5 comments about Madness: A Bipolar Life.

1. Being the mother of a daughter who has bipolar disorder, I found this book to be very helpful in my quest for understanding of this very serious illness. It is written in first person narrative and is very intense. I wonder what will happen next each time I read a chapter.



2. I have seen what Bipolar can do to people. This was really an eye opener.



3. Excellent book. Riveting and exciting look at the life of a very manic bipolar woman. Easy to read but hard to put down.



4. I have a daughter who was diagnosed with early onset bipolar at age 11. She is now 22 with a 20 month old child and alcoholic (probably bipolar but won't seek help)husband. Marya's book was written with graphic discriptions of manic and depressive episodes. You can really feel her pain. This book should be great for someone who doesn't realize the trauma and pain that goes with this disorder. I was left with a sad, discouraged feeling. Although there are brief times of remission, I already felt that there is no way out of this nightmare. Maybe Marya meant the book to be that way as this is a serious illness with no cure just treatment sometimes effective and sometimes not.



5. Having recently entered into the confusing world of having a child diagnosed with bi-polar, trying to tease out a distinction between mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction, watching different psychiatrists prescribe different medications, along with the child being a hostile patient, i.e. doesn't want to talk about what's going on---this book is a brilliant insight into what's going on inside a rapid cycle bi-polar head. I recognized some actions of my son throughout this book and finally got a sense of what it must be like inside his brain. This book gave me a new appreciation for the pain he is trying to hide or run away from. And also gave me insight into how I can better be there for him in his mental illness while not enabling his addictive behavior. This illness is not fun and there seems to be a lot of differences in how to treat it, especially as the field of study on bi-polar appears to be expanding and new treatments are on the rise but not consistently throughout the psychiatric profession.
   
   Marya Hornbacher has done a great service for me by writing in such vivid prose her ongoing dilemma. Admittedly, my reading on bi-polar is not exhaustive, but this is the first book I've read that truly captured the tyranny of this illness. Ms. Hornbacher is a truly gifted writer. I do not envy her the ongoing struggle she faces, but she sure dug deep to write this. Throughout the the painful descriptions of behavior and feelings shines a courage that lifts my hopes for my own son.

5 comments about Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me.

1. HUGE fan of George Harrison my whole life, so I was dying to read from this woman's point of view. It was interesting to read (especially about Eric Clapton--I always pictured him as such a saint), but it was very confusing most of the time. She rarely put dates in here, a lot of events were way out of order (it's 1974, no wait, we're back in '68), and I still couldn't help but feel she was/is a bit spoiled? I don't want to hear her complain about how broke she was and how little they each gave her (she gave up modeling pretty early so had no job of her own) and then hear about her travels all over the exotic locations of the world? But again, interesting to hear things from her perspective...



2. I was so excited to read this book. I have always been so interested to learn about her life. It was a good book like I said, worth the read. But in no ways a GREAT book.
   I have been a huge Eric Clapton fan for years and in this book he came across like a total peice of work. I wasnt clear on why she would ever leave George for him? Ya he wrote her some sweet poetic letters and wrote songs for her but other then that he seems like a constant nightmare. I did enjoy reading the book just felt like something was missing.



3. I thought that this book was very interesting. I especially found it interesting that even though she did not stay married to him, she, until the day he died, always loved George Harrison.



4. This book was a lot of name dropping which I found annoying seeing as I didn't know most of the names she mentioned. I loved the history with the Beatles and Eric Clapton the most. Learning that Patti was the muse for some of the greatest love songs of all time like "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton and "Something" written by George Harrison. I almost feel like Patti has repeated all the wrong patterns without learning any lessons life tried to teach her. She always relied on her ex-husbands to support her financially and had no real world experience. I understand being married to a superstar is a whirlwind, however, let's get realistic, which I feel Patti never did. A quick read. I skimmed a lot of parts that babbled about supermodels and photo shoots. She skimmed over drug usage...I felt she could have elaborated more on those moments/feelings, which would have connected her to more of her audience bc most of us share that experience or have had that experience. Writing style was not elegant, sort of choppy.



5. After reading Eric Clapton's autobiography, I was keen on reading Patty Boyd-Harrison-Clapton's own biography/testimony. Now that I have finished her book, my reactions are mixed.
   
   I was pleasantly surprised to learn Ms. Boyd spent her early years as a child in Kenya. Although there are sad memories in Kenya, her discussion about that time is one of the best parts of the book.
   
