How I choose the books I read and review might be of interest to you. I check out the covers. If they are of interest, I think the book might be of interest.
I picture the cover of this book in my head because it is not going to be released until April 20. In my mind’s eye the cover shows an old beat-up record player of 45s sitting on a desk that also holds a beat-up old typewriter with a floppy page in it waiting to be filled.
Note: I just had a look at the cover and not what I expected. Have a look. Then get a copy and read this book. Rob Azevedo has written a coming-of-age story in the first person and it feels like he is in the room talking to me.
An English teacher might have a few red marks changing a word or two here and there for grammar, but there really is no need. He talks and writes in the same style that we all are comfortable with. It is an intimate view of life, problems, hopes and dreams.
The message is interesting and very personal. Music marks the times and he connects his protagonist’s dance of life with the reader’s dance of life, sometimes via Elvis Presley. Music is a marker of time for all of us.
Living life is a personal trek. Human beings are so similar in their quests or lack of quests and experiences. Sometimes we just fall into whatever it is we end up doing as “long in the teeth” graduates. What a ride! Reader, you will think about your music, your dances and your life.
The book is short, to the point and revealing of the journeys from young to old and every age in between. Music is central to the main character’s being and dancing to each beat like it might be his last.
The music soon changes when a new song drops from the pile on the record player of his life and there is a new beat, a new experience, new people, new adventures. I loved it all.
Azevedo had me at the very beginning when he dedicates his book to “MOM.” Yes, please do read his book.
Plaidswede Publishing of Concord is publishing it and a book release party is scheduled for New England College in Concord on April 20 and at the Bookery in Manchester on May 24.
Monica Drahonovsky reviews books for InDepthNH.org. Monica is known for her love of history and her lifelong love for reading. She has a bachelor’s degree in History, with a minor in English. “My years of reading for leisure and pleasure have given me the insight to read a book and analyze the author’s baggage, cargo and ability to write the language of his/her mind and utilize the gift of prose to educate and entertain the reader. Go get a book, read it and enjoy the adventure.” Contact Monica at mawest@tds.net
