Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi


Spring break took us to Delaware to reconnect with family and spend a few days near the ocean. I wanted a true escape from my normal reading, and A Thousand Days in Venice proved to be just perfect. Marlena de Blasi was a food writer visiting in Venice, when a handsome man approached her, told her she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and promised to pursue her. Their love story is accompanied by recipes and lovely descriptions of Venice. I was drawn into the beautiful landscapes and am excited to read the continuation in A Thousand Days in Tuscany.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Going to See the Elephant by Rodes Fishburn


I was given this book by a fellow AP grader I met in Louisville last year who teaches at Emory and Henry College in Virginia where Fishburn went to school. What a pleasant spring break surprise this novel turned out to be. Journalist Slater Brown arrives in San Francisco and takes a job at a failing newspaper, The Morning Trumpet. He quickly realizes that he needs to find great stories in order to keep his job, and through a serendipitous happening, he gains access to the secrets of the city. He meets and falls in love with a beautiful chess champion, wards off the evil politicians and finds a happily-ever-after solution to his personal unrest. I was enchanted by this little fable.