   Unfortunately, once grown up and beginning her life as a model, her story becomes a horn of plenty for names, food, dinners and parties. This onslaught has lead to the charge that Ms Boyd is a very superficial, name-dropping, social-climbing jet-setter. Oddly, this is precisely the person Ms. Boyd had wanted to prove she was not in writing this book. My inclination is to believe that Ms. Boyd is an intelligent and introspective lady. Such a person pokes up from the text several times. Thus this continuous parade of names and parties--while perhaps accurate as far as it goes--only obscures the real story she wants to tell.
   
   (On the other hand, one can only be amazed that Ms. Boyd remembers so much detail about who she met when and what they ate. I can't necessarily remember who was at the office Christmas party just six months ago much less what I was eating on a particular day forty years ago.)
   
   Buried in Ms Boyd narrative is a tale of a self-doubting and insecure young girl slowly growing into a mature and self-directed woman. This could have been a good story all by itself; but if you weren't looking for it you'd miss it. Instead, we get occasional admissions of confusion and "low self esteem" during the major tumultuous crossroads in her life. These admissions get to be a little annoying after a while. The vocabulary she uses leads the reader to suspect M.S. Boyd has learned just enough psychobabble through therapy to use for explaining many of the poor choices she had made. I do not know if "low self esteem" really does explain much of her actions; but therapeutic terms often can act as detours around serious thinking. Indeed, some serious thinking seems to be lacking in many of Boyd's reflections.
   
   In discussing her courtship and marriage to George Harrison, Ms Boyd is not shy to admit that in spite of everything George was the love of her life. Nevertheless, I found myself wanting more about her life with this quixotic man. For a man who by all accounts was so comfortable with himself, why could he be such an absolute jerk at times? How could one focused on the transcendent turn to be so mean with those who meant the most to him? Perhaps, George was simply a mystery even to those closest to him.
   
   By Boyd's testimony, Harrison was less than candid about their past relationship after their divorce. Harrison claimed that the marriage that was stupid, meant little, and never should have happened anyway. He also maintained that his best song, "Something", was not written about Patty. He also stated several times that losing Patty meant nothing to him. In fact, Boyd is confident that George knew that she was the love of his life as well. Even among his infidelities, he was deeply in love with her and when he lost her it completely tore him up. By her written account, when Boyd returned to their home at Friar Park to gather up her things and move in with Eric Clapton, George was visibly shaken and destroyed. Years later, Boyd relates that they met once again at an airport. George had been remarried to Olivia Trinidad Arias while she herself was solidly attached to Clapton. By her account, in a particular instant during their polite meeting, she saw that George was still deeply in love with her. She, too, realized that she loved Harrison even then. The magic was still there. As Boyd herself matured and learned to stand on her own feet, she felt that she shouldn't have left George. Instead, she should have stood up and fought for their marriage.
   
   So who was telling the truth? Harrison with his professed indifference? Or Boyd's testimony of mutual emotional devastation? I am far more inclined to take Boyd's account than that of Harrison's. There are a few songs Harrison wrote at the time that seemed to betray his true feelings of loss. (Especially his "So Sad (No Love of His Own)" recorded for Alvin Lee's ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM solo album). Is Boyd's perception that both she and Harrison still loved each other when they met at the airport reliable? Again, I think Boyd is fairly trustworthy here.
   
   If Harrison was the fire, Clapton was the fire. As her marriage to Harrison began its downward spiral, Clapton pleaded Boyd to leave George and join him. She resisted but another affair by Harrison pushed her over the edge. She fell in with Clapton and he began a long torment vacillating from passionate love to emotional cruelty. When she was away from him, Clapton was enchanting. When she was safely his, he could be indifferent or abusive. One of the major demons in Clapton's life was alcohol and it drove his life with Boyd suffering his drunken mistreatment. The picture Boyd paints of Clapton is not pretty and is very difficult to square with the hero worship laid at his feet. Finally, after fathering a child with another woman, Ms Boyd made the clean break. The reader, however, is left wondering why she tolerated Clapton's serial infidelities so long--especially given her awareness of what goes on among rock musicians on the road.
   
   One walks away from this book wondering why both George Harrison and Eric Clapton remained good friends after the high drama of Boyd leaving one for the other. It being a "musician thing" as some suggest doesn't cut it. Perhaps because it is more common than we think or she herself has no insight to share on this score, Ms Boyd does not venture explaining the bond between her two husbands.
   
