Reading in Reykjavík

-The beginning chapters of this novel make it seem like "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case" may have been cut from Goldenhand prior to its publication, as it shows how Nick Sayre finally made it back to the Old Kingdom after he went back home after the events of Lirael . However, it wouldn't have added anything except to explain why Nick finally decided to return to the Old Kingdom and to show the meeting between Nick and Lirael from his point of view. It is therefore not necessary to have read the story in order to understand anything that happens in the novel - the events of the story have little bearing on the main plot. -I have started to notice a certain predictability in these books, but it's part of the fun to see how well I am able to predict future events. -I like that Nix isn't afraid to let his characters get seriously hurt. Lirael has already lost an arm and another important character loses a leg. Both losses are used as a device to s...

Full title: Misadventure in the Middle-East - Travels as Tramp, Artist and Spy I am beginning to notice a pattern in the titles of travelogues. First comes a catchy, preferably playfully humorous and often alliterative main title, preferably punning on the title of a book, song or movie. Some examples include the above, as well as The Wrong Way Home, Vroom With a View, On a Hoof and a P rayer and Around India in 80 Trains . Then comes a sub-title meant to entice the potential reader to pick up the book. this one is actually unusual in being shorter then the main title, but just witness the sub-title of the previous book I wrote about: Cape Town to Cairo by Any Means Possible . Mind you, I'm not complaining, I just think it's funny that I never noticed this before, because when I start thinking about it, I have read so many travelogues with this kind of title. But let's not get lost in asides - these were supposed to be reading notes for Misadventure in the Middle-Ea...

Full title : Swahili for the Broken-Hearted - Cape Town to Cairo by Any Means Possible I read two of Peter Moore's travelogues last year. The first, Vroom With a View: In search of Italy's dolce vita on a '61 Vespa , I read as preparation for a trip I took to Italy in September of that year, and the second, The Wrong Way Home - London to Sidney the Hard Way , I read as a consequence of enjoying the first. Both were fun reads and I gave both the same 3,5 stars in my reading log, although I seem to recall feeling that there was a little bit too much drinking in The Wrong Way Home for my taste. In Swahili for the Broken-Hearted , Moore travels overland up the coast of east Africa from Cape Town to Cairo, mainly on public transport and by catching rides. He visits some of the obligatory tourist places on the way, like Victoria Falls and Zanzibar, and stays in accommodations ranging from fairly luxurious lodges to backpacker hostels to cheap flops; meeting a variety of peo...