Memoir

All posts tagged Memoir

BOLDLY GO – William Shatner (with Joshua Brandon)

Posted by Daniel on December 5, 2022
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

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It seems like, as people get older, they typically fit into two categories … the cranky and the reflective.  Here, actor/author/singer/songwriter William Shatner gets reflective.  Philosophically reflective. And why not? Shatner has had a good, long life to look back on.

There’s not much about William Shatner that we don’t already know.  A star from the classic, much-loved 1960’s television show, Star Trek, trekkies and trekkers (fans of the show) often know more about the stars and their work and lives than the stars themselves (as Shatner mentions at one point in this book). But while there might be hundreds (or thousands?) of people following every moment of Shatner’s life, the one thing we can’t possibly know is: what is Shatner thinking?

Shatner, now in his 90’s with a 70 year career on stage and screen, can look back and reflect on what has been, but perhaps more interestingly, what is yet to come. He waxes philosophic on his early life as an actor, but combines it with thoughts and concerns for his children and grandchildren who may want to seek the life of a performer.

He gets just a little maudlin on his brief trip to space (one of the all-time great marketing gimmicks in my mind) but surprisingly doesn’t go where so many ‘astronauts’ have gone, talking about feeling so small and recognizing how fragile the earth is.

But for me, some of the most interesting parts of this brief, quick read, are his thoughts about music, singing, and songwriting.

As a fan of Star Trek myself, I am well aware of Shatner’s horrific blunder into singing and the release of his first album back in the late 60’s. Though I’ve never listened to the album, I’ve heard snippets, and I’ve rolled my eyes and laughed at the chutzpah of this man, to think he could sing.

But he explains it.  He talks quite clearly about this, and his rather devastating appearance on a talk show that really doomed his early singing career (beyond his own voice, of course).  And honestly, I now want to watch that clip and listen to the album.  And possibly listen to one of his other EIGHT albums.

The narrative has a little bit of a random feel to it – more memoir than biography – but I appreciated that this wasn’t strictly a Star Trek-related biography. In fact there’s relatively little about Trek here, which is pretty appropriate because it was only three years of work for someone who’s now 91!

I read this more out of curiosity than because I’m a Star Trek fan, and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I might.

Looking for a good book? Boldly Go is a memoir/biography by William Shatner (with a little help), it’s a long life being reflected upon and it probably made me appreciate the actor/author a bit more.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through both Edelweiss and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder

author: William Shatner with Joshua Brandon

publisher: Atria Books

ISBN: 1668007320

hardcover, 256 pages

BURNING QUESTIONS – Margaret Atwood

Posted by Daniel on October 21, 2022
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Burning Questions is a collection of essays, speeches, book reviews, book forewords, and other non-fiction miscellany from the pen and wit of the incredible Margaret Atwood. Collected works starting from 2004 and on up through 2021, the range of material here is so vast it practically defies description.

It is most fascinating to see the different ways in which Atwood talks to people.  In all cases, she appears to reaching out directly and speaking to a specific audience. But the way in which she speaks to them varies – not so much by year (the way the book is organized) but by audience.  To the audience reading an intro or a review, she speaks very differently than the way she does to an audience which she is addressing live.  This makes sense, of course. But even in her live addresses, she approaches differently depending to whom she is speaking.  Again, this makes sense but it’s something that is really only noticeable because of the volume of work collected here.

Nearly all the pieces were good, bordering on great. It shouldn’t be a surprise to me that someone whose fiction I have been reading for some 40, years (yes, I was reading Atwood before The Handmaid’s Tale was first published and when it was published, I bought and read it within the first week [the title of one of my short plays, produced in Upstate New York, came from a line in The Handmaid’s Tale])- and reading because I like them so much – that I would also like what the author has to say through her non-fiction. And I do.  We’re very much on the same page, ideologically and politically.

When so many pieces are so good, it’s often difficult to choose a favorite, but I identified only one of the works here with a note in my Kindle, remarking simply:   “Fantastic”  That piece is “Polonia” (from 2005) and is a response to the question “What advice would you give the young?” Here Atwood’s talents are in full force.  Her wit, her wisdom, her way with words. She’ll make you chuckle while you think, “Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly right.”

