It has been a while since I've had a book to blog about. Between the house and my qualifying exam i haven't been the avid reader i would like to be. I have a few from Christmas that I read and should probably put up here. For the time being I would like to discuss Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear.This is the first in a seres of mystery/novels centering on the Maisie Dobbs character. I would classify it as more of a novel than a mystery based on the way it read to me. The novel is set in Lonon/Kent, England. The "Current" day Maisie is a psychologist and investigator in London approximately 10 years after the conclusion of WWI. A series of flashbacks occur as a method by which the backstory unfolds. In this book Maisie has just set out to start her career in detecting. It was a fairly amiable read -- rather easygoing. The book didn't result in any super fabulous insights, however, I it was entertaining and gave cause to consier how one's upbringing and station in life affects verything. It also reminded me to think of the issues associated with war - the emotional scars of WWI sometiems outweighed the physical scars, a well as the fact that everyone is affected by battle, not just the soldier who sees it but also his family, friends, and even complete strangers. These are lessons that we shoul probably ponder considering the current state of affairs in the US with the War on Terror.
In going back to the basics i would also like to comment that we are enjoying some unseasonable weather. I'm trying not to get to used to it since we are still in February. Saturday afternoon I took the puppies on a walk in the Military Park again. We decid to up our mileage to the 3 mile, South Loop. It is always a nice walk. It is crazy to consider how close we are to civilization when you realize how clsoe you are to the Interstate, yet, the park is so serene and natural (monuments not withstanding). This afternoon we didn't brave the park, but rather walked around our subdivision. I added a little leg to our walk around the lake. Using a nifty tool I read about elsewhere I am now able to esimate my milage wherever I walk. G-map pedometer is so cool! Some computery people took the google map software and developed algorithms whereby a person can put in a starting locatoin, pinpoint any waypoints and get their mileage. Since I walk a lot of rather curvy roads following the ridgeline in the park, I need a lot of waypoints! Same with the neighborhood. I hightly reccomend it for runners, walkers, cyclers, etc. who want to guestimate their mileage when hitting the road.
