3.12.08

Here is the vacation book list:

1. Turn, Magic Wheel - Dawn Powell *
2. The Princess of Burundi -Kjell Erikson *
3. Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman *
4. My Home is Far Away - Dawn Powell *
5. Living to Tell the Tale - Gabriel Garcia Marquez *
6. The Life of Charlotte Bronte - Elizabeth Gaskell *
7. The Road - Cormac McCarthy #
8. Life of Pi - Yann Martel €
9. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen €
10. Day by Day Armageddon - J. L. Bourne #
11. Silent in the Sanctuary - Deanna Raybourn ¥
12. The Hours - Michael Cunningham ¥
13. Black and Blue - Anna Quindlen ¥
14. The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella ¥

* = Books I packed
# = Books locoweed packed
€ = Books Beth packed (we need a commenter's name for Beth, any suggestions?)
¥ = Books found at Casa de las Tortugas (which I never would have normally read but was desperate and out of books. The majority of books I found in Mexico were in German, what does this tell us about English speaking/reading travelers? I was, unfortunately, not all that surprised.{There was that one title I saw 'De Lady and De Cowboy', sadly, also in German. Too bad, I'm sure it would have been one diverting read.})

The Road was the best - far and away, the best (ie: the most disturbing). I couldn't put it down. Locoweed reasoned that this was due to there being no chapter breaks, but I really don't think they would have made any difference. The subject matter is grim (to say the least) but the book is beautiful. We started speculating about how it could be adapted as a movie and who should play the main character. He isn't ever named. (I, of course, voted for Clive Owen because, well, he's Clive Owen.) I just discovered on Wikipedia that such a film is already in the works with Viggo Mortensen. I am pleasantly surprised by this choice, I think he can probably do the role justice.
Note: According to Amazon, The Road is a book Oprah has CHOSEN. Can she leave nothing unsullied?

Living to Tell the Tale: I reach the middle of this book only to discover that 30 pages were missing due to a printing error. This I discovered right at the point where Gabriel Garcia Marquez was told to 'Put up your hands' by a uniformed man with a rifle. You can imagine my consternation (alright, outrage) especially since this autobiographical novel was gripping and my book supply was dwindling. I picked up a replacement at Title Wave and am now reading the ending.

Zombies were, of course, a major topic for discussion during vacation after reading Day-By-Day Armageddon. In the spirit of this, I leave you with this gratuitous link (how many chances do you get to post a link containing Iggy Pop and Zombies?)