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fall on your knees
ann-marie macdonald
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| At 508 pages, this is not a light read. This sucker spans lifetimes (note the plural.) Some characters that die at the end of the book aren't even born until the middle of the book. It is quite "spanning". That being said, I stayed up until 2 am to finish it one night and then tossed and turned the rest of the night because I was a bit disturbed by some of the events that took place but it was intriguing so I think that's why I was compelled to finish it. The story takes place in Nova Scotia in a family of all girls. Lots of births and deaths. Throw some sexual abuse in there, freaky parents and now you know why I tossed and turned after reading it. This was one of Oprah's book choices which is a curse and a blessing. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2003 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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deep blue good-by, the
john macdonald
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| I used to LOVE his 70’sish Travis McGee mysteries. I probably have already read most of them. It was all about a magnum "PI character" living on a Sarasota, FL boat solving mysteries. This series had moneyed ladies, sex, and plain old escapism. I wouldn’t at all call these high art, but they were a guilty pleasure. I believe this was my favorite of his series (all titled with colours – I love colours.) |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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cinnamon skin
john macdonald
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I think I already reviewed this but then I couldn’t get to the site to post it and just erased. So, I hope you readers haven’t had WITHDRAWAL. Hell, I’ll just review the book again. Oh yes, I liked it that much (although I won’t trouble myself to type tooo much). I’m not sure if I can tell you what, but there is something about Travis McGee’s coloured detective story (I mean all the Travis McGee books have colours in their title). I love the idea of Florida. I secretly love the Jimmy Buffet lifestyle. I love mysteries. I love people that don’t take careers too seriously, but focus on fun and friends and philosophy. This is what these books are like.
I first read these when a small lass pilfering from my Mommy’s collection, but as I read this book (that I got for ten cents at a booksale) at age 29 (and holding), it was still just like Margaritaville. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
June 2001 [link] |
recommend
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the three imposters
arthur machen
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| I have no idea what are the other "weird tales" included in the amazon.com edition, but the book I was reading--which consists of only "The Three Imposters"--is an incredibly weird and very modernistic horror book, even though it was written in the 1890's-1900's. As the central protagonist around whom the entire disjointed story revolves, Dyson is an aspiring writer who takes a keen interest in observing human behaviors...he meets a series of strange people, who all recount to him bizarre vignettes. These two men and one woman--the three imposters of the book's title--are after the "man with the spectacles," and they will do anything to get him back in their evil grasp. Fairly creepy, and told in such an objective way that you almost feel that the narrator is sitting back, not at all horrified by the goings-on. |
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reviewed by: victoria |
June 2005 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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wicked: the life and times of the wicked witch of the west
gregory maguire
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| I'm a little late in reading this, since it was already made into a Broadway musical, but this imaginative and engrossing read is worth the trip back to the published date of 1996. In "Wicked" we meet the WWoTW when she is first born - mean and green. We meet her sister and her college roommate- Glinda (destined to be Glinda the Good Witch). The story is very mystical and fantastic and other-wordly. This book makes you see the original Oz story and movie in a whole new light and you'll learn the WWoTW wasn't so wicked after all. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2005 [link] |
recommend
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down the nile: alone in a fisherman's skiff
rosemary mahoney
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| After a trip to Egypt, Rosemary Mahoney, avid rower and intrepid adventurer, sets out on a return trip with the intent on rowing 120 miles of the Nile River. The fact that this is nearly impossible for a foreigner, and a woman at that, does not deter her; in fact, it makes her even more determined. Interspersed with quotes from the diaries of travelers nearly 150 years before her, namely Gustave Flaubert and Florence Nightingale (yes, that Flo!), Mahoney's voyage shows how much has - and hasn't - changed in Egypt. Her writing is engaging and witty and her subject is interesting as all get out. I can't wait to read her other memoirs – including one where she spent the summer as a valet to the acerbic Lillian Hellman. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2008 [link] |
recommend
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bonjour laziness: why hard work doesn't pay
corinne maier
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If you work in a cubicle hell and shudder with disgust every time your crap spewing asshole middle manager boss opens his/her mouth, this is the book for you. It's a fast read, so you can go to one of those book superstores, find a quiet corner, and read the whole thing. This book reinforced many things I have experienced in the business world.
