Book Review: Playing with Fire Whining and Dining on the Gold Coast by Thomas G. Schaudel

Read and Reviewed for armchair interviews
Have you ever gone to dinner and had a bad experience? Maybe your food wasn’t cooked right, or you found something that shouldn’t be there in your soup bowl. Perhaps you were witness to one of your fellow patrons being extremely rude and pushy. However, what do you do if you are the chef, and the customer’s complaint is just too off the wall for you to handle?

If you are Chef Tom Schaudel, you write a book about those customers. Tom writes in his introduction: “By my math, I have fed over two million Long Islanders in the last forty years. One million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and fifteen have been wonderful; eighty five have made this book.” Playing with fire introduces readers to these most memorable characters that Tom and the staff of his four restaurants have met over the last forty years of being in the business.

From the moment I saw the table of contents which is laid out to look like a menu and the illustrations beginning each chapter, I knew I was in for a treat with this book. Chef and author Tom Schaudel shares these humorous “horror” stories of some of his best worst behaved customers. From the woman who tried to walk out of the restraint with a Christmas tree attached to her pocket, a grandma who liked to flip the bird at everyone in the place when not helped fast enough, the awkward situations of the woman on a date who is so drunk she is passed out on the ladies bathroom floor, and the young married couple who tried to redeem a counterfeit gift certificate given them as a wedding gift, as well as many others. The stories are told in a light hearted way that make the reader see how sometimes the wait and kitchen staff just have to have a good sense of humor to survive the night. I appreciated the recipes scattered through the pages, and while I don’t cook a lot of seafood myself I did see one or two that I would like to try some night for dinner.

Playing with Fire is a lighthearted romp through the restaurant industry and those nightmare customers who frequent it, as seen by the man behind the scenes.

Book Review: Signature by Ron Sanders

Read & Reviewed for Front Street Reviews

On the celebratory night of New Years Eve, four colleagues- academics all – welcome in the new year of 1346. Their leader Titus Mack has invited them to his home in the observatory outside of the outskirts in unprotected land with an arm of the colony coming up from the depths nearby.

Titus, begins to show and tell the trio of academics about the information that he has researched with the help of his advanced computing program Solomon over the past year since any of them had seen him last. His revelations show them a past history that has been erased from the history books, that the actual date is 2509 rather than 1346. He starts to show them why their world is strongly atheist with little religion at all. During his lecture, the perimeter of the Observatory is breeched my members of the colony, and the men are abducted and taken down into the depths of the underground colony.

The men find themselves in a strange world where nothing is what they know. Religion leads these people. In the years that they have been shuttered underground it has evolved into a society ruled by rituals and rules like nothing the four men have encountered before. The men are taken to meet the judgment of Mama and the ‘Postle, and nothing they do will let them escape this fate that has been handed to them.

I had a little bit of a hard time getting into this book. I found the first twenty or so pages slow reading. However I am glad that I pushed past and kept reading. Signature is an intellectual thrill ride that makes you think. It explores topics like what would happen if religion was segregated from the everyday world, and what would the world be like if its history was erased and restarted. This book was short, but really made me think while I was reading it. While I can see it not being something that everyone would enjoy, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I originally thought that I would.

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I enjoyed this book so much that I have two paperback copies to pass along to readers.

Both are autographed by the author, one is slightly worn from being toted along in my bag on the bus to school and work.

Both have been registered at Bookcrossing.

Leave a comment with a way to contact you, and why you would like to read the book.

I'm leaving this open until the 31st of December, and will announce the winner on January 1 or 2nd.

Bookk Review: Resurrecting Randi by David P. Shephard

Read & Reviewed for Front Street Reviews

On the first day of the new semester, Professor Travis Harrison’s life is starting to look up. His first book has been published, and is jumping up the best sellers list, and he is engaged to be married to a wonderful and supportive woman. Life is no longer constantly reminding him of the tragic death of his daughter Randi in a car accident ten years ago.

Then he met Layla Sommers. The troubled nineteen year old, latches onto Travis, and soon he is fending off her unwanted advances (including an inappropriate sexually explicit e-mail). She seems to see Travis as someone who can save her from her chaotic life. After Travis responds to her phone call pleading for help, he seems to be her savior. He did keep her from committing suicide. Travis on the other hand, finds himself a temporary father figure as he agrees to sponsor Layla, and let her live in his home during the month of recovery time the hospital wants a suicide watch kept on her.

