Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: December 11. 2008
My rating: 4.5of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Finally, after four hit novels, Carrie Fisher comes clean (well, sort of) with the crazy truth that is her life in her first-ever memoir.
In Wishful Drinking, adapted from her one-woman stage show, Fisher reveals what it was really like to grow up a product of “Hollywood in-breeding,” come of age on the set of a little movie called Star Wars, and become a cultural icon and bestselling action figure at the age of nineteen.
Intimate, hilarious, and sobering, Wishful Drinking is Fisher, looking at her life as she best remembers it (what do you expect after electroshock therapy?). It’s an incredible tale: the child of Hollywood royalty — Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher — home wrecked by Elizabeth Taylor, marrying (then divorcing, then dating) Paul Simon, having her likeness merchandized on everything from Princess Leia shampoo to PEZ dispensers, learning the father of her daughter forgot to tell her he was gay, and ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.
Wishful Drinking, the show, has been a runaway success. Entertainment Weekly declared it “drolly hysterical” and the Los Angeles Times called it a “Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes.” This is Carrie Fisher at her best — revealing her worst. She tells her true and outrageous story of her bizarre reality with her inimitable wit, unabashed self-deprecation, and buoyant, infectious humor.
Wishful Drinking is Carrie Fisher’s memoir with having both bi-polar disorder and a drug addiction as well as growing up as the daughter of two very famous parents – Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. She starts out boldly by disclosing that she has had electroconvulsive therapy or ECT, as part of her treatment for her mental illness. Because of this, some of her memories are fuzzy or have been wiped out. One of her reasons for writing this memoir is to record the memories she has left in case they go as well.
Carrie has written this book with her trademark sense of humor. What easily could have been a depressing book what with her mental illness, an absent father, two-failed marriages and a drug addiction is actually really funny. I listened to the audio book, which she narrated herself. Her delivery makes her story all the more humorous. In fact, the book is based on her hit one-woman show, also called Wishful Drinking.
I just wish she would have included more details. For example, she talks about her on again/off again relationship with her first husband, singer/song writer Paul Simon, but doesn’t say what they fought about, just that they fought. And how did she find out her second husband was gay? I need to know! The book was pretty short at only three hours so there was room for more. Perhaps the details were foggy for her due to the ECT and that’s why she didn’t elaborate.
Carrie jokes about her death a few times and what she wants people to say about her after she dies. These parts were hard to listen to. Of course she didn’t expect to die so young. I’m so glad she wrote this book and narrated it herself so I could spend some more time with her. I recommend this book to her fans, which should be all of you!
February 1st, 2017 in
Books |
3 Comments
I had high expectations going into watching Hugo, the movie adaptation of Brian Seltzer’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which I reviewed yesterday. If you read my review, then you know I loved the book. Also, I’m big fan of Chloë Grace Moretz who plays Isabelle. I was excited that she’s in it.
The movie is a fairly faithful adaptation of the book, yet somehow manages to be really boring! I’m not sure why either because the book is anything but. Maybe it loses something without all the wonderful illustrations?
The one major change from the book is that the Station Inspector has been changed from a dark, looming presence always one step behind Hugo, to an incompetent, bumbling idiot whose slapstick mistakes are supposed to be funny. He’s played by Sascha Baron Cohen, who I have always though is mostly annoying and not very funny. If you’re a fan of his, then you may like this movie better than I did. Kids will probably like him since they are usually fans of physical comedy.
Hugo was nominated for and won a ton of Oscars but I think it’s telling that it wasn’t nominated for any of the major awards, like acting or directing. It actually is probably a good family movie to power through for your kids’ sake but I wouldn’t recommend it otherwise.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Release Date: January 30, 2007
Publisher: Scholastic Press
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is the story of Hugo, a young boy who secretly lives in the train station. There are several mysteries to be solved about Hugo and the man who own the toy shop that keep the reader turning page after page. I can’t even tell you what most of the mysteries are because that would be spoiling other mysteries!
Don’t be intimidated by the books hefty 511 pages. Probably at least half of that are pages of Selznick’s illustrations. And they are wonderful. The amount of detail in these gorgeous pencil drawings is amazing. He has a gift for drawing facial expressions too. Even without reading the words, the reader knows exactly how the characters are feeling in any given drawing. He also includes a few sketches done by the real Georges Méliès. While Méliès was a real person, Hugo is fictional and therefore so is the story. The acknowledgements at the end clarify which elements of the story were based on facts and real-life events.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is an entertaining and original book and would be even without the illustrations. The inclusion of the pictures make the book down-right amazing.
Check out my review of Wonderstruck, also by Brian Selznick.
