Mark Lieberman's Blog: Mark Lieberman's BOOK REVIEWS , page 8

From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir – by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough

I have had this book in my want to read list since April. It’s Lisa Marie’s words, but her daughter, Riley, had to finish it as Lisa passed away before it could be completed. Because of that, I sometimes had to stop reading it and think about whose words was I reading at that moment. But, despite that, I did enjoy hearing the story from Lisa’s and Riley’s perspective.

Yes, Lisa did talk about her relationship with her father, living at Graceland, and all the antics she got into to. It seems she was spoiled by Elvis and he loved it. After her father died, Lisa lived with her mom, which was a much different environment than Graceland. It was a struggle for Lisa.

Yes, Lisa talked openly about her relationships and marriages to Danny Keough, Michael Jackson, Nicholas Cage, and Michael Lockwood. Despite the men on her life, Danny seemed to be present for a lot of her marriages, and he was consistently there for the kids. Something Riley said at the end of the book really resonated with me: Danny knew my mom at age 17, and was with her for 37 years as he was right next to her when she passed away.

Yes, Lisa also talked openly about her addiction to opioids.

Yes, she also talked openly about Scientology.

I knew Lisa passed away last year, but didn’t anything about her son, Benjamin. Three years prior, he committed suicide as he is just one of a lot of people who have mental health issues. If you have mental health issues, there is a plethora of resources to help you cope.

Overall, I enjoyed the book.

The post From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir – by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough appeared first on BookMarkDad.

I Felt the Cheers: The Remarkable Silent Life of Curtis Pride – by Curtis Pride

I got this book from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published. I was intrigued by this one as Curtis was a professional baseball player, but he was born with deafness. I have actually heard of him, and think it was when he played for the Detroit Tigers.

As a baseball player, he never let his deafness get in the way. He considered it an advantage as his other senses were increased. All of his coaches, from high school to professional, helped him be a better baseball player and he also took there knowledge with him when he become the head baseball coach at Gallaudet University in 2009, a school for the blind and deaf.

He had parents who supported him and did the best they could given his predicament. His mother who worked as a nurse gave that up to handle the well being of Curtis. Curtis learned to read lips and communicate orally with words. Later when he got to Gallaudet, he learned American Sign Language.

All the stories he told in the book were fantastic, and I enjoyed the minor league tales of roommates and host families.

He was a role model and always received a lot of fan mail from people thanking him. And, he did his best to reply to all. One was also deaf and wanted to interview him, and Curtis being Curtis, was all for it. The local television station got wind of it, and they wanted to be in the Curtis game! The reporters name was Lisa, and at that time she was engaged. Later, though, she was single and Curtis made a move. They got married, and have two kids. Both kids have some hearing loss as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book.

The post I Felt the Cheers: The Remarkable Silent Life of Curtis Pride – by Curtis Pride appeared first on BookMarkDad.

Connie: A Memoir – by Connie Chung

I was a bit skeptical about reading this book, as I wasn’t sure I would enjoy her story.

I had had no clue her parent’s marriage was arranged.

I had no clue who father was a spy in the Chinese government, and because of that, that is how her family was able to migrate to the USA. Her father documented it and Connie repurposed it for the book. A lot of things happened and if anything went wrong, we wouldn’t have Connie Chung today.

I had no clue Connie worked at an independent news station in LA after she left CBS news. At that station, Maury Povich (whom she would later marry, was the Sports Director). Connie had a lot of interesting celebrity stories during that time; dude, it was LA!

She got to report on a lot of historical stories and got to interview a wide range of people. She tells the good and the bad. I had a little bit of a clue on the male presence of television news, and how hard it was for females to become equals or even take over something, but she persevered. I think she may be one of a very select few who can say they worked for all the BIG THREE stations.

One thing I really enjoyed about the book was the Connie Generation. It’s girls who were named after Connie Chung as she is a strong Asian woman and is a role model for kids and parents while she was on television. There was a gathering of Connie’s, and the original Connie was so happy to talk to everybody and hear their own story.