This is not really the kind of book you want to sit down and read straight through, cover to cover (though you could).  This is the kind of book you keep next to you, on a coffee table, or end table, or night stand, or in the bathroom magazine rack, and you read a piece here or there when you have a couple of spare minutes. You will feel better, enriched. And keep a highlighter next to you because you’re going to want to take note of all the nuggets of wisdom that come from these pages.

And whether you’ve only just discovered Atwood or you’ve been reading her works for years, this is a great collection to have.

Looking for a good book? Burning Questions is a collection of short, non-fiction pieces (essays, speeches, reviews, etc) by Margaret Atwood. It is full of wit, wisdom, and insight and worthy of being in your home.

I received a digital copy of this book, from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021

author: Margaret Atwood

publisher: Doubleday Books

ISBN: 9780385547482

hardcover, 496 pages

SOUND MAN – Glyn Johns

Posted by Daniel on April 15, 2022
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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When you are one of the most influential sound engineers/music producers ever, it would be difficult to write a biography or memoir without a whole heck of a lot of name-dropping … as evidenced by Glyn Johns’ memoir, Sound Man.

Seriously … Johns worked with groups like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Steve Miller Band, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, and individuals such as Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, Leon Russel, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and hundreds of others. There is even a recording method (for recording drums) named for him.  This man has been on the inside of some of the most influential music of one of the most influential times for music. The influence he had… the insight he must have!

Learning of Johns’ early years provided some of the most interesting information. It would make sense that Johns began as a musician, recording several singles between 1962-1965. He began sound engineering in 1964 and continued through 2017 (working with Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton in 2016). Following the process by which he turned to engineering and mixing and producing really was perhaps the most interesting part of this book. Which, given the people he worked with, is a bit disappointing.

I respect that Johns is a man of principle and is not the sort to dish a bunch of dirt, but because of that, the book reads more like a textbook than a memoir. There’s a lot of – “I worked with XX on this album. Then I worked with XX. I was asked to work with XX but it didn’t work.” Occasionally we get something as radical as: “I didn’t care for his attitude so I decided I wouldn’t work with him again, but later it worked out” (my summary, not an actual quote).

From a purely historical/music perspective, this is interesting.  But it’s a dry snapshot of an exciting time.

Looking for a good book? If you just want to know who Glyn Johns worked with, or some of the very basic means by which Glyn Johns came up with some of his methods, then his memoir, Sound Man is for you. If you are looking for some real insight to the art and the artists that made music from the 1960’s through the early 2000’s, you might be out of luck.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Sound Man

author: Glyn Johns

publisher: Blue Rider Press

ISBN: 0399163875

hardcover, 336 pages

THE LETTERS OF SHIRLEY JACKSON

Posted by Daniel on April 11, 2022
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Wow.  This is a really remarkable book. In so many ways, reading these vast collection of letters – both personal (to her boyfriend [later her husband] and to her parents) and professional (to her agent and to publishers) – is a better autobiography than if she’d sat down to write specifically about her life. We get a pretty honest look at her personal life – from her snarky letters to then-boyfriend Stanley to the raising of her children to her feelings about the fact that her son and his girlfriend/fiancé are living together and then are expecting a child before their wedding (as well as how that doesn’t go well with the young woman’s family).  Everyday occurrences, from driving to child-care are covered.

Based on this, she would seem to have a pretty common life.  But we also get letters that she’s written to agents and publishers and editors.  Also the occasional fan or letter-writer.  A fair number of these are requests for money or questions about when will the money come in.  Because, we learn, that Shirley’s writing is the main source of income for the Jackson’s and there’s always a need for a new dishwasher or a new car or to pay off a creditor.

From the business letters, we learn about publishing numbers and advance sales and being selected for anthologies or having a work optioned for film or television. We learn of her reactions to lecturing at schools and her attempts to write other genre material. These letters really are a perfect storm of personal and professional life and they show the absolute mundanity of being a writer along with the sweetness of success.

Like many writers I know, Shirley faces procrastination (“This is not a letter, this is a way of killing half an hour.”) and writers block (“I must stop writing letters and get to writing a novel. If you think of any good scenes for a novel covering about forty pages send them right along. I can use anything I get.”).

