P.D. James is a treasure.
I think she’s the best classic mystery writer today. You may know her work from BBC TV adapataions of her Adam Dalgleish detective series.
Now you know who-done-it.
Category: books
new books by Ron Shewchuk
Congratulations to my buddy Ron Shewchuk on the publication of his latest book, Writing and Editing the Internal Publication.
He’s posted a new blog in conjunction with the release.
Ron’s new corporate communications blog, For Your Approval
Ron has a best selling cookbook still on the shelves and a second cookbook ready for publication. Cookbook details on Ron’s homepage.
Unforgettable Things To Do Before You Die – kayak Baja
The highlight of my 4-day trip was snorkeling with sea lions at Los Islotes. They hugged & kissed us. Wow!
I wasn’t too worried when one took a love bite at my knee cap. (Rangers told us they have only had to evacuate one bleeding tourist back to La Paz, so far.)
White sand beach camps, desert canyons adorned with hanging fig trees, snorkelling with tropical fish, towering rock cliffs, sea caves, ringtail cats, leaping manta rays. That’s what I’m talking about.
Writing the travel adventure book Unforgettable Things To Do Before You Die (2005) authors Steve Watkins & Clare Jones were personally guided by Manuel — also my guide in 2006. I should write a book too! Or at least post a website on how to kayak Isla Espiritu Santo. …
For the full travelogue in 60 annotated photos jump to the permanent webpage in Rick’s travelogue archive. 
Next travelogue on this trip >> La Paz, Baja
book – Mosquito Coast, Paul Theroux
I have read all of Theroux’s travel books & most of his novels.
Finally got around to his 1982 novel which was made into a movie starring Harrison Ford.
Great book! Good movie!
The extreme philosophy of Ford’s character — a man who so hates American life that he moves his family to the jungles of Central America — is still fascinating today.
It reminds me of another terrific case study: Elizabeth Gilbert’s biography of Eustace Conway, The Last American Man.
Amazon reviews of Mosquito Coast.
Rick’s favourite books
On a suggestion by Brian, I added a favourite books Page. (Top of the right hand navigation column.)
I will add to my “life list” as I go. And backfill the books already in the vault.
TV – Michael Palin on travel
Palin became famous as one of the Monty Python comedians.
But I like him even better for his excellent travel series:
» Around the World in 80 Days (1989)
» Pole to Pole (1992)
» Irish Railway Journey: Derry to Kerry (1994)
» Full Circle (1997) circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean
» Hemingway Adventure (1999) retracing Ernest footsteps
» Sahara (2002)
» Himalaya (2004)
He is credited with a “Palin effect”, where places he visits immediately see increased tourism.
book – Land of Two Halves (New Zealand)
Rave review for Joe Bennett, a British expat’s tour of New Zealand.
First I must declare Joe is cheap, distrustful, grumpy & masochistic. He must be inept too to have so much trouble travelling the best travel country in the world.
Joe stayed in motels rather than superb hostels.
He shuns excellent public transport, insisting on hitchhiking far reaches of New Zealand.
It’s profane, absurd & funny. Very funny. This should be mandatory reading for every wide-eyed newby backpacker issued a tourist visa to New Zealand.
To read the first philosophical treatise on hitchhiking pick-up A Land of Two Halves.
book – Fall On Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald
I can’t deny it. I read an Oprah Book Club selection.
Touted original, complex, explosive, shocking, dark, epic and emotionally gripping — I loved it just as much as Oprah ( :
It’s like a feminine John Irving novel. The main theme is sisterhood, a world more foreign to me than that of the llama herders of Peru.
Kudos to this Canadian author on her first novel.
2007 – predictions from 7 (if you count Balmer) thinkers
The one I like best:
Chris Anderson is the editor in chief of Wired magazine
I’M WILLING TO bet that 2007 is the year that somebody figures out how to make video advertising work in a YouTube world. And if I’m right, the TV industry is going to get very rocky, very fast.
I doubt that the same disruptive force will hit movies, however. The big-screen home-theater boom created a market for high-def films, and that factor-of-10 increase in downloading time bought Hollywood another five years or so to figure things out.
I also think that this will be a big year for video gamers, and not just because of the delightful game-play innovations of the Wii and the power of the Xbox 360. (I can’t wait for Halo 3.)
Equally important is the fact that all of the current generation consoles now have built-in Internet connections. Their role as a bridge from the Net to the TV isn’t just a big deal for gaming, it’s also potentially a breakthrough moment for online video of all sorts.
We knew gaming competed with television for time, but now we’re learning that mainstream acceptance of networked gaming may also create the greatest competitor for the broadcast distribution model itself.
(via Boing Boing)
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More
lists – year end 2005
I have always loved lists, especially around New Years.
I find I can skip entire years — then catch-up by scanning lists of the Best of ____.
For the 237th straight year, Fimoculous.com has posted a lists of lists for 2005.
For example, Roger Ebert’s best movies of the year. (I have seen not one of them.)
Or go straight to America’s Finest News Source, the top 10 stories of the year from Onion.com
