Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

Another MIA week around here but hopefully the last one for a while, since I have a couple of posts written and scheduled to go. For whatever reason, I have been in a writing mood yesterday, not that I am complaining. So I got a couple of reviews done and ready to go.
Last week, I was in New Orleans up until hump day for a trade show as an exhibitor. Being on your feet for three days in a row can be killing. I wore nice comfortable running shoes all three days, but there were women who wore heels throughout - the pointy variety. Now, I like how heels look on a woman's feet - so graceful and elegant. But you won't find me in a pointy pair, even if my life is on the line. So it baffles me completely when I see someone wearing a pair of heels when they have to be either standing or walking for a good portion of a day, never mind three days.
When I wasn't at the event, I was at a couple of customer events. It wasn't until the evening before I was returning that some of us got to go and walk through Bourbon Street. Yep, this place was as crazy as they say it is. A few times I had to pretend to not have seen err, certain things. The food in New Orleans was amazing. The seafood options were incredible. Every restaurant there considers itself either Cajun or Creole.
But what I was most impressed by was their signature cemeteries. The Originals TV show set portions of many of its episodes in the New Orleans cemeteries, and even then, I thought that was a fictional or historical detail. Seeing all those above-ground vaults and tombs was just spooky and goose-bumpy. I didn't visit any of the cemeteries but just saw a few on the way to my hotel from the airport.
The Mississippi River was another beauty. I was lucky to have my hotel room face the river so every morning, before the mad rush of the day was to begin, I spent a good few minutes gazing out into the river and watching a few cruise ships make its way to dock.
On the reading front, I finished Jojo Moyes's One Plus One while at New Orleans and possibly loved it even more than I did Me Before You. Or maybe as much. I can't decide. I am still reading through Stephen King's On Writing. The guy certainly has a lot of good ideas regarding writing a novel. I have about 50 more pages to go so I may finish it today. I've also started reading Hwee Hwee Tan's Foreign Bodies, which is set in Singapore and so far riveting. What are you reading?

Comments
As for high heels, yeah, I can't imagine wearing them either. :) My wife has a friend who loves high heels (mainly because she's short, I think ;) ) but I can't believe they're very comfortable.
I've read three of Jojo Moyes novels (not One Plus One yet) and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. They are all so different. Think I'd go with The Girl You Left Behind.
And the only time I've worn heels in the past 5 years was on my wedding day, and even then I swapped them during the reception!
It sounds like you had a nice time in New Orleans, albeit a busy time. I would love to visit there someday. Especially the cemeteries. Waking up to a view of the Mississippi River sounds wonderful too!
Foreign Bodies sounds interesting. I'm still hoping to give JoJo Moyes a try before the end of the year, but we'll see.
Have a great week!