Reading list...and chopped m'fn cheese for dinner tonite.

What wasn't boring that I read last week was -

 

by Luke Geddes...

In reading the gentleman author's bio I am not at all surprised that he started a record label... the descriptions of the records and record collections were so beyond deep and thoughtful, it makes total sense. I loved the book actually and knew that I probably would when I was at B&N looking for magazines to cut up in April and saw the cover... I just knew. To be fair I didn't buy a copy at the time, I looked at the library app, to see if it was available and it was so I knew when I had a chance I would get it that. I actually borrowed it from the library and now I know that I need to remedy that ... Hey Luke ... wanna sell me a signed copy? And he made these hilarious pins as a promo tie in for the book... mama wants. Because I love junk. Lets just say I have a heart for it. Oy. And anyone that mentions Psychic TV in their book.. you know he appreciates the number 23 and knows whats up.  Thanks sir... that was a nice little nugget. 

It was really fun. Just a really super fun book. Its really honestly what I needed as my gateway drug to reading for pleasure. It had been maybe 2 years since I had. And this is NOT a review... NOT a review a TOTAL observation.

Soooooo.... I am someone that has gone to an Antique Mall in my day (remember the days of needing all the Pink Pyrexware I could find?). So it was fun as hell to read a fictionalized story about some of the people that may (or may not) own the booths. It was just really fun. At first I thought it was going to be a little bit of a mystery novel, that it isn't... it was a fun inside look into characters. And characters that they are. So there is a review. But more it's about remembering what I liked about it outside of the fact it was a SUPER quick, easy read and kinda fun. Not at all surprised either that it's been optioned. This book is a year old I think so not surprised.

Oh and it's ironic as hell that the author is a collage artist too since that is what I was at B&N to get magazines for when I found the book.

OK... also got the new Chuck Palahniuk book last week and I have not started it. I need to because I am not part of a weekly Support Group for rescheduled book readings of some Chuck peeps.... they are delightful and I don't want to be a dick and not be able to provide thoughts. I can't wait to read it because I do love his twists and turns and characters. So hopefully that will happen this week. Plan to start it tomorrow after work.  I just can't tonite because I am fried.  It's been the most monday of mondays.

Also I have this not quite book club had given me the BEST to read list ever and was encouraged to read Lovecraft Country ... I found a copy while I was on the support group and wouldn't you know it's great.  

My new friend R held it up in our chat and he said it will help because honestly I felt like I was just watching to have my mind blown by monsters and special effects... there is a very important story to be told and I damned well knew I was missing it. 

Found a copy that I could read online right away... and no it's legit... not some rando pdf that was published... it's legit.  Through the library.   And I am going to say that the book makes so much more sense than the tv show... holy fuck that tv show warps my mind... I am NOT a science fiction person and it's so crazy what they do on that show... but the book... much much more to my liking... AND it totally helps me know what I have seen in the last couple of weeks.  I am not at all caught up book to show (maybe I am at episode two of the show as to where I am in the book) but it makes it much easier to grasp what the fuck is going on.  So I love Matt Ruff... Fool on the Hill was one of my favorite top 10 books for a while and I am glad I am able to understand what the story holds. Racism is bad y'all.  You know that. You wouldn't be here if you thought it was ok.  in fact... fuck racism... all round... 

Also in honor of what I am making for dinner tonite (not as good as the hot bodega grill version because sadly we are unable to be in NYC like I had hoped to be right now) I bring you a delightfully colorful language filled video and story about the Chopped Cheese... Also I could not find a good hero roll ... come on hometown get your shit together... the steak torenado rolls will have to do.  It will help with portion control which is not a thing really that I believe in.  But it will have to do.  

This is a picture of what I am talking about... not what I made credit where credit is due:

photo by Soup Loving Nicole on All recipes (here is her recipe... ours not spicy)

I love being able to post whatever I want.. I was a slave to worring about publishers visiting... nope... I can afford my own books.  I appreciate very much the opportunities that I had to write about books that I liked but whoa was there some serious pressure.... no longer.  Best decision I have made in a while.  

I have kinda had it... too much pressure....

There is too much pressure.  

I decided at the start of 2020 that I was going to try to read and review a book every 10 days or so.  

