Make It Nice by Dorinda Medley
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: August 17, 2021
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Throughout her life, Dorinda Medley has always strived to “make it nice” regardless of the circumstances. In her incredibly candid memoir, the real housewife of New York City opens the doors of Blue Stone Manor, her Berkshires sanctuary, welcoming fans into her beloved home. In her first-ever written life story, Dorinda clips away all pretense and noise to unveil the not-so-glamorous bumps in the road that have marked her colorful journey toward becoming the person fans, colleagues, and friends know and love today. This is a vulnerable and emotional account of love, motherhood, loss, and the not-entirely-planned adventure from her modest beginnings in the Berkshires to her personal, social, and professional ascent – told in her trademark manner.
Chronicling the life of the reality television star, Make It Nice also features life lessons for those who may experience similar challenges, as well as the celebrated hostess’s invaluable entertaining tips, all presented with the humor and wit that have “oh-so-well made” Dorinda Medley a most compelling compilation.
Dorinda Medley starred on The Real Housewives of New York City (RHONY) for seasons 7-12, before she was famously “put on pause” by Andy Cohen. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then this is not the book for you. If you are a RHONY fan, then I think it’s worth giving Make It Nice a whirl. It’s very short and has some good stories from Dorinda’s past. She writes about her first husband, her daughter, and her relationship with Richard and his death. It’s very much written the way Dorinda speaks – even though I read the print edition, I could totally hear her voice in my head while reading it. There’s not much about actually being on the show. I’m sure the Housewives all sign iron-clad NDAs about spilling too much dirt on behind-the-scenes stuff – unless Bravo is making money off it. Maybe she’ll spill more dirt if she’s taken off pause and put on game over!
November 23rd, 2022 in
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A Star Is Bored by Byron Lane
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
The Devil Wears Prada meets Postcards from the Edge in a hilariously heartfelt novel influenced in part by the author’s time assisting Carrie Fisher.
Charlie Besson is tense and sweating as he prepares for an insane job interview. His car is idling, like his life, outside the Hollywood mansion of Kathi Kannon. The Kathi Kannon, star of stage and screen and People Magazine’s worst dressed list. She needs an assistant. He needs a hero.
Kathi is an icon, best-selling author, and an award winning actress, most known for her role as Priestess Talara in a blockbuster sci-fi film. She’s also known in another role: crazy. Admittedly so. Famously so. Fabulously so, as Charlie quickly discovers.
Their three-year odyssey is filled with late-night shopping sprees, last-minute trips to see the aurora borealis, and an initiation to that most sacred of Hollywood tribes: the personal assistant. But Kathi becomes much more than a boss, and as their friendship grows, Charlie must make a choice. Will he always be on the sidelines of life, assisting the great forces that be, or can he step into his own leading role?
Laugh-out-loud funny and searingly poignant, Byron Lane’s A Star Is Bored is a novel that, like the star at its center, is enchanting and joyous, heartbreaking, and hopeful.
I chose this book because in the acknowledgments of Steven Rowley’s book The Guncle, he accepts Byron Lane’s marriage proposal because Lane proposed to him in the acknowledgments section of this book. How cute is that? Anyway, on to the review:
Charlie is depressed and living without purpose. He interviews for a job as Kathi Kannon’s assistant and somehow gets the job, even though he has no idea how to be an assistant. Kathi is an older actress most known for starring as Priestess Talara in a hugely popular science fiction movie. She hasn’t worked in a while and she struggles with addiction and mental illness. Charlie has always been a huge fan of hers and working as her assistant is his dream job. But once he gets the job, he soon figures out it’s going to be a lot harder than he thought it would be.
Okay, so Lane used to be Carrie Fisher’s assistant in real-life and reading this book felt like reading his memoir of being her assistant. I think he probably wrote it as a novel instead out of respect to her because it’s clear in the book that Charlie loves Kathi with all his heart even though the relationship seems one-sided. I don’t think Lane would want anyone to think badly of Carrie Fisher.
Kathi lives on the same compound as her mother, Miss Gracie, (as Carrie did with her mother Debbie Reynolds) and Miss Gracie has the financial means to make sure that Kathi never hits rock bottom. She loves her daughter and wants to protect her but she’s actually not doing her any favors by being an enabler. Charlie’s main job seems to be making sure that Kathi still functions while she keeps doing drugs, mainly prescription painkillers, and making sure she stays on the medication that keeps her bipolar in check. He does his best to keep her from taking drugs but when there’s no rock bottom, it’s a lost cause.
