32 Flavours...and then Some!

Teacher Man, Frank McCourt. 4 out of 5 stars

Excerpt from amazon.com review.

"As he did so adroitly in his previous memoirs, Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, McCourt manages to uncover humor in nearly everything. He writes about hilarious misfires, as when he suggested (during his teacher's exam) that the students write a suicide note, as well as unorthodox assignments that turned into epiphanies for both teacher and students. A dazzling writer with a unique and compelling voice, McCourt describes the dignity and difficulties of a largely thankless profession with incisive, self-deprecating wit and uncommon perception. It may have taken him three decades to figure out how to be an effective teacher, but he ultimately saved his most valuable lesson for himself: how to be his own man." --Shawn Carkonen
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All the reviews I though summarized the book well on amazon were really long, so I cut the best one down a bit.

This book is about Mr. McCourt's 30-year teaching career in various New York City schools. There were small bits and pieces of some stories from his previous book for context which serve to help those who decide to read this book without reading his other two first. I thought it was very interesting and, like his other books, a very personal account of his experiences.

Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt 5 out of 5 stars.

From amazon.com

"Frank McCourt's haunting memoir takes on new life when the author reads from his Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Recounting scenes from his childhood in New York City and Limerick, Ireland, McCourt paints a brutal yet poignant picture of his early days when there was rarely enough food on the table, and boots and coats were a luxury. In a melodic Irish voice that often lends a gentle humor to the unimaginable, the author remembers his wayward yet adoring father who was forever drinking what little money the family had. He recounts the painful loss of his siblings to avoidable sickness and hunger, a proud mother reduced to begging for charity, and the stench of the sewage-strewn streets that ran outside the front door. As McCourt approaches adolescence, he discovers the shame of poverty and the beauty of Shakespeare, the mystery of sex and the unforgiving power of the Irish Catholic Church. This powerful and heart-rending testament to the resiliency and determination of youth is populated with memorable characters and moments, and McCourt's interpretation of the narrative and the voices it contains will leave listeners laughing through their tears."
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This is a re-read, and I'm so glad I did! The abject poverty he and his family lived in was horrifying and compelling to read. A powerful book, indeed. Highly recommend it!

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, Piper Kerman.
4 out of 5 stars.

From amazon.com, Booklist summary...

"Just graduated from Smith College, Kerman made the mistake of getting involved with the wrong woman and agreeing to deliver a large cash payment for an international drug ring. Years later, the consequences catch up with her in the form of an indictment on conspiracy drug-smuggling and money-laundering charges. Kerman pleads guilty and is sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. Entering prison in 2004—more than 10 years after her crime—Kerman finds herself submerged in the unique and sometimes overwhelming culture of prison, where kindness can come in the form of sharing toiletries, and an insult in the cafeteria can lead to an enduring enmity. Kerman quickly learns the rules—asking about the length of one’s prison stay is expected, but never ask about the crime that led to it—and carves a niche for herself even as she witnesses the way the prison system fails those who are condemned to it, many of them nonviolent drug offenders. An absorbing, meditative look at life behind bars." --Kristine Huntley
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I've always had an interest in criminal justice, so this book was right up my alley. I frequently watch documentaries on prisons, but none of them (so far, at least) have been about the Federal System. I also don't know much about women's prisons in general, either, so this book taught me a bit about both experiences, at least from one person's perspective.

Kerman's writing style was engaging, intelligent, and compelling. She not only tells of her experiences, but she also writes about other women she met and some of whom she befriended during her incarceration. An incredibly interesting book, which would've been a quick read for me had I not slacked off on my reading for the past month or so...

Renegade: The Making of a President, Richard Wolffe

4 out of 5 stars.

Product description from amazon.com...

"Before the White House and Air Force One, before the TV ads and the enormous rallies, there was the real Barack Obama: a man wrestling with the momentous decision to run for the presidency, feeling torn about leaving behind a young family, and figuring out how to win the biggest prize in politics.

This book is the previously untold and epic story of how a political newcomer with no money and an alien name grew into the world’s most powerful leader. But it is also a uniquely intimate portrait of the person behind the iconic posters and the Secret Service code name Renegade.

Drawing on a dozen unplugged interviews with the candidate and president, as well as twenty-one months covering his campaign as it traveled from coast to coast, Richard Wolffe answers the simple yet enduring question about Barack Obama: Who is he?

Based on Wolffe’s unprecedented access to Obama, Renegade reveals the making of a president, both on the campaign trail and before he ran for high office. It explains how the politician who emerged in an extraordinary election learned the personal and political skills to succeed during his youth and early career. With cool self-discipline, calculated risk taking, and simple storytelling, Obama developed the strategies he would need to survive the onslaught of the Clintons and John McCain, and build a multimillion-dollar machine to win a historic contest.

