Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion
Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir read in 2019
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack ObamaI read this one while waiting for Michelle's book to become available. I didnt really know much about Barack Obama but now I kind of do. I say kind of because even he seems confused about who he is in this memoir.
He focuses a lot on race and inheritance, which, while important for someone whos mixed heritage I was more wanting to know about his character. Where does he get his values from? What kind of person is he inside rather than what others see him as.
His family is rather complicated and as his Dads heritage was Kenyan and Islamic which meant he could marry many wives, keeping track of all his dads family was a bit of a rabbit trail. He only really saw his dad twice. On his mothers side, which was midwestern, orginally Kansas, there isnt as much said about that. She divorced and remarried an Indonesia man and Barack grew up for a time in Jakarta.
After that he lived in Hawaii and went to school and then went on to university. It was his work with Chicago community groups that was the interesting part, and him wanting to identify with the African americans. To which he didnt really feel like he belonged. Then he got accepted into Harvard, to study law, where the book ends.
I dont know if a Harvard education is like a passport to politics. But that certainly gave him some cachet with his own tribe.
At one point he mentions faith as he works with many church groups, and at the end he marries Michelle in one of the churches. But hes not really explicit about that and I was hoping he would explore more of what drove him. Certainly hes trying to carry on the social gospel that Martin Luther King espoused and Im glad I had read about him a bit before I picked up this book.
I might start reading The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream cos certainly the American dream is still alive. But in this book hes not really clear what the dream is. I kind of have to guess. To me its that he grew up lonely , practically fatherless and wanting to belong perhaps. Yet when he goes back to Kenya all the family squabbles kind of overwhelm him.
This is such an introspective book that while I find myself drawn in to know about his heritage, at other times I think well the past is past, you cant change it but you can do your best to make something of yourself now, and it doesnt have to be what your parents did.
Mod
3 stars
This book seemed like two separate books. The first part is a true crime about Reverend Willie Maxwell, who took out insurance policies on several family members and then killed them and seemed to get away with it until he was murdered. The second half of the book is a bio of Harper Lee, who had an interest in the case and wanted to write a book about it, as her good friend Truman Capote did with In Cold Blood but never really seems to get it off the ground.
This next part may be a spoiler:
Frankly, I did not think there was very much of a tie-in between the murder and Harper Lee and the second half of the book seemed to be more a bio of Harper Lee. I have read bios of Harper Lee before and this book didnt really have anything new to say. The author also goes into long detail about things that seem to have nothing to do with the story line but then in the end does tie in, such as giving us a long history of life insurance in America before launching into the story of the murderer buying life insurance on his victims.
I would say this is an interesting story but seemed a little strange at times and I would not buy this for the Harper Lee aspect.
4 stars
Sally Field is an excellent actress, but I really knew nothing about her personal life prior to reading this book.
Kudos to Sally Field for showing us her strengths and her weaknesses; she doesn't just put on her best face here. This is raw and honest, which means at times it is rather uncomfortable. We see her childhood, living for years being abused by her step-father, her understandable low self esteem, her discovery of a love of acting and so much more. She tells is the good, the bad and the ugly of who she has been. She doesn't spend her time lambasting everyone nor does she spend all of her time praising everyone, including herself.
This book really exposes not just her life, those who hurt her and those who helped her, but her development as a human being. I wonder just how differently some of it might have gone if she'd gone for therapy decades sooner, but she didn't, and I don't think we can pass judgement here because, like many abuse survivors, there was much she repressed.
What I like here is her strength, her dedication to developing her craft and her perseverance when things so often looked like her career was on a permanent downward spiral. Can I say I liked everything in it? No, but overall it is an impressive book and I am glad to have read it (mostly listened to it on audiobook, but did read a fair bit in the print book.)
4 stars - note that you have probably used tech based on her invention today and do this every day
Hedy--brilliant and beautiful, but, tragically, her beauty defined a great deal more of her career than her brilliance was allowed to. However, our world today depends a great deal on technology every day that uses something based on her idea and patent, although it wasn't dusted off and actually used until three years after that patent expired--well she got American Composer Antheil to help her. She was inventing right up until the time of her death, although most of her inventions haven't been used. Her career was mishandled by MGM. After seeing what the Nazis did first hand in the 1930s, she fled her controlling first husband and took up an offer to contract with MGM, but during the war when she and other celebrities travelled to sell war bonds, she was frequently able to sell over $1,000,000 dollars in war bonds at a single event.
