For your next trip to Florida

I have it on the best of authority that if you ever are traveling in Florida a trip to Key West a visit to the Hemingway Home & Museum is a must. If you do make the journey I hope you like cats because more than 60 descendants of Hemingway’s original pet friends are still living on the grounds, and yes, many of them do have six toes.

According to the museum website, Hemingway visited Key West on the advice of a fellow writer, John Dos Pasos. He quickly fell in love with the town, the people and the big game sport fishing. It was here that he met some of his closest, lifelong friends and it was here that he finished the novel, A Farewell To Arms which was published in the fall of 1929.

Be sure to visit the museum website and make a trip to this interesting museum on your next vacation to the Florida Keys

For more serious research, here are just a few of the sites you can visit.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston, MA

Ernest Hemingway Foundation

The Hemingway Society

And now for a fun trivia question: In a 1958 interview with this man, Hemingway claimed to have written the ending of A Farewell to Arms 39 times before being satisfied. Who was that man?

Remainder by Tom McCarthy

I am not sure what to say about this book. It is certainly one of the oddest books I have read this year and very original. I can easily see this becoming a cult classic. The main character (nameless throughout the book) is awarded £8.5 million in compensation for something (?) falling from the sky and injuring him. He proceeds to spend the money by hiring re-inactors to endlessly repeat different experiences that catch his attention in an effort to feel like he is a part of an experience.

The acknowledgements thank people who have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder for giving the author insight into what that disorder feels like.

Day 2 - Switzerland

Day two in Switzerland was spent (among other things) at the Kunsthaus Museum. My friend and I quickly discovered that we are polar opposites when it comes to museum going. Whereas she is the fastest museum goer on the planet, I may very well be the slowest. I love discovering new artists and can spend quite a bit of time in front of one painting "absorbing". It's a good thing she likes to sit and read cause she got to do quite a bit of it on this trip.

Here is my favorite sculpture from the museum and it even fits the time of year.

It isn't the Mona Lisa (seen later on this trip) but it made me giggle.

Oystercatchers: A Novel by Susan Fletcher

Moira sits by the hospital bed of her sixteen year old comatose sister and tells her all of the things that her sister's arrival changed in her life. When Amy was born, it abruptly changed the trajectory of eleven year old Moira's existence and took her down a completely different path in life. This was another of my favorite quiet novels about sisters who never quite connect until it is too late. Beautifully written, my only wish is that I had been able to read this all in one sitting instead of spreading it out over several days. Still, it was a book worth savoring.

Arriving in Switzerland

My first day in Switzerland came with instructions. I wish I would have saved the email but it was funny (in a very caring, friendlike way). I was to drink plenty of water, not take a nap of more than one hour and we would do a short tour of Zurich (if I felt up to it).

It was a bit cloudy but Zurich really is beautiful AND very, very clean. Littering is a bad, bad thing in Switzerland. The public toilets are also sparkling clean but a bit pricey. Hey, you pay for cleanliness.

There is a great story about the saints that were martyred in the very spot where I was standing when I took this picture. Please note that they were decapitated and then PICKED UP THEIR OWN HEADS and (depending on the story) proceeded to bury themselves. That seems a bit extreme to me but then I have never aspired to sainthood.

Legend has it that Felix and Regula, Roman Christians and the patron saints of Zürich, fled to the city from the massacre of their legion in Valais in the third century AD. They were martyred by decapitation on the site of today's Wasserkirche for refusing to pray to Roman gods, whereupon they picked up their heads and carried them up the hill to the spot where they wished to be buried.

Eight Things about Yourself

I've been tagged by Waldo Oiseau. Now I have to come up with 8 things that aren't generally known about me instead of playing scrabble online with her.

1. I paint. Usually pretty badly anymore but I have one or two darn good paintings from the good old days.
2. I am fascinated by vampires. I have actual reference books on the subject.
3. Nowdays I am addicted to sparkly, strappy, high-heeled shoes but all through junior high and high school all I ever wore was cowboy boots.
4. I was a Future Farmer of America. I know how to judge sheep, cows, pigs, goats, and cheese. I had a blue coat and everything.
5. I know how to weld. Mig, tig, you name it, I can weld with it. Or I could. It has been a while since I wanted to play with fire. Learned when I was in FFA.
6. I like romance novels. I like dark, angsty tortured heroes but my most favorite heroes are the funny ones. What can I say, I am a sucker for a man with a sense of humor.
7. When I eat trail mix I start with the things I like the least and then work my way up to my favorites. That way my taste buds remember the happy bits.
8. My ultimate weekend is one spent in my house with a big pile of books, my cats and maybe a cookie or two. (OK, that one isn't much of a secret)
9. I can sing really well but have a karaoke phobia.

