Most Recent Reads

My most recent reads have been the Death of a Salesman, a classic American play by Arthur Miller, and Within My Heart, the third book of a trilogy by Tamera Alexander.

Death of a Salesman

This American classic was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama, and was first performed as a play on February 10, 1949. The play, in book form, is quite a short book, the three act play only taking up about 140 pages. The plot line can be quite confusing at times- I had to make notes on where Willy Loman's mind traveled from present to past. Though being confusing it was worth reading. The amount of character development in such a short book was astounding, pulling the reader into the emotion of the story within a very quick time. SPOILER ALERT At the end of the play I felt very sympathetic towards the Loman family, especially Linda, Willy's wife, for enduring the tragedy of Willy swiftly losing his mind, and in the end mourning the tragedy of his death.

I had to read Death of a Salesman for school, so my rating may be skewed, as I didn't choose to read it. The book was worthwhile reading though, so I'll give it a 5 on the ADDICTION SCALE.

                             Timber Ridge Reflections Series

As I am currently in the very middle of Within My Heart, the last book in the series, I will review the series as a whole. I have always enjoyed Tamera Alexander's writing and have read the other two books of the Timber Ridge Reflections Series in the past: From a Distance and Beyond this Moment. All three are Romantic fictional books, with the setting being the tiny town of Timber Ridge in the mountains of the Colorado Rockies during the Civil War period. Alexander seems to portray accurate details of life in the mountains, death and injury being a looming threat over the inhabitants of the town. The books have a moral basis, and all feature a female lead, who eventually falls in love during the novel (for all you romance junkees out there). All three are easy reads, not requiring much thought on the reader's part, and enjoyable in a relaxed way.

On the ADDICTION SCALE this series is around a 7; a pleasurable read for those with a love of romance, but for people who despise all things mushy and lovey-dovey... well, let's just say you wouldn't enjoy reading it quite as much!!!