I always read more (and therefore get less sleep) when life gets busy, and this May has been no different. A friend of mine said they call it Mayhem, and that sounds about right. Anybody else?

On my continuing 80 books around the world journey, I enjoyed my stop in France with The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. According to Goodreads: “The Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexandre Dumas is a swashbuckling historical adventure novel set in 1620s France, following young d’Artagnan as he joins elite Musketeers Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. The story, famous for the motto “all for one, one for all,” involves court intrigue, romance, and battles against Cardinal Richelieu.”

It is a lot of fun if you have never read it! My next stop was where I spent six years, Indonesia, with The Rainbow Troops. Here is what Amazon says: “The Rainbow Troops (Laskar Pelangi) is a 2005 autobiographical novel by Andrea Hirata, a major bestseller in Indonesia. It tells the heartwarming, coming-of-age story of 10 students and two dedicated teachers at a poor, crumbling Islamic school on Belitong Island, fighting to keep their school open against poverty, greedy tin miners, and bureaucratic skepticism.” It is a great read and a good introduction to some of the struggles of living there.

I am now in Greece with Zorba the Greek. Google says: “Alexis Zorba is a larger-than-life, earthy, and unpredictable Cretan peasant who acts on instinct, contrasting with the reserved narrator, making him one of literature’s most memorable figures. Based on a real-life friend of Kazantzakis named George Zorbas, the story follows a cerebral English writer who hires the charismatic Zorba to work in a Cretan lignite mine, ultimately transforming his life.”

It has been an intriguing story so far. What are you reading? How do you de-stress when life is too busy?