What surprised me was how the letters to her agent were often quite personal and casual in manner (and sometimes showed an odd streak in her nature):

Due to circumstances presumably within my control, I find work almost impossible right now. Every morning I plug away at doing one whole page and every evening I throw it out. If I ever get together three or four un-thrown-out pages I shall send them to you. Also I can’t go outdoors because one of our strange cats has completely covered the doorstep with dead frogs.

That strange nature … really, a dry sense of humor.  I certainly never appreciated it from the works of hers I’ve read (I’ve only read two novels and a small handful of short stories), but the comment about the cat and the frogs is not totally unusual.  We see it a little more in her youthful days, but it shows up once in awhile later on as well:

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas together; everybody but me drank to your health in eggnog, but eggnog is 350 calories, so I used bourbon which may have as many calories but I don’t want to know about it.

I admit I knew nothing about Shirley Jackson other than she wrote one of the most famous short stories ever (“The Lottery”) and a couple of novels which, together with “The Lottery” were enough to classify her as a ‘horror’ writer. (I never felt that was a good classification, personally.) But this book really brought forth a woman with some personal demons, such as severe anxiety and agoraphobia, who had an incredible talent for writing and somehow managed to both write and raise a family in the 1950’s.

I am excited to go back and read more of her work.

Looking for a good book? The Letters of Shirley Jackson, edited by Laurence Jackson Hyman, is better than a memoir as it captures moments as it happened, rather than an authors reflections on events. This should be required reading for budding authors as well as fans of Shirley Jackson’s work. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Letters of Shirley Jackson

editor: Laurence Hyman Jackson

publisher: Random House

ISBN: 0593134648

hardcover, 623 pages

SOUL SERENADE – Rashad Ollison

Posted by Daniel on March 16, 2022
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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I was 100% attracted to this book because of the sub-title: Rhythm, Blues & Coming of Age Through Vinyl. The effect of music, particularly in the age of vinyl, holds a lot of interest to me. What I was expecting, then, was a memoir addressing the role music played in the life and growth of Rashod Ollison … whoever he is.

After reading the book I did a little research and even checked out some of the other book reviews (I rarely do that). Mr. Ollison, it appears, was a respected music critic and journalist who wrote for magazines and papers such as Dallas Morning News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Journal News (Westchester, New York), Baltimore Sun, and Virginian-Pilot. These are not papers that I read and I think that perhaps the book would be much more interesting to someone who knows who Rashod Ollison is. Or was.  Unfortunately, he has passed away since the publication of this book.

The book is much more an exploration of of Ollison’s homosexuality – at least more-so this than the influence of music in his life. Growing up Black and gay is surely challenging and Ollison didn’t have it easy. But he persisted, and found his niche – writing – with great thanks to a teacher who saw, if not talent, an interest that could be cultivated.

These are great stories.  How many of us can look back and think of one or more teachers who were influential to us during formative years?

But for a man who spent his career writing, this book just never grabs the reader or delivers a punch worth remembering.

The description of the book talks a lot about music and its influence on a boy growing up in Arkansas and I won’t say that this isn’t there, but it’s definitely not the strength of the book. Things perked up in the last quarter of the book and honestly, if I had started with that, I might have had a more enjoyable read throughout (it’s a memoir … you can write things out of timeline order!).

Looking for a good book? Soul Serenade by Rashod Ollison is a memoir/biography supposedly using the background of music to identify the author’s growth and chosen moments, but for someone who has no idea who the author is, there’s not enough here to appeal.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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Soul Serenade: Rhythm, Blues & Coming of Age Through Vinyl

author: Rashod Ollison

publisher: Beacon Press

ISBN: 0807057525 

hardcover, 240 pages

A PRIVATE WILDERNESS: THE JOURNALS OF SIGURD F. OLSON – David Backes, editor

Posted by Daniel on December 15, 2021
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Thoughts, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Nature writer, environmentalist, essayist, educator, conservationist, and former president of the National Parks Association, Sigurd F. Olson had a long career working in wilderness areas. For some, such as myself, he is best remembered for his gentle, thoughtful reflections of nature found in books like  Listening Point, The Singing Wilderness, or Runes of the North (among others).

