And you thought this would be racy, huh?  Nope, my love affair with books has been going on since long ago.  I remember sneaking my booklight and a book under the covers as a kid and throwing them at the wall on the other side of my bed as my parents knocked to say goodnight.  Yes, I was caught a couple of times, but the majority of the time I got to read. 

So it’s 4:30 AM and I just finished The Beautiful Miscellaneous by Dominic Smith.  I would like to think that Mr. Smith has at least stayed in Wisconsin for short periods of time (a weekend here or there?) due to his descriptions of the state.  It seems he has caught the feeling that WI can give a person, but without all the bitterness that I feel as a trapped resident.  Don’t get me wrong, compared to other places, I’ll defend Wisconsin to the grave.  But I’d like to get out a little sometimes. 

Anyway, Smith’s story of a boy growing up here in the shadows of his genius father is gripping and almost magical.  It illustrates how all aspects of life run into each other to form a whole.  It deals with the grief of disappointment and loss.  It brings into focus the great humanist belief that life is quite what you make of it.  And it throws in some of the quirkiest and most real characters I have read in a long while. 

 I love the feeling of finishing a good story.