Books, Water, Skies - A Recipe for Happiness

These are the things I've always been partial to, since my childhood on my father's ships' decks (not his own ship, he was the captain). This combination still works to restore my sense of self: A good book, a sunny day in the proximity of a large body of water.
I've recently finished reading The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by Gerald Basil Edwards. It is a dense masterpiece which took me some time to get through, but well worth it. It was a privilege to spend time with the man in whose voice the book is written, a thoughtful kind and right-hearted man from the isle of Guernsey, who chronicles the changes of the small world around him, and leaves it in the end with only love in his heart. He lives his entire life in one house on the island, yet he never feels restricted. The way he looks at the people around him is timeless and soul-searching.


And now I'm on another long-reaching one, space wise: The Long Ships, by Frans G. Bengtsson. It is the story of the travels and adventures of a viking named Orm, told in a language so bemused and unassuming as to capture the imagination of a child, yet good enough to eat. Great fun. It could be a great adventure film. The fighting, blood, costumes and turn of fortune are perfect for the screen. In fact, there is an old movie based on it. A good one to spend the summer with.