The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope by Austen Ivereigh

The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope
by Austen Ivereigh
Henry Holt and Co.
464 pages - ISBN 9781627791571
October 2014

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Pope Francis is coming! Pope Francis is coming! 

To the United States that is. The supreme pontiff is gracing us with his presence later this month and while I’d love to see him in person, I will have to live vicariously through all the digital media that will hit the internet as a result of his visit.

I’m fascinated with Pope Francis and I’m not even Catholic. I was raised a Protestant in a denomination which denounced everything Catholicism stood for. No rituals, no crosses, no rosaries, no artwork or statues, no big churches, no religious hierarchy, no priests, no Pope. Because my upbringing was so anti-Catholic, now as a non-religious adult I’m very intrigued by what was withheld from me and I’m particularly fascinated with the role of the Pope. He’s not just the leader of the Catholic church; his influence stretches beyond the boundaries of his religion. The Pope has a platform unlike any other world leader. The election of Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis, a Jesuit Priest turned Cardinal from Argentina, was a monumental decision that would forever change the history of the church.

Not knowing very much about Pope Francis, how he became Pope or the Catholic church in general, The Great Reformer by Austen Ivereigh became a primer for me. It’s not the ideal book for someone with little knowledge of Catholicism. Reading up on the religion beforehand would have helped me out a bit. However, the book’s focus is solely on the evolution of Jorge Bergoglio into Pope Francis. Because he hasn’t been Pope for long the book is mostly about his life as Bergoglio. The chapters follow his life in chronological order yet each of them start in the present (2013-2014) then dip back into the past.

Bergoglio/Pope Francis led an oftentimes tumultuous life. We learn about Argentina’s difficult political history, Bergoglio’s upbringing, Jesuit priesthood, his work with the poor and the many relationships, both bad and good, that he’s had over the years with key figures in religion and politics as well as family and friends. As a big fan of another Jorge, Argentine author and poet Jorge Luis Borges, I was particularly enamored by the fact that Borges and Bergoglio met when Bergoglio invited the author to speak to his class as a Jesuit college. Jorge meets Jorge; two Argentine greats who continue to influence the world in death (Borges) and in life (Bergoglio/Pope Francis).

Jorge Bergoglio meets Jorge Luis Borges

I listened to this book on audio. I had been having a lot of luck listening to non-fiction books about religion so I gave this one a try. The author narrated the book and did a fine job but in the end I did have some difficulty following a long with his narration. This book is a bit biased in favor of Pope Francis. Whenever we learn something negative about Bergoglio/Pope Francis it’s quickly followed up by a statement by the author that redeems him. Bergoglio/Pope Francis is a very admirable man and has led a good life with a focus on simplicity and generosity and that comes across in the book.

Even though this book was published early in his career as Pope, this book won’t become outdated any time soon because the author wisely focus on Pope Francis’ journey to the Vatican instead of his short time at the Vatican. The title is true to the purpose of the book. The reader learns a lot about how Pope Francis could reform the church and how along the way he became such a radical voice. I recommend The Great Reformer to anyone who has a basic understanding of Catholicism and a particular interest in the life of Pope Francis.

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Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
by Greg McKeown
Hardcover - 260 pages
ISBN 9780804137386
Crown Business
April 2014

I’ve read a few books this year that have changed my life and this is one of them. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown is about getting rid of all those things that make you overworked, stressed and unfocused to get back to the essentials. Author McKeown breaks down the concepts into parts so you can understand the whole picture clearly and even includes some helpful drawings that enhance the message.

McKeown says there are two types of people: Non-Essentialists and Essentialists. Non-Essentialists try to do it all. They multitask and try to fit in as much as they can into their packed days. The more they think they can accomplish the more they feel accomplished. However, the author makes the case that they are stretching themselves too thin and the time and energy they can put into certain aspects of their life and career is decreased because it has to be spread across so many different tasks.

I love how the author implements the drawings and sketches. The one below effectively demonstrates the difference between putting all your energy into one thing versus putting small portions of your overall energy into many things:

The book offers a lot of advice on how to say NO to the non-essentials and yes to the essentials. Readers are encouraged to embrace routine as a means of conserving mental energy. Escape, sleep, editing, clarification, setting limits, creating buffers and boundaries are all elements of the advice. The advice can apply to many people but the examples the author provides are primarily composed of high-power executives. I was a bit offended to have to read about Jeff Bezos’ sleeping habits. I really don’t care about people like him. I’m a professional but I can’t relate to someone like that. I would have liked more examples that would people like myself who inhabit the middle and lower classes can relate to. I don’t think Essentialism is something only the rich can afford. I think anyone can become an Essentialist.

After reading this book I realized that I used to be an Essentialist and that I was happy that way. What changed was my loss of religion. When you are religious you say “no” to many things. Life can become a lot simpler and more focused when you clear the extraneous and whittle things down to what’s most important. When I stopped being religious, it wasn’t like life became a free-for-all and I said yes to everything. However, I did start saying yes to more things and found that life got more complicated and more cluttered as the years passed. I think at heart I’m an Essentialist and the Non-Essentialist lifestyle is not for me. It’s too stressful and harried. I need some simplicity and focus! I’m grateful to this book for opening my eyes to this.

Disclaimer: I received this book as part of Crown's Blogging for Books program.

The Sting Man: Inside Abscam by Robert W. Greene

The Sting Man: Inside Abscam 
by Robert W. Greene
Originally published 1982
Penguin Books
Paperback, ISBN 9780143125273
324 pages

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The movie American Hustle released late last year captivating audiences with its improvised dialogue, crazy hairstyles, 1970s fashion and style and performances by top actors including Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner. The film wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it nonetheless received much admiration and acclaim and garnered 10 Academy Award nominations (Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor – Bradley Cooper, Best Supporting Actress – Jennifer Lawrence, Best Director – David O. Russell, Best Actor – Christian Bale, Best Actress – Amy Adams, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing and Best Production Design). At first viewing of this film, I felt a little let down. However, as soon as I walked out of the theatre I kept thinking of the film and its been on my mind ever since. Something about the movie just stuck with me and got me thinking. One of my primary thoughts is that the film might be ahead of its time. I tend to chuckle at this notion considering the fact that the film is about the past. We may not fully appreciate it now (or perhaps we shall depending on how many Oscars it receives) but we may appreciate its genius in the future.

