Tag: december

Vampire Lestat

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Rice, Anne. Vampire Lestat. Ballantine Books, 1985.

Reason read: to finish the series started in November in honor of Interview with the Vampire‘s movie release.

In her second book of the Chronicle of the Vampire series, Rice takes us back to the beginning of Vampire Lestat’s life. Readers first meet him towards the end of her bestseller, Interview with the Vampire. This time Vampire Lestat guides the audience deeper into what it means to be a vampire. He shares what happens to him physically (hair and nails don’t grow any longer than at the point of immortality but if either hair or nails are cut, they will grow back to that prescribed length), as well as what happens to a vampire mentally. To be immortal takes a toll. To no longer walk among humans is a sacrifice. To constantly be on the hunt for fresh blood is a chore. Lestat makes interesting choices. He invites his mother to become a vampire, but holds best friend Nicholas at bay.
Rice is really clever to include Interview with the Vampire in Vampire Lestat as a pack of lies.
Confessional: Lestat is a whiny brat in the beginning of the novel. I was sick of his crying until he became a vampire. I was also growing weary of the Dark Gift, the Devil’s Road, the Children of Darkness, and the amplified amounts of whispering and weeping. It was like reading a horror soap opera full of dramatic sighs and posturing.

Best line, “The world around me had become my lover and my teacher” (p 329).

Author fact: There are a total of eight books in the Chronicles of the Vampires series, I am not reading any except the first two.

Book trivia: Vampire Lestat was never made into a movie.

Playlist: Bach’s Art of the Fugue, and Mozart.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror” (p 213).

Case-Book

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Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Complete Sherlock Holmes: The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. Doubleday & Company, 1922.

Reason read: to complete the series started a long, long time ago in honor of Doyle’s birth month.

The best stories come to life when the personality of Sherlock Holmes gets to shine through his investigative brilliance. It is in Case-Book that readers are reminded that Sherlock is his most human self when he relaxes in a Turkish bath.

As an aside, Sherlock reminded me of Nero Wolfe in The League of Frightened Men when he refused to help Colonel Damery.

The stories:

  • Adventure of the Illustrious Client – Baron Gruner is known as the Austrian murderer who supposedly killed his wife. Will he kill his latest fiancé? Why is the woman dead set (pun intended) on marrying this man?
  • Adventure of the Blanched Soldier – crime is not always at the root of a case for Holmes. This time a man hides his pale face for a completely different reason.
  • Adventure of the Mazarin Stone – the theft of a missing crown jewel.
  • Adventure of the Three Gables – a tale of what one person will do to keep their reputation clean.
  • Adventure of the Sussex Vampire – a mother is accused of being a vampire.
  • Adventure of the Three Garridebs – a weird scam so that a villain could acquire a counterfeiter’s printing press.
  • The Problem of Thor Bridge – a woman is found dead. Could the murderer have been her husband’s younger and more beautiful mistress?
  • Adventure of the Creeping Man – what would make a respected professor act like a monkey?
  • Adventure of the Lion’s Mane – Did a man kill his friend over a woman?
  • Adventure of the Veiled Lodger – What happens when a murder plot goes horribly wrong.
  • Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place – how far would a man go to hide his sister’s demise?
  • Adventure of the Retired Colourman – A man experiences the ultimate betrayal…or did he?

BookLust Twist: this will be the last time that will I say this does not come from Book Lust in the chapter called “I Love a Mystery” (p 123). The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is not listed.

Ultimate Guide to Rapport

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Ernsund, Stig. The Ultimate Guide to Rapport: How to Enhance Your Communications and Relationships with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere. Self Published, 2024.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing I get to review all sorts of interesting books.

Whole books have been written on the subject of the evolutionary importance of human connection. It has been proven that newborn babies thrive when held and talked to while neglected or ignored children become sickly and even perish. The foundation for the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child” is bonding which enables the community to work together.
The Ultimate Guide to Rapport is a concise twenty-nine pages of how to build a connection when it is “extra useful” or necessary. It promises to deliver the following: a definition of rapport, the theories, neuroscience and psychology of rapport, methods for building forms or levels of rapport, the value of rapport, an strong argument for rapport supported by theories and explanations and examples of added value of rapport. While I do not necessarily think it is the “ultimate” guide to rapport, it is packed with useful information.