I mostly enjoyed A Star is Bored but I did find myself wondering why Charlie loved Kathi so much when she didn’t really seem to care about him all that much. Right off the bat, he gives her his dead mother’s locket and seems to look up to her as a mother figure when she isn’t nurturing at all. After reading this book, it would be interesting to go back and reread Carrie Fisher’s memoirs to see how they match up. I don’t know if I have time for that though!
November 21st, 2022 in
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The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: (May 25, 2021
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
As a photographer, Delta Dawn observes the seemingly perfect lives of New York City’s elite: snapping photos of their children’s birthday parties, transforming images of stiff hugs and tearstained faces into visions of pure joy, and creating moments these parents long for.
…are made of beautiful lies…
But when Delta is hired for Natalie Straub’s 11th birthday, she finds herself wishing she wasn’t behind the lens but a part of the scene – in the Straub family’s gorgeous home and elegant life.
…the truth will be exposed.
That’s when Delta puts her plan in place, by babysitting for Natalie; befriending her mother, Amelia; finding chances to listen to her father, Fritz. Soon she’s bathing in the master bathtub, drinking their expensive wine, and eyeing the beautifully finished garden apartment in their townhouse. It seems she can never get close enough, until she discovers that photos aren’t all she can manipulate.
When professional photographer Delta Dawn photographs Natalie Straub’s 11th birthday party, she becomes enthralled with Natalie’s mother Amelia and the rest of the family. She decides she must be a part of it and hatches an elaborate plan to make it so. At the same time, Amelia is becoming a bit unhinged herself dealing with her struggle to have another baby.
Delta Dawn is an unreliable narrator for sure and I love an unreliable narrator. The novel doesn’t go into her backstory – it just launches into her being unstable from the get-go. I would love a prequel on what made her so messed up. (Fun fact: the author is Dixie Carter’s daughter!) Even though some of the twists relied on unlikely coincidences, I found The Photographer to be very entertaining. Recommended.
November 17th, 2022 in
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To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books
Publication Date: February 12, 2019
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Avery Bloom, who’s bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who’s fearless, outgoing, and loves all animals as well as the ocean, lives in California. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and are both being raised by single, gay dads.
When their dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same sleepaway camp. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends–and possibly, one day, even sisters.
But things soon go off the rails for the girls (and for their dads too), and they find themselves on a summer adventure that neither of them could have predicted. Now that they can’t imagine life without each other, will Bett and Avery (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?
I’ve been reading Pamela Paul and Maria Russo’s How to Raise a Reader and they recommended this book in the Books that Make Us Laugh section. It sounded really cute and I’m not above reading middle-grade fiction for my own enjoyment. I didn’t realize until I brought my copy home that it was written by Meg Wolitzer, who wrote The Interestings (4 stars from me) and Holly Goldberg Sloan, who wrote Counting by 7s (5 stars from me). I knew then that this would be a great book.
Avery and Bett don’t have much in common except for the fact that they are both 12 years old and both being raised by single gay dads. Bett is a California surfer girl who’s laid back and goes with the flow. Avery lives in New York and is Type A and very anxious. One day, Bett emails Avery, who she has never met, that she has discovered their dads are in a relationship. Not only that, their dads are planning on sending them both away to the same camp for the summer so they can get to know each other. Neither Bett nor Avery are happy about this turn of events. They both want their dads all to themselves. And together they form a plan to make that happen…
This story is told through emails and letters. As a parent of a 12-year-old girl, I can vouch that the authors have captured what 12-year-old girls are like perfectly. This book is really funny but has some serious and suspenseful moments in it too. Even though it starts off as sort of a reverse Parent Trap, it takes some turns that I was not expecting. I was impressed that middle-grade fiction could keep me guessing like this book did!
To Night Owl from Dogfish is a really sweet book. Highly recommended!
November 14th, 2022 in
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A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan’s fall. Lovely—an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor—has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.
Something Jivan, a young Muslim woman living in the slums of India, posts on Facebook results in her being arrested and falsely accused of participating in an act of terrorism. Her old gym teacher is a rising figure in a right-wing political party and he can’t help her without hurting himself. Then there is Lovely, a hijra with big dreams of becoming a Bollywood star – is she willing to sacrifice anything to help Jivan?
