Off we go

I'm really enjoying this "taking the summers off" thing. The great benefit of all the drama I had to deal with during the school year. Soon, Buckwalter and I leave for Las Mananitas, bringing the Boo (that's our cat) in tow. She so enjoys a nice drive in the MINI -- after she realizes that we're not abadoning her and stops yowling in that animalistic deep tone that only a scared beast can produce. That only takes about an hour to clear out of her system and then she'll just nap. I hope.
I just completed a book loaned (or "borrowed") to me from Chairwoman Mau. It's called "A Great and Terrible Beauty" and I enjoyed it very much. Good story, fun characters, delicious details. And yes, it's about the girl in the corset -- looks comfortable, doesn't it?
But I probably shouldn't have finished it up quite so quickly, because I have no idea what I will bring to read with me to Las Mananitas! Oh horror! Me without a book is a travesty that the world should never know! Seriously, though, I've been having a lot of trouble finding books to read lately. I have some pop fiction/horror/fantasy books that I love to read, but they're hardly something I can take out in public. It just seems to be a problem I'm having lately -- all these books, and nothing to read. Most of the books I've read lately seem to bunch together into several groups -- books that have a good plot, characters, etc. but I can't help feeling like I've read before, mainly because the plot is so similar to other books, like the one I've just finished, which (although very fun and enjoyable) owes a lot to "His Dark Materials." It's like Phillip Pullman meets Charlotte Bronte (pretty good combo, actually). However, you can only read so many similar books in a row. Then there are the group of books that are too literary for their own good -- books that I'd need a seminar class to make much sense of or understand properly. Although edifying, this is too much work for a summer vacation. And then there's the third group -- books that have a lesson to teach me about the state of the world. These can be great, but I really have to hit them at the right moment or I end up bored and listless, turning pages and skimming just to see if anything of any interest will ever happen. Usually the answer is no. Also not for a vacation.
So I guess this little run-on filled explanation leaves me with two choices -- buck up and bring those trashy novels out into the public view (which is not appealing -- as a former English major, aren't I supposed to become filled with bile at the sight of a horribly written book? Apparently not. I must admit, even though poorly written, they can be a lot of fun.) My other option? Fall back on William Boyd -- "Stars and Bars." I think I know which one will make me feel a little more like an intelligent human being and less like a simpering adolescent. Even though I love the adolescents and all their simpering, I don't really want to embark on that odyssey again. Wish us safe travels! And those of you in the MN area, we are coming to town soon. If you wish to see us, an email should probably be in order so that we can make sure there's a chance! (I'll be sending some out next week, too!)