friday five

1. I'm reading a wonderful book, Miles from Nowhere, published by The Mountaineers Books in Seattle. It's the story of one couple's around-the-world bicycle trip in 1979-80. It's made me laugh out loud, cringe, tear up, and (kind of) want to bicycle around the world myself. The tragic part of the story is that, after dodging seriously maniacal drivers in Southern Florida, camping in the Moroccan desert, pedaling up and down the Austrian Alps, and more, Barbara died in a cycling accident near her home right before the book came out. But twenty-five years later, her book is in its fifteenth printing! It's a beautiful, hilarious, adventurous story, definitely the best book I've read this summer.

2. I also finally read Divergent (Veronica Roth) after being on my library's e-book waiting list all summer long. So. Good. I didn't put it down for two days straight.

3. Last week, I met up with a bunch of writers who are also represented by my agency (The Erin Murphy Literary Agency). It was so great to hear about their books, talk about literary interning, and gush about our wonderful agency. Did you know that Erin and Joan's agency is the #3 seller of kid lit in the country? The #1 and #2 agencies both have six or more agents each, but Erin and Joan rake in all those sales by themselves. Hard core.

4. I have eight days left at work. Eight days, eight shifts. I'm not counting down at all...

5. And I leave the country in 11 days! Now if only I can complete my packing list, buy all the random and last-minute things I need like extra camera cards and travel-sized toothpaste, and fit everything into my backpack...