California Dreaming

I've spent the last couple of days more or less not doing anything and hoping that whatever virus I have will go away. Today, I felt well enough to make a trip to WalMart. But I noticed I began to feel feverish after an hour or so.

There's a lot of traveling around California in this book, and I enjoyed the descriptions of the small towns and the countryside. In any story that takes placed in California, the landscape almost always influences the actions of the characters. Any number of authors come to mind: Sue Grafton, John Morgan Wilson, Joseph Hansen, Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald.

Does the setting always influence actions? A curious question that I don't know the answer to. Is there some kind of naturalism at play that we don't think of? I can not help but think of the likeness of suburbia. There's so little unique about any American suburbian area.

Curiously enough, before I started "Q is for Quarry," I'd picked up a book about Frank Lloyd Wright and California aptly titled "The California Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright." I bought the book several years ago but had not really read it.

Although I knew Wright worked in California, I did not realize the extent of his efforts until I started reading. Twenty-four structures are listed as having been built, and there's also a list of 30 or so buildings that were conceptualized but remained unbuilt.

When I was in WalMart today, I picked up a road atlas. I went looking for one as I was reading "Q is for Quarry," but then I remembered it was thrown out in the move. There is a plethora of information on each page. Almost too much information, in fact. I glanced at the California maps, but found them difficult to decipher.

WalMart was also offering an atlas that had simplified maps. In fact, I first picked one of these up but put it back. Since they are only $5, the next time I'll buy one and see how simplified it is.

PAX!