I Must Say by Martin Short

January 26, 20168 Comments

I Must Say. Finished 1-12-16, rating 4.75/5, humor memoir, pub. 2014

Unabridged audio read perfectly by Martin Short himself. 8.5 hours

In this engagingly witty, wise, and heartfelt memoir, Martin Short tells the tale of how a showbiz obsessed kid from Canada transformed himself into one of Hollywood’s favorite funnymen, known to his famous peers as the “comedian’s comedian.”

Short takes the reader on a rich, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking ride through his life and times, from his early years in Toronto as a member of the fabled improvisational troupe Second City to the all-American comic big time of Saturday Night Live, and from memorable roles in such movies as ¡Three Amigos! and Father of the Bride to Broadway stardom in Fame Becomes Me and the Tony-winning Little Me.

But there is another side to Short’s life that he has long kept private. He lost his eldest brother and both parents by the time he turned twenty, and, more recently, he lost his wife of thirty years to cancer. In I Must Say, Short talks for the first time about the pain that these losses inflicted and the upbeat life philosophy that has kept him resilient and carried him through. from Goodreads

I need to say right off the bat that I’ve long been a fan. His energy is infectious and because of that I think you must listen to this one. Short is funny and sweet and you will love him. And if you aren’t familiar with Martin Short I think you should still pick this one up. Honestly, I laughed out loud and I cried for this man who, while bringing so much light to others, has dealt with deaths that came too soon.

Short grew up just outside of Toronto and during his senior year of college he decided to give comedy a year to see if he could make it. He landed a role in Godspell with his BFF Eugene Levy and met Paul Shaffer, Gilda Radnor and a slew of other Canadian pranksters: John Candy, Dan Ackroyd, Catherine O’Hara… I had no idea that so many successful comics started there and worked together at the same time. He landed a gig on Saturday Night Live that made him both a household name and miserable. He was lucky to last a year but it did get him to the big time.

His memoir also spans his Hollywood years (Three Amigos, Father of the Bride) and the many friendships he formed there. The spark he is on screen must carry over to real life because he has maintained friendships from the Toronto years (Levy & Shaffer) while becoming close with Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, and Kurt Russell and other famous pals. Actually it was him talking about these friendships and the love that he had for his wife of 30 years that enabled me to see a new side to Short, a genuine guy who loves and is loved

He is so upbeat that you will love his life story and the interludes with his most famous characters. As optimistic as he is, the part of the book dealing with his wife’s cancer will leave you in tears. Tears that I didn’t mind because they were part of his story.

Up From Slavery by Booker T Washington

January 19, 20168 Comments

Up From Slavery. Finished 1-13-16, rating 3.5.5, memoir, pub. serially 1900-01

Unabridged audio read by Andrew L Barnes. 7 hours, 30 minutes.

Booker T. Washington, the most recognized national leader, orator and educator, emerged from slavery in the deep south, to work for the betterment of African Americans in the post Reconstruction period.

“Up From Slavery” is an autobiography of Booker T. Washington’s life and work, which has been the source of inspiration for all Americans. Washington reveals his inner most thoughts as he transitions from ex-slave to teacher and founder of one of the most important schools for African Americans in the south, The Tuskegee Industrial Institute.

Booker T. Washington’s words are profound. Washington includes the address he gave at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, which made him a national figure. He imparts `gems of wisdom’ throughout the book, which are relevant to Americans who aspire to achieve great attainments in life. from Goodreads

I picked up this 1968 paperback with a very retro cover years ago and added it to my Classics Club reading list last year. I both read and listened to this one and was both inspired and somewhat bored by it. Let’s break it down a bit.

Washington was born a Virginia slave. His childhood as a slave wasn’t as awful as some I’ve seen portrayed in the movies, but impressive because he harbored no real resentment towards the whites. He was still a kid when Lincoln freed the slaves and life changed drastically for his family. They were now on their own and still together. Booker, from a young age, was determined to become educated. His desire and struggle for education was something, I think, that is inherent in all great men and women, and he was a role model. Through his dedication he was able to start teaching others. He somehow got himself to the Hampton Institute and enrolled even though he didn’t have enough money for tuition. It is a true testament to valuing hard work that he was able to accomplish what he did.