Nope. Not going to do it, not going to make it and not putting that kind of pressure on myself for that. I am also at this time not going to do any ARCs.  I totally love and appreciate all the opportunities that I have been given by the publishers in the past that graciously let me review. Really truly. It was such a gift.  But so much pressure to live under (yes it's totally self made) and I can't live right now under that hammer for a while (even though it's of my own making).

I have to read for my pleasure.  Not that the other wasn't but there was the pressure to review and post all over the place.  I lost track of why I love to read a little bit. 



I can not wait to just read ... to read... 



PS please make sure you vote.  please. 

Book Review: Shelter in Place by David Leavitt - not bad... not great... not a mistake to have read.

Shelter in Place by David Leavitt
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC, I wouldn't have known anything about this novel if I hadn't been looking through the lists of a new book to read and a new author to be exposed to.

Let me say this... The opening paragraph made me snort outloud. 

The rest of the book not as much. Now that may seem cruel, it isn't. There are other reviews out there that will give you the synopsis and deeper dives into the content of the book... I am not here to rehash any of that information.

The book opens on the Saturday after the President is elected in 2016. Let it be said the main character of the book isn't too pleased and that is the basic premise of where the book takes us, I guess.

I appreciated that the characters were wealthy literary folk. It made the conversations and situations plausible  and entertaining. I was transported to a part of New York Literati that I will never be able to experience.  I felt very much like I was eavesdropping at a fancy restaurant on people I would never actually know.  

Rich people. 

Rich entitled people who can afford to by houses / apartments in another country and have their decorator fly to design the space. It was so out of my very own league that it made the concept of the book entertaining but maddening. I suppose reading it when the nightly podcasts and news tell me how many people are unemployed, reading about a character who buys an apartment in Venice because she nary wants to live in this country anymore under the current (as of November 2016) presidency rings a lot hollow to me. I wanted to like these characters... but I just couldn't. I couldn't get there. Plus all the characters were using one another in a way that just was so hollow. I don't think truly any of them like one another very much.

The writing and the dialogue is expansive, lovely and honestly what kept me engaged. But it was a hard one to finish for me.  I just sorta stopped caring about the main characters and some of the secondary characters. Also some characters completely disappear. There is one ... who could have become a much bigger character I think... just sort of stopped being in the story. It was weird. So when the book ended and just kinda tidied everything up in a nice little bow I was satisfied.  

I liked the book. It was good. Not great. It needed a little more zing and zang that I think a good decorator would give to a Venice apartment with bland beige walls and an overgrown garden could.


***spoiler and I promise my only one ***

There is one monologue in the story near the end that is touching as hell (in a way) but I wanted to punch the character because he was explaining why he didn't want to return to Venice. This is why the character is punch-able to me... His actions and the author choosing to have this character reveal that he had a lover who dies of AIDS but the character refused after that to ever get a test himself was completely offensive to me. I don't know what the point of that is. And it's never really explained and there is no repercussions for the character.

Which is kinda the way the book goes. Great promise... a couple of great potential storylines that just kinda didn't really go anywhere like I hoped.


View all my reviews

Flatiron by Michael Heslin- simple sentences for a complex story

What a lovely remembrance of what NY was and still is in a way.  The story passes over a couple of decades and the complex relationships the narrator has with the women and some men in his life.  We never learn the name of the protagonist but get to know him through his first person tales of the City, his friends and perhaps his loves. 

He meets one of the main characters in 1964 where this story begins and ends in 1989.  It follows their friendship, her successes as a photographer, his trials of surviving as a short order cook and cabbie, his friendships (and possible love) with another woman and other friends in his life.  Our protagonist tells us his tale is short, simple and less than complex ways but it is so very deep this story. 

Its a fascinating history lesson of the city as well. We see the city change, the people in it at their lowest sometimes and I as the reader, really got into it.  It's a side of NY in the 70s and 80s we have heard talk of many times but this is from a slight outsider view.  There was a lot of empathy for the narrator for me.  His life was not easy, his friendships and relationships were not easy... but he was really so very kind to everyone that he engaged with.  As a cabbie he waited in a hospital lobby to find out about the birth of a child that started in his cab after being paged for the far, just to have the fare never page him again.  It was sad.  People used him.  That was hard.  He is a very kind character in a very hard environment.  You have to have some empathy for him.  I did.

I enjoyed this story and I appreciate that in the end I was hopeful that he was able to find some payback for how people used him. 