Brilliance and beauty, however, are not without their costs. Hedy was idolized and adored by her millions of fans worldwide, but she was misunderstood by many close to her. Lamarr possessed physical and mental attributes not often found in one person. And, accordingly, she failed the many normal expectations of others. writes Shearer in the epilogue. He also quotes one of her former co-stars, John Fraser,
She had been fawned upon, indulged and exploited ever since she had reached the age of puberty. Her extraordinary intelligence did not encompass wisdom. How could she have learnt about the values that matter, about kindness and acceptance and laughter, in the Dream Factory that is Hollywood? She had been thrust into the limelight at a pitilessly early age, been devoured by rapactous lovers and producers who saw her ravishing beauty as a ticket to success, and who looked elsewhere when she began to grow older. Beauty and money in moderation are undoubtedly a blessing. In excess, they are surely a curse.
This is a biography worth reading, even if it does spend an awful lot of time discussing films, including ones she didn't get, which, given that I am NOT an old movie buff at all, at times bored me. Even if you have no idea who she is, you benefit from her brilliance every day, and it is worth knowing more about her.
Hi All. This is the last day my book is FREE on Amazon. If you would like a copy, here is the link. Thank you...TJhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
A Journey with Elsa Cloud: A Mother and Daughter Odyssey Through India
Author: Leila Hadley
3 Stars = It was just 'okay'.
I almost gave up on this book after the first chapter. It is not so much a travel book, as it is Leila's never-ending thoughts on her relationship with her daughter, Veronica; her relationship with her mother; and her own navel gazing. I finally adjusted to this, and pressed onwards.
But then she had another annoying quirk that caused me to scan entire paragraphs, or sometimes a whole page. She never uses one word if five will do the same job. Now, I like adjectives, and descriptive phrases, but enough is enough, Leila! The moment she began describing something, I began scanning ... and I hate doing that. I enjoy reading, learning, absorbing knowledge ... scanning is none of that. I felt cheated. I've been trying to find a sentence to illustrate this, but I quickly grew tired of re-reading her descriptions, so, I've just grabbed one for you.
"For several days Holika pyres have been in preparation in all areas of New Delhi and Old Delhi - near the India Gate, in Saftarjung, just outside the railway station in Old Delhi, along the Ring Road, in Hauz Khas - surrealistic pyramids of flammables - louvered shutters, wooden cart-wheels, planks, poy frames, broken wooden chairs, jali screens - piled on top of a circular foundation of dried cow-dung patties, some the size of large casserole lids, some smaller, like the Frisbees Veronica used to throw in Central Park." pg 178
That was all one sentence! Imagine a book filled with sentences like that. I wanted to read her descriptions, but the sheer volume of her words weighed me down, and I resorted to scanning. Also, it wouldn't be so unbearable if she only did that in relation to descriptions of India, but she is equally wordy when describing some trivial memory from her childhood, etc.
The cover has a quote from Norman Mailer, "A Journey with Elsa Cloud is the best travel book I've ever read." I feel very sorry for him!
So, if you're looking for a good travel book about India, this is probably not the book for you. If you're looking to read about one woman's stream-of-consciousness burblings, you'll like this book.
I almost gave it 2 stars, but bumped it up to 3, because there were a few places in the book where she managed to talk without all of the above mentioned annoyances.
Ladykiller, Juliet Papa3 solid stars
This history of the life and crimes of Richie Caputo takes you right up to the moment before his trials for murder begin. I learned a fair amount about his victims and his relationship to them and how he evaded justice for decades. The author speculated on why he finally resurfaced and what if any mental problems he might have, but unfortunately, she was working from the speculations of defense counsel, reporters and the mental health providers who were clearly just chasing their tails. This was a good read that gave me, as a mental health provider, a few sad chuckles.
Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait by Kendra BeanThis is more of a coffee table book than a full blown biography, but it could be forgiven given the subject is as mesmerizingly beautiful as the actress Vivien Leigh.
Yet the opening lines of the book her famous film Gone With the Wind state 'Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, thought men seldom realised it when caught by her charm, as the Tarleton twins were.'
