Thanks Jane — the trip away was great in various ways. And I think it was your long book challenge on your site that finally got me to pick up the novel Pachinko … so thank you for the push. It was worth the long length! Not all are …. but this one really stayed moving. I try to pick one long novel each summer — so it worked …. hope you enjoyed your long reads.

I have got to prioritize Pachinko – heard so many good things about it, and I know so little about that part of the world, history, social dynamics, etc.

Thanks Judee: good to hear from you. We had a really nice getaway time. Now we are back to reality but it was a good scenic trip that will stay with us for quite a while. Hope you are well. Enjoy your week.

Hi Athira – yeah we were sort of in the boondocks so we didn’t run into many people on our getaway. A couple nights we went into “town” and had a meal on an outside patio. Only a few cases there so all went well.
I found Erdrich to be a good storyteller and I thought Pachinko was an easier read than I was expecting. The pages went by easily. Hope you are all well there.

I do want to read Pachinko but I may wait a bit. I’ve read so much about human suffering this year, which is fitting, because it helps keep the pandemic in perspective, but Pachinko may just have to wait a little bit longer.

LOVE where you are on vacation! I am itching to go somewhere but don’t want to simply stay in nor do I want to be in a crowded place. Since that is mostly mutually exclusive, I’ll just keep pining instead.

Glad you are both Okay Carmen. They say this fall/winter will likely get bad again. Stay safe! And thanks for the titles set in Asia. I’ve heard of the first two you mention, but don’t know the third one — though it seems like you liked that novel the best … so I’ve put it on Hold for when it comes in at the library (it’s on order). It looks good!! perfect thanks.

Thanks Heather. The nature here is really wonderful. We had a good bike ride over a mountain and back and have been exploring different areas each day. This weekend we have to go home … but it’s been a nice getaway. I hope your temps are dipping there & the smoke has gone away. Enjoy your week.

Thanks Lesley. I saw that it was raining around Oregon today … so I hope that means most or all of the fires are out? Beware of the winds, argh not good. We are getting rain now too in B.C. Both of these authors were new to me … I’ll check out your review of Pachinko (thx for the link). It took me awhile to get thru Pachinko. Barack’s book should be a large door stopper too … so I’ll have to get ready for it. I agree that the print version is likely the best option there, I like to put sticky notes on parts I want to harken back to. I should put it on order now. I too liked Michelle’s book a lot. Stay well there.