For example, if you are an individualist capable of thinking and writing coherently, the corporate world is soo definitely not for you. If you think you can move up and advance, think again. The only people who do the work are the temps. Besides, the whole purpose of the corporate environment is to have tasks in order to have meetings in order to have tasks that lead to meetings. Thus, the cycle of life continues.
This book was a big hit in France and now has been translated into English. The French are really a lot more like Americans than either country can probably admit, and I really appreciated her fantasy of launching a revolution against CEOs and chopping off their heads. But alas, I think no such revolution will come soon. Realizing that you can't rebel against ideas clouded by gibberish, many intelligent people now do as little work as possible while playing as many computer games as possible. Fight the good fight, man. Fight the good fight. |
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reviewed by: jen |
July 2005 [link] |
recommend
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dingley falls
michael malone
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| I wanted to love Dingley Falls especially to give props to an NC writer. It's not that it's bad but at 640 pages with what seems like a million characters (you know you're in trouble when there's a list of characters in the front of the book that you wish was detachable because you refer back to it so much) I just couldn't muster up the enthusiasm to finish it. This is the second time I've tried to read it. There are plenty of funny scenes and all of the characters are..well, characters. The life in a small town theme may seem overdone but I feel confident that I will eventually finish and love this book. Maybe you'll have better luck than me. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2006 [link] |
recommend
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the complete cartoons of the new yorker
robert mankoff
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| Weighing in at almost 9 pounds, this sucker is the ultimate coffee table book - if not a coffee table in and of itself. Over 600 pages of New Yorker cartoons from the past 80 years AND two cds with all 68,647 cartoons ever published means you'll get your cartoon groove on for a long time. I browsed through looking for my favorite cartoonists (Roz Chast and George Booth) and then I sat down and obsessively looked at each page every free moment I had over one weekend. It's fun to see that what was humorous back in the early decades, like a son returning home from the war dressed in uniform and his Upper Westside mother exclaiming "Why, you poor child. You're running right over to Brooks Brothers.", is still funny now. A great gift for a New Yorker lover or a cartoon lover in general. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
September 2006 [link] |
recommend
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how to stop time: heroin from a to z
ann marlowe
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| A few summers ago I read a triad of books about drugs and drug addiction. This one has remained my favorite so far. Told as a series of interrelated dictionary entries / short stories, we see the very normal world of a functional heroin addict emerge. The protatagonist makes no apologies for her drug use, and her descriptions of what that high felt like have often made me wish I had the guts to try it. |
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reviewed by: liz |
November 2002 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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one hundred years of solitude
gabriel garcia marquez
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| This is the book I (at this writing) just finished. It has taken me the longest to read of any book ever just because I kept putting it down. If this book were a wine, it would be a very complex wine. I tried reading it in the Caribbean, but I really wanted a quick read there. The back of this book said it should be required reading - like the Bible. I don't agree. Although, I liked the ambience, it was really no big whoop. Very deep and meaning of lifey although it tries to be cute and droll. I liked the "love in the time of Cholera" book by him better. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
July 2000 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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shopgirl
steve martin
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| Once in a bar in New York City's Tribeca area, a bunch of us friends were discussing which celebrity would give us pause to wonder if we would cheat on our sig other for said celebrity. I said mine would be Steve Martin. This book makes me feel like a genius. What a sensitive man! Although the book is a bit of a trifle (not INSANELY memorable), it is a lovely trifle full of zazzy details skewing love and reality and things that really matter. I can hardly believe it's by Steve Martin (or course unless there is another Steve Martin.) |
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reviewed by: kristen |
January 2001 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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him her him again the end of him
patricia marx
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| The witty Marx brings us a funny little tale of love unrequited as the female Holden Caulfied-ish main character spends an eternity in love with the formidable Eugene. The narrator tries to make us like Eugene but his whoring around (even while married to Margaret, not the unnamed main character/narrator) makes him despicable and even "the end of him" brings us no closer to love. The narrator often addresses the reader directly and at one point, professes that while she doesn't like to give out descriptions, she will make an exception if you email her. An appendix at the end of the book, including postcards from some of the characters, is funny yet random. This is book not everyone will love - the humor is dry and smart; if you're familiar with Marx's writings in The New Yorker, you will "get" this book. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2007 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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the road