After seeing the movie, I was browsing my favorite sites online and saw that Biographile (a site run by Penguin Random House) featured The Sting Man: Inside Abscam by Robert W. Greene in an article. This book, published in 1982, is the definitive tome about Abscam. I entered Biographile’s giveaway and was one of the lucky winners! As soon as I got the book I started devouring it right away.

Abscam had been in the works for a few years and the FBI’s key man behind the sting was the notorious con man Mel Weinberg (Irving Rosenfield as played by Christian Bale in the film). Greene’s book follows the life of Weinberg, his early start as a con artist, his successful career conning people left and right, his romantic relationships including with his mistress Lady Diane/Evelyn (Lady Edith/Sydney as played by Amy Adams in the film), his inevitable capture by the FBI and his involvement in Abscam. While the film American Hustle is about Abscam and the filmmakers heavily relied on this book as a source of information, the film was not intended to be faithful to the original story. For example, Diane had no role in Abscam. Her participation in the Abscam is a figment of the clever filmmaker’s imagination. The real Abscam was essentially a men’s club.

The book is only 324 pages but took me quite a long time to read. Scams and cons are often really complex and this book is crammed with details. There are so many names that its hard to keep track of them all. The author uses surnames frequently enough so you can keep track of who he is referring to. But for the most part there are too many names to keep straight. For the most part, Abscam seemed overly complicated but the incredible attention to detail was necessary for what they wanted to accomplish: getting members of Congress and the Senate on tape accepting a bribe. Greene takes his time going through every single phase of Abscam. This is necessary because, although the information can be overwhelming, you get the overall sense that Abscam was a long and complicated process.

Throughout the book there are breaks that feature transcripts from tape recordings and scenes from Mel Weinberg’s life and cons. These are often entertaining breaks and a chance to pause and catch your breath before diving into more complicated details of the scam. There are plenty of these breaks and you’ll look forward to reading each and every one once they appear.

The book follows Weinberg’s life up until Abscam and then devotes a lot of time to the Abscam scandal but only one small chapter to the aftermath. Because the book was written and published so soon after the scandal broke, there might not have been enough time for the fallout of the scandal to fully develop or people may have read enough about the aftermath and wanted more about how it started and how it worked. Greene writes in a very chronological manner, hardly ever going back into time for information. This keeps readers on the straight and narrow. Deviations might have been too confusing for the reader. The last chapter was added after the book’s publication and provides us with the final chapter in the tragic life of Marie (Rosalyn as played by Jennifer Lawrence in the film), Mel’s second wife.

If you loved American Hustle and are really curious about Abscam and this moment in US history, I highly recommend reading The Sting Man. The events in Mel Weinberg’s life and in Abscam are exciting and often shocking and surprising. It certainly was a wild ride!

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison

The Silent Wife 
by A.S.A Harrison
ISBN: 9780143123231 Paperback
Penguin Books
June 2013
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Boy, it's been quite a long time since I've read a contemporary novel for adults. For fiction, I mostly read classics (for my classics project) or books for children and young adults (for my job). And outside of that my reading mostly consists of non-fiction. Needless to say, it felt really really good to pick up a contemporary novel and just lose myself in it.

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison follows the relationship between couple Jodi and Todd which, after 20 or so years, is quickly beginning to unravel. Because of Jodi’s hesitance, they have never married nor have they any children. Both are in their mid-to-late 40s and Todd is in the throws of a mid-life crisis. He has taken up a torrid sexual affair with Natasha, the college age daughter of his best friend Dean. The affair is successfully kept secret from both Jodi and Dean until Natasha becomes pregnant and insists that Todd leave Jodi and marry her. While it takes some prodding from Natasha, Todd is happy to embark on this new journey in life. He’s finally going to get married and be a father, two life events that Jodi has denied him during the twenty years they were together. But Todd’s new life isn’t perfect and his abandonment and betrayal is destroying Jodi.

Its not a spoiler to say that Jodi will end Todd’s life because that’s made clear at the very beginning of the book. The plot basically follows the events that lead up to his inevitable demise and what happens immediately after. I glanced at some negative reviews and found that most were disappointed because the book wasn’t a psychological thriller, that the comparison to Gone Girl others have made was inaccurate and that the plot was very slow. After reading those reviews, I’m glad that I didn’t expect a rip-roaring thriller and found that I enjoyed the book immensely and not having certain expectations helped I’m sure.

When I intially read the book description, I saw this more as a book about an unraveling relationship more than a psychological thriller. And that’s what it was. However, that’s not to say there aren’t some psychologically thrilling moments. The climax of the book was so disturbing to me that I had to put the book aside and relay my thoughts to happier things so I wouldn’t be too emotionally unsettled to continue. And yes I am a sensitive reader, more so than most, but it doesn’t discredit the power of the climax which I thought was particularly well done. The pace of the book worked for me. Jodi moves slowly and methodically and Todd’s life moves like he had just pressed the fast forward button. The 28 chapters in Part 1 go back and forth between Jodi (Her) and Todd (Him) until it reaches Part 2 where it is all about Jodi and the aftermath of Todd’s death. I’m a big fan of alternating chapters, especially when what they’re alternating between opposites (present/past, him/her, good/evil, etc.) or two different perspectives (Jodi/Todd). The alternating chapters worked particularly well in this book.

