"Daniel Boone's Own Story" by Daniel Boone and "The Adventures of Daniel Boone" by Frances Lister Hawkes

How weird that these two short books have never crossed my path before this!  Especially considering what a big fan of Daniel Boone I have been since I was in single digits.  I've read so many junior biographies about him, so many articles... but never his own short account of how he helped open Kentucky for settlement?  Not sure how it escaped me before now.

Well, Daniel Boone's Own Story is the bold adventurer's own recounting of how and when and why he explored Kentucky with his brother and a few friends, how he returned to lead surveyors there, and why he brought his own family with a larger group to settle there.  This all happened before and during the American Revolution, but had little to do with the Revolution except to mention Lord Dunmore a couple of times (he who was Royal Governor of Virginia until the Revolution began) and to talk about refusing to surrender to British authority even as a possible escape from being held captive by a hostile tribe.  

I loved how Daniel Boone expresses himself in this.  He's straight-forward, modest, thoughtful, a little funny here and there, and can turn a pretty phrase.  And he repeatedly credits God with blessing his efforts, helping him and others out of difficulties, and making the beautiful wilderness land that Boone so cherished.

The Adventures of Daniel Boone by Francis Lister Hawks obviously draws on Boone's book, but fleshes the narrative out more.  It talks about Boone's life before and after the opening of Kentucky, which is nice.  I didn't learn much new from it that I hadn't read in other books, but I enjoyed the refresher anyway.  Hawks has a high-flown, old-fashioned writing style that makes Boone seem doubly plainspoken and uncomplicated by comparison.  But I didn't dislike the book just because his prose got a little purple here and there.  

Particularly Good Bits:

So much does friendship triumph over misfortune that sorrows and sufferings vanish at the meeting not only of real friends, but of the most distant acquaintances, and substitute happiness in their room (p. 4, Daniel Boone's Own Story)

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for discussions of torture, some of which would be very disturbing for people with vivid imaginations.

Since these are so short, I am counting them together as my 50th book read for my 4th Classics Club list.  Which means I have finished my list!  Again!  Since January of 2014, I have read and reviewed 200 classic books :-D

(Actually, I've read more classics than that in those ten years, because I only count a book once for the Classics Club, and if I read it again after that, it doesn't count for my lists.)

I'll be making a fifth list soon!  Stay tuned for that...

"The Truth Will Set You Free" by Samuel L. Hoard

This autobiography was a wonderful read.  It shows so beautifully how a person's religious beliefs and their behavior can and should meld together.  And it has some really good discussion of the doctrine of vocation, what it means to live out the different roles God calls you to.

Black minister Samuel L. Hoard details his struggle to get accepted to a Lutheran seminary in the 1940s, his work during the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s, and his stint as a military chaplain serving in Vietnam during the 1960s.  It also discusses his parish ministry work and how strongly he believed that integrated churches are the best option.  Black and white parishioners should worship side-by-side in the same congregations, not be separated by force or by choice.  Rev. Hoard worked hard to live his life as a testimony to his belief that Christ died to save everyone and loves everyone equally.  Whether that meant participating in a Civil Rights demonstration or praying with a dying soldier in the middle of a battle, he did what he was called to do.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to read about the struggle for equality from the perspective of a Christian.  Or to anyone who isn't sure how to fight against prejudice and injustice in a loving, Christ-like way!

Particularly Good Bits:

While I have pity for and sometimes anger against those who are racist, I cannot hate them (p. 11).

I learned from these conversations that if a person -- white or black -- is determined to keep a closed mind and be prejudiced, there is nothing much that can be done or said (p. 39).

The United States isn't perfect; it still has many social problems, racism being a major one.  But seeing the Berlin Wall made me deeply grateful for the liberties enjoyed by all Americans, black as well as white (p. 137-38).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for describing the violence and bloodshed of war in a gentle way, and for tackling some difficult and fairly grown-up issues.  It is not something young children would read, but it is definitely something high school students would benefit from!