The problem is, this books raft of stunning visual portraiture leave hardly any room for the charming biographical portrait I was hoping for. Instead it was a rehash of other biographies, a list of film and stage appearances and random hagiographical quotes. This was a woman who, aside from acting, suffered manic depression, comitted adultery, used colourful language and often got her way. She could be sweet and kind one minute, cruel and imperious the next...and never let Laurence Olivier, her lover and then husband, have a moments peace or sleep. She practically worshipped the ground he walked on. But none of that was really explored in this biography.
I was a Windie from 12 years old and must have watched GWTW over a dozen times. I read all the bios on the actress who bought Scarlett O Hara to life. Vivien Leighs acting was often a mask, a way to dress up, to fight despair and lonliness that often threatened to overwhelm her. She really wanted to be a great actress and was totally comitted to being one, given that she broke up two marriages to this end.
A more interesting and defintive bio would be these two, Vivien Leigh by John Russell Taylor and
Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh by Alexander Walker
This latest effort is ok but its one a film student has put together and it shows.
Mod
Mod
4 stars
Sally Field is an excellent actress, but I really knew nothing about her personal life prior to reading this book.
Kudos to Sally Field for showing us her s..."
That book is on my TBR list. Glad you liked it. Thanks for the review.
Killing Love: How I Survived Unimaginable Family Tragedy
Author: Rebecca Poulson
3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.
A memoir about the multiple tragedies that Rebecca, and her family, have endured, including murder. She gives you some background, leads you through the crimes, and then tells of how she kept her sanity afterwards.
A sad commentary on how AVOs (Apprehended Violence Order) aren't worth the paper they are printed on. In the USA they are called Restraining Orders, or Protective Orders. I have seen firsthand how useless they are, fortunately, my experience didn't result in a murder.
An Ordinary Man: The True Story Behind Hotel Rwanda
Author: Paul Rusesabagina
5 Stars = Exceptional. It made a significant impact.
It was an honour to read Paul's own words of his actions during the genocide in Rwanda. He was the 'perfect' man for the job. Not many could have filled his shoes. He instinctively knew when to speak, when not to speak, what to say, and what not to say. His skill with people, with words, with his own self-control, saved lives. What a man.
The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man
Author: Luke Harding
4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.
I've always said that if the average person, in any country, knew just one-tenth of what goes on behind closed doors in their government (and big business), they'd be horrified. Snowden's files prove me correct. Sadly, I doubt if exposure changes things much ... except to make the offenders seek out new ways to keep doing their deeds.
Mod
5 stars
When I read the some of the blurb for this book I thought it was going to be a typical book about people that move somewhere that they have no idea what they are getting themselves into and then have one mishap after another but that was not the case. The author and his then girlfriend move to Mississippi just because they visited it once and really liked it. In some ways it is about dealing with things they didnt anticipate, such as living in an old house and raising a garden and animals when they had never done it before, but it is so much more. The author digs deep into the lives of the people of the region, their history and their prejudices and how they have changed in the years since slavery and Jim Crow and segregation. An interesting cast of characters, you will wish you could just pull up stakes and move there.
Koren wrote: "Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant 5 stars
When I ..."
Sounds interesting -adding to my list.
My Life with Charles Manson, Paul Watkins with Guillermo Soldedad10 stars!
OK, there is no way to give a book 10 stars at GR but for me it rates that many. This is the life story of Paul Watkins, who quit school (where he was a straight-A student, class president and an accomplished musician), hit the road and found himself joining the Manson Family. He became Charlie's right-hand man and heir apparent, then left when he met a miner named Crockett who deprogrammed him and fellow Manson refugee Brooks Poston. Unlike Brooks, the author went back after the arrests for the Tate-LaBianca murders, rejoined, and stepped into Charlie's role as group leader. Then he left AGAIN after a close shave with death, which may have been a murder attempt by his followers. He was friends with my favorite characters from that story, notably the totallyawesome Juan Flynn, and told a lot of their stories as well. I learned more about how the group's members were traumatized by the murder of Shorty Shea and how that killing contributed to the unravelling of the group. But most of all he explained the hold the group had on him and how he had to work at it to break free. This is a fascinating tale of brainwashing, teenaged groupthink, and escape by the skin of one's teeth. A real must-read.
