Reading

Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross

/ Reading, Science

★★★★☆ | Science | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads

Your Brain on Art is the latest selection from the Next Big Idea Club. The authors did a nice job of gathering scientific evidence of how art making and appreciation physically changes your brain. I loved the part where a scientist discovered that different sound waves can alter the shape and appearance of our heart cells. Lots of good science-based tips on how to flourish by incorporating art in your everyday life. For me, I’m planning to spend more time really listening (and dancing!) to new music, not just having it on in the background.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling

/ Fantasy, Reading

★★★★☆ | Fantasy | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads

I had started this third volume at some point as a diversion, but then given up after the first 30 or 40 pages.  I read it again from the start and this time persevered.  These books keep coming up on the greatest books of all time lists and I felt like I was missing out.

I enjoyed this one a lot. Better than the first two, perhaps because Harry is growing up a bit.  I gave this one four stars and will read definitely read the remaining volumes at some point.

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

/ Fantasy, Reading

★★★★☆ | Fantasy | Audio | Borrow | StoryGraph | Goodreads

Continuing my quest to go back and read the Stephen King books I’ve missed along the way. I listened to the audiobook of this one, narrated by actor Bronson Pinchot. I’ve listened to hundreds of audiobooks, but the narration of the ending of this story was one of the most incredible I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear. Bravo!

The Silentiary by Antonio Di Benedetto

/ Literary Fiction, Reading

★★★☆☆ | Literary Fiction | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads

What a strange little book. The narrator is slowly driven insane by all the commercial sounds encroaching on his family home: an auto repair shop next door, a nightclub across the street, an idling bus outside his bedroom window, all told in disjointed Kafka-like stream of consciousness. Made me appreciate the relative quiet I enjoy here at home.

I’ll give this three stars for the benefit of the doubt that a deeper meaning existed but eluded me.

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

/ Horror, Reading

★★★★☆ | Horror | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads

Working through the few books of Stephen King I haven’t read. This is a collection of his early stories. A few are dated, and a few are exceptional. There is a bleakness that pervades many of these stories. I hoped for a good outcome for the protagonist against all odds, but I was seldom rewarded. Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut and The Raft were my favorites.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

/ Literary Fiction, Reading

★★★☆☆ | Literary Fiction | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads

A good premise perhaps weakened by too many characters and side stories. The depression era setting, poor living conditions, and the horrors of racism and cruel treatment of people with disabilities felt Dickensian. McBride held my attention by the end, but a good editor might have helped maintain it all the way through.

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