The book, while very enjoyable, wasn’t without its flaws. I didn’t feel much of anything for Jodi but then again I’m not really sure we are supposed to. Jodi is a psychologist and is calm, reserved and methodical. I found it hard to connect with her but also felt remorse for her situation. I didn’t have much in common with Todd either but I felt he was a much more interesting character than Jodi. Their relationship and the events that unfolded were fascinating to watch. I didn’t quite get why the author focused so much on Jodi’s relationships with other men (her two brothers and psychologist Gerard). Jodi’s conversations with Gerard about her brothers are given plenty of attention but I couldn’t quite connect that to Jodi’s relationship with Todd. Maybe someone else could appreciate this where as I didn’t.

If you are looking for a exciting psychological thriller, look elsewhere. If you want a thoughtful read that really explores the nuances of human relationships, then this book is for you. Unfortunately, the author A.S.A. Harrison passed away before the book’s publication. Its too bad that she couldn’t enjoy her book’s release to the world or follow it up with more insightful fiction.

Note: When I first came across this book, I noted some similarities with the Jodi Arias case. Both women are named Jodi, both had unraveling relationships and both killed their romantic partner. Other than those similarities, the two stories, the fictional one and the real life one, couldn’t be more different!

Classics Project Book #6 ~ Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan
by J.M. Barrie
Blackstone Audio
Originally published 1904
ISBN: 9781441715494

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Downpour
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Peter Pan is one of several classic children’s novels that escaped me in my youth. As an adult, I’m trying to make up for lost time and channel my inner child by reading them. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz delighted me, Alice in Wonderland is on the horizon and I just finished an adventure with Peter Pan.

So much of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is especially for the imagination and feeling of a child. Peter Pan is the boy who never wants to grow up. He’s gay (in the classic definition), innocent and heartless. As a child, he has the magical power to fly simply by tapping into “lovely wonderful thoughts”. He has very little sense of time and virtually no long-term memory because he is too consumed with new adventures and being a boy. While children often struggle with the limitations of their age, Peter Pan, the Lost Boys and their new friends Wendy, Michael and John Darling demonstrate that being a child is something special and that adults are at the disadvantage of not being able to recapture the magic of their youth.

Peter Pan lures Wendy, Michael and John from their cozy home, teaches them to fly and they have wondrous and sometimes dangerous adventures. The characters of Neverland include fantastical creatures like mermaids and fairies that children only read about in books but here are children interacting with them in their own exclusive world. The children are pitted against the most capitvating villain of their imagination: pirates. Neverland is exotic and different and a place where your average adults are not allowed.

I think the enduring legacy of the story of Peter Pan is it’s ability to tap into a child’s imagination in the most direct way possible. The story captures their imagination, speaks to their hopes and fears and provides them with heroes that they can identify with.

I enjoyed this book as an adult but do regret not having read it as a child. Most of the fantastical adventures were lost on me and I found myself more interested in the tail ends of the story when we're in the Darling home.

I got this book as part of a free audio book deal from Downpour.com . They are a great alternative to Audible especially if you don’t want to do business with Amazon. The audio book was narrated by Christopher Cazenove who I think did a wonderful job. It felt very much like a classic story time narration. I wonder what an audio narration would sound like with a much young narrator. I think it would be even better.

Classics Project Book #5 ~ The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

The End of the Affair
by Graham Grene
Audible
6 hours 28 minutes
Originally published 1951

Years ago I remember catching snippets of the 1999 film adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel The End of the Affair. The film starred Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore and there was one scene has a permanent spot in my memory. It’s when Maurice Bendrix (Fiennes) puts stockings and shoes on Sarah Miles (Moore). He tells her he’s jealous of her stockings, of her buttons and of her shoes and it’s one of the most romantic and heart-wrenching scenes I’ve ever been privileged to witness (you can read the lines from that scene here ).

Fast forward to 2012 when Audible announced their A-List line of celebrity narrated classic and literary audio books. I signed up for Audible so I could download Anne Hathaway’s narration of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (read my review here) and Colin Firth’s narration of The End of the Affair. Both proved to be incredibly listening experiences!

The film plays up more of the love affair between Maurice and Sarah. The book stays true to it’s title and focuses strictly on the end of their affair. The story takes place during World War II in London. Maurice will do anything to possess Sarah. He’s a novelist who has more control with the imaginary worlds he creates in his writing than with real life. Sarah Miles is a gentle woman, in love with Maurice but still devoted to her mild-mannered husband Henry. Sarah abruptly ends their affair when in a moment of despair she promises God she’ll end the affair if only Maurice survived the bombing. Maurice doesn’t know this and is convinced that Sarah is having an affair with someone else. He hires a detective, reads her diary and is constantly obsessing over every minute detail of their affair and of her life.

“We are possessed by nobody, not even by ourselves.”

We as the reader are drawn in to Maurice’s story of jealousy and obsession. This novel is taut with emotion and we become fully enveloped in this beautifuly written yet haunting and dark story. The prose is magical, the characters feel real and the story is exquisite. Colin Firth’s narration is one of the best I’ve ever heard. He won the Audie Award for Best Audio Book of 2013 and it’s well-deserved (it was also nominated for Best Solo Narration - Male and Best Literary Fiction Audio). Die-hard Firth fans will swoon when they listen to this!

The End of the Affair is referred to as one of Graham Greene’s Catholic novels and religion, personal belief, tradition and atheism are all explored. The theme of religion becomes much more important at the end of the novel. I didn’t quite understand why this was considered a Catholic novel until I got to the last third of the book. The book is also loosely based on Graham Greene’s real life affair with Lady Catherine Walston as well as his own struggles with converting to Catholicism.

I highly recommend this book if you like beautiful prose with intense emotion. The scene I loved from the movie ended up not being in the book which I didn't mind. The movie played up the romance and the book focused on the end of the affair which seems to be fitting for both mediums.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 
by Arthur Conan Doyle

Mystery is a new genre to me. I have been looking for more cozy reads and usually people find those in genre fiction. My issue is that I dislike genre fiction like fantasy, science fiction and romance but having not delved into mystery I thought I might find a type of genre fiction that I would enjoy! My interest in mysteries started with the Charlie Chan films and then branched out into other films with other detectives (Falcon is a new favorite!).

