The Five

Sight

Hawaii by James Michener



I've never read any of Michener's work and now, at the end of this 1130 page, ultra-fine print book, I feel as if I just run a marathon, but, my feet don't hurt. I've invested 3 weeks of my life with this book and I'm so glad I did. I enjoyed it and I'm so glad I read it after visiting Hawaii. What I kept thinking while reading it, though, was this man wrote dozens of books this long, with this much research. How in the heck did he do it? This book got right to the heart of many of the questions I had about the islands and the people that lived there. It explained so much about the history of the island and finally got me to understand why the people are so unique. When we were there, I didn't feel like I was part of the United States at all. I felt like I was in a foreign country with just a hint of America thrown in. This was a great read, but it's an endurance read, not a vacation book. I definitely have to read something relatively fluffy next.



On a side note, I bought about a dozen Michener books at the request of my mom at a library sale. You can't go wrong paying $3 for a huge shopping bag of books, but perhaps there was a reason that the Michener books were all still there! :)



Sound

Just my iPod, nothing new. And public radio for news and chat.



Scent

Homemade chicken broth simmering on the stove.



Taste

Hot cinnamon oatmeal with dates, raisins, and pecans. That's REAL oatmeal, not that sissy prepackaged stuff.



Touch

Political propaganda. Birthday invites, favors, and thank you notes for Young One.