Bibliotalk

I have a couple of books to write about. I’ll write about Keith after the first one, but I wanted to have that picture lead off this entry!

One of my Christmas gifts was The Passage by Justin Cronin. Events begin in the not-too-distant future. A scientific expedition is in the jungles of South America searching for a virus that will have an almost-inconceivable impact on the human race and on aging. As so often happens with these scientific expeditions, things go horribly awry. In a government research facility in the Colorado mountains, the virus is studied, experiments are conducted, and...you guessed it...things go horribly awry there, too.

Fast forward about a hundred years, and we find a very different America. Of course, I won’t go into any details, because I have some family and friends that are currently reading this, or planning to soon. But suffice it to say that this post-apocalyptic world is very bleak indeed. There is a pretty interesting cast of characters here, and they generated quite a bit of sympathy in me. Even the bad guys had a certain “I guess you can’t really blame them” factor, because it’s hard to judge someone in such an extreme situation.

The action sequences were taut and descriptive; the suspense generated was nail-biting. The straight-up narrative is interspersed with an occasional diary entry, a technique that I always enjoy. A few nights ago, I reached that “tipping point” in a book, when you want to read non-stop so you can find out how it ends. I stayed up until 5:30 one morning reading it and finally had to stop because I was getting a little insane in the membrane. Even then, I was so fascinated by this book that I had a hard time going to sleep! I finished it the other night, and it was one of those where you say, “Awww, man!” (I won’t tell you why!) Highly recommended!

Now to Keith Richards’ autobiography, Life. After the intensity of the previous book, I needed something fun and thought I’d start this one. I’m glad I did! I’m only a couple of chapters into it, but I am charmed, charmed I tell you! First of all, he’s hilarious. His description of getting stopped in Arkansas in the early ‘70s is a riot. He writes of his family life—you can tell that he has great affection for his family—and says this about being an only child:

…you’re basically exposed to the adult world unless you create your own. The imagination comes into play then, and also things to do by yourself. Like wanking.

HA! Keith! He’s developing a love for music at a young age, and writes about his grandfather’s acoustic guitar:

Even now, to open a guitar case, when it’s an old wooden guitar, I could crawl in and close the lid.

I can already tell that I’m going to enjoy this one a lot. He writes matter-of-factly and with great humor. This guy is just...well, he’s just the incarnation of rock and roll. He seems kind of sweet, but he’s so badass, too. It reminded me of this video. I believe it’s the very first video I ever posted on my blog, and it still delights me.