Honeymoon with My Brother - Franz Wisner

I already wanted to travel before I read this book - but now I REALLY want to travel. I already have times when I want to quit my job and find a way to live without one, but this book made me REALLY want to throw it all away. Of course, I don't have a $77K bonus to fund my travels or a house I can make $250K selling... so I guess I will have to continue dreaming.

This book reminded me of my friend Melodie - she actually did this. Took a year off and visited the world - ok, not sure about South America... Of course, when she came back to work, the work travel was too much - she just wanted to stay home.

The style of writing reminded me of the e-mail messages she would broadcast to friends - that she still broadcasts on her blog. The kind of writing that makes you feel like you need to pack a small bag and go see the world. The kind of writing that makes even the scary times (robbed or held at knife point) seem like humorous stories to tell at a party later.

I'll pass this one on the friends and see if it comes back. If it does, I'll keep it. I don't know if I can have this kind of inspiration in my house all the time.

White Teeth - Zadie Smith

Not gonna finish it - after 100 pages, I just don't care. I can't tell you the name of the characters - just that it is a Bengali and Englishman who became friends during WWII and now live near each other with their much younger wives.

It is already in the box of things to give away, donate, or throw away.

The Optimist's Daughter - Eudora Welty

Extremely well written story of the days leading up to and after Lauren's father's death. It showed the grieving process - without being a tear jerker. I am still processing this one, so I don't know what to say. I don't think I'd read it again (even though I was motivated to finish it in less than a day), but it was definitely good enough to pass on to others.

Daughter of Fortune - Isabel Allende

I read Daughter of Fortune for two reasons - it had been sitting on my shelf of stuff to read for quite a while (passed on by Mom) and the UC Davis Sacramento Alumni Book Club chose it for July. Always a bonus when the book group picks something I planned to read. I had picked it up before and never made it past page 10; even considered adding it to the donate pile unread. Turns out I would have missed a great book. Having forgotten Allende's style, I was pleasantly surprised at how well she was able to combine historical information and character background without losing the flow of the story. Her character descriptions made it clear what she thought of the British in Chile, at one point stating that English arrogance made English women puckered as they aged. Seeing this attitude sprinkled throughout the book made me smile in the middle of otherwise ordinary scenes.

In addition, I loved the pre-knowledge of different events that will occur after the end of the book. As I read the passage, I was looking forward to a continuation of the courting later in the book, but when it was over those characters were still on opposite ends of the Americas. There were several of these spread throughout; giving the book life after it's end.

I would read this again and recommend it to others. Now, I just have to make room in the "A" section for it's permanent home.