Already battered by Layla’s previous advances, Travis struggles with his feelings of attraction to this confused girl child. When he realizes how much Layla physically resembles his lost daughter Randi (and what she might look like at this age) Travis is hit with the submerged grief he has for his lost daughter. During the month that Layla is a part of Travis’s everyday life he sees his life change. His girlfriend leaves him, he struggles with feelings of attraction towards Layla as a young woman, and guilt because she reminds him of what his daughter might have grown to become had she not died at age nine. Travis and Layla’s relationship quickly deteriorates, eventually leading to his arrest as the murderer of Layla’s abusive ex-boyfriend.

Despite all the drama that Layla brings into Travis’s life: The upheaval of his re-emerging grief, the pushing away of his fiancé that happens with Layla living in his home, and the eventual destruction of his career as a writer and as a professor after his arrest. Travis finds positives to Layla’s presence in his life. She brings moments of tenderness, compassion, and love into his life. She lets him feel like a father again. Layla helps Travis face the grief he feels over the tragic loss of his daughter’s life.

Resurrecting Randi is author David P. Shepherd’s debut novel. It is an extremely well written story with highly developed characters. I enjoyed the twists and turns the plot took and was completely surprised with the ending. This book takes its readers deep into the psyche of Travis and Layla, and is an extremely well written psychological drama. I enjoyed Resurrecting Randi very much and look forward to seeing what this author writes in the future.

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I enjoyed this book so much that I have two hardcover copies to pass along to readers.

1 is autographed by the author
1 is not.
Both have been registered at Bookcrossing.

Leave a comment with a way to contact you, and why you would like to read the book.

I'm leaving this open until the 31st of December, and will announce the winner on January 1 or 2nd.

Book Review: The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks

Read & Reviewed for Front Street Reviews

The Gypsy Morph is the third book in the Genesis of Shannara trilogy.

With the United States fallen into ruin, the Knights of the Word, Logan Tom and Angel Perez face a challenge in facing the evil that is rampaging towards them.

Logan Tom has to keep the promise that he made to the boy Hawk and his band of survivors called the Ghosts. Hawk, a magical being called the Gypsy Morph, is leading the ghosts to meet with other survivors in the wilds of Oregon. He is charged with leading them to a place of eventual safety.

Angel Perez has risked her life to help the elves in their fight against the demons of the void. She has helped the young elf Kirisin Belloruus and his sister find the legendary Lodestone. Kirisin has been entrusted with the knowledge of an ancient magic. This magic will put his people and their home of Arborlon inside of the Lodestone. Kirisin is charged with taking the magical gem to safety with the help of a small band of elves. They must get past the demon army waiting to crush the elven city and find someplace safe.

Will the Knights of the Word guide their charges and keep them safe long enough to reach the gypsy morph, Hawk’s, safe haven? Or, will the demon army from the void sweep away the survivors, be they elven, human, or mutant, and bring about the destruction of the world?

I have been a fan of the Terry Brooks writing for a very long time. The first time I read my father’s copy of The Sword of Shannara I was transported to a world of magic and conflict that I fell in love with. Sadly though I’ve not kept up with reading the Shannara books over the years. The Genesis of Shannara trilogy gave me a chance to revisit the writing of a favorite author. In this trilogy, I found a story that shows us the readers the actual happenings of the appocolyptic past that was hinted at during various points in the original Shannara books that I read so many years ago.

I really enjoyed this final instalment to the trilogy. I enjoyed seeing the emergence of the elves into our world, and the destruction that caused life as we know it to fall apart and evolve into the less technically inclined world that the Shannara stories are set in. I loved seeing how author Terry Brooks brought two of his series that I enjoyed together with the Knights of the Word being involved in this part of the history of Shannara (The series being The Knight of the Word books and the Shannara books). Reading The Gypsy Morph made me realize how much I’ve missed reading this author’s writing, and I look forward to catching up with the books that I’ve missed over the years.

