Tina Fey’s book Bossypants is her own story of how she grew up in Pennsylvania (with an over protective dad who will do anything to save a buck), to the early days of saturday Night Live (when women could not have a leading role), her honeymoon cruise because her husband does not like to fly (very Poseidon Adventure and includes a fire on the ship), to her Sarah Palin impression that she did not have time nor want to do, to deciding if one child is enough…

All in all Tina Fey is as funny sharing her own life triumphs and tragedies as she is on TV in her many roles.

I knew when I seen this book was coming out I had to read it.  When I seen the audio was going to be narrated by Tina herself, I decided scratch the book, I now wanted to hear Tina tell her story.  I am so glad I did.

Call it a guilty pleasure but I do really like good funny quick-witted humor.  I love my “funny” to have intelligence with it and Tina Fey delivers all that in an audio that I will cherish as good laugh at yourself moments because what else are you going to do – and that is kind of the way I like to live my life too.  😛

I have enjoyed Tina Fey not so much on Saturday Night Live (mainly because I never really watched Saturday Night Live), but more for her movie roles.  I enjoyed her in both Date Night and Baby Mama.  Not only is Tina funny but she is also an advocate for women’s rights and strongly supports a program Autism Speaks.

So…. here is the visual of my listening to this audio book.  I had it downloaded on my IPOD.  I am mowing our 5 acres of yard on the riding mower… where once I would listen to music and frighten the neighbors with my singing… now instead I listen to audio.  For me that is three hours of non interrupted “book” time.  This particular audio however had me at times laughing out loud to the point I am sure the neighbors were ready to call the “crazies hot line”.

Yes, at times she can be a bit raunchy – and thankfully that is few and far between on this audio.  Over all it was a pleasurable audio that I would recommend over the book just for the reason that it is Tina Fey herself narrating and she has that matter of fact tone that just makes me smile. 

Amazon Rating

Good Reads Review

I have updated the WHERE Are You Reading Map to include Bossypants

I picked up this audio from audible.com

Jan Zabinski was the director of the Warsaw Zoo during WWII.  He, along with his wife Antonia, sheltered 300 Jews as well as Polish resisters in the home, in animal cages, and in sheds.  Using the names of the animals as code names for the people in hiding, they risked their own lives to save those of strangers.

This would be a remarkable fiction story….

what makes it even more remarkable is that it is not fiction.

Using Antonia’s diaries, author Diane Ackerman takes us to a point in history where people ran for their very lives, hiding their heritage, and not knowing if this day may be your last….

it is a hard life to imagine from the comforts of my own life and times…

Russian born Antonia, and Polish Catholic Jan were a rarity and an enigma.  They loved animals and would bring in any stray into their home.  It was not uncommon to have not only cats and dogs in the home, but also a rabbit, birds, otters, badgers, lynx and more.  All this while hiding people and ammunition within the zoo itself, as Europe crumbled all around.

This book was recommended to me by my friend Heidi over a year ago.  I am usually quite open to book suggestions and in short time had the book in possession and on my shelf.  Now – the trick was to find the time to read it.  A couple of weeks ago I found it at my library in audio format and knew that was what would push this story to the front line.

Deeply immersed in the language of the times and the history in the making, I at first found this audio heavy with facts.  As I became more aware of what was happening and how incredibly brave Jan and Antonina were as well as what they did for the Jewish

people – said to have saved over 300 people by hiding them in the zoo cages and in their home. 

In the end, as what happens many times to me when I discover a new vein of history I knew little to nothing about, I want to know more.  If you look on-line you will find many stories of the Warsaw Zoo and the Zabinski’s.

 

Today the Warsaw Zoo lives on and flourishes.  Check out their website here and be amazed that this incredible Zoo that started in March 1928, still remain open and carrying with it a bounty of history.

