Some of my travel is long, across the country or across an ocean, but I also take short trips on a daily basis – otherwise known as commuting. On any given day I might spend between two and four hours in the car. For me, one of the keys to getting through a trip of any length is a good book. For many years, I have had a habit of alternating two fiction with one non-fiction selection. Although admittedly, I often get on a roll with one author or theme and read everything by that writer in or in that category. Lately, my favorite thing to do is to get a book for Kindle which is also available with Audible, that way I can switch back and forth between reading and listening depending on my location/situation. Though sometimes that thriller that keeps me awake on a long drive is the wrong choice for the two A.M. book to lull me back to sleep.
I have been lucky enough over the years to have friends who commute, or are insomniacs, and who also love to read. They have shared their lists, audio CDs, and in one case a pre-loaded ipod with me. It was wonderful to find new books and authors, and to get pushed out of my comfort zone by someone else’s literary interests. Recently, I made of list of different authors, series, or types of books that I like so that I could search for similar ones on Amazon. In addition to some normal categories like Contemporary Thrillers, I ended up with some very peculiar groups including, Dead Bodies in South Florida, Creepy, but I Read It Anyway, and Abandon all Hope. For today’s blog I have included excerpts from my lists for Beautiful Books and Dead Bodies in South Florida. With each entry I have included a brief description. If you have an author or a book that fits into one of these categories please share.
Beautiful Books
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
A small “set” with vividly drawn characters and a charming protagonist make this one of my new favorites. With a backdrop of revolution, communism, and class warfare, Towles juxtaposes the old world ideals of chivalry and manners with a new world order dominated by bureaucratic absurdity. I loved the main character and admired his absolute grace in making the best of a bad situation. I listened to much of this book through an Audible narration which was beautifully read.
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
It is the way that Cather somehow unites the telling of this story with the scenery of New Mexico that make me love this book. There is something about the Southwest, and its native inhabitants, that demand the “long view” of life and that is exactly what this tale offers. Vignettes from the lives of two Catholic priests attempting to bring European religion to a different land coalesce in the dying remembrances of the characters. The scenery, the story, and the main characters all bring a sense of beauty to this novel. I would not choose this piece for driving, but rather for a time when you can devote a few hours and some attention to the book.
The Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny
This series also made it into Contemporary Murder Mysteries and should sit prominently in a special group entitled Books That Make Me Hungry. In this series the well mannered and devoted family man Chief Inspector Armand Gamache finds himself constantly embroiled in solving complicated crimes, usually in the mysterious and secluded Canadian village of Three Pines. The town seems to have a personality of its own and the inhabitants are very richly portrayed. Penny does a lovely job of describing the scenery, but her real magic seems to come in describing the food. The Characters spend a great deal of time partaking of fabulous cuisine at the local B and B. Every time I read one of these books I gain weight as I seek out croissants and cafe au lai. An interesting sub-plot in many of the books is the tension between the descendants of the Anglos and those of the French in the Province of Quebec. With a subtle similarity to Northern Exposure– one of my favorite TV series ever- there is something very lovely not just in the scenery, but in the quirkiness of the characters in these novels.
Dead Bodies in South Florida
Novels by Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen
is a native of South Florida and his books paint a rich tapestry of life in the Sunshine State – but mostly they are hillarious! Once while on a plane I started one of his novels and embarrassed myself by laughing until I cried. Hiassen often tackles complicated topics, like development around the everglades or the introduction of invasive species, but he delivers these subjects in uproarious mysteries populated by the most outrageous and yet somehow plausible (only in South Florida) characters imaginable. I live in Florida for part of every year and I love when Hiaasen hides the bodies in the canals of Loxahatchee – that is where I would put them too!
The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
Ok so much of the action in this thriller takes place in Cuba, but the book starts and finishes in Key West and the vibe is all South Florida. The main character runs a charter boat and is hired by a group from the Cuban ex-pat community to do a little job which would not please the Cuban Regime. I am pretty sure that DeMille did a bit of vacation research for this novel. He captured not just the sunsets, but the pace of life in South Florida and the characters – many of whom are themselves ex-pats not from another country, but from another walk of life or another time and place. While this is a thriller, like so many of DeMille’s novels it is also really funny. He highlights the absurd and even, I think, pokes fun at the “cameo” of himself on the Cuba tour.
Novels set in Wellington by Tami Hoag
Fellow equestrian, Tami Hoag, writes a number of murder mystery series. One series features Elena Estes a rider and ex-cop who inhabits the incredible, but by no means fictional, world of Wellington, Florida. As Wellington is my home for part of every year I have an affinity for seeing the places and people of this special little world set down in print. My favorite moments come when the characters go to places I recognize and meet people I know. Hoag even granted a special appearance to the Wizard of Wellington (she called her The Freak but we all knew who she was talking about), an elderly woman woman who would inexplicably walk very slowly around town dressed in full wizarding regalia in sweltering weather. For anyone who loves the magical equestrian Village of Wellington this series will make you nostalgic.