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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

The Sunday Salon -- June 27, 2010

The Sunday 
Salon.com


I have been reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova for the past couple of hours, and just took a break to type up this post. It's past 1 am. It's not often that I feel willing to give up my sleep to finish a book - including books I rate high and recommend. For a book to really make me compromise on my sleep, it needs to have more than punch, intrigue, suspense and wonderful writing. Alzheimer's hits close to home in my case, so there's more than an emotional connection I feel while reading this book. Moreover, although it is written in third-person, it is told from the victim's perspective, so I can actually see the disease eating into Alice's mind.

This week hasn't been as productive as I hoped it to be, where my thesis is concerned, but I did have some awesome coffee every day of this week at my favorite Bollo's. I have hit a writer's block again. I do have some 40 pages typed up, but I am hoping to add another 20. Things have reached a stage where everything I have written is sounding too identical to me, and I decided I needed a break from my thesis before I can get back to writing more. I had a good week in reading though, and now I have 7 reviews spinning in my head, but yet to be downloaded from my gray cells to the computer. I need one of those devices that will do the typing for me as I compose the review in my head. Wouldn't that be such a handy device for all of us?

It has been a blistering week so far. I've never been a fan of the hot climate, and it does seem as if we just had our hottest Spring and are now into a very unforgiving summer. This news article talks about the hottest spring in Washington area, and I am so in agreement with that. Added to that, I read a very unsettling article about the human species' expiry date. I usually bag such articles into a virtual trash bag, but this one had too much credibility stamped over it. The chart in that link especially had me shocked.

How has your week been? While I leave you to check out those articles, happy reading and happy blogging!

Comments

Jan von Harz said…
Sometimes the emotional read are the hardest to get through. I will look forward to your review. Stay cool and have a great week.
bermudaonion said…
A break from the thesis is probably a good idea.

I write the best reviews in my head when I'm out running errands, etc, and of course, by the time I get in front of a computer, I've lost all of my thoughts.
I have read good things about Still Alice, and have avoided it so far because it hits close to home, in that a dear friend's mother suffered from it.

But I'm sure I will eventually read it.

Here's my salon:

http://laurel-rainsnowsaccidentallife.blogspot.com/2010/06/sunday-salon-june-27.html
Still Alice looks really interesting. I haven't heard much about it, so I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Ash said…
I've recently felt like giving up sleep for reading The Passage, but it's not quite there for me. It's strange because I'm reading it quite slowly which makes me pull away from a book normally, but I keep getting drawn back in with this one. Just when I'm ready to put it down something happens that pushes me further. Glad you're enjoying Still Alice and have lots of (great- I'm sure) reviews bubbling in your head!
Still Alice is one of my fav books, I really enjoyed her writing style and the way she set up the story (you'll know what I mean after you finish it). There was a part I was crying so hard - yep I sacrificed sleep to finish the book so it was lucky that I cried in bed and not in public!
The Bumbles said…
I have this book on my pile and I am anxious to read it. Such an incredible perspective waiting to be read.

I know what you mean about your writing sounding too similar to itself. Small bunches are best for me. But if I want that freelance career I'll have to find a wait to write more in a row - originally. Bummer.
Athira said…
Jan von Harz, emotional reads are certainly the hardest to get through!

Kathy, isn't that annoying when you have all your sentences framed in your head and you just want to type it out, but the moment you are in front of the pc, bam, it's all gone!

Laurel-Rain, Still Alice is a hard book to read for anyone. I hope you get to read it eventually!

Emidy, I hope you choose to read it.

Ash, since I'm reading The Passage now, that's exactly how I feel.

Christa, I so agree with that. The way she wrote the book was amazing. I could actually feel that forgetfulness inside me. It was eerie.

The Bumbles, I so want that freelance career too. Shucks, I first need more time in life.