This is my tenth book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"I'm Your Huckleberry" by Val Kilmer

I picked this book up at the bookstore on an absolute whim.  I didn't even know he'd written a book! But it's not shocking that it would catch my eye, since Val Kilmer has long been one of my favorite actors.  I've always thought of him as off-kilter, extremely intelligent, and funny, so I figured his book might be similar.

I was totally right.  This doesn't feel like a memoir so much as spending a couple of days listening to Kilmer reminisce about his family, his career, and his love life.  Happily, he never goes into any kind of racy details about that last item.  He never says mean or snide things about any of the women he dated, or his ex-wife Joanne Whalley.  He's remarkably gentlemanly, in fact.  You get the idea that he is dazzled by women, but has no real idea what they want or need out of life or a man.  Which was kind of fascinating, in a somewhat sad way.

I was really happy that most of the book was a sort of behind-the-scenes tour of many of his famous movies, because that's what I wanted the most from it.  And he definitely delivered.  I think the only movie of his that I love that he didn't cover at all here is Spartan (2004).  So that was immensely satisfying.  Do I wish he would have delved more deeply into a few of them?  Yes.  But what is here is very fun.  And I got to learn some of his thoughts on Hamlet and what it was like to play the title character onstage, which you know thrilled me.

Val Kilmer was raised a Christian Scientist, and he talks a LOT about his particular religious beliefs in this book.  They're a little peculiar, to me, but I definitely respect his commitment to serving his fellow humans with love and compassion and generosity.  He also explains his battle with throat cancer and his struggle to discover a new way of acting now that his golden voice is gone.

Particularly Good Bits:

When you dream dreams when you're young, do them before you have a reason not to.  When you are young, that is when all the dreams come true (p. 94).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG-16 for some veiled references to sex, discussions of drug and alcohol use, and the very sad story of his youngest brother's drowning.

This was my 32nd book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2021.

"A Girl from Yamhill" by Beverly Cleary

Have you ever wanted to know what Beverly Cleary's own childhood was like?  Was it anything like that of any of the kids she wrote about so vividly, like Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins and Ellen Tebbits?  Well, this book is your chance to find out!

In fact, bits of Cleary's own childhood, as related here, did make it into her books.  Playing "brick factory," getting called a "nuisance" by a teacher, making stilts from tin cans, and other little details like that are here.  But Cleary's own childhood was not so carefree and innocent as the ones she wrote about.  She grew up during the Great Depression, and her family struggled like most in America in those days.  Her mother was something of a cipher, and tried to live vicariously through her teenage daughter.  An uncle tried to molest her.  Cleary made friends her mother didn't approve of, had to move several times, and gradually discovered she had a talent for writing stories other people wanted to read.

This book follows Cleary from toddlerhood through the end of high school.  She published a second volume of memoirs that I suppose picked up where this left off.  I might try to read that one, but I didn't particularly love this book, even though it was a fast, engrossing read.  I mean, I did enjoy it, but not enough to want to reread it, you know?  I'd rather reread one of her fiction books for kids.  Though maybe her weird mom would not be in the other memoir so much?  She bothered me, to be honest.

Particularly Good Bits:

To this day, I cannot outline fiction.  I find that an outline limits the flights of imagination which are the joy of writing.  I write and then rewrite, bringing order to the second draft (p. 263).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-16.  Cleary talks about things like never having sex explained to her, dating a man in his twenties when she was in high school, and her uncle's attempts to molest her -- things that are NOT something I would read to kids, tweens, or younger teens.  Don't think this is a book you can read aloud to your kids. 

This is the 18th book I've read off my TBR shelves this year for #TheUnreadShelfProject2021.

"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass

I can't believe I'd never read this before!  You'd think with all the history classes, all the literature classes, surely someone would have assigned Frederick Douglass's Narrative to me.  But, nope.  You'd also think I would have gotten around to reading it before now, on my own, especially since I've owned a copy for at least two years.  But, nope.

