David
If you're “A FAAAAANNN!!!” of Mommie Dearest, Joan Crawford or behind-the-scenes tell all books...this one has all those elements! A fun and quick read about what went on behind the scenes of this camp classic that was released back in 1981.
While it's not perfect, some of the stories tend to get repeated thus giving the impression the author might have been getting paid by the word, it still made for a very entertaining read.
Considering I LOVED her first two books, I thought what's the “worst case scenario” if I just buy this one? Well the worst case scenario is that the book is awful and that is exactly what came to pass.
The best part of the book is the beginning where it takes place on the plane..this is where Newman is in her element. The rest of the story, about a small town trying to avert the meltdown of their nuclear power plant, feels melodramatic, silly and wholly preposterous. The characters are all one-dimensional creations that all sound like the same person. They encounter situations that resemble scenes from a bad TV fire and rescue show. About halfway through I realized I didn't care what happened but I kept going.
(Note: I lost both my mom and my aunt with a two week period while reading this, so this could have impacted my review, but I doubt it.)
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
A truly chilling story as told from the perspective of an 8 year old girl. Everything was moving along nicely until the ending. An ending where I felt that the author didn't really stick the landing. That said, I loved reading this fast paced story at night to up the spooky quotient.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because this book has caused this skeptic to question my strongly held stances against what I always considered pseudoscience.
While not as riveting as “Nuclear War”, Annie Jacobsen brings us her exhaustive and thorough research into top secret programs that were set up and funded by the CIA, the US military and other government intelligence agencies. Through declassified documents and interviews with these individuals, she paints a compelling and objective portrait with jaw-dropping accounts that makes one question the limit of our abilities.
Are you feeling stressed by today's political climate? Then have I the book for you! Escape into a hypothetical scenario of nuclear war!
What I assumed would be a book as dry as radioactive concrete debris was actually a propulsive and engaging minute-by-minute scary AF timeline about how 12,000 years of civilization can be wiped away in just mere hours.
Fun, right?
Well-researched and fact-checked by scientists and government officials, this is one of the scariest books I have ever read. Currently in development with director Denis Villenueuve (Dune).
“Humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.”
-UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
Sweet dreams!
A compelling and creative take on what it means to be human as seen through the eyes of a female robot who finds herself in an abusive relationship. I found the ending to be a bit underwhelming.
That said, I'd be lying if said I wasn't hoping for a murderous robot rampage when I was only 25 pages in.
With alternating chapters on the private life of Lana Turner and the Los Angeles mobster scene, this was a compelling page turner about one of Hollywood's most infamous killings.
Author Casey Sherman doesn't dive into all the minutiae, but rather hits all the highlights of this particular period.
Despite some typos, this is a must read for fans of classic Hollywood and 1940-50's Los Angeles.
More like 3.5 stars.
I loved the concept of an American couple buying an old home in Italy on the cheap as so many fantasize about, including me!
This story though, will give you pause before making that leap.
Didn't fully love the supernatural element of it as it felt a bit hokey and the ending resulted in some eye rolling.
In posing the question “What will you do with the time you have left?”, TJ Klune gives us another funny and heartwarming story about life, loss, grief and tea.
I laughed, I cried....I appreciated life just a little bit more.
But not tea..it's like warm water with yard clippings...I'm more of a coffee kinda guy.
Turns out “Tom Lake” isn't a person, but a place. Was I the only one who initially thought that?
The story is about a woman reminiscing with her grown daughters about her past experiences in summer stock theater and her romance with a fellow actor who went on to become a famous movie star. The plot moves slowly, with the narrative switching back and forth between the past and present.
Not exactly a page-turner, but a sweet and nostalgic tale.
I just finished reading my first book by Tana French, and I loved it! Even though it's the second book in the “Cal Hooper” series, I had no trouble following the story. It takes place in a small, peaceful village in Ireland, and the way French writes really draws you in. The murder mystery is exciting, and the characters are all really interesting. A great read!
Just a fantastic story populated with wonderful characters (Nurse Ratched!...although not THAT Nurse Ratched) set in what feels like a not too distant future where machines run the world and humans don't.
A story about the meaning of family and the love that binds us all.
My first book by TJ Klune...but definitely not my last!
While it starts off as a mystery when a skeleton is found in a well in 1972, we quickly flash back to the 1930's in a small town in Pennsylvania. There, in the poor section of town called Chicken Hill, immigrant Jews and African Americans live side by side and work together to hatch an escape plan when a young black boy is unjustly sent away to a reformatory.
Beautifully told story with an array of diverse and interesting characters that beautifully unfolds into a compelling narrative.
If you are looking for a story that will scare you and make you laugh, look no further than this entertaining debut novel from Carissa Orlando.
Margaret has been living in a haunted house for 4 years now and every September is when things get really crazy. Her nonchalant and dry comments towards her “pranksters” and their hijinx is the highlight of this story for me. But if all that weren't enough, her daughter is coming back into town to look for her father (an abusive alcoholic) who has gone missing.
While the title made me think this just covers a particular period in Chaplin's life, it also includes pivotal moments starting with his poverty stricken beginnings to that Christmas Day in 1977 when he left us. But this book does go into greater detail about the conservative led witch hunts of the 40s and 50s and the impact it had on Charlie, both creatively and personally.
Blacklisted actor Paul Robeson summed it up best in a letter he wrote to Charlie: “...fascists everywhere hated you for your anti-Nazi film, The Great Dictator. Well, Hitler and his gang are gone, but Chaplin and his art lives on! And your name will be honored –yes, here in America, too –long after McCarthy and his kind are buried in oblivion.”. Indeed.
If you think a book about right-wing fascism in the USA in the 1930's-40's is going to be a boring read...think again. In the lead up to WWII, Rachel Maddow highlights the Nazi propaganda campaign that took place right here in America. Along the way we meet the far-right US citizens and politicians who colluded with the Nazis with the aim of overthrowing the US government and the brave individuals who did everything they could to stop them.
At one point, one of these right-wing Senators refers to the seditionists on trial as “political prisoners”.
Good thing nothing like that can happen today, right?
An important and fascinating read.
Inspired by the death of her great Uncle at the Dozier School for Boys back in the 1930s in Marianna, Florida, Tananarive Due delivers a gripping and harrowing tale of survival in the face of extreme adversity and cruelty.
Set in the 1950's, this is a propulsive page turner that combines engrossing drama and the supernatural while shedding light on the system of dehumanization that, as evidenced by our current prison system, sadly exists to this very day.
Highly recommend!
I almost gave up on this book during the first few chapters because the story seemed so preposterous.
Glad I stuck with it though as this book gave me some serious whiplash with it's various plot twists.
All is not what it seems!
This marks my final book for 2023. It was a crazy year so I didn't come close to finishing by Goodreads 2023 Reading Challenge. Only 36 of 60 books or 60%.
I'll try to do better next year. Probably lower the challenge to 50!
Happy New Year everyone!
A very compelling and meta look at the publishing industry, race and identity from the perspective of a struggling author. An author who is accused of stealing the work of her late friend. Towards the end, the tone of the book shifts in a way I was not expecting.
If you like books about books, this is definitely one for you.
3.5 rounded up to 4.
With her job on hold and word from her brother that “Mom seems off”, Samantha Montogomery decides to pay mom a visit to see what exactly is going on.
This is my first book by T. Kingfisher and while this is a horror story, the horror is offset by the wisecracking Samantha and her wry personality which I truly enjoyed. While it does get a bit silly at times, it was an engrossing and imaginative tale.