book review: Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes

Read and reviewed for Armchair Interviews.
Have you ever wondered what drives the health industry in touting what is correct to eat for a good healthy lifestyle? Have you ever wondered why common knowledge tells us that fat is bad, carbohydrates are good, and that to have a healthy weight you should eat less and exercise more? In Good Calories, Bad Calories author Gary Taubes tried to give readers answers to these questions, as well as showing them how this advice may not be right.
The book is split into three parts. Part one, The Fat-Cholesterol Hypothesis, looks at the effects of reducing fat and the rise of awareness of cholesterol and heart disease has played on diet in the last few decades. Part Two, The Carbohydrate Hypotheses, shows readers how the western diet slowly moved from one with more meat and fat in the late nineteenth century to one with more of an emphasis on breads and other carbohydrates. In this section, the author discusses the rise of refined carbohydrate use in meals, and how those are causing problems with both a rise in diabetes and obesity. The third section, Obesity and the Regulation of Weight, talks about hunger, different diets, and how they work or don’t with a person’s metabolism to help them lose weight or to hinder weight loss.
As a layperson, I had a hard time getting into this book. Author Gary Taubes gives his readers a whole lot of information on food, on nutrition, on different health concerns such as heart disease, diabetes, and the rise in obesity. His background as a science writer shows with the completeness of the information given. I did find that the information given aimed at a lower glycemic diet with its higher protein and less refined carbohydrates very interesting, as well as the fact that diets promoting such eating habits were not new in the sixties when Dr. Atkins first started promoting his diet.

I believe this would be an excellent book for anyone interested in finding out more about the various diet trends and advice given through the past decades

Book Review: Beneath the Mask by David Ward

Read and reviewed for Armchair interviews

Beneath the Mask picks up after the events in Escape the Mask. Coriko, Pippa and their friends have found life after escaping the Spears to be not quite what they had imagined. They have spent their days working on a way to escape the Grassland. However, their nights are filled with trying to avoid falling into the grasps of the Strays – the escaped children who have become wild and feral in their freedom. The night they attempt to escape the grasslands once and for all, they find their plans thwarted. The Spears, whom they thought all dead are in fact not.

Once again captured, the four friends face the trial of Separation. Coriko, separated from his love Pippa finds exactly who is underneath the masks of the Spears. The life he is forced into leaves Coriko cold. In order to protect Pippa and keep her alive, he must do unspeakable deeds. But by doing these things, he runs the risk of losing Pippa’s love and trust. Coriko is faced with a challenge. He needs to find out what he truly values in his life, and find a way to make that happen. Even if it means finally getting free of the Grassland.

I loved having the world we were introduced to in Escape the Mask expanded. Beneath the Mask shows us who the Spears are as a culture. The book delved deeper into the struggles that Pippa Coriko, Bran, and Tia find themselves thrown into. Where the first book showed us the changes happening in the lives of the children, this book focuses on the struggles they have to make the correct choice for their continued happiness. In Beneath the Mask author David Ward has strengthened the story of Coriko, Pippa and their friends. I look forward to the third book and seeing where their adventures lead them to, and if they will finally find a home of their own.

Beneath the Mask is an adventure packed, action filled journey of discovery that once again brings some very weighty topics to the reader’s attention.

And the winner is...

Raonaid Luckwell!

Congratulations, lady luck looked kindly on you this drawing!

After reading your enthusiastic comment about the series in the entry post last week, I was absolutely thrilled to see your name get pulled.

I hope you enjoy reading Immortals:The Crossing just as much as the past books.

I'll be sending off the congratulations e-mail in just a moment.

Book Giveaway: Immortals: The Crossing by Joy Nash

Well, It's my turn to host the book giveaway for author Joy Nash's 50 books in 50 days giveaway. I have to admit, that I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, as life has gotten in the way of my tackling the to be read mountain, but it looks like it will be worth waiting for.

Here are the contest rules:
1. The drawing is open worldwide
2. You must leave a comment on this post with a reason why you would like to read this book.
3. Your comment must have a way to contact you, it can be email, blog info, or for those of you who wandered here from bookcrossing, a bookcrossing member name.
4. I will announce the winner on September 25th (and will stop accepting entries on the 24th).
5. You can get a second chance in the drawing by letting your own blog readers know about my giveaway. Just share a link to your promotion :)

IMMORTALS: THE CROSSING

Joy Nash
Urban Fantasy Romance
Dorchester Love Spell
Release: September 30, 2008

ISBN 10 0-505-52767-7
ISBN 13 978-0-505-52767-7

Author's website
Immortals-series website
Immortals Myspace
Immortals on Dorchester website

Contact Joy:

Blurb:

USA Today Bestselling Author Joy Nash returns with another installment in Dorchester Publishing's Nationally Bestselling multi-author series, IMMORTALS.

