Take a trip with a great book

First things first, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce was a delightful surprise.

This is one of those instances where the cover perfectly captures the essence of the story. (Trust me when I say that I appreciate this cover design for its brilliance even more now that I've read the book.) The reader follows Harold Fry, recently retired from the local brewery, who receives news that a friend from his past (as in distant past) is dying from cancer. So naturally he decides to mail her a letter but then he passes by the mailbox...and the next one...and the next one...until suddenly he's on a journey across the length of England firm in his belief that she will stay alive until he gets there. On his journey (or pilgrimage as it comes to be known) he examines moments from his past that he had repressed (his tumultuous home life, distant relationship with his son, and his strained marriage to name a few) while also discovering his inner strength and fortitude. It's a beautiful (and at times tragic) story about love, loss, and faith. If you enjoy reflective tales with lots of descriptive prose then this book is a great way to spend a lazy afternoon or maybe take on a trip. ;-) 9/10

Source: Goodreads

What I'm currently reading: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

**If you're interested in buying any of these books or any books really, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks which is a site I use all of the time to find used books at an excellent price. A lot of the time I don't even pay for shipping! Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made through this link. You will not be charged anything additional for my commission. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Not the same, I promise

The Recovering: Intoxication and its Aftermath by Leslie Jamison at first glance is remarkably similar to my last post and in retrospect I probably shouldn't have read them back-to-back. (If for no other reason, than my own mental health.) In my defense, my library holds always seem to come all at once so this was just coincidental. This book. however, is more memoir than anything else…although I'd also lump it into the literary commentary category. The author takes an almost journalistic look at addiction and recovery. While Jamison does discuss the 12 Steps, she emphasizes that most need more than the 12 Steps which promotes complete abstinence in order to recover. Medication and counseling in combination with a recovery program that advises group meetings is essential to long-term sobriety. She talks in-depth about her own recovery journey and how it doesn't always end neatly with full sobriety or even one linear line to sobriety as relapses will and do occur. The first part, in truth, focuses quite heavily on "drunk writers" using alcohol as a creative crutch and how Jamison herself felt that without booze she would not be interesting enough or creative enough to write. Along with that was her preoccupation with love helped along by an addict's natural self-centeredness. It is this inflated self-centered attitude which Jamison believes is the fuel for an addict. The addiction narrative is unchanging and that's the point. It doesn't need to be new and interesting (not necessary or even possible really) because it's the sharing with others that makes all the difference when all anyone wants is to not feel alone. Maybe because I read this on the heels of Russell's book or maybe because it didn't necessarily reveal anything new to me but this was only an okay book in my opinion. If this was the very first book someone had read on this subject then I believe it would be deemed excellent but for anyone who has read extensively in this vein it didn't really cover any new ground. 5/10

That isn't to say there weren't some interesting quotes. Here are two that jumped out at me:

Most addicts don't live in barren white cages - though some do once they've been incarcerated - but many live in worlds defined by stress of all kinds, financial and social and structural: the burdens of institutional racism and economic inequality, the absence of a living wage. - pg 154

Most addicts describe drinking or using as filling a lack…you drunk to fill the lack, but the drinking only deepens it. - pg 155

Source: USA Today book review

What's Up Next: Unruly Places: Lost Spaces, Secret Cities, and Other Inscrutable Geographies by Alastair Bonnett

What I'm Currently Reading: Star Trek: Destiny #3: Lost Souls by David Mack


**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Essential Reading

Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions by Russell Brand is the 4th book of his that I've read and possibly the one that's hit the closest to home. This book outlines the 12 Step Program from Russell's perspective with personal accounts from each step of his journey towards recovery. It is an excellent book for those struggling with addiction (of any kind) or those who have witnessed that struggle in others.

The emphasis made throughout the book is that you must

• seek a Higher Power
• attend meetings to have a community of help
• work the program every single day
• seek help at times when stressed or apt to relapse from a mentor who has worked the program

These excellent quotes from the book do a far better job of recommending it than anything I could say:

But in your life you've faced obstacles, inner and outer, that have prevented you from becoming the person you were 'meant to be' or 'are capable of being' and that is what we are going to recover. That's why we call this process Recovery, we recover the 'you' that you were meant to be. - pg 42

This program helps me to change my perspective when what I would do unabated is justify my perspective staying the same - 'if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got', if you want change, you have to change. You have to make amends. - pg 133

...'you can't think your way into acting better but you can act your way into thinking better.' - pg 160

The literature upon which these movements are founded describe it not as a 'cure' but as a 'daily reprieve'; the disease, the condition, is still there, you will feel it move through you, in fear and rage and irritation, beckoning you back into previous behavior - pg 212 

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Recovery. If you or anyone you love has ever struggled through addiction and the subsequent difficulties on the long road towards recovery then this is essential reading. 10/10 highly recommend

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: The Recovering: Intoxication and its Aftermath by Leslie Jamison

What I'm Currently Reading: The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity by Byron Reese

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Yay for holidays!!

So my last entry was written in the airport on one of those iPads that are for public use (or I just jacked that one off of someone who was in the toilet). Either way it was a pretty short one and I think this one will make up for it in length. :-)

I gobbled up My Booky Wook in a week (I actually finished it on Saturday but it wasn't until this morning that I decided what I was reading next) because it was deliciously fun. It's one of those reads that make you feel like you're doing something wicked...or maybe that's just Russell Brand himself. While I was reading it, I had to keep reminding myself that it was a memoir and these crazy accounts were true (or as near to it as he can piece together afterward). He talks frankly about his addictions and the highs (pun intended) and the lows of his life. At times raunchy and at times poignant (often I'd say), Brand delivers his promise of a memoir that will keep you turning the pages. I don't recommend it to people who are either over-sensitive to language, religion, or life practices (I'm talking kinky stuff people). However, I thought it was brill (footnotes give you language tutorials!). I've already added his sequel, aptly named My Booky Wook 2, to my wish list.

As I mentioned above, I couldn't decide what I wanted to read next. This is not because I've run out of options. It's quite the opposite. In fact, I knew what I really wanted to read but I felt it was cheating...and then I didn't care. I'm re-reading an old favorite of mine that I haven't read in eons: The Hobbit. Yep it's (in my opinion) J.R.R. Tolkien's finest work and I am pretty thrilled to be re-visiting these fantastic characters. If you've only seen the films I highly recommend that you read this book. It will only make you want to continue your journeys through Wilderland, Middle-earth, and beyond. Also, Bilbo Baggins is just one of the best characters ever. EVER. I mean it's not called a fantasy epic for nothing. ;-)