Ghost Rider - Neil Peart

Neil Peart's way with words extends beyond the lyric booklet of Rush albums and well into the literary world, as proven with the Ghost Rider. Although at times a difficult read for anyone who has lost anyone (essentially anyone), it is a very candid reveal of a man going through often excruciating grieving and yet persevering. As the miles and motels run together he continues to push the stages of what he is feeling in a respectable tell-all way. Perhaps not the most gripping tale it comes across as entirely authentic, with things to be realized and learned from the experiences of another. The epilogue is a short dose of damn near cheer following the hundreds of pages of gloom but remains respectful and grounded - I suppose as a ray of hope for anyone who has related throughout.

May-July 2013
6

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

As a genre inventing, or at least defining, work In Cold Blood is a triumph. The level of detail gone into researching, allowing for the story to be presented as a consistently fresh mix of background story, first hand accounts, and real evidence. The structure must have taken some real massaging to come off in the logical and entertaining sequence that flows from beginning to end. The case on its own is somewhat interesting but the details could easily be glossed over; it is the storyteller that really wove a tale. It was interesting, even odd, that he attempted to build pathos for one of the admittedly guilty cold blooded killers but alas he did and nearly succeeded.[Spoiler Alert] The death row section is a little drawn out but considering how drawn out that was in real life I suppose it was actually compact. Altogether it was a very impressive, highly enjoyable read, if not for the dour subject matter but the writing itself.

June 2013
9