet-bagger` ?

posted by nickhoonaloon at 8:52 am (EST) on Jul 6, 2007

I'm not sure who the narrator is. It seems that I didn't put the book back and now I'm not sure where it is! Sigh. Story of my life these days... :)

posted by xorscape at 5:40 am (EST) on Jul 5, 2007

Hi Seajack

'An Alphabetical Life' arrived just in time for my holidays - am looking forward to reading it, thanks again for the recommendation.

Best wishes :-)

sunny

posted by sunny at 2:05 am (EST) on Jun 28, 2007

Thanks for the suggestion (tankful of time ). Sorry I hadn't got back to you sooner but I have not been in librarything for ages.

posted by Webster at 10:50 am (EST) on Jun 27, 2007

It does seem that the Arly Hanks books get more attention than the Claire Malloy and I'm not sure why. While I don't dislike them they just aren't as interesting to me as the Claire series. Love the relationship between Claire and Caron. It's been fun to see them grow up.

posted by LittleTaiko at 2:37 pm (EST) on Jun 1, 2007

Hello, thanks so much for recommending the series by Rett MacPherson. They sound right up my alley :)

posted by kayaalder at 11:35 am (EST) on May 16, 2007

Hi there, thanks for the comment. I love travelogues, they just bring the places much more to life than guidebooks, don't you think? Anyway, happy reading!

posted by marisamisron at 11:38 am (EST) on May 11, 2007

Re The Shipping News, glad I'm not alone. Everyone seemed to be raving about it, but I was also bored, and didn't care about the characters.

posted by littlegeek at 10:29 am (EST) on May 8, 2007

Thanks for your note! I like Kate Reading, but I haven't listened to (or read I'm sorry to say since I own it by two different authors) The Painted Veil. I think I will read it because if it has a dippy ending, then I don't want the experience that the audio adds for me to be ruined. Silly of me, but there it is. I see we both listened to Jamaica Inn, or should I say, Jermayker Inn. What a wonderful audio book. It brought the setting to life! (Even thought I did want to smack some of the characters around a little.) Please keep posting recommendations! Thanks!

posted by xorscape at 8:46 pm (EST) on Apr 29, 2007

Hey,

I`ve thought of some more interesting anomalies in the UK/US languages -

What we call lawyers/solicitors, you call advocates/counsellors.

Also, your `sponsors` are our `advertisers`, unless they advertise on a football players shirt or the chassis of a racing car, in which case they are sponsors.

I remember some years ago, neighbours of mine at a previous address saw a young man break into my shed, accompanied by his friends, all in rap regalia - I presume it was amateur hour in the gangster world as robbing my garden shed would not enhance anyone`s street credibility ! After being challenged, they `legged it`, taking only a gardening implement used for removing weeds, known over here as a hoe (value on the second hand market, roughly zero). We always wondered if the theif misunderstood when his peers urged him to "get yourself a ho." !

I had a couple of better ones, but can`t bring them to mind at the minute.

Cheers,

Nick

posted by nickhoonaloon at 1:21 pm (EST) on Apr 20, 2007

The Torrid Zone is definitely a memoir. Not travel, though there is definitely that aspect to the book, but it is more a story of the author and his family, who had lived in the South Pacific for several generations. Some anecdotes very very funny while others are more melancholy. I enjoyed it overall though you do have to stay with the author's tangential tales before he eventually winds his way back to the story he began telling in the beginning of a chapter.

posted by liberryn2 at 12:45 am (EST) on Apr 18, 2007

Thanks for that, it`s been educational. Mind you, I`ve yet to discover the truth about Bookishbunny and the Asylum Street Spankers !

All the Best,

Nick

posted by nickhoonaloon at 2:30 pm (EST) on Apr 13, 2007

Thanks for your comment on David Case and Nadia May, giving me one of her other names!

posted by vidalia11 at 2:34 pm (EST) on Apr 9, 2007

Dear Seajack, did you see that "Catalogue of death" is out now? I'm already quite curious, but it will last about two weeks until I receive the book from USA.

posted by library_mistress at 1:51 pm (EST) on Apr 2, 2007

Hey, Seajack!

Try this link instead of the other one: http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?...

posted by adeptmagic at 8:28 pm (EST) on Mar 25, 2007

:-)

Born on a blue day was a very pleasant read for me - certainly something you look forward to.

posted by sunny at 4:10 pm (EST) on Mar 18, 2007

ps - take a look at At Home with Books if you get the opportunity - _very_ nicely done, if quite envy inducing..

posted by sunny at 2:19 pm (EST) on Mar 18, 2007

Oooh, thank you :-D

I have only read the first few pages of The yellow-lighted Bookshop so far, but I'll put the Alphabetical Life on my wishlist :-)

I showed the 'Bookshop' to my favorite bookseller and she has it on display at the best place now (where people stand to pay or ask questions).

posted by sunny at 2:00 pm (EST) on Mar 18, 2007

Thank you for the recommendation. I find that knowing the history which happened around your ancestors sort of makes them come alive, and knowing you had ancestors there makes the history come alive as well.

posted by MrsLee at 2:06 pm (EST) on Feb 28, 2007

Hey there!

Thanks for the comment...I am curious...why haven't you catalogued the books you read in 2006? At first I thought it was because you were only doing books you had kept, but I see you have "no longer owned" as a tag.