I am super glad I read this, because I have a totally different understanding of her.

The post Connie: A Memoir – by Connie Chung appeared first on BookMarkDad.

Whale Done (FunJungle, #8) – by Stuart Gibbs

We have finally finished the FunJungle series. For this last book, Niko read a little bit on his own, and it was actually a very climatic part where Teddy Fitzroy solves a crime and tells us who did it. It was funny because Niko kept telling us about it!

I truly enjoyed reading these books to him, and to hear him laughing at funny parts meant that he was paying attention. He also pieced together clues to solve the crimes before Teddy did.

I told him the author has other books; like spy school and space camp! I am hoping to start these other series next. Or even Percy Jackson. But he said he wants to read Lion Down again (which is his favorite FunJungle book), and then we can start something else.

The post Whale Done (FunJungle, #8) – by Stuart Gibbs appeared first on BookMarkDad.

Inside the Park – by Andrea Williams

I got this one from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published. I chose this as the description looked interesting, it’s a story of a young baseball fan’s misadventures after getting locked inside a pro baseball stadium on the eve of the biggest game of the season.

Timothy “Pumpsie” Strickland is the main character, and his mother and him share a passion for the hometown Nashville Wildcats. Pumpsie is also a baseball player, but he is in a batting slump and a very important tournament is coming up. The coach is considering benching him.

At the same time, the Nashville Wildcats have a 3-game series to end the season against the Portland Hemlocks. If Nashville sweeps, they advance to the playoffs for the first time in a long time.

For the 2nd game, his family of seven (Pumpsie has 4 siblings) attends the game as his twin sister, Tianna is filing a commercial after the game to promote the ball club. Tianna’s co-star is Campy, a dog! A thunderstorm scares Campy, and he runs into the stadium and Timothy goes after him. His Home Alone adventure begins as there are also two villains from the Portland team lingering in the stadium who are trying to do something bad so the Nashville team will have a disadvantage for the third game. A lot of things happen inside the park and I won’t spoil anything, but I will say it can easily be a Disney movie.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought aI would. Probably because it’s aimed toward a younger reading mind than mine.

The post Inside the Park – by Andrea Williams appeared first on BookMarkDad.

An American Story: Everyone’s Invited – by Wilmer Valderrama

This book has been in my Want to Read list since May in Goodreads. I have never watched That 70’s Show, but I knew of his character he played. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about him.

Unlike a lot of other memoirs I have read (and, there are a lot), his life growing up was normal. I mean, he had two loving parents and two sisters. His dad helped him to get to his auditions (even though, for his dad, it was hard times finding the funds for gas). He doesn’t drink or do stupid things like other celebrities. He is never in the limelight. He is just a normal person enjoying life.

I had no clue he was born in Miami, but lived in Venezuela from ages 3 to 13. At that time, his family moved back to the USA, but Wilmer didn’t have a grasp on the English language. He had that to barrier to master, and eventually, he did.

This books tells his extraordinary story of he got That 70’s Show, other tv roles, and movie roles. He dd a few stints with the USO and happily talked a lot about those experiences. He did mention wife and daughter towards the end of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and am glad I read it.

The post An American Story: Everyone’s Invited – by Wilmer Valderrama appeared first on BookMarkDad.

Runaway Train: Or, the Story of My Life So Far – by Eric Roberts

I have had this book in my Want to Read list on Goodreads since May, so I was eager to read it. I knew of Eric Roberts (by way of Julia Roberts, his younger sister).

I had no clue his parents were at one point in his early life co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop and they ran a children’s acting school as well. That is where Eric found his niche as an actor, and has been in a lot of movies. The only movie I can reference that I know of is a recent Spenser movie. The stories of how he got parts to some of movies is mentioned.

