Monsoon skies 30 July 2010

The rains are finally coming in - though too much in some places. We drove up to Xieng Khouang last Saturday and passed about 10 minor landslides along the way. None of them blocked more than half the road, though some big trees did fall down; however, the hardy local villagers had already cut up the trees and carried most of the remains away.

Yesterday, after some meetings, I suggested we drive up to one of the highest hills around Phonsavanh. Recently, a road appeared on the hill; I thought it was neat until I realized that something would be built up there. As we enjoyed the view, we looked down on the foundations for a new hotel. The top two photos are from the top of the hill.

Yesterday, I joined my staff for a special blessing ceremony for our truck, which was in a minor accident a few days ago. No one was hurt - a motorcycle hit the side of the truck and fortunately, the rider was wearing a helmet. So we went to a local temple for a ceremony - however, the special bee's wax candle, which the person measures around the head, the length of the forearm, and the collar bone to the belly button, didn't light. So K. drove back to market and I walked around the temple. The monk performing the ceremony took a moment to contemplate the view.

Near my house - the rice is starting to take root.

Hope you enjoyed my photos. This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

16 July: Some rainy season views around Vietnam

I just finished two weeks of field visits in Vietnam. On our last day, we drove up to Lao Bao, the Vietnamese side of the border crossing to Laos. Both sides of the border have big markets so people, even if they're not crossing over, go for shopping, to see what kinds of deals they can find.

The town itself is pretty ugly and there wasn't much interesting in the shops. However, the scenery outside town is beautiful.

The other side of this hill is the Sepon River, the border between Laos and Vietnam. Not too far from home.

We traveled to Hue, in Central Vietnam, with a rain storm to the west of us. We didn't get wet.

The central provinces are very poor. Many of the communities upstream were wiped out during Typhoon Ketsana last year - and now they are suffering drought. During our trip, we saw many fields which were brown and rock hard, with blades of green rice plants standing up. I hope the rains got to those fields.

We reached our destination on Saturday - Hue, the site of the ancient city which was destroyed during the Vietnam War. The bridge on the Perfume River is lit up at night with lights that change colors.

Hope you enjoyed my photos. This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

9 July - Around central VN

Did I really miss SWF last week? I thought I had some photos, but in my frenzy with this evaluation, I guess I spaced it out. Well, here are some photos around Vietnam this week.

I arrived in Hanoi. Usually I stay in the old quarter but the organization I'm consulting for, has moved their office to south central Hanoi. Less crowded (though you wouldn't know by this photo) but there are many small neighborhoods filled with quiet and trees.

 We traveled to Dong Hoi, along the central coast. Like much of central Vietnam, it was bombed during the war. It's a very peaceful city now - off the main roads, it's hardly like being in Vietnam at all; no traffic and noise! However, construction projects still unearth unexploded ordnance.

Dong Hoi is at the intersection of the Nhat Le River and the ocean. Nhat Le means 'tears of the sun,' not sure of the legend that contributed to this name but it is beautiful. The ocean beach itself is very nice and we had snacks there one night. When we sat down, we decided it was worth the risk that it might rain. We didn't didn't expect that it would rain, but five minutes later, it really came down. We huddled under large umbrellas while we gulped beer and ate squid. Five minutes later, it stopped.

 We went out to some remote areas after that, to interview villagers about the impact of the program I'm evaluating. The town itself was not very impressive - but the sky!

The town lies in a river valley surrounded by limestone cliffs. I could have stayed there for several more weeks, but we had to move on....

Hope you enjoyed my photos. This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

25 June 10: a week of skies

These two weeks involve a lot of traveling. I took the night train up from Bangkok on Sunday and arrived in Vientiane on Tuesday. The photo above is the bends of the elevated train, known as the Skytrain, in Bangkok. It's a very convenient and low-cost way of beating the traffic in Bangkok.

You can just see the Skytrain rounding the traffic circle (under the Canon sign) around Victory Monument.

I arrived in Nong Khai on Monday morning and enjoyed relaxing in this quiet town on the banks of the Mekong River. I talked to someone who has lived in the town for ten years and we reminisced about the town in the past. The waterfront has been restored, with a nice walking park on top of the bank. I watched some kids skateboarding and also, this couple who were having an intense conversation with frequent attempts to call someone on their cell phone.

