Books:

Currently reading:
Nothing at the moment...

Last books read:
- Misfortune by Wesley Stace - When I found out one of my favorite songer/songwriters was writing a novel I wasn't sure what to expect. I sure didn't expect him to use his real name and to produce this truly exceptional book. I think I expected an "adequate" novel but this is so well-written and descriptive that I was very suprised. I knew he was a clever songwriter but I didn't realize how clever and thorough his writing style would be. It's great stuff!! Amazon.com says "One of the most auspicious debuts of recent years, Wesley Stace's Misfortune follows the rise, fall, and triumphant return of Rose Old, a foundling rescued from a London garbage heap in 1820 by the richest man in Britain. Lord Geoffroy Loveall, whose character has been shaped by perpetual mourning for a sister who died in childhood, seizes on the infant as a replacement for his beloved sister. With the help of trusted servants, he arranges for the child to be lovingly brought up at his ancestral mansion, Loveall Hall--to all appearances, his biological daughter and unhoped-for heir. No matter that the baby is not a girl. The story thus far is so engaging, and the details of Rose's childhood so playfully rendered (when she was first brought to Loveall Hall, the staff of 250 included a servant whose sole responsibility was to iron newspapers before their second reading), that it is with reluctance that the reader meets the inevitable rude, scheming relatives whose plotting will lead to the "misfortune" of the title. Luckily, Stace (the given name of the musician John Wesley Harding) takes too much delight in Rose to dump her back on the garbage heap, or at least not for long. The cross-dressing love child of Great Expectations and A. S. Byatt's Possession, Misfortune will find you breathlessly tracking the movements of its principal players, and applauding the most ridiculous twists of fate. --Regina Marler"

- Clapton, the Autobiography by Eric Clapton - A decent overview of his life. But from his own safe perspective. Sure, he covers his addiction to heroin and his alchoholism, but in the end he comes off a bit smug in his recovery and his defense of his hunting seems more defensive than believable. "I try to eat what I kill" doesn't justify killing defensless animals. I wanted more in-depth discussion of the music, like I saw in the Neil Young and Joe Strummer biographies that I read recently. Maybe it was because this was an AUTObiography, and Eric only wanted to show some of the rough parts, the warts and flaws. A bit self-serving but don't misunderstand, it was an interesting read and I enoyed it. But it wasn't great.

- The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards - I had a hard time putting this best-seller down. I can see why it has been on the best-seller list for so long. It's a gripping read, with fine character development. And you will want to know what is going to happen next. Recommended.

- Inside The Yellow Submarine: The Making Of The Beatles Animated Classic by Dr. Robert R. Hieronimous - An in depth look at the making of the classic animated film, with more knowledge and interviews than most people will even want. But if you are a big fan of the film, this will shed a lot of light on things and teach you a lot about how ithe fiflm got made and almost didn't. Scholarly and informative.

- Redemption Song: The Ballad Of Joe Strummer by Chris Salewicz - This was a pretty good look at the Clash frontman. The problem was I red it after the Neil Young bio, which was a lot better IMNSHO. But I still enjoyed this one. From Publisher's Weekly: "For a long moment, the Clash channeled the most progressive elements in pop culture, blending punk anger, rasta vibes, bank robbers, cowboys and revolutionary traditions into music that remains compelling today. After the band's breakup in 1985, Strummer fell into a long depression that Salewicz attributes to heavy pot smoking and a family legacy that included his brother's suicide. Yet Strummer had revitalized his career and was making excellent music before his sudden death of heart failure in 2002. As a young writer in the punk years, Salewicz had plenty of access to Strummer, and does a good job of providing a blow-by-blow account of the tours and albums. However, Salewicz provides little historical context, thereby diminishing the importance of the Clash. Despite nearly 600 pages of analysis, Strummer remains an opaque figure."

- Shakey - Neil Young's Biography by Jimmy McDonough - from the Amazon description "Cantankerous and secretive, Neil Young has banished authors from his inner sanctum--until now. In Shakey, Jimmy McDonough distills more than 300 interviews (including guarded yet revealing interrogations of Young himself) into the definitive biography: the skyrocket success, willful disasters, health horrors and triumphs, stunning comebacks, and highly colorful scuffles with equally impossible characters like Stephen Stills, David Crosby, and the incompetent yet brilliant musicians of Crazy Horse. Young is not quite the noble soul some thought--he's an astounding control freak. But he is never less than fascinating." BTW, I really enjoyed this book. The more of a Neil fan you are, the more you will enjoy this.

