Quote de jour
"There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs."
~Henry Ward Beecher

Contest Announcement. We have a WINNER. Huge thanks for everyone who entered my contest to win one month of free life coaching from Insight Life Coaching.com. There was a nice spike in new subscriptions to the blog and as always I value my readers more than you know. I will announce the winner’s name as soon as I have confirmation.

First the usual stack of mags. Same old, same old except for a new idea for burgers. I stuffed a chunk of gorgonzola in the middle of a burger before grilling last night and loved it. The article on the huge loss of creativity in kids today depressed me. Loved Cher's new Buddhist inspired digs and my favorite two words: turquoise and island preferably together like the stunning ones in Traveler.


The heatwave makes for slower walking but not slower reading.
I whipped through literary agent Bill Clegg's addictive addiction memoir Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man last night. It made me thank my lucky stars I don't have the addiction gene, at least not for drugs or alcohol. Bill's drug of choice was crack cocaine and his dizzying downward spiral jaw-dropping. The jumpy pacing, spare and raw writing enervates. The belt on the book jacket depicts the
heavily notched belt of the writer's shrinking waistline. It's hard to believe the handsome face below was so strung out and disheveled  he was refused entry to a hotel. America loves stories about redemption and this is a good one.




I'm in the thick of reading The Imperfectionists, the acclaimed debut novel by journalist Tom Rachman. Set in Rome, it follows the  lives of a hodge podge of journalists working for an English-language newspaper. Its not perfect but I'm still reading which for me is a big thumbs up. I like his website tomrachman.com As a book jacket design junkie, it’s a nice touch seeing the various designs from different countries. I'm already looking forward to his next book.

All Over the Map a travel memoir by journalist Laura Fraser. It’s in the vein of Eat, Pray, Love, (middle-aged woman finding love and self-discovery while globe trotting) but actually predates the genre by ten years. Laura’s book is a sequel to her first memoir An Italian Affair which I’m dying to read. I’ve barely made a dent but she’s sucked me in on her travels. Truth be told, the writing is better than Eat, Pray, Love and I hope this book brings the recognition she deserves. I love visiting writer’s websites and Laurafraser.com  is chock full of goodies. I was thrilled to see a list of everything she’s read in the past 35 years. Now, that’s a gal after my own heart.

I’m not a huge mystery fan but I love France, wine and the classic A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle so I thought I’d give his new novel The Vintage Caper a chance and I’m glad I did. It’s funny, light touch is perfect summer reading.

At his website he has a link worth clicking on called Acquired Tastes. It’s a fun quickie guide to sophisticated palates. I make no bones about being worldly. Call be snobby but I’m not ashamed to know the difference between a Monet and Montrachet. I was chatting with a pal in London today who didn’t know who Gauguin was. I’d referenced him in a recent blog post and thought if this educated, well traveled gal didn’t know, what about other readers? To me being worldly has nothing to do with money, class or education, it’s about being curious about the world. And you can discover a whole new world by simply reading.

 

 

 

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