First things first. Another year has gone by that I haven’t gotten around to reading The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I’m starting to think it’s a year end tradition to mention that. Once again, I will say I will get to it eventually and there is still some time left in this year, so it could happen, but honestly it is not in my list for now.
Having substantially lowered my reading goal for the year, I have to say I enjoyed taking some long breaks from reading. I also took the chance to go through some comics and graphic novels, which I don’t usually go for, yet I massively enjoyed. At this point of the year, I have completed my goal for the year, which was 15 books. Four of those were comics/graphic novels.
Recently I’ve had some time (and more importantly, the will) to read and I have found myself gravitating towards non-fiction books. During November I have read two books with completely opposite effects: I enjoyed one of them a lot and was absolutely infuriated reading the other.
No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox
I actually listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Michael himself. If you know me, you know I’m a big fan of Michael J. Fox and Back to the Future. Having read Lucky Man and some of his other books, this one had been on my list pretty much since release. When I found out he narrated the audiobook version, I immediately had to start it.
It felt like Michael was sitting on the couch in my living room telling me stories about his life. Hearing him talking about the impact Parkinson’s and other health complications had not just on him and his work, but also on his family and especially his kids growing up, rised the amount of massive respect I have for the guy. He shares humbling experiences in a way that makes you empathise and see things from a different point of view. He is known for his humour and optimism, which are very present in this book, but he also shares moments where he found being optimistic difficult and he does so in a relatable manner.
During the first few chapters of the book, I noticed how he struggles to speak clearly sometimes, but that seemed to improved noticeably by the second half of the book. While some things are not new to those of us who read Michael’s previous books, I always appreciate the day to day stories he shares with us, it brings these difficult diagnoses closer to us and it helps us better understand and support those around us who deal with these diseases.
Flight 7 is Missing: The Search for my Father’s Killer by Ken H. Fortenberry
Alright, so I think it’s clear now that this is the one book I found infuriating. While I understood where the author was coming from and expected him to have a certain bias, this book was beyond simply biased. The author is the son of one of the victims, yes, but he is also an award-receiving journalist/editor, so I expected his journalist side to take over and produce an investigative report kind of book. My expectations were wrong. There is very little investigation done in this book. At times it reads like “this person is guilty because I say so”.
For those who don’t know, Flight 7 was a 1957 Pan Am flight that went missing. Evidence of a crash in the Pacific Ocean was later found, including a few bodies (some with life jackets on) and a few plane pieces. Not enough evidence was found to determine why the plane had crashed and most of the victims had drowning listed as a cause of death, some (but not all) with a few other injuries like fractures. This book paints the picture of the crash not being an accident, but the result of a single passenger’s well thought out plan. I am not going to say that the the person accused in this book couldn’t have been responsible, but this book has not convinced me he is either. The only “evidence” used to reach the conclusion that one particular passenger was responsible is that he was a mean person who was mentally unstable. Sure, the book does convince me that the person in question was not well, but it never even tries to explain what they would have done or how. A why is speculated, based on big assumptions and scenes that couldn’t have been known by anyone but the people involved narrated as facts. Ultimately not a lot of insight into a real investigation of a possible cause for the crash and just a lot of pointing fingers in a stubborn way that is too close to difamatory for my comfort.
Right now I started another non-fiction book that I have had in my list for quite a few years: Breakpoint by Jeff Stibel. It’s too early to judge that book in any way and, as any book discussing technology, its age does show a bit, but it does raise some interesting points, so I am enjoying it so far.
As usual, my posting schedule is that there is no posting schedule but I do intend to do at least one more post this year with a recap of favourite reads and an update on any other books I read before the new year. What have you been reading this month? Did you find any books you particularly enjoyed? Do you have any books you would recommend as an End-of-Year read?
The Melody In Words 
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