The Voluntourist by Ken Budd

The Voluntourist by Ken Budd

Completion Date: June 1, 2012
Reason for Reading: TLC Blog Tour.

VOL·UN·TOUR·IST
n. 1. A guy who attempts to save the world in an attempt to save himself.
2. Someone who can only do it two weeks at a time.
When Ken Budd was thirty-nine, his father collapsed after eighteen holes of golf. Ken and his wife raced to the hospital—but it was too late. In the weeks that followed, as grieving friends revealed how his father had changed their lives, Ken started questioning his own life—and admitting, after years of denial, that he and his wife would never have children.

And then, still struggling with grief—his grief at losing his father, his grief at not being a father—Ken received an e-mail with the subject line: “Katrina Relief Volunteer Opportunities.” He signed up. He went to New Orleans. And he kept volunteering: Costa Rica, to teach English; China, to work with special-needs children; Ecuador, to study climate change; the West Bank, to assist refugees; Kenya, to care for orphans. His goal: to find purpose by helping others, one trip at a time.

Wry, funny, and heartbreakingly honest, The Voluntourist will linger in your mind long after you’ve turned the last page.

When I was browsing the TLC Book Site, I saw this book. I wasn't entirely sure if it was for me, but was sold by the interesting subtitle: 'A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem'. I like travel-type books, but for whatever reason they do not pop up on my reading horizon that often. I have read a couple good ones over the years, but this one takes the travelling differently and sounded like it would be an interesting experience to read about. It starts in Budd's own back yard when he volunteers to help out in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, but it leads him on a path to an entirely different life. He is troubled by the fact that he is never going to be a father and finds that he has to tackle this troubling news by helping out others. It also stems from the recent unexpected loss of his own father.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I have always wanted to travel the world myself and do some of the unique volunteer experiences available. It hasn't happened for me yet, but it was fun to read about someone else's experiences. He does things that I had never even heard about before let alone thought about doing myself. I did enjoy reading about someone else experiencing those things while I weighed the pros and cons for myself. I like how Ken Budd writes. I never felt bogged down with information and he has a conversational-type style that worked well for this type of book. It is the sort of book where I wasn't blown away, but I wasn't disappointed either. I am happy that I read it and I agree with the Booklist quote on the front: "Readers of this unique travel memoir will undoubtedly be inspired to take a [volunteer trip] of their own." I think that is what I got from this book.

Bottom line: A recommended read. Especially for those that want to have armchair travel experiences.

Other Thoughts:

Tuesday, June 5th: BookNAround

Wednesday, June 6th: Book Club Classics!

Wednesday, June 6th: The Written World

Thursday, June 7th: Travel Spot

Monday, June 11th: Lisa’s Yarns

Tuesday, June 12th: Joyfully Retired

Thursday, June 14th: readerbuzz

Tuesday, June 19th: West Metro Mommy

Saturday, June 23rd: A Life Sustained

Friday, June 29th: Knowing the Difference

Date TBD: My Bookshelf

MWF seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche

MWF seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche

Completion Date: January 2, 2012
Reason for Reading: Review Copy Provided by Random House Canada.

When Rachel Bertsche first moves to Chicago, she’s thrilled to finally share a zip code, let alone an apartment, with her boyfriend. But shortly after getting married, Bertsche realizes that her new life is missing one thing: friends. Sure, she has plenty of BFFs—in New York and San Francisco and Boston and Washington, D.C. Still, in her adopted hometown, there’s no one to call at the last minute for girl talk over brunch or a reality-TV marathon over a bottle of wine. Taking matters into her own hands, Bertsche develops a plan: She’ll go on fifty-two friend-dates, one per week for a year, in hopes of meeting her new Best Friend Forever. 

In her thought-provoking, uproarious memoir, Bertsche blends the story of her girl-dates (whom she meets everywhere from improv class to friend rental websites) with the latest social research to examine how difficult—and hilariously awkward—it is to make new friends as an adult. In a time when women will happily announce they need a man but are embarrassed to admit they need a BFF, Bertsche uncovers the reality that no matter how great your love life is, you’ve gotta have friends. (From Random House Canada)

This book was meant to be my last read of 2011, but things did not exactly go to plan. Instead it was my first read of 2012. I am hoping that means 2012 will have lots of non-fiction in it because I have been slacking on that lately. I am reading another non-fiction book right now, so maybe! Anyway I read this book because of Lindsey at Reeder Reads. She has had lots of good things to say about it and you can read her review of the book here. I am not so sure I would have picked the book up otherwise. My non-fiction radar tends to be more for historical works and not as many memoirs of sorts.

Anyway, I am very happy I read this book because I could entirely relate to it. In the book Rachel has moved to a different city and has lost her close-knit group of friends in close proximity. To aid in this she sets out to go on 52 friend dates in the hopes she will find a BFF in the mix. I applaud her effort. She goes all out to try and find a social life in an entirely different city. She has her husband, but there are just some things you need a really close friend for. Her husband even entirely supports her effort to go out and seek new friends because he understands that she needs it. She shares statistics about how people that have a large social network tend to live longer. And, women need friendship in a different way than men. I have noticed that one without it being pointed out to me.

I have to say that I enjoyed this book. Rachel has a very fun writing style and is very readable. It was great to read about her experiences and she knew to keep it short when it wasn't all that important to the overall experience. I think many women can appreciate what she is trying to do in this book because there are lots that do not have the social network they desire. It is hard to have, though, unless you are willing to admit you need it. I think this book is worth reading and I am glad that I had the chance to. Plus, she is a blogger and it is always important to support fellow bloggers. I hope if you have a chance you will give this book a read.

If you are interested you can read an excerpt from the book on the Random House web site here. My thanks to Random House Canada for providing my copy of the book.

Helene Hanff - Two Books and a Movie

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Completion Date: August 18, 2011

Reason for Reading: Fun!

It all began with a letter inquiring about second-hand books, written by Helene Hanff in New York, and posted to a bookshop at 84, Charing Cross Road in London. As Helene's sarcastic and witty letters are responded to by the stodgy and proper Frank Doel of 84, Charing Cross Road, a relationship blossoms into a warm and charming long-distance friendship lasting many years.

I love books about books, so when I started seeing reviews of this book around the blogosphere, I knew I was going to have to read it. Helene Hanff is frustrated by the books available in American bookstores, so when she sees an advertisement for Marks & Co. in a magazine she decides to try her luck overseas. She writes a letter to the bookstore telling of her wishes. This letter starts a friendship that will play out for years. The letters are almost always answered by Frank Doel, but while her letters are very informal and often humourous; he has a bit more restraint. This was a charming little book. It is told through letters both between Helene and Frank, but also with other employees of the store, Frank's wife, and other friends of Helene making occasional appearances. If you haven't read this book yet, I strongly recommend it.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff

Completion Date: August 17, 2011

Reason for Reading: Sequel to 84, Charing Cross Road.