When the time came that he was chosen to head the Tuskegee Institute, Washington had to build it from the ground up. He became a spokesman for the college, and for African-Americans everywhere, by placing as much emphasis on labor as book learning. I loved his ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ and black empowerment through education and hard work message. This part of the book, once he became more national speaker than day-to-day director of the school, dragged. And it was half the book, so you see the problem. It was a rehash of his speaking engagements and travel and some of the press clipping about these speaking engagements.

I thought his insights into the African-American experience during and after the Civil War were engaging and wish the book had been more about that. That being said, I am so glad I read it and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it, especially now that I’ve taken your expectations down a notch 🙂

This was my 9th selection for the Classics Club. I need to get busy!

Book vs. Movie – The Blind Side

January 15, 2016September 13, 202431 Comments

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game (2006)vs. (2009)

I LOVED both the book and the movie but they were different in many aspects. Here’s what they had in common…

Michael Oher came along at the perfect time in the evolution of the Left Tackle position in professional football. His size alone made him appealing to college coaches and his athletic ability made him a top star recruit. But to get there he needed help. Born to a mother who had drug problems and too many kids to keep track of, Oher had nowhere to go until a friend’s father got him into the Christian high school on the privileged side of Memphis. After a rocky, homeless start Oher finds a family and a career.

The Story/Plot The book had a lot of football history and the movie skipped over it, but I don’t think the movie suffered in the least for not showing why the Left Tackle position became so important. The plot was similar but the movie skipped over some really interesting stuff, like how complicated it was that Oher didn’t know his real name, that he really lived with rotating families for quite awhile, and how he really got his GPA high enough for the NCAA (it was NOT just hiring a tutor!). I also enjoyed getting to know more about the make up of Memphis in the book. Thumbs Up- Book

The Visual I’ll be honest, for the most part, this category is really for the movie to lose. I mean how often is the writing so beautiful and the screen so hideous that the book would be better? But it happens. Sometimes with movies like this, where there isn’t really anything special about the sets and the only thing that gives it a leg up is a favorite actor (Sandra Bullock). I don’t know, I’m calling this a tie. Thumbs Up- Tie

Characters vs. Actors I love Sandra Bullock and thought her portrayal of Leigh Anne Touhy was fantastic as was Quinton Aaron’s as Michael. My biggest quibble is that Leigh Anne was a cast player in the book, often taking a back seat to husband Sean and, well, that’s not how the movie played it. Both were entertaining, only one was truly accurate. I did LOVE seeing all of the real college coaches make an appearance in the movie, so for that reason alone I’ll call this one a draw. Thumbs Up- Tie

The Ending It’s hard to mess with the awesome story of Michael Oher since his is a true rags to riches story. The problem is that the movie wrapped it up with a nice little bow at the end, but it didn’t need it. The movie could have accurately portrayed the book (leaving out the dry football parts) and been just as good. The movie didn’t change the story, but it wasn’t really complete either. Thumbs Up – Book

And the winner is…the book!!! This was my toughest one yet because I loved both so much. I don’t think you can really go wrong.

Other book vs. movie polls you can still vote on: (It Ends With Us) (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) (The Sun is Also a Star) (We Have Always Lived in the Castle) (Good Morning, Midnight/The Midnight Sky) (Before I Go To Sleep) (The Little Prince) (Charlie St. Cloud) (Far From the Madding Crowd) (The Girl on the Train) (Tuck Everlasting) (Northanger Abbey) (Me Before You) (And Then There Were None) (Still Alice) (The Blind Side) (The Fault in Our Stars) (The Hound of the Baskervilles) (Gone Girl) (Jack Reacher) (Ender’s Game) (Carrie, the original) (Under the Tuscan Sun) (The Secret Life of Bees) (The Shining, the original)

Web of Deceit by Katherine Howell

January 12, 201611 Comments

Web of Deceit. Finished 1-7-16, rating 4.25/5, suspense, pub. 2009

Unabridged audio 12 hours, 51 minutes. Read by Caroline Lee

When paramedics Jane and Alex encounter a man refusing to get out of his crashed car with bystanders saying he deliberately drove into a pole, it looks like a cry for help. His claim that someone is out to get him adds to their thinking that he is delusional.

