My apologies to Julius Caesar for altering his famous quote,"Vendi, vidi, vici." (I came. I saw. I conquered.) Down in my basement is a storage closet. And in that closet is a copy of the complete and unabridged Sherlock Holmes stories and novels by Sir Arthur Conan...

To occupy the layover and flying hours, I download to my Kindle a book or two that is set in the country or the region I’m visiting. It has become as necessary as my luggage. This ritual started when we took our first trip to China and had to endure over 24 hours of...