On the Shelf

Recently I've fallen in love with a book completely out of my 'comfort zone'. It isn't fiction, psychology, magic, or animal. It's a memoir.

It's a book called Angela's Ashes. It is simple in writing and diction, plain in descriptive verbs, and doesn't use proper quotation marks. But it is absolutely beautiful. The writer is writing about his life, and not only is it a doorway to the harsh realities of life we like to forget, but it demands attention, sympathy, and second look. Frank McCourt doesn't write as if he wants the pity and praise from the destructive childhood he recalls, he hardly writes as if he's thinking back at all. The writing is as young as his character. Everyone is referred to as Aunt or Uncle; he calls his Mam and Dad by the names he knew as a four year old. It's a touching story where the world is dark and real, where the bottom of civilization is truly the bottom. Like Frank McCourt wrote, it's hard enough being a child but to be an Irish child is harder, not to mention Catholic. The verisimilitude compels you to read on and cry for this family torn by poverty and bad decisions. Not every character is lovable, not every character is admirable, and no one is completely without fault (except baby Margaret, but she's hardly old enough to cause trouble). I highly recommend this story for a nice switch into something real and substantial.
Other things I have read this week include The Mist by Stephen King. This horror story was lovely, bringing together a melting pot of drama, suspense, and morbid curiosity. It makes an impossible situation impossibly real. The dissent into chaos as the once careful order is overthrown and a hierarchy of madness preaching the worlds destruction at the hands of God, caries a truth that any student of entropy would understand. What would happen if we let fear descend us into our most basic thoughts and desires?
On a much happier note:

Kittens. Because everyone loves kittens.

Come on, you know they're cute.


Feel better? Good, because I have one more thing.
Honorable Mention of the Week: Doctor Who?
This show is amazing. British television has changed my life forever. This convoluted series of mishap and mayhem has entrapped many a fangirl into it's time-lord claws. The premise is impossible, the solutions unthinkable, and the characters unbelievable... in a good way. You don't have to think at all with this show because you're not supposed to. You have no idea what the rules are, how the Aliens work, or where you''ll end up next episode. It's a story you would have loved as a kid. It's a story that brings out your inner kid. You'll find yourself dreaming of bigger things again and wishing on shooting stars and all other manners of childish whimsy because this was what most of us dreamed of. Setting off with a mysterious stranger into the depths of time and space, saving lives and watching history pass right in front of your eyes. The Doctor will take you and his companion in his legendary TARDIS and you won't want to ever stop.