Save
January 30th, 2017 in
Books |
1 Comment
I’ve decided to start a new feature whereupon every Friday, Saturday or Sunday, I post something about what I’ve done during the week, whether or not it’s bookish. And I’d like to hear from you about what’s going on in your life! You can tell me in the comments or link up a post you want to share. I’m trying to think of a catchy name (let me know if you have suggestions!) so for right now it’s just Week-End Ramblings.
The absolute highlight of the week was my daughter’s fifth anniversary of joining our family. She got to choose what we did to celebrate. She prefers store bought cake over my homemade cake (the nerve!) so she picked a Secret Life of Pets cake. The bakery lady thought that was a “very out-of the ordinary” choice for an anniversary cake. I’m sure she assumed it was for a wedding anniversary. Neve chose getting take-out and watching the Johnny Depp version of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at home. She and West got McDonald’s and since Travis, Cash and I have good taste, we got 54th Street. It was fun. Neve has brought so much love and joy to our family, it’s nice to take the time to honor that.
The next highlight was my Mommy/Son date with Cash. We went out to a fancy dinner at McCormick and Schmick’s and then to see the show Stomp. Cash got a lot of attention at the restaurant for his dapper outfit.
Cash ordered a fish called Bronzini, which came whole. The entire time he was eating it, I had the song Fish Heads in my head. I’m really glad he’s grown out of being a picky eater – even if it does mean that his meal is giving me the stink-eye from across the table.
Stomp was great. Cash loved it. He plays the drums and is always pounding on things around the house. It drives me nuts! I’ll probably regret taking him if it makes him pound even more, but we had so much fun that it’s worth it.
Finally, I got to have lunch with my BFF Nerdy Apple. She brought me these fabulous Christmas gifts and I brought her nothing! Except for some books I had borrowed from her and an ARC of Laura Lippman’s new book that I ended up with two copies of. To make it up to her, I bought her lunch. I’m not THAT bad of a friend.
Save
What’s going on with you?
January 30th, 2017 in
Cash,
Family,
Neve,
West |
4 Comments
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: September 10, 2013
My rating: 4 .5of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life–and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
Cath and Wren are identical twins who have always been close. They are both huge Simon Snow (a Harry Potter-esque book series) fans and write popular Simon Snow fan fiction. However, when they start college Wren wants to branch out, try new things and meet new people. Thus, she doesn’t want to room with Cath in the dorms. This means Cath has to room with a Reagan, a stranger. Cath, already a socially awkward introvert, retreats even more into her comfort zone of Simon Snow forums and fan fiction.
Rainbow Rowell has done it again. Fan Girl is an authentic look at life for a college freshman. Just like Eleanor and Park took me back to high school, this book took me back to college. I could remember just what it was like to be scared, excited and anxious about going away to school. The characters were just so real. And Levi – wow. Rainbow creates the best boyfriends! He was so sweet and funny, I wanted to cuddle him and muss his hair. I loved his girlfriend and Cath’s roommate, Reagan. She had great dry, sarcastic sense of humor and she and Cath played off of each other fantastically. Reagan’s one-liners were the best.
Excerpts of both “real” Simon Snow books and Cath’s fan fiction are interspersed throughout the book. Honestly, I thought they were unnecessary and I skimmed most of them. I think they were supposed to have some symbolism related to what was going on in Cath’s life but whatever it was wasn’t clear to me. However, Rainbow now has a book out called Carry On, which is a REAL Simon Snow book. I’ll read that eventually, although I’m not as excited for it as I was when Fan Girl came out.
Fan Girl is another fabulous book from Rainbow Rowell.
Check out my reviews of some of Rainbow Rowell’s other books:
Attachments
Eleanor & Park
Landline
January 26th, 2017 in
Books |
1 Comment
Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi by John Scalzi
Publisher: Audible Studios
Release Date: January 3, 2017
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
The ex-planet Pluto has a few choice words about being thrown out of the solar system. A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity.
Welcome to Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi.
These four stories, along with fourteen other pieces, have one thing in common: They’re short, sharp, and to the point—science fiction in miniature, with none of the stories longer than 2,300 words. But in that short space exist entire universes, absurd situations, and the sort of futuristic humor that propelled Scalzi to a Hugo with his novel Redshirts. Not to mention yogurt taking over the world (as it would).
Spanning the years from 1991 to 2016, this collection is a quarter century of Scalzi at his briefest and best, and features four never-before-printed stories, exclusive to this collection: “Morning Announcements at the Lucas Interspecies School for Troubled Youth,” “Your Smart Appliances Talk About You Behind Your Back,” “Important Holidays on Gronghu” and “The AI Are Absolutely Positively Without a Doubt Not Here to End Humanity, Honest.”
Miniatures is a collection of science fiction short stories. Some are very short – just a few minutes long. They’re all humorous. I think my favorite was the one about smart appliances talking about their owners behind their owners’ backs. If you’ve ever wondered if your smart appliances are judging you, well, guess what – they are! Another story that stood out to me was the interview with the agent for superheroes. Who knew hiring a superhero to save your city was so complicated? They never show the contracts and negotiation side of it in the movies!
