Love and Adventure in *this* :) Foreign Land

Anticipating that I would spend several hours every day in the car on this trip, I brought an entire duffel bag full of books (okay, it had a few other things in there as well :)) but as you can see from the lack of posts over this past week, that didn't so much happen.  Actually, it did happen, but I was usually either sleeping, trying to sleep, or arguing, with a distinct lack of reading activity thrown in.  So sorry, no updates till now.  But now, in my usual Shabbos tradition, I have finally finished a book! So I can post! And what a book...

When I found out I would not be going to Alice Springs, Outback central, and would have to satisfy myself with the "outback" (yes, l&gs, that's colloquially any area outside the main urbanized part of Australia, according to Wikipedia) I knew I needed to whip up some enthusiasm from somewhere - and I recalled Sarah Sp's suggestion that I reread Victoria Holt's The Pride of the Peacock, which takes place in the opal mining towns of late nineteenth century Australia.  And we will be going by some mining towns (and some opal mining towns now that I've read the book :)) And  I was definitely amenable, especially since it wasn't a bad book the first time I read it.

So first off, *definitely* good for whipping up enthusiasm for the quote-unquote outback :) The book glories in all the primitive gorgeousness that was early Australia.  And I'm inspired to go to Lightning Ridge, which is anyway on the way, so yay :)

The book itself... well Victoria Holt has written more than two books, but other than two I was told are the best, I'm not really tempted to read any.  That's because her books are not romances, but mystery-romances.  Heavy emphasis on the drama.  I suppose I don't have *such* a problem with that, but when it comes as the expense of the romance... well naturally I do.  Here, Jessica spends half the book worried that her husband is going to kill her.  And that does tend to cut in on the romance stuff, if ya know what i'm sayin.  And I thought I remembered that he really loved her the whole time (he does :) (silly grin :)) but I wasn't positive, that the writing doesn't give much hint of that.  But still, I could dream... and the dream was the reality... so it was all worth it :) 

I mean, I definitely liked it... so much that I was almost disappointed when it finished.  But I think that was kind of my mood for some reason, like I was excited it was about Australia.  Because actually I was quite impatient with the story and all the stuff going on... but in the last analysis ;), I liked it... so it was good. 

This is a boring review... I think I read the book without keeping the review in mind, so I don't have much to say... or maybe there just isn't much to say? In any case, finishing off with this:

Verdict: 4/5
Food: (sidebar - I now have a host of new foods that I do *not* like, thanks to my rather limited food choices here, so that should open up a whole new vista of food selections :)) so I liked it for sure, not my favorite, but something good... I don't know, what else to say? something that has a little something extra over its usual that kind of added to my enjoyment.  So how about nuts... I like them in general, I don't like a few of them, and I *love* some.  And if they're honey glazed pecans... oh my :) so I'll give this book honey glazed pecans... which I love a little more than this book, but okay