Amazon Rating

Good Reads Review

 

I have updated WHERE Are You Reading Map to include The Zookeeper’s Wife

 

 

 

I borrowed this book on audio from my local library

J R R Tolkien is one of those authors who fascinates me.  I am amazed when authors can create a whole other world out of their imaginations and the more believable it is…. the more it blows me away.  (J K Rowling does the same thing to me…. I am just in awe…)

I actually had a creative writing class in High School that was all about Tolkien.  We watched the animated version of the movie, wrote reports, discussed Tolkien and I for one was in my kind of world.  😀  Tolkien soon became an author I was just fascinated with, and love the thought of he, CS Lewis and other authors meeting and discussing their books in a pub called The Rabbit Room.  (For this reason I have named my own Library the Rabbit Room as it is marked over the doors to enter it.)

The Inklings was an Oxford writers’ group which included C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Hugo Dyson. From late 1933, they met on Thursday evenings at Lewis’s college rooms at Magdalen, where they would read and discuss various material, including their unfinished manuscripts.^[4] These meetings were accompanied with more informal lunchtime gatherings at various Oxford pubs which coalesced into a regular meeting held on Mondays or Tuesday lunchtimes at the Eagle and Child, in a private lounge at the back of the pub known as the ‘Rabbit Room’.

~Wikepedia

Recently when I made the decision I wanted to listen to this on audio, Heather at 30+ A Lifetime Of Books had made a similar decision at around the same time.  We decided we would post our reviews at the same time and ask each other our thoughts about the audio.  We both had the same narrator (gah… I feel awful, I returned my copy to the library and can not remember who the narrator was but I bet Heather knows!  :razz:)

Here is what Heather asked me and my responses:

1.  Was the audio what you expected it to be?  Did it surprise you in any way?   You know, I read this in High School Uhh…. *cough cough* that was quite a few years ago, and honestly many of the details of the story I had forgotten.  When I started listening I was pleasantly surprised to find myself sitting outside the hobbit hole with Bilbo and as our narrator read on I was engulfed with memories of the book from all those years ago.

2.  What did you think of the narration?  I just checked my library reserve and it looks like the narrator was John Robert Reuel.  I think he did a wonderful job.  This is not an easy book to narrate as there are many voices and even quite a bit of singing (more on that later)

3.  This was originally written as a children’s book – do you think the book would appeal most to children?  Teens?  Adults?  I gave this question quite a bit of thought.  I think children can and will still appreciate this book as they will enjoy the imagery the story put sin your mind…. hobbits, dragons, wizards – whats not to love?  I also think adults can appreciate this one for the history of the story – love of a classic read, and secondly many of us grew up with these stories floating around in the background of our lives… this was our generations paranormal before paranormal was cool…. 🙂

Sadly though, I am not so sure this book/audio would bring in much interest from todays YA crowd.  While an amazing work of literature by my standards, I don’t think it had the elements that the YA readers are looking for – romance, dystopia, paranormal…  if I am wrong on this let me know… I would love to be wrong on this point.  🙂

4.  Did you have a favorite part?  Least favorite part?  I have to admit when Gollum entered the narration I was excited.  Usually one to feel for the under dog, I always have had a soft spot for Gollum/Smeagal…. when the voice came through my car speakers I got chills of excitement… obviously I did not like who Smeagal had become (the rings fault!) but I think in better circumstances, perhaps in  another life…. Gollum could have been a lot like Dobby (HarryPotter books)

Least favorite was all the singing.  I get that it is part of the story, but I have never been one for poetry so even reading song after song in the book I remember got old fast.  On audio… it was just as disturbing to the point that I had to make sure my windows were up when driving through town as I really did not anyone hearing Hobbit songs coming out of my vehicle 😛

I already confessed this to Heather when we chatted at BEA this year, but at one point the songs (song after song after song) became so much while driving that I grabbed a piece of scratch paper and wrote out my own words to a song that came to mind.  I will share it with you on a separate page as I do not want to take away from my thoughts on this audio and review with my crazy thinking.  For inquiring minds you can find the song here:

Play Me Some Hobbit Music

Ok…. moving on… I enjoyed this refresher course in The Hobbit as it reminded me of the story I read so long ago.  I am excited about the movie, which is really what inspired me to want to listen to the audio, and I am glad I did.  Here is a link for those of you who are curious to know more about the movie.  While Orlando Bloom was missing from the latest Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, he has been confirmed for The Hobbit.

