Mansfield Park

Author: Jane Austen

I sincerely struggled through the first half of the story but as soon as we were past all the formalities of character development the story was so civilized. I wish I lived in Mansfield Park. Loved it. I'm not sure if I loved it more than Pride & Prejudice but I think there's no doubt that Austen has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

Pandora

Author: Anne Rice

A little bit of brain candy sprinkled in the literature is a good thing. And sometimes, the candy ends up being more than you would have hoped for.

Anne Rice proves again that she is a great storyteller - not just about vampires and witches - but in the way she weaves history into her adventures. Not to spoil anything, but I don't even think Pandora becomes a vampire until two-thirds of the way through the book. This book is so clearly not about being a vampire.

The story centers around Lydia (later to become Pandora) and her life in ancient Rome. I felt like I was watching the prematurely aborted masterpiece Rome that was on HBO. The history of the worship of Isis got a little old but was necessary I suppose.

If you like Anne Rice, this was a very pleasant return to her magical storytelling skills that have been adrift since the early days of Louis and Lestat.

The Caliph's House

Author: Tahir Shah

Book Club Selection

Written in the spirit of A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, this tale of adventure and cultural adaptation was set in Casablanca.

I absolutely loved this book, perhaps even more than either of the two in whose footsteps it traces. For me it was the absolute stark contrasts in culture from his London upbringing that proved most entertaining.

Definitely recommended.

Gena: Day 1

After almost a year I finally got back on Helix yesterday. Shockingly, I'm not as out of shape as I thought - only a couple mphs off where I was last summer. However great that may have been, the 12% grade that is my driveway is always going to suck. And I couldn't find my gloves which also sucked.

I'm debating whether to take the bike to the beach or not. Pink got me to buy some fancy running shoes so it's either run or bike at the beach - I've got to do something to counteract all the calories I'm going to be drinking. Don't laugh at my stats below - I'm pretty slow.

7/16/10

10.02 miles

0:40:24

14.8 mph av

33.0 mph max

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Author: Lewis Carroll

Believe it or not I have never read this story. This was the first book I read on my new iPad, which is totally the bomb by the way. But it's strange to read a story for the first time and already know everything that happens from other book/movie references and pop culture.

Spy

Author: Ted Bell

Waste of my time. Sorry, Dad.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Author: Stieg Larsson

A brilliant finale to one of the best trilogies I've ever read. I am so sad my time with Blomkvist and Lisbeth is over.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Author: Thomas Hardy

I am so far behind on my book posts so these are all going to be short...

I don't know why but I've been into classic books lately. Maybe because they are mostly about times so far past that it's like walking through another world.

I recently read an article asking the question if "classic" books were written today would they still be considered "classics." I don't know the answer to that but I thought it was interesting.

I really enjoyed this story despite all the formalities and strange awkward behavior but I guess that's just how it was back then.