Once, for my Book Group, I selected a classic that was highly recommended by the author Ann Patchett on the Instagram account of her Nashville bookstore—Parnassus Books. The book is called Independent People by the Icelandic author Halldór Laxness. It was written a long time ago and considered a seminal work. It led to the author getting a Pulitzer Prize.
It was awful. Nobody in my book group made it through to the end, but I felt like I HAD to finish it, because I chose it.
I’ve mostly blocked it out, but let’s just say I know more about sheep and their various disgusting ailments than I ever wanted to and Iceland is permanently OFF my Bucket List. 😉
Speaking of buckets…way to go Boston Celtics! 🏀☘️ NBA championship #18.
This morning’s Boston Globe
I started a Bucket List (I’ve heard some say “Life List”) in the notepad app on my phone a couple years ago. I update it whenever the mood strikes. Sometimes a TV show, movie or book will shake up the order. For example, I read a book called “Independent People” by Haldór Laxness (a Nobel prize winner in literature) which resulted in Iceland getting booted from my list.
Here’s the latest version: Grand Canyon ✅ Paris ✅ Finger Lakes & Hot Air Balloon ✅ Tanglewood Yellowstone National Park Ireland NYC comedy club or SNL Southern Italy (Naples; Amalfi Coast; Cinque Terra) and maybe Sicily Sweden Return to Paris in warmer weather and see the sites we missed Argentina? Return to SoCal – LA/San Diego; Santa Monica; Venice Beach; Yosemite; Joshua Tree? Key West Austin TX Greece Acadia National Park
An image from my last trip to LA (you know, the city that’s won 17 NBA championships)
The year was 1988 and George H.W. Bush was on the ballot.
My friend Julie (the eventual artist) made sure we visited the Watts Towers in South Los Angeles.
The famous Watts Towers in LA—a renegade 33-year folk art project by Italian immigrant construction worker and tile mason Simon “Sam” Rodia
Apparently some part of it was closed that day, but we got the idea. It’s very cool—a labor of love.
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