The Wisdom of Big Bird by Caroll Spinney

Memoir

Caroll Spinney is the man behind (or in?) Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. This novel is presented as life lessons learned from being Big Bird, but it's really a short look at how Spinney became Big Bird and the adventures he had as him. Sesame Street was a big part of my childhood. I watched it fairly frequently, enjoyed the muppets, and even had my own little version of Big Bird at home. This path down memory lane for Spinney was enjoyable to read as a grown up fan.

It gives you a bit of insight in to how Sesame Street was produced, how they came up with their characters, and how they hired new talent. I didn't learn any lessons or really have any wisdom imparted on me, but the story that Spinney told was interesting. I wish Spinney had spoken a bit more about his wife. It's obvious that he is deeply in love with her and we only got a few pages on how they met and got engaged in a quick period of time.

More detail could have been provided in many parts of this book, but it was a good overview of the man behind Big Bird.

First Line: "The alarm goes off."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood by Claire Hoffman

Autobiography

Clare grew up with a mom who practiced Transcendental Meditation (TM) and a dad who was alcoholic. The dad eventually left and it was just Claire, her older brother, and her mom. They moved to Iowa, where there was a community of TM followers and Claire started to struggle with being an outsider. Having to attend the public school because her mom couldn't afford the tuition for TM school, Claire was bullied for being a 'ru'. When someone donated money for the two kids to attend school, Claire felt like she fit in for a while until she started to question what was being taught.

Having known absolutely nothing about TM or what it meant, this book provided a good background. There were sprinklings of the history of the movement throughout Claire's story as she tied what was happening to her with what was happening to the movement. It's not really a cult, it's not really a religion, it's probably best described as a movement. Claire explained very well what she was questioning and why she was questioning it. And frankly came to a very logical resolution where she didn't give it up, didn't adopt it wholly, but wound up somewhere in the middle.

The pacing of this book was excellent for an autobiography. I would have liked to read more about what happened when she went to her father as a teenager and how this was different from living at Utopia Park but this was glossed over. An interesting book, even if you don't know anything about TM.

First Line: "'I want to be initiated now,' I announced, staring into the eyes of the teacher."

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of this tour!

Rating:
(4/5)

About the Author Claire Hoffman works as a magazine writer living in Los Angeles, writing for national magazines, covering culture, religion, celebrity, business and whatever else seems interesting. She was formerly a staff reporter for the Los Angeles Times and a freelance reporter for the New York Times. She has a masters degree in religion from the University of Chicago, and a masters degree in journalism from Columbia University. She serves on the board of her family foundation, the Goldhirsh Foundation, as well as the Columbia Journalism School. Claire is a native Iowan and has been meditating since she was three years old. Find her on Twitter and at her website.

My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith

Autobiography

Helen and Jenny had very different childhoods. Helen was raised by an abusive father and narcissistic mother. Jenny had nothing but love with her parents. When Jenny found out that she was adopted in her teenage years, she tried to question her mom about it by couldn't get anything out of her. She didn't want to hurt her adoptive mother's feelings but knew that she wanted to search for her family. It took 50-some odd years for Jenny to finally become successful in her search and meet her sister, Helen. The two start to piece together how they are connected.

There aren't many books where the cover spoils the book. The two sisters don't even know they are twins until the book has been completed! They need to write an afterwards for the book to explain this. Why bother having this as a prominent book description? That should have been left for the afterwards to handle as a nice surprise. Instead, I spent the whole book wondering when I was going to find out that they were twins.

Aside from this weird spoiler, the book was quite interesting. I really don't get Helen's mother. To react in such a way to your own children, both Helen and George, and not care at all about them but to then treat your grandchildren with love; how does this happen? I'd love to hear a psychologist's explanation on why this was the case.

Quite an unbelievable story!

First Line: "This could be the most important email I ever send."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Naked by David Sedaris

Naked by David Sedaris
Autobiography

David Sedaris grew up in an incredibly odd family and, as such, has some incredibly odd stories to tell. Naked is a series of short essays about Sedaris' life, however I felt that it almost read like a novel rather than short stories because the stories weren't overly disjointed.

For the most part, the stories were pretty interesting. That being said, they were so off-the-wall that I was always questioning whether or not they were truthful or not. I wasn't laughing out loud at anything, however overall it was ok.

First Line: "I'm thinking of asking the servants to wax my change before placing it in the Chinese tank I keep on my dresser."

Rating:
(3/5)

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Bossypants by Tina Fey
Autobiography

Tina Fey is an incredibly busy woman, and one that has gotten pretty high in the comedy world. Starting as a teenager at a YMCA, she eventually landed a job as a writer at SNL, then a cast member at SNL, and finally her own show 30 Rock. This book outlays how Tina got there as well as her advice.

I didn't find any of the book laugh-out-loud funny, however there were parts that were entertaining. The thing that bothered me the most about this book, and why I didn't wholeheartedly enjoy it is that everything was glossed over. I felt like Tina never really delved in to her childhood and how she came to be an improv master. She also glossed over most of how SNL worked and how 30 Rock came to be. The only thing that was thoroughly explored was Fey's Sarah Palin impression. I enjoyed this part of the book, if only the rest of the book could have been like this.

I expected more from this book, though I give Fey props for all the hours she puts in while still raising a kid.

First Line: "Welcome friend, congratulations on your purchase of this American-made genuine book."

Rating:
(3/5)

Under the Duvet

Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes
Autobiography

This is the autobiography of Marian Keyes. She has written a number of newspaper and magazine articles and included all of this as a book.