Stop over to Heathers at 30+ A Lifetime of Books and see her review today of The Hbbbit and how she answered my questions.  

And for giggles as I am in a very Middle earth mood, I found a Hobbit Name Generator.  For the record… In Middle Earth I would be known as Ruby Hardbottle.  😉

I rented this audio from my local library

Adam March is a married well to do man.  He has a wife who loves her who likes the comforts of having money and a teenage daughter who wants for nothing.  On the brink of becoming CEO of the company he has worked hard in for years, a lapse in judgement, a snap decision, causes Adam to lose everything.  My the mighty have fallen when Adam loses his job, his, home, his wife, his daughter, and his dignity.   Now working off a community service sentence at a local soup kitchen Adam needs to find out where he goes from here.

Chance is a pit bull.  He has born in captivity to pit bull parents who are caged and breed for dog fights.  Chance is pretty proud of his standings, he has a few scars, but usually comes out the victor in his matches.  While life is ok, Chance knows it is not great.  He sees his mother old and tired, they live in fear of the men who cage them never knowing if they are going to eat that day or be beaten.  When Chance has an opportunity to escape, he does and finds himself living as a free dog on the streets.

In a “chance” meeting… both Adam and the dog wind up together.  But what can a man who has nothing to give do with a dog who has known no other life than fighting?  What can a dog offer a man who is broken, bitter, and self-absorbed?

Pit Bulls:  Many areas restrict pit bull ownership such as Canada, Miami Florida, and Denver Colorado.  They are a member of the terrier family and bull-dog family.  These dogs are a popular breed used in dog fighting.

While looking for an audio a couple of weeks back this one came across my path.  I liked the sound of the read (the synopsis on the audio was kind of funny) but… I was concerned about reading about a dog.

Side note – I am really sensitive when it comes to animals. 

But the book pulled me in and I even made a note on a post that this dog better be ok throughout the whole book because I will be mad if this is another book that breaks my heart. 

SO?

I am not going to tell you.

What I am going to tell you is that the alternating parts told from Adams point of view, and then Chances are wonderful.  Usually if I am reading about a dog he is cute and lovable and Chance is not that.  Chance is a pit bull.  He had half an ear and many scars.  He is a fighter and does not know how to be pet (and not really sure he would want to be one!)  Yet the story is told so well that you come to love Chance for who he is on the inside, really just a dog who needs to catch a break. 

I even enjoyed Adam and he is not a likable guy.  He is rough (get it?  “Ruff!”… oh, never mind…) around the edges and angry with the world.  The story, while maybe predictable, still felt unique to me in its telling.  This was one of those audio I could not wait to get back to.

Amazon rating

Good Reads

My 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been update to include One Good Dog

I purchased this audio from audible.com

Susan, Kate, and Sunny has been best friends for years.  It is fun that their three daughters (Lilly, Mary Kate, and Jess), all the same age, are also best friends.  Lilly, Mary Kate, and Jess are popular, college bound Seniors, from good families. 

They are also all three….

pregnant.

The girls had made a pact – a pregnancy pact.  All feeling ready for motherhood they decide to do what it takes to get pregnant and have their babies all grow up together. 

Susan, Lilly’s mother is also principle of the school.  As word gets out the pressures are heavy on Susan to make good decisions for all involved as the Super Attendant worries about copy cats, and the schools reputation.  The girls do not fit the type of student that would do something like this, blowing statistics of what teens to watch for such behavior in.  It doesn’t help that Susan herself was seventeen when she became pregnant with Lilly, and Susan’s own mother and father had pushed her away, leaving her quite literally alone.

As the three mothers put their heads together on how to move forward – most of the attention stays on Susan.  Being in a small town in Maine makes this sort of scandal very news worthy, and after an editorial in the local paper, the news vans are knocking on Susan’s door.  Lilly had no idea that the decision she made with her friends to become pregnant would snowball into the attacks on her own mother.

