– by Neil White (on my Kindle) – a really, really interesting book. It’s a memoir about the year the author spent in prison in Louisiana. About his sanctimonious attitude when he arrived there (he was convicted of kiting checks trying to keep his publishing business afloat) and what he learns during his year. But as much as it’s about his life as a prisoner, it’s more about the other residents of the prison – the last remaining lepers (Hansen’s Disease) who are provided for in the facility. Neil White is quite a character and I wondered more than once if he was ever going to “get it,” that he was greedy and egotistical. The book wasn’t published for about 10 years after his release, so at least he didn’t profit immediately by telling tales. The epilogue was so sad – listing the deaths of many of the leprosy patients and some of the inmates he came to call friends. One person at amazon commented that it was not worth reading because the author profited from his incarceration, and that he didn’t appear to have redeemed himself. I disagree – I think he did. If he didn’t, then he knows how to spin a good yarn. I choose to believe he learned a whole lot about himself and where his life took a (wrong) left turn, and that he’s trying to atone for his failings by publishing the book. You decide.
- by P.D. James (on my Kindle) – if I hadn’t read about this book in the Los Angeles Times a week or so ago I’d never have pursued this book. It’s nothing even close to her wealth of books of the mystery genre. But yes, it IS a mystery (not something I normally read) but it takes place about 5 years after Pride and Prejudice leaves off. That was the hook for me. An entertaining read and a way to keep in touch with all the lovable (and not-so) characters from Jane Austen’s classic. It’s not a page-turner in the true mystery-murder style, but it’s fun to read.
– by Judith Ryan Hendricks – I picked up this book at a lending library I use now and then. I have to laugh, though – the collection of books (probably numbering about 350 or so) is divided by paperback and hardback. And then by color. COLOR? I find that so ludicrous. But anyway, the title caught my eye. It’s definitely a novel, about a youngish woman who’s been a baker and a chef, but who is suddenly single. It’s about her struggle to find herself, to find a new rhythm of life. In the telling of the journey some recipes are included (baked goods, including bread-bread), which are available on the 
– by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) – most everyone who reads blogs knows about Ree – the Pioneer Woman, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She’s always entertaining, whimsical and enjoyable to read. A couple of years ago she wrote a memoir of her romance with Ladd, her now husband. I can’t count how many times, as I was reading this, that I was LOLing (Laughing Out Loud). She is such a witty writer and knows how to tell a story. Even though I know she married Ladd and has since had 4 children, I was caught up in her story from the first page. I wrote it up in more detail on
– (on my Kindle) Michael Tucker (from L.A. Law some years ago) and his wife, on a whim almost, buy a home in Umbria. An old, old, old house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, I think, and a nice terrace (where a lot of living goes on in Italian homes and families). It’s the story of the purchase itself, the friends they meet, the neighbors, how Michael finds the best butcher(s), bakers and candlestick makers. It made me long for another trip to Italy, actually. They enlarge the home, although they’re not there for most of the construction. It’s a similar tale to Frances Mayes’ books and Peter Mayle’s books too, but it’s different. Tucker is a TV star; his wife’s a stage actress. They live on some higher plane than I do, for sure, with lots of friends with connections. But it’s a cute story and I enjoyed it clear to the end.
(Stacy Schiff); 
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This is the Margerie Glacier, deep in Glacier Bay National Park, as far into the Tarr Inlet as you can go, with Mt. Quincy Adams (13,650 feet) and Mt. Salisbury (12,000 feet) in the center distance. In the foreground is the face of the Margerie Glacier, but it continues up with the river of ice through the center of the picture. The temp was about 50 most of the day, but very pleasant sitting in the sunshine.
When we took this cruise last time, years ago, we didn’t have a whole day in Glacier Bay. We came into the Bay during the night, woke up to the massive face of one of the glaciers (not sure which one), hung around for a couple of hours waiting for the glacier to calve. It didn’t, even though the captain sounded the ship’s horn, which sometimes will cause one (and likely the Park officials have laid down the law about trying to cause calving anymore, because the glaciers are receding at such a rapid rate). Back then, we saw some of the whale breeding grounds and did see whales off at a long distance, then we left in order to reach Sitka by early afternoon.
This time we spent the entire day there, from early morning when we picked up some Park Rangers who gave us mini-lectures on the ship’s radio periodically during the day. We “hung out” at the Margerie Glacier (pictured above) for about an hour or so. During that time we could hear the glacier cracking – sounds like gunshots or as rumbly as thunder). An eerie sound. Then hung out a shorter time at the less attractive Grand Pacific Glacier.
This looks like a rock wall, but it’s all glacier. Just black because of all the dirt and rock the glacier picked up when it was growing. Now it’s receding, so it drops small chunks of ice, but when this one calves it looks the same, because it’s so full of dirt and gravel.
This was as close as we were allowed to go in the Johns Hopkins Inlet (Johns Hopkins Glacier is right there in the center as it meets the sea). Harbor seals give birth (the Park Rangers call it pupping) on small icebergs way back in there (the safest place they can birth because of land predators like bears). Except for the ship’s engines, it was ever so quiet.
The Park Rangers spent some time talking about the glaciers. Their makeup, their history, and about the known evolution of them. The map they gave us shows the glacier masses over the course of the last 100 years. They have ebbed and grown, both. But she said that the glaciers receded PRIOR TO the Industrial Revolution, too. That likely thousands of years ago the glaciers did the same thing – receded dramatically. Not that man (and the burning of fossil fuels) hasn’t contributed to it, but they do believe it’s a natural phenomena.
As I’m writing this we’ve actually just docked in Ketchikan (after a long 8 hours or so at sea, when my stomach was not happy because we were actually out in the open ocean). We did see a few killer whales cavorting just beside the ship last night as we were eating dinner. That was fun! But I didn’t have my camera with me. I was concentrating on keeping my stomach under control as we were lightly rolling. Seasickness is just a fact of life for me. Hard to believe I married a man who is a sailor. He’s incredibly patient and understanding with me, though. Even he gets seasick occasionally, although I’ve never seen it happen to him, and we’ve been married for 26 years.
It’s overcast, foggy and cold here in Ketchikan. So don’t know that I’ll have many photos. Stay tuned.
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