Well, I've read it now, and I found it both enlightening and enjoyable.  While sometimes Douglass does start to sound a little bit... oratorical... he mostly tells his life story in a straight-forward and easy-to-read manner.  Certainly, he was writing this with an agenda, namely to convince people of the evils of slavery, but it rarely felt like a lecture or an argument.  Just a man telling you about his own experiences, and letting you conclude for yourself whether or not his life was typical or atypical for those living in slavery.

I was a little sad that he couldn't give a more detailed account of his escape to freedom in the north, but he withheld most of it to protect those who helped him, who were still alive and possibly in danger of reprisals, so it was understandable and wise of him to omit that part, I thought.

It was really interesting to read this on the heels of The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby because it succeeded in something that I thought Tisby failed at.  Douglass did a great job of pointing out that the failure of Christian churches toward enslaved people is not the fault of Christianity, but of individuals claiming to be Christians.  Tisby lumped those together, but Douglass clearly separated them, especially in the book's appendix, where he wrote:

What I have said respecting and against religion, I mean strictly to apply to the slaveholding religion of this land, and with no possible reference to Christianity proper; for, between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference -- so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt and wicked.  To be the friend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other (p. 71).

If you're looking for something to read for Black History Month, this gets my vote.  It's a quick read, not difficult, and both historically and culturally important.  Since yesterday is believed to have been Douglass's birthday, I thought it was a good time to read it, and I'm glad I did.

Particularly Good Bits:

The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears (p. 9).

The silver trump of freedom had roused my soul to eternal wakefulness (p. 24).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-15 for descriptions of whippings, beatings, and other acts of violence, as well as discussions of sexual misconduct and force.  Those were non-graphic, but I won't have my kids read it until high school because I don't think they'll be ready for it.

This was my 16th book read for my 3rd Classics Club list, and my 7th book read off my unread shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2021.

"Light in the Dark Belt: The Story of Rosa Young as Told by Herself"

Rosa Young was born in poverty in Alabama in 1890.  Her parents were devout Christians; her father was an African Methodist pastor.  She grew up in what she calls a "log hut" (p. 19) with nine siblings. Though she had the opportunity to go to school on and off as a child, she learned more from her father's brother, who had attended Tuskegee Institute, than she did from the school teacher.  She later taught her siblings all she could at night after they worked on the family farm.

Young describes her childhood self as "sickly, suffering with rheumatism" (p. 22) that disabled her for a time.  She was strong enough as a teen to attend high school in Selma, AL, where she excelled despite being the poorest student in her class, and graduated as the valedictorian.  Though she believed in God and read the Bible, she says she didn't really understand how Jesus's death and resurrection had anything to do with her personally at that time.

Rosa Young wanted to teach, for she saw much ignorance and misunderstanding in the lives of the people she grew up with, and she wanted to help other Black people.  So she started a school near her home and, for several years, she was very successful.  She had a building, students, and the support of the community, and her school flourished.

But then, the Mexican boll weevil destroyed the cotton crop in Alabama in 1914.  The economy collapsed, and most students could not pay the meager tuition to cover school books and supplies.  By the end of that school year, she had only $12.85 to pay the salaries of the teachers who had remained with her.  It looked as if she would have to close her school.

(Mine from my Instagram account.)

But Rosa Young was a determined woman.  She wrote to every leader of the African Methodist Church for help, but was given no encouragement.  She branched out and wrote to other Christian denominations.  Finally, she wrote to Booker T. Washington and asked if he knew of anyone who might help her.  He wrote her back himself and advised her to "write to the Board of Colored Missions of the Lutheran Church.  He said they were doing more for the colored race than any other denomination he knew of" (p. 103).  He gave her the address of the board's chairman, and she wrote to them after praying about the decision for two weeks.