She has touched on weight loss, her Irish family, addiction and relationships.

Some of these were funny and her take on life was interesting. Authors sometimes seem to have a different perspective than ordinary folks like me and it is just fun to read about a normal life experience and see it turned upside down.

First Line: "When I was twenty-one I got it into my head that I wanted to be a journalist."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

All Things at Once

All Things at Once by Mika Brzezinski
Autobiography

Mika Brzezinski is a co-host of "Morning Joe" and an MSNBC anchor. Brzezinski also reports on "NBC Nightly News" and is an alternating news anchor for "Weekend Today." Prior to joining MSNBC, Brzezinski was an anchor of the "CBS Evening News Weekend Edition" and a CBS News correspondent who frequently contributed to "CBS Sunday Morning" and "60 Minutes." In September 2001, she became CBS's principal "Ground Zero" reporter for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. She is the daughter of former National Security Advisor and foreign policy expert Zbigniew Brzezinski. She is the mother of two children, and has been married to a journalist at ABC.

The above paragraph is from "About the Author" and recaps all the highlights of an amazing career. In this book Mika starts with her unusual childhood while living in the environs of the presidential family. Her family is unconventional. Her horse joined them in the house during Christmas. But her mother was an inspiration to Mika, giving her the impetus to having it all.

This book goes beyond the recapitulation of her career and rather provides an analysis into her successes and failures. Mika's life has been a series of ups and downs. Some failures were trying to have everything just too soon and some successes just plain being in the right place at the right time. Mika has an amazing ability to look at her life and determine where she went wrong. Her life is full of stress and not everyone will agree with all her choices but one can not help but admire a woman so in tune with her own desires, wants and needs.

I enjoy reading about other people's lives but this book also delves into the why which makes it that much more interesting.

First Line: "Her tiny body had gone limp."

Buy this Book
Rating:

(4.0/5)

I am My Father's Son

I am My Father's Son by Dan Hill
Autobiography

Dan Hill is a well-known Canadian songwriter and performer. This is his story.

Dan grew up in suburban Toronto in the 1960s. His father, Dr. Hill was the first Ontario Human Rights Commissioner. He was black and his wife was white. Racism in Canada was not as 'up front and in your face' as the United States but was still widespread. It was more a 'sneaky' type of racism that Dan encountered, including teachers who didn't like him because of his colour.

Dr. Hill was larger than life and having experienced racism was the perfect choice for commissioner. Dr. Hill was bombastic and extremely ambitious. His expectations were very high especially for his first born son. Dan had to excel in school. Although his grades were good, Dan's interests and personality ran contrary to his father's.

The tension and unrest in the Hill household was constant during Dan's teens. Dan loved music and writing songs was in his blood. His father let him know incessantly what a disappointment he was. His father was mean and constantly critical. Dan, however, has his father's ambition and strove to achieve success in the music industry and gain his father's approval finally. Dan's successes and setbacks are chronicled. His mistakes and his highlights are boldly stated.

This story tells about both Dan's life and Dr. Hill's life. It is a very well-written story about the relationship between father and son. It is also a tale of forgiveness. This book makes the reader look at their own relationship with their parents questioning what impact their parents had and what impact they have on their own children

On a personal note, my brother was friends with Dan during high school. As an older sister I did not pay too much attention to his friends. Shame on me! The details of the neighbourhood brought back a lot of memories.

First Line: "Not that this is anything to brag about, but I may well have been the only teenager in the history of the Western world punished for not masturbating"

I am My Father's Son at Chapters
Rating:

(4.0/5)

Windows on the World by Frederic Beigbeder

Windows on the World by Frederic Beigbeder
Fiction/Autobiography

This book starts off quite simple and to the point. "You know how it ends: everybody dies". The book has the potential to be a great work of art, or to upset people and open still healing wounds. The book is split in two, alternating chapters between a fictional account of a man and his two children who go have breakfast at Windows on the World the fated day of September 11th, 2001, and an autobiography of the author Frederic Beigbeder. It is a translation from French, and unfortunately not a great translation.

At first, it's unclear what Beigbeder sets out to prove about himself. His writing leads you to believe he's writing about how his life has changed since 9/11 (he's a Frenchman and even talks about the American dislike for the French). But then it seems like he can't make up his mind. Is he writing about the current ways of the world? Is he writing about history? Is he writing about himself (because he does come off kind of egotistical)? It gets to the point where I skim through these chapters. Beigbeder just cannot keep my attention because it seems he can hardly keep his own attention. Every chapter is about something different.

The other story, however, is quite touching. How many of us have wondered what it would be like, god forbid, if we were trapped in the World Trade Center? Is it morbid to think it? Probably, but didn't the events of 9/11 prove that it's possible for anyone to be in the same situation? Carthew is an extremely flawed man. His wife has divorced him because he cheated on her and he has led an adulterer life. He has two children that he loves, but he is too self-absorbed to recognize the light that his children could give him in life. Carthew eventually comes to realization that his life has been pretty much wasted and that he is grateful for his kids, even though he brought them into the world only to die shortly after. This book is about the hope, despair, love, hate, faith, anger, and any other emotion you could think of.

"The two badly behaved children have reminded her that she needs to buy a present for her grandson's birthday ... She thinks she remembers seeing a branch of Toys R Us ... this is what she is thinking as the doors to the elevator close noiselessly. For the rest of her life, she will believe it was the Lord God who told her to leave at this precise moment; for the rest of her life she will wonder why He did so, why He spared her life, why He made her think of toys, why He chose her and not those two little boys."

Rating:

(3.5/5)