   Neither do we get beyond more than scratching the bare surface the Beatles as a band or as individuals. Given the very long bookshelf of books about the Beatles by those who knew them and (more frequently) those who never met them. I would have liked to have read the perspective of one of the wives who was there from Beatlemania until the breakup. Cynthia Lennon has done so to a degree. Unfortunately, Linda McCartney and Maureen Starkey died from cancer. Yoko Ono is more interested in guarding John Lennon's memory--especially wanting to have the public see their relationship in the best light. (By and large, most of the public still believe Yoko broke up the band. Not a few within the Beatle's circle of friends have suggested there was something pathological about John and Yoko's relationship.) This leaves Ms Boyd. It may be a biographer is required to draw this out of her.
   
   Lastly, Ms Boyd tells us that after all these difficult years she finally found herself and took responsibility for her own life. How did this come about? We get a hint that becoming a professional photographer played a role in this; but we learn next to nothing about Patty the photographer.
   
   So we add Ms Boyd's manuscript to the burgeoning library about the Beatles. Ms Boyd's writing in clear if only workman like. Compared to Eric Clapton's own autobiography, Patty's is less dynamic--and that is saying something. All the names and parties distract from what should have been the focus of the book: Harrison, Clapton and Patty Boyd. If you have read more than a few books about the Beatles, some of the chronology of events seems a bit off. Still, you can't help liking Patty Boyd. She made some bad decisions in her life; but I think it is fair to say that none of the Beatles and their circles escaped making a long series of poor choices in that pressure cooker few will ever experience.

5 comments about Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time.

1. IN my opinion Valerie could have been moe forthcoming with additional information in numerous places of this book. Although I enjoyed this book, it seems that everytime I was waiting for the big finish to a story or wanted more information, she would fail to follow up with details. Perhaps due to the fact that I am an investigator I get easily annoyed with half stories. Seems to me that if you are in half way then you either go all in or not in at all. You choose.



2. Lite on insight, long on product plugs, this vapid autobiography appears to have been ghostwritten by Jenny Craig's publishing division.
   
   Once an appealing young television personality, Bertinelli now seems content to be a self-absorbed diet shill who spends as much time here dithering over her yoyo-ing waistline as she does her declining acting career and failed marriage to a drug happy rock star. Then one day she discovered Jenny Craig. . . and the rest reads like the world's longest People magazine profile.
   
   Look elsewhere for anything remotely resembling a shocking revelation--Bertinelli foolishly revealed all the juicy parts (and there weren't that many to begin with) on TV during a pre-publication media publicity blitz.
   
   So what we're left with here is a book-length paid ad for Jenny Craig--only readers are the ones footing the bill. The corporate brown-nosing ranges from Bertinelli's alleged admiration for Kirstie Alley's "success" on Craig's diet program (Huh??? Has she looked at a tabloid lately?) to the inclusion of an unflattering, out-of-focus shot of Jenny herself, accompanied by the ridiculous caption "Isn't she beautiful?" (No, at least not here.) And--did she mention?--Valerie really does love Jenny's cuisine!
   
   Yet despite her alleged new-found grasp of responsible eating, Bertinelli is apparently so busy admiring her svelte self in a mirror that she has somehow failed to realize that her seriously overweight son Wolfie now looks like a teenage Jenny Craig spokesperson just waiting to happen. And, with Mom's connections, he just might be.
   
   Will be interesting to see whether she maintains her weight loss once her Craig contract expires and the TV talk shows have moved on to weightier matters than the dial reading on her bathroom scale.



3. I got this book for insight into what I thought was an interesting life. However, the book, which could have gone into depth about some really interesting times, only serves to show Ms. Bertinelli's lack of depth and intelligence. Yes, she comes off as sweet and well-meaning. But really, with all the problems going on in the world today, the biggest thing she has to say is commentary about her repeatedly gaining and losing 20 pounds? Seriously??
   
   This woman's self-worth is measured by her weight, as she reminds us ad nauseum by relaying her current weight at every juncture in her life. She has no introspection about anything else in the world or her life. She treats Jenny Craig like the Messiah. (Wonder how Ms. B. will feel when her contract runs out and she gains all that weight back because obviously you can't sustain a healthy weight loss you achieved eating chemical cheese curls [Hello Exhibit A: Kirstie Alley]).
   
   This could have been an interersting book, but instead comes of as a Jenny Craig commercial written by a nice, not very deep and not very intelligent woman who despite having lived some interesting times, lacks the intelligence and introspection to write about them in other than a superficial manner. The weight obsession is very immature, redudant and annoying (typical eating disordered behaviour, but not too interesting for the reader).
   