A zesty memoir of the celebrated writer's travels to England where she meets the cherished friends from 84, Charing Cross Road.

Over the years of correspondence in the first book, Helene often speaks of visiting England and meeting the people that have kept her in books for many years. There is always something that comes up that prevents her from doing so, though. Then, Frank dies and it seems she has left things much too late. She always promised to visit, though, so she has finally made her trip to England. At this point she has published her famous book and it is it that largely plays a roll in her finally getting the chance. The first book is told through letters, but this one is told through journal entries. She seems like such a fun person and she really comes to life through this book. It is a bittersweet journey, but she makes the best of it and visits all the places she has dreamed of for years. This book could also be seen as a travelogue.

84, Charing Cross Road - Starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins

Completion Date: August 21, 2011

Reason for Watching: The library actually had a copy.

True story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books that developed into a close friendship.

It was fun to see the events of the book played out in a movie format. Anne Bancroft plays Helene and Anthony Hopkins plays Frank. It was a charming movie that I watched last night. I think Anne and Anthony did a really good job bringing the two characters to life. I also was impressed by how well the movie followed the book. The characters actually read the letters aloud, so they continue to play a large role. I enjoyed the movie and think I am going to see about getting a copy of both the movie and the two books of my own.

Have you read the books before? What did you think? If you have seen the movie, do you think it was faithful to the book?

Saturday Mini-Reviews: A Catch-up Post

Evernight by Claudia Gray (Evernight Series, Book 1)

When I read this book I admit I got a little excited by it. For a moment I thought it was different and that maybe it was better than the teen vampire books that everyone loves and I mostly hate. It was at least better written than a certain series about sparkly vampires... Anyway, I did enjoy this book. It was a fresh approach to the vampire stories AND it takes place at a boarding school. I am just not very interested in the romance aspect of the novel and it is quite apparent that it is important. It is also a coming of age book, but maybe a bit different than what is normally labelled as that. I am really not sure what to think about this book. On the one hand I did like it, but on the other I could do without it. Sort of recommended.

Skellig by David Almond

I was going to review this book on its own, but so much time has passed that I don't know if I could think of enough to talk about to give it its own review. It's unfortunate because I really liked this book! It was the first Almond I had ever read, but I have read two more since. It was a different sort of read. I can safely say that it will not be for everyone, but it is still worth taking a chance on. I really don't want to say a lot because I enjoyed the bit of mystery to the story, but I am sure that spoilers abound and people are well aware of the basics to the story. I am just not going to add to them and it is hard to say what is a spoiler with this book. I think, anyways. The best thing to say is just read the book! Strongly recommended!

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

I need to read more books of essays. Especially books of essays that are about books! I have heard of this book over and over again, so I am glad that I can finally say that I have read it. I really enjoyed it. It is nice to know that there are people that are obsessed with books as you are. Some of the essays were not as good as others, but overall it was a good read. I wish my library had her other book... Recommended!

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

I was standing in the line at the library one day when my eyes fell on this book. Carrie Fisher is actually a pretty good author. I have read a couple of her novels. Add to this that she was in Star Wars and When Harry Met Sally and I knew I was going to have to see what she had to say. It was actually an interesting read. Fisher has lived a very varied life and she writes about it with humour. Normally I am not a big fan of celebrity memoirs, but I am glad I made an exception with this one. She actually turned it in a one woman play, which I wouldn't mind seeing if the chance presented itself. Obviously, this book is not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard

This book could be about itself! Wow, was it ever boring. I could not get into it at all. Interesting title and idea, but the execution could use some work. Obviously some people have read and enjoyed this book, but I don't know how it is even possible. I think I prefer muddling through on my own in pretending that I have read books and wish I had never wasted time trying to read this! This was a total fail! I should also mention, though, that this is a translation. Maybe the original is really good and the translation is just really bad... It's a possibility, anyway.

Girl Meets God by Lauren F. Winner

It is really hard to believe, but until about a month or two ago I didn't really know Eva at all, and now, here we are doing a buddy review together! This is actually the second half of the review, so to get the whole idea you have to go over to Eva's blog, A Striped Armchair, first! It was a lot of fun to do this in dialogue!

Eva: Yeah-her whole 'let me tell you how I organise my books' felt like an exercise in showing off. I mean, I revel in obscure academia stuff too, but I don't think that makes me better than anyone. As far as losing her friends due to her conversion, I can understand why she lost some of her Orthodox friends, since that's a pretty extreme form of Judaism and since she was a convert to that already, I get the kind of "I took her in and then she turned out to be faking it" reaction. That was the most convoluted sentence ever-sorry! I find it interesting that she's only attracted to the 'uber' practices of religion.

Kelly: I know. I will never get the stricter religions, but that's just me. I really felt like she was often questioning Christianity, too. I wouldn't be surprised if she wound up switching religions again. She really didn't seem very sure of herself at times. Maybe she does the more extreme so that she can prove to people that she is
serious? The thing that got me is that she was so extreme in some things, but then there are times when she has to confess her sexual infractions and she is not so angelic then! I really felt like even though we were supposedly getting inside her head, a lot of it was just an act. Maybe if she had been older when she wrote this book it would've been different? I can't put my finger on exactly what bothered me, I guess.

Eva: I think maybe stricter religions are better [for her] because they offer more guidelines and structure. Does that make sense? It seems like religion is very important to her, and the more extreme versions probably provide more to delve into as well! Once I finished this book, I looked her up and she's written another book about chastity for Christians. I took was taken aback when she mentioned having sex as part of her confessions. Since it hadn't come up before (and there'd been plenty of opportunities-and she was willing to discuss her friend's affair), it made me wonder what else she was hiding! This felt less like a personal memoir than an intellectual exercise-perhaps that's why I wasn't able to connect with her.

That being said, I'm still curious about her chastity book!

Kelly: She wrote a chastity book? Wow, that's rather interesting, I must say! Apparently she had some problems with that, so maybe she changed drastically in the few years since this book came out. I am actually pretty curious, too. Another thing for me was that I couldn't relate to her. I thought I would at least for her love of books, and there were moments, but generally I wasn't all that interested in her.
I think I read this book in the end more because she brought up some interesting ideas than anything else. It gives me a starting point if I want to read any more on the topics she addresses.

So, why do you think she wrote this book in the first place?

Eva: Yeah-I think it was published in 2007. I'll probably end up reading it out of pure curiousity. :)

I'm not sure why she wrote the book. I think because she likes herself? That's awful sounding, isn't it? But I think she wanted to write about the intellectual issues that matter to her. What do you say?

Kelly: Pretty much the same. I am sure she had a 'higher' purpose, but I missed it apparently. I guess it just goes to show you that no one is perfect!

The only thing I want to talk about before I finish up is what did you think when she tried to track down the house of the woman that wrote the Mitford series? I have to admit I enjoyed that scene...