Miniatures has several narrators, with each character within a story having a different one. This makes the stories sound more like short radio plays than someone reading a book. This method made for a fun listen.
If you’re in the mood for a light-hearted read/listen (and given the general mood of the world lately, you probably are) then this book is a great choice.
(I received a complementary copy of this audio book for review.)
January 25th, 2017 in
Books |
1 Comment
The movie Lion is based on Saroo Brierley’s book A Long Way Home about his journey to find his birth mother. Saroo was born in India. When he was five-years old, he accidently got lost on a train and ended up 1500 miles from home. He lived on the streets for weeks until he was eventually taken to an orphanage and adopted by an Australian couple. Although Saroo loved his adoptive parents, he was curious about his original home country and his biological mother. He set upon a very long, tedious process of looking for the town where his birth mother lived using Google Earth.
Dev Patel, of Slum Dog Millionaire fame, plays Saroo. He looks so mature and different in this movie that I almost forgot it was him while watching it. He becomes Saroo – Australian accent and everything. However, the real star of this movie is Sunny Pawar, who plays Saroo at five-years old. The emotion that he was able to portray was amazing. Even more amazing is that although Sunny doesn’t speak English and the movie’s director doesn’t speak Hindi, they communicated well enough for Sunny to have delivered an extraordinary performance.
It’s been a few years since I read A Long Way Home. I chose not to re-read it before I saw the movie so I can’t speak in detail about the adaptation to screen but in general, it was a faithful one. It seemed to me like some incidents were dramatized more for the movie which makes sense. It wouldn’t have been very exciting to just watch him sit at his computer using Google Earth. Reading about that part of his story was interesting because I was reading about his thoughts at the same time.
Lion was a great adaptation and great movie all on its own. Saroo’s journey is incredible and I enjoyed revisiting it by seeing this movie. I would love it if little Sunny gets nominated for an Oscar!
The Daily Show: An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests by Chris Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: November 22, 2016
My rating:5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
The complete, uncensored history of the award-winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as told by its correspondents, writers, and host.
For almost seventeen years, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart brilliantly redefined the borders between television comedy, political satire, and opinionated news coverage. It launched the careers of some of today’s most significant comedians, highlighted the hypocrisies of the powerful, and garnered 23 Emmys. Now the show’s behind-the-scenes gags, controversies, and camaraderie will be chronicled by the players themselves, from legendary host Jon Stewart to the star cast members and writers-including Samantha Bee, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Steve Carell, Lewis Black, Jessica Williams, John Hodgman, and Larry Wilmore-plus some of The Daily Show’s most prominent guests and adversaries: John and Cindy McCain, Glenn Beck, Tucker Carlson, and many more.
This oral history takes the reader behind the curtain for all the show’s highlights, from its origins as Comedy Central’s underdog late-night program hosted by Craig Kilborn to Jon Stewart’s long reign to Trevor Noah’s succession, rising from a scrappy jester in the 24-hour political news cycle to become part of the beating heart of politics-a trusted source for not only comedy but also commentary, with a reputation for calling bullsh*t and an ability to effect real change in the world.
Through years of incisive election coverage, Jon Stewart’s emotional monologue in the wake of 9/11, his infamous confrontation on Crossfire, passionate debates with President Obama and Hillary Clinton, feuds with Bill O’Reilly and Fox, the Indecisions, Mess O’Potamia, and provocative takes on Wall Street and racism, The Daily Show has been a cultural touchstone. Now, for the first time, the people behind the show’s seminal moments come together to share their memories of the last-minute rewrites, improvisations, pranks, romances, blow-ups, and moments of Zen both on and off the set of one of America’s most groundbreaking shows.
I was a huge fan of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart so I was excited about reading this book. I was not disappointed. It traces the history of the Daily Show from when it first started with Craig Kilborn up until the present day The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. The book is organized chronologically, but rather than a narrative format, it uses antidotes from various people to tell what was going on at the time – both good and bad. Not everyone got along with Jon Stewart, believe it or not. For instance, I knew that Jon and correspondent Wyatt Cenac had a falling out but the details weren’t in the press – at least not that I could ever find. This book gives all the details of what happened from both Jon and Wyatt’s point of view, which I appreciated.
The book also talks about the influence The Daily Show has had, both in politics and in the TV news industry. It has had a lot more effect on the country than I realized. It’s pretty amazing how it grew from a silly little parody of the news under Craig Kilborn to a place that has become a primary news source for a lot of people.
