Review: Lessons in philosophy you'll be glad you took!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 14, 2012
"STOP. Pay attention. Slow down. Be mindful. Everything is about the drive and nothing is about the destination."...words which explain, in a nutshell, why spending hours on end getting lost in a good book, slowly savouring every word, every chapter, rather than rushing straight through to the end, is such a fine experience.Not that that was David Boyne's intention necessarily when he included the quote in his first essay in a collection of ten tantalising essays (one of which is, ironically, entitled `Books Stink'!) better known as Home Sweet Home: Collections from the Doghouse.  Nonetheless, for those that love losing themselves in a good book, this one does not disappoint!Although not a novel (usually my preferred choice of reading material) Boyne's essays are more like short stories, full of little `life truths' like the one above, and written in a style which combines often satirical humour with said gems of wisdom.  The good thing about the book is that you can skip from one story to another, without necessarily reading it from front to back, reading whichever title inspires you then and there.Not having read any such `compilations' before, nor having been familiar with Boyne's work, I wasn't quite sure what to expect at first.  However, as the book was recommended by a trusted friend, I decided to take the plunge and must admit, I'm glad I did.  I was definitely pleasantly surprised - I found Boyne's style quite refreshing; funny without intentionally trying to be funny, insightful in more ways than one (again, without necessarily even referring to some of the ideas you might take away from his little pearls of wisdom), and just different to the other philosophical, new-age reads on the market.Suffice to say, I'll definitely be reaching for another Boyne instalment and, luckily for me, as this title is Volume Four of the Happy Accidents series, there's more where it came from.  Bring on Volumes 1-3!Highly recommended but take note; Boyne's style is addictive and will have you craving more!!