"If grown men can have bar mitzvahs, grandmothers can give birth, and Mick Jagger can sing 'Time Is on My Side,' then can't I have the mental prowess "If grown men can have bar mitzvahs, grandmothers can give birth, and Mick Jagger can sing 'Time Is on My Side,' then can't I have the mental prowess of someone who looks young enough to be carded?"
This is really a padded magazine article rather than a book. Slight but entertaining. ...more
These interviews are arranged chronologically. I listened to the discs in reverse order, so I heard the CD of interviews with today's comedians first,These interviews are arranged chronologically. I listened to the discs in reverse order, so I heard the CD of interviews with today's comedians first, then the archival interviews and audio from TV and stage stars, and finally the interviews with historians and film critics about the early stars (Stepin Fetchit, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Groucho Marx).
My favorite anecdote: Marlo Thomas says that when Billy Crystal was seven years old, he used to love the Jack Paar Show, and he would set up his chair off to the side of the TV set so he could pretend to be the next guest. I also enjoyed Thomas's story about how she and a friend were nearly expelled from an exclusive Catholic girls' school for stealing the bells off the altar. She was 13. She and her classmate thought it was ridiculous that women weren't allowed on the altar--no altar girls back then. The mother superior told Danny Thomas, "Margaret does not have the character or discipline" to do well at the school. And Danny Thomas said, acting completely serious, "I know, Mother Superior. That's why I am entrusting her to you." (Afterward he told Margo, "Don't you EVER make me go head-to-head with that woman again.")
Hosted by Ophira Eisenberg--or, as she was once introduced at a party, "Oprah Something-Jewish."...more
I decided to read this book because (a) I admire Ann Romney even though I disagree with her husband Mitt on almost every political issue and (b) I wanI decided to read this book because (a) I admire Ann Romney even though I disagree with her husband Mitt on almost every political issue and (b) I wanted to find out why she gut-punched her son Tagg that one time.
The punch story comes up on page 3. Ann and Mitt had five sons, and the boys didn't always get along, and one time Tagg (the oldest, then 16) was fighting bitterly with the second-oldest, and Ann tried to break it up, and Tagg started yelling at her, and she just lost it and punched Tagg in the stomach. Everybody was quiet for a few seconds, and then everyone except Tagg burst out laughing.
Ann uses this story to show that the Romneys have their ups and downs like every family, but to me this anecdote reveals what a sexist society we still live in. Can you imagine if a male public figure admitted that one day it all got too much and he punched his kid in the stomach? People would say he was a thug with a hair-trigger temper. They would look for patterns of aggression. But when a woman does it, it's just a funny story about a crazy thing that happened one time.
I was also disappointed by her tone-deaf comments about working moms. Of course she was upset when people said publicly that she'd never worked a day in her life. Being the mother of five boys is hard work! But she describes herself as a "full-time mother," as if moms who work outside the home completely forget about their kids while they're on the job. (I checked with my mom, who says she still considers herself a full-time mom even though I am a grown-ass woman.) And she says that during the campaign "there still was a stigma attached to putting your children before your job." Ann, most non-sociopaths consider their children more important than their jobs. Sheesh.
On a paragraph-by-paragraph level, this is a good memoir. But it's ultimately very frustrating because the structure is baffling, especially in the first few chapters. Ann ping-pongs from anecdote to anecdote and jumps around in time, which meant I had to work hard to try to figure out why I was reading about these incidents in this order. I don't think her editor served her well. Even adding chapter titles would have helped. As is, this seems like she "talked a book" -- in other words, that she recorded a bunch of anecdotes on audio, and her publisher transcribed them and gave them a light edit.
I was intrigued by her description of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases. The center focuses on five conditions (MS, ALS, Parkinson's, brain tumors, and Alzheimer's) and tries to figure out if treatments for one illness will work for the others. It's a great idea and one that might prevent a tremendous amount of suffering. And then she has to go and ruin it by quoting Emile Coué, the famous quack of the 1920s. Coué's results were not scientifically valid. It is not possible to cure a prolapsed uterus by saying, "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better." I wish it were.
This book has one unintentionally hilarious double entendre: "Some of our best times together were spent in the dark." ...more
Appealing and enlightening even for those of us who aren't planning on writing a memoir. Karr offers advice from her own experience writing three memoAppealing and enlightening even for those of us who aren't planning on writing a memoir. Karr offers advice from her own experience writing three memoirs and teaching college courses in the art of memoir. She also gives advice and examples from other authors -- ones she has interacted with and ones she knows only through their work. ...more
Builds slowly, then meanders into jokes and stories from Irishmen, and then things happen very quickly. The ending is very dark, even for a mystery noBuilds slowly, then meanders into jokes and stories from Irishmen, and then things happen very quickly. The ending is very dark, even for a mystery novel....more
Not her best work--Chast mostly writes and draws for adult audiences, and this is supposed to be for children. Still, it is a pleasure to read a childNot her best work--Chast mostly writes and draws for adult audiences, and this is supposed to be for children. Still, it is a pleasure to read a children's book that doesn't try to teach anything or build reading skills or provide moral guidance. It's just for fun....more
"Over on the other side of the house, trying to get at the second-story flames, Jed had melted the top off his ladder. The ladder hangs in the fire ha"Over on the other side of the house, trying to get at the second-story flames, Jed had melted the top off his ladder. The ladder hangs in the fire hall now, and we have a rule: If the high end of your ladder melts, stay on the low end."
