Books do a mind good

I can't remember a time when I didn't love reading. Throughout my life, books have been a constant - always rewarding, always satisfying, always a pleasure. Even when the writing isn't good, maybe the story will give me a perspective I hadn't thought of. Or if a plot moves too slowly, there might be something in the author's turn of phrase or tone that's still captivating. I like books of all sorts, from murder mysteries to science fiction to trashy romance to dense novels.

The book I finished just a couple days ago was David James Duncan's The Brothers K, which I absolutely loved. The story sprawls across a couple decades in the life of the Chance family of Washington state. Even though it focused heavily on baseball and religion, two things I've never been particularly interested in, I still found it fascinating. Told mainly from the point of view of the youngest son, Kincaid, Brothers had such affection for the characters and such perfect character voices, I felt like a friend of the family who had known them for years, through all their struggles and successes, wins and losses. The writing was beautiful, intelligent, and thoughtful. If one could ever describe a dissection as kind or loving, that is what reading the book felt like - it felt as if the lives and hearts of the family members were laid bare before me for scrutiny and appreciation. Lovely book.

Now I'm moving on to My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. I've read reviews of her stuff for a couple years, but hadn't gotten around to reading anything by her until a friend of mine lent me this book. This one's another told from the perspective of several different characters, and that seems like a useful device for this book in particular, since it confronts some interesting and emotional issues with medicine and family. I get the sense that it's going to be a heartbreaker (it's like I can see the plane flying over, Mom!), but Picoult has hooked me so I'm in it till the end.

What are you reading?