Read: Joanne Harris - Chocolat

I've seen the movie a few times, and while searching the library catalogue for e-books set in France, I came across the novel.

The novel is surprisingly harsher than the movie. The movie ends with the redemption of the 'bad guy' mayor, who is really just an overbearing control freak who needs to learn to let go and enjoy life as it is, but in the book the bad guy is the unbalanced priest with a murderous past, and he's driven right out of town, spiteful until the end. I prefer the warm, fuzzy feeling that the movie left with, but the book was still nicely evocative of French life - particularly the rituals of Easter and the enjoyment of chocolate.

Read: Peter Mayle - Provence A - Z

This book is a hodgepodge of short essays on various things French, arranged alphabetically. It makes for a fun, quirky encyclopedia. I actually got answers to a few questions (like why there was a trophy of a bare-bottomed woman for sale in the trophy store down the street - it's Fanny, awarded to the loser) and practically information I can use (like how to choose a ripe melon at the market).

Want to Read: Mary Doria Russell - Doc

A favourite author, Mary Doria Russell, has a new novel about Doc Holliday - and another favourite author, Emma Bull, just recently released a fantasy novel with the same western setting and characters. Interesting coincidence!

Want to Read: John McWhorter -The Power Of Babel, A Natural History Of Language

History of how languages evolve over time. Sounds like one of my favourite books "The Alphabet" by David Sacks.

Want to Read: Justin Cronin - The Passage

I'd been hesitating whether to put this book on my list to read. I am fond of end-of-the-world apocalyptic scenarios, but wondered if this one was just cashing in on the vampire trend by adding that into the mix. Plus it's so big - surely it's been plumped up to justify a steep price? But after reading good reviews and recommendations by friends I'm interested to give it a go. Let's see if it turns up as an e-book at the Toronto Library that I can download while I'm traveling...

Read: Jean M. Auel - The Mammoth Hunters

I had to re-read one of the earlier books in this series, just to convince myself that they were indeed, at one time, fairly interesting and unique in their premise, after reading the astoundingly boring final book in the series. This one does still hold up well - it's not great literature, but the prehistoric cultures and means of survival is pretty gripping.

Read: Jean M. Auel - The Land of Painted Caves

Abysmal. I knew 10% of the way in that it was awful, but I just kept hoping it would turn around somehow. This series always had rather leaden characterization and writing, but by now the author seems to have completely lost interest in anything resembling plot - the author just has the characters re-tell stories from past books, and encounter situations exactly like those already experienced - it could be a straight copy and paste job for all I can tell. This book seems to exist only as an excuse to visit all the caves in Europe with ancient paintings, and then describe them in painfully boring detail. Good thing it's the last book in the series - I really shouldn't put myself through an ordeal like this again.