Eva: I enjoyed it too! And it was one of the more personal, candid moments in the book! I think I've talked more about the negatives than the positives in the book. I think her discussions of Judaism had a lot of warmth, and she really conveyed to me her passion for religion. So I'm not sorry to have read this-I think I got things out of it! I simply expected Winner to be different, more like me, and I
think that's why I had a hard time settling into the book. Any last words from you?

Kelly: I overall didn't mind reading it, either. There were some things that I didn't like at all, but I did learn a lot. I really didn't know what to expect, either, because I don't read a lot of memoirs with a religious nature.

Eva: I didn't know what to expect either! She's not the kind of Christian I could ever see myself being (in fact, she was quite nasty when writing about progressive Christianity, which is the only style that makes any sense to me), but it's good to get a variety of view points!

I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors by Bernice Eisenstein

I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors distills, through text and drawings, including panels in the comic-book format, Bernice Eisenstein’s memories of her 1950s’ childhood in Toronto with her Yiddish-speaking parents, whose often unspoken experiences of war were nevertheless always present. The memories also draw on inherited fragments of stories about relatives lost to the war whom she never met.

Eisenstein’s parents met in Auschwitz, near the end of the war and were married shortly after Liberation. The book began to take root in her imagination several years ago, almost a decade after her father’s death.

With poignancy and searing honesty, Eisenstein explores with ineffable sadness and bittersweet humour her childhood growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust. But more than a book about the Holocaust and its far-reaching shadows, this moving, visually ravishing graphic memoir speaks universally about memory, loss, and recovery of the past.

No one who sees this book will not be deeply affected by its beautiful, highly evocative writing and brilliantly original and haunting artwork created by the author. I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors is destined to become a classic.

“I am lost in memory. It is not a place that has been mapped, fixed by coordinates of longitude and latitude, whereby I can retrace a step and come to the same place again. Each time is different. . . .

“While my father was alive, I searched to find his face among those documented
photographs of survivors of Auschwitz — actually, photos from any camp would do. If I could see him staring out through barbed wire, I thought I would then know how to remember him, know what he was made to become, and then possibly know what he might have been. All my life, I’ve looked for more in order to fill in the parts of my father that had gone missing. . . .”
—Excerpts from I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors

I have no idea why it has taken me so long to read this book. I remember seeing a review of it back when it was about to come out in paperback, so I knew I was going to have to read it, and soon after that it entered my house. I just never got around to actually reading it! Then, earlier this month it was brought to my attention that my dh had never seen Schindler's List! I was shocked, to say the least. I am the first to admit that there a lot of movies I should have seen that I have never got around to watching, but I think everyone should watch Schindler's List. We of course ended up watching it (I own it, of course), and he said that he liked it, so then I had the Holocaust on my mind. When I was rearranging my books, I noticed this one and decided that now was as good a time as any to read it.

I have never been able to grasp the idea behind the Holocaust. It is something that I have heard about probably my entire life, and I cannot believe that it actually happened! I know that it did occur, though, I am not one of those people that does not believe it happened. I think that the experiences of World War II were horrific enough to hear about, so when you add these events on top of it, I think I am glad that I did not have to live through what they had to live through. There is no Jewish blood in my immediate family, so short of books and movies, I have never had anyone tell me their experiences during that horrible time.

Bernice Eisenstein is the daughter of parents that were both involved in the Holocaust. They actually met near the time of liberation and married soon afterwards. Her father rarely said what it was like to live during this time, he would just tell bits and pieces that she would have to make a full story out of. Her mother did an interview for some archives, though, so she heard what her mother had to say. Using pictures and words, Eisenstein speaks of her parents past and how it affects her. She was obsessed with the Holocaust her entire life, so I suppose it is fitting that she writes another book to add to the growing collection.

If you haven't read this book, I do recommend. I think it could probably count as a graphic novel, so something to keep in mind if the challenge is repeated next year. She is a fantastic prose writer and she has created haunting pictures that I believe will stay with me for some time. While it is a short book, not even 200 pages, it packs a punch and will get you thinking.

Thanks to McClelland & Stewart for this book!

Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding my True Voice by Maureen McCormick

Marcia Brady, eldest daughter on television's The Brady Bunch, had it all—style, looks, boys, brains, and talent. No wonder her younger sister Jan was jealous! For countless adolescents across America who came of age in the early 1970s, Marcia was the ideal American teenager. Girls wanted to be her. Boys wanted to date her. But what viewers didn't know about the always-sunny, perfect Marcia was that offscreen, her real-life counterpart, Maureen McCormick, the young actress who portrayed her, was living a very different—and not-so-wonderful—life. Now, for the very first time, Maureen tells the shocking and inspirational true story of the beloved teen generations have invited into their living rooms—and the woman she became.

In Here's the Story, Maureen takes us behind the scenes of America's favorite television family, the Bradys. With poignancy and candor, she reveals the lifelong friendships, the hurtful jealousies, the offscreen romance, the loving support her television family provided during a life-or-death moment, and the inconsolable loss of a man who had been a second father. But The Brady Bunch was only the beginning. Haunted by the perfection of her television alter ego, Maureen landed on the dark side, caught up in a fast-paced, drug-fueled, star-studded Hollywood existence that ultimately led to the biggest battle of her life.

Moving from drug dens on Wonderland Avenue to wild parties at the Playboy mansion and exotic escapades on the beaches of Hawaii, this candid, hard-hitting memoir exposes a side of a beloved pop-culture icon the paparazzi missed. Yet it is also a story of remarkable success. After kicking her drug habit, Maureen battled depression, reconnected with her mother, whom she nursed through the end of her life, and then found herself in a pitched battle for her family in which she ultimately triumphed.

There is no question: Maureen McCormick is a survivor. After fifty years, she has finally learned what it means to love the person you are, insight that has brought her peace in a happy marriage and as a mother. Here's the Story is the empowering, engaging, shocking, and emotional tale of Maureen McCormick's courageous struggle over adversity and her lifelong battle to come to terms with the idea of perfection—and herself.

I will be the first to admit that I am not necessarily a huge fan of The Brady Bunch. I have seen the show over the years and watched the Christmas movie, but I probably haven't seen all the episodes and I never exactly rushed out to buy the DVDs. That being said, I actually started paying attention to Maureen McCormick when I was channel-surfing one day and saw her on Dr. Phil. She has had some serious problems with her father and one of her brothers over the years and she was on there talking about elder abuse. While I don't think I saw the entire episode, I did find myself interested in a topic that I had never really given much thought to before. So, when I saw that she had a book out, I decided to give it a read and get the whole story. I was rather surprised at just how open about her life she is!

The book goes back to the beginning and covers events up to just a few months ago. Considering she does this in under 300 pages, you would be surprised in how much she covers and how much detail she goes into. The only thing I can ever remember seeing her on was The Brady Bunch, but it turns out that she has been on many other things. Of course, it is mostly television and I am just not a big television watcher... Throughout her career, though, she has battled many demons and in this book she lets them all out of the closet. I probably have an addictive personality, but I try and prevent it from taking control. I grew up in a household, though, where one of my parents did allow their addictions to run their life, and while they didn't do cocaine, it was just as interesting and enlightening to hear the story from the addicts point-of-view. My parent is older than Maureen and they haven't exactly got to the same point as her, but maybe one day it will happen.