Demigod Manannán mac Lir (Mac) is on the trail of Artemis Black, a stunningly dangerous woman who's inexplicably able to intertwine life magic with death magic. For the safety of his people, he should destroy the desperate witch—once he learns her darkest secrets.

Readers of paranormal romance and urban fantasy will enjoy this adventure filled with black magic, nasty demons, hot immortals, dark humor, steamy sex, and a heart-thumping descent into a modern version of Dante's Hell. Available September 30. 2008.

And the Winner is...

The name drawn from the hat for the copy of True Detective by James A. Huebner is: A Real Librarian from over at Confessions of a Real Librarian!

Watch your mailbox for my e-mail.

Thanks to everyone for entering. I have two giveaways coming up next week, so check back again.

Book Review: Mr Sebastian and the Negro Magician by Daniel Wallace

Read and reviewed for Armchair Interviews

Henry Walker, the negro magician, is a weak, thin and shaky black magician. An un-coorordinated sort of person, every night he drops cards, misses his cues and fumbles his way through his act. His show, part of the attractions offered at Musgrove’s Chinese Circus, is the sort that gives those watching a feeling of well being because even if life is bad, it can’t be as bad as this guy’s. But one summer night when the circus is stopped outside a small town in rural Mississippi Henry disappears as unexpectedly as he originally appeared in Jeremiah Musgrove’s office looking for work four years earlier. Three white teenagers decide that the world needs one less black man around. What they discover about Henry Walker is that the magician is not exactly what he seems.

What follows is a tale that spans over decades. Told from the viewpoints of Henry’s fellow circus performers and others that his life has touched, the varied story takes us through the years. Back to when he first learned magic, and survived the tragic loss of his adored sister Hannah, through his troubled life. Each story of Henry’s past is told from a different viewpoint, and is just a little different from the one before, until as a reader you don’t know what to believe until the story wraps itself up. I found myself entranced with this book and found in it an enchanting story dealing with loss, identity, the limits of magic, and how a person’s actions can influence others. The story crashes over the reader, leaving them to wonder, did Henry Walker make a deal with the devil for his magic, or was he instead just a gifted magician who had been run down by time?

This was an extremely well crafted and exiting story that hooked me from its first page. I’ve had this author recommended to me over the years, but while familiar with his prior story Big Fish through the quirky film adaptation I had never read any of his books. Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician hooked my imagination, and I know I will be seeking out more of Daniel Wallace’s writing in the future.

Author's web site http://www.danielwallace.org/
Book format: paperback
Publishing date: 8 July 2008

Book Giveaway: True Detective by James A. Huebner

I've come to the realization that my books to be passed on box is getting very full, so in order to help along some cleaning and organizing of said box (as it houses my bookcrossing available books as well), I am going to do a drawing for my trade paperback copy of True Detective by James A. Huebner. The review was posted yesterday, and can be read here.

This copy is a trade paperback, the corners did get a tiny bit dinged up in mailing and then when riding in my bag for reading oppurtunities on the bus and in waiting rooms. It is autographed by the author. It has also been registered at bookcrossing (as I do to all the review books I pass along). The winner is not expected to use the bookcrossing info, though I would love to see a response to the book after it gets read. Mostly because I'm nosy, and like hearing what others think of the books I share.

There are a couple rules for this drawing as I had an interesting amount of anonymouse entries on the last one.

1. Leave a comment on this post, with contact info. Either a blog link, or an email. I need a way to contact the winner.
2. To get an extra entry for the drawing, post about the contest in your blog, and send me a link to the post (either here or via e-mail is fine)
3. I will contact the winner, and if I do not hear back in 5 days I will pick a second name.
4. This contest is open worldwide.

I will accept entries for the drawing until 10 pm. on September 10, 2008 and will post the winner on September 11, 2008 (fitting given the subject matter and setting of the book).

