Read (at last) The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd, which I bought in Seattle last summer. And stated in India. A book that starts with the (fascinating) Fra Mauro map cannot be that terrible, but the story does not keep up with its promises, less for its core idea of taking the opposite of Korzybski’s “The map is not the territory” (since a special map is the territory!) than for its disappointing characters that prove more two-dimensional than the maps they profess to love. Dialogues are either lame or monologues. The central character, Nell, is mostly a pawn for the older characters. The constant unfolding of coïncidences is such that it makes the book sound even one-dimensional at times. The academia connections are ludicrous. The fire incident is beyond suspension of belief. And the ending is quite poor, maybe predictably since maps have no endpoints… I also started the Stormlight Archives, by (Mistborn author) Brandon Sanderson, which may take a while to complete!
Made more roasted almond and black sesame butters, more whey buckwheat galettes, and various dahls. Visited a stupendous bagel store, Shelsky’s of Brooklyn, upon my (smooth) arrival in New York City, further tasting (and appreciating) smoked sturgeon for the first time. The bagels there definitely beat the famous Saint-Viateur bagels in Montréal! And a French bakery, Bread Story, in the East Village, which is run by a former apprentice of a cousin of mine’s and which sticks to traditional French breads, including buckwheat baguettes!
Watched Dhak Dhak in the plane to New York, an Hindi road movie about four women biking their way from Delhi to the 5,359m Khardung La pass, with plenty of great views. These women are riding on the iconic Royal Enfield Bullet bikes, found everywhere in India (and now spotted in Paris), and the story does not avoid a single pot-hole in the predictable route from the range of their backgrounds and motivations for the trip/pilgrimage/escape to their coming-of-age, along with 30mn of songs, up to the happy ending! In short, that’s a perfect plane movie.