The Sync program offered The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as a free audio book back in August so I thought I'd give this one a try. I enjoyed the short story format. I had read The Hound of the Baskervilles a long time ago and remembered liking it but I wasn't quite ready for another full novel yet. The stories took some getting used to. I was a bit bored by the first few stories but as I kept reading I found my stride and started to enjoy these mysteries. My favorites ended up being the last ones: The Adventures of the Noble Bachelor, The Adventures of the Beryl Coronet and The Adventure of the Copper Breeches. For me, reading mysteries has to be an acquired taste. It's not something I'll gravitate towards naturally. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a great way to introduce someone to the mystery genre. What better way to start than with short stories from the master of mysteries about the most famous fictional detective of all-time?

I listened to the audio book version narrated by Ralph Cosham. My biggest complaint about the narration is the fact that Watson and Holmes sound identical and Cosham didn't put too much effort into making them sound very different from each other. So if I wasn't being very attentive, I could easily confuse the character speaking thinking it was Holmes when it was Watson and vice versa. Cosham's voice was okay and I like how he did American voices in the Noble Bachelor story. However, I think someone else might have done a better job at narration overall.

What Reader Species Are You?

I saw this infographic online and thought I'd share.

This would be my profile:
Domain: Reader
Class: Book Lover
Family: Compulsive -
Genus: Book Cherisher
Species: Book Worshipper

I also have the tendencies of the following:
The OCD Reader
The Book Preserver
The Hoarder
Compulsive Book Buyer
The Multitasker
The Audiobook Listener
The All-the-Timer
The Anachronist
Delayed Onset Reader


Attribution to Laura E. Kelly . (Click to view at original large size.)

Visit Laura-e-Kelly.com for more about books, reading, and authors.

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Bless Me, Ultima
by Rudolfo Anaya
Originally published 1972

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Oh dear. This one was a struggle for me. I really wanted to like Bless Me, Ultima. It's considered a classic in Latino Lit but I just couldn't connect with it.

Bless Me, Ultima follows the story of the young boy Antonio Marez. He lives in New Mexico and his life, his community, his culture is steeped in Roman Catholicism and the Pagan beliefs of the Llano (pronounced Ya-nu). The Marez family has just taken in the Curandera (healer) Ultima. Ultima is getting old and they wanted to pay her back for her years of service by taking care of her in her later years. Antonio learns a lot from Ultima and spends most of the book doing a lot of growing up. He struggles with becoming a man, sinning, the conflict between the Llano's pagan traditions and beliefs and the strict rules of the Roman Catholic church and all the death and grief he sees happening around him.

This is a coming-of-age book and to be honest I read too many of those for work as it is. I have a serious case of coming-of-age story fatigue. This book is great when placed with the right person. I'm just not that person. My biggest problem was being able to connect with what was going on in the story. I was raised religious so I usually connect with stories about religious beliefs or said beliefs conflicting with others. Whether the beliefs conflict with society, family members, work, life, etc., I usually can find something to identify with. I even love reading or watching stories about people in more extreme situations like Quiverfull families, polygamists, fundamentalists, etc. However, I was raised Protestant and I guess I can only really understand other Protestant stories. I'd probably have a similar struggle if the religion was Judaism, Islam, Hinduism or something else.

I received a free copy of the audiobook of Bless Me, Ultima from Sync, which is a wonderful online summer program that makes teen friendly audio books available for free each week. The audiobook was produced by Recorded Books and narrated by Robert Ramirez. Ramirez did a wonderful job with the narration. His accent and his fluency in Spanish made you feel like Antonio Marez himself was narrating his story to you.

I really wanted to like Bless Me, Ultima and I haven't completely ruled it out as a wash. The story was very interesting when it wasn't being drowned with flowery language or religion. Perhaps a future and more appreciative reading might be in the cards for me.

Added Note: This book was recently adapted into a major motion picture. I'm really not sure how they did that but I am curious enough to want to watch it now that I have read the book!

Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds

This review was previously posted on my classic film blog.

Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds
Hardcover
9780062213655
April 2013
William Morrow
320 pages

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In 1988, Debbie Reynold's autobiography Debbie: My Life was released. It depicted the often times tumultuous life of the perky and vivacious movie star who became famous with her roles in films such as Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). At the time of that book's publication, Reynolds was newly married to Richard Hamlett. Little did she know that more trials and tribulations were waiting around the corner.

Unsinkable: A Memoir picks up in the timeline of Debbie Reynolds life when she married Hamlett in 1984. Reynolds describes her tumultuous marriage to Hamlett, the messy divorce that followed, the rise and fall of her Las Vegas hotel, her daughter Carrie Fisher's emotional and physical problems, her relationship with her son Todd and the repeated disappointments and financial hardships she endured in trying to create a museum for her vast collection of movie memorabilia.

The book is divided into two parts. Part One follows Reynolds life from 1984 to 2011. Part Two kicks off at 2012 and dips back into time following her movie career from 1948 until 2013. It's mostly a continuation of her first autobiography but she does include plenty of information about her early movie career and her troubled marriages to Eddie Fisher and Harry Karl.

Reading Unsinkable was quite an interesting experience for me. Debbie Reynolds is very candid. Some readers might be a little uncomfortable with some of the things she reveals. I don't think I'll ever look at Tony Randall the same way after reading this book. But that very open and sharing nature is just Debbie Reynolds' style. Her personality definitely comes through, whether the writing is mostly hers or that of her co-wrieter Dorian Hannaway. Reynolds also makes some big revelations including the fact that she thinks her third husband Richard Hamlett tried to kill her.

