I must admit that I have very little experience in re-reading books. Most often when I finish a good book, I like to think about someone who would enjoy it and give it to them. Passing it along means that it can be doubly-enjoyed.
One book I decided not give away, though, is "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" which was first published in 2003. The author, Mark Haddon, take us to a place we can never visit on our own - inside the mind of a young man with Asperger's Syndrome.
Haddon manages to do this so effectively that reality, as Christopher John Francis Boone understands it, makes sense for us. The behaviour we would have dismissed as being bizarre has meaning within his experience, and his outlook on life challenges us to examine the assumptions on which we have based our own.
After a few years I have picked up this book for a re-read, and I find that it is still just as fresh and compelling as it was when I first received it. If you haven't found the bright red book with an upside down cutout of a dog on the cover yet, you are in for a treat.
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Former educator and commercial website designer now working with Century 21 in the beautiful Quinte region in southern Ontario, Canada. My "Internet Advantage" service is described in my profile.
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I am an avid reader. I will make sure to pick up this book. Thanks for the recommendation.....
Happy Monday!!
Lori
I'm going to the bookstore later this afternoon. I'll pick up a copy and give it a read. Bob, thanks for sharing and I'll let you know if it wins a permanent spot on my bookshelf.
Thanks, Lori. I'm sure you will find it just as amazing as I did.
Thanks, Suesan. I'm not sure how well AR works as a forum for a book club, but I would be interested in hearing about your impression of the book.
Hi Bob~ I have a special interest in Autism, especially Aspergers Syndrome. I am going to have to buy and read this book!
I'm going to have to try this book out next. I've got three other books on my nightstand right now that I need to get through before I can get to a new one. But, this sounds very interesting. I like lending my books out to people as well. In fact, I just lent a series of 7 books that I enjoyed so much to a friend of mine who expressed an interest.
Bob,
I wonder since the dog on the cover appears upside down whether any conclusions drawn by the author could be similarly construed...!!! Thanks, Fran
Hi Vickie. My career a few years ago was as a school vice-principal, so I also have a special interest in this topic. No one seem to know for sure why we are getting so many more children born with autism spectrum disorder but it has certainly become an important subject both in our schools and our communitie. What I like about Haddon's book is that in it does a great job of leading us to more understanding and compassion for the people who live these lives.
Hi Heather. While I decided to keep this book, I have loaned it out several times and it has always come back with rave reviews. I hope it does the same for you.
Hi Fran. We don't hear the author's voice in this book, but I'm sure he is inventive enough that some of his ideas would appear upside down to us. I read his second novel, "A Spot of Bother" which came out in 2006. It was interesting in that it also contained a good asortment of weird and wonderful ideas, but it did not have the power of this novel.
Bob, I'll definitely get back to you and share my opinion. AR has a book club, I just checked it out. Seems pretty good, they welcome post such as yours etc. Give them a look.
Sue
Bob
I get too many weird and wonderful ideas in the world of people around me...that's why I stay away from fiction...!!! LOL, Thanks, Fran
Hi Bob~ Just returned to tell you that I ordered this book from Amazon.com and I am just waiting for it to arrive at my door.