Author fact: Stig Ernsund is a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner.

Book trivia: Ernsund’s introduction ends with a gentle sales pitch on life coaching and communication counseling.

Carringtons of Helston

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MacDonald, Malcolm. The Carringtons of Helston. St. Martin’s Press, 1997.

Reason read: so…this is a weird one, so hang on. I am reading The Carringtons of Helston because it takes place in Cornwall. Every December 23rd the townspeople of Mousehole, Cornwall, celebrate a festival called Tom Bawcock’s Eve. Bawcock was a 16th century fisherman who was rumored to have saved the town of Mousehole from starvation by going fishing during a storm. His boat was small but his courage was mighty and he caught more than enough fish to save the entire village. There you have it.

This takes place right before World War I in Cornwall, England. To give you an idea – tomatoes have just been deemed nonpoisonous. It is a society where people dance around topics in a valiant effort to not say what they really mean to say – all for the sake of politics, politeness, or both. The cat and mouse games people play are humorous during this era especially when each party takes a turn being the cat. But, don’t be fooled by the prim and proper society of Helston, Cornwall! MacDonald makes sure to include very real human desires and jealousies of all his main characters. Leah, the Carrington daughter, is a young woman with modern thoughts. Old enough to be a spinster, she wants friends with benefits. She doesn’t want the marriage, just the intimacy with a good man. A good dose of humor is peppered throughout the story. Housemaids are saucy. Gentlemen are not above acting the fool on occasion. Characters are so well drawn I could see this being a PBS or BBC show (something a little spicier than Downton Abbey).

Lines I liked, “Of course, any old building must have been a silent witness to the whole gambit of human activities and emotions” (p 35).

Author fact: The Carringtons of Helston is the only MacDonald book I am reading for the challenge. He wrote many others.

Book trivia: The language and mannerisms of The Carringtons of Helston characters is so modern I kept forgetting what era the story took place.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Cornwall’s Charms” (p 71)

Everywhere That Mary Went

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Scottoline, Lisa. Everywhere That Mary Went. Narrated by Teri Schnaubelt. HarperAudio, 2016.

Reason read: Pennsylvania became a state in the month of December. Everywhere That Mary Went takes place in Philadelphia.

Mary DiNunzio has a problem. She is pretty sure she is being stalked by a stranger. Weird hang ups on her office and home phones, strange notes left at her desk, and a mysterious black car constantly following her all contribute to her growing sense of paranoia. As if these troubling events are not enough, Mary will not report them for fear of tarnishing her chances for a promotion at her law office. She’s up for partner. Meanwhile, she is still grieving the loss of her husband less than a year ago and she has hardly anyone to confide in. Her twin sister joined a convent, her personal assistant has troubles of his own (it is the 1990s and AIDS is running rampant) and her best friend disapproves of Mary’s new boyfriend, a fellow lawyer at the same firm. Mary’s life is a mess. When violence escalates Mary is forced to take action. Her life may very well be on the line.

Author fact: Scottoline used her experiences as a lawyer to start the Rosato & Associates series.

Book trivia: Everywhere That Mary Went is the first book in the Rosato & Associates series. I am reading two others, Mistaken Identity and Killer Smile. A fourth book, Final Appeal, is a stand-alone mystery.

Playlist: “HM Pinafore”, Prince, Madonna, and George Michael’s “Father Figure.”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Big Ten Country: The Literary Midwest” (p 25).

Would You Rather?

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Tooker, Michelle. Would You Rather?: True Crime Edition. Michelle Tooker, 2024.

Reason read: every now and again I get to review interesting books as part of LibraryThing’s Early Review program. This is one such book.

Would You Rather? True Crime Edition boasts of “1,000 thought-provoking questions and conversation starters on serial killers, mysteries, crimes, supernatural activities and more” and is the “ultimate true crime gift.” All that is true…for the right audience. Tooker knows a great deal about serial killers, unsolved crimes, and unexplained mysteries. Like more than the average person. There were many people (both criminals and victims) I had never heard of before. Some of the Would You Rather questions I couldn’t answer because I didn’t know the case. Thanks to Tooker, I am going to do down a rabbit hole of television shows, documentaries, and true-crime nonfiction to bring myself up to speed!