cormac mccarthy
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| This is a tricky book. It's not one to gush about or to say you love love love it or to recommend it to everyone you know - a sad, devastating tale of the post-apocolytic world isn't for everyone. But it IS an incredible story told through incredible writing and a few days after finishing it, I am still thinking about it - I even went back and re-read the ending because it's just so crushingly sad. The book centers around "the boy" and "Papa" as they traverse their way across the country after some sort of end of the world scenerio (you never find out what actually happened but there's plenty of other gory details that fill that void). You find out they've been traveling for years in search of "the good guys" because now the world is filled with bad guys, other people trying to survive through murder, cannabalism and pillage. It's suspenseful and moving and I found it hard to put it down because when I did, I couldn't stop thinking about it. There's a reason why it won the Pulitzer this year with messages of good and evil and a possible foreshadowing of where the world could be headed; it's a depressing tale, for sure, but one that begs to be read. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2007 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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the stones are hatching
geraldine mccaughrean
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If I could turn *one book* into a movie, this one would be it. And the visuals would be amazing--not in the least because this book has some of the most stunning verbal imagery I have ever read.
Any book that begins with the disclaimer that "All the creatures, dangers, legends, and magics described in this book were, until very recently, accepted as real and true by ordinary people living and working in a civilized and Christian Europe" is a quality, quality book.
The story, set in 1919 post-W.W.I. England, begins with Phelim Green, a 12 year old boy who lives with his irascible and abusive older sister Prudence. While she's gone to market, he discovers that their home in the countryside has been invaded by small, almost-Neanderthal-like beings called "Glashans" and a filthy little man called the Domovoy who lives behind the house's stove. These bizarre small people are seeking shelter from the "Black Dog", and they tell Phelim that he is "Jack o'Green" and that he is the only one who can save them from the impending terror of the Stoor Worm. Confused and afraid, Phelim is kicked out of his house by the glashans & the Domovoy, and forced to walk across England's countryside. On the way, he meets Sweeney, the 'fool' who lost his wits because of the horror of war; the Obby Oss, whose utterly bizarre antics are pretty darn cool; and Alexia, his helper and a girl who lost her shadow to the Devil (and who's exactly half-way to being a witch). Phelim is terrified by the responsibility and expectations that everyone holds about him as "Jack O'Green," and he refuses to believe the stories that "the stones are hatching", even as he sees the monsters/creatures that run over the countryside. The descriptions of these monsters/creatures are incredible; once you've read about the Ushtey, Drac, Boa, Coreianieid, Merrows, or Nucklelavee==well, they're just plain scary. And cool.
This story is so full of twists and turns that you never know what to expect; it's so above the average 'fantasy' book that it blasts J.K. Rowling's books out of the water. Absolutely amazing book. |
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reviewed by: victoria |
September 2004 [link] |
recommend
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some of the mystery books of john macdonald
john mcdonald
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| These were my favorite quick reads before the K is for Killer genre. These books are all set in Florida. My mom always talks about how she thinks "The Last one Left" by him (not the series I like) is a great potential screenplay. They have a guy who dropped out of society (Travis McGee) who solves mysteries. One of his favorite lines (all series writers have favorite lines) is about why should he wait until he retires to live the good life. Instead he lives it in dribbles. After every case, he takes a boat ride with the survivors. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
March 2000 [link] |
recommend
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blue sword, the
robin mckinley
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| This was my ALL TIME favorite book as a K-8 student. (I can't remember many books to write about today, so I am grasping at childhood.) It tells about the classic "late bloomer" on a world far far away. I love the magic and feudalistic world. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
August 2000 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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the nanny diaries: a novel
emma mclaughlin
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(By Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus)
If you've ever been a nanny or baby-sitter, the first chapter of this book you will recognize as being right on target. The nanny "interview" where you have to pretend you care that the kid is allergic to everything from strawberries to air. The kid who is smarter, more educated and speaks better French (and English, for that matter) than you. I was once a nanny for a kid who's favorite food was "frimp (shrimp) and tortellini". Jesus.