   Check it out of the library if you are interested. Not worth the cover price. Not that much info on her marriage other than Eddie drank a lot and did a lot of coke, they both cheated, they didn't have sex very much, Eddie had good taste in gifts and they love their kid who now plays bass in van halen. Oh, and Val likes David Lee Roth now. There I saved you $25.
   
   Oh, and what is up with the HORRIBLE inside picture quality. How could any publisher let that go to press??



4. I found Valerie's story to be refreshingly candid. As a long-time fan and someone who has also recently lost a significant amount of weight, I was very interested in her story. This is not a "how-to" weight loss book -- actually, she doesn't spend a lot of time on that issue. But it is an honest look back at her life and how she got to where she is now. Enjoyable read.



5. I have always been a fan of Valerie's. ODAAT was on when i was about 3 but I always caught it in reruns. Marrying Eddie certainly put her into a bigger spotlight and I began to relate to her. She is very frank about her weight, her marriage and her family. I have never thought she is fat and I was bummed at how hard on herself she was. But she is clearly in a better place now and seems like a wonderful mother. I gave the book to my mom after I read it and she also enjoyed it very much. I recommended the book to all my friends, you will finish it in a day like i did!

5 comments about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

1. I read with my daughter who is in the 7th grade. Her teacher assigned to read as a book report. The students had to write about symbols, motifs, etc. and compare them to personal life experiences. But, as we read together, the words were very graphic beginning around ( i believe chapter going forward ) describing the rape by Maya mother's boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. The book stated that his private part " stood up like a piece of corn ". This is not a " youth friendly book ". PARENTS : Take time to read with your children. I gave two stars because there were funny, interesting points in the book at teh beginning. Other than that, INAPPROPRIATE !



2. A narrative about overcoming the obstacles in one's life, Maya Angelou's memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, reflects on Maya's experiences as a child and teen and the racial discrimination she faces. The memoir is set in rural Arkansas, St. Louis, and San Francisco between the years of 1931 and 1944, At the age of three, Maya, along with her elder brother, Bailey, are sent to live with their grandmother in Arkansas, deep in the then segregated South, after their parents' marriage ends in divorce. Later, as a young adult, she and her brother are sent to live with their mother, both in St. Louis and in San Francisco. While growing up, Maya struggles with maturing into an adult, her parents divorce, rape, and pregnancy.
   While living with her mother in St. Louis, Maya is raped by her mother's fifty-year-old boyfriend, Mr. Freeman, at the age of eight. Although this issue is briefly touched upon through the book, one can see it made a great impact on her life, as she refused to talk for several years. With the help of Mrs. Flowers, a woman living in her town in Arkansas, she finally did begin to speak again. Later, while living in San Francisco, Maya begins to fear herself to be a lesbian, and as a result of this belief, she has sex with a boy at sixteen in hopes of convincing herself she is not gay. Three weeks after having sex, Maya finds herself pregnant. She hid her pregnancy from her mother for a majority of her pregnancy term, and it was only with two weeks left in the pregnancy did she decide to tell her mother. Angelou only briefly touches on her pregnancy, as if it is an insignificant issue in her life; however, during the 1940's, society looked down upon single, unwed, teen mothers. Despite all the elements working against her, she continues to persevere, eventually becoming the first black female street car conductor in San Francisco while still in high school, despite the racial discrimination opposing her.
   Although I wanted to connect to Maya Angelou's character because she is a female protagonist and much of the book takes place while she was a teenager, I was unable to. In Jeannette Walls's memoir, The Glass Castle, I was cheering for Jeannette to overcome her obstacles and achieve her goals in life, while I had little empathy for the issues Maya faced in her life. I found the language in the book relatively simple, but I was confused throughout the book, whether it was about character's ages, or the introduction of new characters. While reading, I would find myself needing to stop for a minute so I would be able to remember who a character was.
   Maya Angelou expertly sums up her experiences as a child in the opening of the book when she states, "If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat." Although I did not love this book, it is successful in portraying a young woman who clears many hurtles and champions her dreams.



3. Definitely not what i thought when i was assigned to read this book by my professor. Maya Angelou definitely led an interesting life, but the way it was written makes her seem self- conscious and doubtful of hew own recollections, i personally did not like or understand it. i had to rely on sparknotes to guide me to the end of this most unique... book. i would not recommend it.