Book trivia: the illustrations are interesting, a ski mask, dead body…

One Year Without Sugar

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Hamn, Matthew. One Year Without Sugar: Unlocking the Secrets to Weight Loss. Self Published, 2024.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing, I review interesting books.

I have to be honest. I don’t know if I would buy this book if I discovered it and happen to flip through it in a bookstore. The photographs and daily diet journal are somewhat repetitious. I couldn’t identify some of the foods and a couple of the photographs were blurry. If you are not familiar with the wild fit program you will not lose the overall context, but the knowledge would be a nice frame of reference.
Confessional: I am still not finished reading One Year Without Sugar. So far my favorite parts are when Hamn includes interesting facts about himself. In this way he connects with his readers very well. For example, he is sheep herder who goes into the mountains for two to three days at a time and he gained a bit of weight after giving up cigarettes. (That makes total sense because smoking is such an oral activity! As a hand to mouth activity putting food in one’s mouth is a natural substitution for smoking.) I appreciate his personal narrative and his motivation more than the journal of what he ate. His journey is an inspiration! Confessional: I did learn a little bit. For example, the fifty-six different names for sugar. If I ever want to cut out even twenty-five percent of the sugar I consume I now know what to look for in the list of ingredients.

Rubber Band

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Stout, Rex. Rubber Band. Bantam Books, 1986.

Reason read: to continue the series started last month. Also, Rex Stout was born in December.

The immediate mystery in Rubber Band is that $30,000 has gone missing from a Vice President Muir’s desk drawer. He is convinced he knows who took it. Anthony D. Perry, President of Seaboard Products Corporation, takes offense to the accusation because the alleged culprit, Miss Fox, is his alleged mistress. The secondary mystery involves a group known as the Rubber Band. They are owed money for freeing a man destines for hanging. George Rowley killed a man but escaped punishment due to a seemingly cooked up story about an inheritance. He bribed his way to escape then conveniently never paid the group who freed him. Miss Fox is involved in both cases.
Here are the things I appreciate about the Wolfe series: Rex Stout pays homage to Arthur Conan Doyle by having a picture of Sherlock Holmes over Archie’s desk and the consistencies – Archie, who has lived with Nero for eight years, will always go on and on about Wolfe’s weight. Nero’s time with his beloved 10,000 orchids never varies (9am – 11am and 4pm – 6pm), nor will he alter this schedule for anyone or anything.

The one thing I didn’t appreciate about Stout’s writing. I was constantly considering the time of Stout’s writing. Archie is a little sexist referring to women as “little girls” and using other disparaging remarks.

Line I laughed at, “…she had the kind of voice that makes you want to observe it in the flesh” (p 10).

As an aside, I want to create an Archie Dictionary. Has anyone already done this? Here are some words I would include: bird=guy, bean=brain, pink=kill, faded=retreated, lamped=observed and brass=courage.

Author fact: Rex Stout was born in Noblesville, Indiana in 1886. As an aside, I am reading forty-two more Nero Wolfe mysteries. Hopefully, I will be able to find 42 more facts about his creator. Sigh. [As an aside, according to the back page of Rubber Band Rex Stout wrote 72 Nero Wolfe mysteries by the time he died. I am not reading the thirty short stories.]

Book trivia: the front cover of my copy of Rubber Band is humorous. Rex Stout is “the grand master of detection” and Nero Wolfe, complete with a portly silhouette, is “the world’s most brilliant detective.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Rex Stout: Too Good To Miss” (p 227).

Big Dig

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Barnes, Linda. Big Dig. St. Martin’s Press, 2002.

Reason read: to finish the series started in October in honor of autumn in beautiful New England.