Later that day he is found dead under a train in what might be a suicide, but Jane is no longer so sure: she remembers the terror in his eyes.

Detective Ella Marconi shares Jane’s doubts, which are only compounded when the case becomes increasingly tangled. The victim’s boss tries to commit suicide when being questioned, a witness flees their attempt to interview her and a woman is beaten unconscious in front of Jane’s house.

Ella is at a loss to know how all these clues add up and then a shocking turn of events puts even more people in danger.…

What a great way to start my listening year! I won this last year or maybe even the year before but put off listening because I realized that it was the sixth in a series about Ella Marconi. I don’t like to jump into the middle of a series, but I’ve been working on Mt. TBR and thought I’d give this one CD to win me over. That one CD did the job and I was hooked.

The series is based on Detective Ella Marconi and her partner, but has a revolving door of paramedics in each installment. I didn’t know this and I grew invested in the stories of Jane and Alex. I’m still not sure how I feel about reading the next one if they’re not in it. Ella was great and the characters of this suspense were excellent, not a stereotype to be found. It was fast-paced and I love the way that the story came full circle by the end, excellent plotting. I doubt that I’m going to go back and read the first 5 in the series, but knowing how good this one is I’m sad that I didn’t start with 1. If you are reluctant to start another series I should tell you that, according to Goodreads, there are only 7 in the series, so there is a set number and it’s not too high.

I thought this Aussies series set in the world of paramedics and detectives was really good and would recommend it to lovers of thrillers, mysteries or crime novels.

A year of firsts and a look at BG (Before Gage)

January 5, 2016January 5, 20169 Comments

I joined Instagram. Why would I join yet another time-sucking social media site (I mean really, when does it stop?)?? Well, I was thinking of taking one photo to capture the day for a whole year and then I joined and wanted a bit more focus. So, it’s my goal to capture a year of firsts. Everyday. It’ll be a challenge for sure. You can follow me if you click on my link on the sidebar.

Now onto my other project for the year, one inspired by Kay’s Bookish Nostalgia. I love her glimpses into her reading past and have been thinking of a way I could steal the idea but make it my own 😉 I think I have it. I am 5+ year mother. Due to many things (stay-at-home mom to a kid with medical mysteries and special dietary needs being the biggest one) I remember carefree reading and blogging days from afar. So, I decided to choose the year Gage was born and revisit it every month. If January is any indication, I think this will inspire me.

I loved looking back at January 2010, I was such an active blogger! I posted 30 days. That’s right, 30 out of 31 days. I went back and read them all and, if you don’t mind me saying, they were all pretty good. I had just finished 2009 by reading 130 books and thought this might continue, lol. I was giving away books monthly, posting quizzes, joining challenges. I was also getting pregnant, but I didn’t know that yet. I attended two author events (Beth Hoffman, Tracy Chevalier) and posted two author interviews (Beth Hoffman, Shirley Tallman). I would love to do more author interviews, but probably not this year, unfortunately, they took a lot of time. I read Garden Spells and fell in love with all thinks Sarah Addison Allen.

My favorite picture from January 2010

Bonnie (Redlady’s Reading Room), bestselling author Beth Hoffman and me.

Tonight I met Bonnie from Redlady’s Reading Room for the first time. We only live about 20 minutes from each other and we decided to get together and meet Beth Hoffman, author of Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt. Bonnie is a fellow Ohio State grad and we had a lot of fun chatting before we headed to the library for the book discussion and signing. I have exchanged a few emails with Beth and knew that she was sweet. However, I think she was even sweeter in person! She was full of charm and warmth and if you have the chance to meet her on her book tour, take the opportunity! (tour locales here) She was truly inspirational.