It's not a heavy read.  It's not a difficult read.  But it is a solid read.  It did take me a few stops and starts to understand that this is completely first person, told in the way the author anticipated this character to speak.  Short and simple sentences like I said for a character that really truly is far more complex than presented.  I really appreciated this storytelling style so very much. 

Enjoyable.  That is my short and simple but complex take. 
Available from what it looks like as a Kindle published book on July 21st 2020 at $4.99.  I was provided the book to read and all opinions are mine. 

Antkind by Charlie Kaufman

Antkind by Charlie Kaufman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Phew this was a tough one to read and honestly I am going to confess I haven't finished it... but I have a promise to keep to talk about it... it's publishing soon (I am posting this about two weeks prior).

It took me two months to get past the first two chapters. Seriously. Two weeks to read about a bug getting squashed (or was it a drone) on a windshield. Then after that things really kicked into gear. And the gears directed me into a rabbit hole. A complex, swirling rabbit hole of the main character. It's really really good y'all.  Don't let the length, the complexity or that it's weird scare you off... it's really good.  I am relishing in it. 

Charlie Kaufman really loves his words. In this 720 page tome not a single complex word is wasted. Seriously. To me not a one. Wowza. That is valuable. I have loved it. The challenge of getting past those first two chapters, the challenge of learning a new pronoun, the challenge of seeing the film that is the center of this book.

Yes this is how twisty and complex this is. Charlie Kaufman's gauntlet has been thrown down and it's a joy to accept the challenge. I don't think Charlie Kaufman looks at the reader as the enemy that the knight might, but definitely is challenging the reader.

I have seen it said that this is an absurdist fantasy. But it is the connection to Charlie Kaufman and his mind that makes this less fantasy but absurdist for sure. Keep in mind the calculated deeper message Charlie Kaufman always has. This is a book about a deep love of the genre of "film" and how we get to that point is part of the journey... the fantastical, wordy, charming and imaginative journey.

Not an easy read, but one that I am very seriously enjoying as I am moving along.


View all my reviews

Wear your mask... for f sake already.

This is has been such an emotionally difficult couple of weeks for me.  On the pandemic front I work for a medical company and I struggle along with my compatriots on the front lines, I watch the numbers, I literally obsess about the numbers.  I watch them go up, then down than up again, for those infected and passing away.  It's a huge drain.  About three weeks ago I stopped watching the numbers.  Honestly I thought it would make me feel better. It didn't.  I just didn't watch the numbers but I knew that they were changing.  I won't work in the office yet, I am in a risk category.  A minor one but I do smoke and it's a two-fer of risk factors.  My head isn't in the sand by any means.  But even not watching the numbers has been emotionally hard on me.

Then my soul has been broken by the Black Lives Matter movement happening in our country. Honestly I can't imagine or even dream what my fellow humans are even remotely going through or have been.  Keep this in mind. They are risking EVERYTHING right now to go out and protest so that black people are treated fair, respected and not treated as anything but HUMAN by the mere authority that they are trying to fix the relationship with. That is the sign of an abuse.  It's got to stop.  It. Has. Got. To. Stop.  Our fellow humans can't escape the abusive partner in this relationship because the partner is the one source that is supposed to help. 

Can you imagine?  Everything. Those folks on the front line too are risking everything.  Beyond their health.  There are some companies that will fire those marching because they are talking their truth.  Yes, too their health.  It is amazing.  And brave and sadly beyond any measure but so very necessary. 

Please please please understand that of our fellow humans are out there making necessary change in this world. Love on them. Treat them with love.  Help us all in humanity be better. 

And when they say Defund the Police, it speaks to defunding the militarization of the police and funding the social changes that need to be addressed. Our police officers should NOT be social workers, EMTs, school counselors, psychiatric triage nurses, dog catchers, neighbor dispute resolvers.  They should be PEACE officers.  They should not be the folks that walk in alone to situations that they haven't been trained for.  Community Resource officers should go with them.  They should work together and be part of the solution not the problem and this is what defund the police means (at least that is what I gotten out of what I have read... if it means something else, I would love to know).  And I whole heartily agree with this.  I have a friend (or actually friends) who are cops and their job sucks.  I went on a ride along maybe 15 years ago... went on a welfare check to a house and it was horrible what my friend had to deal with.  If there was another compassionate healthcare worker along side my friend, the situation would have been very different from the outset.  The person in crisis probably wouldn't have been in crisis honestly.  So yes, defund the police... fund partners in health man.  Mental and Physical.  Lets work together to make a better future.  It can happen.  All I know is I am just broken.   I am not sure how this really relates to much of anything that I can do except write about it.  Document what I know. 

