"The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson

I really enjoy Bryson. I'm readying "At Home" now for the second time. This book just missed his usual tone. Instead of nuggets of interesting facts with a playful touch, "The Lost Continent" felt more concerted in it's attempt to humor instead of inform. It just didn't resonate with me. The book follows our author and protagonist as he embarks on a months long road trip through many of the continental United States. I shudder to think about saying that this book is dated because I don't precisely know if some of the southern mindsets have truly changed. Of course, we now live in an era of digital everything (maps, tripadvisor, prebooking hotels, etc) so that aspect doesn't translate as well but I am old enough to remember travel before all of these conveniences so that was a fun trip down memory road. I have not visited such a great number of the destination in this book and, if I may say so, based on the author's opinion of most of them, I'm not lacking for it. I do walk away from this book with an urgency to take in the enormity of the grand canyon. Perhaps Gettysburg as well. Other than that, I can skip a lot of the "highlights". As I mentioned, already involved with another Bryson and am enjoying the second reading of it immensely.

"Journey to the End of the Night" by Louis-Ferdinand Celine

Journey to the End of the Night is understandably part of the centuries long conversation in literature. The Narrator drew me through a hypnotic trek through the majority of a man's adulthood. Life took him here, there, and mostly everywhere. From the lines of WW1 to Africa, all the way to America and back to France. We follow our hero through bravery, great achievements and character defining experiences but, on the whole, generally just morally questionable, unscrupulously selfish actions. Much the way most people life if they are honest with themselves. This novel felt to me like a hedonist's attempt to deny mortality as long as posssible. When his friend is shot right in front of him, the immediacy of life and it's certain end is finally evident. This was rather depressing but I'm quite glad to have added it to my catalogue of read novels.

"As God Commands" by Niccolo Ammaniti

This book was a quick read and tough to put down. I found that it followed parallel lives in an effective manner even if I didn't care for some of the outcomes. It also felt that many idioms or manners of speech didn't translate well but I take this to reflect more upon the translator than the author. The novel gave a very unique perspective of small town Italian life. I'm not looking for more work by this author but I enjoyed the light reading.

"Shakespeare: The World as Stage"

Bill Bryson is such a thrill. He reminds me of Jon Krakauer in the amount of research he must dedicate to each book. That said, this was perhaps the least detailed book I've seen by Bryson. This is due, in part, to the fact that he is using this book to separate fact from fiction. The major thrust of the writing is to dispell commonly held ideas about the life of William Shakespeare. The reader is guided through what is factually known about Shakespeare's life and what is often referred to as factually based regarding his life. Bryson tells about what is speculated then he breaks down what was feasible and likely to have occurred. It was a quick read and interesting but not tremendously educational. I can't help but look past this book and give Bryson all due credit for digging in and presenting what he found, regardless of it being noteworthy or not.

Janson's "History of Art"

Talk about a wide breadth of information! This book is probably primarily used as a textbook. It is over 1100 pages, not including the glossary or appendices, and covers art from it's inception in cave art through the early 2000's. You get a light look at painting, sculpture, architecture, and, in later years, performance art. This book is great at giving the reader a wide lensed scope into which all artists belong but doesn't get terribly detailed in any specific artist's life or accomplishments. It is a great jumping off point for anyone looking to get a taste of art as a whole. I now have a better grasp of what inspired artists along the way and why certain movements transpired through the ages. I also have a list of artists, of whom, I want to do more reading.

"Tropic of Cancer" by Henry Miller

I am disappointed to say that Henry Miller did not blow me away. I had expected his writing to really impress me. It's entirely possible that I need someone much smarter than myself to walk me through the layers to fully appreciate the work but I sort of feel like it was revolutionary in it's moment but that moment happened so long ago it's difficult for me to grasp the magnitude of it's influence. I enjoyed, very much, the gritty, crude manner in which Miller speaks. I loved the smattering of idioms in other languages, even if they did feel rather pretentious. This felt like a story where nothing much happens while the same things happen over and over. Something like a Catcher in the Rye for aspiring artists in the early adulthood. I'm sure the first readers of this novel were floored by the nasty language and unfiltered humanity.

