Summary:
A non-fiction narrative of the breaking-and-entering crime spree plaguing celebs from 2008 to 2009. It discusses the time line and the accomplices through interviews with the culprits themselves. Sales previously wrote an article about the crime ring, dubbed "The Bling Ring" by TMZ and the media, and then expanded on that for this book. The book discusses the curiosity and expectations teens and young adults are beginning to have about celebrities and becoming one themselves. This book is the basis for the movie of the same name produced by Sofia Ford Coppola.
Thoughts:
This could not possibly be drier. The way that Sales lays out the conversations with the Bling Ring suspects is bland, and she hops from interview to introspection to interview with little to no segues, sometimes within the same chapter. I was curious about the book because I heard about the movie and heard there was a book about it, and of course I'm going to read the book first. The book took me far too long to read, because the writing was lacking in any emotion or interest. The subject matter is really quite interesting. A bunch of teenagers broke into celebrity homes and stole clothes, purses, cash, even intimate items and a hand gun. It really could have been a more intriguing book, if only it were written with a better narrative style. I was happy to be done with it.
Book 26 of 50
Pages: 288
Genre: non-fiction
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Recommend?: Meh, it's borderline readable.
Showing posts with label non-fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label non-fiction. Show all posts
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World (Sarah Vowell)
Summary:
A collection of short personal stories and musings covering a variety of topics. Many have a historical slant to them. She talks about her secret love affair with the Godfather, her trip with her twin sister that followed the Cherokee Indians' Trail of Tears, curiosities over mixed tapes, a trip through Hoboken to search for Sinatra sentimentality, and more.
Thoughts:
The previous book I read by Ms. Vowell, was held together by a couple of strings that were woven throughout the book, namely the presidential assassination angle, and also that she only wrote about the three that had Lincoln's son inadvertently involved. This book feels much more disjointed. Very few stories have anything to do with each other, and even the book itself is split into several different sections. These are literally just a few stories and essays that Vowell seems to have written in the past that she and the publisher strung together to fill a two-hundred page book. Sure, some of it is interesting, including her talk of the Trail of Tears, and the writing itself isn't bad. It just doesn't feel like the book gels at all. Whatsoever. It's a thorough disappointment compared to her other book. To be fair, though, this particular book was released five years prior to the other, and maybe her skill at bringing topics together had improved greatly over that time. Unfortunately, that skill was not in evidence here. I'm honestly disappointed. What's worse, it took me so long to trudge through this book, the forgettable beginning was completely lost on me by the end, and I had to go back and remind myself what the early topics in the book were.
Book 49 of 50
Pages: 219
Genre: Non-fiction, some history
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Eh. Assassination Vacation was far more interesting.
A collection of short personal stories and musings covering a variety of topics. Many have a historical slant to them. She talks about her secret love affair with the Godfather, her trip with her twin sister that followed the Cherokee Indians' Trail of Tears, curiosities over mixed tapes, a trip through Hoboken to search for Sinatra sentimentality, and more.
Thoughts:
The previous book I read by Ms. Vowell, was held together by a couple of strings that were woven throughout the book, namely the presidential assassination angle, and also that she only wrote about the three that had Lincoln's son inadvertently involved. This book feels much more disjointed. Very few stories have anything to do with each other, and even the book itself is split into several different sections. These are literally just a few stories and essays that Vowell seems to have written in the past that she and the publisher strung together to fill a two-hundred page book. Sure, some of it is interesting, including her talk of the Trail of Tears, and the writing itself isn't bad. It just doesn't feel like the book gels at all. Whatsoever. It's a thorough disappointment compared to her other book. To be fair, though, this particular book was released five years prior to the other, and maybe her skill at bringing topics together had improved greatly over that time. Unfortunately, that skill was not in evidence here. I'm honestly disappointed. What's worse, it took me so long to trudge through this book, the forgettable beginning was completely lost on me by the end, and I had to go back and remind myself what the early topics in the book were.
Book 49 of 50
Pages: 219
Genre: Non-fiction, some history
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Eh. Assassination Vacation was far more interesting.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir (Dick Van Dyke)
Summary:
Dick Van Dyke was the star of the aptly named Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as Bye Bye Birdie (originating his role on Broadway, and then appearing in the movie years later), Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Diagnosis Murder, and a whole host of other incredible works. His whole schtick is to be some form of himself on the stage and/or screen, and do it in a funny way. This man is a Hollywood legend. This book is about his life.