But I am sorely broken and trying to fix my heart right now.

Go Do Some Good..... Love Wins.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin    Wilson


I loved The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson (the movie not as much… but you know that happens sometimes). After waiting patiently to get the ebook from my local library I was notified last week my hold was available. Whew was it worth it.

I dropped everything I was already reading. It’s been a treat to read. Just easy, compelling and otherwise (and I am sorry to use this again….) a joy. I really got into these characters.
The main character Lillian really comes into her stride when she moves in to take care of her charges, that literally are charged with the ability to combust. I think it’s an analogy about anger and frustration with situations that are out of ones control perhaps. I don’t care, it’s a plot point that is really in my opinion … an aside. Really truly… it isn’t as much a major function of the book… that isn’t a spoiler but my opinion.

Responsibility to and love within friendships makes this book tick.

I can totally see why this novel has become a book club favorite. It’s about love, friendship and ultimately the fire of parenthood, which is completely and utterly engaging.

If I still had my book club active (sadly once I gave up on facebook, our book club quickly fell apart) this absolutely would have been a read. It would have been interesting because we had some parents some not parents in the group. I would have loved to hear the parents take on the fire aspect of the children’s lives. Does this mirror what a meltdown really looks and feels like without the combustion and subsequent damage? Since I couldn’t ask them, I have to assume, yes this is a metaphor for general childhood and learning to love. The light of this novel is watching Lillian work through the fires and learns instinctively how to quell them.

Other reviews state that the children of the novel are damaged. I didn’t see them this way. I saw the three main characters (Lillian, Bessie and Roland) as the most honest characters of the book. They aren’t damaged at all. Sorry to those that think they are. Misfits? Nope… not that either. The conversations between the three are full of nuture and need that similar to that Nick Lowe song “Love Starvation” they are looking for something and are pretty honest about it.
The finale’ of the book is pretty straightforward and honestly I wouldn’t have wanted to have the book end any other way. It does wrap up in a nice pretty little package with a pink warm bow. I can’t imagine this charming of a story ending any other way.

A rather enjoyable read, warm and touching. If I ever get that book club going again… I would love to reread and discuss. Maybe win this movie gets made I will be able to get a group together again.


View all my reviews

This is what instagram should really be used for:

View this post on Instagram

A video you never thought you needed until now. Sound on for this 🔊 #Lizzo #aristocats . . . who made this?! We are obsessed with it 🤣 . #feminism #feminist #workhard #youmatter #worth #youmatter #History #slay #metoo #timesup #selfworth #believe #empowerment #InspirationalWomen #inspirational #protest #positivevibes #positivity #female #heforshe #achieve #support #feminist #instagood #kindness .

A post shared by The Female Lead (@the_female_lead) on May 5, 2020 at 4:05am PDT

Here Goes Nothing by Eamon McGrath

This book interweaves tales of musicians on the road and a band later (oh and some surfing).  Two different time lines intertwine and bring forth a magical tale.

REALLY enjoyed this book.  I know musicians who have had the van life, I have always secretly wanted to go out on the road with some band. But one: I have no musical talent and two: ew stinky boys in a van... so it's never actually never worked out for me.

This was a peak behind the curtain further in a tour beyond going to a green room and drinking band's PBRs out of the band beer bucket (just one... since the merch gal really needs to respect the bands beers).

There is a bit of the story that takes you inside a perfect wave that is magnificent to read.  I never was that great of a surfer to be in a curl.  It's obvious the author has and put me in that wave. It was incredible.

The story moves back and forth between a couple of narratives that sometimes is a little confusing but then again, time stops and starts when you are on tour. So that fits this design of how the book is written.

I really don't want to give anything away about the intertwine but it was worth it.

Its complex for sure.

A quick easy and enjoyable read.  It was a great follow up to the previous book that was less than enjoyable.

I was able to read a chapter or so each night before bed and honestly... it was a really nice escape before going to bed.

