I’m writing to you live from the Happy Days RV Park in scenic Zephyrhills, Florida near Tampa. The weather is a balmy 73ish with a light wind wafting across the shuffleboard courts. I’ve already trigged to the strategy of getting to the all you can eat dinner buffets about 20 minutes beforehand while they’re still charging lunch prices 🙂

I took the train down from NYC and rode in a sleeping car for the first time. I had what’s known as a roomette, and if it sounds diminutive, it is. Still, it was a lot of fun and well worth the experience. I will likely try it again.

I’ve been hitting the mini-golf courses between shuffleboard matches and otherwise soaking up the rays and thinking about all the cold and snow I’m missing in NYC at the moment. Not everyone is here for the holidays, but life doesn’t always go the way you plan, so you enjoy the time with those around you. So to all of you out there I hope you have a wonderful holiday and here’s to 2010 being the best year yet!

Cheers,

Chris

I have a large group of matching, heavy duty bookcases along with several others that I’ve accumulated over the years, but none exhibit the funk factor of these ones. I’m slightly envious, but as I only have a one bedroom apartment I don’t really have the space to indulge. One day, however…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/15/11-of-the-coolest-bookcas_n_391684.html

http://www.oddee.com/item_96613.aspx

The staircase bookcase is a bit freaky. I love the Cave and the figure 8.

A little Kesha, Zeppelin, Motor, Crystal Method, Groove Armada, and more…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkeAUJ9I7X8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afa-2HErL70

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJZ2i6EKRwQ

I went down to the hotel breakfast buffet this morning and came face to face with the dreaded bagel topper monstrosity. I don’t know what exactly it consists of, but I think I recognized a cheese like substance with possible bacon bits and other flotsam and jetsam all fused on to the top of a soggy, grease laden bagel. There was a time in the not too distant past that I would have given it a try, but thanks to an intervention a few months ago those days are gone. I was going to take a picture so you could see what I’m talking about, but then it occurred to me you may be eating while reading this, and I don’t want to induce regurgitation. Suffice it to say, if you ever see a serving platter labeled “bagel topper” don’t open the lid, just run.

From interview to interview I’ve noticed several questions get asked over and over. A clear favorite is the one about what I read, so I thought I’d share a photo of the latest book I devoured, and I mean that nearly literally. Between bookmarks and jotted down notes I found myself dissecting the book as much as reading it. Many times I had to force myself to put my pen down, flip back a few pages, and just read and enjoy. Tuchman’s prose is sublime. And keep in mind, this is a book of nonfiction about the first month of the First World War. Her ability to seamlessly move between grand strategy and personal conflicts while connecting a myriad of dots is breathtaking. Oh, and she won the Pulitzer for this.

Every writer starts out as an aspiring writer. If you’re currently one (and I count myself among you because I’m striving to get better with every book I write) then you owe it yourself to read widely, intently, and with purpose.