No quote de jour today. No time. Things turned from crazy busy to plain crazy and I missed going to the library again. And for the first time ever, I lost a library book. Worse, I never got to read it. A regular reader, Kathryn, recommended the book by Hemingway on Writing. It looked amazing. It might be in the house somewhere but my intuition says it ended in the recycle box. I went to the library on Saturday to pay for it, pick up seven back-ordered books, the usual mags and three publicist sent books waited at home. Enough blathering, lets get to it.

A publicist sent me a debut novel Lagan Love by Peter Murphy. An Irishman living in Canada, Murphy has the gift of storytelling and evoking a strong sense of place. Ireland is as much a character as Janice and Aidan, the star-crossed lovers woven into a nexus of Celtic myth and contemporary reality. The passionate love scenes read like a steamy romance novel but with a distinctly masculine touch. I'll buy that.


I sorely craved some short stories and was rewarded with Anne Packerd's latest (two novellas bookending four short stories) Swim Back To Me. One word: perfection.


How do you top that? With a wild trip down memoir lane with the much hyped Man In The Flannel Skirt by literary darling de jour Jon Jon Goulian. He's a neurotic, straight guy who wears women's clothing and make-up but remains undefinable. I've just started reading but enchanted by his wildly funny candor.


Ah, June and the summer countdown continues but why is Martha Stewart saying "summer at last" when we're 16 days away from summer? Let's savor every second remaining of spring!