The Long Walk by Stephen King

"In the near future, where America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. The game is simple - maintain a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings, and you're out - permanently."

I think this gets the Purple Book Award 2010 , helped a bit as its fresh in my memory having only just finished it yesterday. Equally good were Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham, Skeletons by Al Sarrantonio and World War Z by Max Brooks. I'm reading Rage by Stephen King at the moment - another one in his Bachman books omnibus. Still just enough time for it to make it onto 2010's list if I spend the day reading.


Books I've read 2010
57. The Long Walk by Stephen King
56. An Ambush of Shadows by Paul O. Williams
55. The Enemy by Charlie Higson
54. The Pool of Fire by John Christopher
53. The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher
52. The White Mountains by John Christopher
51. When the Tripods Came by John Christopher
50. Gone South by Robert R. McCammon
49. The Black Horde by Richard Lewis
48. The Lonely Warrior by Jean Offenberg
47. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
46. Leaving Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun
45. Skeletons by Al Sarrantonio
44. The Hunters by James Salter
43. Wild Jack by John Christopher
42. Things we Didn't see Coming by Steven Amsterdam
41. The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World by Harry Harrison
40. The Blue World by Jack Vance
39. Of Beasts and Beings by Ian Holding
38. Feeding Ground by Sarah Pinborough
37. The Fall of the Shell by Paul O. Williams
36. Gender Genocide by Edmund Cooper
35. The Afterblight Chronicles: Death Got No Mercy by Al Ewing
34. The Afterblight Chronicles: School's Out by Scott Andrews
33. World War Z by Max Brooks
32. Plague Year by Jeff Carlson
31. The Pack by Tom Pow
30. The Scarlet Plague by Jack London
29. The Walking Dead by Craig Roberts & Charles W. Sasser
28. The Grain Kings by Keith Roberts
27. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
26. Blue World by Robert R. McCammon
25. The Dome in the Forest by Paul O. Williams
24. The Deluge by Mark Morris
23. What Niall Saw by Brian Cullen
22. Fugue for a Darkening Island by Christopher Priest
21. The Ends of the Circle by Paul O. Williams
20. The Breaking of Northwall by Paul O. Williams
19. Night by Elie Wiesel
18. Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch
17. Blakely's Ark by Ian MacMillan
16. Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham
15. Five Chimneys by Olga Lengyel
14. The Silent Multitude by D G Compton
13. Far North by Marcel Theroux
12. A Secret History of Time to Come by Robie Macauley
11. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
10. Fire Without Smoke by Florian Mayevski
9. The Blessing Papers by William Barnwell
8. Hater by David Moody
7. The Twelve by Stuart Neville
6. Cross Country by James Patterson
5. Quartered Safe Out Here by George MacDonald Fraser
4. Bar None by Tim Lebbon
3. The Suicide Collectors by David Oppegaard
2. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
1. Breeding Ground by Sarah Pinborough

Photo's added

They just need me photoshopped into them pointing out the Blubber Room, bathing in the Basin, shivering under Boise rock and checking out Miss Neanderthal as I was too shy to pose before strangers for them.

Goodbye NY

I've a couple more hours before my cab to the airport - a reliable driver that Nick knows who drove me to the airport last year. I've been in NY since returning the car on Friday morning. Had a Japanese meal on Friday evening with Nick and Dayna and a friend of theirs. On Saturday I went into Manhattan and went to the Tenement museum. It's an old tenement building that was sealed up and forgotten about in the 1930's with just the ground floor shops kept in use. It wasn't rediscovered until the 1980's when the purchaser saw it and preserved it as a museum. There are 7 different guided tours of the building that detail the lives of some of the thousands of people that passed through the area and lived there in squalid conditions. I did one of the hour long tours, very interesting.

Yesterday we drove out to Long Island and did a walk around the Caumsett State Preserve. Today I had a walk through Central Park to the Natural History Museum then had a quick shop in Macy's.

Back in New York

I am back at Nick's flat having returned the car this morning in Manhattan. I have been away from the internet the last few days as the motel's either didn't have internet or I was too fuffed out to update the blog. After the outlet centre in Maine I went to Lake Winnipasaukee and the White Mountains area but a lot of the attractions that I wanted to see had closed for the season, so I spent some time going to places on the off chance they'd still be open - usually to find that they weren't.

I wanted to see the Flume canyon in the Franconia state park but that was shut so I had to content myself with "the Basin" - a plunge pool at the bottom of some rapids and the Boise Rock - a big rock which Mr Boise crawled under when he got caught in a blizzard - he skinned his horse and snuggled up under the rock. His rescuers found him the next day and had to cut him out of the frozen horse skin but he survived.

The last 2 days I have been in New York State in the Adirondacks (same situation, most things shut November until May) so didn't see Fort Ticonderoga. It poured with rain all yesterday so I stopped at Glen Falls to see the Hyde Collection - a private collection of old masters amassed by a wealthy paper manufacturer at the turn of the last century I stopped at Saratoga Springs for a wander and coffee then drove onto Woodbury Common Outlet Centre for some more shopping as there wasn't much else to do in the lousy weather. I stayed at a motel there and drove into Manhattan in the rush hour this morning.

Off out with Nick and Dayna tonight for a japanese meal in Manhattan.

Lake Winnipesaukee

I spent the morning at the outlet centre shopping and drove up to the Lake in the afternoon. I was intending to stay by the lakes for a couple of days but most things are shut for the season and it's pretty dead. I will head further north today to look at the Whie Mountain area then start heading back towards New York tomorrow.

Boston & Salem

I spent the morning in Boston walking along the Freedom Trail which links all the historic parts of the City. I had a look around the Paul Revere house - only 4 rooms so didn't take long and had lunch at Quincy Market - reminds me of Covent Garden but mainly a food hall. I chose Thai and had a tasty red curry.

In the afternoon I drove north to Salem for the Halloween parade and have stayed at a motel (Best Western this time) just across the state border in New Hampshire.

Newport Mansions & Cape Cod

I spent the morning doing the 3.5 mile cliff walk past all the mansions I turned around and retraced my route, stopping to do a tour of The Breakers, one of the fancier mansions, built by a Vanderbilt in 1895 - a railway millionaire. In the afternoon I did a drive around the Cape Cod area and am staying at a motel south of Boston.

I will have a look around Boston today and then head up to a big outlet centre "the Kittery" near Mrs Seippel tomorrow, for a shopping day. I won't call in on Mrs seippel as its such short notice given I was intending to be in Pennsylvania, and I don't have her details.