Hello fellow readers,

Perhaps I should pay more attention to the world going on around me, but I had no idea The New York Times was having a vote on the best 25 books of the past 125 years! It's too late for me to vote, or anyone to vote anymore, but the list is pretty interesting to look at. Since you need a subscription the NYT to see any of their stuff, I thought I'd give you the link to the final list on Goodreads.

Some of the books are obvious choices, while others I've never heard of. One book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was the topic of debate in the Creative Writing Community. We decided that while it is a book that had marked a generation (possibly several) it wasn't actually that well written. J.K. Rowling, like every author, got much better at writing as the series went on. Don't get me wrong, it isn't terrible, but even as children's fiction goes, there are other books that are better written. But that is just an opinion and it goes to show that when asking for the BEST OF not everyone has the same idea in mind of how to measure that.

At any rate, I love looking at the list and seeing what I've read and what I have somehow missed. Take a look for yourself. Have you read all of them? Do you disagree with one being on the list? What would you have put in there?

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In the area of writing, I'm working on getting onto paper my thoughts and experiences from Nepal and my trip to Mount Everest basecamp. The first blog post, on Kathmandu, is up on my website. If you'd like to read about it, you can do so here.

Don't forget I'm running some giveaways! While your on Goodreads going through the list of NYT's best 25 books of the last 125 years, be sure to throw your name into the ring to win an ecopy of Stepping Across the Desert!

And for Coffee Stains, you can head here for your chance at winning one of 25 e-copies (print giveaways will start in about ten days). And don't forget that if you review my book and send me a screenshot of your review, I'll send you a PRINT copy of An Audience with the King for Free!

Good luck!

Have fun, stay safe and have a wonderful weekend!

Kat