Last weekend I took Stephen King to the beach. Now as I’m typing this I realize the title of the post may actually be the name of a drink, one of those sugary cocktails with a tiny umbrella stuck in the orb of a tofu eye (for a touch of horror) or maybe with the promise of a hangover of horror proportions. What do I know, I’ve never had a hangover. But I digress.
Husband and I decided it was time for a nice getaway to the beach and since space is now not a problem – gone were the days when we lugged our backpacks to the bus terminal – he packed Revival (hey, isn’t that another drink-worthy name? or a hangover cure?) by the same author and off we went for a blissful weekend of doing nothing but sit and read with the sound of waves breaking in the distance and the occasional horse carrying mostly children trotting along the shore.
The weather was overcast for most of the time since we are right in the middle of the rainy season but that was not a problem. I actually prefer it to the blinding scorching sunshine present the rest of the year.
We found a stone heart on the beach…
…and also a dead jellyfish which we inspected by touching the creature and discovering a tiny starfish right next to it which we promptly released into the sea because it was still alive and moving. My desire to take a picture was overruled by the desire to return the starfish to the sea while still alive.
We sat down on comfortable beach chairs under a big umbrella and proceeded to read. You can see I made some progress but not as much as I’d hoped. Hardboiled crime is not my favorite genre but we do amazing things for the authors we love.
On the road leading to the beach we stopped at this place because how could I not? I named it “the book shack”; it had mostly Dutch books for sale. The Dutch must read a lot. I barely saw any English books at the free book zone at our hotel or the book shack. We passed by it several times without seeing the owner or anybody near it for that matter.
I remembered this “mobile restaurant” from previous visits. The somtum, or spicy papaya salad, is deliciously hot and the grilled chicken legs and stick rice a great companion to one of the most famous Thai dishes. I asked the guy’s permission for a photo and he nodded and walked away.
On the same road I saw this sign and resisted the urge to scrawl Narnia under that last destination.
I love the heart-shaped rock and I’m sure the starfish is grateful for the timely rescue. 🙂 Lovely post, Delia, it seems like you had quite a good time. I am not sure how I feel about Mr. Mercedes and the fact that it has a sequel now! I unfortunately couldn’t get into it quite as much as I had hoped. I look forward to reading Revival though, I have heard it is good-old-Stephen-King-horror!
Hi Priya,
It was a good weekend and a much needed holiday. I even got to practice my swimming, something I haven’t done in a while. The thought of deep water still gives me the shakes.
Have you read Mr Mercedes or did you try and give up on it? Well, it has not only a sequel but a third book as well.
I must say I wasn’t too keen on the story for the first hundred or so pages but now I’m really enjoying reading about how Brady’s dirty mind works. King does have a knack of making me care about the characters. And I like the cop. He and I share a love for cookies. 🙂
It sounds like you had a couple of great days!
While the scenery was not as idyllic I just got some substantive and quality reading time in myself.
“The Book Shack” looks like a great little nook. I love these little disordered Oasis that of used books. They sometimes pop up in unexpected places.
It was great, Brian. Not much sun but I find the sea has a soothing effect which unfortunately is spoiled by the horrible smell of cigarette smoke. Smoking should be banned at the beach.
I liked the book shack too. Do you have places like that where you live?
I left a bookcrossing book at the hotel and took two (greedy, I know:)), not many English books to choose from but one of them is a Western that looked interesting.
Wonderful post. The title made me think of Kafka on the Shore. 🙂
That book shack is great. What does it mean that there are so many Dutch books?
Kafka on the Shore – that’s one book I’ve been meaning to read.
I have no idea what it means – maybe there are a lot of Dutch tourists passing through? Or maybe English books get snatched away a lot quicker?
Oh what a lovely get away! I grew up in California and spent a lot of time at the beach during the summer. These days in the middle of the US, I generally don’t miss the ocean because there are so many lakes and rivers, but your post and photos gave me just a little pang and a great desire for a breath of salty air.
Hi Stefanie,
It was a very nice weekend, just sitting on the beach with a book, very relaxing.
I love lakes and rivers, it must be really great living near them.