As I have been trying to come up with these I also realized that I am a bit of an open book. Ask me, I will tell you all about it. I'm not shy. Therefore, it was really hard to come up with secret things to talk about:)

I haven't posted much here lately so I won't tag anyone...for now.

Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed by Paul Trynka

I like Iggy Pop, or at least I like Iggy Pop's music. I quickly discovered that I am not that fond of the man. This was a fairly well written biography and it was interesting to see how Iggy rose to fame but the endless descriptions of destructive behavior, drug use and sexual escapades quickly lost it horrified fascination for me. Instead of being a train wreck I couldn't look away from it just became tedious. For example, if they told me once, they told me a hundred times about how incredibly well endowed he was. Really, once would have been enough.

Blogs I Like

Lately I have added two blogs to my daily (or at least weekly) blog browsing. The first is called The Happiness Project http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/. I can't say that it is making me any happier, after all, I am the queen of living in the past (or so I am told) but I am finding it interesting.

The second is Both Sides Of The Mouth http://bothsidesofthemouth.blogspot.com/ which reviews music and even offers free downloads. I love discovering new music so I try catch this one as often as I can.

I don't have any book review blogs that I read (except one I read because she is my friend) but I think that is because I am completely overwhelmed with the amount of reading I have to do anymore. The crazy thing is that I just signed on for two more years of Notable Reading.

Back from Holiday

For the past couple of weeks I have been jaunting around Europe. On my many plane trips and other assorted waiting moments I had time to start power reading through my giant stack of books. I now have an assortment of books that I need to blog about....if only I could get through the giant stack of work, posting of trip pictures for my friends and assorted non-serious trip related blogs on my myspace page. I have about 20 to write about so I will be getting serious soon. I promise.

Anyway, my favorite Notable related book from my trip was Bow Grip (review to follow soon). My favorite non-Notable (just for fun) read was the Donna Leon mystery series set in Venice. I am trying to extend my trip by continuing to read the series instead of getting busy with my Notable reading. If you like mysteries I highly recommend the series.

Edgar Awards 2007

There are several different mystery awards but this always seems to net me the biggest payoff in terms of favorite new authors.

Grand Master * Stephen King

Best Mystery Novel
*The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
• The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
• Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris
• The Dead Hour by Denise Mina
• The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
• Liberation Movements by Olen Steinhauer

Best First Novel by an American Author
*The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
• Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
• King of Lies by John Hart
• Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith
• A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read

Best Paperback Original
*Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara
• The Goodbye Kiss by Massimo Carlotto
• The Open Curtain by Brian Evenson
• The Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine
• City of Tiny Lights by Patrick Neate

Romance Novels

I didn't do my homework this weekend. In fact, I goofed off by reading romance novels all weekend long. Ok, I worked Saturday and Sunday but still, I read four romance novels instead of reading my notable nominees AND I had fun.

On of the novels was by one of my favorite authors in that genre but it turned out to be the "Big Misunderstanding" where the main characters love each other but fight, break-up and years later see each other and realize that they were destined to be together. A lot of readers object to the "Big Misunderstanding" because so often, if they would just sit down and talk there would be no misunderstanding. As a plot device, it is shaky but I never seem to mind that. What bothers me is the "years later" part. I guess I can't quite suspend disbelief on that one.

Cabin Pressure by Josh Wolk

This is one of those books where a 30-something, realizing he is now a "grown-up", has a panic attack and tries to relive his childhood. In this case, writer Josh Wolk, is getting married and entering the grown-up world at last. He decides that he wants to go back and be a camp counselor at his beloved childhood summer camp once before embarking on the adventure of being a grown-up. Being a writer, he has the flexiblity to take the summer and sign on as a camp counselor and so he goes back and does just that.

Josh is one of those kids who never quite fit in as a child. He was exceptionally tall, a little too smart and gawky in a way that did not make him shine in sports. This camp, a non-competitive, boys only camp, lived in his memory as a place where he came into his own and even shone. Going back, he relives both the good and bad parts of his camp days. This was funny book (I particularly enjoyed his phone conversations with his wedding-stressed fiance) and made a nice change from exploring 9/11 angst.