I've got a few more give aways coming up in the next few months so come back and visit the blog again :)

Book Review: True Detective by James A. Huebner

Read and revieved for Front Street Reviews
New York City cop, Sergeant Detective Marlowe finds himself in a new place. Coming back to work after an extended leave of absence, sitting through sessions with a therapist that he believes he doesn’t really need, and starting work in a new precinct with a new partner. On their first night together, they discover an odd crime in Battery park. Someone has left a carefully stuffed cadaver skin, hanging above the water that formed one of the park’s boundaries, holding a sign that says SS New York on it.

In the days and weeks that follow Marlowe learns more about his partner. Both he and his partner Detective Captain Cross both had been touched by the events of 9-11 in ways besides helping with the rescue, and eventual body removal from the tower’s rubble. Both had been involved in investigations and arrests concerning the attacks on the World Trade Center. Marlowe finds that his partner cross believes that the “body” they found in the park was connected with the terrorists, and is adamant about discovering who did it and why before New York is attacked for a third time. The cadaver, along with a very prominent suicide/homicide and a sting on a well known local drug dealer all start to seem like they could be intertwined. Along with the stresses of work, Marlowe is starting to doubt the sanity of his partner.

I found the story a bit slow at first, but it built up to a nice pace. Author James Huebner has built a strong story based in mystery. As a reader I enjoyed following narrator Detective Marlowe on his journey to find the source of the “darkness” that is threatening his city. It becomes a tumultuous journey as he strives to figure out where the many cases they are investigating might connect, and which, is the true crime. We see Marlowe grow as a person with the discoveries about his self that he makes with the help of his psychiatrist, and his own personal reflection while on and off duty. I found True Detective to be a wonderful look into the police procedures of the daily work life of a modern day New York City Police detective. This was a great story, full of twists and turns, with a surprising twist of an ending.

Book Review: Escape the Mask by David Ward

Coriko and his partner Pippa are slaves to the Spears. The children are Twosies, children who have lived in the grasslands and worked at finding the shards that the Spears want mined from the sands for many years. Coriko – who doesn’t remember a life outside of captivity relies on Pippa for friendship and support as they struggle through each day trying to meet the gather quotas and keep from angering the Spear guards and the punishment that comes afterwards.

However, they find their life changing slowly when two newcomers are captured and brought to the grasslands who speak the same language as Pippa and Coriko. They bring news of unrest in the outside world, and the possibility of war. When the Spears suddenly start changing their gathering totals for the day, and are attacked by enemy archers inside the grasslands, the four friends team together with two other slave children to try and survive. The violence towards the Spears increases and the children find themselves looking for ways to free the other slaves, escape from the cave complex that they are kept in, and get past both the Spears and the attacking soldiers.

Escape the mask is the first book in The Grasslands Trilogy. The story explores the idea of freedom. Coriko and his friends find themselves free from the torture and cruelty of their captors, and faced with freedom from the slavery that was the life they were accustomed to. After they find freedom, each child has the opportunity to discover more about themselves, and who they are. They grow from slaves with no identity to individuals with very distinct strengths and weaknesses. I found the story engaging. I enjoyed watching the six children grow as they found strength together to break free from imprisonment and discover who each person is.

This is a great introduction to a new series, and I am looking forward to reading the next book when it is published.

Author's web site: http://www.davidward.ca/home.htm

a Neil Gaiman Extravaganza

Fashonista Pirahna is having a Neil Gaiman extravaganza of a give away. I thought y'all might like to know about it. go find out how to enter here

Prizes being offered are: an ARC of Neil's newest book The Graveyard Book (to be released on September 30, 2008), a Graphic novel version of Coraline, Gaiman's Bath Surprise: one Stardust bath bomb and one Comforter bubble bath, which Gaiman has written about in his blog, A hardcover copy of American Gods, $25 to a charity of choice, and more?

50 books in 50 days give away

Joy Nash’s Immortals: The Crossing--sixth book in Dorchester’s USA Today Bestselling series Immortals--hits the bookshelves on September 30. But 50 lucky readers will win autographed copies on or before that date!

Yes, that’s right – 50 copies of The Crossing will be given away on 50 participating websites and blogs, which means readers have 50 online chances to win this hot new paranormal romance during the 50 days between August 12 and September 30.

Find out where you can win a copy at by checking out the list

I will be offering a copy here on Confesions of a Literary Persuasion in September, so be sure to check in and enter when the time comes

(I'll also be doing a few other give aways in the next month or so as well so check back for those as well)

for the Joss Whedon fans out there.

