Friday and Farewell

Calling all Harry Potter fans. This is the cafe in which J.K. Rowling wrote the books. It's called the Elephant House. There are tons of pictures of Rowling all over the wall on the left. Fortunately for me and Lindsey, this little place was convenient to our flat. We enjoyed many a sandwich and pot of tea here during our stay. And they have a nice after dinner drink composed of hot chocolate and Bailey's Irish Cream. Yum!!

And, the bathroom walls, ceiling and floor are covered with lovely accolades to the books and writer. Very charming.

Yesterday was our last day for the book festival. We heard Ian McEwan discuss his new book Sweet Tooth.  I know he's not for everyone, but I loved his book Atonement and this new one is about the Cold War. It was interesting to hear him talk about being an English writer.

I've acquired a stack of new books. I'll probably have to ship them home there are so many. Edinburgh has been wonderful and spending time with Lindsey and books made it extra special.

Off to London to meet Steph and Jim tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the train ride from here for a bit of reading time and hopefully sightseeing along the way. Who knows what's in store in the next week?

Detective Inspector Rebus on the case

On Tuesday evening, I had the great pleasure of listening to Ian Rankin speak. As a fan of his novels, especially the Rebus series, I was thrilled. The moderator for the event had planned an evening of 'Desert Island' style questions for Rankin related to Rebus. To name a few: favorite one liner, favorite joke, Rebus' favorite song, best bar scene, favorite description of Siobhán, favorite scene in all of the series. For a crowd of Rebus fans, this was heaven.

Rankin was forthcoming with humour and honesty. It was obvious that he cares for his characters and his readers. As he signed my book, The Impossible Dead, he asked where I was from. I replied Portland, Oregon. I asked had he ever been to Powell's. He remarked that he done gigs at Powell's and enjoys staying at the Heathman hotel. He will be starting a U.S. tour in January to promote the long awaited next book in the Rebus series, Standing in Another Man's Grave. So exciting!

 Here is Rebus' favourite bar, The Oxford Bar. Be advised, it does not have a foot rail, and the bartender may be cross if you order a gin and tonic. 

Fleshmarket Close a.k.a Fleshmarket Alley: the scene of a gruesome murder in the Rebus book of the same name. 

Good Day in Edinburgh

As you can see from Lindsey's photos, we visited the castle yesterday. It was a lovely sunny, slightly cool afternoon which made the hike up the hillside pleasant. The castle itself is impressive with buildings spread across the top of the hill with fantastic views of Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth and the North Sea beyond.

Last night was a big night for me. We had tickets to the sold out China Mieville event. I wan't sure what to expect since he always looks so dour in photos I've seen.  Turns out he has a great sense of humor and is really quite charming. When he signed my book I gave him a wooden bookmark from Flyleaf and invited him to come see us at the store sometime. He seemed genuinely touched. Maybe on his next book tour he will make his way to Chapel Hill.

Here's a picture Lindsey took of us as we chatted and he signed a copy of his book.

Day two

Here is Lindsey sitting on the lawn at Charlotte Square as we wait to hear Anne Enright read this evening.  We had a great day of exploring the city today. We had breakfast on Rose Street and then went straight to the festival.  It was a bit rainy this afternoon so we headed back to the flat for a brief respite then went back to hear Anne Enright this evening.  She was marvelous - bright, funny, irreverent and insightful.  Afterward we had a wonderful Thai meal and then went to the Elephant House (famous as the place where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter) for drinks and cake.  What a wonderful day!!

Day One

Lindsey and I made it safely to Edinburgh which is in full festival season mode.  Crowds of people everywhere this weekend which should thin out during the week.   We are about to venture out to get a bite to eat.  We are both more exhausted than hungry but are trying to adapt to the new time.

This picture was taken earlier today in one of the tents at the book festival site in downtown Edinburgh.  We ventured over to the venue in Charlotte Square while waiting to check into our flat.  We are thrilled to be here and looking forward to a good night of sleep so we can get out and explore the sites in full form tomorrow. 

We've heard lots of pipers so we've been thinking of PapPap.  And this morning we flew over Wimbleton on our way into London and Lindsey said she would be sure to mention that to MumMum.

All is well.

Testing: one, two, three...

I want to be sure that I can upload pictures before I leave for Edinburgh. (Thanks for the loan, Suzanne!) I took this shot of Smudge on her perch on the porch as a test.  Isn't she lovely?  I'm going to miss her while I'm away. She'll be in good hands with Hank though.  They have a connection. Hank says she likes Star Trek. I'm not so sure.

Anyway, it seems to have worked so I'm good to go with the photos. Ta Ta For Now

One week and counting

As some of you may know, niece Lindsey and I will be leaving North Carolina for Edinburgh, Scotland  in a week.  Our primary activities on this trip will be tea drinking, book shopping and enjoying the spirit(s) of Scotland.

Niether of us has ever visited Scotland before so we are both thrilled to be going.  We've rented a flat for the week in the Grassmarket area of town, with great views of the castle. We plan to do a lot of exploring and investigating the interesting sites of Edinburgh. It just so happens that the Edinburgh Book Festival will be going on while we are there.  We have tickets to see the Ians (McEwen and Rankin) as well as China Mieville, Anne Enright and Suzanne Joinson.  There will be over 800 writers in attendance over the two weeks of the festival.  Who knows who else we will run into?  

I will be blogging and posting pictures about the book festival over on the Flyleaf Books Blog as well.  If you aren't interested in our personal escapades you can always read about the author readings and book related stuff there.  

Anticipating Adventure

In just over a week, I will be headed to Edinburgh, Scotland with my Aunt Laurie. We will be attending the Edinburgh International Book Festival. It is so difficult to remain focused as the day of departure nears. Aunt Laurie and I will be blogging from here during the stay. So stay tuned!

Aunt Laurie in Powell's Books during her visit to PDX.

indulgences

So you may ask how I have been enjoying my vacation after all the travel. Well, I have been indulging my passion for crime novels. Just imagine me with a cup of tea, a sleepy cat, a comfy chair and a Scandinavian/Icelandic/British crime novel.

That has been my summer indulgence so far.

I compiled this Book list yesterday. Bear in mind, I wouldn't necessarily recommend them all.

Dahl, K.O.                                                                         

            The Fourth Man

French, Tana

            In the Woods

            The Likeness

            Faithful Place

Indridason, Arnaldur

Erlandur series:       

Jar City

            Silence of the Grave

Larsson, Stieg

The girl with the dragon tattoo

The girl who played with fire

The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest

Mankell, Henning

Kurt Wallander series:

            The White Lioness

            The Pyramid

           

The Man from Beijing

Nesbo, Jo

Harry Hole series:    

Nemesis

The Redbreast

The Devil's Star

The Snowman

           

Rankin, Ian

John Rebus series:

            Knots and Crosses

            Hide and Seek

            Resurrection Man

Roslund-Hellstrom

            Box 21

Smith, Tom Rob

            Child 44

I have to say, I am a bit tired of drunken detectives. Come on! Harry Hole and John Rebus just seem to disintegrate under pressure. I tend to prefer the characters of Siobhan Clarke, Ellen Gjelten, Beate Lonn. They do the real work of piecing together the evidence that leads the investigation. It seems that Hole and Rebus can't walk down a street in Oslo and Edinburgh without stopping in a pub for a drink. This may be why I adore Blomkvist and Salander so much. Like me they prefer caffeine to alcohol. :P