Resist: 35 Profiles of Ordinary People Who Rose Up Against Tyranny and Injustice By Veronica ChambersA book geared for young adults about activitsts who stood up for justice in history. Each profile, in chronological order from Joan of Arc, 1429 to the Million Womens march in 2017 gives a snapshot, a portrait and a quote and hashtag resist lesson. Eg for Cesar Chavez it's HONOR THE HANDS THAT HARVEST YOUR CROPS
So people like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther (King and Jr), Rachel Carson, The Dalai Lama, and many African Americans who resisted slavery or spoke or marched against it. (No Rosa Parks though). For people that want to read about heroes, some very ordinary and some famous, it's a good starter. The only thing though is because there are only a few pages on each a lot is omitted and some of the profiles are rather incomplete. And some of these people sacrificed their lives and it isn't mentioned. Another notable omission, ok what about Jesus? However I did find out about people I'd never heard of who spoke out and made a difference. Like 16 year old Malal Yousafazai
The author also had written in The Meaning of Michelle: 16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own so obviously she's a fan.
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
Casey Cep
5/5 stars
The trial of the murder of Reverend Willie Maxwell, who had taken out insurance policies on numerous family members with several ending up murdered, was the one story that Harper Lee could not resist. And so she returned to Alabama to attend the trial to take notes in an attempt to write a book about the crimes. Cep’s book flows so well that it was hard to put down and the information on Lee and the trial was fascinating
Helen Keller: A Life by Dorothy HerrmanI didn't know much about deaf-blind Helen Keller other than her portrayal in the movie The Miracle Worker where she was played by young Patty Duke. I didn't know what she was like as an adult, so this biography satisfied my curiousity, it was very well researched. It explored her family background, her devotion to Annie Sullivan who lived with Helen for the rest of her life and whom Helen called 'Teacher', and her other relationships too after Annie died.
Helen lived into her 80s. I learned that Annie was the driving force behind her intellectual pursuits, Helen got into college and graduated, and had a mind of her own, she wrote books, she learned to speak although this was not perfect, she starred in a Hollywood movie called Deliverance of her own life, the duo were stars of Vaudeville, lecture tours and the chautaqua circuit. Helen met all the famous people of her day including Mark Twain and Alexander Graham Bell. She was patronised but also dependent on philanthropists, but many were unaware of her radical political views, which some of the Blind Foundation tried to suppress.
Helen also wrote many books about her life and experience as a deaf-blind person. To many she seemed a saint. In the book it was emphasised what a great beauty she was, in that she was attractive and photogenic, so that helped. She was honored and feted in her lifetime. However it seems her dependency did come with a great cost, Annie's life -- and this book explores that symbiotic relationship, that few deaf-blind people have today because they aren't usually dependent on just one person. I think that bond she had with Annie from when she was a child meant the world to her. Her own flesh and blood family, on the other hand, remained distant.
I found this bio really interesting. Ironically later in life Annie's eyes failed her and she did go blind.
Born with Teeth
Kate Mulgrew
4/5 stars
This is the autobiography of Kate Mulgrew, actress, who grew up in Iowa in a very interesting family dynamic and who eventually got into acting. She started out in the soap opera Ryan’s Hope and the book ends with her starting in her new role as Captain Janeway in the show Star Trek: Voyager. She certainly led an interesting life and this is definitely a page turner.
Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios
Roy Milano
3/5 stars
I picked this book because it had some more information on the film The Creature From the Black Lagoon which I read about in The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Meara which was really interesting. This is a pretty short book about some of the first monsters in film history but it has some great photographs from the films plus some interesting facts about the actors and the monster films they were in.
Radical Lives Vol 2: 20 True Life Stories of Courage You Just Won't Be Able to Put Down compiled by Janet BalcombeThis is another volume of lives changed by Jesus Christ, with 20 profiles of people all from New Zealand. Many of them had got into drugs and violence and gangs before Jesus turned their lives round and they were born again. It is a short book because many of them were interviewed for articles in a christian newspaper. Read this if you want to be encouraged or know someone whos fallen into the pit of despair, there is hope.