This is not book related, but entertainment related.

Joss Whedon has a limited time web series premiering tomorrow (which will be available only until 20 July 2008).



It looks quite good, and has some very familiar faces in it. (click on the image to head over to the dr. horrible web site.)

May I have the envelope please?

The lucky winner of George Carlin's When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? is...

thekoolaidmom

Congratulations!

I'll be contacting you for mailing info, and this will go out the next time I head over to the post office.

BTT: Definition of a reader

What, in your opinion, is the definition of a “reader.” A person who indiscriminately reads everything in sight? A person who reads BOOKS? A person who reads, period, no matter what it is? … Or, more specific? Like the specific person who’s reading something you wrote?

Growing up, I heard the phrase "she's a reader" alot. As a child (and even now), I read alot. I read to experience new worlds, to visit places I someday hoped to visit, and to find out "who done it". I also read to escape the unhappiness of teasing at school, and family issues, but that is a whole different story.

As such I kinda hate the title reader. Yeah I read, so do a whole lot of others in the world.

But I think anyone who reads for pleasure is a "reader". Be they a child, teen, or adult who only reads once in a while, or those like myself who devour books in their free time. I think that anyone who has been drawn into a story and visited the world that the author has created is a reader whether they liked the book or hated it.

On a side note. I have a tote bag full of kids books for when friends bring their children over to visit. I love hearing "Can I get the books?" being asked as soon as they walk into the apartment.

In memory of:

As most of you have heard by now, comedian George Carlin passed away earlier this week.

His comedy has meant alot to me over the years. I remember watching his televiseed performances on the then young cable network with my dad, and listening to his recorded shows also with my dad (along with the Duck's Breath Mystery Theater, and the Firesign Theater), and I have devoured all his books over the years.

As I had just Finished listening to George read the audio version of his last book When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? on the day of his passing, I would like to pass along a copy of the book in his memory.

This will be a gently read used hardbound copy of the book that has been registered at Bookcrossing. Leave me a comment telling me what George Carlin's comedy meant to you, and a way of contacting you.

I'll draw the winner's name on July 2, 2008. This is open to anyone anywhere in the world.

So long George! Thanks for all the laughs!

Book Review: Tin Lizard Tales by Schuyler T. Wallace

Read and Reviewed for Front Street Reviews

What do you get when you put a retired couple on a train for a month? Take them from Bakersfield, California across the United States to the east coast, then North into Canada and head them back west again, across the Canadian wilderness? Tin Lizard Tales is exactly that. Part travelogue, part historical look into the cities they cross through, and part discussion/rant on various issues brought about by the former. Tin Lizard Tales is author Schuyler T. Wallace’s recollections of the cross country trip he and his wife Carol took via Amtrak (in the USA) and the VIA Rail (in Canada).

Tin Lizard Tales attempts to show various parts of the country in current days, what the author and his wife saw and visited while touring the country. The history lessons come when the author adds in looks into the history of the areas they’ve traveled in, and the cities that they visit. Even the title of the book is a bit of history, gleaned from the old time railroaders’ name for streamliners. Here and there Mr Wallace slips away from his format and shares with us his opinions and essays on topics such as homelessness, the meat packing industry, and the service encountered on the many trains he and his wife rode on their trip.

Author Schuyler T, Wallace has the following to say about his book: “I was prompted to write this book by a lot of reading and large amounts of coffee. Strangely enough, that’s probably what you will need to get through it.” I don’t drink coffee, but I don’t know if it would have helped me speed through the book any faster than I ended up doing. There is a lot of information between the first page and the back cover of this book. I could only read it a chapter or two at a time before setting it aside to process what I had read. The portion I had trouble with most, was when the author talked about their visit to the World Trade Center site, and his exploration of the events of 9/11. Even though it’s been almost seven years since the attacks, it’s still a very raw subject. I skimmed through those chapters and on to the rest of the Schuylers’ visit to the city that never sleeps. I did enjoy the descriptions of the scenery they traveled through especially the descriptions of the length of track traveled along the Hudson River, and while crossing Canada. I’ve traveled long distance via Amtrak as well, and it was a memorable experience. Reading Tin Lizard Tales reminded me of that experience, and made me look forward to perhaps exploring the country by train travel again some day.