Book post

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules for Writing. Short, sweet, and to the point. Pithy advice for writers, with cute cartoons and writers who have earned the exceptions.

The Body in the Piazza by Katherine Hall Page. Nice descriptions of food, somewhat sketchy descriptions of ambiance and scenery. Which is odd because it's Italy after all. Nice puzzle though, so that gets bonus points.

Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri. A good entry in this series. Montalban is feeling introspective after an injury. There is a kidnapping but the resolution is telegraphed early. Still enjoyable t read the unwinding.

Dearie by Bob Spitzer. A biography of Julia Child. Nicely done. It explains some of her foibles, her relationship with her husband, but most of all how she wrote her cookbooks and created the TV shows. I didn't know she was somewhat homophobic but overcame it late in life. She had a complicated but good relationship with Jacques Pepin and she and Madeline Kammen had a lifelong hate going. I got a good sense of her joy in life too. The author sometimes used rather too colloquial words or jarring slang but that's a small quibble. I liked learning about her career with the OSS.

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. This purports to be the last book in the Sookie series (but I'd bet there will be some novelizations from the show). It ties up some loose ends. I thought it etter than a couple of her more recent entries. We revisit a few old friends to see how they ended up.

European Union Weekend

This weekend, the European Union embassies were open. The weather was a little gray and drizzly. I decided to visit a couple that were a little off the beaten track. First up was the House of Sweden in Georgetown just off the Potomac River.

As you might expect it was very sleek. It took full advantage of its location, with floor to celining windows and lots of water features. The views from the rooftop were spectacular.

( Potomac River from Watergate to Kennedy Center to Memorial Bridge to Key Bridge )

They had a photobooth where you could dress up as a Viking, Pippi Longstocking or a few other characters. When I get a chance I'll scan that in. They also gave away a sampler CD with different kinds of Swedish artists on it. I'm enjoying it.

Then I headed over to the French Embassy, which is way up there in Upper Northwest. Germany and France were doing a joint open house. It was packed! Lots of nice music, kids could get their faces painted, snacks, and displays. I had my picture taken in front of an Eiffel Tower backdrop. I'll scan that one in too.

My last stop was the European Union headquarters. I won a trivia contest and got a cute t-shirt. They had a photobooth too (it seemed the popular souvenir of the day).

( Me with the Ireland background )

Another Only in DC kind of day :)