INVISIBLE STORM

I started to read this book and began to actively dislike Jason Kander and his story. Then I set it aside and picked it up the other night and picked up at the point where he turned himself over to therapists at the Veteran's Administration for PTSD therapy. From an abject, suicidal mess he (and his wife) worked diligently to deal with his mental trauma. This part of the book was almost beyond fascinating and I felt that I learned a lot about how much pain we can control without understanding why it needs to be faced and dealt with.

 

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, Eric Selland (Translator)

 A delicately beautiful and deceptively simple story. The cat is a unifying theme involving two young Japanese writers renting a home in a beautiful location in Tokyo. It gives you a sense of what daily life in Tokyo might be like. The writing is unfussy and straightforward and in places incredibly beautiful and vivid.