A great quick and light read for sure....

Also note that it's more poignant to read about Paraguay, Spain, United States, Canada and Van Life in general with a band(s) on the road with these characters. They are obviously living their lives in a world that right now at least is so vastly different than ours the readers currently.  It was a great escape into a world and situations that have been and may from here on out be very different, and it was a joy. They are out in the world, traversing it without masks, social distancing and all the issues that currently befall us as readers during this time.  It was a great escape. 

I am not compensated for the review nor the link... just know I enjoyed it so very much, it was a great ride along with a group of people that I otherwise would never be able to hang out with.  Thanks go out to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the galley and preview copy.  It was a fun one.

Remain in Love by Chris Frantz


So when the word came down that there was another Rock and Roll Memoir coming out and Chris Frantz the drummer for both the Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club was the author, I was really anticipatory. There was some hype I suppose so when I was granted access to the galley I was actually really very excited. I am not a huge Talking Heads fan, but really do like the band. I also have liked the Tom Tom Club and honestly, candidly, when I was standing outside before we went into the show and saw Tina Weymouth I got a lot giddy when I saw her come off the bus to go into the venue. They are so iconic and was really walking into reading this book with the same enthusiasm.

So when the word came down that there was another "Rock and Roll Memoir" coming out and Chris Frantz the drummer for both bands wrote his, I was really anticipated something great. I was disappointed.

So. Here is where I get very uncomfortable but am going to be VERY deliberate in how I state this. I did not like what I read. . I got about 30 % into the book and decided... It was not for me.

I felt like I was reading a post card from a kid from camp. The writing and story telling was so stilted and it's boring. So boring. The shortest and most stilted sentences made for a difficult and boring read. Honestly I just decided I needed to move on. I was just saying aloud that there is something off about what I was reading... honestly it feels like a first draft that came off Chris Frantz's word processor and hadn't gone before a line editor yet. . What I read needs a lot of work to make it a more compelling read ... to me.

The hope when I started the book was that the bands he was or is in are know for being so creative, genre busting and dynamic that the book would be too. I didn't find it so.

Thanks to St Martin's Press for the galley. But this was not for me. I write this with great sadness as I was really excited and interested in the memoir.


View all my reviews

Ripped from the Headlines - The Shocking True Stories Behind the Movies' Most Memorable Crimes by Harold Schechter

True Stories make literature so very interesting don’t you think?  

I read  Ripped from the Headlines! and was pulled in.  Some of the stories were who dun it's, some were crimes against others... and some were just court dramas but all were interesting stories. 

The theme of the book it to present a film, discuss the plot points and how the movie stays true to or veers from the real tale.  Mr. Schechter is a crime novelist so it was interesting to read his synopisis of the tales from that perspective and not a filmmaker perspective as well.  

I think this book would make an amazing film theory course book.  It so very much reminded me of film school.  And it was a nice journey back to when I was in film school.  I know that sounds dismissive, it isn’t I loved film school by the way. 

The one thing that I think was sorely missing is more current films sprinkled in.  Most of the films were from the more recent past the most recent movie revealed was 2015.  But I will say perhaps that is when his research was taking place.   

The author indicates that the brevity of the discussion is meant to inspire future viewing of the films and indicates that all the movies are available to see via the various streaming platforms that we have available to us, which is really terrific.

Some of the movies I had never heard of and plan to look into with the book as a refence tool for the story behind the story.

It was a quick read and an interesting one if you are a film, history or film history buff. I really enjoyed it and look forward to having this book available as a reference tool to spark discussions about them when we watch them... which we will!

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Little A for providing me a review copy... this was a great book that I will use and reread I am sure.

What have I read during the Pandemic of 2020...

I have been able to read alot of books during the quarantine and not all are listed and reviewed below.  I first want to thank Netgalley, the public library systems and friends who have given me books... oh and Amazon for shipping one of them to me so quickly.  

Another thing... we updated a room in our house to be what we originally intended it to be... a library.  It was an office/music studio/painting studio up until last Thursday when we moved a desk to our basement and thus moved the office and music studio to a much better place in the house.  I got my oh so desired library and reading safe space.

I can focus and read in a space that is purely dedicated to it.  It's a magic thing.

So behind the cut are the books that I have read in March and April 2020. 