Thoughts:
I. Love. Dick Van Dyke. Love him. I'm fairly convinced that he was my first celebrity crush, from the first instant I saw him singing and dancing in the streets of London for Mary Poppins. Reading this book, and getting into the man's head, was basically a dream come true. I don't care that he was born 57 years before me, and my eldest uncle wasn't even thought of yet, let alone my mother, let alone me. I love him. It was a joy to read the tale of his lucky life in his own words. He is exactly the type of person on the page as he is on the screen. He's a jokester, and family friendly. I can literally count on one hand the number of times he used a word harsher than "hell." (The number is, in fact, once. I kid you not.) He says in his book that his goal with the work he did was to make it something that he could watch with his children, and not get embarrassed. He succeeded, spectacularly. One thing that I found interesting was the response I got when I told people that I was reading Dick Van Dyke's memoir. It wasn't "Oh my God, I loved him in Mary Poppins!" or "He was great on The Dick Van Dyke Show!" The first responses from several people (all of whom were older than me) was, "You know he was an alcoholic, right?" How, on God's green earth, is THAT your first response when you hear the name Dick Van Dyke??? This man is a comic genius, who's got legs of rubber, and can sing and act. HOW is "alcoholic" the first thing you think of? And at the time I'd spoken to these particular people, I hadn't actually gotten to any bits of the book that mention his issues with alcohol, and I wasn't around in the 70's when he actually outted himself and said "I'm an alcoholic." So no, I didn't know that. And no, it doesn't affect my view of this incredible man. So shut up about it! (Yes, I realize I've now gone on about it myself, becoming a hypocrite. I apologize, and will get back to the review.) The book is all about the joy of the job for Dick Van Dyke. He loved doing what he was doing. He still does. He's still appearing on stage, in a barbershop group called the Vantastics. He refuses to stop. I hope to hell that when I get to be in my eighties, I still love what I do enough that I want to keep doing it. Dick Van Dyke is an awesome performer, and I loved reading about his love for his craft. If you have ever in your life enjoyed a performance by our guy Dick Van Dyke, I highly recommend reading this celebration of his work. It's fun, and it's joyful, and even in the sorrow of his life, (losing a granddaughter, his ex-wife, and his girlfriend, getting a divorce, dealing with his alcoholism, etc.) he finds some kind of happiness. This is the kind of person I aspire to be. This book made me smile with every page, and now I feel the need to not only find all of his old movies, but also watch the entirety of The Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as anything else I can find of his work. I love you, Mr. Van Dyke, and I thank you for sharing your life and your immense talent with us. Love, a very satisfied fan.
Book 39 of 40ish
Pages: 327 (I think... for once I don't have the book in hand!)
Genre: Non-fiction, autobiography
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Look at this post compared to all the others I ever make. I think that'll tell you! :)
And with this, we bring in the new year. I'll keep up with the list of things I finished before the end of the year last year, and then I'll get into the books for the New Year! Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Dick Van Dyke was the star of the aptly named Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as Bye Bye Birdie (originating his role on Broadway, and then appearing in the movie years later), Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Diagnosis Murder, and a whole host of other incredible works. His whole schtick is to be some form of himself on the stage and/or screen, and do it in a funny way. This man is a Hollywood legend. This book is about his life.
Thoughts:
I. Love. Dick Van Dyke. Love him. I'm fairly convinced that he was my first celebrity crush, from the first instant I saw him singing and dancing in the streets of London for Mary Poppins. Reading this book, and getting into the man's head, was basically a dream come true. I don't care that he was born 57 years before me, and my eldest uncle wasn't even thought of yet, let alone my mother, let alone me. I love him. It was a joy to read the tale of his lucky life in his own words. He is exactly the type of person on the page as he is on the screen. He's a jokester, and family friendly. I can literally count on one hand the number of times he used a word harsher than "hell." (The number is, in fact, once. I kid you not.) He says in his book that his goal with the work he did was to make it something that he could watch with his children, and not get embarrassed. He succeeded, spectacularly. One thing that I found interesting was the response I got when I told people that I was reading Dick Van Dyke's memoir. It wasn't "Oh my God, I loved him in Mary Poppins!" or "He was great on The Dick Van Dyke Show!" The first responses from several people (all of whom were older than me) was, "You know he was an alcoholic, right?" How, on God's green earth, is THAT your first response when you hear the name Dick Van Dyke??? This man is a comic genius, who's got legs of rubber, and can sing and act. HOW is "alcoholic" the first thing you think of? And at the time I'd spoken to these particular people, I hadn't actually gotten to any bits of the book that mention his issues with alcohol, and I wasn't around in the 70's when he actually outted himself and said "I'm an alcoholic." So no, I didn't know that. And no, it doesn't affect my view of this incredible man. So shut up about it! (Yes, I realize I've now gone on about it myself, becoming a hypocrite. I apologize, and will get back to the review.) The book is all about the joy of the job for Dick Van Dyke. He loved doing what he was doing. He still does. He's still appearing on stage, in a barbershop group called the Vantastics. He refuses to stop. I hope to hell that when I get to be in my eighties, I still love what I do enough that I want to keep doing it. Dick Van Dyke is an awesome performer, and I loved reading about his love for his craft. If you have ever in your life enjoyed a performance by our guy Dick Van Dyke, I highly recommend reading this celebration of his work. It's fun, and it's joyful, and even in the sorrow of his life, (losing a granddaughter, his ex-wife, and his girlfriend, getting a divorce, dealing with his alcoholism, etc.) he finds some kind of happiness. This is the kind of person I aspire to be. This book made me smile with every page, and now I feel the need to not only find all of his old movies, but also watch the entirety of The Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as anything else I can find of his work. I love you, Mr. Van Dyke, and I thank you for sharing your life and your immense talent with us. Love, a very satisfied fan.
Book 39 of 40ish
Pages: 327 (I think... for once I don't have the book in hand!)
Genre: Non-fiction, autobiography
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Look at this post compared to all the others I ever make. I think that'll tell you! :)
And with this, we bring in the new year. I'll keep up with the list of things I finished before the end of the year last year, and then I'll get into the books for the New Year! Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!
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