I should note that before her discussion she talked to Bonnie and when Bonnie introduced me, Beth said, “Oh, Stacy, Max’s Mom!” Well, let’s be honest, I was floored that she remembered to mention him. How cool is that?!

Favorite Post – My Reread Project. I’m not sure why I stopped doing this, but am ready to try again.

…What does this have to do with rereading books? Well, what I get out of a book is based on many things, not the least of which is what was going on in my life when I read it. So, maybe if I read it five years later and I’m happier, sadder, more stressed out, whatever, I might have a completely different opinion of the book. So, last year I decided to commit to rereading at least one book from my Favorite Books list every year. Yes, if I only read one a year it will take me 100 years, so it is obviously not a perfect plan, but quite a few of the books on the list I have read more than once already….

Favorite Book – Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. I continue to love and recommend this book!

…Okay, first book of the year and the one I’ll be judging others by since I’m giving it 5 stars. This book made me cry and laugh and left me with a smile on my face, not something that happens very often. CeeCee was a charming girl who had led a hard life to date and my heart broke for her. I loved her and her mistakes were both funny and important, reminding me that she was still just a girl no matter how grown up she sometimes seemed…

Favorite new movie – Avatar 3D. But I did also post about one of my all-time faves – Pride and Prejudice, the mini-series with Colin Firth.

Why I love it– Um, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I know there are lots of other great reasons to love this movie, but if you take Colin Firth out of the picture, this is no favorite! I thought Jennifer Ehle was a great Lizzie. She had warmth, sparkle, and a quick wit. The rest of her family was suitably annoying and ridiculous, but in a good way.

Now that I’ve read the book I can truly appreciate how closely this follows Austen classic. The sets were perfectly lovely and not Hollywood in any way. There were added scenes to let us see a bit more of Mr. Darcy and that made it easier for me to see him apart from only the times Elizabeth saw him, as was the case in the novel.

Well, the reason I’m reviewing this now is because Jason really, really loves me. We watched an hour a night for a week. It was so much fun introducing Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to him. He really didn’t get Mr. Darcy’s appeal, especially for the first half of the movie. I kept telling him it was Colin Firth and that’s all he needed to know, but he still wasn’t convinced. And I’m still waiting for him to come home with a 5 hour miniseries about the history of the stock market or 100 years of Michigan State basketball.

If you were blogging in January 2010, why not leave a link to your favorite post? I’d be happy to post it here and then we’d all be taking a trip down memory lane?

Nise from Under the Boardwalk chose this post as her favorite. I looked over my posts of January 2010 and was tickled to see one about book shelves. Only one of the shelves has remained – I stack my library books on the steps in the order of their due date!

JoAnn from Lakeside Musing chose this post as her favorite. After three attempts spaced over 25 years, I’ve finally managed to finish a Virginia Woolf novel. And not only did I finish it, I liked it. I really liked it…

2015 Book Favorites and Stats

December 31, 201522 Comments

Books

I read 60 books this year. That’s one more than last year. Next year’s goal will be 61 🙂

44 Fiction , 16 Non-fiction

Of those 44 fiction books, 25 were written by authors new to me!

33 Female authors , 27 Male authors

It was a banner year for audiobooks with 27 and 2 where I both read and listened.

I continued with 6 series that I already read (Mrs. Pollifax, Jack Reacher, Lucas Davenport, Blue Heron, Vanessa Michael Monroe, and Tommy & Tuppence)

I read 8 books for the Classics Club. I have 4 years to finish 42 more 🙂

My favorite cover

Oldest book read? The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Conan Arthur Doyle, 1902

Shortest book? 84, Charing Cross by Helene Hanff, 97 pages

Longest book? The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, 672 pages

Most read author? A tie! I read 2 Agatha Christie (And Then There Were None, By the Pricking of My Thumbs) and 2 John Sandford (Field of Prey, Gathering Prey)

My 5 favorite books this year

1.The Homecoming of Samuel Lake. This is everything Southern fiction should be.