Anyway, in this book Maureen looks at her addiction, her insecurities, the struggle to find work for a child star, her marriage, her relationships before her marriage, being a mother, her relationship with her own mother, and so much more. It was very illuminating and actually quite well-written. I found that I easily became wrapped up in her story. Like I said above, I was not necessarily reading it because she was Marcia Brady, but because I was interested in her story. I think she did a very good job at getting the facts out there, and considering that she was raised in a family that hid everything, it was very brave to write it all out for the world to see.

I am very glad I took the time to read this book!

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

Harper Collins in Canada just relaunched and they have this cool search inside feature. I personally like them and while other book sites have them, they don't send me review copies of books. Harper Collins does, so I was thinking of including them from now on. What does everyone think?

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller

In Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller remembers her
African childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly
life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller’s endearing
ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller’s debut
is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes
hilarious prose, she stares down disaster and looks back with rage and love at
the life of an extraordinary family in an extraordinary time.

I chose this book for the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge, Eh! based on my own criteria. Alexandra Fuller went to my university in Canada, and it was because she was at my graduation ceremony that I even heard about her and decided to pick up a copy of her books. I read Scribbling the Cat last year and quite enjoyed it. This book actually comes first, but I think I received the other one in the mail first. (I just noticed she had another book come out earlier this year, I will have to check it out!) So, I finally got around to reading it this year and I am very happy I did. Fuller is one of the most entertaining authors I have read, so I always enjoy her writing. In this book she is writing of her childhood in Africa and she does not sugar-coat it. It is eye-opening, harsh, but at the same time it is entertaining and you cannot help laughing at some of the stories that she tells.

Not having even been to Africa before, it is very hard for me to imagine what it was like to be raised there. Anything I know about the place comes from other peoples' accounts and their lives are a lot different than they are for us over here. Fuller was basically raised in poverty, but she had a lot of experiences in the meantime. She is very global. She is British, but she was raised in Africa, went to university in Canada, and now lives in the U.S. Her parents are still in Africa, though, which is where she got the idea to write her other book. This book goes back to the very beginning and illustrates what life was like for Fuller growing up. We get a very clear image of not just her, though, but also the people in her family and the other people that she was raised around. There are very serious stories outlined in this book, but, at the same time there are stories will have you laughing. Fuller is very good at weighing things out in such a way that you do not get overwhelmed by any one subject.

I really like Fuller's writing style. This book was better than Scribbling the Cat. I quite enjoyed reading it and was a perfect arm-chair travel.

The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende

Bestselling novelist Isabel Allende took readers on an unforgettable emotional journey with Paula, the profound story about the loss of her 28-year-old daughter. Now, Allende returns to the territory of family with an inspirational new memoir. The Sum of Our Days is the passionate account of a remarkable woman--mother, stepmother, grandmother, wife and lover, fiercely loyal friend and gifted writer--and of the eccentric extended family Allende created in the wake of her daughter's death.

Opening at the moment the family scatters Paula's ashes, Allende's story draws us immediately into her private world. She weaves an episodic narrative about the lives of the strong-minded, eclectic people she has gathered around her, constructing, in her grief, a new concept of family. But most importantly, Allende reveals something of herself that will speak to fans everywhere--the amazing stories behind her books, the superstitions that guide her writing process, her adventurous travels, the intimate moments of her marriage and the joy she gets from her children and friends.

Narrated with warmth, humour, exceptional candour and wisdom, The
Sum of Our Days is a portrait of a contemporary family tied together by the
love, strong will and stubborn determination of a beloved matriarch, the
indomitable Isabel Allend[e].

I love Isabel Allende. She has been one of my favourite writers for years. It all started when I met a girl from Argentina several years ago and she learned that I was a big reader. Her two recommendations for me were Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. This was before blogging days, so word of mouth was the most common way that I learned about new authors. I had Allende as a favourite author way before Oprah made Daughter of Fortune one of her book club selections and she has remained a favourite ever since. Her books are often either magic realism (which is sort of like fantasy) or historical fiction so she easily writes for me. The first book I read by her was House of the Spirits, and it wasn't long before I had read everything that was out at the time. Then, because I just have too many books and too many authors that I want to get to, she sort of slipped off my RADAR. I own all of her books, she is an automatic buy for me, but for whatever reason I haven't read anything by her in a few years.

The Sum of Our Days is her newest book. While I have a few older ones to read, (Zorro, Ines of my Soul, and her young adult trilogy), this was the book I picked up with the hopes of reconnecting with an author I have enjoyed for years. Paula, her early memoir, was out at about the same time that I was just starting to read Allende. It is the story of her daughters untimely death and the struggle that the family went through to get passed it. This book takes place at about the time that the last one stopped and fills in everything that has happened since. Allende writes really readable non-fiction, so I found that I was easily caught up in her story and read this book relatively quickly.

I have to say that for someone that has been reading Allende for several years and has read almost all of her books, I can easily see a progression in her writing. I am also older, too, so maybe that plays a part in it, but I found this book much more readable than Paula. While I liked that book I had a remember having a hard time with the writing style. This one flowed a lot better. It could also have been that Paula was a rather depressing book and this one has a lof of happy times represented in it. I would have to reread Paula to say for sure. I often pick up one of Allende's books with the idea of rereading (especially House of the Spirits and Daughter of Fortune), but I think that I should read the books I haven't read by her before I revisit the old favourites.

One of my favourite aspects of this book is that Allende explains the inspiration behind her books! I really enjoy learning about the hidden meaning behind authors work. What happened is now I really want to read Ines of my Soul (finally) and I understand why she wrote Zorro (which I have tried to read and never managed to get very far into). This book is really a long letter to Paula, her deceased daughter, catching her up on the things that have been happening in the years since she died. I think it is a great idea because Allende is a letter writer, having written to her mother almost daily since they moved apart from each other, so a letter to her daughter is a perfect way to capture her life. Allende talks very candidly about her large family. She has a very interesting one that is entertaining to read about. The book is a mixture of the good and the bad, but written in a way that you never feel too overwhelmed.

The simplest thing to say is that I think this is Allende at her best. After reading a lot of great books by her, there were a couple that sort of bored me and are likely why I stopped reading her for a while. That and my attempts at reading Zorro always end in me putting the book aside for another day. I know Allende is not for everyone, I have seen rather negative reviews of The House of the Spirits, for example, but I think she is an author that everyone she at least try. For years when people would ask me my favourite authors I would always answer Madeleine L'Engle and Isabel Allende. The list has grown now and I find that question harder and harder to answer, but Allende will always be one of my favourites. I hope she continues to write for many more years to come.