OH all books are linked to Amazon... there is no affiliate link, I do not get any commission, it's just an easy resource for folks to get a book.  Just to be clear.  I do suggest if you can, go to your local independent bookstore...give them your money.  If you don't want the physical copy see if your library has the Kindle (or reader of your choice available then give them a couple bucks or become a member at a sponsor level) and support your community... that is what I do.  

Becoming by Michelle Obama.

I have one short paragraph about my thoughts about this book.

OMG this book slays.  I was so inspired by her story, the tone in which this book was written and how much it really resonated with me.  It just slays.   I wish I had read it when it came out, I really honestly think things in my life and how I look at them (the challenges mostly) would have been different. SLAYS. I am going to buy a hard copy... read it and annotate it. There are big lessons to be learned here.

Kindness and Wonder: Why Mister Rogers Matters Now More Than Ever

A book about Mr. Rodgers and how we can all learn his lessons, follow the path and bring some of the Neighborhood to our lives each and every day.

With the resurgence of love and admiration for Fred Rodgers, I wasn’t surprised to see another book hit the bookshelves about him.  At first I thought this is another biography about Fred Rodgers, certainly but it was the second half, more on that later, that really made me sit back and relish the book.

In one way or another anyone that finds interest in Mr. Rodgers has been touched by him in some way so it’s hard to not go into reading this wondering when the author is going to insert himself into the story.  But that doesn’t happen. He tells many stories of other people, some we are familiar with and some new friends.  And I was relieved.  I appreciated it so much. It let me learn and grow from the stories.

The first part of the book really is a timeline of the production and development of the television show, along with the development and temperament of Fred Rodger’s life.  Some of the more personal items are lightly discussed but it really is about the development of the television show for this first part of the book.  Which as a former tv producer, I found incredibly fascinating but may be a little boring for those who may not be interested in the minuetia of television production.  I am not saying it’s boring, it certainly isn’t but there are some more interesting things to be investigated and read. 

As I was writing this I thought… wow… this book kinda has the same gentle character and desire to teach as the tv show did.  There is that same pacing actually. Nothing is really dumbed down to the reader, just like nothing was dumbed down to the children that Fred Rodgers and his partners/team presented to or taught anything to.  The pace of the book was really gentle and well presented.

Part two of the book is really where the book shines.  I wasn’t anticipating this part of the book to be honest, since I picked the book solely on the subject matter not how the book was designed.

The second part of the book really is a how to manual with examples of “Ten Ways to Live More Like Mr. Rogers Right Now”.  Which upon coming up on that title page made my brain open right up and I literally said “yes, this is what I need right now… thank you Gavid Edwards”.   I had no clue just how touching all the stories and examples would be. Some stories I knew and had read before or seen before but many were new.  Again, this is where the book really shines and shows the reader the deep humanity of Fred Rodgers and how we as readers can learn from his example.

If you are looking for a little more insight into Fred Rodgers and Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood that you may not have already had… this is a great book to get you there.

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves

I decided at the beginning of April, with being at home full time and working that I needed to revisit this book.  I took part in a "work book club" about two years ago and went all in on the lessons. But I think with time and life I let some of the things that I adopted fade.

I wanted to make sure that in my new existence in the workforce and how I support those that I work for and with that I supported with empathy and understanding. I needed to revisit the book.   The four concepts really resonate with me strongly and I am glad that I reread it.  It's a good book to revisit and get that booster shot of social awareness training. 

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I got the book from a friend at work a while back and had the time to sit and read it recently.

I read this other review that said it was a "masterpiece".  I won't go that far. It was good.  I had pictures in my head of what they looked like and sounded like.  I didn't go to the obvious place (it is referenced at the end of the book, and I won't reference it here so that your ideas of these characters isn't tainted) though.  

The format of the book is presented as transcripts from interviews (ala Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain).  I can't imagine that the author didn't read that book and take her format inspiration from that format.  It works for sure, and progresses the storyline really well.

It also made for a very entertaining and easy read.  

The song lyrics at the end of the book was a nice surprise (amoungst others in the story) and I have to give credit where that is due because I really wanted to hear the songs (but can't at least until the movie comes out) because the band and characters are not real.

These were great characters to spend some of my quarantine with... that is for sure. 

And in fact that is what I said in the thank you note to the person that loaned the book to me.

