Book Nook Cafe discussion

The Confessions of Max Tivoli
Andrew Sean Greer
4/5 stars
In the early 20th century we meet Max Tivoli who was an unusual character. He was born in San Francisco but lived his life backwards. He started out as an older person and dies as a child. However, he falls in love with the lovely Alice, a beautiful woman who he meets several times in his lifetime, her never knowing that Max will always be in her life. Nicely written! Love Stories

I recall that title but didn't read it. It sounds a bit akin to F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but, i believe in the latter, the female knew BB. I'll keep this title in mind, particularly as you enjoyed it, Julie. Thanks for the info.

My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business
Dick Van Dyke
4/5 stars
This is not a current book about Dick Van Dyke but he writes about the highlights of his career in TV and film and talks about his family life up to 2011. I always admired him and this was a very enjoyable book. Books about Film and Television

Neat, Julie! I think someone else here read that book or another by/about him. He sounds like a good man.

Julie wrote: "
My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business
Dick Van Dyke
4/5 stars
This is not a current book about Dick ..."

I read this one and loved it. I also gave it 4/5 stars. He seems like such a nice guy. I also liked that he says at the start of the book if you are looking for some salacious gossip you are in the wrong place. The guy is a class act.

I also enjoyed his other book Keep Moving: And Other Truths About Living Well Longer

The Old Man and the Gun: And Other Tales of True Crime
David Grann
3/5 stars
Interesting book on true crime! There are three stories of crime in this book. The first one was The Old Man and The Gun which was made into a movie with Robert Redford. True Crime and The Chameleon were next. The second story was just okay but I really enjoyed the The Chameleon and The Old Man and The Gun. Books About Crime

I have a friend that loves True Crime books. I'll pass the title on to her. Thanks, Julie !

I've read two books by Grann and like the way he describes events and people, particularly how they came to be in situations. (The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon and Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI )

Thanks for the comments, Julie.

Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film
Patton Oswalt
3/5 stars
Actor/Writer/Standup Comedian Patton Oswalt talks about his love of films and that he had seen three times a week through the nineties at the New Beverly Cinema. Interesting! Books About Film/Television

I used to watch a lot & lot of films but no longer. Growing up movies were a siren call to me, which continued into the beginning of this century. It's odd that it stopped once we sold our home & hit the road.

I've liked Oswalt's work over the years, so am going to have to add this to my list. Thanks, Julie.

Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way
Richard Branson
4/5 stars
Richard Branson talks about his life, his businesses and making a fortune. This was a very interesting look at how he dealt with all of his businesses. This was published in 1998 so it would be interesting to read what has happened to him since 1998. Business

Julie wrote:
Richard Branson talks about his life, his businesses and making a fortune. This was a very interesting look at how he dealt with all of his businesses. This was published in 1998 so it would be interesting to read what has happened to him since 1998. Business

In 2017 there were sexual allegation's against him.

Thanks, Julie. I've long had mixed feelings about him but one must say he had a knack for pulling it all together.

Alias, i didn't recall that. I see he just denied remembering that. The End?

Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
Alexandra Lange
3/5 stars
Lange writes about the history of the shopping malls and the high and lows of being in the business of building and running malls. Not the most fascinating book I have ever read but I learned a lot about malls! Business

Thank you for the title & assessment, Julie. I may use this instead of my previous selection, for our Business prompt (#70), as i've been thinking about malls lately. It's surprising how people have many memories of malls but few have the same for, let's say, strip malls. Good title for such a book, too.

Julie wrote: "
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
Alexandra Lange
3/5 stars
Lange wr..."

I read an article somewhere recently that malls may be making a comeback.

I just googled and I see a few articles including this google blurb at the top.
"Now, new data show that malls are not only surviving, but thriving. Following a wave of renovations and reinvention, many malls are sporting even larger crowds today than in pre-pandemic times, according to retail research firm Coresight Research."
Aug 22, 2023

NJ, my home state, is well-known for diners and malls. My extended fam & friends spent lots of quality time in each. I cherish those hours. We have also got a ton of strip malls, every one of them featuring a superb Mom & Pop italian restaurant. I live in a chainsore food desert at present.

Michele wrote: "NJ, my home state, is well-known for diners and malls. My extended fam & friends spent lots of quality time in each. I cherish those hours. We have also got a ton of strip malls, every one of them ..."

Michele, you are lucky, particularly that last sentence. Living in urban Dallas (& having just returned from San Antonio), i can say that chainstores are taking over here. It's disappointing. If one wants to go to non-chains, s/he must visit ethnic neighborhoods, usually closer to the downtown areas.

