I just started writing email newsletters for Alibris (thanks Jason for the recommendation!) - the first should be sent out next week. If you like books, I'd recommend signing up. Being a site specializing in used and new books, they're not locked in to recommending new releases. I've had a lot of fun digging through my book archives to find some great classics.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Alibris
I just started writing email newsletters for Alibris (thanks Jason for the recommendation!) - the first should be sent out next week. If you like books, I'd recommend signing up. Being a site specializing in used and new books, they're not locked in to recommending new releases. I've had a lot of fun digging through my book archives to find some great classics.
Flying Overhead
My dad took Adam and I up for a flight over Napa and Sonoma last weekend. This is the Sonoma coastline, near Bodega Bay. I really loved it, especially given how much time we've been spending camping in that area lately. It's very cool to see how it all comes together - and also to see how much open space is still out there. If you look closely at this photo, you can tell that the road ends at that house in the center, but there's a fire road that extends past it, hidden from view. I'd definitely like to go check that out.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
April 2007 Book Reviews
Sorry for such a long delay on this post! I actually wrote it last week, and then blogger crashed and the post was lost. Ugh. It's taken a while to find the motivation to write it again. It was an great month for books, though.
1. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Rating: 4.7
As best as I can remember, I read this for the first time in 2001 or 2002. I liked it well enough, but just couldn't quite see why people were so enthusiastic about it. Adam read it on our Colombia trip, and I decided to give it another try when he finished. Wow - it's incredible! I was completely absorbed and couldn't put it down. I think it must have been too young, or found it too different, or... something. Who knows. If you haven't read it recently, I definitely recommend giving it another try.
2. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, Louise Erdrich, Rating 4.3
This is the third book I've read by Erdrich in the past year (read about the other two here and here), largely because I continue to be incredibly impressed by her writing. While her novels are mostly set in the same geographic area, her plots and characters are wildly different. This story, the first of her books to reach a wide audience, includes a cross-dressing priest, fake saint, a shoot-out, and 100 years of history. What's not to love?
3. Alternatives to Sex, Stephen McCauley, Rating: 1.3
I think I can credit Entertainment Weekly for this recommendation - clearly the reviewer read the jacket but never cracked the book open. What is the Alternative to Sex? Real estate. There are a number of genuinely witty lines throughout, loosely held together by some truly god-awful prose. Seriously, reading this book is like spending an entire day at the dentist. Just say no.
4. The Thin Place, Kathryn Davis, Rating: 3.2
Davis is a gifted writer, able to very quickly create highly atmospheric, slightly surreal worlds. This collection of somewhat disjointed vignettes is lovely and involving, but doesn't quite come together. This book wasn't for me, but I'll certainly try to read one of her novels again.
5. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner, Rating: 4.9
Yes, 4.9! This book is making the top 10. I LOVED it. Couldn't put it down. Cried a few times. Got out a map so I could visualize the places that were described. The introduction claims that it was voted "the best book about the west" in the San Francisco Chronicle, and I have to say I agree. It's largely set in the 1870s-1890s in various places west of the Mississippi, is largely based on the life of a real person, and it won the Pulitzer. You'll have to read it to find out more.
1. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Rating: 4.7
As best as I can remember, I read this for the first time in 2001 or 2002. I liked it well enough, but just couldn't quite see why people were so enthusiastic about it. Adam read it on our Colombia trip, and I decided to give it another try when he finished. Wow - it's incredible! I was completely absorbed and couldn't put it down. I think it must have been too young, or found it too different, or... something. Who knows. If you haven't read it recently, I definitely recommend giving it another try.
2. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, Louise Erdrich, Rating 4.3
This is the third book I've read by Erdrich in the past year (read about the other two here and here), largely because I continue to be incredibly impressed by her writing. While her novels are mostly set in the same geographic area, her plots and characters are wildly different. This story, the first of her books to reach a wide audience, includes a cross-dressing priest, fake saint, a shoot-out, and 100 years of history. What's not to love?
3. Alternatives to Sex, Stephen McCauley, Rating: 1.3
I think I can credit Entertainment Weekly for this recommendation - clearly the reviewer read the jacket but never cracked the book open. What is the Alternative to Sex? Real estate. There are a number of genuinely witty lines throughout, loosely held together by some truly god-awful prose. Seriously, reading this book is like spending an entire day at the dentist. Just say no.
4. The Thin Place, Kathryn Davis, Rating: 3.2
Davis is a gifted writer, able to very quickly create highly atmospheric, slightly surreal worlds. This collection of somewhat disjointed vignettes is lovely and involving, but doesn't quite come together. This book wasn't for me, but I'll certainly try to read one of her novels again.
5. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner, Rating: 4.9
Yes, 4.9! This book is making the top 10. I LOVED it. Couldn't put it down. Cried a few times. Got out a map so I could visualize the places that were described. The introduction claims that it was voted "the best book about the west" in the San Francisco Chronicle, and I have to say I agree. It's largely set in the 1870s-1890s in various places west of the Mississippi, is largely based on the life of a real person, and it won the Pulitzer. You'll have to read it to find out more.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Austin Creek
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Originally uploaded by aliciamalia.
We made another camping trip this past weekend. While not one of our most successful, the campsite was spectacular. That's a pond right below our spot (complete with bullfrogs and fish, and turkey vultures above). It's a neat park, or rather two - you enter through Armstrong Redwoods state park, which has expansive old-growth redwoods, and after several miles enter Austin Creek, which is higher and has a vastly different landscape. It's about 3 miles north of Guernville in Sonoma County; 30 minutes drive from Goat Rock Beach and Jenner to the west.
We took a fairly strenous 4 mile hike (lots of up and down climbs) in the Austin Creek portion. You could probably do it as a day trip, but the camp is so lovely it's nice to stay for the night.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Orange County
IMG_2004.JPG
Originally uploaded by aliciamalia.
We returned from a quick trip to Orange County last night. It was Elese's wedding shower, and a good excuse to get away for a long weekend. Elese lives in North Carolina now, so our relationship consists of these little trips, most of the time in places neither of us live. It's actually sort of nice - we're always on vacation when we see each other.
Adam and I planned on having Sunday and Monday to laze at the beach, but our plans quickly changed...
Day Two
IMG_2017.JPG
Originally uploaded by aliciamalia.
The coast was fogged in, so we headed inland. Our choice was almost completely random - we were looking for a National Park away from any of the main routes near Palm Springs (to avoid all the traffic leaving Coachella). We ended up at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, apparently the largest State Park in California, and definitely a new favorite for me. The hike we took, while punishingly hot, was varied and packed with wildlife and unusual succulents. Adam thinks it was the best hike we've been on all year.
I also LOVED eating dinner outside in 80 degree weather. That's the life.
Day three
IMG_2044.JPG
Originally uploaded by aliciamalia.
As I mentioned above, it's really hot out there in the desert. We googled "Swimming hole" and found the trail to Cedar Creek Falls. It's roughly 12 miles south of Julian (a darling mining town worth visiting in its own right). The way down, and the pool at the end, are well-worth the effort; the way up was brutal. 2 miles uphill in 90-degree heat was tough. I'd do it again, though.
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