First of all...snaps for an amazing book title - GENIUS.
He said in an interview that someone else named the book but - GENIUS - love it. I want to be honest - after reading this book I stopped reading altogether...because I had so many back episodes of Queer Eye to finish - I decided that binge watching all of the seasons of the new Queer Eye Reboot on Netflix was my top priority! Tan France is an accomplished entrepreneur in the fashion and textiles industry. This book details his deep love and 10 year marriage with his husband Rob (swoon - what a great partnership) as well as his career successes and challenges through the years with his fashion lines that include Kingdom & State, as well as a modest swimwear line Shade...among other ventures. He was just preparing for retirement when the Queer Eye casting call came. Tan writes frankly about his upbringing as a Muslim (raised in England...thus the amazing accent), bullies, his culture's preference for lighter skin colors, and of course...his insights on lifestyle choices and FASHION. Tan is clearly an expert in his field and doesn't try to compete for screen time on the show because when he has input to offer, he wants it to be meaningful and not necessarily silly or outlandish. He is very dedicated to helping people look their best and put their best foot forward...and I enjoyed this book! I am a real fan of audiobooks when it comes to memoirs so I am definitely pre-ordering Naturally Tan the audiobook for the June 4, 2019 release date! Also to be published in 2019 is Antoni in the Kitchen (September 9) and a new book by Jonathan Van Ness (September 24). Karamo Brown's new book was just released in early March and well...I am starting it TOMORROW ---Celebrity memoir Audiobook for me... (I Love You Karamo!) Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, & Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont by Shawn Levy3/19/2019 The Castle on Sunset by Shawn Levy is pretty much a 'biography' of one of the biggest players in Hollywood...the Chateau Marmont. This institution has been a Hollywood icon and staple for decades, and yet continues to find itself relevant, trendy, and nearly mandatory in so many of the entertainment industry's accomplishments and accolades within the ever changing Hollywood culture.
I was going to try to highlight some of the more 'known' celebrities who have been a tenant or a visitor or a supporter of the Chateau Marmont, but the list is so long that there isn't enough room in this review. From Leonardo DiCaprio to Beyonce to Greta Garbo and Natalie Wood...and everyone in between...Chateau Marmont and its 24 hour room service and proximity to the stars has left a mark on many Hollywood players. Of course we are aware of the John Belushi death that occurred there, and this book goes into many details surrounding his death, as well as other notorious events that may (or may not) have occurred here. This book is thoroughly researched and if you are yearning to learn more about Hollywood, starting with the Golden Age through today...and the institution to which has been an eye witness...then this book is for you! This book is filled with details and dates and architects and owners and wait staff employees...sometimes it is more detail then I could process but for true history buffs, it may be just the right mix! If only I could afford to stay at Chateau Marmont... Thank you to NetGalley and to Doubleday Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Castle on Sunset will be released on May 7, 2019! *The author sent me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.*
Honeysuckle Holiday is a YA story based in the Jim Crow South. The story follows Lucy, one of three sisters, during different time periods in her life; between the 12 year old Lucy and the 16 year old Lucy. Jacobs' writing is very descriptive and has many details in her imagery depicted in the book. And Lucy LOVES To Kill a Mockingbird - with so many parallels between Lucy and Scout, I can understand why. Both stories are heavy in nature but are told through a child narrator. Both deal with witnessing the Jim Crow South during a shifting time. And I loved the quote found in the front cover of the book: "Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color." --- Nietzsche Thanks again to Kathleen Jacobs for this gift of a book! I was pretty excited to have Jen Dixon back in my life! “You’ve Been Volunteered” is a sequel to Laurie Gelman’s first book, Class Mom. These books are enjoyable and light and if you’ve ever been a school parent volunteer, or a student receiving services of a school parent volunteer, then you can relate to the book.
