Patricia Stoltey

Author

Book Review Monday: What I’ve Been Reading

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Today is just a quick note on what I’ve been reading and a couple of quick observations.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed is  a memoir by a young woman who had been through some rough times and decided to find her way back by hiking huge sections of the PCT from Southern California through Oregon, skipping some sections because of deep snows. Her story of determination and persistence is compelling. I have the DVD lined up to watch this week.

I think the reason this book appealed to me so much is that I’d dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail, or across Andorra, or the Camino de Santiago….and never followed through. At least I did do a couple of shorter hikes in France and Italy, so I got a taste of how tough it can be and how much preparation goes into a successful trek.

If you’re into memoir and nature and human nature and memoir as motivation, you’ll like Wild.

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The other book I read this week was Slash and Burn, a Joe Hunter novel by Matt Hilton. Joe Hunter is a Brit ex-special forces who’s on the loose in the U.S. Some would call him a vigilante. He’s tough, a little crazy, and always 100% focused on whatever his mission of the moment might be. And he leaves a trail of bodies behind, if necessary.

I would be more inclined to call Matt’s books action/adventure than thriller because of the non-stop pacing and the violence. There’s more plot and less character development. In the old days, when it would have been acceptable to say so, I would have called it a man’s book. If you like fast-paced action novels, then this series is one you should try.

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I’m going to jump away from fiction for a bit to read Make it stick: the science of successful learning. I thought it might give me a few insights on how to make it a little easier to study up on things, like a camera with complicated options or a WordPress website, and learn faster and remember more. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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Comments

  1. Oh, Pat, I do hope you get the chance to hike the Appalachian Trail. I used to do that as a kid, and it’s magnificent. And that sounds like an interesting memoir!

    • I’ll be happy to get my knee fixed so I can just get back to hiking a few of these lovely Colorado trails closer to home, Margot. It’s beautiful here, too, and I won’t have to go so far from home. 😀

  2. My daughter and I hope to hike part of the Appalachian Trail later this summer. It runs not too far from where we live. I would love to do the entire thing but it’s not in the cards. Yet.
    I would call the Joe Hunter books men’s fiction too but I enjoy them.

    • A good action/adventure novel (or movie) every now and then is good for getting the adrenaline flowing. I feel the same way about good horror stories, Susan.

      If you hike the Appalachian Trail, I sure hope you blog about it. I’d enjoy the trek as an armchair hiker.

  3. I’m with Alex–very interested to see what you think of “Make it stick: the science of successful learning.” I’m having to learn a lot of new things lately, and I’m finding it hard to retain it all.

    • The theory behind this book is all about retention and disputes everything I ever learned about studying. This could be interesting.

  4. I’m with Alex – let us know what you learn. 🙂

    I never read WILD but I’ll probably pick up the DVD at some point.

    I recently read THE PARIS ARCHITECT by Charles Belfoure – historical fiction – and really enjoyed it.

    • Hi Madeline. I like historical fiction and especially like stories set in France. I just took a look and saw it’s also set during WWII — another favorite period to read about. I’m adding it to my list.

    • I definitely will, Alex. I started reading the book this morning and like that it’s written with anecdotes to help the reader learn (or relearn) the process of learning.