It was 5 in the morning when I started this, so if it makes no sense, blame the late hour! It's also the work computer which has formating issues I will fix later today at home.

My thanks to Harper Collins for sending me this book!

On another note, I was looking at my nightstand and almost all the books I have on the go are non-fiction. I was telling my Rush-fan friend about this because it is rather weird for me, and they were more caught up in the fact that I have more than one book on the go. That's normal for me, though. I always start books, get bored, move on to something else, and then randomly go back and read one I started ages ago! I have been reading that way forever. Anyways, I was really surprised by all the non-fiction. I haven't really been keeping a list of my reading this year (I am having a relaxed year), but I think the vast majority of the books I have actually finished this year are non-fiction. I am having a weird year, but the books I am reading are for the most part really good, so I cannot really complain!

Roadshow: Landscape with Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle by Neil Peart

One thing I can say for myself, the longer I am out of university, the more non-fiction books I have been reading for fun. I do not really have to challenge myself to read them, I just pick them up. I do read more memoirs than straight non-fiction, but it is not like I am closed off to anything, just depends on what I am in the mood for. I enjoyed being able to ramble on about books to someone, so I ended up reading this book faster than I originally intended. Now, back to books that do not really interest any of my friends. Sad, really! While I was reading this book and Ghost Rider, I could talk freely.

Neil Peart is an internationally acclaimed, bestselling, and award-nominated author, and for more than thirty years has been the legendary drummer and lyricist for the band Rush. For decades, Neil prepared and waited to write a book about the biggest journey of all in his restless existence, his ultimate travelogue - a concert tour. Finally, the right time and the right tour: Rush's 30th anniversary trek -- 9 countries, 57 shows, and 500,000 fans.

This book covers the 30th anniversary tour for the band Rush. Being his newest book, it was available in all the bookstores, so that was my criteria for what I read next by him. The 30th anniversary for the band was almost exactly four years ago now, but you learn a lot reading this book. After Ghost Rider, I obviously knew that Rush got back together after a five-year hiatus, but when Neil Peart was living the events he covered in that book the future seemed unclear. For fans all over the world, I am sure they were happy that Peart rejoined the band and they carried on making great music. The first thing that really surprised me about this book was that they only did two shows in Canada. Considering it was their 30th anniversary and they are a Canadian band, you really think they would have done more shows here. That's what happens, though.

Anyways, during the course of this book, Neil Peart talks about what it is like to be a musician on tour with a band as recognized as Rush is, but he also talks about the landscape of his travels, reminises on his past with the band, and inserts humourous asides that made me laugh a long. One of my friends is a drummer and he had lots of drumming jokes mixed in with the story, so if my friend wasn't there, I would grab my cellphone and text message him the jokes. He said some of them made him laugh at work, and work is a better place with laughter! Actually, as I was finishing up the book early this morning, Neil Peart had one last joke, so to coincide with being finished I sent that to my friend as well. I decided to share it here as well.

A drummer was dancing around, celebrating, when the guitarist came in.

"What's up?"

"I just finished this jigsaw puzzle," the drummer replied. "It only took me six months!"

"That's not very good," the guitarist said. "Why are you so excited?"

"The box says two to six years!"

With it being mother's day, I haven't talked to my friend today, so I have no idea what he thought of that early morning piece of wisdom. It made me laugh. He said all he is doing is missing playing the drums. He doesn't have a place to set them up, so while he informs me he is in fact a drum player, I have never actually heard him play before.

Moving on. Some of the things that I pointed out to my friend, so obviously they were the things that stood out to me, were for example, the fans of Rush are mostly men. That does and does not surprise me. It explains why my female friends think I am nuts for listening to Rush, for example. Peart says it might be because they have an aggressive sound, but for whatever reason, the majority of people that listen to them are men. I like being untypical once again. Me and my friend had a big discussion about this topic actually, with him pointing out that women generally like dance-music, and Rush is not really the easiest band to dance to. I think Peart might have made the same observation. He also points out (Peart, not my friend) that the women that do listen to his music tend to understand it on a deeper level than the male fans because they actually pay attention to the lyrics. He quotes a lot of his songs in this book and explains the inspiration for sentences and things that I did not pick up on when I listened to the songs, so while I might know the lyrics to a lot of Rush's songs, it really surprised me what Peart was thinking when he wrote them.

I thought it was really interesting to read about all the planning that went into this concert. Not being a musician, I have obviously never had any experience in this avenue, so I was never really sure what happened to turn a bunch of musicians into a touring success. It takes a lot of work! Peart explains all the different people that it takes to put this plan into action, as well as how the three actual band members work together to make each night a success. I was very surprised at how little time the band actually spends together. Geddy and Alex travel in a plane together, so they see each other, but since Neil travels by motorcycle they only spend a little part of each day with him. Considering how meshed together they are when they walk out on that stage, they obviously have something that has come together seamlessly after all the years together.

I really enjoy the humour in this book. Neil includes church sign sayings, and I have to say, a lot of them were pretty funny! Some of them I did not get at all, but I imagine they mean something to someone. The interaction between Neil and his riding partners Michael and Brutus is also hillarious. He is with Michael the majority of the book and when he recounts stories you cannot help laughing at their antics. Brutus played a big part in Ghost Rider, so it was nice that he was actually in this book and not just included in the "Letters to Brutus" section. There are so many other things I can talk about in regards to this book because there are so many other things that Peart talks about. I really like his writing style, though I can understand it is not for everyone, and I strongly recommend reading him at some point and time.

This also another read for the themed reading challenge. Apparently I only challenged myself to read four books and this is my fifth, so here I was done that challenge and did not even know it! Yay to slacker me finishing a challenge!

Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart

Well, I have no idea what happened to me. I thought it had been a couple days since I updated last, but turns out it has been like a week! I still have books to send to people. I have not forgotten!

Within a ten-month period, Neil Peart suffered family losses so devastating that they left him a ghost -- physically a man but with nothing

No hope, meaning, faith or desire to keep living. One year after the first tragedy, Neil was choosing between life and his own death. Finally, all he could decide upon was motion. He got on his BMW R1100GS motorcycle, and over the next fourteen months, rode 55,000 miles, in search of a reason to live. On a journey of escape, exile, and exploration, he traveled from Quebec to Alaska, down the Canadian and American coasts and western regions, to Mexico and Belize, and finally back to Quebec. While riding "the Healing Road," Neil recorded in his journals his progress and setbacks in the grieving/healing process, and the pain of constantly reliving his losses.

He also recorded with dazzling, colorful, entertaining, and moving artistry, the enormous range of his travel adventures, from the mountains to the sea, from the deserts to Arctic tundra, and the dozens of memorable people, characters, friends and relatives, he met along the way, and who increasingly contributed to his healing and sense of meaning and purpose. He begins the journey with nothing, "the Ghost Rider." What he finally attains is joy, love, and indelible memories of the most extraordinary journey of his life.