Enjoy!

💜

My Word is My Bond
Roger Moore
4/5 stars
Roger Moore, actor and James Bond portrayer talks about his life, family, his film career and his philanthropic endeavors. This covers his life up to 2008. He died in May 23, 2002. Very well written and he definitely led a very interesting life! Books About Film and Television

This was my last book in my reading challenge so now I am going to concentrate on my never ending book list!!

Congratulations, Julie! I like the way you celebrate--working on your TBR list! Thank you for taking us along on your reading challenge this year. It's been informative.

Thank you for bringing us along for the ride. I enjoyed following along as you tackled your challenge.

Hangman
Faye Kellerman
4/5 stars
This is the 19th book in the Decker/Lazarus series which I have been reading for years and I still enjoy them. In this book Decker is asked to look after a young man, Gabe while his mother Terry is gone and then goes missing. Among other things, Decker is also on the case of a nurse who left work and later found hung. Compelling!

Wow ! 19th in the series.

I've read and enjoyed her husbands books. However, I haven't read one in a long time. I probably could start with the first Alex Delaware as I know I wouldn't remember it. It probably has been decades since I read it. I used to always run to buy his books in hardcover as soon as they came out.

I haven't read any books by either Faye or Jonathan Kellerman. While i cannot say they are on my TBR, over the years i've thought i'd give one of hers a try...but still haven't.

It is neat to see, Julie, that her books still hold your interest. This cannot be said for all series of long term. Congrats on the pure pleasure of reading.

Hangsaman
Shirley Jackson
4/5 stars
Natalie, a seventeen-year-old, is the main character in this novel by Shirley Jackson. Her life at home is stifling and when she finally gets away to go to college she doesn't like her life at college either. This story is based on a true event about a young college coed who went missing in the 1940's and was never found. Intriguing!
Off My Never Ending Reading List

I never heard of this Jackson story before. It's interesting and sad that it's based on a true story.

We tend to think of never-found Missing as a recent development. How sad this one must have been.

Desperate Hours: The Epic Rescue of the Andrea Doria
Richard Goldstein
4/5 stars
This is the story of the Andrea Doria ocean liner built in 1951, who was taking passengers on a cruise in 1956 when it was hit by the Swedish ship Stockholm during a dense fog and tells the aftermath of the disaster. Goldstein relates the ship's history, the sinking of the ship and the stories of the passengers on board. The collision killed 51 people—46 from the Andrea Doria and 5 from the Stockholm. Very interesting but sad! Off My Never Ending Reading List

Julie wrote: "
Desperate Hours: The Epic Rescue of the Andrea Doria
Richard Goldstein
4/5 stars
This is the sto..."

Sounds good, Julie !

I remember this collision and aftermath so vividly. I lived on the New Jersey shore, and something was always happening there. This seemed like it happened in our back yard. We had the Hindenburg, the King and Queen of England riding a train across our farm on their way to see FDR, the Morro Castle, shark attacks, and whales washing up dead. We also saw UFOs on several occasions. No abductions as far as I know.

Anyway, sounds like a book I would love.
Michele

Julie, thanks for sharing about this one. Another off your eternal TBR--congrats on that!

Michele, how exciting was all that activity!? You've had your share of adventure right in your own neighborhood. Lucky you!

My mother’s generation saw it all. I was alive and remember the UFOs, shark attacks & the Andrea Doria v Stockholm.

All i have from my Oklahoma City childhood were fears of tornadoes and sonic booms from the early Air Force tests.. Yours are quite exciting, Michele.

Barbra Streisand: the Music, the Albums, the Singles
Matt Howe
3/5 stars
This large book details everything that Streisand sang, wrote and her collaborations with other famous musical artists. This was just okay for me. At times it just dragged. I can't recommend it but I am looking forward to reading her new autobiography.

Julie wrote: "
Barbra Streisand: the Music, the Albums, the Singles
Matt Howe
3/5 stars
This large book ..."

Her new autobiography, My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand

The book is close to 1,000 pages. Yikes ! I might be interested in a 300-400 page book but not 1,000 for a celebrity. That said, I have always loved her singing and acting.

The NY Times reviewed it.
"This year’s memoirs have kept ravenous consumers of celebrity culture well fed.

Prince Harry plumbed his royal life in “Spare,” and Britney Spears told her own story for the first time in years with “The Woman in Me.” There have been autobiographies from Elliot Page, Patrick Stewart, Henry Winkler, Kerry Washington, Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton.