Later on, I went to a waterfront restaurant and saw the moon in relation to these light chains. Took a few shots but I enjoyed the outcome.

The following morning, I woke to the sound of rain. The sky was coming down, drop by drop. Some friends came by and picked me up to bring me back to Laos.

I hope that next week, I'll be able to find a wireless connection to send some photos from the skies of Vietnam.

Hope you enjoyed my photos. This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

18 June: Fog on a clear day

It's been a while since I've been able to take pictures and post. My Nikon stopped working, just about the time that things started to heat up in Bangkok. I decided to wait until things quieted down, and then we had our own program evaluation so I had to wait some more. Happy to say, I've been re-united with my camera. It was a model which had been recalled because of a defective part, so the service center took care of everything and I had the camera back the following day.

But these pictures are not taken with my newly restored camera. I took these about two weeks ago in Pakse, Champasak Province. I kept the air con in the hotel room on all night and the camera had dropped down to the ambient temperature so when I took it out into the moist hot air the following day - instant fog. The sky had a few morning clouds, but everything was clear by the ground. The fog was in my camera's perception.

I took these pictures near one of the bridges on the Sedon River.

I walked around the back of the Buddhist wat, into a tiny graveyard (well, the ashes are placed in those monuments). The fog still had not lifted, so the effects were weird. The picture above is of benches, where relatives can sit and enjoy the view.

This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

TBR 2010 and back in Vientiane

I'm looking at my list to decide what books I should bring with me when I go to the field on Weds. I have 36 books on my lists and I've read 11 of them so far. Happy to be making some progress on the pile!

Primary list:
1. Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen - reading
2. A War of Nerves by Ben Shephard - reading
3. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West - Xieng Khouang
4. What I talk about when I talk about Running by Haruki Murakami - reading
5. number9dream by Daid Mitchell
6. Wandering through Vietnamese Culture by Huu Ngoc - Vientiane
7. In an Antique Land by Amitav Ghosh
8. Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali
9. The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins - Xieng Khouang
10. The Care of Strangers by Charles E. Rosenberg - Vientiane
11. The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
12. Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon - Audiobook, anywhere

Alternative list:
1. Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus
2. Hard Times by Charles Dickens - Audiobook
3. Bleak House by Charles Dickens - reading
4. Herzog by Saul Bellow
5. Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham - Audiobook
6. The World without Us by Alan Weisman - Audiobook
7. 2666: A Novel by Roberto Bolano - Vientiane
8. Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku - Audiobook
9. Brasyl by Ian MacDonald
10. A Grand Delusion by Robert Mann - Vientiane
11. BuddhaDa by Anne Donovan - reading
12. Mara and Dann by Doris Lessing

Alternative alternative list:
1. The Execution Channel b Ken MacLeod
2. Shriek: an Afterword by Jeff Vandermeer
3. Slan by A.E. Van Vogt
4. Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint
5. The Redundancy of Courage by Timothy Mo
6. The Tapestries by Kien Nguyen
7. On the Natural History of Destruction by W. G. Sebald
8. Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan
9. White Noise by Don DeLillo
10. The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
11. The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama
12. I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume

In other news, I just returned from Nepal and I'm in my little house in Vientiane, where a big storm is now blowing up. Just stepped in the door, to be greeted by my cats - and already looking at going out to the field. Better not tell my cats.

I'm happy that the Mekong River is a little higher than when I left. The drought and lack of water for irrigation was pretty upsetting. Now, after a meeting of the Mekong River Commission with the Mekong Basin countries and China, they came to some sort of agreement that China would release more water from its upstream dams. And it has started to rain, which also helps.

My World

I've been doing some work and touristing in Nepal for the past three weeks. These are a few pictures of a hike around Dhulikhel. I last visited this town on the edge of the Kathmandu Valley and hiked to Namobuddha shrine and monastery in 1989. A lot has changed - but a lot remains the same.