Editor David Backes has previously written a biography of Olson and put together a collection of Olson’s notable quotes, but with this book we get our best, most intimate look at Sigurd F. Olson, the man, the dreamer.

As I only know of Olson from his published books of nature reflection, what struck me here was how much he agonized over his desire to be a writer – to be able to quit his other work (primarily, early on, as a college teacher) and just be outdoors and writing. And when he wasn’t waxing on about his desire to just focus on writing, he was wondering and worrying about what to write. In his earliest days he was writing short stories but having limited luck selling them. With each rejection would come angst-filled journal entries questioning whether or not he could do this, generally followed by yes, what should he write.

This is often quite repetitive, but editor David Backes does a great job of selecting entries that differ just enough to show Olson’s frame of mind during these different periods and how Olson slowly grows into the author most of us know him as.

For those who might be drawn to this, hoping for some wilderness connections – there is some here.  Olson spent his time and his thoughts in the outdoors, and that comes through in his personal reflections.

Young or hopeful writers will understand Olson’s frustrations about making time to write and the hard questioning of one’s work with each rejection.  That Olson ultimately became quite successful with his goal gives every amateur writer hope.

The book includes a few photos from the appropriate time periods and often showing someone that Olson mentions in one of his journal entries.

We have to remember that journal entries are meant to be private reflections and never intended for a general readership and even though nicely edited, there are times when we sometimes feel we’re intruders.

I highly recommend this book.

Looking for a good book? A Private Wilderness: The Journals of Sigurd F. Olson is just what the title suggests – a look at the man, Sigurd Olson, through his private journal writings. It is an excellent book on many levels (such as nature writing, autobiography, psychology, and the business of writing).

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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A Private Wilderness: The Journals of Sigurd F. Olson

editor: David Backes

publisher: Univ of Minnesota Press

ISBN: 1517910951

hardcover, 376 pages

I AM SOPHIE TUCKER – Susan & Lloyd Ecker

Posted by Daniel on September 24, 2021
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, HISTORICAL FICTION, MEMOIR, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Sophie Tucker, known as “Last of the Red Hot Mamas,” was an entertainer (vaudeville, radio, film, theatre) who was popular in the early-to-mid 1900’s. She was known for her risque and comic songs and her big, belting voice. Think, cross between Mae West and Ethel Merman.

Authors Susan & Lloyd Ecker has chosen to tell Sophie Tucker’s story in the form of a fictional biography, but I’m not sure why.

Clearly the Eckers are fans/admirers of Sophie tucker and her work and they’ve done an immense amount of research. And it also seems evident that they’ve captured Sophie’s ‘voice’ in this presentation. But what is not so clear is where biography ends and fiction begins. (Louis B. Mayer was a stage boy who lent his bicycle to Sophie so she could get from one vaudeville engagement to another? Al Capone kidnapped her for a private performance? Seriously?)

The Eckers have adopted Sophie’s stage persona – her bigger than life carriage and her snappy repartee full innuendo (and sometimes not much innuendo but straightforward sex talk) – as her biography voice. This is interesting for a chapter or two, but it gets old fast and it also suggests, by this same voice all the way through, that there is no growth of character. She talks, as a teenager, to her parents, the same way she talks to theatre managers in her early career, and the same way later in life when she’s begun playing the larger theatres across the country.

The timeline jumps around a little bit … wait, I thought she was a big name in entertainment, why is she working so hard to be known in order to get onto a bigger circuit? And the constant name-dropping just became irritating. Was Sophie Tucker a name-dropper, or was that the Eckers letting us know who Tucker was rubbing elbows with?

If I knew which parts of this fictional biography were true, I’d say go out and read it. But I can’t. For anyone interested, there must be actual biographies of Sophie Tucker available.

Looking for a good book? I Am Sophie Tucker is a fictional biography of the early 20th century entertainer, written by fans Susan & Lloyd Ecker. I’m not sure why we need a fictional biography, it sounds as though her real life was exciting enough that it doesn’t need fictional enhancement.

I rate this book a generous two and a half stars.

