Nice Weekend

I am a real reader - usually read between forty and fifty books a year. But I've been through a two-month slump. I didn't read one book. Instead, I watched TV in bed until I fell asleep.

Now, granted, getting your news from Jon Stewart is important, but it had gotten to be a bad habit. So just as a year or so ago I banned talk radio from my car, I banned watching television from my nightly routine. Lo and behold, I've read three books in the past two weeks, two this weekend.

One of the books is 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton. She is the author of The Camel Bookmobile, which I haven't read. Her new book is the story of a young American, Jonas, who is in his last hours leading up to being a suicide bomber in the New York subway. I read it in a day and half - it is very engrossing - and the ending is thought-provoking. Hamilton will read from the book at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh tomorrow night at 7.

The second book I read is Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong. Huong is Vietnamese, and this is on the cover: "Banned in its own country, the first novel from Vietnam ever published in the United States." It is the story of three Vietnamese women through the viewpoint of a young girl, Hang, living under the Communist government of Vietnam. Not only is the language beautiful (it is a translation) but there is a great deal of current history of the Vietnamese people woven into the story.

Last night we anchored out. We chose a place that was very sheltered. Unfortunately, this also meant (last night at least) that the air was very still and the no-see-ums were out. Here is the view from the back of the boat:



The sunset, usually very vivid in this particular body of water, was rather subdued.



Because of the restless night, I saw the sun rise. It was a perfect start to the day.


I'm eager to start reading tonight and cozy up in my own bed. Next on my list is the new book by one of my favorite authors, Dave Eggers. My daughter, who works at Malaprops Book Store in Asheville, recommended it.