Whistler, Vancouver, and more books

I was in Whistler and Vancouver last week - such great country, there! I could go on and on, but to give just a few highlights.
- Crowds walking near wilderness paths quickly fade from your attention - you can be solitary even in a tourist rush.
- Lift is still an awesome restaurant (we went there on our honeymoon, too)
- People in Vancouver are nice, fit, and very environmentally friendly.
- Cranberry rosemary gelato tastes like eating a rosemary plant. Figs and chocolate shavings is yummy.

I've never been super skilled at chatting it up with strangers. Cab drivers, bus drivers and passengers, people on planes. This trip, though, I actually did strike up a few chats. I think social media playing has helped this. I can throw out 140 characters pretty easily.


Breakfast on the water near the Vancouver airport, first morning there. The kitchen has issued orders to push the meat, it seems. I've never been probed specifically on meat-based sides before. A macho party guy tells of winning at Neil Diamond trivia - interesting contrast there. Only after he brags of it does he back off, a bit embarrassed. Real maple syrup is the default - something I like to see.

Whistler's library has a green roof - very cool!

I read 3 books on the trip and shortly after - up to 15 read this year. Here's the catchup from before that...
Book #11 - I Shudder at Your Touch , an anthology edited by Michele Slung. This was a reread from that Alien Sex lit class I took in college (yep, vampires, aliens, robots, the whole shebang). It's subtitle is "22 Tales of Sex and Horror". What is it with this Horror thing? Some of the tales were odd, some were gross, but I found none horrific - none made me wary of sleeping in a hotel alone without a light on. Overall, it was just ... odd.

Book #12 - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. This book is big, but has incredible pull. I couldn't stop reading it and was very unproductive the last few days, especially. A great romp, immersive and realistic while still giving a great fantasy tale. Norrell is so uptight you'd like to smack him around. Strange is compelled and it takes him to incredible places that no one ever expected he'd reach. Very cool. Now I need to get her second, The Ladies of Grace Adieu.