Jen Dixon is always struggling with something…an over committed schedule, aging parents, hormonal young adult daughters, a work-focused husband, and a young son at home…her life is not the life of leisure she may have planned, but it is full, and we get to go along with this character on her journey. I personally can relate to Jen Dixon because I am living parallel lives with her, or maybe it’s because I know so many women just like her, maybe because I want to be just like her when I grow up! You’ve Been Volunteered is a great follow-up to Class Mom. Jen is witty, honest, tired, and you will giggle throughout this novel. If you’re considering being a PTO volunteer, you may or may not want to check out this book. But it may also be a cautionary tale! LOL #youvebeenvolunteered #netgalley #lauriegelman Woman 99 is a story based in 1888 California where society daughters were brought up in finishing schools and marriages were brokered based on family connections/advantages gained from those connections... so when a daughter resists her younger sister's marriage arrangement, she is sent to an insane asylum for women. The younger sister, outraged and feeling guilty by this outcome, decides to be admitted into the same asylum with the intent of rescuing her sister from the institution.
Charlotte, who doesn't reveal her name upon admittance, becomes Woman 99 in the notorious Goldengrove insane asylum. Once Charlotte is admitted, she begins to be curious about the backstories to so many 'patients' and learns that many of these women were admitted more of a matter of convenience instead of their mental health. Once Charlotte is admitted, her short term plan to "rescue and get out" proves much more difficult than she imagines. The story really grips you from the beginning and is hard to put down with so many brooding asylum attendants and especially the stone cold Matron...the lady in charge of the asylum... I enjoyed Woman 99 and I would like to thank NetGalley and SourceBooks Landmark Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Check out Woman 99 which will be released on Tuesday, March 5! #netgalley #woman99 Do you believe in Love at First Sight? Honestly...I don't. Well...I didn't until I read this book! This remarkable novel, based on a true story, is the story of Lale (pronounced Lah-Lay), a Slovakian Jew, who is forced to go to Auschwitz. Because Lale is so quick on his feet, and speaks so many languages, he eventually becomes the Camp's Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), with the job of marking other prisoners with their assigned number.
Lale always kept a positive attitude, depiste the hardships he endured, and when asked how he kept such a positive attitude towards life, he replied with a charming smile, “If you woke up and were alive, it was a good day.” Lale witnesses and experiences harrowing and torturous conditions but one day comes in contact with a fellow prisoner, to whom he is drawn...and about whom he cannot stop thinking. And thus begins the precious story of Lale and Gita. The material in this book is quite heavy in nature and quite difficult to process, but the author is concise and relayed the material in a sensitive manner. This book is so well written and fully developed. I loved it so much! I read this book with no knowledge of the outcome so if you also want to be surprised, don't use Google! February felt much shorter than January, that's for sure!
Here is my February reading wrap up along with my Goodreads ratings! Congrats to Author Kiese Laymon who has won even more awards during the month of February! Heavy is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it! February Wrap Up: Books that Changed My Life compiled by Bethanne Patrick ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Black Boy by Richard Wright ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heavy by Kiese Laymon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Daughter of Molokai by Alan Brennert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory ⭐️⭐️ The Vanderbeekers by Karina Yan Glaser ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Goodreads Challenge Status: 14/100 HAPPY READING! A few years ago I read the book Moloka'i by Alan Brennert for my local book club and everyone enjoyed it. When I saw that the sequel was in the works, I was very excited to see Rachel's story continue.
