Book Review: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Non-fiction. This is another work that I read because it was mentioned in The End of Your Life Book Club.  I am not quite sure why, but for some reason or other I was under the impression that this was a work of fiction until about halfway through it.  I believe this work would be a good read for those who are mourning themselves, or who are interested in the topic of mourning in contemporary American society.

I found her writing annoying at times.  She has these bizarre digressions in parentheses in the middle of sentences, and they are rather awkward and long to boot.  Eventually I learned to skip over them, to finish reading the actual sentence components, and then I would go back to read the information she put in the parentheses.  It would have flowed so much better if she simply put her odd digressions at the end of her sentences.  Although the book was interesting, it will fade from my mind fairly quickly and I have no real desire to read much else by the author.  Reviews hailed her brilliance repeatedly, but when I looked up other works by her they seem to be either spin-offs of this work (another one grieving her daughter's death which is dealt with in this one), or they are about the swinging sixties in California.  I personally do not have any major motivation right now to read any of those topics, so I am moving on.  If I get really, really, really, desperate I may one day look up one of those other works that do not have to do with the death of her family, but I do not see that happening anytime in the near future.

And so it goes...

Book Review: The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Non-fiction.  I read this for the CLPL Real World Reads non-fiction book club for November 2014.  This book would be worth the read just for the list of books at the end!  This is a narrative non-fiction account of a book club that developed between Will Schwalbe and his mother when she found out she had stage four pancreatic cancer.  She had an amazing background, helping refugees all over the world, so it was not uncommon for her to come home with varying infections, so they thought she had contracted hepatitis on her last trip.  Eventually they figure it out and begin treatment, to make her life last as long as it can in the way she wanted: she was very concerned with her quality of life, not just prolonging it as long as possible.

Will Schwalbe was in the book publishing industry at the time, always an avid reader, and from a family of avid readers.  He and his mother spent much time at the hospital for her chemo treatments, and decided to use the time to discuss one of their favorite things, books.  They covered new works, classics, and used their discussions to learn more about each other and life as a human being.

If you are a reader you will connect to many of the ideas in this book.  It is not sugary-sweet, it does delve into some terrible issues and frustrating struggles, but he somehow manages to keep it contemplative and not depressing.  It is a wonderful idea to have this kind of connection with your parents or children, in fact I am trying it out myself.  I told my son he can pick the books, and we are currently reading through a young adult series, it has been pretty fun so far!

Needless to say, I recommend this book to those who love to read, those thinking about loosing a loved one, and those who want a list of some really great books to read!  I already finished one, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, and it was one of the best books I have read in a very long time.

And so it goes...