Sarah Vowell

A few weeks ago, I was in a bookstore. Waiting for someone, I started browsing the books in the front, budget section.

I saw the book ASSASSINATION VACATION by Sarah Vowell. I had been meaning to read it for a while. After seeing Vowell on Letterman, I wrote the title down on my ever growing list of books to eventually read.

So, I picked it up to read while waiting.

Before I know it, I'm five pages in, and absolutely hooked.

It is a mix of a history book and travelogue. Sarah travels around to all the important places in the lives and deaths of the assassinated Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. Even being a sort of history geek myself, I learned quite a bit in reading it. And not only that, who knew that Garfield was so interesting, or how close McKinley's term mirrored that of today, with a war overseas, secret prisons, etc.

Vowell is such a great writer that, before I was even halfway through it, I was online ordering her other three books.

RADIO ON is an interesting one, a diary of a year in the life (1995) of her listening to the radio.

But even better were TAKE THE CANOLI and THE PARTLY CLOUDY PATRIOT. Both are collections of essays by her, many that appeared on NPR.

So now I'm all caught up, AND WANT MORE!!! Supposedly her next book, due next year, will be about Puritans. Living in New England, and growing up with a father who lectured on the subject of 17th century history, I have to say, I'm psyched for that one.