Have Books, Will Travel

As I've mentioned before in this space, when I travel, a portion of my luggage is devoted to the books I hope to read. My neighbor is a voracious reader, and she and her husband take off for weeks at a time on road trips. As they drive, she reads books that pertain to that place, getting the history and culture of the destination. Makes sense, right?

Clearly I am not a logical person. I can never seem to match up my reading with the place I'll be. In Vienna years ago, we visited places where Mozart and Freud had been. But one of my strongest memories is sitting in the laundromat, deeply absorbed in John Grisham's The Pelican Brief. In New York City, I was lost in Memoirs of a Geisha. A post-college backpacking trip of Western Europe found me with Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, two quintessential American novels. And during our year in Nigeria, I did manage to read a Nigerian novel (Things Fall Apart), but more memorable were The Thorn Birds and a string of Anne Tyler novels.

This summer, I'll be spending a week in Santa Fe, NM, and I am finally going to break this pattern. I pledge to finish Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather, and I want to try a Tony Hillerman mystery. What else should I be reading for Santa Fe? If you know, tell me.

While you consider that question, I'll be thinking about other appropriate book and travel combinations. Today, I'll start close to home with some of my favorite books set in or around Chicago:

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
So Big by Edna Ferber
The Blood of the Lamb by Peter De Vries

By the looks of most of this list, I have a thing for old-timey Chicago. Leave a comment if you know other books that should be added to this list.

On another topic, if you've been waiting with bated breath to learn what the East Grand Rapids library gives out to the grand prize winner of the book club drawing, wait no longer. Brian and I will soon be enjoying $50 with of date night at a local Gilmore restaurant. Whoo hoo!

Think it'd be okay if I took a book along?

A Major Award!

Folks, all of the hours I spend reading rather than, well, accomplishing things have finally paid off. I got a phone call today from the East Grand Rapids Library informing me that I won the drawing for the grand prize in the Let It Snow reading club. I've never won a drawing before, so I'm pretty excited. What is that prize? I don't know yet--I haven't gotten there yet to claim it. I'll have to keep you in suspense. I vaguely remember seeing something about a gift card to Schuler Books, so here's hoping. Just goes to show, reading is the way to real wealth.

I finished Michael Perry's book Population: 485 (finally) after Francene so nicely found it for me at Festival. It even made its way back to the library without a fine, shockingly! It's a great book: interesting, funny and full of compassion and respect for humanity. Next up--I'm halfway through The Heart is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. My copy is from a used book store, and its former owner signed her name and then wrote "okay." I'm wondering if that's her evaluation of the book. It's a big change from Perry's book, but so far, so good. I have to lead this one for church book club next month, so if you have any great insights for me, let me know.

My friend Sandy has this suggestion (stolen directly from her Facebook post without permission): "Want a great read? Pick up "Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands" by Susan Carol McCarthy. It was published in 2002, but has completely eluded me until now. Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird." Hope to give that one a try!

The apple blossoms are in full bloom and the sun just keeps shining. Perfect setup for Saturday morning, when I join the line of hopeful souls buying tickets for Meijer Gardens Summer Concert Series. This is usually the highlight of the summer for Brian and me (going to the concerts, not standing in line). This year I'm particularly excited to go see Natalie Merchant. We rarely go to concerts anywhere else, but we can be found at Meijer Gardens pretty regularly. We've decided to pay them for tickets rather than buying a summer home. It makes the tickets seem just a bit cheaper. And the August Tuesdays are free! Maybe we'll see you there.