Thoughts from God's Favorite Child

Happy Celebrity Memoir Friday!  Today's celebrity is actually one in my world--my sweet friend Kristina Smith published a book of essays titled Thoughts from God's Favorite Child.  I could not be more proud of her and her work!  I feel honored that she sent me her book and I am soooooooo happy to be writing this post on her work.

Kristina refers to herself as "God's Favorite Child", not out of any arrogance or malice but because she has found herself in so many situations where she has heard the call, been spoken to from above, or otherwise been saved from an early demise by a higher calling.  A fourth generation Seventh Day Adventist, Kristina's faith is exploratory and real, and she wears no masks in her essays.  She is tested and she humbly abides.  She discusses everything from faith to family to work to an unabashed love of electronics; she pushes herself and others by questioning, both earnestly and rhetorically.  She is open and honest.

I could not be more proud of this lady for pulling together her writing and publishing this authentic account of her life.  I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with Kristina over breakfast when she came to New York City a couple of months ago and it was one of the most uplifting conversations I have had with a friend in recent time. 

Reading this book was like hearing Kristina in conversation.  This book is so true to her voice that it made me smile reading it.  I admire her steadfast faith and her realistic views on religion.  And come on--look at that baby picture!!!  This book is as genuine as she is, and I am so thankful to have this book on my shelf.  If you want to be friends with Kristina, you too can get her book here or here for the hard copy or here for the Kindle version.

America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom

You might recall that I recently posted on Michael Ian Black's memoir, and I am a fan of Meghan McCain for her common-sense approach to politics, so after seeing these two interviewed at the Bryant Park Reading Room about this very book I hurriedly picked up America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom. 

 Michael and Meghan connect over Twitter and one night, super late and hopped up on carbs, Michael proposes an idea for a book to Meghan.  They will cross the country in an RV and interview people all over the country about their lives and politics.  Meghan agrees, seeing this a social experiment to see if two people with vastly different politics can not kill each other while traveling across the country together.  This is their story.

I had an absolute blast with this book.  I find Michael's humor to be right up my alley and, as I said earlier, I think Meghan as a great approach to politics and while I don't always agree with her I find her to be strait-forward and articulate.  Sometimes her searing optimism about how awesome America is grated on me (I wanted to be like, Rome was pretty great too in its time, you know...), but she is authentic in her writing and her beliefs so I can look past it.  I found their take on places such as Branson, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; and Little Rock, Arkansas to be intriguing and eye-opening.  These two visited a side of Las Vegas I can assure you I have not, and they were willing to go to the underbelly of many towns that I am not so wiling to visit. 

It was interesting to read this book as we enter into one of the most vitriolic presidential races we have seen (does anyone else feel more and more turned off by the overwhelming and pervasive hatred in these races as years go by?), particularly as it involves a young woman who was so intricately involved in the last presidential race.  Regardless of which side of the line on which you reside, this book is definitely worth a read to take it all just a little bit more lightly.

Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?

I truly love dysfunctional family memoirs.  I really do.  Jeanette Winterson's Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? fits perfectly into this category.  Goodness gracious, let's get to it.

Jeanette Winterson grew up in northern English industrial town with a Pentecostal mother who often locked her out of the house, leaving Jeanette to fare for herself on the front doorstep for hours at a time.  Jeanette leaves home at 16 after realizing that she is attracted to another woman.  Nine years later she publishes a highly regarded novel that is a fictionalized version of her truth.  Almost two decades later she seeks to find her birth family.  This is Jeanette's journey to understand herself through her past.

This is a short novel that I knocked out in a weekend day.  I fell in love with Jeanette's disarming and heartfelt truth that she lays out for her readers.  She spares no pain and no experience as she treats the reader as a cherished friend, sharing her tale over a hot toddy or chamomile tea.  Her story is absolutely painful to read even from a distance--to feel that unloved, that uncared for, and that much of a failure to your mother--how could you possibly not break?  I cheered for Jeanette as she drove away from the painful existence she was living.

If you are a fan of Jeanette's work, or just dysfunctional family memoirs in general, this is certainly worth a read.  If you care about the human condition or love a tale of resilience, this is it.  If you just enjoy good books, pick this up.

My First Five Husbands...And the Ones Who Got Away

Happy Celebrity Memoir Friday!  Today we have Rue McClanahan's My First Five Husbands...And the Ones Who Got Away. 

Eddi-Rue McClanahan, known as Rue, most famous for playing Blanche on The Golden Girls, is a veteran stage and film actress who has lived quite a life.  This memoir chronicles her life through her childhood in Oklahoma and on through her first five husbands (she is now on her sixth) and her many other engagements and entanglements.  Rue consistently reminds her readers to say, "Let me think about it."  If she had said that, she might have had a few less adventures--and marriages.

This was a truly fun read.  It wasn't heavy or deep, but it certainly was fun.  Rue has lived quite a life and it was a hoot to sit down with her tales of hilarity and misadventure to lighten up my week.  She has no qualms with making her love of men quite clear, and she is a riot on this topic.  She has said yes to more engagements than I have dresses in my closet!  She owns her mistakes and lays it all out on the table for her readers, warts and all. 

I appreciate this and I enjoy her writing style.  It's relaxed and it's fun, and it sounds an awful lot like we are sitting next to each other at a dinner party or in her living room late at night sharing secrets over a glass of wine.  This is what I love about Celebrity Memoir Friday--juicy gossip and a tall glass of wine.  Sit back and enjoy this weekend.

The Runaway Jury

Yet another John Grisham book! This time it's The Runaway Jury, which is definitely one of his most beloved. It's not hard to see why.