I have three books that I am currently reading :

Banging the Monkey - by Tod A

The Village: 400 Years of Beats and Bohemians, Radicals and Rogues, a History of Greenwich Village by John Strausbaugh

Diane Arbus: A biography by Patricia Bosworth

Other things that I have been doing to keep myself creative in this time:

I have been making birthday cards to donate to the Project Angel Heart birthday team. I am hoping to make 500 by the time that this is all over.  I have about 4/5 more to go... but I am going to do it.  I love making cards and am finding that it's really actually super fun to go through what I have handy to make things with.  Since I can't order anything new (although I did preorder some stamps from Ink Road Stamps recently) I have used what I have around here. It's really nice actually to use what I have. Plus it makes me look forward to when all of this is over that I will be able to go crazy and order lots of new stuff because I actually will need it and not just want it. Probably once I get all 500 made I will post some of them up here.  Tomorrow (Saturday) I really hope to make many many cards made.  I have prepped my space, what I am going to listen to and culled 6 card designs that I want to do multiples of. 

I have been trying to cook something new and different every day.  I don't think once in the last five weeks that we have been home that I have repeated.  Even if it's salad there is a new riff on it with contents of said salad.  All I know honestly... I am super burned out on cooking dinner. So last weekend I made rainbow cookies and on Wednesday I baked a Spring Fling Cake. Both turned out terrific. Who knew that I would be baking and get such pleasure out of it.  I am not getting on the sourdough bandwagon yet though.  I am waiting for my friend to bring me some starter this weekend.  I am not sure if I will bake a bunch of bread or not because simply put I just cant eat bread like I used to... f' you carbs and blood sugar. So I am worried about having it in the house alot.  I may have to bake for my neighbors that can though.  We will see.

I have also started to weed our small gardens in the back and the front.  They are mostly flower beds but I do have some mint that I planted last year that I am hoping to start seeing come in again soon.

I am going to hand dye with botanicals next.  I have some thank you presents that I need to make and thought that it would be nice to make something useful... so I am going to try dying cotton napkins and towels with avocado.  It will be about three weeks before I try that but it's on deck, I have all the details for what I need, and just have to order the napkins/towels.  

I am trying to maintain some sanity. It's really hard and I am trying to not feel warn down either.  But it's a lot right now for sure.

Trying to keep my spirits up, read alot and make something creative every day....

Any tips and tricks or book ideas... please feel free to share... this is open season for hive help!

Barry Sonnenfeld: Call Your Mother

I started to read the book with a feeling that it would be a ride through a director that I admire memory and history.  As from some of the other reviews that I have glanced at have said.  

What I didn’t expect was a description of a neurotic survivor who was surrounded as he grew up of completely dysfunctional and otherwise neurotic people who happened to be family members and friends.  

This is a very funny book if you are prepared to read about some serious dysfunction.  It’s very touching and also really sometimes difficult to read. If you get past the difficult passages you will literally laugh aloud. 

Some of my favorite passages are those where Barry Sonnenfeld talks about himself and recognizes how neurotic he is and explains why.  Most of the book is riffing on this.  Hey if you can’t make fun of yourself who can you make fun of is the saying right?

As I was thinking about what I was going to write, I realized how hard it is to write a review of a book that really is pretty painful to read some of the time, but, you know really does end up ok… and has a great martini recipe?  What is my take on this?  I was honestly thinking that I don’t like to give away too much about myself but I do find myself wanting to make fun of my personal neurosis.  I was driving to an appointment, thinking I would rather be going anywhere else I heard an interview on the radio and honestly… this helped me decide to put the book down for a couple of weeks and marinate in what I wanted to get out of it.

 At first I thought I was going to get insight into a filmmaker’s background and business. Nope it really is a collection of anecdotes, very well documented anecdotes about overcoming weird situations with a sense of neurosis and humor and a deep delve into a human's mind. That was the gift of this book.  There it is.  I went in thinking one thing was going to happen and through empathy and reading through a bit of laughter was the gift of understanding someone else's tragedies can bring everyone some joy in a roundabout way.   

 In this book… Barry Sonnenfeld overcomes some of the following…..and I am giving nothing away here… parents that are less than ideal by yesteryears standards or todays for that matter, a horrible cousin, his college shutting down, living in the woods, porn, kidney stones, making films and falling in love (and other maladies).  Normally no one would want to read about these things. But Barry Sonnenfeld has written a first person memoir that takes you to these places and honestly you kinda are glad that he takes you there.