Carlotta Carlyle is back. This time she has an assignment to go undercover to monitor rumors of theft on a construction site in the heart of Boston. Only this isn’t your ordinary dig site. This is Boston’s famous Big Dig. Massachusetts residents will remember that tolls paid along the turnpike were supposed to fund this ginormous project to reroute traffic around one of the oldest cities in the nation. Only, the action isn’t hot and heavy enough for Carlotta. She seems to be monitoring the theft of…dirt. She decides to moonlight, taking on a missing persons case. Working two separate jobs seems like a win-win for Carlotta until she gets fired from the Big Dig assignment. Isn’t it ironic that Carlotta discovers that her undercover assignment is directly tied to her on-the-side case, the disappearance of a dog groomer/waitress? Now Carlotta must find a way back onto the Dig assignment to connect the cases and solve them both.
Big Dig is full of twists and turns. Both the events of Waco, Texas and Oklahoma City play a part in the action. Carlotta finds herself back in the presence of an old flame and finds time to fan a new fire.
Confessional: Big Dig is not entirely believable (big shocker). When Carlotta finds a guy hog tied and suffering from a pretty nasty head wound, she is not alarmed. Instead, she takes him home to have sex.

Author fact: Every time I went to look up information about Linda Barnes I kept running into the character from Criminal Minds…

Book trivia: as with all Carlotta Carlyle mysteries, Barnes includes a plethora of real landmarks of Boston in Big Dig.

Playlist: Chris Smither, Frank Sinatra, Robert Johnson, Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Bessie Smith, and Wagner.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter “New England Novels” (p 177).

Inherit the Wind

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Lawrence, Jerome and Robert E. Lee. Inherit the Wind. Ballantine Books, 2007.

Reason read: two reasons, actually. John Jay was born in December. Inherit the Wind is about a trial. Second reason – I needed a play for the Portland Public Library Reading Challenge.

The title of the play, Inherit the Wind, comes from Proverbs, “He that troubleth his own shall inherit the wind…” (p 126). Bert Cates, a young schoolteacher, is jailed for deliberately telling students about Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species. In this deeply religious town, Cates knew he would cause trouble. Brady comes to town to prosecute this willful lawbreaker. Even though this takes place in the 1920s, some things never change. The verdict of this trial could change the course of politics for it is an election year…
Stage direction: it is important for the concept of the play that the town always be visible. The town serves as a reminder for the audience that the entire community is vested in this trial.
Inherit the Wind was originally copyrighted as an unpublished work in 1950. In my 2007 copy the reader is cautioned that the story is not a history but rather inspired by true events of the Scopes/Monkey trial.

Lines I liked, “You never pushed a noun against a verb except to blow something up” (p 127).

Book trivia: the play was performed in New York City in 1955 starring Tony Randall and Ed Begley. It was performed again in New York City in 2007 starring Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy. As an aside, Brian Dennehy played the father in one of my favorite laugh-out-loud stupid movies, Tommy Boy.

Author(s) fact: Lawrence and Lee met in 1942 and wrote four screenplays together.

Songs: “Marching to Zion”, “Gimme That Old Time Religion”, and “Go Tell It On the Mountain”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “What a Trial That Was!” (p 243).

Truth and Beauty

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Patchett, Ann. Truth and Beauty: A Friendship. Read by Ann Patchett.

Reason read: December is a time for gifts. This is one I give to myself. Confessional: I read Lucy’s autobiography a long time ago. I was supposed to read Truth and Beauty directly afterwards for comparison. I may have to return to the review I wrote for Autobiography of a Face.