Debbie Reynolds spends a lot of time in this book discussing her passion for movie memorabilia and how she treasured the costumes and props she purchased or collected over the years. In 2011, Reynolds was facing financial difficulties and after years of trying to create a museum for her memorabilia she made the controversial decision to sell the pieces at auction instead. The most famous piece was the white dress that Marilyn Monroe wore in the subway grate scene in The Seven Year Itch (1955). Reynolds spends a lot of time talking about the memorabilia, her attempts at creating the museum, her regrets and how it pained her to auction off all those pieces. She seems genuine enough but sometimes I wondered if she was trying to seek validation from her readers and her skeptics.

By Part Two, I wasn't sure if I would find much value in this book. Her stories were interesting and I was especially intrigued to read about her very complicated relationship with Elizabeth Taylor. However, one chapter into Part Two and I discovered the real value of the book. Starting on page 183, Reynolds goes back to 1948 to her very first movie and reminisces about (almost) each and every movie she made up until her most recent one Behind the Candlelabra (2013) in which she plays Liberace's mother (with whom she was good friends in real life). This part was the most interesting to me. She shares her personal experiences and memories from each of those films. This is what separates a biography from an autobiography in my opinion.

This book has its bias. Reynolds is not afraid to pass judgment on certain people in her life and with some of her over sharing I wonder what she is hiding as well. I tried to take most things in the book with a grain of salt. With that said, Debbie Reynolds is quite charming so it's very likely she'll win you over with her candid style.

So what do I really think of the book? If it wasn't for that movie-by-movie rundown in Part Two, I wouldn't have liked the book at all. That really saved it for me. I would recommend reading Unsinkable if you are very interested in Debbie Reynolds as an actress and a woman and definitely if you had read her first book. It's also for those of you who are curious about Debbie Reynolds' decision to sell her memorabilia and want to know her side of the story.

Thank you so much to William Morrow for sending me a copy of Unsinkable for review!

The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era by Thomas Schatz

 This review was previously posted on my classic film blog.

The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era
by Thomas Schatz
University of Minnesota Press
Edition: March 2010
Paperback
528 pages

Find the book on
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 Some of us are satisfied with enjoying films for what they are, entertainment and we are perfectly happy to leave it at that. But when we start asking questions, especially the hows and the whys, we need to evolve from being just an observer of movies to become well-versed and knowledgable film buffs.

The Genius of the System was originally published in 1988 and has since been revised with the latest edition released in 2010. Thomas Schatz takes a look at film history with two major constraints. First Schtaz focuses on the business of the studio system as it existed from 1920s through to the beginning of its demise in the early 1950s. Secondly, Schatz narrows his study to some of the major studios including Universal, MGM, Warner Bros. and Selznick's various collaborations with studios plus his own Selznick International Pictures.

The book is organized in chronological order, each section is devoted to one time period and each chapter within each section is devoted to one studio in particular. Schatz delivers an overwhelming amount of information about the studio system, an important time in film history .and I think it's crucial that the book be well-organized, orderly and clearly written. That structure and clarity helps keep the book tidy and makes it a lot easier to follow.

In this book, you'll learn about budgets, business decisions, the roles different people had in the script development, casting, filming, production and distribution. Different studios had different ways of doing things. For example, Warner Bros. was strict about typecasting and were reluctant to loan out their stars which proved stifling for many including Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart.  Other studios and independent contractors depended highly on loan outs from big studios in order to boost their films with big names. Sometimes the movie business worked like a well-oiled machine: efficient and fast. Other times it dragged along and was plagued by excess and poor decisions. Deals, contracts and economic shifts changed how studios utilized their big stars and their small players as well. The Great Depression, World War II, the advent of TV and the HUAC all affected how the studios worked.

I learned a lot of interesting things about the business of filmmaking during the studio era. I learned that Universal focused on making horror pictures because they could be made with low budgets, partial sets, they could hide things with smoke and fog and they didn't need major stars. The focus of these movies were the monsters and in the end these films were cheap to make and proved to be both profitable and popular. That wasn't to say that Universal didn't have any big names. Deanna Durbin provided Universal with one box office hit after another and helped keep them afloat during a difficult time in American history. MGM's early history could be divided into Thalberg and post-Thalberg years. There are a couple chapters in the book devoted to the collaboration between Selznick and Hitchcock and it's very interesting to see how it evolved and how it came to an end.

While Schatz tries to keep the focus on the studio during a particular era, he sometimes stops to focus on a film in particular especially if it's story is a complex or important one and demonstrates the workings of that studio. Films spotlighted include Gone with the Wind (1939), Wizard of Oz (1939), Rebecca (1940), Notorious (1946), Key Largo (1948) and others.There are some plot spoilers but not many because the real focus is on the business side of filmmaking and not about the stories themselves.

It took me quite a long time to read this book because I really wanted to take in and reflect on the information I was acquiring by reading it. I highly suggest not reading this from cover to cover but taking it one section or one chapter at a time.

The Genius of the System  is a wealth of information and an absolute must-have for any film buff who wants to know more about the mechanics of the studio system and how that business influenced how and why certain movies were made. This book can prove to be a challenging read but if you are committed to learning about the history of film then this books is not to be missed.

Thank you to the University of Minnesota Press for sending me a copy of The Genius of the System to review.

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

I was at Book Expo America last week and couldn't resist browsing this Penguin truck. It was parked in the lobby of the Javits Convention Center and the books were being sold through McNally Jackson. I wasn't planning on picking up any books at Book Expo because I go there for work and also there wasn't a lot I was interested in. However, I really needed some reading material for the tail end of my train ride (I knew I'd finish my other book before we arrived in Boston), so I indulged myself and bought a copy of This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz.

The book has been out for a while and I really wanted it but was trying to delay the pleasure of reading it until it came out in paperback. But I really couldn't resist and picked it up and started reading it right away.

