A picture, a complaint and two books

First, the picture:

Thankfully it only cost about $110 to have lunch with the princesses and get our official picture. What a deal, huh?

Second (and the above was not the complaint), I am still tired.

And now the two books ...

Book #35 of 2010 was Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell.

Bestselling novelist Orla Hart owes her life to her friend Millie Brady, whose rotten boyfriend has just left her. So Orla invites Millie to Cornwall, where Millie looks forward to a summer without any dating whatsoever. But Orla envisions Millie as the heroine of her next novel and decides to find Millie the man of her dreams. Except the two women have drastically different ideas about what kind of guy that should be.

With Orla and Millie working at cross-purposes, and a dashing but bewildered hero stuck in the middle, the summer will turn out to be unforgettable for all concerned...

I have read several of Mansell's novels and I have to say this was my least favorite. I can usually finish one of her books in a few days but this took almost a week. I didn't find the characters terribly appealing and the plot was a bit sluggish.

Book #36 of 2010 was Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo

British novelist Evaristo delivers an astonishing, uncomfortable and beautiful alternative history that goes back several centuries to flip the slave trade, with Aphrikans enslaving the people of Europa and exporting many of them to Amarika. The plot revolves around Doris, the daughter of a long line of proud cabbage farmers who live in serfdom. After she's kidnapped by slavers, she experiences the horror and inhumanity of slave transport, is sold and works her way back to freedom. The narrative cuts back and forth through time, contrasting the journey to freedom with the journey toward slavery.

I liked the story from Doris' perspective but I didn't find Bwana's perspective as interesting. In fact I skimmed most of it.

Overall, I had a much harder time reading over my vacation than I normally do. I thought I would finish a few more books. Oh well.

Next up is the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.