4 comments about My Fathers' Houses: Memoir of a Family.

1. Steve Roberts has written a charming memoir that celebrates his family and an era gone by. Roberts grew up in Jersey City, an area usually reserved for punch-lines of stupid jokes, but Roberts captures all that is to be valued in his hometown. It is refreshing to read a memoir that is not so much motivated by anger and discontent. MY FATHER'S HOUSES is a memoir written to give credit where it is due.



2. First: I'm a big fan of Team Roberts. But I was not expecting the depth of emotion and connection this book evoked in me. I'm a bit younger than Steve, grew up on the West Coast in a WonderBread world, but his descriptions of his background and growing up, full of all the anguish of the less-than-perfect teenager, were astonishingly affirming. I have passed the volume on to another, and expect it will continue to make the rounds. I'm hoping for volume two that picks up at the time they were married and carries on, since there are surely many more stories!



3. I cannot imagine wasting nearly a year of ones life to write a silly and superficial book about a very small and plain vanilla family. Like millions of immigrant families, Roberts' family came to the US, set up shop, had kids, worked hard and passed on their genes. For Steve Roberts, his very ordinary and undistinguished career as a writer for The New York Times and other publications was only made significant by his marriage to Cokie Boggs, whose only claim to fame was being the daughter of a big time pol from the south before he died. She then spent a lot of time at ABC as the classic liberal reporter before she got dumped for George Stepyounopulous, Clinton's mouthpiece.
   Luckily this book won't take long to read if you want to, but I keep asking myself why I wasted an hour of my life to read it. I guess the high point of the book is that Barney Frank is his good buddy and got him to apply to Harvard. That's about it. Oh, and he was a bag boy for Scotty Reston. Wow. To think some poor tree died for this.



4. I am not Jewish, I did not grow up in New Jersey, and I was born the year the author graduated from Harvard. How can I explain the reasons I loved this book? Perhaps the reviewer below summed it up best: it IS refreshing to read a memoir that is not fueled by anger, contempt, or confession. This is a very pleasant visit to a time and place that, while not my own, echo a love of family connections and triumphs. I hope there will be a sequel and I applaud Mr. Roberts for taking the time to reflect upon and share his childhood. We need more books that aren't someone else's therapy.

3 comments about Enchanted Companions : Stories of Dolls in Our Lives.

1. This book was created by Carolyn Michael, her friends, and other contacts as a part of individual and group writing practice. The author states in the introduction that she was inspired by a story written by another participant about her mother's feelings about a special doll. The story is the first story in the book, entitled "Who Would I Tell?" by Susan Berlin. This treasure holds 24 more stories, which the author has been collecting since 1993. This memoir style collection speaks with many voices, including several pieces by children. The stories are brought to life with black and white photos of the dolls that are in each story and by picures of the writers as children. My favorite story in this collection is called, "The Night My Fanny Hit the Wall" by Nina Munk, who was 15 when she wrote this story. She speaks of the touching moment when she realized that her dolls were not real. Carolyn Michael's collection allows each writer to share their own personal experience, while connecting the reader with the common experiences that many of us have shared. I would recommend this book for adults and older children who value the memories of love and friendship with their own special dolls, and for those who want to reflect on a cherished time in childhood.



2. filled with heart, laughter, joy and memorable characters. Vintage black and white photos of doll owners and their "enchanted companions" enhance this delightful book. A marvelous gift.



3. All these words describe Carolyn Michael's book Enchanted Companions. But mostly it is full of surprises. None of the stories are predicatable or the sort of stories I would imagine that people would have about dolls. Dolls touch peoples' lives in unexpected ways. My favorites stories were "George Rufus Yoder" and "Bawl Room Dance." Amazing writing and a beautifully put-together book. I want volume two if there is one!

No comments about In My Father's House.

1 comments about Sandlot Stories.

1. Excellent little book about coming of age in the neighborhood sandlot. A great collection of stories from baseball loving adults about their childhood experiences with the bat and ball and also about the possible dream of making the big time.
   
   Highly recommend it. If you have a baseball lover in your family or a friend, this is a great little gift.

5 comments about Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie (Haymarket Series).

1. I grew up in central Oklahoma and can identify with many of the themes Ms. Dunbar-Ortiz writes about in Red Dirt. I think anyone who is on a journey of self-discovery or is attempting to reconcile his or her past will enjoy this book as much as I did. I rarely read literature about Oklahoma that makes me proud to be an "Okie" - this book does just that.



2. if you like books about the old way of living,you will love this book. it brings back memories of my childhood...



3. ...
   The best of autobiographical works are those that convey, in the telling of one life story, larger truths than those we experience as individuals. To accomplish this feat with seeming effortlessness, as Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz has done with Red Dirt, is to create not only a valuable historical record, but a literary work that is a pleasure to read. Employing the finest storytelling skills, Dunbar-Ortiz lovingly recollects her youth in Oklahoma and the family dynamics she experienced "growing up Okie" during the mid-20th-century. In the process, she touches upon a host of social issues--among them racism, sexism, and economic disparity--that have plagued the U.S. since its earliest days. Perhaps most importantly, she offers one resounding voice from among a vast population--namely, the white underclass--that consistently has been underrepresented in historical texts, and misrepresented in popular culture. Exploding the notion of 'poor white trash,' Dunbar-Ortiz offers three-dimensional alternative as she reconstructs through her personal memoir the history and struggles of the frontier settler class and its descendants. As we move into the next century, Red Dirt is a text of vital significance to our collective humanity



4. This book was my introduction to Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz. I read it before I learned more about her and her career as an activist for the past 40 years. She reflects on her life from birth until her move to California. She grew up in rural Oklahoma during some of the worst years ever. These were the years that shaped her, the launching pad of her feminist, anti-family, pro-socialist, anti-war, ... efforts.
   
   The reader can learn a good bit about the Socialist movement in Oklahoma in the early 1900's, the Green Corn Rebellion and the patriotic surge that accompanied World War I.
   
   Roxanne's grandfather, one of the less 'disfunctional' family members was a Socialist and strongly pro-labor and imparted his views to her. She remembers him fondly. It appears that her abusive alcoholic mother influenced her ideas about the family and church. She had very little to say about her mother or father that is not negative. Considering these influences, the dire poverty of her early childhood, and her marriage 'up' the social ladder her views on things are not too surprising. Simple - yes, but undeniably true, at least in part. And that does not take away from her drive, talent and desire to make a positive change in the world.
   
   You can learn more about Roxanne at her website, reddirt.com.
   
   I think I will read Outlaw Woman, the next volume of her story.



5. I could not put this book down. It is an engaging book. I read it for some background research on John Steinbeck and the Grapes of Wraths. If you have read Steinbeck's masterpiece you have to read Red Dirt. I think Roxanne's memoir completes the story of the Joads. The psyche of the "Okie" comes alive and the drive of Roxanne to break away and then come to terms with it is fascinating. I loved this book so much that I use it for the Ethnic studies classes that I teach. I believe that to understand different ethnic groups we all have to understand what makes White America tick. This book delivers a much-needed look at the class divide among white America and no matter how much the poor whites have been abused by their richer cousins they still stand by their side. Why? Because they are white. This was a great ride

No comments about Telling Tales.

No comments about Hellfire and Herring: A Childhood Remembered.

No comments about Meeting the Four O'Clock Train and Other Stories: Boyhood Recollections of Prescott, Arizona 1909-1927.

No comments about The Memoirs of Someone Awesome.

No comments about Sally and Me.