Between the weather and the industrial strength jetty work going on at the beach just down the street I’ve had considerable time recently for summer reading. Always fun to discover a good "novel of despair" and Mina’s dark and funny stories from her recent trip to the "Big Easy" somehow pointed me in the direction of The Moviegoer by Walker Percy ... loved it. Have now begun reading Love in the Ruins, also by Percy ... both from interlibrary loans ... great idea ...especially when I can just sit here and order up books through the Cooperating Libraries Automated Network (CLAN).

Other current reading includes The Irish Village Murder by Dicey Deere and, after finding a vintage Four Seasons Foundation printing from 1968, I am revisiting The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster by Richard Brautigan where, speaking of despair, he writes "If I were dead, I couldn’t attract a female fly".

Recently completed Mortal Engines: The Hungry City Chronicles by Philip Reeve ... ok I guess, but Reeve is so not a Philip Pullman, Garth Nix or anyway near a J.K. Rowling. And also two surprisingly enjoyable books, A Hidden Magic and Never Trust a Dead Man by Vivian Vande Velde ... why have I never heard of her? And Ghost Wars by Steve Coll ...you’ve heard of this ... you know ... it's "the Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001" and all ... serious stuff that’s worth a look now and then ... or maybe not.

Next on my list is another Brother Cadfael, The Rose Rent, by Ellis Peters and of course I'm looking for a copy of Stephen Booth’s latest , One Last Breath. Finally I’m thinking Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis ... no, seriously, I am ... don’t remember ever reading this and never saw the movie ... and then Mina tells me she has Da Vinci Code abridged on CD ... and if I can get past Colin Stinton doing women's voices poorly I might enjoy it ... am I the only one who hasn't read this? Is listening the same as reading? No ... many times it's better.