4. I thought this book was an interesting read, however it was difficult to finish at times. What made me continue to finish the book was the beautiful way Maya Angelou writes. I found her story to be a bit dry and slow at times. However, her preserverance to become successful in life dispite her many obstacles kept me interested in this book. If I had not known how successful Maya Angelou's life turned out, I might not have finished the book. I was interested in knowing her journey. I recommend this book for teenage girls who are struggling with self-esteem issues and teen pregnancy because Maya Angelou's story can be used as a great encouragement to hang in there despite adversity.



5. We are the members of the South Mill Young Readers Book Club located in Conyers, Georgia. We are in the thirteen year old age bracket and thought it would be challenging to attempt to read and understand this story. As a result of our reading, we rate the book as follows:
   
   Creativity - B+
   Enjoyment - A+
   Price - B+
   
   We would recommend this book to others in our age group to read it.
   
   Typed by Book Club Instructor: mwg

5 comments about A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

1. As the title would suggest, this is a work of postmodernism at its purest. However, that's not necessarily always a good thing. Dave Eggers presents a book that is a series of contradictions. As the title sarcastically notifies, it is sometimes heartbreaking, and it is also sometimes the work of genius. Consequently, the title also reeks of narcissism and "gimmick," to which it is equally guilty.
   
   To summarize, Eggers details the death of his parents and then his struggle to raise his much younger brother while attempting to start and maintain a magazine and land a role on The Real World. But the book is so much more than that. While labeled fiction, he makes no bones about the fact it is almost entirely autobiographical.
   
   When Eggers is being authentic, the book is beautiful. When he's writing from the heart, blending his neurosis and experimental metacognition with events in an ingenuous manner, the book really is a joy to read. There are sincere moments of hilarity, love, sadness, tension, and drama. Eggers also readily exposes flaws in his character and without pause--flaws we all have but may not reveal so candidly to the world. Unfortunately, my copy has 437 pages, and I'd say only about 230 of those are written in such sincere fashion.
   
   The rest of the book is pure gimmick, and Eggers makes a point to admit this in a long-winded and agitating series of prefaces. These sections of the book really irritated me due to their completely self-absorbed shtick and superfluous nature. Eggers is pushing the envelope, and I can appreciate that, but in the instances it doesn't work, it DOESN'T work. We're all familiar with the saying, "You're trying too hard." Eggers falls victim to this temptation for much of the book.
   
   There's nothing wrong with presenting yourself egocentrically, for the majority of us are self-centered. I admire Eggers for frankly and humorously divulging his many personality quirks. I respect the blunt style chronicling his family's struggles. And when it worked, I learned a great deal about metacognition and how to execute it well. Unfortunately, I also discovered the failings of "trying too hard" and giving into the lures of gimmick.
   
   ~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant



2. Dave Eggers should stick with writing fiction, so that we don't have to face the fact that the people he writes about (that is, himself) truly exist in this world.
   
   I was an early fan of the McSweeney's website, I even have the first 13 volumes of the McSweeney's journal. I bought Dave Eggers book, but never got around to reading it, saving it kind of like saving a good bottle of wine, for when I could truly savor it. So I took it on vacation recently and truly regretted it, as there were few English-language books around I could buy to save me from this self-centered monologue. And I hope the loathing I've now developed for Dave Eggers will not detract my enjoyment of the website and journals.
   
   Admittedly, his prose is wonderful. Loopy, long sentences, filled with imagery, witty dialogue, colorful scenery, and loads of wonderful scenarios that make you laugh. That's why I'm giving it 2 stars. But you are accompanied on this trip by a narrator whose flaws outweigh his good points. The author had a difficult early life, and it must be difficult to write of it. Also, Dave Eggers was rather young while he wrote this, and perhaps he has matured since. That said, his palpable loathing of old folks and his wish they would just die off and leave the world to him and his youthful compatriots and his gushing endorsement of the world-changing powers of, yes, reality TV, frankly disgusted me and ruined the whole book for me (I am 31, BTW, and have grandparents and old friends I adore, and adored even when I was a trash-talking 15 year old). He implies that a tragedy to a young person outweighs a tragedy to an older person (I disagree, it all depends on the person regardless of age). He constantly criticizes himself...and then continues on the behavior. Fine, that's human. But I don't need to spend hours of my life with a neurotic, selfish, youth-obsessed, contemptuous guy and his constant self-justifications.
   
