Cranberries, east & west

In preparation for my trip to Peru I searched the net for possible reads and bought a bunch of books more or less using the recommendations I found. I probably should have been more observant. I've finished two of the "finds" (both have cranberry bogs - not bloggs - in them). The first was "Green Girls" by Michael Kimball. A rainforest in Maine and another NASCAR connection (like in St. Dale). A bit too much Indian (Columbia) mysticism for my liking. Poison darts and transformations to birds and such. I probably won't go looking for other Kimball books. The second book was "The Falls" by Karen Harper. I guess I probably thought that the title, which is the same as an Ian Rankin book, might indicate better quality. However, it was a romance novel dressed up as a murder mystery. The heroine lives in Washington State, not far from Seattle. There is an Indian shaman in this one too (a trend?) as well as a cranberry bog where the heroine almost got harvested (but no NASCAR). Needless to say I won't be searching for any new Karen Harper books either (although she has written quite a few). Anyway I don't intend to carry these books back to Sweden, which will lighten my load at least.
I spent a good part of yesterday evening trying to figure out how to do a sensitivity analysis on a Leslie matrix for a univoltine insect. I think I'm going to have to give up on the matrix analysis, because there is no chance of a stable stage distribution. But there should be a solution to the problem.

NASCAR and birthday cake

I have been in Peru 5 days and have, among other things, learned that they like celebrating. Today, Thursday, we had wine and cheese before lunch to celebrate the fact that the secretary was leaving the group to start another job (a promotion). This afternoon it was a birthday celebration involving cake (very good, but it tasted a bit like pancakes) and pizu (I think) an alcoholic beverage made from grapes and lime. I also got to the post office with my various and sundry cards. I hope that they will get to their destinations before I get back to Sweden, I haven't the slightest idea how long the mail takes. They are moving me out of the guest house tomorrow morning instead of on Monday. I was a bit miffed because they tried to make it sound like they were doing me a favor. But irritations disappear quickly because things seem to be proceeding well and plans were made today.
The NASCAR in the title is about the book I just finished, "St. Dale" by Sharyn McCrumb. It is about a driver who was killed at Daytona, Dale Earnhardt. Basically it is a work about why people are grabbed by grief when certain icons die (one parallel is Princess Diana). The backdrop for the whole thing was a tour of the speedways where famous races are run. The author is using a vehicle that she has used earlier - putting people together on a bus tour. The previous book featured a tour with the theme murder (and more than one murder - or accidental death - occurred in that book. In St. Dale no one died and there was no mystery, but I kind of enjoyed reading something different.

Peru

Well, here I am trying to navigate Blogger in Spanish. I have been in Peru three days and am enjoying the guest house and the lovely sunny weather. Just wanted to say something about the book that got me through the airplane ride - "A Garden of Vipers" by Jack Kerley. My friend Carson Ryder is back with his pal Harry. Crazy rich people and their doers are the bad guys. Mobile, Alabama has never been the same since the PSIT duo got into gear. The plot was quite off the wall, but it was okay as an airplane read. I'll try to write a few words about my time in Peru later. Now jet-lag is setting in again.

America by book

I recently reread the Sharyn McCrumb ballad novels. I'm still missing one, but maybe I'll find it someday. I enjoyed reading about the Appalachians and the characters like Nora Bonesteel and Spencer, Joe, and Martha. My library provided me with the other two views of America. Anne Tyler, one of my all time favorites, has written about "outsiderness" in "Digging to America". Funny, but I kind of identified with the main character, an Iranian emmigrant to Baltimore. Towards the end of the book considers the problem of not belonging, fitting in. A feeling I get sometimes. I enjoyed the idea of having two families, so different from each other, meeting when they collected their respective adoptive children. A memorable event was the pacifier (binky) balloon party (only in America?). The third book was a lucky find. "Where the truth lies" by Rupert Holmes, a first novel by a well known playwright and musical author. I was reading along about the comedy team that is the focus of the book, New Jersey - 50ties. And after awhile it dawned on me that the model for the team was Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. A duo I hadn't thought about in years (and never though particulary funny). Although there is "truth" in the title the story is obviously not true; but a good murder mystery with interesting characters. One of my favorite scenes is the visit to Disneyland (the first time, not the drug-induced second visit).