Aloha

Home again!! Well, technically I've been home for a few days, but jet lag is really all kinds of no fun. Hawaii was wonderful. Warm tropical breezes. Water shading from cobalt to turquoise. Beautiful sunsets. Wonderful food. Whale and sea turtle sightings. Hotel rooms overlooking and literally steps from Kaanapali Beach. All of the cliches were proven to be based in fact. It was a wonderful vacation. Right up until the point where we were putting our luggage on the conveyor belt for mandatory agricultural screening and the agent asks us what airline we're flying and proceeds to tell us that our flight has been canceled. After making a frantic call to the 1-800 number handed out by the gate agent and being on hold for 33 minutes (the wait time was up to 225 minutes when I tried to call back later that night to see if any other flights had opened up) we were finally rebooked. On a initial flight that didn't leave until Monday afternoon. So, instead of getting home mid-morning on Sunday, we didn't get home until late afternoon on Tuesday and spent the last two days on the island more or less holed up in a crummy hotel near the airport in Kahului without a rental car. Getting home took 4 flights over two days in seat locations that were less than ideal. Tired. So, very, very tired. And did I mention that the airline didn't give any sort of compensation because the cancellation was due to weather at DFW? Even crummy hotel rooms in Maui are pricey. And food? How about half-gallons of orange juice for five bucks?

Luckily, we did eventually make it home with all of the kids and bags accounted for which is the most important thing.

On the plus side, I did have lots of opportunity to get reading done in the last two weeks. So, here are the updates to my list.

#24 is Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares(Feb/07).

#25 is Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares(Feb/07).

#26 is Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares(Feb/07).

#27 is Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares(Feb/07).

I read these the first day of traveling and liked them. I thought the author did a very good job of spreading the storyline amongst the various lead characters and there were some genuinely poignant moments.

#28 is Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock(Feb/07). I'll definitely be on the lookout for the sequel this summer. Thanks for the recommendation Jo.

#29 is Summer of Roses by Luann Rice(Feb/07). I picked this one up at the book exchange in the laundry area of the resort.

#30 is Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin(Feb/07). An interesting premise. She makes the adulterous protagonist likable.

#31 is Hunting and Gathering by Anne Gavalda(Feb/07). This one isn't published yet in the US from what I understand. My mother-in-law bought it when she was in New Zealand last November. A collection of French eccentrics make a nontraditional family in Paris. I'll be curious to see how it does if, and when, it gets published here.

#32 is Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore(Feb/07). I loved Lamb and enjoyed Fluke. This falls somewhere slightly below Fluke.

#33 is Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot(Feb/07). I like the series, but there needs to be some development on the romance front.

#34 is Something Blue by Emily Giffin(Feb/07). Manages to make the unlikeable character from the previous book much less annoying in this one. Although I thought the resolution was fairly pat.

#35 is Party Princess by Meg Cabot(Mar/07). Bubblegum, but fun.

#36 is Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan(Mar/07). This turned out to be much earthier than I expected. I'm not sure that I'd want my 13 year old to read it even if it is marketed as YA.

#37 is You Suck: A Love Story by Christoper Moore(Mar/07). The sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends. See #32 above.

Now, to bed I go.

Aloha

Home again!! Well, technically I've been home for a few days, but jet lag is really all kinds of no fun. Hawaii was wonderful. Warm tropical breezes. Water shading from cobalt to turquoise. Beautiful sunsets. Wonderful food. Whale and sea turtle sightings. Hotel rooms overlooking and literally steps from Kaanapali Beach. All of the cliches were proven to be based in fact. It was a wonderful vacation. Right up until the point where we were putting our luggage on the conveyor belt for mandatory agricultural screening and the agent asks us what airline we're flying and proceeds to tell us that our flight has been canceled. After making a frantic call to the 1-800 number handed out by the gate agent and being on hold for 33 minutes (the wait time was up to 225 minutes when I tried to call back later that night to see if any other flights had opened up) we were finally rebooked. On a initial flight that didn't leave until Monday afternoon. So, instead of getting home mid-morning on Sunday, we didn't get home until late afternoon on Tuesday and spent the last two days on the island more or less holed up in a crummy hotel near the airport in Kahului without a rental car. Getting home took 4 flights over two days in seat locations that were less than ideal. Tired. So, very, very tired. And did I mention that the airline didn't give any sort of compensation because the cancellation was due to weather at DFW? Even crummy hotel rooms in Maui are pricey. And food? How about half-gallons of orange juice for five bucks?

Luckily, we did eventually make it home with all of the kids and bags accounted for which is the most important thing.

On the plus side, I did have lots of opportunity to get reading done in the last two weeks. So, here are the updates to my list.

#24 is Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares(Feb/07).

#25 is Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares(Feb/07).

#26 is Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares(Feb/07).

#27 is Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares(Feb/07).

I read these the first day of traveling and liked them. I thought the author did a very good job of spreading the storyline amongst the various lead characters and there were some genuinely poignant moments.

#28 is Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock(Feb/07). I'll definitely be on the lookout for the sequel this summer. Thanks for the recommendation Jo.

#29 is Summer of Roses by Luann Rice(Feb/07). I picked this one up at the book exchange in the laundry area of the resort.

#30 is Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin(Feb/07). An interesting premise. She makes the adulterous protagonist likable.

#31 is Hunting and Gathering by Anne Gavalda(Feb/07). This one isn't published yet in the US from what I understand. My mother-in-law bought it when she was in New Zealand last November. A collection of French eccentrics make a nontraditional family in Paris. I'll be curious to see how it does if, and when, it gets published here.

#32 is Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore(Feb/07). I loved Lamb and enjoyed Fluke. This falls somewhere slightly below Fluke.

#33 is Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot(Feb/07). I like the series, but there needs to be some development on the romance front.

#34 is Something Blue by Emily Giffin(Feb/07). Manages to make the unlikeable character from the previous book much less annoying in this one. Although I thought the resolution was fairly pat.

#35 is Party Princess by Meg Cabot(Mar/07). Bubblegum, but fun.

#36 is Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan(Mar/07). This turned out to be much earthier than I expected. I'm not sure that I'd want my 13 year old to read it even if it is marketed as YA.

#37 is You Suck: A Love Story by Christoper Moore(Mar/07). The sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends. See #32 above.

Now, to bed I go.