Essays from a writer trained as a nurse. He traveled the world and then moved back to the area where he grew up. He, his brothers, and his mother were volunteer firefighters and/or EMTs. The part about the swooning goose actually made me tear up....more
This was short but fun. It plays with ideas from classic ghost stories without actually becoming a parody of them."You like ghost stories?" Sure, kid.
This was short but fun. It plays with ideas from classic ghost stories without actually becoming a parody of them. The first page is not at all what I was expecting....more
I think I'm done with this series. Like the previous book, this one has a rushed ending. I'm not sure how and why some of the murders were committed. I think I'm done with this series. Like the previous book, this one has a rushed ending. I'm not sure how and why some of the murders were committed. It's too bad because some of the characters are terrifically entertaining.
I noticed that in this one the author cut way back on the number of Scotticisms, and the ones that are here are explained much more clearly in context. I think they were making the books hard to sell in the rest of the world--perhaps even in England....more
This is a brief rundown of the history, politics, and demographic future of Texas. In general, I liked the author's writing style, although I winced wThis is a brief rundown of the history, politics, and demographic future of Texas. In general, I liked the author's writing style, although I winced when she said something along the lines of, "The average Texan is not as homophobic as you might think!" ...more
Very entertaining, as the previous two were, but falls apart a bit at the end. Templeton introduces so many compelling characters and then doesn't reaVery entertaining, as the previous two were, but falls apart a bit at the end. Templeton introduces so many compelling characters and then doesn't really wrap things up with many of them....more
Entertaining and informative biography of the Marquis de Lafayette, who at one point was "the richest teenage orphan in France." I didn't remember mucEntertaining and informative biography of the Marquis de Lafayette, who at one point was "the richest teenage orphan in France." I didn't remember much about Marie-Joseph from my schooldays, so it was interesting to find out why he came to America: desire for military glory at a time of peace in France, worshipful admiration to father-figure George Washington, plus the fact that Lafayette was such a bad dancer that Marie Antoinette laughed at him, which meant he had no future in the French court.
The audio CD is read by Vowell with a lot of help from famous actors. ...more
I learned more about Edward Snowden from this comic book (sorry, "example of sequential art") than from any other source. The author has strong opinioI learned more about Edward Snowden from this comic book (sorry, "example of sequential art") than from any other source. The author has strong opinions, but that's fine with me. Instead of focusing exclusively on minutiae about Snowden's character and personal life, as many accounts have done, this book tries to explain how his actions have affected businesses, governments, and citizens....more
Dedication: "This one is for all of us who are from Mars."
Much better than the first BEK children's book, Monsters Eat Whiny Children. The illustratioDedication: "This one is for all of us who are from Mars."
Much better than the first BEK children's book, Monsters Eat Whiny Children. The illustrations are more colorful, and the subject matter is entertaining for adults and children without actually frightening children. And the moral of the story is really lovely: "If you only see what you don't like about someone, you never see what you do like about them."
Apparently Mars is a Yiddish planet; Cousin Irv uses the words "feh" and "no-goodnik."
I loved the offhand comment about how parties are nerve-wracking but on the other hand there is special party food -- "If only you could have party food without a party." Every time I eat something that I consider party food (appetizers, etc.) without actually being at a party, I feel as if I am doing something that's a little bit wrong but delightful all the same....more
This series is fun, even though nothing much happens and the characters don't change much. They're so philosophical: "The unhappy past has a way of asThis series is fun, even though nothing much happens and the characters don't change much. They're so philosophical: "The unhappy past has a way of asserting itself and sometimes it is best just to let such thoughts run their course."
I thought that the children might have more of a role in the later books in the series, but in this one they do and say almost nothing.
It appeals to me that the author says that feminism is basically a fairness issue . . . everybody has the right to pursue happiness and to be rewarded for cleverness and hard work.
**spoiler alert** For the most part, this seems like typical YA to me. Ordinary-seeming girl moves to new town, discovers she has magical powers, is s**spoiler alert** For the most part, this seems like typical YA to me. Ordinary-seeming girl moves to new town, discovers she has magical powers, is sought out by other supernatural misfits. This is a short, plot-driven book with many characters, so there's not much time for character development.
BUT.
I really liked the tension between the different teens in the supernatural group. They argue, manipulate one another, and question each other's goals and values. One of them even questions whether they should be a group at all--maybe they should each do their own thing.
Also, many questions have been left open-ended for the next two books in the series. I'd like to know why the teens haven't discovered any supernatural adults yet. Do the powers fade once a person turns 18 or 21? Or do the adults just hide it better? ...more
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