Daughter of Moloka'i is a book about Rachel's daughter, Ruth, who was born inside a lepers' colony in 1917. Because Rachel was quarantined for most of her life to due leprosy, (those with the disease were forced to live on Moloka'i and be quarantined...a life sentence), Rachel was forced to give up her daughter for adoption immediately after birth. This book continues the story of Ruth's life after she was adopted. This book is divided into three parts: Hapa (a native Hawaiian word that means half - Ruth is half Japanese and half Hawaiian) Gaman: Japanese term of Buddhist origin that means "enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity: Ohana: Hawaiian word that means family The first part details Ruth's life in the orphanage, and her transition into her new life as an adopted daughter. The story follows this family's journeys to begin a new life in California in the 1920s. Ruth is adopted into a loving Japanese family and she quickly learns what it means to be Japanese and learn their customs and traditions. They begin a new chapter in California where there are many anti-Japanese groups in the Sacramento area. As time passes, and the WWII attack on Pearl Harbor occurs, President FDR then orders for all residents of Japanese descent (citizens or not), to be sent to live in the Internment Camps. The second part of the book is about their life preparing to go, and to eventually live in the Internment Camps. This sparked my curiosity in learning more about the families who made up the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were sent to live in these awful camps for 1-2 years. The family endured hardships, both physically and emotionally, (they lived in a horse stall!), but strived to stick together in order to endure. The third part of the book centers around an adult Ruth, who is learning the story of her origins and how her family grows and adapts as she reconnects with her past. This is my 3rd novel to enjoy by Alan Brennert and his writing is very strong, thoroughly researched, and really draws you in. His character driven novels draw you close to Rachel and her family. I truly enjoyed the book, and I appreciate the opportunity to access an Advanced Readers Copy for review. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Daughter of Moloka'i will be released on Tuesday, February 20! To learn more about the Japanese Internment Camps here are a few links: The History of Japanese Internment Camps www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-two-japanese-internment-camps-in-the-usa Ceremony to Honor Survivors of Japanese Internment Camps www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Ceremony-To-Honor-Survivors-Of-Japanese-13623267.php The Injustice of Japanese-American Internment Camps Resonates Strongly to This Day www.smithsonianmag.com/history/injustice-japanese-americans-internment-camps-resonates-strongly-180961422/ As a native Mississippian, I am embarrassed to say that I was not aware of Richard Wright until I was well into adulthood. He was born in Roxie, MS which is only a few miles away from my maternal family origins, and yet I had never heard of this groundbreaking author.
I picked up Black Boy as I began to grow this blog...after all...how can I call Mississippi my home and still haven't read his books? Black Boy, which was published in 1945 after Wright had become an established writer, details Wright's childhood and early adult years growing up in the Jim Crow South. His narratives about his childhood detail their family's abject poverty, constant malnutrition, ever present familial tension in his home, as well as the daily racial tension and anxiety in his daily life, After his dad leaves and his mom is paralyzed due to a stroke, Richard is shuttled around among relatives, and spent several years of his childhood in Jackson, MS. His education was very disrupted and he rarely finished a school year in the same school in which it started, ending his education in the 9th grade. Despite his lack of formal education, he was a voracious reader and would borrow a library card (from a white coworker since there was no library access for African Americans), to read novels from worldly authors. Considering he had so little education, this book is so well written, easy to understand and pulls you in from the first chapter where he set fire to his Grandmother's house as a young child.. His book Native Son is now officially on my TBR pile! From the Publisher: "Richard Wright grew up in the woods of Mississippi, with poverty, hunger, fear, and hatred. He lied, stole, and raged at those around him; at six he was a "drunkard," hanging about taverns. Surly, brutal, cold, suspicious, and self-pitying, he was surrounded on one side by whites who were either indifferent to him, pitying, or cruel, and on the other by blacks who resented anyone trying to rise above the common lot. Black Boy is Richard Wright's powerful account of his journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. It is at once an unashamed confession and a profound indictment—a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering." More information about Richard Wright: blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/ten-things-you-should-know-about-richard-wright When this book began racking up the awards, it caught my attention. And when I saw that the author was born and raised in Jackson, MS, I found the book and began reading/listening to it the next day. The author's narration of his memoirs were well done, and the audiobook greatly enhanced my experience.
Wade Davis, an American speaker, activist, and former football player, has been quoted by saying that everyone should read books by people who are not like you...read to understand them, to gain empathy, until they are you and you do not see them as the other. Heavy was chosen for this book's title because of the level of 'heavy' content that was described in Laymon's memoir. It is also 'heavy' because Laymon was always considered to be a 'big guy' and has had to deal with weight issues and eating disorders. The book is an open letter to his mother, and describes what it means to grow heavy, black, and male in America, in particular Mississippi. Kiese attended school at St. Joe High School, college at Millsaps, and eventually went on to become a professor at Vassar College. His memoir is haunting, compelling, and drew me in from page one. It is definitely 'heavy' in nature, but is a book I won't long forget. I gave it a 5 Star Rating on Goodreads. While I was reading Heavy, it won the The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. This award comes with a $5,000 prize and Kiese Laymon has announced he will donate the prize money to programs that benefit underserved youth in Mississippi. |
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