Home sweet home. It was wonderful backpacking with all of you. I‘m back home in north-central Washington state enjoying autumn. This was great fun. Congratulations to the winners when they‘re announced. Let‘s meet up again next summer. Here are some shots of my little corner of the world. #backpackeurope

Reading E.T.A. Hoffmann‘s The Sandman in English. It‘s such a beautiful country. I‘ll actually be there IRL next June. #backpackeurope

I‘ve been reading a lot of historical fiction lately, which I love, but I‘m feeling the need for a palate cleanser. This has been on my shelf for years. It feels like just what the doctor ordered.

#backpackeurope. I‘ve had this book on my shelf for years. I always seemed to skip right over it when looking for my next read, but this time I picked it up because I was looking for a book set in Poland. I ended up liking this book a lot. It‘s not for everyone, but I ended up feeling very touched by the story.

Finally settling into Poland for a few days. #backpackeurope

Prague is such a beautiful city; I can‘t wait to come back. I recommend The Prague Sonata to my fellow backpackers. I think you‘d enjoy this story. #backpackeurope

I‘ve had the opportunity to walk across the Charles Bridge a number of times while staying in Prague. Here‘s one example. #backpackeurope

So excited to be going to Prague! #backpackeurope

I‘ve backpacked to Vienna—can‘t wait to see what it has in store for me. #backpackeurope

I‘m in a slump. Can anyone recommend a book set in Austria? I‘d like something more contemporary—post WWII. My #backpackeurope reading is leading me toward too much historical fiction. I feel the need for a palate cleanser. Any suggestions?

#backpackeurope I spent an interesting time in Italy with Lucrezia Borgia, but now it‘s time to move on. I‘m heading for Austria. This is the first book by Nobel Prize-winning author Dario Fo. I wonder what his other books are like. This one wasn‘t quite my cup of tea.

#backpackeurope I‘ve just arrived in Rome. I‘m looking forward to getting to know Lucrezia Borgia. (I just love Europa Editions!)

#backpackeurope Paris, here I come—1818 Paris that is! Winging my way to Charles deGaulle Airport. I‘ll be reading The Black Tower.

#backpackeurope My time in Hungary is coming to an end, but I really enjoyed my time in this remote village. I‘m sure many of you will enjoy this story of the women in this village around the time of World War I.
@JenP @BookwormM

#backpackeurope I‘m winging my way to Hungary. I‘ll be spending some time in a remote village with The Angel Makers. I‘m very excited that Hungary is a travel hub this week because I will be spending 4 days in Budapest IRL next June—my first trip to Europe! @JenP @BookwormM

I was feeling very lazy, so I decided to stay in England for a few more days at the lovely Mansfield Park, but now I must move on—Hungary is calling me.
#backpackeurope @JenP @BookwormM Points: 2

Still visiting Mansfield Park. A nice cup of tea and a good book—it doesn‘t get much better than this.

What a surprise. I never expected to like it as much as I do. This is a multigenerational saga about three sisters in 1948 in Connecticut. The primary setting is at the Connecticut shore. It‘s a tale about the summers the family spends there at a family summer house with glimpses backward and forward in time revealing the trials, tragedies, and loves of the characters. I felt like I was at the shore in 1948. #backpackeurope @JenP @BookwormM

#backpackeurope Winging my way to Heathrow with The Annotated Mansfield Park in hand. I finished my U.S. book As Close to Us as Breathing, which I loved. I can‘t wait to see the sights. I‘m actually going to be in London next July—my first time. I can hardly wait! @JenP @BookwormM

My first book for #backpackEurope. Really loving it.

Excellent! That is all.

I LOVED this book. That is all.

My current read.

This was interesting. Picked it up on a whim.

The beginning of this book had me completely engaged, but it lost me when the focus moved to a different set of characters. It felt like the book lost its focus, too, but I suspect it had more to do with my lack of understanding of Indian politics and history.

I love the way Brian Doyle draws his characters. I feel like I know these people. My sister-in-law calls this the quintessential Oregon book.

I had such great hopes for this book, but I must confess I'm struggling. Now I see it's on the Man Booker long list. I'll be reading reviews when I'm finished to see what I didn't appreciate.

I received this today from Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia. I joined their subscription service. I gave them loads of info about books I've read and loved, books I've read and hated, and books on my TBR. Once a month they send me a surprise book based on my likes and dislikes. This was a complete surprise, so I'm digging right in.

This turned out to be an enjoyable summer read.

Nearly finished. Will report back when finished.

Finally, some summer reading! For book group,

A gift from my Grandson.

My current book group read. Not usually my cuppa, but it is fascinating.

Who's read this? I'm trying to decide what I think about it.

My current audiobook.

Taking on something a bit more serious.

Speeding through this book.

I saw the author on Bill Maher and had to read his book right away. Timothy Snyder is a professor at Yale with an amazing intellect. Highly recommended.

For book group.

LOVED this book. That is all. Carry on. 🎼🎹

April's TBR for April! (I also have some ebooks and audiobooks, too.)

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Amazing. Also listened to a discussion of the book on Slate's Trumpcast podcast from March 13.

My current read--a gift from friends.

I heard about this new book by Brian Doyle on the All the Books podcast. I love Brian Doyle! @Liberty you MUST read The Plover--it seems like such a Liberty kind of book!

My current audiobook.

My most recent acquisitions. I haven't started either, yet. Still reading Dan Chaon's I'll Will.

Getting started--I've heard really good things!

I really came to appreciate this novel after I finished it, but it is a hard one to recommend. It's a very deep dive into the culture of the nomadic Mongols in Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution and the effect of that on the way of life of the Mongols and the environmental degradation that occurs.

I needed a break from Wolf Totem--something light that didn't require a lot of brain power.

The winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize for book group. This one really does have wolves. 🐺