January 19, 2016, Tuesday afternoon -- Reading Herman Koch

On a boat in the Gulf of Thailand

He is reading, in Dutch, Geachte Heer M., (or Dear Mr. M.) by Herman Koch. It's told from 5 different view points. A teacher has affair and then is killed. What happened? The author has also written a more famous novel called The Dinner.

His favorite author is Van der Heijden, who he likes because the writing is both difficult and clever, touching and emotional. He read Tonio - Ein Requiemroman, a 600 page book about the author's son who died at age 20.

January 12, 2016, Tuesday afternoon -- Reading

On a hot and hazy day in Sydney, Australia 

He is reading about cars and typewriters from 1966 in Australia Remember When, by Bob Byrne, published in 2915. A friend loaned it to him. 

He lives in a public house where there isn't a good place to read, so he likes to come here, near the ferry terminal at Circular Quay. 

He's from London, but first came here to visit in 1951, visited a couple more times, and then moved here in the 60's.

His favorite book is The Longest Night: The Bombing of London on May 10, 1941, by Gavin Mortimer.

If you look at the picture closely you can see the opera house.

January 8, 2016, Friday afternoon -- Reading Eckhart Tolle

At Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia 

She is reading A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle, in Hebrew. She is visiting Australia from Israel.

Her favorite book is The Master and Margarita, by the Russian author, Mikhail Bulgakov. When she was 8 years old her family emigrated from Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to Israel. Her mother gave  her the book when she was 13. It's deeper and more magical than any other book she's ever read. She said you would have to have a good imagination and sense of humor to write such a book, and no fear at that time to write such a book at that time and place.

Recently she's read the Millennium series, by Stieg Larson; Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer and the first two-and-a-half books of the Fifty Shades of Grey series, by E.L. James, which she stopped reading because she found it annoying. She also thought the main character was so similar to the main character in Twilight.

January 4, 2016, Monday Morning-- Reading Lee Child and Cathy Kelly

In the Sydney, Australia domestic terminal 

He is reading Make Me, by Lee Child. She is reading Between Sisters, by Cathy Kelly. They just returned from a cruise and are on their way home. His favorite author is Lee Child. She laughed and said she likes anything that's easy reading.

(I'm in Australia visiting my husband's family and was reading Cockroaches, by Jo Nesbo, on the 15-hour flight.)