Finished: 2/21/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 257
Genre: Criminology
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for Reader Views
Blurb (from Amazon): "In 2018, reporter Michael Hayes uncovered a major story about how the NYPD was not only turning a blind eye to police misconduct, but also allowing hundreds of officers with severe misconduct charges to remain on the force. In the aftermath of that story, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio attempted to reform the department only to abandon his plans.
Finished: DNF
Year: 2016
Pages: 390
Genre: Young Adult
Grade: F
Reason for reading: library book
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "Natalie's last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start . . . until she starts seeing the "wrong things." They're just momentary glimpses at first—her front door is red instead of its usual green, there’s a preschool where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn't right.
"Then there are the visits from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls "Grandmother," who tells her, "You have three months to save him." The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it's as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau."
Opinion: Not sure if I couldn't get through this because I just finished another YA book by Henry but it just didn't grab me. Might try again in the future.
Finished: 2/23/2023
Year: 2017
Pages: 391
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Grade: B
Reason for reading: library book
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "In their hometown of Five Fingers, Michigan, the O'Donnells and the Angerts have mythic legacies. But for all the tall tales they weave, both founding families are tight-lipped about what caused the century-old rift between them, except to say it began with a cherry tree.
"Eighteen-year-old Jack “June” O’Donnell doesn't need a better reason than that. She's an O'Donnell to her core, just like her late father was, and O'Donnells stay away from Angerts. Period.
"But when Saul Angert, the son of June's father's mortal enemy, returns to town after three mysterious years away, June can't seem to avoid him. Soon the unthinkable happens: She finds she doesn't exactly hate the gruff, sarcastic boy she was born to loathe.
"Saul’s arrival sparks a chain reaction, and as the magic, ghosts, and coywolves of Five Fingers conspire to reveal the truth about the dark moment that started the feud, June must question everything she knows about her family and the father she adored. And she must decide whether it's finally time for her—and all of the O'Donnells before her—to let go."
Opinion: Considering that I don't read a lot of YA books, I thought that this one was done rather well. Interesting way to tell a generational curse.
Finished: DNF (my rule of thumb is to read between 50-100 pages for the book to capture my interest before I toss it aside)
Year: 2022
Pages: 398
Genre: Young Adult horror, LGBTQ+
Grade: F
Reason for reading: library book
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.
"But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.
"Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own. Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Annihilation."
Opinion: So this book starts off with Benji in the middle of a fight and no real back story was provided during the fight. Just not my cup of tea. I am happy that the author was able to find their voice and created a story with characters similar to them.
Finished: 2/20/2023
Year: 1997
Pages: 274
Genre: Sci-Fi
Grade: B
Reason for reading: library book, LeVar book club
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "The stunning debut novel from the star of "Star Trek: The Next Generation". The United States of 2019 is a very different place. Economic depression, an enormous earthquake, and the assassination of a black President-elect have turned the country into a war zone. Four people, each as different and troubled as the next, are the nation's last hope. But can they overcome the devastation and build a new world?"
Opinion: Did not even know that he had written anything. Been a fan since "Reading Rainbow" and after meeting him, I wanted to check out the books that are mentioned in his book club. Wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when picking it up. Reminded me of a much shorter version of "The Stand" by King and something else that I can't put a name to. Overall, a pretty enjoyable book with very different characters all coming together.
Finished: 2/20/2023
Year: 2023
Pages: 298
Genre: medical thriller
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: librarything.com giveaway
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "Calla Hammond has always been a loner―a product of the foster system and avoided by others because of a skin condition. When doctors discover her immune system holds the key to curing cancer, she struggles to advance lifesaving research in a world that sees her only as a means to an end. Yet along the way, Calla gains the one thing she has always longed for: a chosen family.
"When a group of unscrupulous people join forces to sell Calla’s blood to the highest bidder, she digs deep to find the strength to retake control of her life, her body, and her story."
Opinion: a thorough review is on librarything.com
Finished: 2/16/2023
Year: 1952
Pages: 291
Genre: literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: library book, Levar Burton's book club read
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "'Go back to where you started, or as far back as you can, examine all of it, travel your road again and tell the truth about it. Sing or shout or testify or keep it to yourself: but know whence you came.' Originally published in 1953, Go Tell it on the Mountain was James Baldwin's first major work, based in part on his own childhood in Harlem. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a Pentecostal storefront church in Harlem. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual and moral struggle towards self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understood themselves."
