The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain by Barbara Strauch

The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind by Barbara Strauch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was interested in the section that claimed that older adults are more easily distractable. I wonder about what causes this with children, adults, and myself. This book has other little nuggets of interesting science but despite its short length, it was full of filler anecdotes and contradictory information. While I found it interesting and entertaining, it's not sufficiently scientifically vigorous that I'd recommend it to others.

I read this because it was one of my dad's books, but because it came out in 2010, the year he died, I'm not sure he actually read it. It's just as well because he didn't have much of an opportunity to revel in his middle-aged wisdom.

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The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some spoilers ahead.

First, my current mental state. I lost my father 7 years ago. He was 61, and I was 31 at the time. Last week- but it feels like a million terrible years - I lost my mother. She was 60, and I am now an old-feeling 38. My parents didn't have any other children, and I have virtually no family left from my childhood. I say this in part because it feels weird that I haven't told my "Goodreads friends" but also because it strongly affected how I responded to this book.

I picked this book up knowing it had a romantic component and hoping to take my mind off things with a Jane Austen-like repressed love. Nope. Steven's father dies. Kenton's maternal-figure aunt dies leaving her with no family. Rip. My. Heart. Out.

Then it just gets worse. Just like real life! Very sad, very moving, and real.

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