Alaska

I'll be gone for the next week - heading to Alaska on the Boyz Trip. (Yes, with a "z". No, I don't know why.) My college roommate Karl and a bunch of other friends and acquaintances. We'll fly into Anchorage, take a shuttle to Whittier, then spend about 6 days kayaking around the Prince William Sound. Well, a small part of it, anyway. I'm pretty excited - never been to Alaska, and really looking forward to it. Coming back July first, look for a long post with pictures then...

Sushi Economy

It felt like I had read reviews of this book everywhere, from the local paper to Outside Magazine and Smithsonian. (Don't remember which of those ACTUALLY reviewed it, but I know I read at least 3 reviews...) Anyway, It sounded interesting enough that I had to pick it up. The Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg is part foodie book, part global economy - like Michael Ruhlman meets Thomas Friedman. Very interesting and readable, too - I learned a lot about sushi that I didn't know - history, preparation, etc., as well as a lot about tuna - fishing, ranching, the different kinds... As well as how it all fits together to in a global system to provide fish from around the world to sushi restaurants everywhere. Didn't seem like there was an overarching theme to the book - "We need to stop overfishing!" or something like that - it was just a pretty balanced look into how the whole system works, and how it doesn't, sometimes.

Book 37

Catching up

Haven't been blogging much lately; been a little focused on the Tahoe Rim Trail thing, and preparations for my upcoming trip to Alaska. I'll be sea kayaking in the Prince William Sound (out of Whittier) with a bunch of friends - gone from 6/23 until 7/1. My mom is coming down from Vancouver to help with the kids for a few days, and Mich's mom will also be helping with school pickups and such. Thanks, Grandmas!

Julien "graduated" from kindergarten a couple weeks ago; he and Sofia are in the summer program at school now. Not much has changed, schedule-wise there.

Mich spent last weekend doing the Rubicon Trail with some colleagues from work who have the big trucks necessary to drive it. Sounds like she had a good time camping and hanging out. She also took the motorcycle class last week, and got her license. Might be looking for a cheap "learner" bike pretty soon...

Can't think of any other big news right now; gotta make some breakfast for the kids...

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

I have a hard time rereading the Hitchhiker's Guide books - the first one seems really funny, then they kind of taper off for me. Rereading Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, though, makes me remember why I like Douglas Adams so much. His style of writing kind of surprises you - makes you feel comfortable, but then jumps out with a turn of phrase that makes you think. Or laugh. Both of those, in equal measure.
Much like the Hitchhiker books, Dirk Gently's is the story of a pretty ordinary guy to which very strange things start happening. In this case, with a bizarre friend (Dirk Gently), he ends up solving one of the oldest mysteries in the world. Fun stuff.

Book 36

Amber Spyglass

Took me a little while to finish this series up; seem to have been too busy to read there for awhile. Not that The Amber Spyglass didn't keep my attention - this was a great series, and just got better, book to book. Mich finished book 2, Subtle Knife, before I was done with the third, and was egging me on to finish it.
Wow, what to say about this one? Wildly imaginative, maybe a little predictable but with a couple of twists that took me nicely by surprise. If you've read my posts about the previous two books, you know that I'm not giving much up about them plot-wise. Sure enjoyed some of the new characters and concepts that were introduced in this one, though...

Book 35

Tahoe Rim Trail

Apparently I didn't mention this on this blog, but I started a second blog awhile ago to track my progress on the Tahoe Rim Trail this summer. I'm hiking it in sections, and they average about 20 miles each. Done with the first couple now. Anyway, check it out using the link above, or the "Turi's Other Blogs" link at the top left of this page.

Subtle Knife

On to the second book of the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Subtle Knife. This one throws a nice curve into the story right at the beginning: It opens in our world instead of the slightly alternate one that the Golden Compass takes place in. We soon rejoin our main characters and the story line, though, and find that the story jumps around to different worlds/universes. This one gets a little deeper philosophically, and ends with a serious cliffhanger that left me reaching for the final book almost immediately.

Book 34

Summer Reading Club

Mich and the kids stopped by the library on Saturday, adn we got Julien signed up for his first Summer Reading Club. The theme this year is "Get a Clue @ your library", so it's kind of mystery-themed, although you aren't required to read only mysteries. Anyway, he jumped right in - here he is curled up on the couch with a book.