   The best part of the book was the preface, which had the ironic, satiric cleverness (and even the same font) as McSweeney's, an enterprise I always thought successfully showed off the contradictions of society, with a sort of wise, knowing, calm, and even hopeful air, like some sort of British deadpan joke. We laugh, admit our faults, and then move on. But now I wonder whether it's just trying to be knowing and superior.
   
   So, if you can disassociate yourself from the basic obnoxiousness of Dave Egger's personality and personal thoughts and enjoy his prose, then perhaps you can enjoy this book. For those who have limited time and patience, I'm sure there are people with tragedies just as heartbreaking, but with a less entitled outlook, out there for our sympathy and support.



3. "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." Indeed. So few writers have Egger's gift. Wit, wisdom, a sense of humour, vision, style, flair, and the passion that enables him to masterfully craft such a truly genius work.



4. I don't think I have ever given a book a review of "dead in the middle," ringing it at 3 of 5, but I have to do it to this one. I usually really don't like books or really enjoy them (ok, a few I love). I also usually put books down and walk away when I struggle over months to get through them, BUT I found this drive to finish this one. First, it was highly recommended by a friend who is a writer for a living. Second, it has been high acclaimed. Third, I found the brilliance in the ability to write such realistic detail for so many pages on end, but alas, that was where the 3 stopped. The detail bored me to tears and made me want to skip to wear the plot picked back up, except it really never did. I suppose I am just not a good reader of rambling thoughts. I oddly enough know that Eggers is a gifted person, but this piece and the reasons I read for entertainment and intellectual improvement couldn't mesh here.



5. My good friend highly recommended this book for me to read last summer, citing Dave Eggers as his hero, and so I eagerly picked this up and delved into a story of a great sibling relationship in the wake of a tragedy.
   
   As a 21 year old college student about to graduate, you would think that I would be obssessed with this work, completely representing my generation. And indeed, it succeeded in that. The whole living situation in the Bay Area of California was awesome, and his whole mantra of being young and free in America was great too, and the book should have ended at that. I should warn you that this is a memoir, so his ego is immensely represented as him being basically a self-absorbed Berkeley young intellectual. I could ramble on and on about this book and why I wouldn't rate it higher, but I'll just get to the point.
   
   The first half is simply enjoyable to read with the whole relationship with his brother, dealing with the loss of parents (whom he seemingly never cared for), and with his sister being driven in law school and eventually marrying. His emotions are presented well with his relationships in this memoir, and then suddenly, as if out of the blue, Toph (his brother) is never mentioned again. The second half of the book is about his magazine and this MTV interview that never seems to end. It was so boring and meaningless. I want to read about you and your brother and your lives, not about some stupid magazine and a pretentious MTV real world interview to nowhere.
   
   Overall, I get what he's saying, and it is a good message. Namely, family comes first but it is great to be young and free in America in your 20's, of course if only brought up by wealthy suburban Chicago parents. About 90% of America can't afford to rent his house that he did in the Berkeley hills with views of SF bay and not a job in site. It is a good book and I enjoyed it, but the Pulitzer Prize? No way.

5 comments about Home: A Memoir of My Early Years.

1. This book is SO interesting! The first half is full of details that seem very pertinent to Julie's life story. I lost interest during the second half because I had a difficult time keeping up with all the different people in her life during that time. Still a very good read! She is an amazing woman!



2. I thought it was very good, however have enjoyed other books about famous people more.



3. "Home," Julie Andrews' superbly written autobiography of her earlier years, simply makes the reader eagerly await a second volume, covering the subsequent years of this great star's life. The book is written in a frank and interesting manner, revealing the happenings in a performer's life before and after the curtain is raised and lowered. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
   --Ron Howe (a.k.a., Toby Martin II) / Erskine, Minnesota



4. I have loved Julie Andrews since I first saw her in My Fair Lady and Camelot. She is so gracious, talented, beautiful and I've heard bawdy, which I think makes her a well rounded lady. Unfortunately, I preordered this book without realizing what the content would be, and I found it disappointing. She obviously was terribly offended by some of the unpleasant deeds of Rex Harrison, but she was too gracious in her reflection of their appalling behavior. The memoir just wasn't what I expected. It boring and after laboriously reading most of it, I put it aside. This memoir has nothing to do with my admiration of Julie Andrews and all of her awesome accomplishments.



5. I highly recommend Julie Andrews' "Home: A Memoir of My Early Years." It's a beautifully written book that captures the times and places of the events that took place in her early years (i.e before her film career). As one who, as a young child, first heard her sing on the "My Fair Lady" orginal cast recording, I've been a fan for a very long time. This wonderful book adds to her many extraordinary achievments. I'm so looking forward to the next installment of her amazing life.