Thus began Rosa Young's association with the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod.  They sent evangelists and teachers down to help her get her school back on its feet, supplied books and funds, and equipped her for teaching the Gospel as well as secular subjects.  Rosa Young became a Lutheran herself, after learning from these evangelists about what she calls "the pure Gospel."

Over the next thirty years, she helped found 30 schools, 35 congregations, and Concordia College in Alabama.  God used her to connect these evangelists and teachers with hundreds of people who did not know the saving news of God's love and Jesus's sacrifice to save them from their sins.  She worked tirelessly, even when in very poor health, and suffered a series of nervous breakdowns in her thirties, having to learn to moderate her efforts according to her strength later in life.

Rosa Young's dedication to helping others and her complete trust in God to guide and help her in every situation, large or small, are so inspiring to me.  I highly recommend this autobiography to anyone who wants to know what life was like in the deep South in the early 1900s and how much people there struggled just to feed their families and maybe provide basic necessities, much less give them access to things like schooling.  We take so much for granted in our lives these days, even when we have an economic downturn or a pandemic, and I was humbled to read how much Rosa Young and others like her could accomplish with so little to work with.

EDIT: I just discovered, since finishing this and posting it, that a film documentary about Rosa Young's life called The First Rosa is available to watch or download for free online here.  Can't wait to watch it!

Particularly Good Bits:

Right here in the land of Bibles, thousands of little black children had never seen a happy day; they were growing up like weeds and bushes, children without hope, without God (p. 8).

Never can a Christian say of Jesus that He sent him help, but that it was too late (p. 27).

It makes no difference how circumscribed opportunities my be, show yourself a friend to those who feel themselves friendless (p. 42).

There is no greatness in material things of themselves.  The greatness is determined by the use of them (p. 42).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for descriptions of poverty and mention of sinful behavior such as adultery and drunkenness.  

This is the 21st book I've read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject 2020.

"Up from Slavery" by Booker T. Washington

Wow.  Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

I have to say, 2020 has been spectacular so far when it comes to reading great books.

Booker T. Washington was born a slave, freed at the end of the Civil War, and ended up becoming a formidable force for change in America.  As a teen, he convinced the people running the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute to let him learn there in exchange for working as a janitor for the school because he had no money to pay for his tuition, room, or board.  After graduating, he was determined to use everything he learned to teach other young African Americans, so in 1881, he moved to the town of Tuskegee, Alabama, and set up his own institute of learning in two abandoned buildings there.  He taught about thirty students of varying ages, spending all his time and energy on building them up the way his own teachers had instructed and encouraged him.  By the time he wrote this book in 1901, the Tuskegee Institute had 1,100 students, 86 people on staff, was free from mortgage, and had 2,300 acres of land with 40 buildings, all but a handful of which had been built by the students themselves.

Washington insisted that his students not learn just book knowledge, but practical knowledge too.  They learned to build furniture and buildings, grow and cook good food, practice good hygiene, eat and dress and behave with good manners, clean anything and everything, and how to take part in various trades and professions.  He was equipping people to go be productive and useful parts of their communities, not simply educating them.  Over and over, while reading this book, I thought about how so many people today insist their kids go to college, when really college is not going to help everyone, because we need mechanics and truck drivers and farmers and fork lift drivers too, not just lawyers and doctors and professors.  I think the community colleges and trade schools and tech schools do an admirable job of continuing on with the sort of education that Booker T. Washington advocated for, and we need to not think of them as "lesser" or "secondary" to colleges and universities.

Anyway.  I was astonished by Washington's attitude toward white people in general, though I realize that his words may have been... tinted by the times in which he wrote and the audience he was intending to reach with this book.  He was almost militant about insisting that white people on a whole got along very well indeed with him and his students and were most supportive of the Tuskegee Institute.  But his attitude toward everything in life was relentlessly optimistic, at least as he portrayed himself here, so that fit with the overall picture of how he behaved and thought and taught.

