Reading in the Garden

Catch of Two Centuries Ever wonder where the expression “Catch-22” comes from?  Well, I did, so I finally read the book Catch-22 by Joseph Heller .  Captain Yossarian, a WWII Army bombardier discovers that Catch-22 is a regulation in which the men must continuously fly more missions, and can only stop flying them if they are deemed insane.  But if they themselves declare that they are insane and request to stop flying, it proves they have cognitive abilities and are considered sane. Therefore must fly more missions. This book follows Yossarian who is trapped in the “Catch-22,” "damned if you do, damned if you don't" conundrum and must continue flying more and more missions, which the General continues to increase the moment Yossarian has met the set limit. It explains Yossarian's story as well as other airmen in chapters which tell and re-tell their experiences in a different light, revealing more and more about the situations and the men themselves. It’s...

The Wedding Summer is a busy time with vacations, bike riding, picnics, weddings, and more. That means less time to read, which in turn means fewer book reviews.  Therefore, I am taking a break. In honor of my niece I’m incorporating a list of some past book suggestions into the letter below, much like I did in last year’s Vacation Montage .   Click on the titles to read the reviews.  I must mention that although this letter refers to real events (I really did attend my niece’s wedding), it is entirely fictionalized, and any resemblance to living persons (who may or may not have attended the wedding) is purely coincidental—unless you’re one of the beautiful people, then by all means, consider it a compliment to you. Dearest Gertrude, Dog On It! [sic] I wish you could have been at the wedding. It was simply wonderful! It was a grand and beautiful wedding like A Good American dream come true . You should have seen Brittany—she was gorgeous, just glowing...