A Literary Excursion: Waldon Pond

Waldon Pond

The photo above is a replica of author Henry David Thoreau's cabin in the woods

where he went to "live deliberately."

Waldon Pond in the Summer time.

Review: Think of a Number

Title: Think of a Number
Author: John Verdon
Publisher: Crown Publishers (2010)
Pages: 432
Book Source: ARC from Publisher

Think of a Number opens with the arrival of an intriguing poem which claims to know all the secrets of the recipient - including the ability to read his mind. This first letter is followed up by other poems that increase the level of threat and develop the suspenseful plot of the novel. The protagonist Dave Gurney has recently retired from the NYPD where he had quite a reputation for his investigative successes. Dave follows the trail of clues as multiple murders occur and tensions build. Between the cryptic poems and the very unusual murder scenes Dave and the local police have there work cut out for them.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was paced very evenly and the protagonist was developed in enough detail to come through as a complex human being - not just defined by his role as the investigator of the murders. The plot is quite complex and suspenseful without being overwhelmingly so. I was able to follow along and I enjoyed the resolution. I was not bothered by too many loose ends left unresolved. I liked the psychological detail of the murderer as well as the detective Dave Gurney. I don't often read thrillers and was impressed by this one. This is John Verdon's first novel and is satisfyingly well written. I would certainly read more of his work if he continues to write.

Product Review: TV Stand

I posted a few weeks ago that I was soon going to be doing a product review for CSN Stores and I am just now getting to it. The item I ended up choosing was a TV stand because the one we had was a cabinet that I had moved upstairs for anther purpose - which left us with the TV sitting on the floor and us having to sit on the floor to get down to a level to view it comfortably. Which was not comfortable at all!So here is the TV stand that we ordered from CSN Stores. It came quickly and was delivered to our door. My husband put it together quite easily. Nothing was missing or went wrong and I did not hear any swearing during the construction process. The TV stand is sturdy and attractive. I like the clean and simple design. It obviously looks a lot better than the mess of cords and remotes that we had on the floor. So overall I am very happy with the product and the whole process of ordering and delivery went very smoothly.

Library Photos: Bedford Public Library

Bedford Public Library

Note: If you have an interesting library building or library statue photo that you would like posted in this series please email me: thereadingjourney@gmail.com

Review: Stash

Title: Stash
Author: David Klein
Publisher: Broadway Books (2010)
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 352
Book Source: ARC from Publisher

When Gwen Rain decides to buy a small bag of marijuana from an old friend she has no idea how this decision will affect her life. It sets off a chain of events that she has little control over and shows up all the cracks in her seemingly perfect world. Gwen is forced to make many moral choices and by the end of it all two people are dead and she is left with questions about her own role in those deaths. For this stay at home mum the whole situation is out of her range of normal and causes a lot of anxiety for herself and her family.

Stash is all about the moral dilemma's that are part of contemporary suburban life. It poses questions about how individuals deal with the pressures of modern day existence while also maintaining some level of ethical responsibility for their actions. In the confusion and stress of juggling marriage, family, career and financial pressures sometimes one small choice can bring everything crashing down.

Stash is written from multiple perspectives and is quite suspenseful and fast paced. The writing style as well as the content had a very contemporary feel. It is a very plot driven book and the characters are not as thoroughly developed as I generally like. Some characters seemed a bit stereotypical and lacked individuality. The novel was interesting because of its themes and held my attention because of the fast paced and fairly complex plot, but was quite a broad description of suburban life. I would have liked to see creative descriptive details and a greater level of uniqueness so that this book would be more impacting and memorable.