In Renegade, Richard Wolffe shares with us his front-row seat at Obama’s announcement to run for president on a frigid day in Springfield, and his victory speech on a warm night in Chicago. We fly on the candidate’s plane and ride in his bus on an odyssey across a country in crisis; stand next to him at a bar on the night he secures the nomination; and are backstage as he delivers his convention speech to a stadium crowd and a transfixed national audience. From a teacher’s office in Iowa to the Oval Office in Washington, we see and hear Barack Obama with an immediacy and honesty never witnessed before.

Renegade provides not only an account of Obama’s triumphs, but also examines his many personal and political trials. We see Obama wrestling with race and politics, as well as his former pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright. We see him struggling with life as a presidential candidate, a campaign that falters for most of its first year, and his reaction to a surprise defeat in the New Hampshire primary. And we see him relying on his personal experience, as well as meticulous polling, to pass the presidential test in foreign and economic affairs.

Renegade is an essential guide to understanding President Barack Obama and his trusted inner circle of aides and friends. It is also a riveting and enlightening first draft of history and political psychology."
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This book took me awhile to read for a couple of reasons. I was "interrupted" midstream by my last book which was a special hold from the library and because it was so densely packed with information.

I've read both of Obama's books (The Audacity of Hope and Dreams of my Father, both of which were good reads) and I followed the campaign closely as a supporter, so I thought I knew a bit of information going in--nothing compared to the depth of what was written in this book. It was a great read. Not light beach/summer reading fare, but definitely a good read, especially if you're an Obama supporter.

Home, Julie Andrews 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

amazon.com review...

"Syphilis, alcoholism, infidelity, and indeterminate parentage may seem improbable touchstones in the back story of one who didn't so much portray as embody the blithe Maria in The Sound of Music. But as this memoir of her formative years makes clear, there is more gravitas to Andrews than meets the eye. From her childhood in rural England and initial forays into British theater, to her first massive successes on Broadway and in the West End--notably as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady--Home puts her celebrated career in context. While arguably offering more detail about the Andrews family than necessary, it nevertheless dishes wonderful anecdotes about legends and Andrews contemporaries like Noël Coward, Rex Harrison, Robert Goulet, Richard Burton, and Rodgers and Hammerstein, in prose as crisp and immaculate as the author herself. It also offers a revealing look into the intricate, exhaustive craft of performing--skills often taken for granted in tabloid times. Since the book ends just as Andrews is about to launch into the celluloid stratosphere, can Volume II be far behind? After Home, it would be most welcome. --Kim Hughes"
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This one took me awhile to read...not because it wasn't a good book, but because I haven't been reading much lately. I picked up this book not because I'm a tremendous fan (though I love her in The Sound of Music), but because I read the jacket blurb and it sounded hella interesting. Definitely was! She's a helluva lot more complex person than I ever thought!

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, Kay Redfield Jamison

3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

From the back of the book...
"In An Unquiet Mind Jamison examines manic depression from the dual perspectives of the healer and the healed, revealing both its terrors and its cruel allure that at times promted her to resist taking medication. She has emerged with a memoir of enormous candor, vividness, and wisdom, one of those rare books that have the power to transform lives--and even save them.:"

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Right now I'm in the process of reading two books at once: Home by Julie Andrews and re-reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I'm about half way through each book...so there's more reviews to come.

When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, George Carlin. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

From the back of the book...

"Ranging from his absurdist side (Message from a Cockroach; Tips for Serial Killers) to his unerring ear for American speech (Politician Talk; Societal Cliches: 13 sections on Euphemisms) to his unsparing views on America and its values (War, God, Stuff Like That; Zero Tolerance), Carlin's legendary irreverance and iconclasm are on full display as he scours the landscape for signs of intelligence.

He also has a silly side:

*You know what kind of guy we don't see anymore? A fop.
*A good motto to live by: "Always try not to get killed."
*Here's something you can't do yourself: Practice shaking hands.

As always, Carlin demolishes everyday values and leaves you laughing out loud."

Humor that makes me think. I absolutely adore George Carlin! He put some of his comedy bits from his stand-up album "A Place for My Stuff" in the book, and I'm sure bits from his other routines, too. A great read.

This year I'm going to make a valiant attempt to log all the books I read. I started to do this last year and let it fall by the wayside because I wasn't reading a lot of books last year because my concentration is still inconsistent. It's been better as of late, though, so I should make more progress on my booklist this year. I'll post the amazon.com review of the book and also add a few notes of my own...

Push, Sapphire (3 1/2 stars out of 5)

"Claireece Precious Jones endures unimaginable hardships in her young life. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, she grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved and generally unnoticed. So what better way to learn about her than through her own, halting dialect. That is the device deployed in the first novel by poet and singer Sapphire. "Sometimes I wish I was not alive," Precious says. "But I don't know how to die. Ain' no plug to pull out. 'N no matter how bad I feel my heart don't stop beating and my eyes open in the morning." An intense story of adversity and the mechanisms to cope with it."

This book was recently made into a movie called "Precious", which I haven't seen but have heard is pretty good.

The writing style of the book was a bit challenging to get used to, but it was engrossing enough to keep reading. It's a raw, in-your-face type book filled with the horrors of Precious' young life. Definitely a good read.