Mod
4 stars
First of all, I have to say Randy Travis was a major reason I became a country music fan in the late 80's and the 90's, which for me were the golden years of country music. So I was excited for this book come out. I saw Randy and his wife on tv promoting the book so I knew that Randy is aphasic (non-verbal) since his stroke and his wife probably had the most input into this book. But I understand it probably comes across better as a memoir than a bio. I was bored with the beginning when it talks about his younger years. As a major Randy fan I knew most of this info but I can see that it needs to be included for the ones that arent familiar. Then the book mostly focuses on his work, the stories behind the songs and albums and concerts. The book really gets interesting when he gets divorced and his subsequent stroke. I felt bad that he had to go through such a contentious divorce and then nearly dying from a stroke. I think if you are a country music fan you will enjoy this book.
Having read your recent comments I am sure you would all thoroughly enjoy my recent autobiography ... all 5 star reviews... detailing my extraordinary life... check it out .. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Broken-Child...many thanks .. Jimmy
Skinny House: A Memoir of Family Skinny House is looking in on a three-story, 10-foot-wide doll’s house of four generations of life. A beautifully written memoir of a family that conquers Jim Crow only to have to ask the neighbors permission to use the outhouse. It’s about reaching middle class, only to lose livelihood, home and pride during the Great Depression. It’s about the power self reliance and the devastation that accompanies the inability to forgive. It’s a book about us all , or, as Julie Seely writes, “Every family inherits a certain amount of brokenness.”
Del wrote: "Skinny House: A Memoir of Family Skinny House is looking in on a three-story, 10-foot-wide doll’s house of four generations of life. A beautifully written memoir of a family that co..."Nice review!
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
by Candice Millard
4.5/5 stars
Millard is one of my favorite authors and she doesn’t disappoint in this tale of Churchill’s escape after being captured during the Boer War in 1899 in South Africa while he was there as a news reporter. Highly recommended!
Mod
2 stars
There were parts of this book that were interesting. It was at its best when it talked about the country music industry. Bobby Braddock is a songwriter and music producer in Nashville and has written some of the best known songs in country music. Probably the best known in He Stopped Loving Her Today. His most notable client as a producer is probably Blake Shelton. But his long stories about his love life left me thinking "oh no, not again." He brags too much about how beautiful the women are, but they always seem to have some flaw. He seems to be pretty honest about his own flaws, which include cheating on them. The rest of the book comes across as "look who I know or who I met".
Absolute Madness: A True Story of a Serial Killer, Race, and a City Divided, Catherine Pelonero4 enthusiastic stars!
A deeply researched and thoughtfully written book that told me a great deal about Joe Christopher that I never knew. This is as close as you can get to a full biography of a man who was so paranoid he would speak to hardly anyone. A tragic picture of the ways a competency exam, performed by an incompetent evaluator, can help make justice go wrong. It also makes clear that finding the right psychiatric answers, and talented lawyers doing everything they're allowed to do, may not be enough to bring a just result. Very well written. Highly recommended
Mod
3 stars
I am not a farmer but I live in a farming community so I have heard of Orion Samuelson but didnt know much about him. Hie is a very popular farm radio announcer and farming advocate.There were parts of this book that were very interesting and parts that I mostly skimmed. He doesn't talk a lot about his personal life but spends a lot of time talking about his professional accomplishments and even has separate entries for each country he has visited. I found I disagreed with his political views and especially his views on the environment so I guess if I had known that I probably would have skipped this book.
Back from Africa
Author: Corinne Hofmann
3 Stars = It was just 'okay'.
Corinne, a Swiss woman, is best known for her first book, The White Masai. It tells of her falling in love with a Masai warrior while on vacation in Mombasa, uprooting her life, marrying him, and adopting the Masai way of life. This book continues where that one left off. I have read both books.
I'm always interested in reading about the attempted meshing of two cultures ... even when the author isn't terribly intriguing. Actually, this book is about the 'unmeshing' of her, and her Masai warrior. I felt it was mainly 'filler' info, and lacked true depth. But, hey, she's got a money-making-machine going, who am I to tell her to stop writing?
Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault: Essays from the Grown-Up Years
Cathy Guisewite
3.5/5 stars
This book is written by Cathy Guisewite who wrote and drew the comic strip Cathy. It has essays about her life after she ended the comic strip. In this funny book she deals with some of the same issues that were in her comic strip (dating, weight gain, etc.) but also about her marriage that ended, her daughter whom she adopted and dealing with her elderly parents. Very enjoyable and relatable!
