Taliesin is closed

I was hoping that on this trip I'd finally get to visit Taliesin West, but unfortunately they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August.

I've been rediscovering one of my favorite authors lately, reading Clive Barker's terrific novel "Sacrament". I first read it when it was brand new. I remember greedily snapping up my first edition copy the day it hit the bookstores. I found a café that afternoon and read until my eyes were sore, savoring every word. "Sacrament" is a book which was great to begin with, but it has improved with age. I'm catching things this time around that went completely over my head the first time around – nuances and flourishes in Barker's characterizations and subtleties in his descriptions that are simply wonderful. I've always been a repeat reader. I have a selection of twenty books that I read every summer – I'm wondering now why I never added any of Barker's books to this list. I think that both "Sacrament" and "The Great and Secret Show" belong on it. Both books are brilliantly realized and written with so many layers that they stand up wonderfully after multiple readings.

Perhaps it is time to totally revise my yearly reading list anyway – I may stop reading "The Stand" and replace it with one or two of Barker's works.