Books I’ve Enjoyed Lately

I am already a book addict, so it is a guilty pleasure to read all those year-end compilations of “best” books of 2012.  I can’t begin to list all of the wonderful books I read this past year, but I will share a few enjoyable reads from the past couple of months.

Mrs Queen Takes the Train

Mrs Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn is a charming tale about the weary yet resourceful Queen Elizabeth, who on the spur of the moment decides to take the train to Scotland to see once again her beloved but decommissioned yacht.  Not exactly running away from home (palace), for the Queen is an adult after all.  But quite out of character for the aging monarch, who (unlike others in the Royal family) has spent her life doing the right thing.  This is such an endearing, human portrait of the Queen.

Return to the Willows

One of the full-page illustrations by Clint Young

If you are a fan of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (and I am — I own several editions of this classic), you will enjoy Return to the Willows by Jacqueline Kelly (who wrote one of my favorite books last year, too, called The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.)  This sequel furthers the adventures of Mole, Rat and Toad in a seamless continuation of Grahame’s work.  Kelly seems to delight in the language and “translates” from British to American English in footnotes.

World Enough and Time

World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down by Christian McEwen is a book of essays that explores so many of the themes that interest me:  silence and solitude, walking, mindfulness, etc.  McEwen feels like a kindred spirit, and just reading this book was an island of calm in a busy world.

Glaciers, a Novel

Glaciers by Alexis Smith is a quiet novel about a librarian who repairs and restores damaged books. (I do like books about librarians!).  She’s drawn to thrift-shop finds and salvages other people’s cast-offs.  And this novel focuses on a few days in her life at work, where she is tip-toeing around a budding relationship with a colleague.

“Her story could be told in other people’s things.  The postcards and the photographs.  A garnet ring and a needlepoint of the homestead.  The aprons hanging from her kitchen door, Her soft, faded dog-eared copy of Little House in the Big Woods.  A closet full of dresses sewn before she was born.
All these things tell a story, but is it hers?  It has always been more than an aesthetic choice, holding on to the past; it’s a kind of mourning for the things that do not last.
We do not last, she thinks.   In the end, only the stories survive.”

Travels with Epicurus

Daniel Klein’s Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life will make you want to remove yourself to the slow pace of the village of Kamini on the island of Hydra.  Klein ruminates about how to have an authentic old age, with lessons from Epicurus forming a platform for his musings.  “Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.” — Epicurus

Paris vs. New York (breads)

And finally, Paris vs. New York:  A Tally of Two Cities by Vahram Muratyan is one of the most imaginative and creative books I’ve read.  Each double-page spread compares an aspect of city culture as it is experienced in NYC and in Paris.  The clean designs are striking and a marvel.

Paris vs. New York (coffee)

Paris vs. New York

Sunrise at Glacier National Park

Sunrise enroute to St. Mary's entrance to Glacier National Park

We got up early for the drive from East Glacier to the entrance of the national park at St. Mary’s. . . just in time for a colorful sunrise!

Pink and purple clouds in a colorful Montana sunrise

Pink-tinged peaks in Glacier National Park

Morning sun lights the glacier at the peak of this mountain

Sunrise from Hwy 40 between East Glacier and St. Mary's

Glacier Bay National Park

My favorite part of our Alaskan cruise was Glacier Bay National Park.  We spent one entire day cruising in this remote and pristine wilderness.  Glacier Bay is accessible only by plane or ship, so I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience the beauty of this gem of a national park.

Here are some photographs that give you a sense of the wonders found in the park:

One of the many glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park

Lining up on deck to see the Margerie Glacier up close

Jagged blue ice of the Johns Hopkins Glacier

Harbor seal floating on an iceberg by the Johns Hopkins Glacier

Shades of blue, Glacier Bay National Park

Sun streams through the clouds, Glacier Bay National Park

Cruising Alaska

Our cruise ship, the Coral Princess, at the dock in Ketchikan

My husband and I returned on Monday from a 7-day cruise from Anchorage, Alaska, down the coast to Vancouver, B.C.  We booked the cruise at the last minute after learning that I would be furloughed for one week while the Seattle Public Libraries closed for budget reasons.  When I was investigating things to do during my week off without pay, I ran across this cruise that fit the timeframe exactly.  We’ve never cruised before, so we decided that when life served up lemons, we’d make lemonade and enjoy a vacation that took us away from our everyday concerns.

We didn’t see as much wildlife as during our land vacation in Alaska in 2008, but the scenery along the Alaskan coast was stunningly beautiful.  Here are a few photos that attempt to capture the scope of this week-long cruise:

Snow-capped peaks surrounding Harvard Glacier in College Fjord

Lining up on deck to see Margerie Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park

These days Skagway pans for tourist dollars rather than gold

Skagway guide dressed in Gold Rush era clothing

Departing Skagway ahead of two other cruise ships

Float plane descending into Juneau

Lone kayaker against the immensity of the Mendenhall Glacier outside of Juneau

Icebergs in the water by Nugget Falls near the Mendenhall Glacier

Cloud-enshrouded forests around Juneau -- Juneau gets over twice as much precipitation as Seattle.

It rained every day of our trip, but the changing clouds were beautiful and dramatic.

Totem poles at Saxman Village outside Ketchikan

Native carver demonstrates his craft, Saxman Village

Our favorite activity was simply watching the scenery go by from our aft deck.

I cherish the memories of sunsets at sea.

Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, B.C. on the final morning of our cruise