Stronger
Author:Jeff Bauman
3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.
Jeff stood right next to an exploding bomb, and survived. This book is about how that day at the Boston Marathon transpired, and his journey through the following six months.
What happened to Jeff is unimaginable. Thank goodness he was able to resurrect a life from the tragedy. He's not an author, but he tells his story in an open, up-front manner. He lets us in on some of his feelings, behind the scenes, and that's important, 'cause Jeff isn't a 'feeling-sharing' kind of guy.
Mod
3 stars
I didnt know much about Bobby Rydell. He is a little before my time, but I enjoy reading about life in the 60's. Remember Rydell High in the movie Grease? He mentions it in the book but doesn't say if they took the name from him. Bobby Rydell was huge in the early 60's. I thought he was in the beach movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello so I was hoping to read more about that but he was not in any of those movies and actually only had a couple of big hit songs and movies so it surprised me that he is considered an idol. I think if you are a big Bobby Rydell fan you would enjoy this book but otherwise I would skip it.
Wait Till Next Year
Doris Kearns Goodwin
4/5 stars
Goodwin relates her life around the major events of the 1950’s including her love of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the hope that they will win the World Series, the changes in her neighborhood and her life in the Catholic Church. I thought this was wonderfully written and enjoyed learning about that time period through her eyes.
Cathedrals of the Flesh: My Search for the Perfect Bath
Author: Alexia Brue
3 Stars = I enjoyed the book. I'm glad I read it.
I enjoy quirky books that are outside my usual interests, and this one was. Alexia, and her friend, Marina, decide to pursue their dream of opening a Turkish style public bath in Manhattan. Alexia does the majority of the traveling, and research, with Marina joining her when she can. They visit hamams, banyas, saunas, and onsen, all different traditions of public bathing in various countries.
It was a light, easy-to-read book, but I definitely enjoyed learning about this topic. I know now that if I'm ever in Russia, and I am invited to a banya, I shall say "No, thank you." Otherwise, I probably wouldn't live to tell the tale! ... lol
Slayer of Innocence, Jim Conover4 stars!
Jim Conover's memoir of the multi-state hunt for pedophilic serial killer William "Freight Train" Guatney. The author folds in details of some of the other cases he had to attend to, while never letting the murder of one local boy or the disappearance of another really slip his mind. This case was an outstanding example of cooperation between different systems and jurisdictions at a time when that was rarely done, and even more rarely done well. It all made for a gripping read about the kind of case that would put most people off going into police work.
Mod
Wait Till Next Year
Doris Kearns Goodwin
4/5 stars
Goodwin relates her life around the major events of the 1950’s including her love..."
I read that book several years ago, before I knew much about Doris Kearns Goodwin. Now that I've read several of her presidential biographies it might be interesting to read her personal memoir again.
Mod
4 stars
If I took away anything from this book it would be that I would not want to be a lobster fisherman. It sounds like it is really hard work! This book will make you wonder why anyone would want to do that work. The author is a real life character in the book and movie The Perfect Storm and one of just a few female lobster fishermen.
Princess: The True Story of Life Inside Saudi Arabia's Royal Family, Now Updated
Author: Jean Sasson
3 Stars = I liked the book.
I'm not entirely sure how to review this book. Books that hide the true identity of the person being written about leave themselves open to claims of being a 'fake'. In fact, a plagiarism suit was filed against Jean Sasson, but was subsequently dismissed by the court.
Anyway, if the events in this book are true, the lives of many of the people in the book are horrendous. It makes me sad to think of these atrocities, and all the other atrocities worldwide. It seems humans will never learn to treat each other with respect, and kindness. Sad.
Journey to the Jade Sea
Author: John Hillaby
4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.
My first John Hillaby book ... but it will not be my last! I loved this author. John tells of his eleven hundred mile (1770 km) journey through northern Kenya ... on foot. His effortless style of writing made everything about his journey interesting. He knows his own weaknesses and isn't afraid to point them out, often in a very humorous way.
Koren wrote: "The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw4 stars
If I took away anything from this..."
I remember reading this one. Yeah not for me.
Mod
4 stars
If I took away anyt..."