- David Sedaris 'Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim - A collection of humorous short shories. At first I didn't see what the buzz was about this author. But the more I read and the further I got into the book the more I liked it. Maybe the best stuff was in the last half? Or maybe I just warmed to his style? Whatever. I enjoyed it. Publishers Weekly says "In his latest collection, Sedaris has found his heart. This is not to suggest that the author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and other bestselling books has lost his edge. The 27 essays here (many previously published in Esquire, G.Q. or the New Yorker, or broadcast on PRI's This American Life) include his best and funniest writing yet. Here is Sedaris's family in all its odd glory. Here is his father dragging his mortified son over to the home of one of the most popular boys in school, a boy possessed of "an uncanny ability to please people," demanding that the boy's parents pay for the root canal that Sedaris underwent after the boy hit him in the mouth with a rock. Here is his oldest sister, Lisa, imploring him to keep her beloved Amazon parrot out of a proposed movie based on his writing. ("'Will I have to be fat in the movie?' she asked.") Here is his mother, his muse, locking the kids out of the house after one snow day too many, playing the wry, brilliant commentator on his life until her untimely death from cancer. His mother emerges as one of the most poignant and original female characters in contemporary literature. She balances bitter and sweet, tart and rich—and so does Sedaris, because this is what life is like. "You should look at yourself," his mother says in one piece, as young Sedaris crams Halloween candy into his mouth rather than share it. He does what she says and then some, and what emerges is the deepest kind of humor, the human comedy."

- Gregory McGuire "Wicked - the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West". - What happened before the Wizard Of Oz? How were the witches, good and evil, born and what events in their lives made them become what they became? Intereting and thought-provoking. One reviewer said this: 'Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, has gotten a bum rap. Her mother is embarrassed and repulsed by her bright-green baby with shark's teeth and an aversion to water. At college, the coed experiences disapproval and rejection by her roommate, Glinda, a silly girl interested only in clothes, money, and popularity. Elphaba is a serious and inquisitive student. When she learns that the Wizard of Oz is politically corrupt and causing economic ruin, Elphaba finds a sense of purpose to her life?to stop him and to restore harmony and prosperity to the land. A Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and an unknown species called a "Dorothy" appear in very small roles... The story presents Elphaba in a sympathetic and empathetic manner-readers will want her to triumph! The conclusion, however, is the same as L. Frank Baum's. The book has both idealism and cynicism in its discussion of social, religious, educational, and political issues present in Oz, and, more pointedly, present in our day and time. The idealism is whimsical and engaging; the cynicism is biting. Sometimes the earthy language seems appropriate and adds to the sense of place; sometimes the four-letter words and sexual explicitness distract from the charm of the tale. The multiple threads to the plot proceed unevenly, so that the pace of the story jumps rather than moves steadily forward. Wicked is not an easy rereading of The Wizard of Oz. It is for good readers who like satire, and love exceedingly imaginative and clever fantasy.'

- Augusten Borroughs "Running With Scissors" - Not for the timid but I liked it. A wild ride of a novel. Here is the publisher's synopsis: "Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa and a lunatic in the bargain. Suddenly, at age twelve, Augusten Burroughs found himself living in a dilapidated Victorian in perfect squalor. The doctor's bizarre family, a few patients, and a pedophile living in the backyard shed completed the tableau. Here, there were no rules; there was no school. The Christmas tree stayed up until summer, and Valium was eaten like Pez. And when things got dull, there was always the vintage electroshock-therapy machine under the stairs... "

- Alice Sebold - "The Lovely Bones" - One review says "a remarkable story about love and family and letting go. Susie Salmon is 14 when she is raped and murdered by a neighbor, a serial killer of women who moves from town to town after each of his crimes. Susie's death sends her family into a tailspin as they each try to cope with the tragedy in their own way. Susie narrates the story from heaven, watching her friends, family, and the murderer move on with their lives. Alice Sebold does a wonderful job catching the rhythms and interactions of a family and community, and is surprising at times with the strength of her prose in a story about loss and finding the love that was never gone. "

- John Cleese and Connie Booth - "The Complete Fawlty Towers". All twelve scripts for the hilarious Brit-com.

- Marc Silver - "Breast Cancer Husband: How to Help Your Wife (and Yourself) Through Diagnosis, Treatment, and Beyond". This was recommended by a friend and also by some people on an online support group. I learned quite a bit and would recommend this book to anyone who's wife has been diagnosed. Or even if you just want to learn more.

- Al Franken - "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them". Very funny and, unfortunately, very true. A smart and biting satirical look at the right wing. Al shows them for the manipulative liars that they are. He takes their own words and then gives us the real facts, with the references to back them up. If lying is a sin, then Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Colter, Hannity, will surely burn in hell, not to mention Dubya, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, and the other lying liars in the administration.

- Michael Moore - "Downsize This". An early effort by the Academy Award winning filmaker and best-selling author. He examines the ironic fact that companies often make huge profits and pay their executives enormous bonuses that most of us will never even dream about. Then these same companies lay off hundreds or thousands of employees. See, profits are for the wealthy, and in America today the motto is "the rich get richer and greed is good". Luckily for us normal people, Michael is there to put them out in the open for all to see.

Other books you should read:

Steven King and Peter Straub - The Talisman
Steven King and Peter Straub - Black House
John Irving - The World According to Garp
John Irving - The Cider House Rules
Douglas Adams - Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
   (all five volumes of the trilogy)
Michael Moore - Stupid White Men
Michael Moore - Dude, Where's My Country
Hunter S Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five