Now, Barbra Streisand joins their ranks with “My Name Is Barbra,” a memoir released on Tuesday. At almost 1,000 pages, “it’s not a book you inhale,” the Times critic at large, Wesley Morris, writes. “The bigness of it makes literal the career it contains,” he adds. “Streisand is poring over, pouring out, her life.”

Her childhood, in a Brooklyn housing project, was emotionally fraught. Her father died when she was just over a year old; her mother was emotionally unavailable, and her stepfather was distant. She left home at 16, driven to create a life in the arts. After performing in a talent show at a Greenwich Village gay bar, her success snowballed, leading to her big break: a celebrated turn on Broadway, as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.” (Read a Times review of the show from 1964.)

There are, of course, juicy highlights from the book. Her father died when she was just over a year old; her mother was emotionally unavailable, and her stepfather was distant. She left home at 16, driven to create a life in the arts. After performing in a talent show at a Greenwich Village gay bar, her success snowballed, leading to her big break: a celebrated turn on Broadway, as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.” (Read a Times review of the show from 1964.)

There are, of course, juicy highlights from the book: Her relationship with Marlon Brando, laden with sexual tension; her admiration for the former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau (whom she watched dive naked into an icy lake); her account of why she had her dead dog cloned. But what gives the story its heart is Streisand’s perseverance.

In recalling her career, Streisand calls out bad behavior — comments by the media about her physical appearance; bullying by her “Funny Girl” co-star Sydney Chaplin; the director of “A Star is Born” taking credit for production choices she had made.

“That’s the sort of blood that gives this book its power,” Wesley writes. “It’s that Barbra Streisand endured a parade of harsh workplaces yet never stopped trying to make the best work.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/12/br....

madrano wrote: "All i have from my Oklahoma City childhood were fears of tornadoes and sonic booms from the early Air Force tests.. Yours are quite exciting, Michele."

That certainly made me laugh. If you could see me now watching foreign language mysteries on Netflix at 3 am!! Can barely get it together to go to the drug store. I'm waiting now for my grocery order delivery. That will be the highlight for me on this Friday.
Michele

Between the book Julie read about Streisand's music and the woman's autobiography, it seems her life is well documented. Terrific for admiring fans. I've enjoyed her work over the years but not to the extent i'll read either.

I used to babysit for the child of a big-time fan Streisand fan. My Name Is Barbra was great! And her Cry Me A River was my torch song standard for decades.

Thanks for the Memory Lane visit, Julie.

Michele wrote: "If you could see me now watching foreign language mysteries on Netflix at 3 am!! Can barely get it together to go to the drug store. I'm waiting now for my grocery order delivery. That will be the highlight for me on this Friday.."

Life is full of contrasts, isn't it? I'm glad we are a part of your life, Michele. And what good memories you have, as well. Take care and enjoy those foreign mysteries--we are fans of the Nordic varieties.

Iceman: My Fighting Life
Chuck Liddell
This is the autobiography of Chuck Liddell who is a mixed martial artist. I am not a big sports fan but I learned a lot about wrestling and being a mixed martial artist! I thought this was very interesting!

I so enjoying learning about the eclectic selections your read, Julie. And i'm grateful you share your discoveries with us!

I like how you select a wide variety of topics, Julie. Your not afraid to go outside your comfort zone.

Paperweight
Meg Haston
4/5 stars
Stevie is a teenage girl in an eating disorder home. Along with that her brother's anniversary of his death is coming up and she plans to end her life. Well written but very sad! Off My Neverending Reading List

Julie wrote: "
Paperweight
Meg Haston
4/5 stars
Stevie is a teenage girl in an eating disorder home. Along with that her brother's anniversary of h..."

That sounds like an interesting read. However, as you noted quite sad.

Julie, thanks for your thoughts on this book. I see you & other GR readers liked the book and felt it was well-told.

madrano wrote: "I so enjoying learning about the eclectic selections your read, Julie. And i'm grateful you share your discoveries with us!"

The book on Chuck Liddell was a book that my nephew had and he was very much into wrestling. The book I am reading now is also one of his books and it is a Bruce Springsteen autobiography.

Well, that is a contrast, i must say.

I hope it's a good one, Julie.

Vacuuming in the Nude: And Other Ways to Get Attention
Peggy Rowe
4/5 stars
Peggy Rowe is the mother of Mike Rowe host of Dirty Jobs. She is also a talented writer and has written other books. She talks of her life with her family. This was very enjoyable and I look forward to reading her other books.

Mike Rowe was once a QVC host. Merry Christmas.

That certainly is a attention grabbing title !