5 comments about Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.

1. Authentic childhood story. The emotions ring true. Brings back to life the tragedy of a great civilization torn apart, first by the Shah, and then by the Islamic madmen.



2. Our local community college is using this book as a common book experience for all incoming freshmen. It's a good choice for three reasons: 1) the subject matter (a young girl's experiences in revolutionary Iran) is timely and meaningful for coming-of-age college freshmen trying "to find themselves" 2) the graphic novel format is immediately engaging and easy to digest, and 3) the protagonist's story lends itself to myriad thematic explorations. In all, I was interested in and satisfied with this book. In fact, I couldn't put it down--I read it in an hour and a half. Apparently, there's a movie, too. That's next on my list.



3. This book was a very easy read. Unfortunately, the plot was a little too easy to follow, and certain parts have nothing to do with the rest of the book. The illustrations, however, have a quirky charm, and the story telling is sweet and entertaining.



4. Although this book is written like a comic book, don't take it lightly. The story is a deep and meaningful one. It is a pretty fast read but not as fast as you'd think...I highly recommend it!



5. I feel I learned more about the history of Iran through the eyes of a little girl who was practically forced to become an adult by the age of 14 than most textbooks. Marjane Satrapi, or "Marji" captured my attention, thanks to the successful marriage of her "crudely-drawn" panels and approachable narrative. While I have yet to read the sequel, I feel I know this individual on a personal level as the book fills us in on her deepest fears and hopes and conflicts.

5 comments about Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office.

1. Jen Lancaster is hysterically funny. OMG, the stuff she writes! She says what most of us would LIKE to say, but we're not quick-witted enough. The good news is that she can take as good as she gives.
   
   I liked this book because I can totally relate to Jen's thoughts about her job (and then her lack of one), her co-workers, friends, family, and life.
   
   I wanna be funny like Jen Lancaster someday! :>



2. Sometimes I go through a chick-lit period I'm not proud of so it's a good thing this book turned out wayyyy beyond chick-lit.
   
   In fact, I wouldn't put it in that category, which saves me the embarrassment of recommending this to anyone and everyone.
   
   It had the Thing I Do the Least against it in the first place - paying full-price instead of it being the product of a three-hour long search at the local used bookstore. Even with that kind of opposition, I consider it to be a sound investment. I even endured the laughing out loud it caused while I was on an airplane while sitting in the triple person seat next to a lady who was a bit of a rich whiner.
   
   Considering I just quit my job as a baker who worked with peckerheads, this book gave me hope that, even though I might need to eat a Cat n' Dog Casserole for awhile, holding out to be a writer just might be worth it.
   
   Thanks for writing this book!!! Read it (and this includes those who are employed)!



3. Hilarious! I had so many laugh out loud moments that I had to share with whoever was sitting next to me!! Great book. Awesome summer read.



4. The fact that this is a true story kills me. I felt so bad for Jen. I emailed the author after I finished the book I was so moved by her story. I laughed, too.



5. This book left me wanting to read more from this author. I found this book to be interesting, funny, acerbic and touching. Some of the stories were written so vividly, I could imagine being there and only wishing I could have thought up some of the comeback lines and comments that Jen Lancaster provided. Recommend for those readers who want a more light-hearted memoir (instead of all those depressing ones that are around!).

5 comments about Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door.

1. I absolutely hate when a new book comes out, and people cant wait to tear it apart! This book, was delivered on tuesday, and I finished it by friday, and its really a thick book! You name it, its in here! The author did a beautiful job with the facts, stories and presented it with love and adoration. THIS IS THE DEFINITIVE DORIS DAY BOOK! DONT WALK, RUN TO THE STORE AND GET IT!!!!



2. i've loved doris day movies over the years and pajama game is one of my all-time favorite musicals. i was eager to read her "untold story", i wish i hadn't, it was soooo boring.
   
   i don't think that's doris day's fault, i totally put the blame on the author. there are too many quotes from her die-hard fans describing what she was like rather than the stars she acted with. a lot of uninteresting details, such as what she once ate for lunch at a deli with one of her fans.
   
   one of the most tedious biographies i've ever read.



