Stepping in the Write Direction

I saw author Ira Rosen interviewed on tv recently, and knew immediately I wanted to read his book Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes of 60 Minutes, as I watched that show for many years, and the subject matter is a virtual time capsule of my lifetime. I checked library digital offerings and borrowed the Macmillan audiobook on Hoopla, unusual for a recent book (2/16/21) that it would have been available without a hold list. I’ve noticed Rosen has not done a lot of interviews that have been recorded online, a good way to get word out for this book that should be required reading for every boomer; it does not disappoint. Some say the truth is stranger than fiction, and this book represents that in spades, if for no other reason than truth has become the empty chair in almost all forms of 21st century discourse. Some have criticized the book based on politics, but liars and scoundrels are bipartisan as well as vocationally omnipresent, and I didn’t find anything particularly off putting that...

I needed a break, a long break, from reading books I thought I should read because they were “critical elite” acclaimed. I needed something that felt like a walk down a pine needle laden path, aromatic in the heat, welcoming, and like a hug from an old friend (the kind that was still a friend despite political differences, and understood the concept of “scroll on by” without the egregious entitlement required to hemorrhage a digital wilding outrage comment on every post on any platform that pricked the echo chamber group think balloon subscribed to). I found I needed to read less and think more.   Saltwater Cove by Amelia Adler is the first in a series set in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state. Reading it brings back memories of seeing the islands and marveling at their beauty. I enjoyed the story, and never felt the ominous dread of returning to a book I had to force myself to complete. I recommend it to anyone who needs transporting away from the daily grind, ...