To get the roommate crap out of the way: haven't heard from the guy for more than two weeks. Took all of his stuff that he had in the house and made a huge pile of it in the garage. Now looking for another roommate but the only people who come by to see the place are young men, in their 20's, and I am not going down that road again.
Books: I just read "The Girl on the Train" which is on all the best seller lists. It's fine, better than "Gone Girl." The ending is a bit overblown but by then, who cares. But it's a book that, once finished, is gone from your mind. Honestly, I had to re-read the last three pages this morning just to remember what happened. Guess I just didn't care that much.
But this book stuck with me: "The Given World" by Marian Palaia. The protagonist, Riley, is a tough, troubled, smart and strong woman with lots of demons and lots of anger. She also has a huge heart that is pretty much broken, thus the anger and the toughness. (Who doesn't try to hide a broken heart, no matter how it got broken?) Most of it takes place in SF, some in the Bernal Heights area, an area I know fairly well because Jenn lived there for a while. Some takes place in Saigon. Some is on the road. This is a book worth reading. Every word seems important, every scene is set so clearly and the character of Riley will stick with you with her tenacity and her guts.
James Lee Burke, "Crusader's Cross." I have mentioned Burke before on this blog. If you haven't read him, just go to the library and get one of his Dave Robicheaux novels. Yes, they are about a private detective getting involved in crimes, which sounds so mundane. The writing, however, will blow you away. His descriptions of the land, of the cities, of characters, of feelings, of loss, love, and everything are lyrical and yet gut wrenching as well.
On Sunday I picked up 5 books from the library that I had requested. I don't like to get 5 at a time but there was no other option, if I didn't take them they would go back into circulation. I am hoping for a winner among them and will keep you posted.
On other topics: Gabe and Annie celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary last week and stayed here at the Olea Hotel for three nights at a nicely discounted rate. On Saturday Steve and I and Gabe and Annie had dinner at Spinster Sisters in Santa Rosa. We were there for about two and a half hours, shared almost all the small plates on the menu as well as 4 different kinds of wine. Needless to say, it was a great dinner and a great evening. There's nothing like having some fine family around to take your mind off the crappy side of life.
That's all for now. More to follow……
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