Books.

The last few posts have been rather action-packed, which may lead one to believe we are always on the go. Well- this is not the case. We've had more than a couple of 10+ hour train rides and airplane layovers, a few flights, and plenty of plain-old lazy days.
Fortunately, in that time a book is usually close at hand. Between the 2 of us we've finished off a few.
Some good ones....

1- '"Easy" New York Times Crossword Puzzle Book"- Various authors

Considered the granddaddy of all crossword puzzles, this book contains 75 puzzles from Monday and Tuesday editions of the paper. Supposably, they're easy, but I definitely had to look at the back a couple of times.
Now I'm on the prowl to find another anthology (good luck finding one in India). For the mean time Sudoku will have to suffice.
Julie has caught the fever too, and we now work together on these things. Crosswords are clever and addicting.
Gotta love the puzzles.

2- "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

The best book I've ever read about a tiger not named Hobbes.
It took me all of 36 hours to devour this book like a hyena would a zebra (oops- plot spoiler)
Tells the story about a boy shipwrecked on the Pacific ocean for 227 days. He shares a lifeboat with a bunch of zoo animals, one being a Royal Bengal Tiger. Unbelievable?, you may ask- perhaps, but the story is riveting, and apparently may or may not be true (draw your own conclusion)

2 other intangibles that made this book a good one for me:
- the main character is a born-and-raised Indian now living in Toronto [we are currently in India and live close to T.O.] and the tiger is Bengali (we are staying in the province of West Bengal)
- the author is Canadian.

3- "Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo

Julie read this one after we visited la belle Paris. A long one, but a good one, or so she says...
A beautiful love story set in 15th century France. Better than the Disney movie, with more politics, more depth, and more action. A classic.

4- "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coehlo

I just finished it- Julie has read it a couple of times and loves it. Yes, it is a popular best-seller, but for good reason. A boy travels from Spain to the Great Pyramids to follow his dream. Especially pertinent because we read it again while in Egypt.
Smooth, easy to follow, inspiring, and a bit mystical- both of us would recommend it to anyone.
I don't know anyone who has read it and not liked it. Check it out.

That's it, that's all.