From what I’ve read about the current political state in India, the author did a great job of capturing what it feels like to live there right now, especially for the lower class. I was grateful for Lovely – she was charming and funny. Her turn at the narration was a nice break from reading about Jivan’s hopeless situation. I didn’t know anything about hijras before a read this book – they are a third gender recognized in India. I’m intrigued and plan to learn more about them.
A Burning was beautifully written and just heart-wrenching. The plotting was excellent – it’s billed as a thriller and it does definitely have some twists and turns. I enjoyed it.
November 10th, 2022 in
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The Guncle by Steven Rowley
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed.
So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting–even if temporary–isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.
With the humor and heart we’ve come to expect from bestselling author Steven Rowley, The Guncle is a moving tribute to the power of love, patience, and family in even the most trying of times.
Prepare for semi-coherent gushing!
A former sitcom star, Patrick has been living a relaxed and somewhat solitary life in Palm Springs for the past few years. When his brother’s wife passes away and his brother needs to go to rehab, he begrudgingly agrees to take in their two children, Maisie and Grant, for the summer. They call him GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick). Patrick is no stranger to loss – his partner died a few years ago. He’s hoping that his experience might help him help the kids with their grief. But really, he’s just playing it by ear.
The Guncle is so well-done. It’s the perfect balance of humor and substance. It’s heartwarming without being cheesy or trite. The humor could have easily devolved into screwball-type antics but it never did. It stayed smart. It was so sweet watching Patrick’s relationship with his niece and nephew develop. This novel explores grief and loss in a realistic way without being a huge downer. I felt warm and fuzzy the entire time I was reading it.
Side note: Steven Rowley’s husband is the author Byron Lane. Apparently, he proposed to Steven in the acknowledgments of his book A Star is Bored and Steven accepts in the acknowledgments of The Guncle. (Spoiler alert!). Isn’t that just so freaking cute?? Also, clever marketing because now I am reading Byron’s book!
Back to The Guncle – Highly, highly recommend!
November 7th, 2022 in
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The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: February 1, 2022
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Nina de Gramont’s The Christie Affair is a stunning new novel that reimagines the unexplained eleven-day disappearance of Agatha Christie that captivated the world.
Every story has its secrets.
Every mystery has its motives.
“A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It’s a particular feeling, the urge to murder. It takes over your body so completely, it’s like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. There’s a joy to it. In retrospect, it’s frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet.”
The greatest mystery wasn’t Agatha Christie’s disappearance in those eleven infamous days, it’s what she discovered.
London, 1925: In a world of townhomes and tennis matches, socialites and shooting parties, Miss Nan O’Dea became Archie Christie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie.
The question is, why? Why destroy another woman’s marriage, why hatch a plot years in the making, and why murder? How was Nan O’Dea so intricately tied to those eleven mysterious days that Agatha Christie went missing?
A beguiling novel of star-crossed lovers, heartbreak, revenge, and murder—and a brilliant re-imagination of one of the most talked-about unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.
In 1926, the novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days. She never explained where she was or what she did during that time. The Christie Affair is Nina de Gramont’s imagining of the events leading up to Christie’s disappearance and what she was doing during that time. It’s told in first person by Agatha Christie’s husband’s mistress, Nan. It’s interesting because Nan is a bit of an unreliable narrator since she wasn’t with Agatha most of the time.
The Christie Affair is actually mostly Nan’s story. Nan has quite a few secrets and they lead to some crazy twists and turns in this book. It’s hard to say too much more without spoilers. I will say that the author takes quite a few liberties with the facts of Christie’s life so if you like historical fiction to be mostly accurate, this book will probably frustrate you a little bit. It’s not going to be on my list of favorites for the year but I still enjoyed it.
October 31st, 2022 in
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Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
Narrator: Marin Ireland
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: June 5, 2018
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they learn that their beloved local hockey team will soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. Amidst the mounting tension between the two rivals, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to be Beartown’s new hockey coach.
Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the crazed lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. Bringing this team together is a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.
As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up, and hatred grows deeper. When the last game is finally played, one of Beartown’s key players will be dead, and residents of both towns are forced to wonder whether, after all they’ve been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.
Us Against You is the second novel in Fredrik Backman’s Beartown trilogy. You definitely need to read Beartown first and this review will have spoilers for Beartown.
Us Against You picks up just a few months after Kevin assaulted Maya. He and his family moved away, leaving Beartown divided and in shambles. Most of Beartown’s hockey players left Beartown’s team to play for the rival team in Hed. People in Beartown are taking sides and the violence has only gotten worse.