As someone who is both Dominican and an intellectual, I find that I am part of a secret club; a small subset of people who can really connect with Junot Diaz and his writing. His books are very special to me and I treasure them. I feel that being Dominican, I have another layer of understanding of Diaz's writing that others who are not Dominican do not have.

Being Dominican is unlike anything else. I know that can probably be said for a lot of cultures but something about being Dominican is different. I'm half Dominican, half Portuguese and was raised in the United States. Of the Dominican, the Portuguese and the American (heck even the Lebanese that comes with the Dominican), it's my mother's Dominican culture and heritage that I am the most connected with. It's the loudest, most passionate, most complicated and most frustrating of all the elements of my upbringing. Sometimes being Dominican angers and confuses me but I am still fiercely proud to have Quisqueya blood running through my veins.

This is How You Lose Her is a series of short stories about different Dominican men who have troubled relationships with women. There is one main recurring character Yunior, who alongside his ailing brother Rafa, appears in most of the stories. Dominican men are notorious for philandering and sex is a big part of being Dominican. While some may say this is a stereotype, there are too many real life examples in order to just cast it off as a generalization. I can point to my own maternal grandfather, Dominican to the core and none of us in my family know how many relationships he's been in nor do we know how many children he has had. I'm sure I have many more cousins than I think I do.

I can tell that Diaz is an observant and receptive person. He hits upon a lot of the struggles and emotions that Dominicans deal with. He gets what it means to be part of the Dominican Diaspora. When I was in grad school, I wrote a non-fiction essay about my hair. Dominicans have a very complicated relationship with their hair. My mother has always envied my more European hair because she has always hated the coarser more African hair she inherited from my grandmother.  In fact, I have never seen my mother's hair in its natural state because she is in a constant battle to make it look smooth and straight. What took me several pages of writing to explain, Diaz did in a couple glorious sentences in This is How You Lose Her. That is what is so brilliant about Diaz's writing. He conveys so much with few words.

It's hard for me to talk about Junot Diaz' work without going on and on about my Dominican heritage and upbringing. I guess that's why I love Diaz' writing so much. It gives me an opportunity to really think about what it is to be part of the Dominican Diaspora that he writes about. Even though I'm not a hot-blooded Dominican man who constantly cheats on the love of his life, as many of the characters in This is How You Lose Her do, I still feel an immense connection to this book.

I don't think This is How You Lose Her is for everyone. Feminists might hate it or they might love it for its portrayal of various men who cheat and lose their women in the process. People might be turned off by the swearing or the frequent use of Spanish terms or Dominican slang. If that is going to scare you away from Junot Diaz's excellent writing, then you don't deserve to read his books. But don't fret, there are many of us around that will cherish his writing in your place.

Classics Project Book #4: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White 
by Wilkie Collins

I am very behind in my Classics Project reading. Out of 50 titles I have only read 4, eek! I listened to The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins some time ago but hadn't had a chance to review it until now. The audio book was great. It was narrated by Ian Holm who is one of my favorite actors. He did a wonderful job with the narration and the different voices and his voice suited the book very well. However, I struggled with finding time to listen to it. I only had access to it on my iPhone and had no way to listen to it in my car without blasting my iPhone's speakers. This  made the sound quite terrible and on the highway I could barely hear it. So I would mostly listen to it on walks. It was over 20 hours and it took me so long to read. I dreaded abandoning the characters so many times. In hindsight I should have either listened to it on a CD rather than an Audible download or read my physical copy of it.

The Woman in White is a well-written mystery with a terrific cast of characters. I especially enjoyed spending time with Walter Hartright, his love interest Laura Firlie and her spinster sister Marian Holcombe. And of course the mysterious woman in white, Anne Catherick. I liked all the twists and turns the story took and the writing was elegant yet very simple and direct too. It made me more interested in reading other novels by Wilkie Collins. Collins is a favorite among many readers I know who are fans of classic literature. I think The Woman in White would be great to recommend to someone who is not familiar with the classics and wants to tackle a longer read that will capture their imagination.

I plan to read this again and to allow myself more time to read big chunks of it rather than it little snippets. It really took away from the experience. When I do read it again, I want to do a more thorough review!

Richard Blanco Reads "One Day" at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration

I was really impressed with Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco and his original poem "One Day" which he wrote and read for the 2013 Presidential Inauguration. I heard an interview on NPR with him and was really impressed at how thoughtful, eloquent and receptive he is and all of this was made apparent in his beautiful poem.

I was really proud watching a fellow Latino read a poem at yesterday's inauguration. As a Latina studying English in undergrad, I always felt like the odd one out. There weren't many Latinos in my program (in fact I only remember seeing two in odd classes but they weren't English majors) and the school's Latino/a association would send me a letter every term/semester encouraging me not to drop out of school because that's what Latinos do. Those letters still anger me to this day. I wish I would have kept one. I would have framed it and put it up on my wall as I went on to graduate from both undergrad and grad schools. Against many odds, I am a Latina, who got two Liberal Arts degrees and pursued her love of arts and literature.

Reading a little more online about Richard Blanco, I found out that he is an Engineer and poet. I thought this was an interesting combination in which he employs two very different sides of his brain. It reminds me of my start in Zoology (I was really good at Biology, Science and Math) but my switch to English. I could identify with Blanco and I am very glad he was chosen to deliver the inaugural poem. I'll definitely be checking out Blanco's work in the future.

Weddings and Movie Stars

Weddings and Movie Stars
by Tony Nourmand and Graham Marsh
Hardcover, 287 pages
9780956648723
$79.95
Reel Art Press
April 2011

Find the book on:
Powells
Indiebound 
Barnes & Noble
Amazon

This review originally appeared on my classic film blog Out of the Past.

Weddings and Movie Stars is a beautiful coffee table book available from the experts in quality photography books, Reel Art Press.

