Welcome back to the corner of Book Street and Beverage Boulevard. Today I'm introducing you to my second most common coffee hangout.
Last week I compared the rock garden café with the rice paddy overlook I used to frequent in Hoi An. Today we've downgraded from "rock garden" to "slightly green-ified alley."
This cafe actually caters to tourists with a lovely air-conditioned interior, but because it's right on the main drag, there's no room for tables out front. Instead, they've created little ledge gardens and tucked a few tables into the adjacent alley. Today I ordered a salted coffee and a strawberry-and-cream croissant to enjoy in the meager shade while looking out at the ocean. See it?
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| My view from the alley. |
Just a little peek.
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| There, up and to the right of the trash can. |
Notice I didn't say beach. Along this stretch of Vietnam's coast, there isn't much of one - it's mostly embankment. But when the tide cooperates, I can still wriggle my toes in the sand.
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| Not much going on here. |
But enough about the coffee. On to the books!
Since last week, I finished The Shepherd's Hut. Awesome. Better than I expected, to be honest. Winton isn't an author who spells everything out for the reader, and I really respect that.
After finishing that one I started Revival by Stephen King. There was a preview chapter tucked into the back of another King novel I read months ago, and I immediately added it to my "want to read" list. Now I'm finally in it. I'm no speed-reader, but I'm already nearing the climax. In typical King fashion, the words fly by. It makes him very easy to read.
A lot of people avoid Stephen King because of the "horror" label. For years, I was one of them. But they're not all like that. Even as far into this book as I am, nothing supernatural has actually happened. Nothing more horrific than the very real horrors of life, death, and addiction. There have been subtle hints that something far stranger may be waiting at the end, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds.
Have you ever read Stephen King? What did you think?
I tried one of his books when I was about 12 or 13 - a big one, possibly a short story collection - and it creeped me out enough that I never finished it. I waited far too long to pick up another.
These days, he's one of my go-tos.