All three women, Susan, Kate, and Sunny must come to grips with where they failed as mothers, how the dreams they had for their daughters are disappearing, and scathing small town judgment.

I had high hopes for this read.  The synopsis, was interesting.  How do mothers handle daughters who would make such an outrageous pack?  The fact that Susan was also principal of the school was also interesting… how do you make a fair and smart assessment of what is happening when it involves your own daughter? 

On the pro – I liked the characters.  Susan is a strong intelligent woman.  She had raised Lilly on her own, made a career for herself and a home.  Lilly is sweet and likable, strong personality and supportive of her mom and her dad, who does remain in the picture as a supportive parent and friend to Susan. 

The story line rocks…

BUT

On the con – I wanted to kick Lilly in the pants.  Lilly had clearly not thought out the big picture here and still believed that she would have her baby just before graduation, take the summer to “play mom” and be in college yet in the fall.   She is shocked when her mom is not thrilled for her.  She refers to the baby as “our baby” referring to her mom and herself and maybe I am being harsh – but Susan accepts that immediately, where I am thinking… ummmm…. you made the decision to get pregnant, this was not “our” decision, it was yours. 

I found Susan way to easy on Lilly and there is no lesson here.  I am not saying you don’t stand by your children no matter what, of course you do, but you also talk to them about consequences…

All three girls were extremely immature in such a decision for three girls that were suppose to be on their way and intelligent.  They were doing this on their own with no intentions of telling the “dads” that they were going to be dads, as they really planned on doing this on their own.  This just did not ring true for me.

Gah.  I don’t know…. maybe I am reading too much into this. In the end it is a book about friendship through thick and thin, healing and family ties that bind.  I did like the ending very much.

I  have enjoyed Barbara Delinsky’s writing in the past and I am sure I will enjoy it again in the future.  It is so hard to know what to say about this book as I did keep reading – wanting to know how it was all going to end.

My 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Not My Daughter

I borrowed this audio from my local library

Linda is a quilter and as her only daughter Molly readies for college, Linda is working on the quilting project of her life… a memory quilt for Molly.  This quilt has squares hand stitched in from her first blanket, to her kindergarten skirt, to her prom dress.  If was a memory – Linda has saved it to put pieces of it into the quilt.  Even to the point of having the quilt edged with a ruffle of material from Molly’s grandmothers square dancing dress.

Together Linda and Molly embark on the adventure of driving cross-country together from their home in Wyoming to move Molly states away into her dorm room.  Along for this road trip is the unfinished quilt, that Linda is working on while Molly drives in hopes of having it done in time to be placed on Molly’s dorm bed.  As each new scrap of fabric is removed from the large quilt bag, mother and daughter share the memories of the piece, stitching together their bond as mother and daughter with every bit of love and care that is put into the making of this quilt. 

While Linda has fears for her daughter living so far away she wonders if Molly has these same fears.  As the quilt helps them relive the past, mother and daughter and heading mile by mile into the unknown future.

I really wanted to post this review on Mother’s day as this sweet novel is a perfect read for just such an occasion.  Filled with a mothers love for her child, and a child, now a young woman longing to have the chance to move forward on her own. 

Susan Wigg’s had a brilliant idea when she centered the entire story around a quilt that was made of memories, sticking together not only a masterpiece but a story that pulls at the heart-strings.  As I read on I loved the idea of keeping a scrap of life memories and envisioned what my own would have looked like had I the foresight to save such things. 

The characters were well-developed, the story read as you would expect a mother and teenage daughter relationship to go…. Linda asking the questions that plague her – still wanting to be that protector of her daughter even now… Molly letting out exasperating sighs as she  tries not to hurt her mothers feelings but longs for the right to make her mistakes on her own

Throughout the read, both mother and daughter grow in ways that embrace the story line.  My only complaint is that a piece of the ending becomes easy to guess as it is hinted at way too many times throughout the read to the point that about half way through this audio when it was mentioned I was shouting at the speakers how it was all going to come together.  😛

This would make a lovely gift of book or audio to a daughter or to a mother. 

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include The Goodbye Quilt

I found this at my local library