2.Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. More Southern fiction at its best. Winner of the 1977 Newberry Medal.

3.The Fault in Our Stars. It was worth all the hype.

4.Me Before You. Also worth the hype. I’m looking forward to the sequel and movie in 2016!

5.The Perfect Match. Second in the Blue Heron series and my favorite romance this year.

BONUS FAVORITE

None of these books were published this year so I’m adding a 6th favorite, my favorite book published in 2015.

6.First Frost. I love SAA and this continuing story of the Waverly family.

Sleeping Arrangements and The Accidental Bestseller

December 28, 20155 Comments

Two mini-reviews to finish up the year!

Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham. Finished 12-24-15, rating 3/5, Romance (I guess), pub. 2008

Unabridged audio read by Katherine Kellgren. 7 hours

Chloe needs a holiday. She’s sick of making wedding dresses, her partner Philip has troubles at work, the whole family wants a break. Her wealthy friend Gerard has offered the loan of his luxury villa in Spain – perfect.

Hugh is not a happy man. His immaculate wife Amanda seems more interested in her new kitchen than in him, and he works so hard to pay for it, he barely has time for his children. Maybe he’ll have a chance to bond with them on holiday. His old friend Gerard has lent them a luxury villa in Spain – perfect.

Both families arrive at the villa and realise the awful truth – Gerard has double-booked. What no-one else realises is that Chloe and Hugh have a history, and as tensions rise within the two families, old passions resurface. It seems that Gerard’s ‘accidental’ double booking may not be an accident after all… from Goodreads

I picked this up at the library thinking it would be something light and romantic to listen to when decorating and wrapping for Christmas. I had no idea that Madeleine Wickham and Sophie Kinsella were the same person! Now I’ve read one book by each of the pen names and I think I can mark her off my list.

There wasn’t anything romantic about this one. Two couples with kids end up staying at the same Spanish villa and none of them are all that likeable. And then there’s cheating which doesn’t make any of them more likeable. By the end they’ve turned into new and improved characters, I guess, but I didn’t really buy it.

The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax. Finished 12-27-15, rating 3.5/5, fiction, 419 pages, pub. 2009

Once upon a time four aspiring authors met at their very first writers’ conference. Ten years later they’re still friends, survivors of the ultra-competitive New York publishing world. Mallory St. James is a workaholic whose bestsellers support a lavish lifestyle. Tanya Mason is a single mother juggling two jobs, two kids, and too many deadlines. Faye Truett is the wife of a famous televangelist and the author of inspirational romances: no one would ever guess her explosive secret. Kendall Aims’s once-promising career is on the skids-and so is her marriage. Her sales are dismal, her new editor detests her work-and her husband is cheating. Barely able to think, let alone meet her final deadline, Kendall holes up in a mountain cabin to confront a blank page and a blanker future. But her friends won’t let her face this trial alone. Together they collaborate on a novel using their own lives as fodder, assuming no one will ever discover the truth behind their words. from Goodreads

I breezed through the second half of this novel in one day, not only because I wanted to finish before the end of the year, but because I really wanted to know what was going to happen. I was totally caught up in the story, so why only a 3.5 rating? The first half was all over the place with too many characters trying hard to make me care in only a few pages before moving on to someone else. That first half was really slow going for me.

It’s a story about the publishing business, sure to appeal to readers and writers alike, and also the friendship between four women who supported each other through tough times. It was solid and I’d happily read another by this author.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

December 26, 20153 Comments

Lord of the Flies. Finished 12-21-15, rating 3/5, fiction, 208 pages, pub. 1954

William Golding’s compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first, it seems as though it’s all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious & life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic & death. As ordinary standards of behavior collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket & homework & adventure stories—& another world is revealed beneath, primitive & terrible. Lord of the Flies remains as provocative today as when it was 1st published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought & literature. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies has established itself as a classic. From Goodreads

I tried to listen to this one earlier in the year and the audio was unfortunately read by the author. I gave up fairly quickly and fared better with the print version. This won’t be making any of my favorite lists but I am glad I read it just because of its cultural impact and the influence it continues to have over 60 years later.