I loved that the author didn’t just include memories from people who worked on The Daily Show. Some guests and politicians are in there as well – even John McCain and his wife! In fact, so many people offered their stories, that I had trouble remembering what their role was. I didn’t notice until I finished the book that there is a cast of characters at the end. I wish I would have known that before I started reading. Now, thanks to me, you do so hopefully you won’t have the same problem.
I loved this behind the scenes look at The Daily Show. Now we need a book like this for The Colbert Report!
Save
Save
January 23rd, 2017 in
Books |
No Comments
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Release Date: November 22, 2016
My ratingg: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
When Carrie Fisher recently discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved—plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford.
With these excerpts from her handwritten notebooks, The Princess Diarist is Fisher’s intimate and revealing recollection of what happened on one of the most famous film sets of all time—and what developed behind the scenes. Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty, only to be surpassed by her own outer-space royalty. Laugh-out-loud hilarious and endlessly quotable, The Princess Diarist brims with the candor and introspection of a diary while offering shrewd insight into the type of stardom that few will ever experience.
The Princess Diarist focuses on Carrie Fisher’s time filming Star Wars: A New Hope. Specifically, it narrows in on her affair with Harrison Ford during filming. There is a little bit at the beginning about how she got her start in the entertainment business, including her role on Star Wars, but it shifts quickly to focus on her and Harrison’s relationship.
Carrie was only nineteen when she was cast as Princess Leia and very inexperienced in both sex and relationships. Harrison was in his mid-thirties with a wife and children. Their relationship only lasted three months. Carrie was in love with him but it seemed like she more of just a way to deal with the loneliness of shooting on location away from his family for him. Honestly, I thought he was kind of a jerk, although Carrie didn’t seem to, neither then or in retrospect.
I listened to the audio version of The Princess Diarist. Carrie’s daughter Billie narrates the excerpts of her diary. I think this was a smart choice because Carrie’s voice is gravely now, like someone who’s smoked a lot and had a hard-living lifestyle, as she did when she was younger and involved with drugs and whatnot. She did not sound like Princess Leia anymore! Billie’s voice sounds like the young person she is and was better able to portray the native of Carrie’s perspective at the time. The diary itself is stream of conscience punctuated with short, angsty love poems written about Harrison.
Carrie narrates the other parts of her book, which is told in a narrative format. This was also a good choice because Carrie’s parts of the book are pretty funny and no one is better to deliver her witty lines than her. She definitely looks back on her relationship with Harrison as a fond memory and doesn’t bare him any ill will. I couldn’t help wondering what both Harrison and Mary Marquardt – the woman he was married to at the time of Harrison and Carrie’s affair- think about the book. I couldn’t find an official response from either one of them.
This is not the book for you if you want to know more about Carrie’s life overall. It has a very narrow focus. She has another memoir called Wishful Drinking. I haven’t read it but from the synopsis on Amazon, it sounds like it covers her entire life.
I greatly enjoyed this book, although it was a little bittersweet listening to it after she passed away. She brought joy to so many people and was definitely one of a kind.
January 19th, 2017 in
Books |
1 Comment
A Little History of Religion by Richard Holloway
Publisher: Audible Studios
Release Date: August 15, 2016
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In an era of hardening religious attitudes and explosive religious violence, this book offers a welcome antidote. Richard Holloway retells the entire history of religion—from the dawn of religious belief to the twenty-first century—with deepest respect and a keen commitment to accuracy. Writing for those with faith and those without, and especially for young readers, he encourages curiosity and tolerance, accentuates nuance and mystery, and calmly restores a sense of the value of faith.
Ranging far beyond the major world religions of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, Holloway also examines where religious belief comes from, the search for meaning throughout history, today’s fascinations with Scientology and creationism, religiously motivated violence, hostilities between religious people and secularists, and more. Holloway proves an empathic yet discerning guide to the enduring significance of faith and its power from ancient times to our own.
I found A Little History of Religion to be a pretty comprehensive guide to the world’s religions. Understandably, the three major religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – get more attention in the book. However, Holloway includes smaller religions as well, for example Jainism and Scientology.
The book isn’t organized by religion or chronologically exactly but the method Holloway uses makes perfect sense. He will write about one religion and then go into the spin-offs and evolutions of that religion. Then he’ll put that aside and move to another area of the world and what was going on there for a while before catching up with the first religion. I really liked this, especially since I listened to the audiobook. It kept it interesting to switch it up instead of having one long section for each religion.
Holloway writes in a conversational tone and even injects some dry humor throughout. The book contains great information without being too academic or dry. Holloway is Scottish and so is the narrator, James Bryce. I like it when the narrator has the same accent as the author. I’m not sure why – it makes it seem more authentic for some reason. Bryce’s delivery for the humorous lines was great.
This book was educational and entertaining. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to know more about the world’s religions and especially about how they have intersected with one another throughout history.
(I received a complementary copy of this book for review.)
Save
Save
Save
