What I'm reading ...

I have started A Beautiful Broken Dream: A Trail Journal in Search of the Myth of America by Steve Bonham. I am not quite sure how I can to purchase this book. Maybe I read a review or perhaps someone recommended it. Anyway, I have since been told that it is a good read. All my life I have been fascinated by America - even if there are many aspects of the country that appall me - so I am interested to read another angle. Here’s the blurb:

Take a picaresque journey in search of the spirit and soul of America, an America beyond the headlines. An antidote to the Age of Trump, A Beautiful Broken Dream is a "trail journal" of stories, poems and lyrics—all tied together by a journey through the most beautiful and haunting landscapes America has to offer.
With Steve Bonham as your guide, visit the great forests of the U.S. and take a trip along the music road from Asheville to Nashville and New Orleans, where you'll be joined by Bonham's sometime-travelling companion and great friend, the artist Dinny Pocock. Endeavour to avoid irritable bears, rattlesnakes, agitated natives and a variety of other challenges while throwing yourself into the heart of Appalachia, the southern states, and the music that flows from it.
What you'll end up with is a wry, compassionate, idiosyncratic and personal view of this land and the truth it holds for all of us.

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science - by Norman Doidge

This was an absolutely fascinating book. It is well written and easy to read, but assumes a certain amount of reader intelligence. It explained lots fo things I have wondered about and even suggested some possibilities for mitigating the effects of aging on the mind. It may have just changed my life ...

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge. It was time for some “serious” non-fiction. This is a subject that interests me and the book was recommended. Here’s the blurb:

Meet the ninety-year-old doctor who is still practicing medicine, the stroke victim who learned to move and talk again and the woman with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole. All these people had their lives transformed by the remarkable discovery that our brains can repair themselves through the power of positive thinking.
Here bestselling author, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge reveals the secrets of the cutting-edge science of 'neuroplasticity'. He introduces incredible case histories - blind people helped to see, IQs raised and memories sharpened - and tells the stories of the maverick scientists who are overturning centuries of assumptions about the brain.
This inspiring book will leave you with a sense of wonder at the capabilities of the mind, and the self-healing power that lies within all of us.

Dead Man’s Grip - by Peter James

Some people criticize Peter James for taking a “formulaic” approach to his books. I see where they’re coming from. His books always have a number of threads, that gradually come together. The first few chapters set up each thread and appear quite unconnected. The stories are always quite complex and there’s inevitably at least one surprising twist. Some time is spent on updating the reader on matters with his [currently] fiancée Cleo and there is always something about his missing wife, Sandy. For me, this is all part of the pleasure of reading this series. It is familiar, but each story has enough “meat” to keep me on the edge of my seat. This book was very unputdownable once I got to the last 100 pages or so. A thoroughly enjoyable read.