Think TV show Lost meets reality TV Survivor and you have an idea of where this slim classic is going to take you. Boys, aged 6-12, stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash struggle to join forces to survive. Ralph, leader, keeper of the conch shell and the voice of order, and Jack, wanna be leader of the island but starts with leader of the hunters, start off on the same side but as time goes by and boys struggle to do what needs to be done these two boys become enemies.

I loved the concept and, even with the sometimes stilted or dated writing, it was easy to read. I liked their struggles with how to make order out of nothing, but did find the descent into the surreal not as engaging. I wanted more reality I think. And as much as I hate to say this, I wonder if I was less engaged because it was an island full of boys?

I think this is one that would have benefitted from reading in class or with a group. I know I missed a lot of the symbolism and nuance. I’m glad I read it but it was just okay for me with the plusses and minuses being equal.

My 8th read for The Classics Club! I have 5 more years to finish my list of 50 classics 🙂

Night by Elie Wiesel

December 23, 2015December 24, 20157 Comments

Night. Finished 12-21-15, rating 5/5, Holocaust memoir, 120 pages, pub. 1958

Unabridged audio read by George Guidall. 4 hours.

Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War. In just over 100 pages of sparse and fragmented narrative, Wiesel writes about the death of God and his own increasing disgust with humanity, reflected in the inversion of the father–child relationship as his father declines to a helpless state and Wiesel becomes his resentful teenage caregiver.

Penetrating and powerful, as personal as The Diary Of Anne Frank, Night awakens the shocking memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again. from Goodreads

Wow. This book is such an emotional experience that I really didn’t want it to end. At just over 100 pages there is no excuse not to pick it up and spend a few hours in the presence of a great author in the throes of the Holocaust. Wiesel was a young teen when all the Jewish families in his neighborhood were torn apart and taken to concentration camps.

This book made me cry, smile. love my life a little more, and worry that I am not doing enough to stand up to the people who would be okay with something like this happening again. As has been pointed out since, it is those of us that remain on the sidelines and say nothing that are just as dangerous as those that perpetuate evil.

Elie won the Nobel Peace Prize and his powerful acceptance speech in 1986 is included in the new additions.

I think this should be required reading for everyone. There is a trilogy of sorts, with next, Dawn, being a fictional novella. I’m not sure how that works but I’m willing to find out.

This was my 7th selection for the Classics Club.

Gathering Prey by John Sandford

December 22, 20158 Comments

Gathering Prey. Finished 12-8-15, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2015

Unabridged audio read by Richard Ferrone. 11 hours.

Lucas Davenport series #25

They call them Travelers. They move from city to city, panhandling, committing no crimes—they just like to stay on the move. And now somebody is killing them.

Lucas Davenport’s adopted daughter, Letty, is home from college when she gets a phone call from a woman Traveler she’d befriended in San Francisco. The woman thinks somebody’s killing her friends, she’s afraid she knows who it is, and now her male companion has gone missing. She’s hiding out in North Dakota, and she doesn’t know what to do.

Letty tells Lucas she’s going to get her, and, though he suspects Letty’s getting played, he volunteers to go with her. When he hears the woman’s story, though, he begins to think there’s something in it. Little does he know. In the days to come, he will embark upon an odyssey through a subculture unlike any he has ever seen, a trip that will not only put the two of them in danger—but just may change the course of his life. from Goodreads

Lucas is tracking some Charles Manson-like group around the Midwest as they torture and kill homeless for no reason but pleasure. When it gets personal Lucas is willing to leave his Minnesota jurisdiction and track crazies. It was fun to see him leave the state and spend some time in the Michigan Upper Peninsula

In this 25th book of the series, there is a shift of sorts that signals changes are afoot and it’s been this progression of Lucas that has made this a standout, must read series for me. As he turns 50 and the winds of local politics change direction it’s clear that Lucas has some decisions to make. This case involves his adopted daughter, Letty, and I love that she has had larger roles in the last few books.

I continue to love this series!

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