Today, I finished "The Sword of Shannara", good escapist stuff.
I've been meaning to read it for years. While I enjoyed it, I thought
it seemed to parallel "The Lord of the Rings" a bit too closely! I kept thinking
"He's very similar to Frodo/Sam/Gollum/Aragorn/Gandalf...".

I've now started "The Bookseller of Kabul", which is a little less escapist.
I had a holiday today, in honour of the Prophet Mohammed's birthday tomorrow.
Peace be upon him, as they say here. I'm also looking to get a new compact
camera, for those occasions that I don't take the D70 with me - suggestions welcome!