Done, done, and I'm on to the next one.

Jury duty is done. At about 11:30 am on Friday, just as I was contemplating what I wanted for lunch, the head jury organizer dude came out and let us know that our services wouldn't be needed any more. We had completed our civic duty and were exempt for the next three years. Back to work for me tomorrow.

I had a pretty low-key weekend. I ran a few errands on Friday after my early dismissal but didn't do anything too exciting; I picked up a new book at Indigo and spent a lot of time absorbed in it.

On Saturday, I got out and enjoyed the beautiful weather and spent the evening having dinner cooked for me (mussels = yum) and watching some TV. I enjoyed the new SNL; I liked seeing the Foo Fighters play. I had totally forgotten how they used to be one of my favourite bands when I was in university and the massive crush I had on Dave Grohl. I have to admit I've spent some time this evening watching old Foo Fighters videos and listening to their music.

Anyway, I did promise a book review post and since I've been reading voraciously, now is the time. Actually the two books I read whilst on jury duty, "I Love You and I'm Leaving Anyway" and "When God Was A Rabbit" were quite mediocre. I'm going to review the stuff I've read lately that was actually good.

The Paris Wife - Paula Mclain (fiction)

I love any type of historical fiction that is written about the life of a historical "footnote". You know, someone who was associated with someone famous but never really became famous themselves. This book is written from the point of view of Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley Richardson.

I found the book very interesting because it is set mostly in Paris in the 1920s, and has interesting supporting characters in the forms of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and other literati of the time. Also, the Hemingways moved to Toronto for a very short time during this period: they pretty much hated it, but their son was born here.

Of course, being that Hadley was Hemingway's first wife, you know that marriage doesn't end well. In case you do plan to read it, I won't describe what happens (of course, I ruined the ending for myself with Wikipedia), but it's a sad tale of betrayal that ends this well-written book.

The Memory Palace - Mira Bartok (non-fiction)

This is a memoir written by the daughter of a schizophrenic mother. Emotionally, it's a tough book to get through. The author and her sister went through a lot growing up with a mother who would often come after them with knives, so they would have to push furniture against their doors to protect themselves. Of course, their mother's behaviour was a result of mental illness, and it's tragic how the system was unable to help her. As adults, the sisters tried to get their mother declared as mentally incapable of taking care of herself, but the court system disagreed since she was capable of cashing her monthly welfare cheque and buying her own cigarettes.

As a result of their mother's destructive influence on their lives, both daughters change their names and move away so their mother can't contact them. Seventeen years later, she is diagnosed with cancer and the daughters re-enter her life. It's harrowing reading about this: it seems really harsh that these women cut their mother out of their lives; however her illness impacting them greatly (she would phone hundreds of times a day), and they really didn't have much of a choice.

Throughout the book, the author weaves ideas about memory and the influence of art. It's a very well written book, and despite its dark topic, it made me think a lot about my relationship with my own parents and how hard it will be to lose them. I got to the end of this book on the subway, and I have to admit I was crying. It was a very powerful read.

I Think I Love You - Allison Pearson (fiction)

This book is the polar opposite of the book I reviewed above. It's a book about a woman who was in love with David Cassidy when she was fourteen and how she gets a chance to meet him when she's an adult. A lot of the book centres around the main character's teenage years, her friendships, her David Cassidy love, and The Essential David Cassidy magazine. I think this book really resonated with me not only because it was a super fun read, but because I think most girls had their own "love" for a male teen idol that happens during that time in between childhood and adolescence. My David Cassidy was Joe McIntyre from New Kids on the Block, and the author does a great job describing that illogical love between a young girl and her teen idol.

We All Fall Down - Nic Sheff (non-fiction)

One of my eccentricities is that I "enjoy" reading books about addicts and their struggles. Why? I think part of it comes because I'm a bit of a control freak, and reading about someone absolutely losing control is darkly fascinating for me; also, since these books are memoirs, they usually have happy endings. The addict cleaned him/herself up and got a book deal to boot! It all works out okay in the end. Happy face.

A couple of years ago, I read a pair of addict memoirs that were very interesting. "Beautiful Boy" was from the point of view of the addict's father, and "Tweak" was from the point of view of the addict. Well, you have to believe that I was stoked when I saw the sequel to "Tweak" on the bookshelf when I was done jury duty.

The style of "We All Fall Down" is similar to that of its predecessor: it's actually classified as a book for teenagers, but I had to read both of them because I was so curious after reading the dad's book. The writing is honest and conversational. Anyway, it turns out that Sheff had not kicked his addiction battles with the publishing of his first book, Tweak. He was off of the hard stuff, but still struggling with alcohol and pot. Anyway, I hope that after this book he's able to stay sober, and perhaps branch out into writing something else, since he is a decent writer.

Anyway, those are some of the better books I've read lately that I felt were worth reviews. Next up, I think, is "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness. I'm sampling the first chapter of this novel on my Kindle, and it really speaks to my inner sixteen year old because, well, it seems a bit gothy.

Happy Monday everyone. Have you read anything good lately?