In June of last year, I attended Book Expo America, a big book industry trade show held every year in New York City. I saw a sign for a company called Reel Art Press, a small indie UK publisher I had never heard of. I thought I'd stop by their booth and check out the Kennedy coffee table book they had been advertising. When I arrived at their booth, I was pleasantly surprised to see multiple high quality classic film related coffee table books including one called Weddings and Movie Stars. I was about to get married in a few weeks and it just seemed like kismet that I found out about this publisher and the book. As soon as I got back home, I ordered the book and had so much fun reading it and looking at the wonderful photographs. Since one of my wedding's themes was Classic Hollywood, it was nice to own this.

Weddings and Movie Stars is a huge book! It is 11.75 inches wide and 13.75 inches tall and clocks in at about 7 pounds in weight (I measured it and weighed it myself). The quality photographs are a mixture of black and white and full color and they are gorgeous making this book total eye candy. The images are mostly from real life movie star weddings but also include on screen weddings. You'll see images from the Hollywood elite of the 1920s through to the 1970s with a few modern images. It ends with a somewhat odd tribute to The Graduate (1967) which I think they could have done without.

The photographs in this book are stunning. Some take up a single page or fill up a two page spread. Other pages have a couple images on one page. Basically what I am trying to say is that these are big luscious pictures that you will want to look at over and over again. Each photograph comes with captions which provide detail information about the couple and the wedding. There are lots of great anecdotes and stories as well as trivia bits about the designer of the gown, the circumstances of the wedding, and the inevitable quips about the various divorces that followed.

This book is $79.95 which is quite pricey but Weddings and Movie Stars is a collector's piece and worth the investment. This would make a really nice gift for a new bride especially one like myself who appreciates the style of the 20th century. It would also make for a great addition to anyone's coffee table. When storing it, lay it flat on its back or spine side down if you are putting in a book case, make sure it's spine side down. I made the mistake of putting the book on a book shelf sideways with the spine up and the heavy pages pulled at the spine ripping it a bit. It's a heavy book so make sure you take care of it!

They listed Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as getting married in 1930 when the correct year was 1940. Oops! Also there are several non-movie star weddings including all the members of the Beatles but for the most part it sticks to actors and actresses.

You may not find Weddings and Movie Stars at your local bookstore but you can find it online at various bookstores and for sale at Reel Art Press.

Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge

2013 Reading Challenge

Raquel has read 0 books toward her goal of 75 books.

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Every year, I wake up on New Years day and set my next yearly reading challenge on Goodreads. I get so excited to do this and to think of all the books I'll be reading throughout the year. This year I set a challenge of 75. That was my challenge last year too but I had to drop it down to 60. Wedding planning, the actual wedding and honeymoon ate up a lot of potential reading time (although I did read two books during my honeymoon). This year I don't have any major things to plan, except for buying a house, so I hope I'll have more time to devote to reading.

I love following the reading challenge widget on Goodreads as the year progresses. It lets you know how far along you are and if you are ahead based on number of books set and time of year or if you are behind. Whenever I'm behind, it's good motivation to get reading and add some more books to the list. I'm so glad that Goodreads came up with this idea!

I have three chunksters from 2012 to finish which will count towards my 2013 list but otherwise it'll be all new books.

What's your reading challenge for 2013?

Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home

Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home

by Various

9781413313222

Published by NOLO
2011 3rd Edition

*Note that a new 4th edition came out in December 2012. My review is of the 3rd edition from 2011.

"... you want to make sure you don't find just any house - you find the right house, at the right price, with the right loan. A house you're happy to stay in for a long time, no matter what the market does. To do that, you need a lot of information."

Nolo is an online company of legal advisors who specialize in several things including real estate. Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home is the only book you should get if you are in this particular stage in life. This guide is comprehensive, thorough, easy to understand and laid out in a very useful way. It was a surprise to me how much information I gleamed from reading, how it stuck with me and how I never found myself overwhelmed with information.

The book is divided into 15 chapters. In the beginning of the book even shows you how the chapters flow in a manner that is reminiscent of the home buying process. The chart is called "Navigating the path to your first home" and here are the chapters/steps:

1 - Learn the Benefits
2 - Decide what you want
3 - Make a budget
4- Check out the market
5- Choose professionals
6/7 - Get a mortgage
8/9 - Find your house
10 - Negotiate a deal
11/12/13 - Inspect, insure, prepare to move
14 - Seal the Deal
15 - Settle in

Each chapter has different names than the above but those are the basic steps from beginning to end. The chapters are written each by different experts who specialize in the topic at hand. It begins with an introduction to the author, their credentials and their home buying experience. Then it proceeds by laying out all the information in a very thorough yet concise manner. There are breaks for Tips, "Check it Out" which references to outside sources for more information (some on Nolo.com, some elsewhere on the internet), little quizzes, fun trivia, quotes, and more. I particularly liked the regular feature "best thing we ever did" which gives personal insights to situations that were salvaged by some smart moves. These were very enlightening and provided some very useful tips. The book covers every possible scenario, good and bad, and how it should be handled.

The edition I read, while from 2011 was a little outdated, not in the real estate advice but in terms of technology. It had mentioned MySpace as a leading social network. This is quite an outdated error even in 2011. Also, the 3rd edition comes with a CD-ROM with forms and charts to download. The 4th edition directs users to download the same forms on Nolo.com and ditches the CD-ROM altogether. While I am still nostalgic for the days of CD-ROM, thanks to companies like Apple these will be completely obsolete soon. I also noticed that the book needs a good proofreader who can change all mentions of things listed "below" when they are really on the next page.

If you are buying a home for the first time, you need to get this book. It's really essential. I am in the unique position in that I am buying my first home yet helping my husband sell his current place, where we live now. The book doesn't give advice on how to sell and buy at the same time since this is exclusively for first time home buyers. I recommend pairing this book with several viewings of HGTV's show My First Place. I also recommend reading Nolo's book all the way through once then using it later as a resource. It good to absorb as much information as you can but no one will expect to you to memorize it, so that's when having this book on hand will prove useful.

