This weekend, I had a visit from an old friend who is a lawyer with the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. We are both older (definitely – we haven’t seen each other for 20 years) and wiser (perhaps) and it was so good to bring our life stories up to date. He and his wife live in downtown The Hague. One thing I do envy him is the ease with which they can travel Europe. Just hop in the car and off to Berlin, Paris, Rome. All so easily accessible. I do miss that aspect of living in Europe!

He is an avid reader and he recommended an author to me, someone I have never read, in fact, never heard of – Boris Akunin, a Russian writer who writes two series of mysteries set in 19^th century Russia, the Sister Pelagia series and the Erast Fandorin series. Both characters, Sister Pelagia and Erast Fandorin are unconventional sleuths. I found more about him on his website and on the 52books blogspot.

My friend is so enthusiastic about this author and about both these series of books that I am totally convinced. Next visit to my favorite bookstore and I will be on my way to 19^th century Russia!

Meantime, I have just read John Grisham’s Playing for Pizza. What a fun book! As a writer, I can learn a lot from Grisham. This story is set in northern Italy, and the city, Parma, just comes alive under Grisham’s hand. The lead character is a former NFL quarterback who gets a job with the Parma Panthers. I learned more about American Football than I want to know, but once again, Grisham tweaked my interest. And as for his descriptions of the food . . . mouth-watering.