From Nepal Mar - April 2010

Because of the general unrest in the country, I decided to hire the services of a guide. He was great. In addition to walking on trails which didn't follow the dusty main roads, he knew a lot about development and the education system in Nepal. He is the head of the school committee for the community managed school in his village. We had a lot to talk about.

Above: Prem on the stairway leading to the Kali temple.

The beginning of the hike went straight up the stairway to the temple. Once there, we had to walk carefully as the army had set up a camp around the temple, complete with razor wire and fortifications to protect the nearby cell phone tower.

That was certainly a big change. However, the fields and the labor of the farmers preparing their fields has not changed much.

From Nepal Mar - April 2010

View of Namobuddha Monastery from afar.

From Nepal Mar - April 2010

When I was there in 1989, there was only one building at the top of the hill, where a few old monks and nuns greeted us. Now, the monastery extends around the hilltop and on to the next hill. Several hundred monks are in residence and it's possible for foreigners to stay there and meditate. Next time...

From Nepal Mar - April 2010

Above - view of prayer flags from the top of the monastery.

From Nepal Mar - April 2010

View of the Namobuddha shrine, on a shoulder of the hill below the monastery. The story itself comes from the Jataka Tales, the 500 incarnations of the Lord Buddha before his rebirth. The tale of Namobuddha is from his last rebirth before his final re-birth. The Boddhisattva was walking near this place and came upon a starving tigress and her five kittens. He was so distressed to learn of her suffering that he gave up his own body for her and allowed them to kill him and consume his flesh.

The shrine allows people to think of his sacrifice and his loving kindness to care for all sentient beings.

Sky Watch Friday - 12 March 2010

It has been so hot and hazy for the past month (well, there was a 2 day reprieve when a cold front came down from China). SE Asia is having one of the worst droughts since 1992 - a poor rainy season in 2009 combined with no rain in the northern parts. The Mekong river has been very low, which is starting to affect shipping, irrigation and household water supplies. Very scary.

This is what it looks like in the morning:



And mid-day



The near side is Laos, the other side of the river is Srichieng Mai, Thailand.

The air quality is awful these days. I've been riding my bicycle to work and it really gets me coughing. I'm starting to wonder if exercise is healthy.



And in the evening.



I cheated on the last one. It was so grainy when I fooled with the exposure and contrast that I used the crosshatch setting in Photoshop.

Hopefully, it there is wireless where I'm staying, I'll be posting my next week's SWF from Kathmandu, Nepal!

This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

Sky Watch Friday - 5 March 2010

I haven't had a chance to post any skies over the past two months. Too much traveling in remote places, not enough time, not enough internet. This weekend is the calm between two storms. Looks like, hopefully, the next storm will come from Nepal where I hope to spend a month for work.



This is one of my favorite recent shots. We were driving from Xieng Khouang back to Vientiane with a guest so I begged some time in Phatang. We walked up into the temple by the side of the Song River and I took some pictures. This picture is of Phatang itself. It literally means "the Cliff Throne."

Friends from Xieng Khouang told me that there were many makeshift internally displaced people camps around this valley, which was about a day's drive from Vientiane at that time. There's a small airstrip at Vang Vieng, where supplies and food could be flown in.

The picture below was taken on 17 Feb, where the sky came down at touched the Earth in Nong Haet district. It was very cold but it didn't seem to stop the kids. I think they were laughing to see the figure of a foreigner materialize out of the mist.



While Laos is considered a tropical country, the mountainous North can get very cold during the winter. The elevation here in Nong Haet is about 4,000 ft.

And finally, raising a house against the background of the sky.



When villagers construct houses, they mobilize friends and neighbors to help them.

This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

Books for February

The end of January and through most of February, my work had to take over everything. A lot of the work we planned for December had to be moved to January because of the Southeast Asian Games, which was hosted by Laos. National pride over this international role was palpable.

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
I remember living in upstate New York on the day in August, 1974 when Philippe Petit walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. McCann writes about the event, but also wanted to explore the lives under his feet. The book starts off with a series of seemingly unconnected stories, which comes together at the end.

I listened to an interview on a podcast, where McCann said that we also walk on tightropes, and even if it's only an inch off the ground, we can fall and damage ourselves, or soar above the ground. The section of "The Walker's" practice in Montana really soar.