Overall, I found this book very enlightening as to the kinds of efforts people were putting into educating and training and "raising up" the former slaves after the Civil War.  Washington's focus on helping others so that they could, in turn, help even more people was admirable, and I have a lot of respect for him after reading this book.  He also had a lovely writing style that made this book a fast and enjoyable read.

Particularly Good Bits:

I have great faith in the power and influence of facts (p. 15-16).

I began learning that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others (p. 32).

The individual who can do something that the world wants done will, in the end, make his way regardless of his race (p. 75).

No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in plowing a field as in writing a poem (p. 107).

I pity the man, black or white, who has never experienced the joy and satisfaction that come by reason of an effort to assist in making some one else more useful and more happy (p. 143).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG for some mentions of conditions in slavery.

This is my 41st book read and reviewed for my second go-'round with the Classics Club.

"Life Beyond Measure" by Sidney Poitier

I've been a fan of Sidney Poitier for many years, beginning with the first time I saw the movie Blackboard Jungle (1955).  I've seen him in so many amazing movies since then -- In the Heat of the Night (1967), To Sir, With Love (1967), Buck and the Preacher (1972), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), to name a few.  But I had no idea until a couple weeks ago that he'd written any books!  I saw this on a display of books for Black History Month at my local library and immediately snatched it up.  Sidney Poitier reminiscing about his life in letters written for his great-granddaughter?  I'm so there.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book immensely.  There were a few parts I skimmed, mostly ones where he did a lot of speculating about the history of the universe and whether or not there is a God.  But the rest of the book fascinated me, as Poitier unspooled the story of his life in a relatable, readable way.

Born into an impoverished familyin the Bahamas, Poitier spent the first decade of his life living without electricity or running water.  At 15, he was sent to live with his older brother in Miami, but had difficulty dealing with the rampant racism there or in staying out of trouble, so made his way alone to New York City, where he lived hand-to-mouth for a year.  He joined the army, then returned to existing on the edge of homelessness until he discovered acting.

I never knew anything at all about Poitier's life, and so my favorite parts of this book were definitely his looking back at how the events of his life shaped him.  He's written two memoirs, The Measure of a Man and This Life, and they're on my TBR list now.

Particularly Good Bits:

Though I was a fantastic, formidable daydreamer, the possibility that I could envisage one day traveling far from there was severely limited by lack of exposure to other places (p. 4).

Heroes and role models are important, especially because when you think of them they have the ability to buoy your spirits and ignite your energies to move you onward (p. 181).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG.  Very little bad language, no uncomfortable scenes.  Does discuss things like alcoholism, gambling addiction, petty theft, minor violence, and dealing with racism.

"Grateful American" by Gary Sinise

I'm fumbling around for words to describe or explain or praise this book.  I want to do all three, but it's such a thoroughly good book -- and I enjoyed it so much -- that it's hard for me to write about it without descending into what will sound like sentimental hyperbole.

But I'll try.

I became a fan of Gary Sinise in 1995, when my parents took my brother and I to see Apollo 13 in the theater.  He played astronaut Ken Mattingly, and my brother and I glommed onto him as someone we just wanted to protect and defend, of that makes any sense at all.  Mattingly doesn't get to go on the mission to the moon like he was supposed to, which was a huge disappointment at first, but turned out to be a godsend, as he was on the ground to help figure out ways to get his crewmates back.  Sinise plays Mattingly with a beautifully grounded, sensible, can-do attitude that endeared the character to us from our very first viewing (an emotional event I detailed here in my review of the film).

Later on, I saw Forrest Gump (1994) and The Quick and the Dead (1995) on VHS, and they cemented Sinise in my mind as a Good Guy.  Something about him came across as genuinely upright, more than just a role or behavior he was playing at.  As if he was a nice guy in real life, the sort who would be kind and helpful and, well... an all-around Good Guy.  I've seen him in other roles over the years, and he's long been one of those actors whose presence I can count on to elevate whatever material he's working with.  I can count on him to be interesting and watchable, you might say.