Opinion: Wasn't sure what to expect when reading this...just knew that it was a classic. Probably fitting for the time that it was written.
Finished: 2/10/23
Year: 2020
Pages: 275
Genre: military mystery
Grade: C
Reason for reading: review for Reader Views
Blurb (from Amazon): "War - It changes everyone and everything it touches. But especially the men who live in the trenches. Who fight the battles. Lt. Colonel Jackson Joseph MacKenzie is one of those men. He grew up in the shadow of a legendary Marine. Part of a family tradition to serve, he joined the United States Army. His first war - Korea -taught him death the hard way, both personal and professional. His second - Vietnam - never-ending pain. And betrayal by those above him. Those he trusted. His superiors. Given a top-secret mission to help end the war, he carried out his orders. Then upon his return, they disavowed any knowledge of it. He found himself in a six-by-eight cell with no way out and no hope. A man broken by the horrors of the Vietnam War and the POW camp that left everlasting scars. Memories - nightmares - that haunted him, even awake, and left him a prisoner in his own mind."
Opinion: a thorough review is posted on Reader Views
UPDATE: if you want to comment about how much you enjoyed the series...please do. I welcome different opinions than my own but do not attack me, my "maturity", or anything else. If you like a book that I did not, that's fantastic. It's great for you and the author. Not all books will be for everyone and some readers will be expecting other things when reading. To the person who commented on this particular series...I did not hate this book. I just wanted something more to tie in with the initial scenario presented. I'm truly glad that you enjoyed it enough to get the rest of the books in the series. I'm happy for the author to have that sale. There is no need to further comment as I have posted your review.
Finished: DNF
Year: 2023
Pages: 247
Genre: medical mystery
Grade: F
Reason for reading: library thing giveaway
Type: paperback
Blurb (from Amazon): "Dr. Saul Berman is a sports crazy Jewish plastic surgeon who works for the Wrigley Clinic in Chicago. His patients... and colleagues... keep dying. Though Berman slits throats for a living, he insists the deaths are not by his own hand.
"After the initial death by an unknown assailant, but quiet killer, Berman is questioned if he is the murderer. The female detective, Karen Jahnman, an old adversary, finally believes he is innocent. No one else does. Berman must work to clear his name and find the murderer, all while trying to woo the blond detective.
"Each murder is bizarre, and the killer is leaving few clues. Berman turns to his friends to help him with profiling the murderer. It amazes the detective that these amateurs are hitting a home run on the formulation of the case.
"The killer continues to use unique methods to kill Berman's patients and colleagues.
"Can Berman determine who is the killer before he or his loved one loses their lives?"
Opinion: a review is posted on Library Thing
Finished: DNF
Year: 2021
Pages: 318
Genre: Literature
Grade: F
Reason for reading: library book, Levar Burton book club
Type: Hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): ""Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked..." To his customers and neighbors on 125th street, Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver's Row don't approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it's still home.
"Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time.
"Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn't ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn't ask questions, either.
"Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresa—the "Waldorf of Harlem"—and volunteers Ray's services as the fence. The heist doesn't go as planned; they rarely do. Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes.
"Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook. As Ray navigates this double life, he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem. Can Ray avoid getting killed, save his cousin, and grab his share of the big score, all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs? "
Opinion: I just couldn't get into it. I didn't care what happened to Carney and his cousin. Nothing about Carney's character grabbed my attention.
Finished: 2/9/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 291
Genre: Memoir
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: library book, fan of her
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.
"As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.
"Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you."
Opinion: Definitely an aspiring story. Hopefully everyone that bullied her throughout her life is looking at her now......
Finished: 2/8/2023
Year: 1993
Pages: 329
Genre: Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: library book
Type: paperback
Blurb (from Amazon): "When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.
"Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny."
Opinion: Kinda scary since the story takes place starting in 2024....I'm glad that America hasn't fallen apart this much yet.
Finished: 2/6/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 320
Genre: literature
Grade: A
Reason for reading: library book
Type: paperback
Blurb (from Amazon): "After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.
"The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.
"The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing."
Opinion: Wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I usually don't like the mass popular books but this was definitely a good one.
Finished: 2/5/2023
Year: 2023
Pages: 296
Genre: cozy mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: library book
Type: mass market paperback
Blurb (from Amazon): "There's nothing sweet about murder…
"Leila Khoury has always believed that everyone loved her father as much as they loved his artisanal maple syrup. But when he's killed, and she returns to Sugar Ridge, Vermont to take over his business, she starts to realize how much of his life she's left untapped.