I received this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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I Am Sophie Tucker

authors: Susan & Lloyd Ecker

publisher: Prospecta Press

ISBN: 9781632260062

hardcover, 416 pages

ROCK AND ROLL WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE – Steve Almond

Posted by Daniel on September 22, 2021
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Steve Almond’s work.  I religiously buy everything he publishes, and even have purchased anthologies with strange themes just to read an Almond story.  And it was all I could do to not behave like a Raving Fan Boy when he was speaking at my local bookstore a year or so back.

What is my attraction to Almond’s work?  Well, his writing first and foremost.  He’s got a smooth, conversational way with words – conversational for those who can speak in more than Twitter codes. But I think it’s more than just his writing style.  There are many writers whose style or way with words I greatly admire.  Almond also manages to have the same interests or concerns or ideals that I gave.

Whether it’s being a Candyfreak, or having a grudge against football while still being a fan of the sport, or being a Drooling Fanatic for music and musicians … Steve Almond GETS me! It’s like we’re the same person (except that he’s younger, likes harder rock music, a Jew, and has probably gotten laid with a lot more women than I have [if he’s not exaggerating in his writing]).

Okay…so Almond and I are not on the same page in regards to the style of music and the musicians, but the intent and feeling of being a Drooling Fanatic is the same.  My wife still rolls her eyes at the time we drive four hours (and stayed overnight) so that I could see a now very old 1950’s/60’s folk musician I’ve admired for years.  And how I waited to be the last in line for autographs so that I could take out my 20 lps, dozen cds, and five song books for his signature and how he and I chatted for an hour and how I still have one of those albums, along with a photo of the two of us, framed and hanging on my office wall.  Yeah, I understand Drooling Fanaticism.

And Almond manages to be humorous and not take himself too seriously, while still being a bit philosophical.

…I’m willing to argue at this point that we are all Drooling Fanatics, that every single human being carries within him or her the need for music and that we differ only in the matters of degree and expression. If this were another sort of book – a book with intellectual self-respect, for instance – I would support this assertion with a tantalizing anthropological survey of musical devotion within indigenous cultures, and assorted neurological data vector astonishments. Instead, we’ll all have to settle for another bleak memory from my days as a bumbling lothario.

I can’t tell you how many times, as I was reading this book, I was smiling and nodding my head in gleeful acknowledgement of Almond’s hitting the point so perfectly.  (I can’t tell you because I didn’t keep track, not because it didn’t happen.)

His chapter, “On the Varieties of Fanatical Experience,” from which the quote above comes, is one of the best, truest, and most humorous essays I’ve ever read.  I read the chapter out loud to my wife (who is also a Drooling Fanatic in her own right and falls somewhere between Almond and myself [closer to Almond] on the music style spectrum).

It seems both appropriate and heretical that my bookmark while reading this was a concert ticket stub … from a Symphony Orchestra concert.

Do I recommend this book?  Absolutely.  I recommend this author.  Read some Almond and you will be hooked.

Looking for a good book? Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life by Steve Almond is a collection of essays in and around the music world and anyone who’s ever had a song running through their head that they can’t get rid of should read this book.

I bought this book with cold, hard cash.

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Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life: A Book by and for the Fanatics Among Us

author: Steve Almond

publisher: Random House

ISBN: 1400066204

hardcover, 240 pages

BOY: TALES OF CHILDHOOD – Roald Dahl

Posted by Daniel on September 20, 2021
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

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It should not be surprising that the man who wrote such classic and wildly unusual books for children such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, The Twits, and The Magic Finger as well as some ripe tales for adults, such as My Uncle Oswald, Switch Bitch, Cruelty, and Lust: Tales of Craving and Desire, should write an unorthodox style of biography.

Roald Dahl tells of his earliest days and he tells it in such a way that even his youngest readers will be able to follow along and suffer with Dahl through his various canings and whippings. Yes … the rather common form of punishment of the day – hard strikes of a cane against the buttocks – are described in searing detail and was, clearly, one of the main things this reader came away remembering. Dahl does mention that not all teachers or headmasters used the cane on schoolboys like him, but that this punishment clearly made an impression on him. What also makes an impression is the absolute helplessness when a young boy is falsely accused of something and must suffer the punishment for it.

There are a few other moments that aren’t about the cruelty of education in Dahl’s school day, such as learning how Dahl got the idea to write one of his most famous books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We also get glimpses of pastoral vacations to Norway.