In a nutshell: this is the story of an unconventional friendship. Ann Patchett was befriended by the charismatic and neurotic Lucy Grealy when they were students at Sarah Lawrence College. From the age of nine, Grealy suffered from Ewing carcinoma of the jaw which left her terribly disfigured. She endured over thirty surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy. Throughout her life, Lucy didn’t know who she was without her illness, her cancer, her surgeries. Due to her low self esteem, Grealy overcompensated by seeking out people to adore and worship her. She thrust her personality onto anyone who would listen, daring them to love and accept her. Confessional: I don’t know what to make of Truth and Beauty. There is a sheen of jealousy that lightly covers the entire narrative. It is if Patchett wants to paint Grealy as a self-centered narcissist while Patchett is the unconditional, sane, patient, all-loving friend. By sharing Lucy’s letters and hardly ever her own replies, Patchett skillfully makes the relationship seem off-balance and schizophrenic. Grealy’s low self-esteem forces her to constantly seek approval and love affirmations from Patchett. The two may have been friendly before they became successful writers, but Patchett’s word choices convey hints of resentment towards Lucy’s fame and even towards Lucy herself throughout the entire story. Every compliment comes across as backhanded and contrived, as if Patchett really wanted to say Lucy used her debilitating disease as a means to be coddled and cared for by everyone around her. I got the nagging sense that Patchett only tolerated Lucy and her illness because she knew Grealy’s story was a gold mine. In truth, I have no doubt there was affection shared between the two writers but I feel it was a more honest relationship before the drive to publish and the desire to be famous kicked in.
As an aside, I lost track of how many times Patchett referred to Grealy’s height and weight, as if she was envious of Grealy’s childlike stature.

Author fact: I am reading three books by Ann Patchett. Oddly enough, Bel Canto is not on the Challenge list.

Book trivia: There are no heartwarming photographs of any kind.

Playlist: the Talking Heads, Kylie Minogue, Rush, and Leonard Cohen.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Other People’s Shoes” (p 182).

Massachusetts Bucket List Adventure Guide

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Briggs, Erin. Massachusetts Bucket List Adventure Guide. Canyon Press, 2022.

Reason read: For fun, I decided to read an adventure book about places to see in Massachusetts. Here are a few of my favorite selections:

  • The Tiny Museum
  • the Forest Park rose Garden
  • Gunn Brook Falls
  • Purgatory Chasm
  • the EcoTarium
  • Chesterfield Gorge Reservation
  • Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
  • Hancock Shaker Village (Natalie connection: she performed there!)
  • Pontoosuc Lake (the book doesn’t mention swimming, but fishing is popular)
  • Myles Standish Burial Ground
  • the Museum of Bad Art
  • New England Aquarium (a word to the wise: be mindful of price information. Even though — was published in 2022, the price listed is $10. It’s actually $44 unless you are a member, child, or senior citizen.)
  • Warren Anatomical Museum (gets my vote for the strangest place)
  • Boston Gardens where the Make Way for Ducklings statue is located (I did not know that the Mallard family all have names. The ducklings have J-Q names rhyming with “ack” and mama is just Mrs. Mallard.)

The only complaint I had about the book is that the book is organized in alphabetical order of town rather than adventure. You have to know where you are going before you can chose the event. The “did You Know?” section is a little goofy, but I did learn a few things.

Neither Here Nor There

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Bryson, Bill. Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe. Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio, 2009.

Reason read: Bryson celebrates a birthday in December. Read in his honor.

Unlike other travelogues that are bogged down by dry and didactic narratives and mind-numbing historical perspectives, Bryson’s Neither Here Nor There none of those things. Instead it is conversational and as funny as a drunk standup comedienne. Bryson is more concerned with where to find a beer than he is about regurgitating stale facts and figures about an ancient city. It is if Bryson has stuffed you into his backpack and all you can do is eavesdrop on his hilarious monologue as he traipses across the Continent. This isn’t his first rodeo. Bryson first went to Europe in 1972. He went again in 1992. Both times, he was capable of traveling around Europe without planned transportation or hotel reservations or even a clear itinerary. As an aside, I asked myself what it must have been like to backpack across Europe in the 1970s. Did Bryson and his longtime friend, Stephen Katz, find what they were looking for? Were they even looking for something in the first place? But, I digress.
Bryson went back, twenty years later, this time on his own, retracing his journey across Europe. He makes a point to stop in every major city across the Continent; he’s a rock star on the Grand Tour of humor.
My only complaint? No photographs!

As an aside, would Bryson still sell his mother to 45 in exchange for the Italian view?

Author fact: I have to wonder if Bryson still lives in New Hampshire?

Book trivia: Could they make a movie of this epic vacation? As an aside, there are other movies with the same name. Definitely not the same topic, though.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Explaining Europe: the Grand Tour” (p 82).

Finding Freedom

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French, Erin. Finding Freedom: Celadon, 2021.

