Books

Did a summary of 3 books I recently finished.

Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn

Since I’m bad (and lazy) at writing a short description about any book that I’ve read, I copied this caption from Amazon about this book: 

“People go to Huntington Beach in search of the endless parties, the ultimate highs, and the perfect waves. Ike Tucker has come to look for his missing sister and for the three men who may have murdered her. In that place of gilded surfers and sun-bleached blonds, Ike’s search takes him on a journey through a twisted world of crazed Vietnam vets, sadistic surfers, drug dealers, and mysterious seducers. He looks into the shadows and finds parties that drift toward pointless violence, joyless vacations, and highs you may never come down from…and a sea of old hatreds and dreams gone bad. And if he’s not careful, his is a journey from which he will never return.”

I liked the book, but I think it’s a book that I will not remember for very long. Some books make a deep impression on me, or something really sticks out in it, usually the story, and I’ll remember the book. This one mostly was a great and fun read, but I doubt I’ll remember details from it next year. Also it felt like the ending was a bit hastily finished compared to the rest of the book. It’s a good read though!

Dawn Patrol by Don Winslow 

I did get intrigued about the surfing culture from ‘Tapping the Source”. I think this one was slightly better than the above. Again, caption from Amazon:

“Every morning Boone Daniels catches waves with the other members of The Dawn Patrol: four men and one woman as single-minded about surfing as he is. Or nearly. They have “real j-o-b-s”; Boone, however, works as a PI just enough to keep himself afloat. But Boone’s most recent gig-investigating an insurance scam—has unexpectedly led him to a ghost from his past. And while he may have to miss the biggest swell of his surfing career, this job is about to give him a wilder ride than anything he’s ever encountered. Filled with killer waves and a coast line to break your heart, The Dawn Patrol will leave you gasping for air.”

Exciting book and I liked reading about San Diego trivia & history, since I used to spend some time down there when I first got to the US. I liked that it kept you guessing how it would end until the last few pages. Easy, fast and exciting book and I recommend it. 

Another book by Don Winslow that is amazing and that I really recommend is ‘The Winter of Frankie Machine’. Super great!

This Is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan

I loved Michael Pollan’s book – Change Your Mind. It literally made me experience and experiment with some more psychedelics myself 🙂 I guess you decide if that’s good or bad LOL. I’m a great believer in how they can help people in some instances, instead of traditional medication. Expected this book to be similar and as great, but I was a bit disappointed. I enjoyed getting the history of opium and mescaline. The caffeine section had some interesting parts too, but overall the book was just not as amazing as his first book.

Here are a couple of sections in the book that I highlighted. Very interesting and true facts!

“All who try to construct a sturdy definition of drugs eventually run aground. Is chicken soup a drug? What about sugar? Artificial sweeteners? Chamomile tea? How about a placebo? If we define a drug simply as a substance we ingest that changes us in some way, whether in body or in mind (or both), then all those substances surely qualify. “

“Is it the quality of addictiveness that renders a substance illicit? Not in the case of tobacco, which I am free to grow in this garden. Curiously, the current campaign against tobacco dwells less on cigarettes’ addictiveness than on their threat to our health. So is it toxicity that renders a substance a public menace? Well, my garden is full of plants—datura and euphorbia, castor beans, and even the leaves of my rhubarb—that would sicken and possibly kill me if I ingested them, but the government trusts me to be careful. Is it, then, the prospect of pleasure—of “recreational use”—that puts a substance beyond the pale? Not in the case of alcohol: I can legally produce wine or hard cider or beer from my garden for my personal use (though there are regulations governing its distribution to others). So could it be a drug’s “mind-altering” properties that make it evil? Certainly not in the case of Prozac, a drug that, much like opium, mimics chemical compounds manufactured in the brain. “

Pollan, Michael. This Is Your Mind on Plants. Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Tomorrow I hopefully sign the contract for the new apartment. Keep your fingers crossed, because I really want to move and settle in. I have learned not to get too excited before papers are actually signed and I’m holding the key. Until then, shit can happen 🙂

Go be awesome!

Puma