I also enjoyed this book, as well as other books, which take place in New York City in the late 20th Century (such as 'Fortress of Solitude,' and 'The History of Love'). When I lived in the City in the late 70's, it was a thrilling, eccentric and uncontrolled environment, full of creative and destructive energy. "Let the Great World Spin" captures that feeling.

Way Station by Clifford D. Simak
I first read this book when I was a child and made me wonder about who else shares our universe. Enoch Wallace is the keeper of the Way Station, helping other residents of the galaxy travel through the stars. That's the job I wanted when I grew up.

Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay
Upadhyay is the first Nepali author writing in English to be published in the West. He spans two worlds in this collection of short stories, of a changing Nepal still holding on to traditional values yet affected by the rest of the world.

January Books

So, it's the end of January and time to tally up my books read during the month.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
A collection of stories set in Pakistan, this is one of the notable books of 2009. The stories all deal with various manifestations of love, in a less harsh manner than in "Maps for Lost Lovers" (about Pakistanis in London), though so many of the stories are tragic.

Brasyl by Ian MacDonald (on my TBR alternative list)
Science fiction novel set in the near future, 2006 and the 18th century. A bit confusing at first but once I settled into the world, it was an incredible book which meshes together history, culture and a mind-bending plot.

Where I'm Calling From by Raymond Carver. I also read Cathedral, another collection of stories, though half of them are also in 'Where I'm Calling From.'
Carver is one of America's greatest short story writers. His style is spare, able to evoke feelings with the minimum amount of words. He writes about ordinary people, trying to find an elusive something through externals - through alcohol, marrying someone new, abstaining from alcohol, divorcing someone, trying to stay married (though this is often by accident). My favorite story is "Cathedral", about how the unnamed character transcends jealousy when his wife invites her former employer, a blind man, into their home.

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (on my TBR list)
I just finished this today - Atwood is such a master. In this story, she weaves together the life stories of four characters, tied together to someone who is truly evil.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
This book has an idea-driven plot, with interesting foundations: 1. All the oil in the world has run out so a greatly diminished population has to do with renewable power sources - such as mainsprings in cars, guns, etc. Much of the work previously done in the golden age of oil, is now done by human or animal labor. 2. Plagues have run through the world - developed by scientists, they have wiped out much of the crop production. Other genetically modified insects have wiped out the forests by goggling them up. There are any number of diseases that kill humans, or by killing crops have killed humans by starvation. GM companies in the US have both developed these plagues and genetically modified, sterile crops that resist them. Evil.

In order to deal with manual labor issues, genetically modified animals called 'Windups' have been developed. The plot revolves around a foreigner, a windup girl, various ministries in Thailand and refugees.

The writing is OK, repetitive in many places. Where I kinda get left off is the violence in the last third of the book. I'm a peacenik; I don't think the physical violence at the end really needed to advance the plot. However, I think the book is worth reading because of the ideas, and the near-futureness of it. It really could happen.

Wanting by Richard Flanagan
Historical fiction with three main components - 'civilizing' aborigines in Tasmania, where whole groups of people are relocated into villages. One of the children is picked out by the Governor's wife, Lady Jane Franklin to be the subject of her grand experiment to see if a Christian veneer can take. The second component is Sir John Franklin's exploration in the artic. And the third revolves around Charles Dickens and the staging of a play based on John Franklin's tragic end.

This book is very intense, sad and wonderful and maybe packed too tightly into its slim volume. But there are thoughtful and beautiful passages. Because of the complexity of the three stories, I think that it really could be three times as long.

Winter in Thailand

Although the calendar says, "Winter," we never see snow in SE Asia. There was rumor of snowfall in Xieng Khouang in 1984 but the blizzard that drop 1 cm. on Phonsavanh, left quickly and all the snow melted by the afternoon. There are periodic sightings of 'snow' which turn out to be early morning frost. Yes, it does get cold enough to freeze water in some places and make you put on several layers of coats - but not enough to get your feet wet.