As an insightful biography, this book is a little lacking. As a memoir for children and young adults, this book definitely holds some interest. Of course we’re curious about the childhood of one of the world’s best-known writers, and we do get some insight – just not a lot of depth.

When I saw this offered on Netgalley – a site for publishers to offer new releases to potential reviewers -I was glad to be able to get a copy.  I am surprised to discover since then that this book was first published in 1984. Clearly it’s not just Dahl’s fiction that is constantly in print.

Looking for a good book? If you’re curious about Roald Dahl’s early life, then Boy is definitely a book to read, but as it’s been available for almost 40 years, it’s possible you’ve already read it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Boy: Tales of Childhood

author: Roald Dahl

publisher: Penguin Books

ISBN: 9781405947213

paperback, 181 pages

CHASING DRAGONFLIES – Cindy Crosby

Posted by Daniel on January 8, 2021
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

I know next to nothing about dragonflies and damselflies but I’ve been very interested in learning more, and when I saw this book available, I was eager to request a copy. The title, Chasing Dragonflies, really spoke to me, and I love the painted rather than photo cover.

Chasing Dragonflies is an apt title as author Cindy Crosby seeks out new dragonfly and damselfly experiences the way bird watchers will take trips with the hopes of catching sight of a new bird to add to their lists.

But Crosby’s journey is almost too personal. It sometimes appears cathartic – particularly as Crosby reflects on her cancer, aging, and family. She nicely ties these thoughts to the peaceful pursuit of dragonflies (and damselflies). And as a memoir, I really enjoyed this book and Crosby’s quite poetic language.

As a “Natural History” (part of the book’s subtitle)?  This is a little less clear.

There is some solid science and fact woven into this “Personal History” but it filters out a bit behind the personal accounts and poetic language. We never quite leave the feeling that this is personal reflection, even though it comes from someone with some science acumen. 

It’s easy to get hooked on this book. I was drawn in by this passage in Crosby’s Prologue:

 

I’m inspired by how dragonflies are both tough and fragile; fierce and mild. They each fly for only a few short weeks, yet the species is still around after others have disappeared from the earth. They are cannibals who may eat one another, yet you can safely hold one in your hand. As they transform themselves from water creatures to creatures of the air, they are vulnerable to the predation of frogs or birds. A falling leaf may damage their newly unfolded wings beyond repair. Yet when those same wings harden, they are strong enough to carry many of them thousands of miles in migration. 

 

I often see dragonflies when I’m out in the summertime in my Minnesota stomping grounds.  I’ll even see them at times as I sit on my back deck. And always I wish I knew a little more about them. Now I do.  Know a little bit more about them. What Crosby does best, though, is to pique my interest so that I might do some further research.

The artwork by Peggy Macnamara is perfect, capturing the tough but fragile nature of the dragonflies and the reflective science of Cindy Crosby’s writing.

Looking for a good book? Chasing Dragonflies by Cindy Crosby is a memoir of a natural science researcher – tough and resilient (both Crosby and the dragonflies she chases).

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Chasing Dragonflies: A Natural, Cultural, and Personal History

author: Cindy Crosby

artist: Peggy Macnamara

publisher: Northwestern University Press

ISBN: 0810142309

paperback, 248 pages

TO THE STARS – George Takei

Posted by Daniel on July 10, 2020
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

STAR TREK WEEK

If you are considering buying this book, then you likely already have a pretty good idea of who George Takei is. Most will know him from his being a regular on the original Star Trek television series (and movies). Younger audiences will know him for his social media presence.

In this biography/memoir, Takei talks about his early family life, which includes time spent in internment camps in Arkansas and California during WWII when George was quite young. Once out of the camps, the family returned to Los Angeles and lived in a “the largest Mexican American barrio in the United States.” In his early life after the camps, we get to know a little more about George Takei the student (high school and college) where we learn that Takei is motivated and competitive.

Takei is fortunate to get some early, professional acting, while in college, which put him in contact with some big names in American film. And then he went in for an audition/interview for a regular role on a potential new television series called Star Trek, where the producer was unlike what Takei had seen in other Hollywood types.  He had good feelings about the man and the show even back in this very early stage.