Falling Man by Don DeLillo

Over the past few years (now that the initial shock has passed) books about 9/11 have started to make an appearance. This one is probably going to top the list. It took me awhile to pick this one up off the giant stack of books in my house because of the subject matter. Even though time has passed, the emotional impact of that day on everyone who remembers it is still relatively fresh. Also, adding to that his books aren't easy reading. I will say though, that his best novels are worth the extra effort and this is one of his best.

Keith Neudecker shows up at his estranged wife's door on September 11th, bloody and confused, having just walked out of one of the Towers. For most of the book they (and various family members) struggle to find some way of dealing with the event and moving forward with their lives. DeLillo also explores the life of Hammad, one of the terrorists, who wonders if "a man has to kill himself in order to accomplish something in the world?"

This is DeLillo's best work, tender, heart wrenching and as always with DeLillo, unique and different.

Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris

A very funny book about an office at the end of the dot.com era (the 80's) that gets more disfunctional as the inevitible budget cuts, loss of benefits and finally, layoffs start to occur. What is surprising about this novel is that it has depth, it isn't turning into another slapstick office comedy. Very, very good.

You Don't Love Me Yet by Jonathan Lethem

You Don't Love Me Yet is the story of a dysfunctional band, or perhaps, more precisely, a dysfunctional couple and a band. This is one of the contemporary, cutting edge novels that would have worked much better if I actually cared what happened to any of the people in the novel. The utter ineptness of their existence and the strange situations in which the characters found themselves felt more like a slapstick comedy than a serious novel.

An odd novel with none of the depth of some of my other recent reads.

Gertrude Bell: Queen Of The Desert, Shaper Of Nations by Georgina Howell

I am reading currently reading Gertrude Bell: Queen Of The Desert, Shaper Of Nations by Georgina Howell. I want to be Gertrude when I grow up, except I don't really want to move to another country and lead an Islamic nation to become an independent and democratic nation. Known as the female "Lawrence of Arabia", Gertrude Bell was instrumental in the creation of Iraq. One of the most dynamic, accomplished women of her times (first woman to ever earn a first at Oxford) she was a true renaissance woman. She was in turn, a spy, archaeologist, poet, photographer, mountain climber and advisor to kings. It was due to her influence that Iraq enjoyed many years as a democratic state, an amazing accomplishment during a time when women were looked at as an decorative accessory instead of capable and intelligent people.

Outstanding and compelling biography. I highly recommended picking up a copy if you get a chance.

Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Stumbling On Happiness and is my current rebellion book. (It isn't on my assigned reading list.) and it is a fascinating book. The author explores our perception of happiness and why we consistantly guess wrong about what will make us happy. How, once a moment has passed, it is impossible for the individual who experienced the moment to accurately rate how happy that moment made us because, our subsequent experiences change how we view that experience. How convinced we as Americans are that are happiness will always increase, that something better is always going to be happening in the next experience and how we neglect our best resource (other people) to predict which experiences will make us happiest because of our compelling need to be unique (even though it has been proven that people are more alike than different.)

Very interesting stuff to ponder.

The Killing Jar by Nicola Monaghan

The Killing Jar is the story of a young girl, who grows up in house filled with drugs, violence and addiction. Her slow transformation from young girl who still believes in a different life, into the life of a psychotic addict is mesmerizing and disturbing. Perhaps the most effective element of this novel is her utter likability, even as she commits a series of increasingly violent crimes as she tries to escape the lifestyle.

Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign

Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign by Stephan Talty. I had high hopes for this one. After all, what could be better than a pirate story. While the story was interesting, it wasn't as compelling as some of the other biographies I have read recently. Captain Morgan was a pirate for the British Empire and while the book did a good job depicting the politics of the time, the author didn't add enough personal touches about the man (at least until his pirate days were past him). Interesting and a good pirate story but not a manditory read.

The Maytrees by Annie Dillard

The Maytrees by Annie Dillard is a stunning work of fiction, following a couple through their life, both together and apart. I like these kind of novels, where quiet, profound moments lead toward something greater than it's parts.

The author's use of language takes your breath away. She is a truly gifted novel who packs a whole lot of impact into a tiny novel. The sheer depth of this novel is astounding. Absolutely lovely novel.