There are displays of snow men and Santa Claus in the shopping malls. Maybe it's cold enough to snow wads of money during the shopping season.

That's My World!

These old trees line the road in front of Hor Pra Keo, a former Buddhist temple which is now a museum. I took this picture on Tuesday while walking to the bank. Along with the tree-lined streets and the history of the roads and the old French buildings, Vientiane has a distinct feel!

Best Conference

Continuing the suggestion from Gwen Bell's blog: "Best Conference of 2009."

Living in a Developing Country, I don't often get a chance to attend conferences. When a conference does happen in-country, I'm often in the field and usually don't hear about it until I return and I hear how good the conference was. There are conference offerings in Thailand - if I get a chance to go to Khon Kaen which has the main university hospital for NE Thailand, I see posters for very interesting medical conferences on the walls of the elevators and on bulletin boards but usually for the previous week or the next week. Nothing seems to happen in the present.

So, this past year I went to the University of Washington 'Advances in Family Practice Conference.' I think this is the fifth time I've attended. All the topics are interesting and practical, reflecting the current practice standards for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of common problems that medical providers see in their clinics. It's a great chance to review and meet other primary care physicians and physician assistants.

My list of 'Best of Books read in 2009'

Looks like I read 74 books this year. Thought I read more, but I think I forgot to list them on Goodreads. Well, that's the way it goes.

Books I liked the best:

1. Year of the Flood by Marget Atwood
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
3. Cats Eye by Margaret Atwood (you can tell I'm a fan of this great writer)
4. Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips
5. The Thing around Your Neck by Chimanada Ngozi Adichie
6. Tinkers by Paul Harding
7. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
8. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
9. A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam
10. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

I also read A Wild Sheep Chase, which I thought I had read several years ago, but it didn't seem familiar in a Murakami kind of way. So after I read Dance, Dance, Dance I read A Wild Sheep Chase. Love Murakami's writing. Also re-read Norwegian Wood. I kinda put these separate, as any list that I compose, which includes Murakami, would mean that the books by Murakami would come out on top, as far as I'm concerned.

2010 recommendations: Just be the Best I can be!

At this time of the year, blog posts focus on the best and worst of the past year. Even more amazing, there are many articles on the best and worst of the decade. I can't believe that we've gotten through the first ten years of the millennium. And I've spent them all in Laos.

Along with looking back over the year or decade, everyone posts their resolutions for the new year, or why they don't believe in resolutions and won't post any resolutions. At a new year's party last night, I asked some of my Lao staff if they had resolutions. At first, they were confused because the word 'resolution' is translated as mat-tii , meaning 'law' or 'decree.' So I explained that in this context, it was like a personal law or decree for what they would like to change or try out in the new year. They all laughed and told me that they always want to do the best they can so why do they need to make their own laws?

Well, I was hoping that one of them would say something like, "I'd like to write better quarterly reports and get them in on time." Sigh. I just know that they will continue to do the best possible...

For myself, I really don't make resolutions. My situation is always changing so if I say, "I resolve to write 2,000 words/ day" or "I resolve to run 5 miles/ day," if I don't do it, then I feel bad. So I prefer to make recommendations for myself, such as:

Writing 500,000 words this year. Three years ago, I tracked my writing. I felt my writing was improving and I had the time and energy to keep at it. I discovered that if I wrote a lot, it became easier and my writing grew better. At the end of 2006, I had written about 370,000 words. So, I recommend to myself to write 500,000 words and see what happens.

Train for a half-marathon, whether I end up running in one or not. I always think a lot while I'm running and it frees my mind.

Read as much as possible this year. I always try to read one hundred books/ year which includes lighter reading as well as massive books which have won Booker or other literary awards. I still have a backlog of books, so I'm participating in the 'TBR challenge'.

Try to be patient and be a better boss. That also means handing over more work to my staff so I'm not left with it, which makes me feel crabby and uncreative.

Travel more in the region. I recently found out that I have frequent flier miles on Thai Airways that I have to use. It looks like I'll be doing some work in Nepal in February/ March so I'm going to travel a bit there (someplace safe as the political situation there is always changing).