Takei writes about the camaraderie among the cast members … with one exception.  Star William Shatner appears to have been more focused on building his own stardom than on working with anyone else.  The two most telling moments from this book are an early days moment when Takei brought some family to the studio for a tour of the set and when Shatner walked into the studio, Nichelle Nichols calmly steered the family in another direction so that there would be no interaction between Shatner and the guests.  And when filming was completed for the first Star Trek movie that Leonard Nimoy directed, the cast all pitched in to throw a big celebration party for Nimoy.  All except Shatner who claimed he was going to do something else for Leonard, but when crew members thanked Shatner for the party, he gladly accepted those thanks.

While Takei makes it clear what he thinks/thought about his ego-obsessed co-star, he is definitely politic in the way he describes it.  Which makes some sense because after his Star Trek work, Takei delved into politics. The final chapters of the book follow Takei’s work in politics, the Star Trek movies, and just a little bit about Star Trek: The Next Generation, and ending with reflections on Gene Roddenberry’s death.

For those of us who are admittedly Star Trek fans – Trekkers (or Trekkies, depending on which generation you are from) – most of what Takei writes about his Trek days has long been circulating among the fans.  Mention something at a Star Trek convention and people all over the world will start repeating it as gospel.  It was nice to read it directly from the source.

For me, I liked some of the non-Trek reflections. His sense of family and the lessons he learned from his father are really touching and I think more important. It is so like a father to ‘encourage’ a child to take some earnings and invest it so that there is something for the lean times.  I never knew about this side of Takei (the early investor in real estate).

The book only goes up to the early 90’s, so there’s 30 more years worth of material that Takei could easily (?) do a follow-up biography.  I was a little disappointed not to get anything more directly personal (specifically what it might have been like to work in Hollywood as a gay man), but since he didn’t ‘come out’ until the early 2000’s, perhaps that will be part of the (my wishful thinking) autobiography, volume two.

Looking for a good book? To the Stars, by George Takei, is an autobiography of one of Star Trek‘s stalwart crew members whose early life in an interment camp during WWII and his political activism are as worthy of reading about as is his time as the Enterprise‘s helmsman.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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To the Stars

author: George Takei

publisher: Pocket Books

ISBN: 0671890093

paperback, 416 pages

RESISTANCE – Tori Amos

Posted by Daniel on June 17, 2020
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I started listening to Tori Amos with the release of her album Little Earthquakes. I have purchased or listened to all of her works since then.  I wouldn’t say that I’m a dedicated fan – I know (knew) nothing about Amos other than what I interpret in her songs. Her music, her songs, to me, show incredible artistry and intelligence (which is something I think is often lacking in modern music). When I saw that Tori Amos had a book coming out, a memoir, I was quick to get a copy, hopeful that Amos would be as articulate with her book as she is with her songs.

She is.

I have certainly noted a political charge in many of Tori’s songs, but reading through this memoir and learning abut her ‘start’ – her early days in a piano bar in Washington, D.C. – I have a new appreciation of Tori’s understanding and her observing of the political landscape. Much of the first portions of the book discuss these early days and as we get to know Tori through her recollection, we come to understand how aware she is of the machinations of politics.  How does a young, artistic woman survive in this sort of setting? This is really fascinating and eye=opening.

But I think what I enjoyed even more in this book, is her discussion of art, artists, and surviving the creative process. Amos knows what it’s like to sacrifice the art at the bidding of others.  She also know that creating art is not inspiration, but lots of hard work (an awful lot of artists do not yet understand this concept).  She mentions that she can probably name all of her songs that ‘just came to her’ on one hand.

And she talks about the jealousy of other artists – the jealousy we might have for a peer who has already ‘found her voice’ or his style, while we continue to struggle. Reading her thoughts on this is meaningful because we see that she understands – that she comes at this with first-hand experience.

I do think that you need to have an appreciation of Tori Amos the singer-songwriter to appreciate this book to its fullest, but the publisher refers to this book as having “compassionate guidance and actionable advice” which is very true and applicable to anyone, whether they are already familiar with Tori Amos or not.

Looking for a good book? Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage by Tori Amos is a motivational memoir sure to offer encouragement to young artists of all mediums.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage

author: Tori Amos

publisher: Atria Books

ISBN: 1982104155

hardcover, 272 pages