It's Winter and We're about to Head South...

As South as you can possibly go...

Well the long holiday weekend is over and we are coming up on our trip to Argentina! We leave on Saturday night and will be in Buenos Aires for New Years Eve and then a 3 day trip to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego (Should be a great trip with penguins, glaciers and canoeing - But don't be crazy - we are not roughing it and camping - we will be staying in a nice cabin). The Buenos Aires portion will include lots of walking, eating, shopping, sightseeing and seeing the world's widest Street!

Before we head out of town, I wanted to briefly mention that this weekend was pretty nice and relaxing. Even though it wasn't my holiday, it was still really nice to have a long weekend. Plus we get the luxury of going to some Christmas parties. I want to give a shout out to Lauren Vincent (loyal reader to Concourse H) and her family for a great party that had good wine and great cookies! While at the party, I heard about a crazy TV interview where Elizabeth Taylor actually howled after a reporter asked if she was getting married again. If you haven't seen it make sure you do at this link. Other weekend highlights included a game night, Chinese food, Last minute shopping for our trip, meals with family and friends and of course, some good reading and tv watching...

Concourse H will be back in action in 2008! I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and....

GO REDSKINS!

A Festival of Lights followed by a Festival of Flights

This past week has had holiday fun and a criss-crossing trip through the snowy and icy Midwestern United States. Last weekend included two great Chanukah parties with the Mann and Pincus families. Our adorable neices got goodies from Uncle Howie and Aunt Karyn but the real fun was playing with Chanukah stickers and spinning dreidels - and of course, eating is always fun!

If you are interested in seeing some great shots from the two Chanukah parties, click on this link.

And post Chanukah included a very unique business trip. I had to be in five Midwestern cities for a work project and decided to cram it into 4 days. This included 8 takeoffs, 8 landings, 3 delayed flights and 6 voyages through Chicago O'Hare International Airport. All in all, I got everywhere on time and didn't miss any flights (except for a close call with my Chicago-Kalamazoo flight). The best part of this trip was that I added two new states to my list (North Dakota and Nebraska) and had two great dinners with Chicago and Kalamazoo friends.

The only bad thing was that I had to go through Airport Security 6 times! Oy! For Pictures, click here (press "i" for captions).

Here is an overview of the trip schedule:

Monday

Early morning flight from Washington to Fargo through Chicago
Meeting
Flight back to Chicago
Dinner with Mandy and Tami

Tuesday
Early morning flight to Lincoln, Nebraska
Meeting
Tour of State Capitol and University of Nebraska with Bill
Delayed flight back to Chicago
Rented Car and drove to Rockford Illinois

Wednesday
Broken down rental car in Rockford - emergency Taxi
Meeting at Rockford Airport
Replacement car and trip back to Chicago O'Hare
Traffic Traffic Traffic
Made flight to Kalamazoo (barely)
Meeting in Kalamazoo
Dinner with Luis and Melissa, tour of Kalamazoo
Overnight at Hilton Henriquez

Thursday
Morning drive to Grand Rapids, Michigan
Meeting in Grand Rapids
Delayed trip back to Washington DC over Chicago O'Hare...
....and then arrived back at home safe and sound.

It's time for the 1st Annual HoRB Awards

I figured after a year of good reading (already at 25 books with a month left) under my belt - it is time for me to start the HoRB Awards for 2007. The HoRB awards are essentially the way that Howard Recommends Books. Perhaps when the awards show becomes bigger we can create more a slang term like the HoRBies? And then I'll get Jon Stewart...

So here it goes, the 9 Official Awards for 2007 (plus some honorable mentions)

Check out my book website for more details.

Best Book that you will want to see made into a movie
Not Me by Michael Lavigne.
Imagine if you find out that your dying father who lived his life as a Holocaust Survivor was really a Nazi soldier who stole someone's identity as the Allied forces were liberating the camps.

Honorable Mentions
The Color of Water by James McBride

and of course Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I already know this is going to become a movie but don't think for one second that I didn't love this book - 2 of the best Summer days ever!)

Best Book that will make you a threat at cocktail parties
Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil by John Ghazvinian
Did you ever wonder how countries are going after new oil sources in Africa? This book does a great job giving an overview on its effect on the each country, its citizens, the colonial ramifications and many other issues that American's should be very aware of.

Best Book that will change the way you live your life
The Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan
Anyone who has spoken to me in the last month knows that this book was easily the most fascinating book I have read in the last five years. Are you interested in how human's as omnivores, make food selection? How does our industrial food supply effect our eating habits (local and national systems)? What are we feeding the animals that we eat and how does that effect us? Was is the history of organic and how are those items made within our food supply?

Best Book that will shock you when you find out it's non-fiction
Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale.
My friend Esteban suggested that I read this great non-fiction story - especially since I had never seen the movie. He was right!

Best Book that will make you look like the biggest nerd
Empire: How Spain Became a World Power 1492-1763 by Henry Kamen
Yes, this one took three installments but I did finish the 550 page book and loved it. I am trying to compare the various effects of colonialism on the world and now I can add Spain to books I have read on Britian, Portugal and Belgium - watch out France - I'm coming for you in 2008!

Honorable Mention if you want to just be a Washington, DC nerd
The Great Society Subway - A History of the Washington Metro by Zachary Schrag

Best Book that will make you look for your kleenex box

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Oops, he did it again! Hosseini's follow up to The Kite Runner is another riveting story full of rich characters, tense moments and a great window into a culture that American's may not be aware of.

Best Book that will make you want to grab your Passport and go
Mexican Days: Journeys into the Heart of Mexico by Tony Cohan

Are you looking for that vacation that isn't the same as everyone elses? Check out this great book that follows the author through many small towns in Mexico that are full of authentic cultures, good food, lively festivals and many other reasons to grab that passport and go!

Best Book that will make you want to laugh out loud after each chapter
Ciao America! An Italian Discovers the U.S. by Beppe Severgnini
Imagine an Italian moves to Washington, DC and quickly discovers all of the cultural nuances of renting an apartment, eating, shopping and living in a major U.S. City. I know many of us read the reverse version of these type of books about American's going to other foreign places but this one is hilarious (another Esteban suggestion)!

Honorable Mention
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs

So there you have it - hopefully these awards will one day be an industry standard. Watch out Newberry, Booker and Nobel - the HoRBies are coming!

I wish everyone a Happy 2008 full of Reading!