Playlist review, Sept. 2004

Highlight: reading 3 novels set in Peru while on vacation there. Absolutely magical to read about the rainforest (Mario Vargas Llosa: The Storyteller) as I was surrounded by the sounds, smells, life, and humidity of pristine jungle. The same goes for Thornton Wilder: The Bridge of San Luis Rey while at Machu Picchu, and the masterful combination of historical context and suspense from Nicholas Shakespeare: The Dancer Upstairs during the flight into Lima.

Runner-up: Sibley Field Guide to Birds, Western USA. Bird-watching is a hoot.

Lowlights: Ian McEwan's Amsterdam. Highly contrived, and the common theme in his work seems to be "let's jerk the reader around, especially at the end". Disappointed that on at least 3 separate instances we followed the Footprint Peru Handbook (2003 edition) to places that no longer existed; otherwise a great guide though.

Complete Sept. 2004 playlist
Thornton Wilder: The Bridge of San Luis Rey (book)
Mario Vargas Llosa: The Storyteller (book)
Nicholas Shakespeare: The Dancer Upstairs (book)
Footprint Peru Handbook (book)
Vladamir Horowitz: The Celebrated Scarlatti Recordings (music)
The Hours (dvd)
Belle & Sebastian: Dear Catastrophe Waitress (music)
Artur Rubenstein: Chopin Mazurkas (music)
Angela Hewitt: Bach Transciptions (music)
Elliott Smith: XO (music)
Yo-Yo Ma: Appalachian Journey (music)
Triplets of Belleville (dvd)
Sibley Field Guide, Western USA (book)