I learned a few years ago of Sinise's work with the Lt. Dan Band, entertaining American troops at home and abroad, working with the USO, and raising money to benefit wounded veterans.  All of which added to my idea of him being a Good Guy.  So I joined the launch team for his memoir and waited with a fair measure of anticipation to receive my advance copy, and I expected to enjoy the book. 

What I didn't expect from this book was liking it so much that I carried it around with me for several days so I could read it while my kids were at swimming lessons and various other appointments.  I didn't expect it to make me laugh AND cry, sometimes within the same page.  I didn't expect it to touch my heart.

In simple, direct, honest words, Gary Sinise lays out his life story.  How he grew up in Chicago, a wild, rudderless teen who found direction and purpose in high school theater classes.  How he and a bunch of friends started the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, now one of the most-respected theatre groups in the country, but originally a bunch of actor pals practicing their craft in a basement.  How he dabbled in alcohol and drugs in the '70s, and drifted through his personal life even while his professional life gained momentum.  And how he eventually found meaning by coming to faith in God and joining the Catholic church, and by finding ways to aid and support military personnel, first-responders, and their families.

Intertwined throughout the book is Sinise's lifelong respect for those who put their lives on the line to defend others.  The military, police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel are often taken for granted in the United States, and Sinise insists we need to change that.  He's made it his mission to let them hear his gratitude loud and clear, to know that they are not forgotten or taken for granted.

I'm not in the military, nor is my husband.  But I have an uncle who served in Vietnam, two cousins who were/are in the Air Force, and some great uncles who served in WWII (one even hit Omaha Beach during the D-DAY invasion).  I also have friends in the military, and many members of our congregation are active duty or retired military.  And I've realized that I almost never thank them for their courage and sacrifices and willingness to preserve our freedom.  I'm not sure yet how I can do that, but thanks to this book, I'm starting to look for ways.  I used to send care packages to some friends and relatives when they were deployed overseas, but no one I know personally is deployed right now.  Still, even if it's sending an encouraging note to a friend whose husband is deployed, or inviting another friend and her kids over for a meal when her husband is away at training, I'm sure that I, like Gary Sinise, can "do a little more" (p. 260).

(From my Instagram account)

Particularly Good Bits:

...when joy connects to mission, a life's purpose begins to take shape (p. 187).

Freedom is not something all human beings simply get to have and enjoy.  A price must be paid, and I am grateful to those who are willing to pay that price, sometimes the ultimate price.  Because of these special Americans, I have been able to live out my dreams, succeed at my chosen career, and turn that success into something positive for others (p. 273).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG.  This is one of the cleanest memoirs I've ever read.  Drugs and alcohol make appearances, and dealing with an alcoholic in the family takes center stage for a time.  There is one curse word. 

"Letters of a Woman Homesteader" by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (again)

I first read this just a little over three years ago, and I loved it immediately.  I'm happy to report that I love it still.  How absolutely delightful it is!  I smiled and chuckled and cheered throughout it.

Elinore Pruitt Rupert, a widow with a young daughter, took a job keeping house for a man named Clyde Stewart out on the plains of Wyoming in 1909.  She wanted to try homesteading for herself, but knew she'd need some way of keeping herself and her daughter until she had her homestead up and running, so hit upon the idea of keeping house for some established rancher or farmer to begin with.  She ended up marrying Mr. Stewart quite soon after moving there, but insisted on homesteading on her own to see if a determined woman could make a go of it.  And make a go of it, she certainly did.

For me, the chief delight of this book is how intrepidly and joyfully this woman faces life.  She goes about having adventures, helping people, making the very best of life in every situation.  Even though her life certainly isn't easy, and she faces heartache, she does not lose her hope or her joy or her faith.  Amazing woman.

(My Bookstagram pic from today)

Particularly Good Parts:

...although I married in haste, I have no cause to repent.  That is very fortunate because I have never had one bit of leisure to repent in (p. 86).