GHOST RIDER is a bold, brilliantly written, intense, exciting, and ultimately triumphant narrative memoir from a gifted writer and musician, who started out as a man reduced to trying to stay alive by staying on the move.

I mentioned last month that I was very interested in the band Rush lately and Stephanie, I believe it was, mentioned that he had written a book about life after the death of his wife and daughter. So, you know I had to get myself a copy. It works perfectly, though, because he is a Canadian, so this will fit in with the Themed Reading Challenge. See how I justify that! My friend that got me paying attention to Rush commented on how they have loved the band for years and never felt compelled to buy a book by them. I pointed out that is because he is lucky to read a book a year, while I, well, I read... Normally a lot, but this year has just been average. In any case, I went to the store and bought another book by him, so you know that I do not feel guilty in the least buying this book.

I love how Neil Peart writes. He was just what I needed lately. He kept me up late at night reading! This is something that has hardly happened in six months! I called my Rush-fan friend at 3 in the morning one time to tell him he was missing out and to share some of the interesting things I had just learned. And thanks to the wonders of text messaging, as I read along I tend to share interesting sentences and thoughts with him. I am sure he is thrilled. To get back at me he showed me three old pictures of the three members of Rush and asked me to tell him which one was which. Evil! Anyways, let's get on with the book. Neil Peart is the lyricist for Rush, so it stands to reason that since I really like a lot of his song lyrics, there was a very good chance he could also write pose. I was willing to take that chance, and I am very glad I did!

Instead of summarizing the plot or whatever, I am just going to share what I was thinking as I read the book and some of the things that stuck out for me. First off, this is at its core a depressing book. It is about a man that lost his daughter and wife in a ten-month period. There is no way that can be a happy beginning to a book. He doesn't really know how to deal after suffering such a tragic lost, and really, who would? So, he sets out on three different motorcycle adventures during the course of this book. I suddenly really want to go on a motorcycle. I have before, but very few times, so my Rush-fan friend is going to get one of his friends to take me for a drive. That was the topic of conversation at supper today... I just have motorcycles on the mind, so I want to experience one now.

Another thing I want to acknowledge is that I am very happy that things played out the way that they did. My friend likes older Rush, not so much the new stuff, but I am actually pretty infatuated with both eras (or however you want to look at it), so I am happy that the band got back together. There was a period there where Neil wasn't drumming at all, so the band took a hiatus in order for him to work through all the things that are discussed during the course of this book. If the book had any different ending then they may never have got back together, so I am happy about the ending. I also really enjoy Peart's writing style. It is coherant, for starters, much different than I am sure this rambling review is, in any case. He covers the depressing stuff, but there is a lot more going on during the course of the book. He is not boring, sometimes memoirs seem to drag on with all the contemplative stuff. He has a really refreshing sense of humour (I actually told my Rush-fan friend that he reminds me of him in many ways), so there were many times where I found myself laughing at what he was saying.

I think I especially liked the fact that I could ramble on about this book to my friend who does not read. It was refreshing because very few of my friends read, so I never really talk about books. I have to read a Pink Floyd book now, my friends orders, but since I like Pink Floyd I am not really complaining. He has actually read it, which in itself is pretty amazing! It is a really good thing he doesn't read my blog, huh? haha

Anyways, I really liked this book. I think even if you are not a Rush fan, it is a good read. I am going to plug away at another one by him, but I want to read some fantasy as my main reads. One thing I can say, I haven't read as much this year as I normally do, but I also have not really read any really bad books, so at least when I do read, I enjoy it. That is saying something!

Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself by Alan Alda

Date Completed: September 22, 2007
Pages: 224
Publication Year: 2007
Received from Random House in 2007.

Reason for Reading: It was a must read after reading his other memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, earlier this year.

On the heels of his acclaimed memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, beloved actor and bestselling author Alan Alda has written Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, an insightful and funny look at some of the impossible questions he’s asked himself over the years: What do I value? What, exactly, is the good life? (And what does that even mean?)

Picking up where his bestselling memoir left off–having been saved by emergency surgery after nearly dying on a mountaintop in Chile–Alda finds himself not only glad to be alive but searching for a way to squeeze the most juice out of his new life. Looking for a sense of meaning that would make this extra time count, he listens in on things he’s heard himself saying in private and in public at critical points in his life–from the turbulence of the sixties, to his first Broadway show, to the birth of his children, to the ache of September 11, and beyond. Reflecting on the transitions in his life and in all our lives, he notices that “doorways are where the truth is told,” and wonders if there’s one thing–art, activism, family, money, fame–that could lead to a “life of meaning.”

In a book that is candid, wise, and as questioning as it is incisive, Alda amuses and moves us with his unique and hilarious meditations on questions great and small. Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself is another superb Alan Alda performance, as inspiring and entertaining as the man himself.

I do not know what it is about Alan Alda, but I have always liked him as an actor. I was not really around when M*A*S*H was on television, but yet I have always liked Alda. I watched him when he guest starred on ER and West Wing, watched reruns of his old show, and now I have read both of his memoirs. I am not even a big fan of comedians. I like humour that is believable, and for some reason I mostly find the humour on television what it is obviously is; fake. That is not to say that I do not laugh, I just do not necessarily like all the shows that other people like to make themselves laugh with.

This book takes place right where the last one leaves off, but it does not only talk about the couple of years following that experience, he goes back and talks about things that he did not mention in his previous books. He really does talk to himself in this book, and not in the way that makes people crazy, but by talking about speeches he has made throughout his career. Instead of just hearing what the audience heard, he interjects and talks about what he was thinking and why he said what he said. I have to say, some of his speeches were amazingly poignant, but yet funny at exactly the same time. This book will make you think while you laugh. It was also refreshing to see that me and Alan share some of the same ideals about how the world should be, and he is at least 40 years my senior.

He gives speeches at university convocations, and talks to the adults of tomorrow. He writes speeches for scientists, actors, and just regular people. He talks about his experiences with the 9/11 disaster, moments with his children and grandchildren, and other things that strike his fancy. He also talks about his wife, who he has been with for a great deal of time. I found this book very enjoyable, a nice balance of the serious with the humourous. I actually can say that I learned a lot from this book by thinking of it from a different perspective.

I recommend this book!

Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller

Completion Date: May 2007
Publication Year: 2004
Pages: 272
Purchased in 2007

Best-selling memoirist Alexandra Fuller travels with a strangely charismatic Rhodesian war veteran into a modern-day heart of darkness.

When Alexandra ("Bo") Fuller was home in Zambia a few years ago, visiting her parents for Christmas, she asked her father about a nearby banana farmer who was known for being a "tough bugger." Her father's response was a warning to steer clear of him; he told Bo: "Curiosity scribbled the cat." Nonetheless, Fuller began her strange friendship with the man she calls K, a white African and veteran of the Rhodesian war. With the same fiercely beautiful prose that won her acclaim for Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, Fuller here recounts her friendship with K.

