Sunday Salon #11 - 1 June 2008

According to the site, there are now 152 members of Sunday Salon, which is staggering growth. I haven't yet managed to identify all the crime fiction devotees though.

We arrived here in Abu Dhabi a week ago now and have only 6 days to go before we take off back for Australia. My daughter has a guide book that lists the top 10 things to do in Abu Dhabi and so far we are doing pretty well, as well as a good range of things outside AD.

One of the effects of being away from home is that fact that I'm not able to spend as much time on the internet as I do at home, and also I 'watch' RSS feeds from my favourite blogs via an RSS reader on my desktop computer. Won't I have a lot to read when I get home! And just one more thing.. my webmail is not reachable today - hopefully it will come good soon.

However there has been plenty of time to read. It is really hot most days, with the result that there is a limit to how long you actually want to be outside. So we retreat back to our daughter and son-in-law's apartment for large parts of the day.
The other thing to do is to visit a shopping mall - there are some huge ones, with hectares of shopping and food courts, all air-conditioned to the nth degree. One we visited today has a running club from 7-10am every morning for those who prefer a cool 22 degrees Celsius to 40+ degrees outside later in the day.
Today we also visited a couple of Kathryn's favourite book shops.

My postings this week (in reverse order)

• Travels in Abu Dhabi
  Yesterday we explored an oasis in Al Ain and had Friday brunch on the top of a mountain at Jebel Hafeet
• THE DEAD POOL, Sue Walker
  I was disappointed in this book - I read and enjoyed her previous two.
• NO TIME FOR GOODBYE, Linwood Barclay
  Highly recommended. Those who've called it a page-turner are not wrong.
• SNOW CANDY, Terry Carroll
  Sortlisted for Canada's Arthur Ellis awards. Well worth looking out for.
• Ned Kelly Longlist 2008 announced
  Lots of goodies listed here. Ned Kelly Awards are highly prized Australian Crime fiction awards announced at Melbourne Writers' Festival. You'll find many of them linked to reviews by me or at Aust Crime Fiction.
• RENDEZVOUS AT KAMAKURA INN, Marshall Browne
  This is a good read from Australian author Marshall Browne - you may be familiar with his Inspector Anders series
• TRICK OR TREAT, Kerry Greenwood
  This is what I read on the plane. Didn't get as much read as I thought I would. Good light read though. You've probably heard of her Phryne Fisher series but maybe not Corinna Chapman.