Usually, I read this the year they are published, but I had a busy 2008 and must have missed it then. I usually wouldn’t go back so many years, but Anthony Bourdain edited this edition. Bourdain is one of my favourite travel writers so I was interested to see what articles he had selected.

Since this being Bourdain, I was hoping for a food bent, and there were indeed a couple of food targeted articles, but less than you would expect from the former chef. There was a theme in the articles and the Middle East and Central Asia were prominent. I think this was partly because of the time too, but these are locations that Bourdain has not explored a lot on his shows that much.

In any case, I love this series as it always has some illuminating and interesting articles. I found the last article about Easter Island and travel really evocative and poignant too. One of the better selected edited books from this series.

Read May 4-5th 2013.

This is the seventh Thursday Next book. It’s been a over a year since I read the last one. So much has happened in this series since I started it years ago. It remains one of the most unique and fun series I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Sometimes it is all over the place, but I feel that Fforde has streamlined a lot the subplots. I really should reread them all one day when he completes the series.

As usual with a Thursday Next book, earlier characters and villains are prominent and conflicts arise very quickly. I find these books satisfying because a lot of the new plot lines and the ones from previous ones are resolved by the end of the book. Thursday has a lot of enemies so there’s an ongoing supply of antagonists, but it does feel satisfying when she wins at the end of the book.

There was more religious satire in this one and I love this series for being one largely about books and literature. The series now has spanned about twenty years in Thursday’s life and I’ve liked the progression of her and the other characters. I like Thursday as a mother and as a detective/heroine entering her 50s. The spirit of the books is always fun and infectious.

A lot of technology has advanced in Thursday’s universe, but I still like the idiosyncratic nature. I like the idea of that those inhabitants love toast enough to permit restaurant a Toast restaurant chain. I do miss the Book World plots, but there are hints that will return soon. I mostly do not want this series to end though

Jasper Fforde always seems like a cool author. He and Nick Hornby always come off so well in their books as in writers I’d like to have a pint with them. All in all, another very fun Thursday Next book.

Read April 24-25 2013.

This was fun and escapist. It feels like a few weeks since I escaped and became engrossed in a book that felt faraway with characters unlike that in my life. I consumed this book quickly forgetting about my life.

The novel is told mostly through letters, emails, faxes, and transcripts. This technique is employed well. The pacing of the book is quick when compared to other epistolary novels which often drag a bit. It is set in Seattle with privileged and highly educated characters. The book is being sold mostly by its humor, and I do think it is wry and has some very good satire. It’s not always funny and has a couple of touching moments. I did laugh out loud in one instance.

I could not really relate to any of the characters, but they were entertaining. I did like reading about the characters and cared about them even when I could not relate to any of them. I think it’s a mark of good character writing if an author is able to do that. As a result, I felt for most of them even Bernadette who has an anti-Canadian stance. I do think the character has a point that Canadians don’t really celebrate great individuals. I’ve seen this in Canadian culture myself (e.g. Lester B Pearson and more), but I digress.

The author quickly made it clear that none of the characters were perfect and all of them were flawed. The ending was rather neat (maybe too neat and happy) and everyone got a good ending except maybe for Soo-Lin.

I thought the book was well paced, amusing at times though not as funny as the marketing makes it to be, and neatly wrapped up. It was not extremely literary either, but a contemporary novel that has a clear start to finish. It has just enough depth about the characters and the plot.

Read April 21-22 2013 (but mostly it was the 22nd).