It is true, I want a great many things I haven't got, but I don't want them enough to be discontented and not enjoy the many blessings that are mine (p. 89).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for frontier hardships, a few bits of mild bad language in transcribed dialog, and a discussion of Mormons practicing polygamy.

"Let's Pretend This Never Happened" (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson (aka the Bloggess)

Three reasons why you should not read this book:

1. It's extremely profane and inappropriate.
2. It will make you think and write in the author's style for days, and you will be unable to blog as a result for fear you will sound like a cheap knock-off.
3. It will make you laugh so hard you cry, and you'll do that so often that your sinuses rebel and your nose is stuffed up for more than a day after you finish the book.

You're welcome.

Okay, but if you're not going to be bothered by rampant profanity and endless discussions of personal bodily parts that my children don't know exist; and if you don't mind taking a break from blogging, only to go back to it days later and discover her voice is still there and you can't resist using it just a teensy bit; and if you have a lot of Kleenexes in your house anyway, or already have a head cold and more mucous doesn't matter at this point, then... it is really funny.

Particularly Good Bits (that I promise are not inappropriate at all):

"Potty training is not a fun subject to reminisce about.  It's more like a horrible death march through a haunted forest, and the trees are made of angry bears that you're allergic to" (p. 134) (This is sadly true.)

"Women scare me enough, but bloggers can be even more frightening to deal with.  Most bloggers are emotionally unstable and are often awkward in social situations, which is why so many of us turned to blogging in the first place" (p. 171).  (This is also sadly true.)

"I started to suspect that in the past life he'd been a small and not very good pirate whose specialty was lashing himself to the mast at the most inopportune times.  I could imagine the captain giving him the same pitying but frustrated look when he came up from his nap to find that Barnaby Jones Pirate had lashed himself to the wheel of the ship because he thought he saw a cyclone, which turned out to be some birds" (p. 248).  (We had a dog exactly like that.)

"...there is joy in embracing -- rather than running screaming from -- the utter absurdity of life" (p. 308).  (I heartily agree.)

If This Was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  R.  Or possibly NC-17, except I've never seen an NC-17-rated movie, thankyouverymuch, so I wouldn't know if this really warrants that rating or not.  But seriously, don't read this book.

"True Strength" by Kevin Sorbo

I wrote this review back in May when I was visiting my parents, and then I didn't post it right away because I was in the middle of the Little Women read-along, and it just got shoved so far down on my post list I forgot about it!  So here it is at last :-)

This is not a book I anticipated reading.  I've never particularly been a fan of Kevin Sorbo, though I've seen a few episodes of Hercules here and there since I have several friends who are fans.  And I recently saw Shadow on the Mesa (2013), an enjoyable made-for-TV western that features Sorbo.  I mentioned that movie to my mom, asking if she's seen it because I believe it aired on the Hallmark channel, and I know she enjoys Hallmark movies.  She did see it, and she asked if I'd read Sorbo's autobiography.  I was like, "Um, no, I'm not especially a fan."  She said, "You should read it!  I think you'd really like it.  He's a Christian, and it's all about how his faith saw him through this really awful illness."

Well, my mom probably knows my reading taste better than anyone else, so if she says I would probably like a book, I generally try it.  I tried out the ebook version on her Kindle, and was quickly hooked, much to my great surprise!  Sorbo tells his story very compellingly, and it feels very much like it was written by him, not entirely ghost-written by some professional.  I have no way of knowing if that's true, but that's the impression I got.  Several of the chapters are by other people, including his wife Sam and costars from Hercules, like Bruce Campbell and Michael Hurst.  They share their perspective on how Sorbo handled his illness and how it changed him, that sort of thing.

Basically, back in the '90s while on hiatus from filming Hercules, Kevin Sorbo suffered an aneurysm and several consequent strokes, which left him with lasting health problems.  This book is about his struggle to recover from the strokes and deal with his wobbly health, and how he finally learned to accept that his life would never go back to "normal."