Anyway, the book is a cute little read. You can tell it was written by two people since there seems to be some depth missing. For example, the main character (her name is actually "Nanny") gets into a relationship with a guy in the building where she works. I didn't really see it evolve very much and then - bam- they're dating and he's calling her from his safari in Africa. And while the story becomes a bit predictable, it's a nice end-of-summer-one-last-beach-read. I hope the authors have no intentions of ever working as nannies in New York again - they give a pretty scathing description of NYC upper crust. All in all, a good one to get when it's in paperback or to get out of the library. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2002 [link] |
recommend 3 thumbs up
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hairstyles of the damned
joe meno
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| I just want to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book and I think you would too. It follows the brutal High School years of one awkward adolescent boy who falls in love with his best friend. The boy – Brian Oswald – is a thin, geeky, Catholic school boy who loves Guns n Roses. The girl – Gretchen – is an overweight, pink haired, punk, Catholic school girl that loves to pick fights. The setting is a suburb just south of Chicago in 1990. It follows Brian through his last years in High School and his never-ending quest for some “trim”. This book even gives the 8 rules to making out and step by step instructions on how to properly dye your hair pink. Oh and by the end you will be thinking about making the perfect mixed tape for your special someone. Read this book now! |
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reviewed by: kelly |
November 2004 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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buried
robin merrow maccready
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| While classified as a "young adult" book, this is another situation where I wonder if it's YA just because the narrator is a teen as the story is actually quite disturbing. Claudine has spent the whole of her 17 years caring for her alcoholic mother who at varying times manages to sober up but always ends up falling off the wagon. While there hasn't been any physical abuse, Claudine has suffered emotionally and it shows through her OCD of making lists and obsessive cleaning. One night her mother goes on a drinking binge and disappears. Claudine assumes she's run off with her trucker boyfriend but tells everyone her mother is finally in rehab. The thrill of having the trailer all to herself and it being kept clean quickly wears off as Claudine falls into a mania of OCD and faint memories of the night her mother disappeared eventually come into view. A strange rust-colored stain near the front door and a garden in disarray give readers a hint that her mother hasn't gone that far and emotions, relationships and other things have been buried along the way. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2009 [link] |
recommend
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peyton place
grace metalious
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| The cover of this anniversary edition of "Peyton Place" exclaims "the blockbuster novel that shocked the nation". What they fail to point out is that it shocked the nation back in 1956 when it was first published. At any rate, it is a juicy look into the quiet New England town of Peyton Place with a whole lotta scandels. This book was a soap opera for a while and was also made into a movie in the late 50's starring Lana Turner. I am sure it's only a matter of time before they make an updated version starring J. Lo and Ben. There is also a follow-up book called "Return to Peyton Place" so if you love the first one you can gobble up the second. I think I'll pass on a return visit to P.P. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2003 [link] |
recommend
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twilight
stephenie meyer
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So, I did it; I took the plunge and now I'm hooked like everyone else (everyone else 12 and up). I couldn't resist the hype of the Twilight saga and it's easy to see why: interesting characters, smoldering, unforbidden love and vampires! Sweet!
