To Phoenix and Back

* Parts of this post were originally written on April 8, 2010*

As I'm writing this, I am sitting in the airport making good on one of my four major resolutions:travel more. This trip will actually help me with a few of my resolutions... Reading by the pool, being conscious of my water intake, and I think the fearless factor might come in on Saturday when I attend my first ever NASCAR Race.

You may be wondering how exactly I am transcribing this particular post. Well in the spirit of being green, I am writing on the inside of a paper Starbucks bag. The inspiration to write about my latest read hit and I found myself without any paper so I had to get a little bit creative.

I am excited for my few days away from work, I hope they are rejuvenating. This particular trip has reminded me of one of my personality quirks; I am an over packer, a random packer, and a nervous packer. I worry about the oddest things. 'What if's' abound in my head as I fill my suitcase. I probably have two rolls of floss, shoes for every occasion, enough underwear for a month and four books for a four day trip.

My original plan had me only bringing along three books, but with only 80 pages left to go I had planned to finish "The Thirteenth Tale" to the en route to the airport. It was cutting it close, even for me. Maybe with a different book it could have been done, but alas as we were boarding the shuttle from the car park I had but three pages left. Many would have just left it in the car, but I couldn't do it. I had to know the proper ending. So four books will make the journey to Phoenix and back.

Update Book 33: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

It is getting increasingly difficult for me to decide what book to read next! This critic's recommendation bumped "The Thirteenth Tale" to the front of the list:

"A Wholly original work told in the vein of all the best gothic classics. Lovers of books about book lovers will be enthralled."

This is a story about the most famous living writer in world (fictional of course). Vida Winters has penned over 50 best sellers in her life, but there is one tale left for her to tell, her own. At the end of her life, she calls on a young biographer to tell her story. Written beautifully in a way that reminded me of other gothic ghost stories, I fell into the world Setterfield creates. "The Thirteenth Tale," is set on the moors in England and takes many cues from "Wuthering Heights." The tone is eerie, I could feel shadows and mist as I turned ever page. I really enjoyed this book and I found myself thinking about it long after I had finished.

A favorite quote:

"Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you? You leave the previous book with ideas and themes--characters even--caught in the fibers of your clothes, and when you open the new book they are still with you."

Update Book 33: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

It is sort of odd that while I was basking in the rays of sun in Arizona that I would again be drawn to a novel that takes place in grey and dreary England. I have tried several times to read "Jane Eyre," but it wasn't until I picked it up this past week that I knew I was ready for it. I think a part of me was nervous that it would be another "Wuthering Heights." I was relieved to find that instead of beautifully sorrowful, "Jane Eyre" is romantic and hopeful. I was captivated by this book and loved the style in which it was written. There is a reason this is on so many "must read" lists.

Update Book 34: The Island by Victoria Hislop

It is a good thing I brought along so many books for this trip. Not because I read them all (I only finished Jane Eyre) but because, while I was sitting at the airport waiting to board my return flight, I picked up "The Pilot's Wife." Within the first 3 pages there is a plane crash. Not exactly what you want to be reading before take-off. So I returned it to my backpack and picked out "The Island."

Yes, this is another WWII era novel--with a twist. The War actually plays a very small part, this is a novel about family history. The major plot twist involve the disease Leprosy. This book has heartbreaking moments and overall, I enjoyed it. I did feel like there was a lot of story in the middle but the ending was sudden and unsatisfying.

This book is another example of how books find you. "The Island," was one of the three books recommended to me by that mystery customer a year ago (also recommend "The Shadow of the Wind.") After I finished it, I was reading a friend's blog who moved to Norway last year. She also has a 'I'm reading' column. Her book is in Norwegian and called "Oya," but I noticed that it was by the same author. After some detective work I figured out that it was the same book! Alright, maybe not that big of a coincidence, but I still found it amusing that we were each reading the same book, but in different languages!

Update Book 36: The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve

Even though I couldn't bring myself to read "The Pilot's Wife" while in the air, those three pages hooked me. A former 'Oprah Book Club Pick," I couldn't put this book down. This was one of the saddest books I have ever read. Not an "I'm going to cry" sad, more like an "I'm really pissed" sad. The underlying moral of the story that I took away from "The Pilot's Wife," is that you don't really know anyone. The only thing you can judge a person's character on are their words and actions. If someone was a talented enough liar you may never know who they really are. This might make it sound like I hated this book, but I really did like it. It was compelling and easy to read. I like Shreve's novels because they are all unique. As one critic says, "The Pilots Wife is highly readable."