Book Review: Highland Pursuits by Emmanuelle de Maupassant

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Here's my review as it appears on Goodreads.

Highland Pursuits by Emmanuelle de Maupassant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this after reading Emmanuelle de Maupassant's short story of the same name in the Because Beards anthology, but I would have read this novel anyway because I am a fan of hers. This story did not disappoint.

Ms. de Maupassant creates such a rich world in the Scottish highlands. In real life I've only spent one day in the region but I feel like I spent my entire summer vacation there after living in her world through these pages. I've always loved the humor that Ms. de Maupassant brings to her worlds, as well. Life is funny sometimes, and love and sex are part of life. Ms. de Maupassant brings us to a rich, sensuous place that I look forward to visiting again and again.

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Book Reviews: Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and an Emmanuelle de Maupassant Short Story

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Here are my reviews as they appear on Goodreads.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was swept up in this book from the moment I started it. I didn’t know that much about it but a trusted source recommended it. I jumped in with both feet and got lost in it. It’s sensual and romantic, then heartbreakingly depressing as the story moves from a love affair in a French town to the battlefields of World War I. The writing pulls you along and you struggle with the hero every step of the way.

Stephen Wraysford is the hero but he’s a bit of an anti-hero. He’s young and passionate. He’s weird and quiet. He loses his passion throughout the war but works hard to do his job, and job that would be difficult for most people to fathom performing unless they were there themselves. The author writes with such emotion and leads you to believe that he really was there on the battlefields and in the trenches. The dramatic tension is amped up by anyone who knows World War I history. The reader who knows which battles are coming up will be struck with a particular horror, knowing the ending before the characters do.

I had a problem with the end of the book that keeps me from giving it five stars. And I really wanted to give it five stars. Not the ending itself; I’m satisfied with how the plot tied itself up. But the last couple of paragraphs. The point-of-view changed to a character that I don’t feel deserved it.

For me, this was a summer read for lazy afternoons in the hot sun, but it’s definitely worth reading anytime. Love, war, and history, it will appeal to many.

Because Beards by Kacey Shea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of Emmanuelle de Maupassant's story in this anthology. Ms. de Maupassant story, "Highland Pursuits," is delightful. She injects so much personality into her characters and settings and I love her combination of erotica with playful humor. I love reading how much her characters enjoy each others' company. And the story, of course, has some very steamy, satisfying moments.

I fully plan to buy the book and read the entire anthology when it comes out because it features some of my favorite erotica authors.

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Lebowski Fest Edinburgh

When planning our trip, we decided on two absolute musts: Zakopane, Poland, and Leboski Fest in Edinburgh.

Lebwoski Fest UK

Lebowski Fest pays tribute to the brilliance that is The Big Lebowski. If you have to ask, you probably won't understand. Several years ago a couple fans decided to honor the film with a bowling party and screening in their home town of Louisville, Kentucky. Eventually these parties hit the road to Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and other U.S. cities. Hundreds of like-minded fans gather for bowling, white russians, costumes, and what have you. This summer, Lebowski Fest crossed the pond for events in Edinburgh and London.

Dudes in costume

When I first heard of the Edinburgh party it crossed my mind, "We've been wanting to visit Edinburgh for awhile now. Wouldn't that be a hoot?" And Mike made it happen. The night before our wedding he was online buying tickets. Then when planning our European trip the only hard date we gave the travel agent was for this day in Edinburgh.

Mike bowls

And we had a blast! We bowled and drank white russians. We made new friends. We both qualified for round 2 of the trivia contest, but neither of us qualified for the final round. We brought a marmot that everyone took pictures of. We wore our In & Out t-shirts and people proclaimed, "It's a real place?!" We won the trophy for furthest traveled.

Rikki, Deb, and me

Later, in London, we kept bumping into one of the organizers and his special lady. They were at a hotel near ours, we ended up at the same movie one night, and at Buckingham Palace one day. Weird. But hopefully we'll run into him at another Lebowski Fest some day.

(Clicking on any photo will take you to the full size on flickr, where you can also access the full album.)

All the photos...

are now up. Here on flickr. Now I feel nearly as sick as Mike did yesterday. Between jetlag and germs, we're both struggling to stay awake until it's dark enough to go to bed.


Overlooking Edinburgh
(Clicking on the photo will take you to flickr.)

lodging, etc.

I found us a place to stay in Edinburgh and the travel agent sent me the rest of our itnerary yesterday, so we are on the way to European Vacationness. National Lampoon's European Vacation happened to be on TV last night, and I could only watch about 20 minutes of it, getting a queasy feeling, thinking that maybe Europe hasn't updated it's hotel rooms in the last 30 years. So, this morning, with itnerary and guidebooks and google in-hand I researched our hotels.

Our room in Edinburgh may have either 2 twin beds or one bunk bed! (It's actually a hostel that rents private rooms.) And it looks like the "double rooms" in our London hotel consist of 2 twin beds. I told Mike that since the UK is at the end our trip, it's just as well that we sleep in separate beds. We'll probably be sick of each other after two weeks in the close quarters of Central Europe tiny hotel rooms and sleeper cars on trains.

One thing I can say about each hotel is that they seem to be well-located, near all the city centers and train and bus stops that we need. And they offer breakfasts. I'm sure they'll all be about the same as the one I stayed at in France a few years ago. Charming and novel in the European sense, but by no means luxurious. That's fine with us. The European free breakfasts tend to be pretty good I think. I'll be bringing GF energy bars and hot cereal, so if I can at least get some coffee in the mornings I'll be good to go. Keeping expectations low but optimism high.

Update: I've confirmed with the hostel: We have a bunk bed room in Edinburgh.