Bella Swan moves to Washington state to live with her father and falls madly in love with Edward Cullen, only to discover that he and his gorgeous family are actually vampires. Edward is in love with Bella as well but has to control his desire for her blood. I know, it sounds cheesy, and in many ways, it IS cheesy but it's so good. I don't know here Meyer gets off by being a Mormon housewife and writing bestselling books just for the hell of it (plus getting a movie deal) - what the hell? All I know is that instead of waiting weeks for the library copy of the second book, I ran out to the bookstore and bought it. I will probably be line at midnight next week for the fourth book to come out. Vampire love is the best |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2008 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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bringing down the house: the inside story of six mit students who took vegas for millions
ben mezrich
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starts off a little slowly but once you get to vegas, it's all money, baby. of course, i hated vegas when i was there but apparently you have to be a high-roller to have any sort of glamorous time there.
anyhow, an excellent look into card counting and gambling. wish i could learn how to count cards since these cats make bazillions and somehow, the more money they make, the more free stuff vegas gives them.
percent chance this is going to be made into a movie starring j. lo and ben? 82% (except most of the people in the book are of asian descent) |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2003 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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dear american airlines
jonathan miles
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| Some much wit is packed into this tiny book, you wish the author went on for a few hundred more pages. Written in the form of a letter to American Airlines (duh), Bennie Ford is trying his best to detail why there's more at stake than just his $392.68 after the cancellation of his flight to his daughter's wedding. He spends the night in the Chicago airport trying to work on his translation project and takes the time to bring American Airlines up to speed on his life. He has been out of his daughter's life since she was a baby and the surprise invite to her wedding was a leap of faith for both of them. And now, he will miss the ceremony and can only hope to make it to the reception. Bennie's honestly is endearing and some of the antics he pulls make you dislike him, but in the end you hope he gets his refund and more. Plus, I hope every airline executive reads this so they know just what a delay or cancellation does to a traveler's soul. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2009 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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tropic of cancer
henry miller
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| I'm still trying to get Henry Miller although I DID love the ambience of this book. I remember getting mildly steamed up whilst reading this book, but I'll confess that although I know I've read this book, I don't remember a thing about it besides an elusive caribbean lady was isolated by a rich ogre husband/lover. That can't be good eh? |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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the barnum museum
steven millhauser
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| As much as I've always enjoyed Millhauser's work I've always found something a little aloof about him. I always saw him as more an idea over character author. This great little collection of stories has me changing my tune. The first story, "A Game of Clue", is a great example of slow disclosure storytelling, as the reader learns about a dysfunctional family sitting around playing....well, a game of Clue. Millhauser describes in minute detail the interaction of the siblings sitting around a porch table on a summer night inter-cut with the adventures of the character within the game itself. There’s a great story about a man who imagines another human being into an existence, a lonely man who becomes obsessed with the image in a postcard, and an amazing story about what was going on in Alice’s head as she fell down the rabbit hole. Highly imaginative and readable, I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time to come. |
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reviewed by: JohnLawton |
August 2004 [link] |
recommend
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the king in the tree: three novellas
steven millhauser
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| This latest offering from Steven Millhauser is an enjoyable little volume. The first novella entitled “Revenge” is unlike anything he’s done before. A compulsively readable account of deception, betrayal, and as the title implies: a bit of revenge. The title story “The King In The Tree” is a retelling of the Tristan and Isolde story and it is just beautiful. Told from the point of view of the loyal steward who serves the King made cuckold it hits the reader with a novel’s share of storytelling in a mere one hundred pages. The only weak link (and it’s still a pretty good link) is the middle novella about Don Juan. While the concept of Don Juan going to England in the twilight of his years (thirty years old...gasp) and falling in love for the first time is great; Millhauser seems to be unable to resist the urge to recycle some old ideas, this story reads more like his greatest hits. All in all, this is another great entry from a very talented writer. |
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reviewed by: JohnLawton |
September 2004 [link] |
recommend
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things my girlfriend and i have argued about : a novel
mil millington
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Mil Millington has been doing this "things my girlfriend and I have argued about" thing on his website for some time - and now has put it in convenient book form.