K is, seemingly, a man of contradictions: tattooed, battle scarred, and weathered by farm work, he is a lion of a man, feral and bulletproof. Yet he is also a born-again Christian, given to weeping when he recollects his failed romantic life, and more than anything else welling up inside with memories of battle. For his war, like all wars, was a brutal one, marked by racial strife, jungle battles, unimaginable tortures, and the murdering of innocent civilians-and K, like all the veterans of the war, has blood on his hands.

Driven by K's memories, Fuller and K decide to enter the heart of darkness in the most literal way-by traveling from Zambia through Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) and Mozambique to visit the scenes of the war and to meet other veterans. It is a strange journey into the past, one marked at once by somber reflections and odd humor and featuring characters such as Mapenga, a fellow veteran who lives with his pet lion on a little island in the middle of a lake and is known to cope with his personal demons by refusing to speak for days on end. What results from Fuller's journey is a remarkably unbiased and unsentimental glimpse of men who have killed, mutilated, tortured, and scrambled to survive during wartime and who now must attempt to live with their past and live past their sins. In these men, too, we get a glimpse of life in Africa, a land that besets its creatures with pests, plagues, and natural disasters, making the people there at once more hardened and more vulnerable than elsewhere.

Scribbling the Cat is an engrossing and haunting look at war, Africa, and the lines of sanity.

In May, I graduated from university. At my graduation ceremony, Alexandra Fuller got an honourary doctrate. I had never heard of her before, but she graduated from my university a few years ago. She got up in front and gave a speech, and I liked her speech so much I was compelled to come home and look up her books. She is also the author of Don't Let's Go to the Dog's Tonight, which I had intended to read first, but this came in the mail first.

This book was amazingly brave to write. As many of us know but have never really experienced, life in Africa has been hard over the years. The person that this book concentrates on, K, was involved in the Rhodesian war. I am not sure if I can capture this book in a review all that well, it is just one of those books that you have to read. It starts so simple. Alexandra learns that there is a banana farmer in the area, and she asks her father about him. Her father tells her to stay away from him, and she might have, but K comes to visit her first. This book captures the time that they spent together in very raw detail. There are things in this book that I would never admit about myself if they were happening to me, but in order to capture the truth of what she experienced with K, she also had to talk about herself.

The friendship she had with this man went on for some time before she got the idea for him to revisit the setting of the wars and tell her of his experiences. In the beginning they just met up when she was in Africa visiting her parents, but this time was different. Having never been in war myself, it is something that I can only imagine and even then I do not know if I do it justice in my head. This book captures what war was like for one man. His struggles and the affects that it is still having on him later in life. He did horrible things doing the war, things that he is not proud of, and he suffers through showing Fuller these experiences, but I believe that she captures the truth and gives a very rare glimpse into what it is like to have been a white African in the Rhodesian war. I strongly recommend this book to those that are curious about life in Africa and its history. A very powerful non-fiction book, I look forward to reading her other book.

The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier

Books Completed: 66
Completion Date: April 2007
Publication Year:
Pages:
Purchased in 2007

"I have no wish to play the pontificating fool, pretending that I've suddenly come up with the answers to all life's questions. Quite that contrary, I began this book as an exploration, an exercise in self-questing. In other words, I wanted to find out, as I looked back at a long and complicated life, with many twists and turns, how well I've done at measuring up to the values I myself have set."
—Sidney Poitier

In this luminous memoir, a true American icon looks back on his celebrated life and career. His body of work is arguably the most morally significant in cinematic history, and the power and influence of that work are indicative of the character of the man behind the many storied roles. Sidney Poitier here explores these elements of character and personal values to take his own measure—as a man, as a husband and a father, and as an actor.

Poitier credits his parents and his childhood on tiny Cat Island in the Bahamas for equipping him with the unflinching sense of right and wrong and of self-worth that he has never surrendered and that have dramatically shaped his world. "In the kind of place where I grew up," recalls Poitier, "what's coming at you is the sound of the sea and the smell of the wind and momma's voice and the voice of your dad and the craziness of your brothers and sisters...and that's it." Without television, radio, and material distractions to obscure what matters most, he could enjoy the simple things, endure the long commitments, and find true meaning in his life.

Poitier was uncompromising as he pursued a personal and public life that would honor his upbringing and the invaluable legacy of his parents. Just a few years after his introduction to indoor plumbing and the automobile, Poitier broke racial barrier after racial barrier to launch a pioneering acting career. Committed to the notion that what one does for a living articulates to who one is, Poitier played only forceful and affecting characters who said something positive, useful, and lasting about the human condition.

Here is Poitier's own introspective look at what has informed his performances and his life. Poitier explores the nature of sacrifice and commitment, price and humility, rage and forgiveness, and paying the price for artistic integrity. What emerges is a picture of a man in the face of limits—his own and the world's. A triumph of the spirit, The Measure of a Man captures the essential Poitier.

Another buddy review with me and Marg from Reading Adventures. Marg is in black and I am in blue.

My journey toward blogging pretty much started with joining Oprah's Book Club, and that is where I originally 'met' Kailana, and so it is somewhat apt that we do a joint review of this book, which was an Oprah pick earlier this year. It took a while for me to read this book because I am not really of the generation which was a big Sidney Poitier fan, so I read it because I have read most of the Oprah books over the years. It was also fitting to final buddy review an Oprah book with Marg.

I will start off by saying that Sidney Poitier stars in one of my favourite movies ever, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner....yes, the original version, not the Ashton Kutcher version, but other than the fact that he was generally regarded as one of the major Hollywood stars during the 60s I didn't really know all that much about him. I had heard of Sidney Poitier before, but I have never seen any of his movies before. One of these days I will have to because I have of course heard of his movies before. Most of my knowledge of him comes from my grandmother and mother who both were happy to see me reading his memoir.

In some ways this book wasn't actually what I expected. I think I expected more of a traditional autobiography following a chronological order, but instead this book was more a series of reflections on some of the issues that people face in life. One of the major focusses of the book was racism, and the discrimination that Poitier faced throughout his career, and also the opposition that he faced as a man who was seen to be typecast as a good guy, and not necessarily someone who fought against the racist Hollywood system. I thought it was interesting to hear what Poitier went through to get where he is. It is really an amazing story, even if we know that it would have had to been hard considering the time that he grew up in. Growing up in a white, middle-class home, it is always helpful to see other sides of the picture and to know what other people had to get through to become the people that they are today.

Along the way there was also reflections on the current generation of kids who need everything now, particularly material goods, and on near death experiences that he had.
In terms of the writing style, there were occasions throughout this book where I could just hear the voice of Sidney Poitier, with his distinct accent, coming through on the pages. It wasn't however consistent, and there were definitely other times when that voice was indistinct. I was interested to see how he sees the society today, though. We are from very different generations and from different societies, so it is always interesting to see what society is like from a different point of view. I do think that I would have liked this book more if I really knew who Poitier is, because while I have heard him talk, it is not enough that I heard his accent in my head while reading it. I did reflect on how he talks about his education and how he went for years with little education and yet was able to write such a reflective book.

