All the Dancing Birds-May Book review

"Thoughts enter like a piano concerto, lively and in full sustained legato, only to return in diminuendo, a single wavering note in the room.  I'm not much more than a wordless simple tone, wishing desperately for the return of the bright harmony of language."~Auburn McCanta

This was another difficult book to read.  Next month I am going to find something a little less upsetting to read.

The author does a good job telling the story from the point of view of the person who is losing their memory from Alzheimer's as well as capturing the confusion, fear and anguish of the adult children.

Worth reading, but be prepared to feel uncomfortable.

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Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies-April Book Review

This was the most difficult book that I have ever read.  While it is well written and presents in interesting history of cancer and the evolution of it's treatment over the years it is also the most discouraging glimpse of how far away we are from being able to do anything about it.

After zillion of dollars of research, in the war against cancer, we are armed with crude and primitive weapons against a cunning adversary with unlimited resources.

"Cancer, we know now is a disease caused by the uncontrolled growth of a single cell.  This growth is unleashed my mutations-changes in DNA that specifically affect genes that incite unlimited cell growth.  In a normal cell, powerful genetic circuits regulate cell division and cell death. In a cancer cell, these circuits have been broken, unleashing a cell that cannot stop growing. 

That this seemingly simple mechanism-cell growth without barriers-can lie at the heart of this multifaceted illness is a testament to the unfathomable power of cell growth. Cell division allows us as organisms to grow, to adapt,, to recover to repair-to live.  And distorted and unleashed, it allows cancer cells to grow, to flourish to adapt, to recover and to repair-to live at the cost of our living. Cancer cells can grow faster, adapt better. They are the more perfect versions of ourselves."-Siddhartha Mukherjee

This is an important book to read for anyone that have ever been touched in any way by cancer in their lifetime.

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March book review-The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson

I found this to be a very interesting read about an important time period in the United States.  I had visited the Lyndon Johnson library while I was in Austin two years ago.  I thought the author did a good job bringing many of the stories about President Johnson to life.

I would have liked it if the author had spent more time covering the Vietnam War, but there was a lot of time and material to cover.

It was really amazing to read that President Johnson withdrew his name as a presidential candidate in late March of the election year and it was almost a month later when Vice President Humphrey declared his candidacy.  That is unthinkable in this day and age to think of a candidate running for six months.

I think this book is a good read for anyone that is interested in U.S. history.  President Johnson's programs to this day have had a profound impact in the United States.

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February Book Review: The Girl On The Train

An interesting aside to my reading this book was to find out that my daughter, Laura was reading this book at the same time that I began reading the book and we both were intrigued by the hype that this was the next Gone Girl.

After reading this book, Laura and I both agree that this book didn't turn out to be the next Gone Girl, but overall it was a decent way to while away the hours in pursuit of reading for enjoyment.

Similar to Gone Girl, this novel is narrated by different characters in the book.  I could have done without Anna as I didn't find her to be a very compelling character.

I thought there were some decent twists and turns that needed to be unraveled.  One narrator would seem to be leading the story in one direction, while the other narrator would point you down a different path.

I didn't particularly care for the ending of the novel, but I didn't hate it like I did with the ending of Gone Girl.

If you are looking for a fun read and nothing more I think Girl on the Train is worth a look.

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