His new book is great fun to read. He has taken the basic gist of the website, changed the names around, and added plots and sublots that are stringed together with arguments that he and his girlfriend have.
His characters have some of the most clever and smart dialog - which may be one of the only problems I have with this book. Either everyone I know are clods, or Mil's friends have brains that can compute conversation and create dialog on the fly that teams of comedy writers would be proud of.
My other complaint is, I realize that the book's title is about he and his girlfriend and the things they argue about, but to be honest I began to tire of their constant arguing. I kept asking, "why are you with this girl? why did you have children with her? why did you even go on the second date?".
Otherwise, the writing is snappy and often very very funny - it's a fun "guys" book. |
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reviewed by: rich |
December 2003 [link] |
recommend
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way of the peaceful warrior, the
dan millman
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| This new age book was recommended to me by some dude named Gary who lived next to Kent and I when I first moved to Wilmington. I was going through my post college hangover in a town where my best friend just left because he was in love with my ex-boyfriend then my ex-boyfriend turned not ex then turned ex. Anyway, I was very low. This next door neighbor in these horrible college cookie cutter apartments, Gary, couldn't be avoided one day. He came over and introduced himself while I was drinking my Miller High Life 12-pack and listening to the radio (there was no tv in our apartment, and I hadn't yet gotten a job or found my bearings towards the library). Gary then developed some "psychic" fixation to me and told me how meant for each other we were. Normally, I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, but I didn't feel anything but bitterness. Anyhoo, he recommended this book which he said was fabulous - absolutely great. He said the really awesome meaning of life part was at the VERY END. He said it all made sense at THE END. Gary said he laughed for a full ten minutes AT LEAST. I was intriuged, read it, didn't laugh, and can't even remember the ending. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
May 2000 [link] |
recommend
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gone with the wind
margaret mitchell
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| It feels kind of silly to "review" this book, but I do think it's worth the read. I'm famous (in my family) for reading this book in fourth grade. I haven't read it since, but I obsessed over the whole world portrayed in this one (I don't recommend it to escapist, imaginative young girls). What can I say? I liked it. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
July 2000 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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the tender bar
j.r. moehringer
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| In anyone else's hands, The Tender Bar could be a long and dull story about funny alcoholics in a neighborhood bar, but Moehringer has brought us a tender and hilarious memoir of growing up fatherless and finding comfort in one of the town pubs where his Uncle Charlie tends. We meet curmedgeonly but kind drinkin' men with names like Fuck 'Em Babe (his catchphrase) and Bob the Cop who become alcohol-soaked father figures. Celebrations (like getting into Yale) and pitty parties (like the time Moehringer mistakes a pretzel cart fire for a hotel fire and phones it in to his editors at the NY Times) take place at the pub, not that anyone needed an excuse to visit. Moeringer takes us from growing up in Manhasset, moving to Arizona, going to Yale and finally becoming a writer. This book is a labor of love spanning a lifetime and a love letter to those who helped raise him. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2007 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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the secret life of bees
sue monk kidd
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I thought I had already read this book but it turns out I had read "Bee Season" and was getting the two mixed up. "The Secret Life of Bees" spent a million weeks on the NY Times Bestseller list and has been the belle of a million book clubs for the past two years. Well, I thought to myself, how good can it be? It's SO good, it's breathtakingly perfect.
Set in the 60s in South Carolina, we meet 14 year old Lily Owens as she's watching bees swarm around her room - they've apparently taken up residence in the walls of her room. Lily lives on a peach farm with her emotionally distant father, T. Ray (she doesn't even call him "Dad") and their black cook/maid/nanny Rosaleen. Lily's mother died when Lily was four after an accidental shooting of which, apparently, Lily pulled the trigger. It's a mystery that shrouds the entire story. After Rosaleen spits on the shoes of some white folk, she and Lily hightail it out of town and take refuge with the "calendar sisters" - August, June and May. There, Lily learns to keep bees, harvest honey and finds out that family isn't about blood relation and love is found in the most unlikely places.