It's the mid-1990's, and Mississippi is hosting the ninth mega-trial against a tobacco firm. A young man with virtually no past, Nicholas Easter, gets himself on the jury. Soon the defense's "hit" man starts receiving communication from a suspicious young woman. Can the jury be swayed? In which way?

YES, I can see why this book is one of Grisham's most loved. It was a fantastic read and leads you in a multitude of directions. When you finally put one piece of the puzzle together you come to the realization that you have what seems like a million more to fit until you can begin to see the whole picture. It is winding and gripping and entirely full of curiosities. This story was completely gripping and intricate--you have to pay attention.

This was the greatest read for the beach. I was able to sit back, listen to the waves, and turn pages only as quickly as my brain could absorb the words. I highly enjoyed my time spent with this paperback of goodness.

The Dead Do Not Improve

The Dead Do Not Improve -- they most certainly do not.  I raced to get this novel by Jay Caspian Kang as soon as the reviews came out.  Howdy ho, what a ride.

In a seedy part of San Francisco, Philip, a self-loathing, disaffected writer who is a "break-up counselor" on a website for dumped men, lives in an area that is slowly gentrifying.  His neighbor, whom he as nicknamed "Baby Molester," is murdered through her window and soon Philip is suspected in the murder but is actually in the midst of one hell of a scheme.  Oh, and he is falling in love with his preppy neighbor.  He's not having the best week.  Obvi.

I had mixed feelings about this book.  It was hard for me to get into with it's super neo-noir feeling and it's characters' self-hatred.  I enjoyed Philip and I enjoyed following him through the story, but I found the narrative to be disjointed and not so much my cup of tea.

Look, there are many people who love this genre and this book got great reviews in several publications--I think the writing is interesting and it's a story that many can get into.  It's just not for me.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Reading for you.  It was rough, but I pulled through for you guys.

Spark: How Creativity Works

Spark: How Creativity Works by Julie Burstein is a collection of essays put together from radio interviews from the public radio program Studio 360.  It follows such luminaries as Chuck Close, Tony Kushner, Richard Serra, Yo Yo Ma, Alison Krauss, and many others as their stories are grouped into sections that explore such themes as devastation and loss, relationship with family, collaboration, and inspiration.  The common thread through all of these essays is the subtitle of this book--how creativity works in different facets of our lives.

This book was readable in a sitting or two but contained so much power in it's pages.  Reading all these interviews with such incredible artists like those listed above and so many others was inspiring and interesting and eye-opening.  This book ran the gamut from entertaining to moving; reading to a composer's account of taking his mother back to his childhood home in New Orleans for the fist time after the storm was heart-breaking.  On the flip side, Patti Lupone's story about her mother was funny and endearing.  Delving into the musical partnership between Alison Krauss and Robert Plant was educational as well as fun to read.  All of these stories have merit.

If you are interested in this kind of subject--how does creativity work and what kind of information do artists have to pass on to me--this is a great book to pick up.  Hopefully you will find inspiration in these stories as much as I have!

Swamplandia!

Swamplandia!  by Karen Russell has been on my to-read list forever.  Well, for like, 2 years anyway.  It was a Pulitzer Nominee (and certainly deserved, in my opinion) and a recommended book by everyone who read it.

Ava Bigtree lives on an island in the swamps of Florida.  The Bigtree family has been running the Swamplandia! tourist attraction for generations (ok, just two generations).  Her mother Hilola was an alligator wrestler, her brother Kiwi despises the lack of intellect he believes his family has, and her sister Osceola communes with dead spirits.  A few months after her mother dies a new theme park opens on the mainland and Swamplandia! watches its livelihood disappear.  Suddenly Grandpa Sawtooth is put into a nursing home, the Chief (aka "Dad") leaves for the mainland on business, and both Kiwi and Osceola disappear in parts unknown.  Can Swamplandia! be saved, or will Ava lose everything she loves?

I had an absolute ball with this book.  Seriously--a total blast.  It gets deep and dark and emotional at times, and I still loved every second of it.  Ms. Russell has this imagination that will knock your socks off, and she truly understands the development of characters and story.  I ate this up like an apple pie--just one more slice, please, I kept saying.  I raced through this book just to get to the end--only to discover that I needed more.  It's worth more than one reading, that's for sure.

Swamplandia! is a character all its own, and it's a powerful one at that.  The Seths (every alligator in Swamplandia! is named Seth) are fascinating even though they have no words.  They had a character arc unto themselves.  There are also things that I can't tell you in this post because I can't give anything away.  (It's not my style.)  Just pick up this book.  You can check it out on your Kindle from your local library!  This book is just delightful and full of life and hurt and love and forgiveness.  It just is.

Get your copy. Kindle version on the left, hard copy on the right:

Why We Broke Up

I had heard through the grapevine that Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Moira Kalman was a fantastic break-up book, so of course I read it asap.  They weren't lying. 

Min goes to return a box of things that represent her relationship with Ed.  On the way, Min writes Ed a letter explaining why they broke up.  This is her letter.  It outlines their relationship.  It lays out the red flags that Min should have seen.  It bares Min's soul and her pain.  It's raw; it's real.

Talk about being blown away.  I was blown away.  How intense and lovely and open and heartbreaking and honest this book was.  It's told from Min's perspective in first person, and I felt like I was her.  I was falling in love with the super popular football player.  I was falling for his words and for his earnestness.  I ignored the same red flags that Min did.  And I ultimately had my soul trampled on by this horrible, inconsiderate boy named Ed.

The illustrations of the items in the box only heighten the hurt.  They only make it more real.  I really can't recommend this book enough.  It was the highlight of my week.

Kindle version on the left, hard copy on the right: