Emily's Musings

2 more vacation books

2 more books finished to add to the pile (I do love long plane rides):

A History Of The World In Six Glasses by Tom Standage, which I had given to Bill for his birthday but borrowed back yesterday. It was interesting, but not as indepth as some of the really good history through particular lenses like that are. I didn't realize how involved the British gov had been in keeping the opium trade alive to keep the tea supply going, and there were fun overlaps in the coffee house descriptions to Neil Stephenson's great book, but otherwise it was just an ok, quick read. It does make me want to add some more good non-fiction to my to-read pile though.

And Mom passed along A Time to Run by Barbara Boxer and Mary-Rose Hayes, which was a really fun political tale that I didn't want to put down. Here's the official summary: "The novel follows Ellen Fines from her days as a college student through romantic entanglements and a difficult marriage to a rising political star. When her husband is killed in a car accident during his campaign for the Senate, Ellen assumes his candidacy and achieves an upset victory over a political machine. On the eve of a crucial vote, past and public worlds collide when Ellen's former lover, now a journalist with strong right-wing connections, gives her sensitive documents that could either make or break her career."