Sorbo was raised a Lutheran, though he later began attending a different church with his wife.  He speaks frankly of his reliance on God during his struggles, and also how he questioned why God would allow him to become so very sick.  However, there are also a lot of obscenities in this book, mainly in the dialog, and I would not recommend it to young people as a result.  He doesn't take God's name in vain, it's all the more crass language you'd expect from Hollywood actors, etc.  

If you're a fan of Sorbo's, or enjoy reading about people dealing with major illnesses, and don't mind the rough language, you'd probably like this book.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  R for language and occasional non-graphic sexual references.

"The Abracadabra Kid" by Sid Fleischman

I can't remember which Sid Fleischman book I read first.  I think it was probably By the Great Horn Spoon.  But it might have been Humbug or Jingo Django.  Or even The Whipping Boy, which I didn't actually realize was written by the same guy until I started reading this book.  I associated his name with the off-kilter humor of his children's books set in the west, like the first two I mentioned.  A few months ago, I stumbled across SidFleischman.com, which features a page of tips for writers drawn from his autobiography, aka this book.

I knew at once that I wanted to read that autobiography, but my library didn't have it, so I put it on my Christmas list and, lucky me, my mom got it for me!  Of the five books I got for Christmas, this is the one I chose to read first, and I'm so glad I did, as it's loads of fun.  

Fleischman begins with his childhood, particularly his love of doing magic tricks.  He had quite some success as a magician, and the first book he ever published, Between Cocktails, was a collection of simple tricks for amazing your friends.  While detailing his youthful exploits, he points on what events, people, and places would later inspire some of his books.  He infuses his narrative with humor and snappy descriptions, as anyone familiar with his novels might expect.

I think the biggest surprise I got while reading this is that Sid Fleischman wrote a novel named Blood Alley, which he then turned into a screenplay at the behest of none other than my beloved John Wayne -- Wayne starred in the movie version, along with Lauren Bacall.  I actually have Blood Alley (1955) as part of a collection of John Wayne films, but I haven't seen it yet -- I plan to watch it very soon.  

If you're a fan of his novels, or are looking for a good book about what it's like to be a writer, you can't go wrong here!

"By Myself" by Lauren Bacall

I've been a fan of Lauren Bacall since the first time I saw her in a movie, which was To Have and Have Not (1944). I saw it in high school, when I was probably seventeen or eighteen -- only a year or two younger than Bacall was when she made that film. I've seen her in nine or ten other films since then, and my admiration has grown with each viewing. Her characters are cool, sophisticated... and yet, they always have a sweet vulnerability that keeps me from getting annoyed by her.

So when I found her autobiography, By Myself, at a used bookstore, I couldn't resist it. And I'm happy to report that it has enhanced my admiration of her, not tarnished it. The book traces her life from growing up in a single-parent family in New York City during the 1930s through her fantastic burst on the Hollywood scene, her marriage to Humphrey Bogart, and her life post-Bogie as she struggled through other relationships, raised her three children, and made a place for herself on Broadway.

Bogart and Bacall in "To Have and Have Not"

This is a poignant, honest book, with a measure of soul-searching that I'm not accustomed to in autobiographies. As she says toward the end of it, "When I plunge I do plunge; halfway is not my way." (pg. 358). Throughout this book, she shows how throwing herself wholeheartedly into everything, be it a film or stage role or a personal relationship, has both its advantages and disadvantages.

My only disappointment with this book is that it ends before Bacall makes The Shootist (1976) with John Wayne -- I would love to have heard her thoughts on an older, ailing Duke, as she had some kind things to say about him when she discussed making Blood Alley with him in the '50s. But Bacall has written two more autobiographies, and I'm sure she covers the making of The Shootist in one of them.

If you're a fan of Bacall's, or simply of classic Hollywood, this book is an enjoyable read that feels like a chat with a friend over a cup of coffee or two. Thoroughly engaging, even in the sad parts.

(Originally posted on The Huggermugger Blog on Jan. 11, 2010.)