He discussed in detail bout his life growing up and how different it was for him with his parents than with his younger sisters. They often took their frustrations out on him.

He talked very openly about his drug usage (cocaine and weed), and his behavior on set of movies, which sometimes was bad and sometimes was good.

He also talked very openly about his relationships. Especially, his daughter Emma Roberts and his wife Eliza and her kids. His addictions to drugs really took a big hit in regards to his relationship with Julia and Lisa, his younger sisters.

There are a lot of Hollywood gossip stories with actors he grew friendly with; Mickey Rourke, Tom Bringer, and Christopher Walken, just to name a few.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Now, I need to get Julia to share her story!

The post Runaway Train: Or, the Story of My Life So Far – by Eric Roberts appeared first on BookMarkDad.

Bear Bottom (FunJungle #7) – by Stuart Gibbs

On Tuesday night, I finished reading this one to my 8-year-old son, and just like the previous 6, he really enjoyed it. He pays attention to the book, and several times throughout the book, he predicted what would happen. His favorite character was Morton, a tourist and a moron; and called a touron in the book. Basically, he gets himself in a lot of crazy situations (one was a port a potty at the rodeo). Unlike the other FunJungle books, this one doesn’t take place at FunJungle, it’s set in Yellowstone National Park. Teddy, the star of the series, has to solve a crime of missing bison and a missing necklace.

We have one more book in the FunJungle series, and then we will start something new by a different author or we will read more Gibbs books. Whatever he chooses, I will do as I absolutely love reading to him. It’s a very nice relaxing tool before bed. The only problem we have , is he doesn’t want me to stop reading, he is always like 1 more page, please!

The post Bear Bottom (FunJungle #7) – by Stuart Gibbs appeared first on BookMarkDad.

Robert B. Parker’s Buzz Kill (Sunny Randall Book 12) – by Alison Gaylin

I have had this book in my Want To Read list on Goodreads since January of this year. I was really looking forward to this one, and when I finished it, it was MEH. Nothing excited happened to Sunny. It could just be I am so used to Spenser as a private investigator, and lots of things happen to him! I did like the parts of the book with Sunny and her complicated relationship with her ex-husband, Richie.

Even though I didn’t like it as much as all the prior Sunny books, I will continue to read future books.

Three funny things from the book: Sunny’s therapist is Susan Silverman, who is the girlfriend of Spenser; Sunny mentions Jesse Stone as a former boyfriend, and he had issues with his ex-wife; and when Sunny is questioned by somebody who asks what it’s like to be a PI, she says have you heard of Spenser.

The post Robert B. Parker’s Buzz Kill (Sunny Randall Book 12) – by Alison Gaylin appeared first on BookMarkDad.

The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball – by John W. Miller

I got this book from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published.

As I occasionally browse the Netgalley selections, I kept coming across this one, and I was intrigued, but kept scrolling past it. I mean, I knew of Earl Weaver, but didn’t want to be a part of a book where it would probably detail every game he played and managed. But, finally, I gave up and requested it and the publisher approved it.

Earl’s dad, Earl Sr., had a dry cleaning business, and two of his clients were the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns. So, Earl got to see baseball up close. In 1948, the Cardinals signed Earl to a contract. Although he never made it as a big league player, he played a few years in the minors, but his success came as a manager in the minors and pros for the Baltimore Orioles franchise. The O’s , under his leadership, won the World Series in 1970. He was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Earl revolutionized the use of stats (way before the internet). He was the first to use a radar gun for pitching speeds. When he was younger, he had an Uncle who was a bookie and Earl took in that knowledge for numbers.

He also helped create Earl Weaver Baseball for Electronic Arts which was published in 1987.

I enjoyed the book, and reading all the fun stories of Earl. Especially, all the times he would get ejected from games for arguing with the umpires. There were a lot quotes from players whom he managed, umpires, current managers, his family, and Earl as well.

The post The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball – by John W. Miller appeared first on BookMarkDad.