Us Against You was okay but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I liked Beartown. Beartown was a pretty somber book but Us Against You is next level. Almost no one has any joy about anything. And the heavy-handed, melodramatic foreshadowing made the pacing way too slow. There was too much repeating and summarizing in an effort to build suspense so the suspense felt forced. I listened to the book and I think that added to the dramatic atmosphere, which in this case was not necessarily a good thing.
I do still care about (most of) the people of Beartown so I will read the third and final book, Winners, which just came out a few weeks ago. I hope at least some of the people will have a happy ending when all is said and done!
October 13th, 2022 in
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In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ day, I took a quick perusal through my Goodreads to see what books written by Indigenous people I’ve read and liked. These are my top recommendations:
The Nightwatchman by Louise Erdrich As a work of historical fiction, Night Watchman serves to remind us that our country’s attempts to erase Native Americans are not a thing of the distant past. It also highlights the extreme poverty found on reservations, with homes that don’t even have running water or electricity. It’s clear from the author’s note that a lot of research went into Night Watchman to ensure that it is historically accurate.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
This book was funny and heartbreaking at the same time. It addresses the issues of racism and white privilege without being heavy-handed. Any teenager reading this book will learn a lot without even realizing it and have some laughs too.
There There by Tommy OrangeTommy Orange’s mission is to show the reader that there are all types of Native Americans – they don’t all live on reservations. Many are “urban Indians”, that is, they live in cities just like anyone else. However, they experience a sense of disconnection and loss borne from years and years of horrific treatment of their ancestors. Orange conveys this abstract feeling through his characters expertly.
What are your favorite books by Indigenous authors?
October 10th, 2022 in
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Say It Louder!: Black Voters, Voices & the Shaping of American Democracy by Tiffany Cross
Publisher: Amistad
Publication Date: July 6, 2020
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
A breakout media and political analyst delivers a sweeping snapshot of American democracy and the role that African Americans have played in its shaping while offering concrete information to help harness the electoral power of the country’s rising majority and exposing political forces aligned to subvert and suppress black voters.
Black voters were critical to the Democrats’ 2018 blue wave. In fact, 90 percent of black voters supported Democratic House candidates, compared to just 53 percent of all voters. Despite media narratives, this was not a fluke. Throughout US history, black people have played a crucial role in the shaping of the American experiment. Yet still, this powerful voting bloc is often dismissed as some “amorphous” deviation, argues Tiffany Cross.
Say It Louder! is her explosive examination of how America’s composition was designed to exclude black voters but paradoxically would likely cease to exist without them. With multiple tentacles stretching into the cable news echo chamber, campaign leadership, and black voter data, Cross creates a wrinkle in time with a reflective look at the timeless efforts endlessly attempting to deny people of color the right to vote – a basic tenet of American democracy.
And yet as the demographics of the country are changing, so, too, is the electoral power construct – by evolution and by force, Cross declares. Grounded in the most up-to-date research, Say It Louder! is a vital tool for a wide swath of constituencies.
Black voters are consistently taken for granted in America. It’s assumed that they will vote for Democratic candidates so those candidates don’t really make much of an effort to include them in their platforms. At the same time, Republicans make every effort to keep them from voting. Then when they don’t turn up to vote, people wonder why.
Say It Louder! is an examination in the media’s role of both how Black people are represented in the media and how they are represented in politics. Why is it that we break down every sub-group of white voters when analyzing how they voted on issues – educated, rural, suburban, etc. but we assume that all Black people think and vote the same way?
Cross writes a lot about assumptions that people make when thinking about Black voters. For instance, it’s just assumed that Black people will vote for any Black candidate running. But they are strategic, just like any other voting bloc. This is why a lot of them supported Biden in the 2020 presidential primary over Corey Booker or Kamala Harris – they wanted a candidate they felt confident could beat Trump and weren’t confident that the rest of America would vote for a Black woman. And some of them had other issues with Kamala as a candidate.
Cross shows us how time and time again, the media ignores Black issues in favor of centering white people. I think that all white women should read her section on feminism and how white women leave Black women out of the conversation while still expecting their support.
Cross writes in a conversational style and she’s pretty funny, making this a quick read even though it’s packed with great information. I think Say It Louder! will be eye-opening for a lot of readers who may take what the media puts out there at face value. Highly recommended.
October 6th, 2022 in
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