"With her brother under suspicion, her mother just barely holding it together, and police not producing any leads, Leila will have to investigate herself if she wants answers about her father's sticky end. But the more she learns, the more she worries that there won't be a sappy ending to the story."
Opinion: Really decent cozy mystery. This is the first of the series and I will be continuing with it once more books are written.
Finished: 2/3/2023
Year: 2016
Pages: 210
Genre: thriller/suspense
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: library book
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always.
"Jake once said, “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.”
"And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here."
Opinion: Definitely an interesting suspenseful wtf book. A lot of people have stated confusion from reading and I can see why.
Finished: 2/1/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 290
Genre: literature
Grade: C
Reason for reading: library book, Reese bookclub
Blurb (from Amazon): "At home they are just sisters, but on stage, they are The Salvations. Ruth, Esther, and Chloe have been singing and dancing in harmony since they could speak. Thanks to the rigorous direction of their mother, Vivian, they’ve become a bona fide girl group whose shows are the talk of the Jazz-era Fillmore.
"Now Vivian has scored a once-in-a-lifetime offer from a talent manager, who promises to catapult The Salvations into the national spotlight. Vivian knows this is the big break she’s been praying for. But sometime between the hours of rehearsal on their rooftop and the weekly gigs at the Champagne Supper Club, the girls have become women, women with dreams that their mother cannot imagine.
"The neighborhood is changing, too: all around the Fillmore, white men in suits are approaching Black property owners with offers. One sister finds herself called to fight back, one falls into the comfort of an old relationship, another yearns to make her own voice heard. And Vivian, who has always maintained control, will have to confront the parts of her life that threaten to splinter: the community, The Salvations, and even her family."
Opinion: Thought that this was an average read. Coming of age story for the daughters and the overcoming of neighborhood changes.
Finished: 1/30/2023
Year: 2008
Pages: 314
Genre: True Crime
Grade: C
Reason for reading: booklender.com book, fan of true crime
Blurb (from Amazon): "In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. The crime horrified all England and led to a national obsession with detection, ironically destroying, in the process, the career of perhaps the greatest detective in the land.
At the time, the detective was a relatively new invention; there were only eight detectives in all of England and rarely were they called out of London, but this crime was so shocking, as Kate Summerscale relates in her scintillating new book, that Scotland Yard sent its best man to investigate, Inspector Jonathan Whicher.
"Whicher quickly believed the unbelievable-that someone within the family was responsible for the murder of young Saville Kent. Without sufficient evidence or a confession, though, his case was circumstantial and he returned to London a broken man. Though he would be vindicated five years later, the real legacy of Jonathan Whicher lives on in fiction: the tough, quirky, knowing, and all-seeing detective that we know and love today...from the cryptic Sgt. Cuff in Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone to Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade."
Opinion: This doesn't read like a true crime novel, more like a historical fiction piece. This case seems to have influenced a lot of writers-Dickens, Poe-with their fictional stories. Overall, an interesting case with some interesting characters aka real people.
Finished: 1/27/2023
Year: 2013
Pages: 352
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: finishing up the series, library book
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "Hollywood gets more than it bargained for when television's hottest star arrives at the Miami Police Department and develops an intense, professional interest in a camera-shy blood spatter analyst named Dexter Morgan.
"Mega-star Robert Chase is famous for losing himself in his characters. When he and a group of actors descend on the Miami Police Department for "research," Chase becomes fixated on Dexter Morgan, the blood spatter analyst with a sweet tooth for doughnuts and a seemingly average life. To perfect his role, Chase is obsessed with shadowing Dexter's every move and learning what really makes him tick. There is just one tiny problem . . . Dexter's favorite hobby involves hunting down the worst killers to escape legal justice, and introducing them to his special brand of playtime. It's a secret best kept out of the spotlight and away from the prying eyes of bloated Hollywood egos if Dexter wants to stay out of the electric chair. The last thing he needs is bright lights and the paparazzi. . . but even Dexter isn't immune to the call of fame."
Opinion: Predictable but still a fun read.