"The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

I love when I find a book that I wish to never end. This was one such book. McCullers follows five central characters as they struggle to find spiritual fulfillment in an isolated world. Each finds their only solace with the deaf mute John Singer. He is truly the glue holding many lives together. Jake Blount wants communism or something akin to it, Dr. Copeland strives for racial justice and equality, Biff Brannon aspires to a calm, satisfied, fulfilling existence and Mick wants desperately to escape into music. Although he exists as the central confidant in the other characters' lives, Singer seems to find his only comfort in his old roommate and best friend Spiros Antonapoulos. Every character was so well crafted. Each internal struggle felt so real. This book resonated strongly for me and I would love to read another work by McCullers.

"The Answer Is..." by Alex Trebek

This book was a Christmas gift. I would not have sought it out on my own but it was a very quick and interesting read. I am not a diehard "Jeopardy!" follower but I have casually tuned in over my entire lifetime and have always loved the show. They have truly crafted a competition that makes the viewer feel like an active member. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't found Trebek to be a bit smug at times. The way he would correct contestants answers could sometimes feel condescending. It certainly never gave me a bad impression of him. However, this was a major reason, I was surprised to read Trebek state that he held, in the highest regard, his necessity to not come across as condescending but, insteaad, supportive. The book is a collection of backstory, anecdotes, humble brags and humourous or sentimental moments from his life. I was pleased that not one thing I read felt like information I had already heard. He lived an inspirational life. He was a kind, caring, humble man with the mindset of a through and through Canadian. As a Minnesota native, I appreciate this immensely. A slight political agenda does come out of the pages at moments but in a very calm, measured and grandfatherly manner. It was a quick read but I appreciated getting to see, more deeply, a man whom I thought I have known my whole life.

"A L'ombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleur" par Marcel Proust

I will confess that my French is barely servicable for this caliber of literature in the original format. I need to slow down in my English readings and tackle both versions concurrently to truly appreciate the majesty of the prose. Regardless, this book is a work of art. I loved the journey in English and can recognize the impressive quality in French. Volume 3 is up next and I'll be working back and forth from my English version for maximum benefit.

"More than 9 Lives" by E. B.

I wasn't sure what I expected but this book was a bit too self-agrandizing for my tastes. I would have preferred the stories without a righteous and inflated sense of importance in the summaries. The book details what is certainly a remarkable chapter of life for a person but I did not think the reader needed to feel a frequently increased sense of gravity imposed by the author.

"Tiktok of Oz" by L.Frank Baum

I haven't read anything else by Baum but this book found it's way into my possession so I decided to give it a try. Perhaps I am mistaken but, it seems to me that this story was not as well composed as his most famous work "The Wizard of Oz". The characters feel like caricatures, the plot mechanisms feel simply transposed from reality and the morals of the story are very blatantly given. My best guess is that this book is truly intended for younger readers than myself. From their point of view, I can imagine a young mind being bewitched by many facets of this story. I can't make myself into a child so I shall not seek another work by Baum.

"Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson

A glimpse into the Vietnam War from numerous perspectives, this novel was a delight. We spend most of the to journey with Skip Sands and how his uncle the Colonel affects his trajectory as a member of the U.S. Psy Ops team. We also get perspective from Bill and James Houston as they journey through parts of the war as members of the U.S. military. Kathy Jones provides a view from a volunteer in a war torn country. We also get the world view of a Vietnamese businessman, a prospective Vietnamese double agent for the U.S. and a number of foreign assasins. The writing was compelling and it was easy to absorb over a hundred pages in a sitting. Johnson intertwines the stories of numerous characters with interested arcs and dramatic experiences. I was disappointed to run out of the pages to read. I enjoyed the macro picture as the story drew to a close. Sprinkled throughout, philosophical questions about the morality and justification of war, come to a worthy conclusion. The only people who come out the other side of war in one piece are those who do what they can to ease suffering.