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Philip Roth (US) – 7/2
Juan Goytisolo (Spain) – 9/2
Rohinton Mistry (Indonesia/Canada) – 9/2
James Kelman (UK) – 5/1
Philip Pullman (UK) – 6/1
Amin Maalouf (Lebanon) – 8/1
Wang Anyi (China), David Malouf (Australia), Su Tong (China) – 10/1
Anne Tyler (USA), Marilynne Robinson (USA) – 14/1
John Le Carre (UK), Dacia Maraini (Italy) – 16/1

For the complete story, go to http://www.gamblingkingz.com/news/2011/04/29/philip-roth-favourite-to-win-man-booker-prize.asp.

from The Palmer House Hotel & Restaurant website…

When you stay at The Palmer House, choose from a room tucked away in the recesses of the hotel or a room directly above Original Main Street where you can look down from your vantage point and observe the hustle and bustle of small town life.

The Palmer House has a spacious lobby which is perfect for whiling away the hours reading and visitng. The black and white distinct photography scattered throughout the hotel, restaraunt and lobby are enough to intrigue you about Sinclair Lewis and his night clerk duties, Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home and the Original Mainstreet of Sauk Centre.

Come to The Palmer House for business or pleasure. The friendly staff will be waiting to extend a warm greeting upon your arrival and cater to your every need throughout your stay. Whether it be a special event, an intimate evening for two, or staying in room #11 or #17, call us to discuss the many options we can put together for you.

Photo © Tamra L. Dempsey, A Journey Through Literary America

from A Journey Through Literary America by Thomas R. Hummel

When William Faulkner bought Rowan Oak in 1930, the cedars that lined its approach had already been in place for 90 years. The house was in terrible disrepair but, with its purchase, the author once again sent a root down deeply into the beckoning past. Back in the 1840’s, a Colonel Sheegog had settled in Oxford, cleared a patch of alluvial land, and left behind this Greek Revival treasure. — Oxford, Mississippi

from the Historic Hudson Valley website

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside

A visit to Sunnyside is an enchanted adventure in a romantic landscape and a much-loved riverside home that has been charming visitors for generations. Hear about Washington Irving’s storied past and how he came to be America’s first internationally famous author, best remembered now for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and other short stories. His characters, from Brom Bones and Ichabod Crane to the mysterious Headless Horseman and the comic Rip Van Winkle, are icons in American culture. Even Johnny Depp has added to their global renown.

A gently curved path leads to gorgeous views of the Hudson River and reveals the allure of Sunnyside’s unique design, its intimate setting, its bucolic grounds, and its association with a beloved man of letters.

Your guide, dressed elegantly in hoop skirts or formal dress of the times, explains how Washington Irving designed Sunnyside and its grounds himself, collaborating with his neighbor, the artist George Harvey. “It is a beautiful spot,” Irving wrote, “capable of being made a little paradise.” Beginning in 1835, he expanded a small cottage in stages, combining his sentimental interests in the architecture of colonial New York and buildings he knew in Scotland and Spain. The house became a three-dimensional autobiography.

The grounds reflect Washington Irving’s romantic view of art, nature, and history. He arranged garden paths, trees and shrubs, vistas, and water features to appear natural, and planted an exotic wisteria vine (still growing) to envelope the house.

Irving’s contemporaries extensively described and illustrated Sunnyside during his lifetime. And since Sunnyside and many of its furnishings remained in the family, a visit here is one of the most authentic experiences of mid-19th century life anywhere in the country.

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