Roaming & Reading Issue 11  August 4th 2023

Read to Roam Book for August: "Honeybees & Distant Thunder"

We're headed to Japan, Siren readers, for this delicious novel from Riku Onda and translated by Philip Gabriel.

Three piano prodigies converge on a small town on Japan's coast where a "knives out" competition is underway. But these three musicians-- a young father who is struggling with music, work and parenting; a daughter who retreated from performing when her mother died; and a player who wants to upset the staid world of classical music-- will find that even as they vie for the competition prize they are having a profound effect on one another.

Riku Onda's descriptions of the music are eloquent and sensational!

"There was both an abundance in his playing, and also a hint at untapped reserves. You could tell that this wasn't his absolute best.
Before Mieko knew it, he was on to Beethoven. The brilliant colour of the piece was transformed into something else, its drive and intent ebbing and flowing. She couldn't quite express it, but it was as if that unique vector found in Beethoven shot out like an arrow from the boy's very fingers, the sound filling the concert hall."

Return to the Dragon Kingdom of Bhutan! Nov, 2024.

Once is not nearly enough!

When 10 Siren Sojourners landed in Paro, Bhutan in Nov, 2022, the country was just emerging from a border-closing pandemic lock down. The economy had been seriously damaged and there was uncertainty about whether Bhutan's tourist infrastructure was ready.

What did we find? The warmest of welcomes in a place that is unlike any other in the world.

Stunning, soaring temples. Verdant valleys and marshlands that attract exotic birds and wildlife. People eager to share their pride in their remarkable homeland.

So, I've created a new itinerary for November of 2024 with a trip extension to an elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand.

Take a look & please spread the word. This is a trip like no other! https://www.sirensojourns.com/bhutan2024

Letters to a Scribbler: Can You Guess Who This is?

Dear Scribbler:

You pinned me.

Under a torrent of words. A Vesuvius of verbiage.

People still mention it, years later, rueful and rapt, over what they saw that night on that stage.

They liked seeing me squirm.

I’d begged for you, bartering from the one dusty corner of a medieval courtyard where a single bar could be raised. Dates traveled to and fro over an ocean. Haggling ensued. The deal was done.

I gloated.

Payback is hell.

You’re a giant of letters often confused with a different one. You’re the master of moral dilemmas so achingly delicate they challenge certainty.

I love the way you make me doubt what I think I know.

When they meet you, readers murmur the titles of cherished classics. Head bands were hot when they last ponied up for your bestseller in hardcover. But no matter. They’re in the presence of sleek, powerful greatness.

So was I. Intimidated. Inanimate. Unwilling to be ill-mannered enough to quell or quash you.

You turned away my queries and leveled a gaze that said, “Don’t.”

So I didn’t.

You were a runaway train and I was the semaphore you barreled right through. 90 minutes felt like 9 years.

I’ve suffered in silence, dear Scribbler, for a long time, never rising to the bait when someone, with a gleam in their eye, casually mentions that autumn eve.

Until a confidence from a colleague. He told a tale so similar to mine that it all bubbled up and out like hot lava. Misery loves company, you know.

Of course you know. There is obviously nothing I know that you don’t know. We established that.

Our encounter--yours and mine-- was a character-building experience, a shove between the shoulderblades to remind me of the risks that make the rewards of this work all the sweeter.

Still licking my wounds, Kerri

Follow Siren Sojourns on Insta & Threads

Need a break from whatever fresh hell is coming down the pike on a given day?

My Siren Sojourns Instagram & Threads are all about travel & books. Follow me & I'll follow you back.

The handle is: Siren Sojourns.

Summer Picnic for Iceland Adventurers & Book Club Members!

Next Sunday is Siren's first-ever summer picnic! If you are a member of the Kerri Miller/Siren Sojourns Adventurous Book Club, please join us! The weather forecast is cool with a few rain clouds hanging around.

We start at 3pm at Lake Harriet Regional Park with a special guest who is an expert on all things Icelandic Sagas. He's also my favorite Wizard of Words.

Lots of yummies & cool drinks & a chance to hang out with other book-lovers!

To join the book club in time for the picnic-- just click here: https://www.sirensojourns.com/book-club

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