3. I think writing a biography of Doris Day is hopeless, even if she would consent to be interviewed. Her own official biography was extraordinarily reported and written with her full participation, and approached in an original way, but even it never told the full story or got deeper than a certain level. For any author to try to tell Day's story from the outside is highly limiting. First of all, what Day says of herself (she never wanted to be a star, she never wanted a movie career) and what her life shows are usually contradictory (she was in fact ambitious for stardom at a very young age and poured everything she had to give first into her big band career and then singing and film careers). Second of all, Day has always been in show business but never of show business. She rode her bike to the studios, she always lived in nice but hardly grandiose homes, her mother lived with her even after she married Marty Melcher, she honestly preferred ice cream sodas to liquor. Her scrubbed clean image was accurate to a point, but she did curse and she was nobody's fool. Her bright and shiny image also didn't reflect the fact in that in real life she was intelligent, savvy, discerning and strong. The real person is even more interesting than the star, but Day has always protected that star with great smarts. This book misses the mark but I don't see how, under the circumstances, it could hope to make the mark. Day says she didn't plan to read this book or a similar book in England (both books have the same cover shot, strangely). Makes sense to me.



4. The publication of this book seemed to cause many Doris Day fans to have negative comments regarding this book. I assume that those Doris Day fans feared that the book would shed unfavorable light on Ms. Day, but I assure you that is not the case. Doris Day was and is a great lady and the author only reaffirms her positive image. It is obvious to the reader that the author spent imnumerable hours researching the subject. Much of the information came from Ms. Day's own autobiography, as well as from newspapers and magazines. I think the fan web sites jumped to unfair conclusions without first reading the book. If anyone wants to get the "dirty laundry" on Ms. Day, one will not find it contained in this bio. The author has written a lengthy book, in fact, when I purchased this book I thought it would be a daunting project to even begin to read. However, the reading process seemed to go very quickly. This is an interesting read and I would recommend any Doris Day fan or animal activist would find enjoyable. Ms. Day's love of the furry creatures should touch the heart of animal lovers everywhere. Kudos to Doris Day and David Kaufman for a job well done. A perfect read for a lazy day at the beach or to stay at home and read on a rainy Sunday.



5. This book sheds much more detail on Doris Day's life than CONSIDERING DORIS DAY. Like most standard Hollywood biographies the start of the career always builds excitement & interest but quickly becomes a movie-to-the-next-movie account of the subject's life.
   
   However with that said; Kaufman does add much insight into the Melcher marriage & other details I wanted to learn more about in Day's life. I'd definitely recommend this book!

5 comments about The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal.

1. I have bought and devoured every Laurie Notaro book that she has written. By far, I still think that her first book was her best. In this new book, I didn't even chuckle until I was almost halfway through it.
   
   Now, the second half of the book was pretty good, but I paid for a hardback book for which I only enjoyed half. I did laugh out loud at a few moments, but there just seemed to be less to be tickeled by this time around.
   
   One of the other things I found a bit irritating was the phrasing she uses. She writes very conversationally, but her passages become so longwinded and mixed that a number of times I had to reread sentences to understand what she was getting at. I understand that this is part of her humorus effect, but this book felt a bit like it was tripping over itself too much.
   
   Don't get me wrong...I will buy the next one when it comes out...but I don't think any of her new material will be as good as her first, or even her second book.



2. Fast, juicy read that hit all the right spots and funny bones. I got it as soon as it came out and finished it within record time--I'm hoping to see Laurie on tour this year--saw her last year and she was fantastic! This book was everything I expected from her (and more, check out the photo in the back).



3. After being a little let down with her Christmas edition, I had high hopes for this one and was not disappointed. From silly to poignant, Laurie had this Idiot Girl hooked from page 1.



4. Let me preface this by saying I'm a HUGE fan of this author, and have loved all her previous Idiot Girl essay books. In fact, they are some of the few books that have earned "keeper" status - I don't swap them. This book did NOT disappoint.
   
   HILARIOUS!! I was laughing out loud throughout, and I think I actually snort-laughed at one point even. The essay on "It's all good" was so so funny - I'm laughing again just thinking about it. The story of her adventures on a cruise ship - priceless! I could really relate to the whitewater rafting trip. I must be an idiot girl, because the author feels like a good friend to me. :)
   
   I stayed up all night (despite the fact that I had to be up at 6am for work, even!) reading this, because I could not put it down. Highly recommended! :) Can't wait for her next essay book!



5. My daughter picked this book up for me and suggested that I might like it as it "looked like something you would like". I finished this book in 2 days. This book had me laughing so hard that I had tears rolling and was unable to stop laughing long enough to tell anyone why I was laughing. A most enjoyable read.