I read in one of the reviews that since the time she wrote the book she quit lobster fishing and went back to swordfish fishing.
Tea in the Library
Author: Annette Freeman
3 Stars = Okay. Maybe not a page-turner, but not sorry I read it.
A woman in Sydney opens a bookshop/cafe, and keeps her day job as a lawyer. It goes bust. This book tells her tale.
I didn't find it to be extremely interesting. It just lacked something ... depth, perhaps? It's supposed to lay out some pointers for other newbie entrepreneurs, but I felt this was a bit vague, too.
I did enjoy when she talked about the speakers she had at events in the bookshop. Nice to hear a bit about those authors.
If you can pick this up at the library, or at the $1.00 book sale, you might enjoy it. Personally, I wouldn't buy it, unless you're addicted to this sort of book.
Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found
Author: Cheryl Strayed
4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.
I was afraid I wouldn't like this book, 'cause some reviewers said it was just about an adulterous woman who destroyed her marriage to a very nice man, and then took off on a hike.
Guess what? I did like it. Yes, she wasn't without fault in the breakdown of her marriage, but the book isn't about that. It's about Cheryl taking some devastating emotional blows, and realising that she had to get a grip. To do so she had to do something drastic ... like putting herself on the line and hiking the Pacific Crest Trail ... alone.
I thought she described her journey in a very honest manner, and that she shared some of her thoughts/feelings openly. To walk the PCT, without any previous hiking experience, and on your own, is quite a feat. She persevered when many would have quit. I think the walk did help her move forward in her life, and that was the whole point. So, mission accomplished. Bravo, Cheryl!
Hello everyone, I am Yvonne Mandeville. My book - "The Girl in The Kings Arms" - the story of the first seventeen years of my life, being brought up in the 1950s and early 1960s in an unloving, amoral and dangerous environment in my grandfather's pub, The Kings Arms, in Orsett, Essex.Do please get back to me with any thoughts, I would love to hear from you, especially if you are from my past... The Girl in the Kings Arms
Mod
5 stars
For those that dont know who Emily Post was, she was an author who is best known for her books on etiquette. Born in 1872 and died in 1960, a large part of this book takes place at the turn of the century. Emily was a strong woman, ahead of her time. She was divorced and worked outside of the home when most women didnt. Most books written about this time portray poverty but Emily never wanted for anything. She saw a lot of history in her lifetime. It made me think about what it must have been like to live through the Roaring Twenties, the Depression, the Dust Bowl Days, two world wars, Hitler, the Lindbergh kidnapping, the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt (who she did not like), the invention of radio and television and much more that is mentioned throughout the book. Emily was an interesting woman. The book is long and sometimes tedious but worth the time to read.
Mod
4 stars
It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did I loved it. The author has just graduated college and, along with a friend, decides to travel the world before settling down into a career. The friend does not get much mention in this book and I think it would have been fun to see how their experiences parralled. Anyway, they run out of money in Australia and decide to get jobs for a few months to earn money to continue their travels. The author takes a job as a nanny. Then the book goes back and forth between her nanny experience and how taking care of a family reminded her of things about her mother. I enjoyed the story about the family more and by the end I was hoping she would get together with the stepson and decide to stay with the family in Australia. Spoiler alert....that didnt happen. Keep a few tissues handy at the end.
Koren wrote: "Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners by Laura Claridge5 stars
[bookcover:Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners|2920549..."
I want to read this!
Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
Books mentioned in this topic
The Silent Twins (other topics)Sea Dog Bamse: World War II Canine Hero (other topics)
African Nights (other topics)
Monsoon Rains & Icicle Drops (other topics)
Too Close to Me: The Middle-Aged Consequences of Revealing a Child Called "It" (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Marjorie Wallace (other topics)Angus Whitson (other topics)
Andrew Orr (other topics)
Kuki Gallmann (other topics)
Libby Southwell (other topics)
More...
Lab Girl
Hope Jahren
4/5 stars
This is the true story of the life of Hope Jahren and her career as a geobiologist. Her cohort and assistant Bill is by her side for most of the book and he is an quite a character! Alternating chapters discuss her life with her work. Sometime the science bogs down the flow of the narrative but overall I found it interesting and I learned a lot about the science of trees, flowers and soil.