Austen passed on A Marker to Measure Drift to me after finishing it himself. This is usually a good sign; Austen is picky with his praise.

A Marker to Measure Drift follows Jacqueline, a refuge from Charles Taylor’s Liberia, wandering Santorini, Greece. Homeless in paradise, Jacqueline is a modern Robinson Crusoe, alone on an island populated by tourists and gyro stands. Jacqueline is saved by the kindness of strangers–a restaurant owner, a cafe waitress, a guide giving tours of a ruined city.

The novel unfolds slowly–we don’t know what she is fleeing, but the horror of her past haunts in remembered images: her sister’s orange cat, her mother in the kitchen slicing oranges, the sun dropping into the sea.

Maksik has created a finely crafted novel–part mystery, part lyrical narrative–it is a pleasure to read. Melancholy will linger, but the truth of the story is worth it:

And maybe that was the way to live. Always in fear of ruin.

Beauty as a form of respect. Of superstition.

As I’m sure most of you knew from my abundant earlier posts, we had a Waldo party yesterday in our Dot Com building and it went great! We had face painting, balloon animals, REAL animals (a huge thank you to Lucy from the Jackson Zoo for coming out!), cookies from Broad Street Bakery, ice cream from Sal and Mookie’s, lemonade from Fresh Ink and a beautiful cake from Campbell’s Bakery. There was also story time, door prizes, and the grand prize drawing for a box set of Where’s Waldo books. Y’all. It was so much fun!

I just want to say a big thank you to all of the businesses who participated in this year’s Find Waldo Local July event. You guys are what makes this city so special and unique–keep up the good work! We loved loved working with you all.

Participating Businesses:

Lemuria, Mississippi Children’s Museum, Polka Dot Pony, Pop Fizz, Fresh Ink, Eudora Welty House, Brent’s Drugs, Broad Street Bakery, Sneaky Beans, Nandy’s Candy, Jackson Zoo, Sal and Mookies, Museum of Art, Basil’s Belhaven, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Crazy Cat Bakers, Old Tyme Commissary, Buffalo Peak, Mississippi Craft Center, Campbell’s Bakery

I find no reading is more enjoyable than vacation reading. The distractions of daily life disappear and spending a few hours reading feels right rather than indulgent. I didn’t read all the books I took with me, but I was glad to have a variety to fit whatever mood struck. The books I did read:

Don’t Put Me In, Coach by Mark Titus — Fairly disappointing. I’ve enjoyed Titus’s blog and essays but the book didn’t do anything for me. Still, it passed the time on the airplane, and got me back into “reading mode.”

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami — Amazing, and unlike anything I’ve read. Couldn’t put it down. Beautifully written and translated.

Plainsong by Kent Haruf — A wonderful little novel. Simple, direct prose, with characters that live and talk and reveal their lives.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami — A fun read for a runner or a Murakami fan. Kind of shocking how simple and unassuming his nonfiction voice is after reading Kafka on the Shore.

I started reading Keeper of Lost Causes on the plane back, but was so tired and ready to be home that I struggled to pay attention to it. I’ll give it another attempt soon.

Or be square.

Well here we are, right in the midst of the city-wide hunt for Waldo, and I’ve already got my eyes on the end of the month. I guess I can’t help it because when you and yours are done looking for the ever-sneaky Waldo, there is still so much more to look forward to! We’ve so enjoyed getting into Jackson’s great community and partnering with several local businesses that before we wrap it all up we’d like to celebrate with everyone one more time.

On Saturday, July 27 at 11:00 we hope that all of you will join us at our Dot Com building for a carnival extravaganza with awesome games and activities, lots of cool prizes, a real live Waldo and the grand prize drawing for those who found Waldo in all 20 of his hiding places. We don’t care if you only found one Waldo, or even zero Waldos– you can still win some awesome advanced reading copies of great new books, get your face painted, and take pictures with Waldo. All of the amazing Waldo books by creator Martin Handford will be available for purchase and wow- what a selection to choose from! So mark it on your calendars people: the giant Waldo Hooplah is coming up!