Publisher Giveaways on Goodreads

The Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program gives away thousands of books each year. Since anyone can just give away any book the list tends to be populated with a self-published stuff. Also,
a lot of very eager authors put up their books hoping for reviews.

Personally, I prefer to sign up for a giveaway that is run by a publisher or publicist. I feel like they are a neutral party because they understand that with good reviews there are bad reviews.  They also won't be stalking you on Goodreads as an eager self-published author might. (No offense to all the lovely authors who do not exhibit this behavior!).

Goodreads doesn't provide any way to weed out the author/self-published  from the traditional publisher giveaways. LibraryThing does a great job at that (Early Reviewers versus Member Giveaway). I really wanted to keep track of the publisher created giveaways so I created a list!

Note that some publishers might not have any giveaways open currently and the list includes past giveaways. Also some of the links below are to the company's publicist's giveaways and are not branded with the company name. I like to check this list regularly to see what's available for giveaway now and what's coming up.

WARNING: If you do participate in these giveaways, be prepared to review the book! Don't just enter to get a free book that you can put away on your bookshelves and let gather dust. These publishers want reviews and are willing to give you a free copy of a book in exchange for one. So make sure you review the book and prioritize reading it! Don't abuse the system.

I will update this list as I find more publishers to include.

[Updated 12/20/12]

Atria (Simon & Schuster)
Beacon Press
Berkley
Blue Rider Press
Candlewick Press
CBSD Library
Cedar Fort
Center Street
Counterpoint Press

Crown (Random House)
DC Comics
Doubleday (Random House)
Duke University Press
Egmont 
Europa Editions
Farrar, Strauss & Giroux
Free Press
G.P. Putnam & Sons
Gallery Books
Gotham Avery
Grand Central #1
Grand Central #2
Grove Atlantic
Harper Audio
Harper Books
Harper Children's
Harper Perennial
Harper Teen
Henry Holt 
It Books (Harper Collins)
Knopf (Random House)
Linden Press
Little Brown 
Medallion Press 
Melville House
Mulholland Books
New Harbringer Publications
Orbit Books
Penguin
Penguin Press
Penguin Teen
Permanent Press
Picador USA
Plume
Pocket Books
Princeton University Press
PublicAffairs 
Quirk Books
Random House (Various Imprints) 
Random House (Main Imprint)
Riverhead Books (Penguin)
Riverhead Trade (Penguin)
Scholastic
Scribner 
Simon & Schuster
Simon Pulse
Soho Press
SourceBooks
St. Martin's Press #1 (MacMillan)
St. Martin's Press #2 (MacMillan)
St. Martin's Press #3 (MacMillan)
Thomas Nelson Fiction
TinHouse Books
Tor Books
Touchstone (Simon & Schuster)
Tundra Books
Unbridled Books
Viking Books
Vintage/Anchor (Random House)
Walnut Springs
Weldon Owen Publishing
William Morrow
W.W. Norton
Zest Books

The Disenchanted by Budd Schulberg

The Disenchanted by Budd Schulberg
9780816679355
University of Minnesota Press
Originally Published 1950

"... a fugitive from the Twenties... you jokers went off on one long tear and left us to pay the check. And you don't seem to know yet that the party is over."

Budd Schulberg was a screenwriter known for his screenplay of the critically acclaimed film On the Waterfront (1954). Schulberg also wrote novels including The Disenchanted which was published in 1950 and recently reprinted by University of Minnesota Press. The novel is based on the experience Schulberg had working with the troubled genius F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Producer Walter Wanger hired Budd Schulberg to assist F. Scott Fitzgerald in writing a screenplay about the Winter Carnivals at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Schulberg was a recent alumni. The movie was to be Winter Carnival (1939). The whole experience made quite an impact on Schulberg that he decided to fictionalize the experience in The Disenchanted.

In the novel, Shep is a young writer in Hollywood who is still wet behind the ears and has just been assigned to work with the great T. Manley Halliday (known as just Manley Halliday) on the collegiate winter romance Love on Ice. Manley is a prestigious writer with numerous successful novels and screenplays to his credits. But by 1939, most of his books are out of print and he's hanging by a thread: the fleeting recognition of his name and illustrious career. Manley is working on a manuscript for his next great novel but he's in desperate need of money to buy him the time to finish it. So he reluctantly takes on working with Shep on Love on Ice and is officially hired by producer Victor Milgrim.

Manley is diabetic and has been on the wagon for a few years. He's been divorced for years from the love and scourge of his life Jere. His assistant and sort-of mistress Ann Loeb helps him daily and keeps him on the straight and narrow. When Manley boards the plane with Shep from L.A. to N.Y. and Shep pours the first glass from a bottle of champagne, it's all over. Manley goes on a bender and Shep assumes various roles of assistant, writer and parent to Manley. Shep struggles between the feelings of admiration for Manley's magnificent literary and movie successes and the shell of a man he sees before him. Throughout the novel we follow Manley and Shep on their crazy adventure to get Love on Ice written before they arrive on location for filming. There are also flashbacks in which we learn more about Manley's life. His early career, his love affair with the troubled Jere and the days just before he leaves L.A. on the trip.

The Disenchanted is a captivating novel about a doomed project between two writers at opposite ends of their careers. I highly recommend this novel to classic film fans especially those who love fiction. It's fun to spot the names of real actors, actresses and films as well as to figure out the reference made by fictionalized ones. I really loved the theme of old versus young as I think that is a conflict that is very relevant today especially with new technology making age gaps even bigger. Reading it was at some points a bit of a drag mostly because of Manley's antics. But I think what I was experiencing was a bit of the same emotion Shep was feeling towards Manley: frustration and disenchantment.

Read my more movie based review at my classic film blog Out of the Past.

Disclaimer: Thank you to the University of Minnesota Press for sending me this book to review!