Vacation reads

so, i read a lot when away. lots of beach reading. but good things. i first dove into a bit of nonfiction with The Best American Crime Reporting 2009, started it when i was in the hospital the day before we left, yep that's right, the hospital. i had to go to bali against the advice of two separate doctors! and i was fine. i just have to have a tiny little surgery at some point in the next week or so. i really liked this book a lot. "Thieves, liars, and killers--it's a criminal world out there, and someone has to write about it. A thrilling collection of the year's best reportage by the aces of the true-crime genre brings together the mysteries and missteps of an eclectic and unforgettable set of criminals. Gripping, suspenseful, and brilliant." I especially liked the one about crime migrating from cities to suburbs due to a nation wide experiment demolishing public-housing projects. Quite a smart read.

Then I read another Kurt Wallander mystery by Henning Mankell called The White Lioness. I know I know, another one but this was my favorite. It switched course partway through and all of a sudden the original case he was pursuing became something else entirely. Also, this is the first time the author included sections from the perspective of different characters mixed in with Wallander's. It was great. Totally gripping and interesting stuff mixed in about apartheid south africa. I wish you liked mysteries.


Next I spent one night reading a kid's book called The Penderwicks. I am in love with this book. It reminds me of all of my favorite kid's books from when I was a kid. Kinda old fashioned but not at all. Story of four sisters and their dad spending a month of vacation in the cottage of a mansion where a
mean lady and a lonely boy live. There's a rakish boy gardener and plenty of adventures. You should read this. It is lovely and simple.



The last book I read, The Black Path by Asa Larsson, was actually the third of a series that the author says she means to be 6 books when completed. I didn't realize this when I chose it or I might have started with the first one, but it reads well on its own. It starts with a woman prosecutor who has been released from a mental institute because the last case she had became so extremely traumatic that she snapped. She moves back to her home town and starts working in a local office. There is a terrible murder there and the local cops get her to help them out on the case. The interesting thing about the author's writing style is the history she goes into with so many of the characters. At one moment you are in the investigation, the next you are reading about how the one character's sister grew up. It all becomes relevant and ties together neatly at the end, but is definitely playing with genre lines. Anyway, I really liked it and now really want to read the first two.