After reading books like this, I am reminded that I really should read more non fiction....one of these days! I have actually been reading a resonable amount of non-fiction lately, so this just adds to the ranks.

Rating 4/5
3.5/5

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda

Books Completed: 43
Completion Date: March 2007
Publication Year: 2006
Pages: 272
Received from Random House Prior to 2007

He’s one of America’s most recognizable and acclaimed actors–a star on Broadway, an Oscar nominee for The Aviator, and the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing, during his eleven years on M*A*S*H. Now Alan Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances.

“My mother didn’t try to stab my father until I was six,” begins Alda’s irresistible story. The son of a popular actor and a loving but mentally ill mother, he spent his early childhood backstage in the erotic and comic world of burlesque and went on, after early struggles, to achieve extraordinary success in his profession.

Yet Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is not a memoir of show-business ups and downs. It is a moving and funny story of a boy growing into a man who then realizes he has only just begun to grow.

It is the story of turning points in Alda’s life, events that would make him what he is–if only he could survive them.

From the moment as a boy when his dead dog is returned from the taxidermist’s shop with a hideous expression on his face, and he learns that death can’t be undone, to the decades-long effort to find compassion for the mother he lived with but never knew, to his acceptance of his father, both personally and professionally, Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them.

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, filled with curiosity about nature, good humor, and honesty, is the crowning achievement of an actor, author, and director, but surprisingly, it is the story of a life more filled with turbulence and laughter than any Alda has ever played on the stage or screen.

After reading Joan Didion, I signed up for The Spring Reading Thing, and I put this book on my list. A lot of people were mentioning interest in this book, so I made it my first read for the challenge.

Everyone has memories from their childhood that reflect their parents. Something that their parents did enough that it stuck with you. One of my memories was M*A*S*H. My parents used to watch this show when I was small, I think it would have all ready been in the rerun stage or close to it, and I never forgot it. Nowadays, if I see an episode on I will sit down and watch it myself. Who knows if I even like the show, it just has happy memories for me. Alan Alda was always my favourite, I will never forget when he guest starred on ER, my favourite television show at the time. It was a big deal! I cannot wait until they release that season on DVD.

When I picked this book up, I knew it was going to be a humourous read. It might touch on serious subject matter and have its dark moments, but it is Alan Alda and I like to think that he always has to have at least one laugh, so I knew I was in for some smiles. First up, this book has one of the best first lines I have ever read. I read lots of books, and I never remember the first line, but when a book starts off with “My mother didn’t try to stab my father until I was six", you know that you are going to have those words stuck in your mind for some time to come.

The title of this book is great too, even though it is a very literal title, he really did have one of his dogs stuffed and that horrifies me on many levels. I really do not think anyone should ever have their dog stuffed, even as an attempt to make a child feel like the dog is still around. That is just creepy. The title could also refer to life in general and how you should never let yourself get stuffed, because that means you are doing the same thing over and over again. People need variety in life.

This memoir covers more than just Alda's acting career, it talks about his life from early childhood to near the time that he published this book. It talks about the jobs that he would have and how he suffered to make ends meet when he was just starting out, but it also talks about his life in general. There are the funny scenes, there is how he always felt like he had to compete with his father, and how he never understood his mother. In a very short book, Alda captures his life and makes you laugh along the way.

4/5

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Books Completed: 41
Completion Date: March 2007
Publication Year: 2007
Pages: 240
Purchased in 2007

From one of America’s iconic writers, a stunning book of electric honesty and passion. Joan Didion explores an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage--and a life, in good times and bad--that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child.

This book is one of those books that I have been hearing a lot about, so the other day when I was in the bookstore, I decided that I was going to pick it up and see what the fuss was all about. I like to try and read at least one non-fiction book each month, and this was my one for March.

I did not really find this book my cup of tea, and it could just simply be because I am not a wife and I do not have any children. I can see why it attracts other readers, but while it was a touching read, it was not really very relatable for me. The book talks about the authors loss of her husband and the long illness that her daughter was going through at the same time. It was interesting to read about the grieving process and just how much one person can go through before they fall apart.

I really do not know what to say about this book. I liked it, but yet did not like it at the same time. I think it is hard sometimes to say you love a book with such a depressing subject matter, but the book does show that there is hope at the end of the tunnel and you can get through the really hard things in life. So, while the book was written well and really captures the subject matter well, it just was not the right sort of book for me. It could be the subject matter, but it could also easily be the time that I chose to read it during.

It is hard to put this review into words that show what I mean.

3.5/5

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A memoir, a history - Lewis Buzbee

Books Completed:4
Completion Date: January 15, 2007
Publication Year: 2006
Pages: 216
Owned Prior to 2007

From the flap:

In The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Buzbee, a former bookseller and sales representative, celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore—the smell and touch of books, the joy of getting lost in the deep canyons of shelves, and the silent community of readers. He shares his passion for books, which began with ordering through the Weekly Reader in grade school. Woven throughout is a fascinating historical account of the bookseller trade—from the great Alexandria library with an estimated one million papyrus scrolls to Sylvia Beach’s famous Paris bookstore, Shakespeare & Co., that led to the extraordinary effort to publish and sell James Joyce’s Ulysses. Rich with anecdotes, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is the perfect choice for those who relish the enduring pleasures of spending an afternoon finding just the right book.

I actually started this book last year, but it vanished and I just found it again, so I am happy to finally complete it. It was never a book I meant to not complete, anyways.

During my original reading of this book, I posted this, where I asked what that early book was that you read, loved the author, and read all that there was to read by that author. Other thoughts have presented themselves to me as I have read this book. My biggest question came to me as I was reading the last few pages. Can anyone ever see a world where e-books would be preferred over the actual feeling of a book in your hands? I can understand that there are situations where having this option open would be a good thing, but I cannot imagine not having books in my house, not holding the book in my hand and flipping the pages. What about everyone else?

While reading this book I thought about how I have become cheap. I love browsing bookstores, but if I go into an independant store where the books are regularly priced, I find myself finding a few books and buying them later on amazon or another chain store. I think a lot of that is the prices that books are nowadays. Today I bought two novels for school. They are in essence trade paperbacks. I get up to the cash and she asks me for sixty dollars. I said "what?". I couldn't believe the price, I thought I must have heard her wrong. I had to have the books, so I did not even pay attention to the price, but that just blew me away. If I had known that, if I had planned a bit ahead, I likely would have searched for those books online and found them cheaper. For someone that reads about 150 books a year, and has a very bad library, I need to be able to get books at a price that it is not going to break my bank account.

This book was very informative about the book-selling industry. I have to admit, I wish that it was Canadian, because it gave info that was very Americanized and I was not really sure if it even applied in Canada, but in essence, it was a very interesting read. I like to read books about books. I think it was a very interesting read.

4/5

Author Gender:
Female: 3
Male: 1

This was a new to me author.