Reason read: this was a gift from my sister. I read everything that comes from her, especially if it takes place in Maine.

To say Erin French is a fighter is an understatement. Let’s start with childhood with an mentally abusive father. I think about what kind of person I would be if, unless I was doing something for him, I never received honest love from my father. To watch him drown kittens would be enough to traumatize me for life. [That is the stuff of nightmares, especially if you are too young to understand the necessity of the act.]
Finding Freedom is not only a story of redemption, but one of tenacity. Coming from a small town is almost always seen as a curse. There is a stigma around being from Nowhere, America. You are considered a nobody if you can’t get out. Breaking free and escaping from your small provincial hometown to make it in the “real world” is always the unspoken goal. Erin almost made it out, but when she had a child out of wedlock and had to come crawling home to Freedom, Maine, it should have been a source of shame, but instead the act saved Erin’s life. Even though there were more adversities to come, her son Jaim gave her a reason to live, to fight, and to succeed. Because of him she was able to navigate a horrific (some would say diabolical) divorce, survive a bizarre custody battle for Jaim, conquer an all-consuming alcohol and prescription pill addiction, and find financial stability. She was able to break down every roadblock her ex-husband and her own demons put in front of her.
You may think I have given you spoilers for Finding Freedom. Believe me when I say I haven’t. There is so much more to Erin’s story. Read it for yourself to find out.

Book trivia: Each section of Finding Freedom is separated by a place in Maine: Hope, Unity, Prospect, Liberty, and Freedom. If people are not familiar with rural Maine they might think she is talking about something entirely different.

Quote to quote, “I didn’t want to live a life where dollar amounts dictated dreams” (p 52). Amen to that. My father always told me, do what you love and love what you do. If you live within the means of your passion you will never want for anything.

Playlist: Cesaria Evora, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Bette Midler’s “Baby of mine”, Stevie Nicks, the Sound of Music soundtrack, and Whitney Houston.

And a Right Good Crew

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Kimbrough, Emily. And a Right Good Crew. Illustrated by Mircea Vasiliu. Harper and Brothers, 1958.

Reason read: A pleasant end of the year read.

Sophie and Arthur Kober, Howard and Dorothy Lindsay, and Emily Kimbrough make up the “right good” crew. This is the story of the five of them are canal cruising aboard first the Venturer and then the Maid Marysue. They travel between Staffordshire and London with plenty of adventure along the way.
Parts about Kimbrough that made me laugh: she was a self proclaimed arguer. She liked a persuasive dialogue challenge. Throughout And a Right Good Crew she was witty and humorous. I loved how she described herself and her companions as heathens who didn’t know how to make a proper pot of tea. She shamelessly uses her daughter’s pregnancy to gain special treatment while traveling and desperately wanted to see how a game of darts was played. I think I would have liked to be friends with Emily Kimbrough.
A few scenes I enjoyed: shopping in 1950s England. They didn’t supply shoppers with containers for their purchases, (What is old is new again. Maine does provide shopping bags, either.) Arthur Kober’s attempt to steer the Maid Marysue, and the ringing of the bells.
Beyond a pleasant memoir, And a Right Good Crew includes some practical late 1950s information about traveling by canal: a glossary of terms, a step by step directive of how to take a boat through a lock, a list of books for suggested reading, and a tally of basic expenses.

As an aside, if you order a Bloody Mary in London, are you swearing at Mary?

Author fact: Kimbrough grew up in Chicago and developed a sense of wanderlust early on.

Book trivia: be forewarned, the details are a little dated. Case in point, the hire fee for a boat was twenty-nine pounds per week. A charge for a lad was six a week.

Head scratching lines, “He had phrased her incompetence delicately” (p 7), “We continued to impose our involuntary shock treatment” (p 180), and “Neither activity came even in the neighborhood of my comprehension” (p 224).

Setlist: Gershwin’s “A Woman is a Sometime Thing”.

Nancy said: Pearl included And a Right Good Crew as a humorous book about cruising. She had more to say about the book but you should check it out for yourself in Book Lust To Go (p 253).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Water, Water Everywhere” (p 253).