Finished: 1/25/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 224
Genre: Oceanography
Grade: B
Reason for reading: library book
Type: Hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "Since 1970, the Caribbean has lost half of its coral reefs, an ominous and accelerating phenomenon that extends around the world. Beyond the unfathomable heartbreak of the loss of such exquisite beauty from the earth, coral’s loss represents the annual loss of billions of dollars from the global economy and the end of a way of life for billions that depend on these ecosystems. Marine scientist and conservation leader Dr. David E. Guggenheim has had a front-row seat to this disaster. But when he began a new chapter of his career in Cuba, he found something completely unexpected: hope.
"After years and years of watching reefs deteriorate, Guggenheim was astonished to come face-to-face with Cuba's remarkably healthy coral reefs overflowing with fish and other marine life. The Remarkable Reefs of Cuba reveals the hidden potential that Cuba’s reefs may contain for the reefs of the world.
"While the past 60 years have seen the worst decline in ocean health in human history, Cuba’s oceans and coral reefs remain remarkably healthy, a living laboratory never-before-seen by this generation of scientists. Which begs the question: why are Cuba’s ocean waters so healthy? The answer is deeply intertwined with the country’s extraordinary and singularly unique history, from its dramatic political past to its world-class environmental protections influenced by an unlikely partner, Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
"This buoyant book tells the story of the demise of the world’s ocean ecosystems, the hard work of those desperately trying to save it, and an unexpected beacon of hope from an island full of mystery and surprises."
Opinion: I found this book via The Explorers Club which I discovered through Josh Gates' show "Tales of The Explorers Club"-highly recommend you check it out on Discovery+ if you haven't seen it. The Explorers Club also has a YouTube channel where I saw Guggenheim's lecture on this topic and saw that he had a book. Definitely not the dry text book type of book about coral reefs. It contains a lot of stories of Guggenheim's first hand experiences.
Finished: 1/24/2023
Year: 2015
Pages: 62
Genre: mystery
Grade: C
Reason for reading: library book, fan of the author
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan’s terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan’s teenage stepson, doesn’t help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it."
Opinion: There is a note on Amazon that this was originally a part of George R. R. Martin's anthology so it makes sense of why it was so short. Basically...who really is telling the truth.
Finished: 1/24/2023
Year: 2021
Pages: 427
Genre: Literature
Grade: C
Reason for reading: library book, winner of several awards
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "Protagonist Kit Biddle is a rising prep school senior who finds himself tangled in a web of spiritual quandaries and intellectual absurdities. Kit’s angst is compounded by a unique psychological burden he is forced to carry: his intelligent but unstable Uncle Nat has committed an unspeakable act on what, according to the Uncle’s deranged account, were direct orders from God.
"The tragedy haunting his family follows Kit like a dark and foreboding cloud, exacerbating his already compulsive struggle with existential questions about the meaning of his life. When the brilliant, perhaps phantasmic, Anna dismisses him, Kit quickly spirals into despair and self-destruction. But when his irrational decision to steal a maintenance truck and speed aimlessly down the highway ends in a horrific accident and months of both physical and emotional convalescence, Kit is forced to examine his perceptions of his life and his version of reality.
"In this exquisite bildungsroman, calamity leads to fresh perspectives and new perceptions: it focuses Kit’s mind and forces him to confront the issues that plague him. Readers will empathize―and celebrate―as the darkness lifts and Kit comes to terms with the necessity of engagement with life’s pain, pleasure . . . and absurdity.
"An intelligent, clever, and captivating tale, The Essence of Nathan Biddle soars in the spaces that exist between despair and hope, darkness and light, love and loss. Beautifully written, profoundly moving, and resplendent with characters destined to remain with you long after the last page is turned, The Essence of Nathan Biddle is unforgettable."
Opinion: Many have compared this to "Catcher in the Rye" and I can see the comparison but at the same time, it is different. Not the most memorable book but certainly not the worst.
Finished: DNF
Year: 2022
Pages: 285
Genre: mystery
Grade: F
Reason for reading: library book
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.
"Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.
"But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?
"A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart."
Opinion: My biggest issue was the telling of flashbacks...in some parts was never clear if Molly was in a flashback or in present time. Forget the fact that she's possibly autistic without Prose clearly stating it.
Finished: 1/22/2023
Year: 2021
Pages: 451
Genre: Memoir
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: library book, fan of Mel Brooks
Type: Hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "For anyone who loves American comedy, the long wait is over. Here are the never-before-told, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and remembrances from a master storyteller, filmmaker, and creator of all things funny.
