VEGANMAN: SEAN DUFFY

Consider this a sort of mini-review of an awesome book about the liberation of animals, and what the world would be like if the tables were suddenly turned. What makes us (human beings) so superior to other living creatures on this planet?

Some of us kill (on a regular basis) when it is completely insane to do so. I mean, too many of us kill animals for sport. And if I am to believe the news (I always consider multiple sources), we have finally reached the point of no return: killing animals is not enough - it's time to wipe out the human race.

This is what happens when people lose all respect for life - animal or human. If you value life (as I do), I encourage you to take a long peek at this much needed book: It contains humor, satire, tragedy, sadness, and hope for a better future for all living creatures. Here's the link: Veganman

I daresay it's the perfect Christmas gift.



Fiction
213 pages
Amazon Digital Services, Inc., 2015

Reader Rating: 10/10

Book Review © 2015 by Dylan Mitchell

STREET ROOTS: I AM NOT A POET

Two of my poems are included in this awesome 15 year anthology of street poetry and art. Given that I rarely submit my work for publication anymore (finally decided that the Emily Dickinson approach to writing poetry is the most honest way to go), I was both astonished and happy to find my poetry in a book (I frequently take a long peek at the new poetry available at Central library - that's where the best poems can be had for free, etc.). So when I chanced upon this book in the poetry section, my heart skipped a beat or three. I AM NOT A POET is on my desk as I write these words.

What a joy to read (again) the poetry of Sherry Asbury, Israel Bayer, Kevin Hull, Jay Thiemeyer, and C.A. Mesch! How well I remember the timeless hours spent at that long (Last Supper) table. And there really was something holy about confessing all our so-called sins in a poem. Because we knew (deep down) that we were good people at heart - even when society did its best to make us feel invisible and unwanted. Street Roots became our church.

I've been reading (and admiring) this book for the last two weeks. Alas, I'll have to return it to the library at the end of the month. If you are a lover of poetry (and art), I suggest you give this book a very long peek. You will discover that beauty can be found in places you've never visited or known. So don't be a stranger. I have seen the most beautiful stars from the gutter. We are all connected.

http://streetroots.org/iamnotapoet

Poetry/Art
Street Roots, 2014

Reader Rating:
10/10

P.S. A copy of this book (at Central library) has already went missing. That really does say a lot (in more ways than one).

Review © 2014 by Dylan Mitchell

THE MAN WHO QUIT MONEY

Mark Sundeen's THE MAN WHO QUIT MONEY gets my vote for Best Nonfiction Book of 2012. I actually read this amazing paperback twice. That's how good it is. In fact, it nearly broke my heart to have to return the book to the library. But I did the right thing. Forty people were on the hold list. That should tell you something.

It has been twelve years since Daniel Suelo gave away his life savings, and decided to live without money. Suelo (Spanish for soil) does not live on welfare or receive food stamps. You won't find him on a busy street corner asking for spare change. He forages wild foods and knows which dumpsters are best for a healthy meal or two. He gets around on a humble bike, and walks more miles in a week than most folks walk in a year. And he is sheepish about sleeping at homeless shelters. In fact, Suelo's home is a small cave in Utah. And he's not insane.

If you are wondering why a sane man would choose to live without money, then I strongly suggest you read this compelling book. You might learn a little something about yourself, and it will be a good little something. Why do we live as we do? Is it really healthy to have to hold down a job we dislike, just so we can pay car insurance, rent an expensive roof over our heads, and buy things which are bad for the planet? What would happen if we suddenly threw away the credit cards, learned to grow our own food, and made the choice to never own a car?

Suelo already knows what will happen. And his life is better because of what he has learned. THE MAN WHO QUIT MONEY is one hell of a book. And Suelo is like a modern prophet returning from the desert to remind us that happiness is not found in expensive things, but by connecting with other people. And this doesn't cost us a cent.


Nonfiction
Riverhead Books, 2012

Reader Rating:
10/10

Review © 2012 by Dylan Mitchell

DEATH BECOMES THEM

That's the title of the book I finished reading late last night. It's all about famous and infamous suicides. Everybody's in it: Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Vincent van Gogh, Diane Arbus, Hemingway, Freud, Hitler, Kurt Cobain, Elliott Smith, Abbie Hoffman, etc. The author is Alix Strauss.

I know a depressed person should not be reading books about suicide. However, the book is wickedly morbid and oddly witty. One might even call it entertaining. How the author managed it, I'll never know. The woman is a genius. So I am not entirely to blame.

In truth, I'm grateful to have discovered this book. Suicide is a subject I have always been deeply curious about. However, I'm not terribly fond of academic books (I dropped out of college for very good reasons). Apart from The Savage God (a classic study of suicide, written by A. Alvarez), I was bored to death by everything I got my greedy little hands on. How can suicide ever be boring? That's what I wanted to know.

But now we have: DEATH BECOMES THEM. And it's an insightful page turner. I was hooked from the start. If you are curious about famous and notorious suicides, then this book deserves a long peek.

Resume

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

- Dorothy Parker

Nonfiction
Harper Paperback Original, 2009

Reader Rating: 9 /10

Review © 2011 by Dylan Mitchell