hello goodbye

Traveling always requires a good book.

I started my trip with The Paris Correspondent by Alan S. Cowell. Nostalgic for reports filed from the battlefield on a telex, two veteran reporters must deal with the politics and speed of modern reporting. Fascinating characters and back story love affairs keep the story moving even for those not interested in the history of journalism.

Once I got to Kansas City, I turned to The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje. Always one of my favorite writers, Ondaatje doesn't disappoint in this tale of a young boy's journey by sea from Sri Lanka to England. Along with an acrobatic troupe, a jazz musician, a Baron thief, and a pigeon fancier, a group of ragtag boys form friendships and find mischief.

On my way back to Michigan from Texas, I picked up Emily Chenoweth's novel hello goodbye somewhere outside of Baltimore. Elliott and his wife Helen travel with their college-aged daughter Abby to a hotel resort in New Hampshire. The trip is a chance for Helen, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, to say goodbye to old friends. Not as weepy as it sounds, this novel is actually perfect for traveling. It's easy to drift in and out of, especially for an eavesdropper like me.