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July 12th, 2009
09:43 am - What I read on my holidays
I had a very good time in Brittany. It was bright and sunny and also windy so that it didn't get too hot. I had a good time with Howard, walking for miles and eating seafood. We went to a lot of places: The Silver River in Huelgoat, Quimper, Yeun Elez, Roche point, the Glenan Islands, and multiple visits to Bar Nautilus, my favourite.
I didn't miss the children too much. My daughter is on her way home today - probably just got off the trans-Siberian railway at Moscow, and I'll meet her at the airport this evening.
I slept a lot - about twelve hours every day - and that's had a big effect on me. I gave up coffee altogether, and I think that's done me good.
But because of sleeping and walking on the dunes and beaches with Howard I have read much less than I usually do on holiday. I've read one book and listened to two on audio, and I haven't finished any of them. I can't believe it. This never happens to me on holiday.
What I read:
2666 by Roberto Bolaño. This is a brilliant massive novel, which I will do a separate post on.
Gifts by Ursula Le Guin (on audio) - A children's fantasy book, about feudal mountain people with supernatural destructive powers. It's very short - six hours unabridged - and I listened to most of it on the drive back from Plymouth last night. As always, well written, humane, engaging. Packs a lot into a small compass.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman (on audio) - This is a history of 14th century Europe which is an attempt to get inside what it felt like to be a person in those days. It's quite a well known book, written in the seventies. I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in that sort of thing.
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Welcome back! It's good to see you again. And I'm glad to hear that you had such a good time - and restful, too. You've had so much on, you needed that rest.
I hope your daughter's enjoyed herself as much as you - almost certainly less sleep :-), but I hope it's been good for her, too. Thank you. My daughter just texted to say she is sad to leave all her friends in Tatarstan, which is quick work because she was only there a week. Glad you had a good holiday! Thanks. I did that humour quiz just now and got the same as you - though unlike you I do like The Office. Welcome back and I am glad to hear that you had a good holiday, revisiting favourite places.
I was round for dinner at a friend's last night and one of them was showing us pictures of her recent holiday in Brittany (Mont St Michel, Saint Malo, Dinan, Vitre (sp?) and other places), travelling in a camper van.
It sounds like you had the holiday you needed, regardless of the amount of reading you did. I'm glad to hear your daughter had a good time as well. Thanks. We were in the south of Brittany, where it is a bit bleaker and more windy. I had a great time, perhaps sleeping instead of reading. I just read "Gifts"! I need to see if the library has the sequels. How did they pronounce "Gry"? I've been saying it as "Gree" which sounds better to me than rhyming it with "wry". The reader says it to rhyme with wry. I'm just listening to the last bit now. It does sound more like the harsh, abrupt names Le Guin seems to favour. "Gree" sounded softer to me, but she wasn't really that soft herself. Hurrah! So glad you had a fab time! And very glad you're back. :-)
Are you around at all this evening for a drink/dinner at the Chinese? Or perhaps during the week? Going to the airport this evening, but let's go during the week. I'm doing Kairos on Wednesday. Glad that you were able to relax - that sounds like a very good use of your holiday! And it sounds as if you and your daughter both coped well with the separation. I can't wait to see her. I must also praise my son who did the picture research for my Jamaica book while I was away. Sourced fifty pics for me. That's great - he's a really lovely young man. Oh, how good of him!
I hope that the flight and meeting at the airport go smoothly tonight. |
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