He is very self-effacing and has an incredible sense of humor about what terrible things he has overcome.  I was cheering for him and all his successes as we went along. 

If you can find (and you should) the press that Mr. Sonnenfeld has done for this book, honestly and candidly his talking about it is so much … so much… better than my review ever could be.  Just know that I really did enjoy it. I wanted to gag a little at some of his descriptions but knowing that he probably did a little as he wrote them makes me feel better. I felt like he was telling me a story across a kitchen table.  It was weirdly a joy to read.  As I imagine it was a weird joy for him to write.

Officer Clemmons: A Memoir ... a book and one worth reading!

Why did I want to read this book? 

Basically I don't remember the episode or any that he was actually on... only saw them in context of review of Mr. Rodgers career and triumphs over topics of late.  

And it is always always so interesting to hear the background of someone that is now highlighted as such an important piece of PBS/Mr. Rodgers and television history in a way.  

As a former producer of content for a PBS station I do remember watching Mr. Rodgers in the 90s when I was at the station.  We would watch it in the lobby on the monitor there and just love it, partially for the kitsch but also for the emotion of the show.    

I really do appreciate the publisher for giving me the opportunity to preview the book.   

There is an opening letter to Mr. Rogers. It was incredibly touching and warm and I have to say I had to stop reading because I just was an emotional wreck.  But when I opened the book up again I was taken on the very best journey.  Sad, anger inducing but so incredibly worth it.  The rest of the book had that warmth.  I felt like Dr. Clemmons was sitting next to me telling me his story as I was reading. It was conversational and moved so quickly because I just got enrobed in his story he was telling me.  

He writes of his formative first five years and his family at that time and it is amazing... what is so interesting is that this really wasn't too long ago... use of the word mastuh is really brave (it was the Jim Crow South… and let us not forget… this is still happening in so many ways). Sometimes history we learn states that relationship didn't exist... it absolutely did and this shouldn't be forgotten and I am really proud to see that written about in this memoir.  It sets a scene for a childhood that is so outside the norm for so many of his readers it's important to remember, recognize and honor.   

He writes in very specific terms about the racism that he encounters when joining his friends. What struck me was at the church he got it from a religious person and at the VFW from the doorman.  What was so impressive and a reminder is how the story plays out later in his life.   

Dr. Clemmons discusses the pain and furor of his stepfather and how instead of being subjected to the domestic violence that entered the home, he would retreat to music with his music teacher. I would imagine that this is more usual than unusual for so many and another reason why I think this book is a triumph.  In simple language, you are taken inside his mental space and you understand what he went through.   

His tales of how his high school counselors actually have the gal to tell him to not apply to college but to go to a vocational school shows how misguided they were, based on his heritage and color of his skin.  Sadly I do think this happens still.  Again inert racism.  He realized at that time that he was going to have to make it on his own if he wanted to follow his passions because no one in the authority positions were going to help him out.  Again, without saying it... I am guessing those guidance counselors where white.  Again this wasn't too long ago... it made me wonder deep down inside... does this still happen? 

His acceptance to Oberlin September 1963 is a triumph! His college years have him coming into his own with not only his music but his personal life.  He learns about himself more and more. 

He joins the neighborhood and finds a father figure in Mr. Rogers.  His insight into learning about who Fred Rogers is was so very interesting. As a person of color, gay and creative his view of the production and team was really insightful and a reminder to give everyone a chance and observe them was super interesting to me.  I will try and do this with my  peers in my environments more.  To quote a business style this truly is learning about "Emotional Intelligence".   I don't want to give too much away about the last part of the book because really I am quite sure that is what most readers are going to want to know about it.  All I can say is I learned so much about Dr. Clemmons and Fred Rogers and their relationship it made reading the rest of the book so valuable to me. I found the last half of the book filled with optimism, encouragement, honesty and warmth.  It was a delight start to finish.  

This is a book about overcoming adversity, stereotypes, learning about who you are deep down, kindness and overall love.  Dr. Clemmons strength and optimism shine through this book which was one of the best biographies I have read in a while.  It reads easily, quickly and there are about 100 lessons to be learned on how we go through this world and how we encounter and treat people.  Lead with kindness.