After continuing to hear how good it was, I picked up Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey and read it in a week. Even with the good reviews I was still skeptical about this one but man am I glad I read it. What a unique, well written, thought provoking and at times hilarious memoir. I loved everything about this book, and even if you're not a McConaughey fan, I'd give it a try. It was hard not to grab Alex Trebek's memoir The Answer Is... - at the very least I was interested in some behind the scenes look at Jeopardy! I was pleasantly surprised, by the end of the book I felt like I knew Alex and wanted to give him a big hug. He came across so endearing, just a good guy. He didn't "tell all" and he didn't write in beautiful prose, but he warned everyone in the intro that he wasn't going to do either. What came after were some interesting stories and insights, some behind the scenes about the game show industry and Jeopardy! and a closer look at the personality and life of Alex Trebek, a beloved TV personality who (unfortunately) we will see leave us soon. If you've ever enjoyed catching Jeopardy! from time to time, this is worth the read. I read The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger and really liked it. It was interesting to read this in the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), it sure helped put things into perspective a little. This is Eger's story of her survival of Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. It's more than just a memoir though. She not only tells her own story, she uses it to reveal how everyone can find inner strength and meaning in their life. I'm so thankful that Eger wrote this story. This is going to sound selfish, but I was a little worried about reading a book about the Holocaust and it being too hard for me to read or making me feel too depressed about the human race. I'm all for learning from the past and reading the hard things, but I wasn't sure I wanted to be weeping alone in my room, stuck in my house in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis. But Eger surprised me. I was so sucked into her story, her ability to overcome challenges unknown to most and her ability to continue to help people after her losing her childhood to the war. It was an inspiring read. I picked up Comedy Sex God by comedian Pete Holmes after he promoted it on a podcast and was recommended by my favorite person to get book recommendations from, Ryan Holiday. I liked this book more than I thought I would, and Holmes surprised me with his insightful look into spirituality and religion. I had no idea this book would help me continue down my religion rabbit hole I took last year (see my book reviews from summer of 2018). I'm glad I read this. Holmes grew up an Evangelical Christian, and tells his story about this upbringing, getting into comedy, falling out of religion and then ending up finding God again just through a different lens. His story is very relatable. I hadn't seen any of his comedy work or shows, but once I read this I watched his latest stand up special and enjoyed it more because I felt I knew him. I probably would've laughed more at the book if I knew about his comedy beforehand, but because I resonated with the religious content, I was hooked. His podcast You Made it Weird is also great. If it doesn't resonate, I'd suggest reading the book first. I read Educated by Tara Westover book in a week (which is fast for me, at least at this point in my life). This was an excellent memoir, I could not put it down. It was horrifying and beautiful, it reminded me of The Glass Castle. Tara recounts her life living with a survivalist family, her dad convinced that his kids getting a public education would be detrimental. This was well written and even though Tara's life seems unique, the impact family has on an individual is not. It's also an interesting look at how education can be taken for granted, when juxtaposed with Tara's extreme circumstances. Her story is truly amazing. I finally finished my first book of 2019, Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen. At the end of last year, my husband and I watched his show on broadway on Netflix (Brian wanted to see it live but any ticket he could find was thousands of dollars, which, even in his eyes was a bit too much). I've never been a huge Bruce fan, but I married a fan, so since 2009 I've been periodically inundated with all-Bruce-all-day satellite radio, heard some of his stories, and attended 2 of his concerts. (See this blog post I wrote for more about my intro to Bruce by Brian). Even without loving all of his music, there's no doubting Bruce Springsteen stands the test of time and deserves his spot among the rock and roll greats. After seeing his broadway one-man-show, which was very well done, I felt I had to read the book and get the rest of his story. It look me some time to get through but I really enjoyed this book. A must read for any Bruce fan, and I'd also recommend it to any music fan, even if not a fan of Springsteen's music. His dedication and work ethic, combined with his showmanship has always impressed me. Springsteen writes the book like a long poem, many parts are really beautiful. I'm glad I stuck it out and got to the end, it was an inspirational read and a sincere and humble look into such a legend. Music aside, this was a well written autobiography. It's safe to say that if I'm posting a book on this blog, that I liked it because I don't finish books I don't enjoy (and therefore never end up on this site). I read Michelle Obama's Becoming and loved it. This was a beautifully written memoir. Michelle does such a great job painting the picture of her life, she captivated me from the very first chapter and I couldn't put it down. The first half of the book was my favorite, where she talked through her childhood, mostly chronologically. When she entered the part of her time as First Lady, it was tactfully written and fun to learn some insight and read anecdotes about her time at the White House. I'm so glad this story was written and I wish I wasn't done with the book. Michelle writes it in such a way that you feel connected to her - it's very down to earth. I actually have a better understanding of President Obama's idealism/idealistic nature from the insights I got from this book, and have a better understanding of how Obama got elected for two terms (not that I didn't already know, but this book gave me so many more tangible insights into this fact). And unfortunately that also sheds light on the fact that we really weren't ready for an African American president, and our nation has a lot of fixing to do when it comes to politics (and I say this from a bipartisan standpoint, fully understanding that idealism alone doesn't necessarily get us anywhere). In the end, you'll see from this book that Michelle is a classy, strong, smart, awesome woman, and it's nice to hear from someone coming out of the White House who is self proclaimed to "not be a politics person." Michelle, you rock. |
AboutLiteracy is a prerequisite for freedom. Read deeply. Read what matters. Build a reading list. Don't take literacy for granted. Categories
All
|