The prose is beautiful, the story is bittersweet and funny and I predict this will be made into a movie by Oprah very soon.
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reviewed by: lisa may |
November 2005 [link] |
recommend
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ted williams: the biography of an american hero
leigh montville
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They really don't make biographies much better than this. And I know what you're thinking: Another boring book about a boring guy who played boring baseball. It's not that at all. It's a great character study about an enigmatic character. A guy who hit the baseball like noone before him and who nobody has matched since.
This is a man with a mouth like a sailor, who would string seven or eight curse words together in normal conversation (his favorite word was 'syphillitic'). This is a man who, despite serving in two wars (and crash landing a plane instead of ejecting in hopes he might save his legs for baseball), laid down some of the most towering numbers in the history of the game. This is a man who was not a great father, not a great boyfriend or husband. He was far from perfect. He was restless most of his life, always pushing himself to be great at hitting (and fishing, after he retired). This is a man who was nearly destroyed by his own son. This is a man who was cryogenically frozen when he died (this resulted in a bitter family feud between Williams' children -- his son was accused of manipulating an unwitting Williams into changing his will).
It is argued that perhaps Joe DiMaggio was the greatest hitter of all time. That will probably never be settled. But I can guarantee you that a DiMaggio biography could never be this compelling or this heartbreaking.
I would end by saying "you will enjoy this book whether or not you are a fan of baseball," but that would just make it sound like another one of those boring baseball books.
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reviewed by: ericS |
June 2004 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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lamb : the gospel according to biff, christ's childhood pal
christopher moore
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the bible mentions the birth or jesus and then his death at age 33 - what the hell happened in between that time? this book is written from the viewpoint of jesus - aka joshua's - best pal, levi who is called biff. for a recovering catholic like me, this book was the cat's pajamas. read-outloud-to-your-jewish-spouse funny and so kindhearted and smart, this book really moved me. i wish this was how we learned about the big J. it made much more sense and explaned more in one little book than 15 years of religious education could.
you gotta love a book that suggests "fuck 'em" as the 11th commandment, especially to those not onboard with the other 10.
thanks to liz for the recommendation of christopher moore books! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2004 [link] |
recommend 3 thumbs up
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assisted loving
bob morris
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| After the death of his mother, writer Bob Morris works to come to terms with her passing and his father's aloofness during her illness. He feels guilty for not spending time with his father now that he's alone but also gets increasingly annoyed with him. And then his father starts trolling the personal ads. Morris decides he can either freak out or help him and thus becomes an accomplice in his father's dating adventures which rival any young stud on the market. With three women for every man in the retirement circles Morris, Sr. runs in, it's quite a scene. And while his father looks for love, Morris himself is searching for a soulmate (and happily seems to find him). This is funny and loving look at parental-child relationships and a sweet tribute to Morris's father as well as his mother. Bonus: The cover had me hooting all the while I was reading it as it shows Morris' father in a teeny, weenie Burberry-plaid Speedo noshing on a sandwich pool-side. Yikes! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2008 [link] |
recommend
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japanland: a year in search of wa
karin muller
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| This book is really fascinating. The writer, a 35 year old woman who's cash-strapped, obsessed with judo, and can't seem to find anything she wants to commit to, decides to go to Japan. For a really long time. Though connections at her judo center back in the U.S., she's able to stay with Genji (a retired and very wealthy businessman who excelled at judo) and his wife Yukiko, a complete and total perfectionist for whom Karin can't seem to do anything right. The writer takes a lot of chances and gets to see some amazing things: an outdoor Kabuki performance done in a small village during a snowstorm, the Yamabushi ascetic purification ceremony, Masamune the master swordsman creating a sword. The book is also full of fascinating anecdotes and stories about Japan, as well as beautifully written portraits of the people she met on her crazy wanderings. She finally finds her own"wa"–focus, harmony–at the end of the book. Very enjoyable. |
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reviewed by: victoria |
January 2006 [link] |
recommend
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