We are back from our vacation in Dominical, Costa Rica and ever so happy with the trip.  Here are a few recommendations and reviews…

Lodging – We spent most of our time at Manu Villas and our last night at Hotel Grano de Oro in San Jose.  Both were superb. 

At Manu, we stayed in the tree house – just magical. The owner Alex and his amazing wife Grace, the private chef/masseuse attended to our meals and wants.  Frankly we have never eaten and slept so well on vacation.  Manu Villas are located just outside the hip surf town of Dominical.  You will need a 4×4, but isn’t that part of the adventure?

Hotel Grano de Oro is a charming old world hotel.  It feels very European with heavy wood and an abundance of water fountains ting-tingling their own gentle rhythms.  The rooms are well-appointed with comfy beds and the food is good.  Gratefully, their airport shuttle is easy and safe as well.

To read:

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

This book is excellent, except for the ending – which, in a word, sucked.  The novel follows two Chinese sisters born into a privileged life in Shanghai.  They were girls with big dreams, beautiful girls…Unfortunately, all was lost to their father’s gambling debts, including their futures – they had been committed to arranged marriages.  Luckily the sisters married brothers; hence their paths were forever entwined – for better and for worse.

The novel is a fascinating glimpse into Chinese culture, history and astrology.  Quickly you attach to the characters, making this book a page-turner.  However the ending, or I should say, the non-ending, basically stops right in the middle of the drama.  To say this is unsatisfying is an understatement, but does this negate the hundreds of pages of compelling storyline?  Not sure…

Nature Girl – Carl Hiaasen

Can you ever go wrong with a Hiaasen book on vacation?  Doubt it.  This book is a riot.  Ridiculously amusing and memorable characters abound throughout the Florida Everglades as Honey Santana – a single mother, has gone off her meds.  

Honestly, she is reacting oddly to the bad behaviors of the men around her…Honey has her own hilarious style of justice that certainly is a fun ride, if not necessarily legal.  Between the outlaw Indian Sammy Tigertail; a wandering ghost; a drug-induced, hand-bandaged, pervert stalker; a shiny, fast-talking telemarketer; and an ex-husband, well, things certainly aren’t dull in the Everglades.  Enjoy the laughs!

The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry

An easy thriller focused around Cotton Malone and the mystery surrounding his father’s death on a nuclear submarine in 1971.  All the crew members died.  They were on a secret mission and US government lied to keep it hidden.

But the secret gets out and Cotton discovers the cover-up.  Why?  What unfolds is a high- stakes chase including the strange clues found in Charlemagne’s tomb, Nazi exploration, rogue officers and corruption at the very highest levels of the US Navy. 

A word of caution, I started reading this book in the morning and could not put it down until the last page had been read late that night.  Just saying, best to not start reading 9pm…

What not to read while staying in the jungle…The Lost City of Z by David Grann

Although my husband enjoyed this book immensely, let’s remember this is a book about a man getting lost on the Amazon.  By the last night, my husband has us was sleeping behind full netting just in case one of the big bugs flies in to plant a parasite that can eat your…ok, you get the picture? 

Great read to be read in bright light and lots of soap, not in an open villa amid the jungle.  Frankly we saw bugs over three inches long, imaginations do run wild…

Bod Owens lives in a graveyard.  He has lived there since he was just a wee babe and clambered through the fence railings to explore.  What he didn’t realize at the time is that he had narrowly escaped a killer.  The killer who moments before murdered his father, mother, sister and now was looking to finish the deed.

 Bod was lucky, the ghosts intervened and hide him.  In the graveyard, Bod is raised by a different kind of family.   Teachers from Roman days, drowned witches and a host of ghouls to help Bod become a man.  As with any childhood, the adventures abound when you least expect it, especially when you are looking behind headstones!

 Surprisingly this is a kids’ book from one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman.  This book is a delight – one I hope Gaiman will continue through writing more on adventures and lessons of Bod’s journey…

I just saw Avatar over the weekend and because of all the hype, I did not want to like – fortunately I loved it.  It was gorgeous.  The theme of energy and interconnectivity is absolutely part of my believe structure. 

 Thus I was surprised yesterday when I started to hear criticism about the ‘white messiah’ saving the people in the movie.  Aghhhh, have you seen the movie?  He’s a cripple.  Yupe, he does have white skin and he can’t walk.  He is constantly last – last off the plane, rejected and judged because of outward appearances.  This character is one of the least among us.  (Ringing any bells – the last shall be first…)

 The concept of a messiah saving the community is a cross-cultural story.  The idea that there are signs and that a savior will come to make this right again is as old as time itself.  Check out the bible, Buddhism, any sacred text will have this story – it’s a longing we all share to be rescued. 

 Yes, the movie runs a bit long – that’s my only complaint.  However, Cameron has created an unbelievable feat – he has changed how we see movies.  The 3-d effects sink you into the picture, instead of feeling like the scenes are set up to show 3-d images.  The 3-d format has finally been integrated into a movie seamlessly.  Bravo!

