AWOL in Pluto

It's high summer, and my front-yard garden is a hub of activity. Just yesterday the baby Blue Birds "fledged" and flew off with their parents. The tomatoes are ripe. The sunflowers are gazing up. The bees, with their impressive work ethic, are busy as usual. There's weeding to do...someday. Not now.

I've been in Pluto, North Dakota-- in soul if not body. I'm reading Lousie Erdrich's masterful, beautiful novel, The Plague of Doves, about the intertwined, fascinating lives of the Ojibwe and whites who hate and love, murder and intermarry.

Weeding? Nah. Reading? Yeah.

Eager Reading

I can't WAIT to get my hands on the newest books from two of my favorite authors:


LARK AND TERMITE by Jayne Anne Phillips. Her novel, MACHINE DREAMS, is a treasure; a book I reread for its lyrical beauty. Reading Phillips' fiction always reminds me of the power and sheer pleasure of language. Here's the glowing review of Lark and Termite from Michiko Kakutani in today's NYT...and here's an excerpt.

and

THE RED CONVERTIBLE by Louise Erdrich, selected and new stories from a prolific writer whose work seems to get better and better.