Take care,
Laura

posted by adeptmagic at 7:41 am (EST) on Feb 22, 2007

That is one impressive list of books read in 2006. Mon dieu! In regards to your comment below. . . .

>>Have you tried the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear? Maisie was a British nurse at the front during the First World War; although the first book actually "begins" a decade or so later, the plot (devices) relate to her experiences at that time, overshadowing events.

Many thanks for the info on WW1 and by a nurse during that time frame. Its greatly appreciated and I'll check out "The Strand" here in NYC for the books. Over the past few weeks or so, many have come forward to pass on their thoughts and suggestions on WW1 reading material. I'm very grateful.

Take care..............

posted by duchess58 at 8:15 pm (EST) on Feb 19, 2007

I haven't read The Doomsday Book, but I read (and enjoyed) To Say Nothing of the Dog. I'll have to add The Doomsday Book to my (already huge) TBR-list. Thanks for the suggestion!

posted by fyrefly98 at 9:49 pm (EST) on Feb 18, 2007

Yes, Kalder (Lost Cosmonaut) seems to have a need to make sure ALL the readers understand that simply because he is traveling with men, he is not gay. I am not sure why that would be necessary but perhaps he is constantly mistaken for having relations with men, lol. At one point he told someone meeting him that he was transgendered and had large breasts and a bushy beard because he could only afford half the operation. Not sure if that was humor either, or simply self-commentary on his large size.

posted by liberryn2 at 11:05 am (EST) on Feb 18, 2007

Hi Seajack,

Thanks so much for the Hiestand suggestion. My library doesn't have any copies, but I will keep an eye out for it elsewhere. I put Devil in the White City asside for a bit (through no fault of its own), but the begining is very promising.

-d

posted by dchaikin at 9:13 pm (EST) on Feb 17, 2007

Are you a fan, too? Awsome :)
I bought the first one because I was a fan of Istanbul, and have been hooked ever since!

posted by elenasimona at 4:33 am (EST) on Feb 9, 2007

Thank you for the recommendation of The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. It is now on my TBR list!

posted by Morphidae at 2:28 pm (EST) on Feb 8, 2007

Thanks ,for the comment and it must be a strange cultural reference point for non British viewers to hear characters use the shipping report! Dead impressed by the 2006 reading list will now do a running one in my profile.

I see you have read The Hijacking of Jesus, and Jesus Rode a Donkey that show that Christianity is not a a cloak for the Right. Being a British Quaker I am probably even more liberal and unorthodox then the mainstream American Christain Left but I generally find the Westar Institute & home of the Jesus Seminar at www.westarinstitute.org to publish and distribute some really interesting books that the Christain Right would find very difficult.

posted by ablueidol at 4:01 pm (EST) on Feb 4, 2007

I was already vehemently opposed to the Administration; it's the details in Rich's, Isikoff's, Packer's and other books that can drive you crazy.

posted by Linkmeister at 12:28 pm (EST) on Jan 30, 2007

Seajack. Thank you for the recommendation on a follow up read. I'll add it to my list - though given the size of the West, it could be a while before I get there!

posted by finebalance at 9:19 am (EST) on Jan 25, 2007

Thanks for the heads-up on the Gimlette book. I shall slot it accordingly. :) After Eggers's new one, that is.

Not surprisingly, I picked up Mayle's book on the basis of the title, and the thought that a road trip in a hearse could lead to many wacky hijinks. I found, however, that the book read like a bastardized "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", and the hearse was never really a part of the story (at least from what I can remember), save their occasional wondering along the lines of "huh-huh, I wonder if this hearse is totally freaking these people out?" and their once-in-a-blue-moon donning of full funeral home regalia (with top-hats). They seemed more happy to be going on a perpetual bender and messing with well-meaning locals and fellow travellers, between the almost-daily car breakdown.

I will admit that I never finished the book, so maybe Mayle reached some sort of an epiphany upon arriving in Rio, but I'm not keen to find out.

posted by plaugher at 6:36 pm (EST) on Jan 20, 2007

Thanks! Will steer clear of the bicycle tour and head for Diary of a Nobody, next. It had appealed to me - but I'm glad to have a recommendation confirm it. :)

posted by Eurydice at 10:02 pm (EST) on Jan 6, 2007

Thanks so much for letting me know what you thought of "How to be Lost." Based on your recommendation, I'll look for it in the library catalog, which is where I get all my audiobooks from.

posted by Storeetllr at 7:46 pm (EST) on Jan 2, 2007

RE: "A History of Europe"

I haven't finished this yet. I read and read and read, but don't seem to get anywhere. I like the book, and have learned a ton of stuff I didn't know. But I am going to have to give it back to the library unfinished. I only got to "Book Four".

I recently read "The Middle Ages: A Popular History" by Joseph Henery Dahmus and liked it very much. It, of course, covers much of the same ground as "A History of Europe".

posted by Bill_Masom at 9:21 am (EST) on Jan 2, 2007

Hi there, I saw in the "What Are You Reading Now" group, that you are reading The Egg and I. That is one of my favorite books. I have a sister who "pioneered" in an out of the way place and it reminded me of some of her stories. Especially the odd characters.

posted by MrsLee at 5:30 am (EST) on Dec 27, 2006