The Overwhelmed Mind

I find myself with a summer in front of me and so many things to do, I wonder if I'm going to get to any of my "to do" list...So, to assist in my efforts to read as many of the books on my radar as possible I'm going to list them here as a reminder. Perhaps, you'll find something worthwhile!

 
 

Irresponsible Book Reviews

Recently I finished the dystopian novel, Far North by Marcel Theroux, which I absolutely adored. Having drawn out the inevitable conclusion of this book by jealously guarding the number of pages read each night for fear of losing that elusive connection with the main character, Sheriff Makepeace, I knew that the end would one day arrive. Like time, there is no stopping it.

Makepeace, is the wraith-like guardian of a town inhabited only by memories. I went where Makepeace went, I experienced what Makepeace experienced, but most of all, I understood Makepeace. I so appreciated the honesty found in the words of this simple and hardworking soul, that despite the hardships encountered, they continued on. Yes, weaknesses are exposed but Makepeace's voice is so directly blunt and honest that when secrets are revealed, they are made all the more shocking along side the beauty of their simplicity. This novel actually caused me to contemplate humanity, mortality, and the nature of man.

So, I read a book that I love, what's my beef? Well, when I went to a co-worker to recommend this haunting book I hopped on line to pull up a review to refer her to but to my horror, the review that I first went to revealed every little nuance including some of my most favorite lines. That's a travesty. I promptly clicked out of it and expressed my disgust that this review was not only a spoiler, it was a stinker. 

I recommend the book, despise the review, and loved the artwork. I would suggest reading the copy shown above to avoid getting a cover that reveals too much about the book before discovering the secrets on your own. Now I'm off to find a copy of The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes: A Paper Chase by Theroux.

Dead Authors

I've just finished another book by a dead author. It wasn't intentional and I didn't realize that this was the case but I found myself puzzling over the back cover of The Glass of Time by Michael Cox and trying to figure out if the date shown on the back was of the book's completion date or...no, it couldn't be the year of his death, or could it? Then I turned around and read, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and found myself facing a similar truth...these guys were dead!

At different points while reading the book I would flip to the back flap with information about this author that I've never read before and thought, is this seriously telling me that he received death threats? That's when I realized that this author was deceased as well. What is up with that? While I really liked the Glass of Time, I did not enjoy the second book, The Meaning of Night: A Confession. It just didn't capture my interest the way the first one did. With Stieg's book, I read it over the weekend but am now on the waiting list and impatiently waiting for the second and third book from the library but I wanted to read at least the first one before I go to see the Swedish film next week. It's supposed to be awesome and I can't wait!