John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #113: Travel Books

"We read to know we are not alone."

-C.S. Lewis

Weekend Assignment #113: Someone you know is traveling. Suggest a book or two for them to read on their trip. If at all possible, pick a book from the last couple years. Also, keep in mind that it's meant to be a recreational book, i.e,. they're not really reading to change their life, here, just to have fun.

-John Scalzi (By The Way...)

I really like the above quote from C. S. Lewis, because books have been a constant companion of mine since I was a small child. All those different worlds, all those different lives. I could go to a million different places, and even travel through time, and I would never be lonely... as long as I had my books.

Oddly enough, when I fly on a plane, I never bring along a book. Flying makes me much too nervous to concentrate. But when I have to travel a long distance by car, I always bring a book or two with me. As an example, when I drive down to Santa Barbara, which about a 350 mile trip down HWY 101 from the Bay Area, I always bring a book to read while I relax on the beach. I am hoping to take a drive late next month for my birthday, and I have two books sitting in my book bag waiting for the trip.

The Lives Of The Muses (Non-Fiction)
By Francine Prose

The Lives Of The Muses is a book about the women behind the artist. The lives of such ladies as , Yoko Ono, Gala Dali, and Alice Liddle, who was the inspiration for Alice In Wonderland. One particular aspect of the book I enjoyed was the representation of these ladies as collaborators, as well as providing inspiration to the artists, such as ballerina Suzanne Farrell and choreographer George Balanchine. "There is no ideal muse, but rather as many variations on the theme as there are individual women who have had the luck, or misfortune, to find their destiny conjoined with that of a particular artist." It is a fascinating read.

Every Breath You Take (Fiction)
By Judith McNaught

Judith McNaught is one of my very favorite authors, and this book is a terrific example of why. A well done mystery that combines some romance, with some very good chilling moments. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a well paced, well written light thriller. I have already read it once, and will be looking forward to revisiting it again this summer. :)

"A home without books, is a body without a soul."

-Marcus Tullis Cicero

-OndineMonet
"Books"
May 25th, 2006
Berkeley, California
Evening