Just got back from the gorgeous and magical Costa Rica and here’s what I read in order…

 Knit Two by Kate Jacobs.  The story continues the story of her original The Friday Night Knitting Club, both are delightful.  Tears and laughs along with the sticky hierarchy of female relationships…

 American Gods by Neil Gaiman.  Excellent.  Fascinating characters amid a stark view of what we today anoint as Gods…Love everything he writes. 

 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie.  Alright I know why this book received critical acclaim (slice of different world, some haunting scenes…) but skip it.  The plot is disappointing and the characters really don’t attached themselves to your heart.  It’s a bit cold, everything is from a distance…

                                                                                                              Shadow of Power by Steve Martini.  Liked the courtroom dialog, kind of hated the race plot.  The whole slave/constitution thing just doesn’t have the same impact on a woman as a man…Where were women’s rights in the constitution?  Missing as well.  There is a lot of offense to go around…Read Skin Tight instead…

 Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen.  Murder and laughs – perfecto!  Any Hiaasen book on vacation is fun and will keep you up much later then you intend, just another chapter…It is a riot – the one-armed-weed-wacking thug with a white-out chin…I’m still giggling.

 Promise Me by Harlan Coben.  Fun.  Quick-paced, same amusing characters.  I want a friend like Win…

 And yes, I enjoyed many other fun adventures on the vacation besides reading, that I will share with you in the coming weeks…Just wanted to help out with any last-minute holiday gift ideas…Happy reading!

I really enjoyed this Alice Hoffman novel.  I loved the concept that there is a lurking angel waiting to offer peace where none can be seen.  The angel may manifest in the deeds or words of anyone – that’s the point.  A lurking angel to lift you up and bring you home to peace – everywhere and anywhere.

 The characters are haunted and imperfect.  The call to love draws each of these characters to do things they later regret.  They aren’t bad people, just unhappy and ignoring the eventual consequences of their behaviors.  They are just like us – stumbling fools falling into grace time and time again.  

When I picked this book up I wanted an old-fashioned romance, but what I got was a thinly guised social issue trying to be pasted off as an issue of morality.  This book is achingly sentimental to the point of nausea. 

 I love the idea of the weekly letter and the truth of what that could really reveal.  However about half way through the novel things get weird.  I am not going to expose the big secret/mystery accept to say I found it insulting.  I have no doubt this kind of situation happened/happens – what I object to is the preachy, religious tone that suddenly appears. 

 If you wanted to write a political ad, write it.  Don’t waste my time with tricks and gotchas. 

Fannie Flagg creates another small southern hamlet that one wishes to fall into – hilarious and heart-warming.  On the outset though, if you don’t like little old ladies with all their quirks and habits, skip it.  Myself, I expect to be an outrageous little old lady one day…

 Elner, Verbena, Norma and Tot each bring their own unique perspective to all they encounter.  Whether in heaven or at the beauty parlor, each has a voice that rings true with the reader.  Who doesn’t have a friend who looks like a monkey?  Thereby forcing you to rethink the whole evolution thing…

 This book is delightful – and a perfect distraction during the holidays.  Enjoy!   

Can we get an editor here please???  As I read Dan Brown’s new book – I kept thinking, who edited this?  Half way through the book I completely forgot the title and main theme (finding the lost symbol) because I was caught up in another theme of pyramids, legends and noetic science… 

 Here’s the thing I like Dan Brown but this was a ridiculous meandering around several different plots never choosing a real focus or theme.  I did however love his tidbits about Washington D.C., forefathers’ lore and the Freemasons’ society.  Unfortunately the 500 plus pages was a complete slog to get through.  If you had any notion of theme, plot or critical thinking (or you were an English major) – stop, save your money and if you must, wait for the library copy to be in.

If you have ever been in couples therapy, this is funny, not hilarious or I can’t wait to see it again, but amusing.  It’s rather predictable and who cares.  Vince Vaughn does he’s usual thing, running at the month, and is most times successfully funny.  The shark attack and his whining afterward were priceless. 

 The rest of the cast is good and Jon Favreau – please step away from the plastic surgery.  He looks kind of scary. Overall: go to the matinee or wait for HBO (you know this one will be a continual loop one…)

You either like Lewis Black or you deem him annoying – I am of the former group.  I enjoyed this book immensely particularly chapters jesus loves me, this I know; golfing in the kingdom and in the land of seagulls and gingham.

 Black is honest and funny.  He loves the ritual and mystery of a ‘higher power’ yet hates it’s translation through the tongues of fools, conmen or worse, murderers.  It seems to rattle his senses a bit and for a man who protests at having no faith, me thinks he protests too much.  An examined faith is a living faith.  I would say Black’s religion has a lot of wicked humor, love for all and a healthy dose of raunchy sex.  Enjoy!