Armchair Book Expo America

It was 93 degrees yesterday in this northern mountain world and it set a record. In fact, it's never been this hot in any month during our five years here.

By not posting yesterday, my pledge to Armchair BEA went down the proverbial drain. At least I have a good excuse! (No, not the heat, silly. Scroll down to the bottom of this entry.)


Today's BEA book report: The Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann. This novel is getting rave reviews all over. And I'm very excited for Hamann. She self-published the book years ago via Vernacular Press, a firm she co-owned with her ex-husband. I tried to read the book in its original format and found it inaccessible at times. So, I'm extremely delighted to report that she's completely revised it, put loads of work into it, and evidentlyl, she's now got a bestseller-to-be in her hands. Can't wait to see a copy!

My excuse for copping out yesterday: I hurt my back and the pain precluded the sane writing of a blog entry yesterday. I injured it bushwhacking down Eleventh Mountain squeezing and contorting my body through narrow ledge passages. I shouldn't be surprised. I come from a family of bad backs on both sides and I consider myself *extremely* fortunate to have survived this long without a major back event. It's a miracle, really.

The good news: My problem is totally fixable. And I have an excellent chiropractor. But for the first time in my life, a medical practitioner actually told me I need to take it easy. This amazed me! No doctor has ever told me to do that.

Laying back isn't so hard; the big problem is it's very hard to read books with a bad back. No comfy chair or bed is comfy. I would have preferred a severe cold. But doctors never tell you to take it easy with a bad cold, or with pneumonia, for that matter.