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A Walk in the Woods–bears, snakes, and spooky woods…oh, my!
A Walk in the Woods
by Bill Bryson
The Appalachian Trail, a little over 2,000 miles of challenging terrain, is a test that hikers of all ages, genders, and experience levels attack in various ways. There are parking lot visitors; they drive in, look around a bit and perhaps picnic, but do not actually hike the trail. Section hikers traverse parts of the trail at various times with a few completing the whole trail over the course of a lifetime. Then there are a few hardy souls who are full thru-hikers; they keep at it from south to north until they complete the trail.
As you might imagine, hiking the Appalachian Trail is an endeavor that requires a lot of planning and the purchase of expensive equipment to get the lightest weight gear possible. Carrying a forty pound backpack all day over rough terrain with formidable ascents and descents is a difficult task indeed. Author Bill Bryson who has written a number of travel books relates in A Walk in the Woods his experiences on the Appalachian Trail with Stephen Katz, a former school chum he had traveled around Europe with twenty-years prior. Much of the book describes the harsh realities of the hike and the delightful relief of their occasional forays into civilization to replenish supplies and sleep in a real bed. Some of the book relates their changing relationship as they confront the trials of the trail together as well as anecdotes about the interesting people they meet along the way.
Bryson’s writing style is comfortable. The descriptions are detailed without being overblown, and there is just enough history of the trail to give the reader an understanding of why it is the way it is. Often humorous, it provides an interesting read taking the reader into a once in a lifetime experience on the Appalachian Trail.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Travel
Notes: Some profanity
Publication: December 26, 2006 (first published May 5, 1998)—Anchor Books
Memorable Lines:
But even men far tougher and more attuned to the wilderness than Thoreau were sobered by its strange and palpable menace. Daniel Boone, who not only wrestled bears but tried to date their sisters, described corners of the southern Appalachians as “so wild and horrid that it is impossible to behold them without terror.” When Daniel Boone is uneasy, you know it’s time to watch your step.
I was beginning to appreciate that the central feature of life on the Appalachian Trail is deprivation, that the whole point of the experience is to remove yourself so thoroughly from the conveniences of everyday life that the most ordinary things—processed cheese, a can of pop gorgeously beaded with condensation—fill you with wonder and gratitude.
And all the time, as we crept along on this absurdly narrow, dangerous perch, we were half-blinded by flying snow and jostled by gusts of wind, which roared through the dancing trees and shook us by our packs. This wasn’t a blizzard; it was a tempest.
Double Trouble–Elvis and trouble on the loose
Double Trouble
by Gretchen Archer
There are plenty of laughs in Gretchen Archer’s Double Trouble set in the Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Davis Way Cole, former police officer, mother of toddler twin girls, and part-time security for the Casino absolutely could not get into more trouble if she tried. Davis is left in charge of the casino while all of the upper level staff along with her husband, manager of the resort complex, are attending a convention. Her problem starts when five million dollars goes missing, and the week just goes downhill from there. As Davis and her sidekick Fantasy try to find the missing money, locate disappearing people, and in the process discover murders, the storyline becomes a written version of T.V. slapstick comedy a la Lucy and Ethel.
Both the dialogue and Davis’ inner tongue-in-cheek monologues move along the plot which includes her mother whose passions are cooking and feeding those she loves—all the time, an ex-ex mother-in-law who shouldn’t be there, and her daughters who are addicted to Frozen. To make the plot even more crazy, add in potted tomatoes enhanced with aromatic Black Kow organic fertilizer (yep, you know what that is!), a safe room with lots of wine, missing employees, an abandoned baby, very shady wire transfers, and a slick lawyer—just for starters. The whole city is inundated with people disguised as Elvis to participate in an Elvis convention sponsored by Bellissimo. That makes identifying any villain virtually impossible.
My favorite character is Birdy James, a confused ninety-five year old in charge of Lost and Found. No one wants to fire her, bless her heart. Unfortunately, she is the only one who can locate items in the Lost and Found room. As a retired librarian, she created her own Dewey Decimal System for storing lost articles, she makes notes in shorthand that only she can read, and she is the sole person with the keypad combination to the storage room. She plays hilariously into the story and is important in solving the mystery. I know you’ll enjoy this Southern gem.
I would like to extend my thanks to Edelweiss and Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #9 in the Davis Way Crime Caper Series. Prior knowledge of the characters is nice, but it could act as a standalone.
Publication: June 9, 2020—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
Birdy yelled, “Did someone say liverwurst?” Bexley asked, “What’s a worse sandwich?” She tugged at the hem of my t-shirt. “Do we like worse sandwiches, Mama? Worse than what?”
“Your stove isn’t worth taking out back and shooting, Davis.” My mother and I were so, so different. If I were going to shoot the stove, I’d shoot it where it stood.
“The plumbing and the wiring are the only fings that connect to anyfing elshe.” I tried to count the empty wine bottles, because for sure, I think I shlurred a word or thoo in there.
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