CB On Vacation at Chautauqua, NY

(From Leslie): Believe it or not, sometimes the CB's experience cultural events without each other! I am currently in a perfectly unique place called Chautauqua, NY (near Jamestown and Buffalo). At Chautauqua Institute, you can hear a lecture about just about anything, see a ballet, go to the opera, take in an independent movie, listen to a concert, go to a play, attend a religious service, swim in the lake, go for a sail, or observe a music master class--all without leaving the grounds! This week's theme is Writers on Writing, and the morning lecture series so far (in a huge open air ampitheatre) has included Pulitzer Prize winning essayist, author, playwright and television commentator Roger Rosenblatt talking with his friends, the poet Billy Collins and the author E.L. Doctorow. It's a thrill to see such well-known literary giants, enjoy their humor, hear about their process and their thoughts on the profession of writing, and to listen to them read from their work. Coming up the rest of the week will be Joyce Carol Oates, and Amy Tan, and cartoonist Garry Trudeau. Not bad!

Speaking of writers--as I drove my parent's car from NC to NY, I listened to an unbelievably great book by Lloyd Jones--Mister Pip. It was wonderful to listen to, and I imagine just as wonderful to read. Other recent favorites: The Rope Walk by Carrie Brown, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, and So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger (who also wrote the excellent Peace Like a River). I know that my buddy Ann is busy enjoying The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wromblewski.

More from Chautauqua coming soon!