"All About Me! charts Mel Brooks’s meteoric rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Whether serving in the United States Army in World War II, or during his burgeoning career as a teenage comedian in the Catskills, Mel was always mining his experiences for material, always looking for the perfect joke. His iconic career began with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, where he was part of the greatest writers’ room in history, which included Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and Larry Gelbart. After co-creating both the mega-hit 2000 Year Old Man comedy albums and the classic television series Get Smart, Brooks’s stellar film career took off. He would go on to write, direct, and star in The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs, as well as produce groundbreaking and eclectic films, including The Elephant Man, The Fly, and My Favorite Year. Brooks then went on to conquer Broadway with his record-breaking, Tony-winning musical, The Producers.
"All About Me! offers fans insight into the inspiration behind the ideas for his outstanding collection of boundary-breaking work, and offers details about the many close friendships and collaborations Brooks had, including those with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn, Alfred Hitchcock, and the great love of his life, Anne Bancroft.
"Filled with tales of struggle, achievement, and camaraderie (and dozens of photographs), readers will gain a more personal and deeper understanding of the incredible body of work behind one of the most accomplished and beloved entertainers in history."
Opinion: A fun book about some of the behind the scenes for Brooks' movies and his childhood. I can only imagine how many more stories he has about his life.
Finished: DNF
Year: 2022
Pages: 441
Genre: Memoir
Grade: D
Reason for reading: library book, fan of Rickman
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "From his breakout role in Die Hard to his outstanding, multifaceted performances in the Harry Potter films, Galaxy Quest, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and more, Alan Rickman cemented his legacy as a world-class actor. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice, and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate audiences today.
"But Rickman’s ability to breathe life into projects wasn't confined to just his performances. As you'll find, Rickman's diaries detail the extraordinary and the ordinary, flitting between worldly and witty and gossipy, while remaining utterly candid throughout. He takes us inside his home, on trips with friends across the globe, and on the sets of films and plays ranging from Sense and Sensibility, to Noël Coward's Private Lives, to the final film he directed, A Little Chaos.
"Running from 1993 to his death in 2016, the diaries provide singular insight into Rickman's public and private life. Reading them is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close companion. Meet Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveler, the fan, the director, the enthusiast; in short, the man beyond the icon."
"Running from 1993 to his death in 2016, the diaries provide singular insight into Rickman's public and private life. Reading them is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close companion. Meet Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveler, the fan, the director, the enthusiast; in short, the man beyond the icon."
Opinion: I just didn't like the style of this novel. Hard to gain a context of what Rickman was writing about.
Finished: 1/17/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 360
Genre: Fiction/Romance
Grade: B
Reason for reading: library book, fan of Sparks
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "After fleeing an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, Tommie, Beverly is attempting to create a new life for them in a small town off the beaten track. Despite their newfound freedom, Beverly is constantly on guard: she creates a fake backstory, wears a disguise around town, and buries herself in DIY projects to stave off anxiety. But her stress only rises when Tommie insists he’d been hearing someone walking on the roof and calling his name late at night. With money running out and danger seemingly around every corner, she makes a desperate decision that will rewrite everything she knows to be true. . . .
"Meanwhile, Colby Mills is on a heart-pounding journey of another kind. A failed musician, he now heads a small family farm in North Carolina. Seeking a rare break from his duties at home, he spontaneously takes a gig playing in a bar in St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he meets Morgan Lee—and his whole life is turned upside-down.
"The daughter of affluent Chicago doctors, Morgan has graduated from a prestigious college music program with the ambition to move to Nashville and become a star. Romantically and musically, she and Colby complete each other in a way that neither has ever known.
"In the course of a single unforgettable week, two young people will navigate the exhilarating heights and heartbreak of first love. Hundreds of miles away, Beverly will put her love for her young son to the test. And fate will draw all three people together in a web of life-altering connections . . . forcing each to wonder whether the dream of a better life can ever survive the weight of the past."
Opinion: After the heavy reading subjects that I've been doing recently, I needed a Sparks romance. Not one of his best but I love the focus on mental health.
Finished: 1/16/2023
Year: 2017
Pages: 209
Genre: horror
Grade: B
Reason for reading: library book
Type: paperback
Blurb (from Amazon): "His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition.” Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing."
"Then one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved."
Opinion: Definitely a very morbid topic that will make some think.