Strive for quality and not quantity in these recommendations and don't get upset if I don't always live up to them. Just live a good and meaningful life, that's my main resolution.

The Worst Books of the Decade!

Well, if there's going to be a list for the best, there should also be a list for the worst. Actually, it's weird - the Davinci Code is on both the best and the worst lists! I haven't read any of these books, though I did try to start Vernon God Little. Although it did win the Booker Award in 2003, I found it hard to get through because the main character is just so unlikable.

Anyway, about this list - I can you can say that it's the 'best of the worst of the decade.'

The post is rising to the challenge of National Blog Posting Month. This month's challenge at NaBloPoMo is to post daily about "The Best of...."

Sky Watch Friday - 01/01/10

Happy New Year everyone! I managed to fall asleep early in the evening after returning from one party. The sound of firecrackers in the neighborhood and the lower booms of fireworks in downtown Vientiane woke me just for a moment at midnight but didn’t keep me awake.

So this morning I felt very energetic and took a six mile walk in the afternoon. The day ended a large cloud over Thailand, with the sun peeking out of the upper layers.



It’s unusual to have much rain during this time of the year. There are some showers during January and February, called the “Mango Rains,” necessary for the fruit to get juicy and sweet.

In general, the skies are clear in the afternoons. I like the view in the mountains, where the high grasses dry out and refract the sunlight. This view is along Rt. 13 going north toward Louang Prabang, before the turnoff on Rt. 7 to Xieng Khouang.



And a couple of views of the sky through my backyard. I tried a bit of High def on this plum blossom:



Unfortunately, the wind was blowing which is why it looks like it should be viewed through 3D glasses.

And my papaya tree. I wonder how many will be ripe by the time I return to Xieng Khouang. I brought a few green ones back with me to Vientiane - once they ripened, they were delicious.

This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

The best Books of the Decade!

I've been reading all sorts of "Best of Lists". No only do we have to go through our memories for the best of 2009 but also the best of the decade.

The Times of London list of the best 100 books of the decade is fun. I've read 25 of the 100 books, which includes the last Harry Potter book (although I've read only one of the previous books).

The books I have read on the list were:

1 The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006)
7 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2002)
9 Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001)
14 Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi (2003) - I was so impressed with this book when I read it the first time, as part of a group read in the old Barnes and Noble Book Groups. The discussion was led by Azar Nafisi herself. I really felt I got to know the author. I read and re-read some of the books they had discussed such as the Great Gatsby and Lolita.
17 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (2007)
19 The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (2001)
20 White Teeth by Zadie Smith (2000)
24 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005) - speculative fiction at its finest.
25 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (2003)
29 The Accidental by Ali Smith (2005)
30 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003)
32 Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (2002)
46 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)
55 Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Baghdad’s Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran (2007) - This is the real story in Iraq. I plan to re-read it some time and review articles on the some of the events he discusses.
56 If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor (2002)
60 Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond (2005)
62 Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (2002) - loved this book - incredible descriptions and plot twists.
66 Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004) - one of my favorite books. I've read it twice already.
72 True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (2001)
73 Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami (2005) - Great collection of Murakami's stories.
80 The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (2008)
84 Unless by Carol Shields (2002)
96 The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda's Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright (2006)
97 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2007)
98 Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie(2007) - another one of my favorites.

Books I have but haven't read but promise to read this year:
2 Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (2003)
5 Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky (2006)
6 The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
12 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (2000)
13 Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald (2001)
15 The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (2006)
21 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (2004)
28 The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross (2007)
39 Runaway by Alice Munro (2005)
41 The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (2008)
44 Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (2005)
48 A Short History Of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (2003)
54 Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss (2003)
61The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
69 My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (2001)
94 Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta (2005)
83 This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust (2008)

This month is NaBloPoMo's challenge - "The Best of...."

That's My World!

Even in paradise, you have to clean and do laundry. I washed the slippers I offer for guests visiting my house since it's tradition to take your shoes off at the front door. It's been cool up north so it's been taking them a while to dry so I hung them on the metalwork of the window.

When I entered the room, I thought, "The shoes are dancing without me!" So here they are in flight:



This is my contribution to That's My World! where everyone plays tour guide for their part of the world.