Finished: 1/15/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 383
Genre: History
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: library book, Levar Burton reading club book
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "We all think we know the South. Even those who have never lived there can rattle off a list of signifiers: the Civil War, Gone with the Wind, the Ku Klux Klan, plantations, football, Jim Crow, slavery. But the idiosyncrasies, dispositions, and habits of the region are stranger and more complex than much of the country tends to acknowledge. In South to America, Imani Perry shows that the meaning of American is inextricably linked with the South, and that our understanding of its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation as a whole."
"This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people. She renders Southerners from all walks of life with sensitivity and honesty, sharing her thoughts about a troubling history and the ritual humiliations and joys that characterize so much of Southern life."
"Weaving together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences, Imani Perry crafts a tapestry unlike any other. With uncommon insight and breathtaking clarity, South to America offers an assertion that if we want to build a more humane future for the United States, we must center our concern below the Mason-Dixon Line."
Opinion: The history is interesting. The personal interjections were not. I cannot relate to her experiences and the way that they were detailed doesn't make her any better that the worst white supremacy. We all have ideas of how people think no matter HOW hard we try not to but be aware of them and try to do better. This is an award winning book...would like to read/know what other books were up for the same award and see how they compare.
Finished: 1/11/2022
Year: 2022
Pages: 264
Genre: Memoir
Grade: C
Reason for reading: review for Reader Views
Type: Trade Paperback
Blurb (from Amazon): "At loose ends in his private life, at odds with society, Tanyo Ravicz persuades Martina, his wife, to join him in a reset, a new beginning. Before long, they and their children are living in a wilderness cabin on Alaska’s Kodiak Island, outnumbered by the brown bears.
"A celebration of nature and of the peculiarities of the Alaskan bush, Land of Bear and Eagle: A Home in the Kodiak Wilderness builds from personal experience to a rounded, loving portrait of a place, Cottonwood Homestead, and a way of life. In these essays and sketches, by turns humorous, meditative and lyrical, the author goes beyond the challenges and triumphs of wilderness living to explore his environment and to examine the relationships among the plants and animals and the people he meets. Along the way, he wrestles with his doubts and reconsiders his assumptions about life.
"The testament of one of Alaska’s last homesteaders, this book offers a vision of what it means to be wedded to a place and fully alive to the world."
Opinion: a thorough review is posted on Reader Views
Finished: 1/9/2023
Year: 2006
Pages: 252
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: library book, I enjoyed Gone Girl
Type: trade paperback
Blurb (from Amazon): "Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming."
Opinion: Predictable but with a twist that wasn't surprising. The twist made sense.
Finished: 1/1/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 308
Genre: History
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: review for Reader Views
Type: Trade Paperback
Blurb (from Amazon): "This book was originally released under the title, The Great California Story: Real-Life Roots of an American Legend (2004). In this thoroughly revised edition the things that make California such a unique and extraordinary place again take center stage. What emerges is a remarkably engaging portrait, of a place truly one of a kind."
Opinion: a thorough review is on Reader Views
Finished: 1/5/2023
Year: 2022
Pages: 483
Genre: Non-fiction/television
Grade: A
Reason for reading: library book, fan of the show
Type: hardcover
Blurb (from Amazon): "The Big Bang Theory is a television phenomenon. To the casual viewer, it’s a seemingly effortless comedy, with relatable characters tackling real-life issues, offering a kind of visual comfort food to its millions of dedicated fans. But the behind-the-scenes journey of the show from a failed pilot to a global sensation is a fascinating story that even the most die-hard fans don’t know in its entirety.
"THE BIG BANG THEORY: THE DEFINITIVE, INSIDE STORY OF THE EPIC HIT SERIES is a riveting, entertaining look at the sitcom sensation, with the blessing and participation of co-creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, executive producers Steve Molaro and Steve Holland, as well as Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch, Mayim Bialik, and more. Glamour senior editor Jessica Radloff, who has written over 150 articles on the series (and even had a cameo in the finale!), gives readers an all-access pass to its intrepid producing and writing team and beloved cast. It’s a story of on-and-off screen romance told in hilarious and emotional detail, of casting choices that nearly changed everything (which even some of the actors didn’t know until now), of cast members bravely powering through personal tragedies, and when it came time to announce the 12th season would be its last, the complicated reasons why it was more difficult than anyone ever led on. Through hundreds of hours of interviews with the sitcom’s major players, Radloff dives into all this and much more. The book is the ultimate celebration of this once-in-a-generation show and a must-have for all fans."