Hello Bibliophiles and Book Dragons! August is almost over, and my favorite time of year is just days away....fall/autumn. While my husband has been very ill this whole month, and I've been recovering from an infected tooth removal that was very painful, I still managed to get four books read and ready for review. Lets get to the tidbits and then the reviews following after.
Though I've not read the book, this sounds like a riveting TV show.
TV: Black Cake
Chipo Chung (His Dark Materials) and Anthony Mark Barrow (V) have joined the cast of Black Cake https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAXbxb4I6aoxIEpyHA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jCCcT2poMLg-gVdw, a family drama in the works for Hulu that is based on the book by Charmaine Wilkerson. Deadline reported that "Chung will play Eleanor Bennett, who leaves behind a series of recordings after losing her battle with cancer. Her stories chronicle her journey from the Caribbean to America that shock her surviving children, and challenge everything they thought they knew about the woman who raised them.... Barrow will recur as Clarence 'Little Man' Henry, the head of a powerful family in Jamaica in the 1960s who is feared and respected by the Island community."
Marissa Jo Cerar wrote the adaptation and serves as showrunner for Black Cake, which is from Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films and Aaron Kaplans' Kapital Entertainment.
This is something else that might not appeal to me in book form, but as a movie could be quite inspiring and funny.
Movies: The Greatest Beer Run Ever
A trailer has been released for The Greatest Beer Run Ever https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAXcl7kI6aoxJxl1Hw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jCDpbxpoMLg-gVdw, based on the book The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War by John "Chick" Donohue and J.T. Molloy. People reported that Zac Efron "stars as real-life accidental local hero Chickie Donohue, who in 1967 decided on a whim to bring beer from his New York neighborhood to his friends serving in the Vietnam War." The film, which also stars Russell Crowe and Bill Murray, premieres in theaters and on Apple TV+ September 30.
"When I met with Zac, what struck
me was he was at a very interesting place in his career," said director
Peter Farrelly. "He said, 'I really want to do something different.' And
what he does here, in my eyes, is that.... Zac's the most open actor I've ever
worked with. A lot of times you do a scene, you go up to the actor afterwards,
and you're giving him notes, but you can see they're in their own head, like
running it through, figuring it out themselves, they're really not listening to
you. Zac's the opposite."
Please do read banned books! They're always the juiciest ones!
Banned Books Display: Novel Bay Booksellers
Novel Bay Booksellers, Sturgeon Bay, Wis., shared a photo of the shop's banned books display on Facebook, noting: "This morning: Overheard at the banned book display https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAXckeUI6aoxJx0nSQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jCDpCtpoMLg-gVdw: man pointing to Where the Wild Things Are says, 'That book scared me.' Another man says, while pointing to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 'Maya Angelou? She's a national treasure!' A group makes a beeline for the display because as one young adult said, 'That's how you know what to read.' "
I did read a Gentleman in Moscow, and though I had problems with it a couple of times, I did enjoy it in the end, and now I am looking forward to the adorable Ewan McGregor to do this role justice with all of his delightful Scottish brio.
TV: A Gentleman in Moscow
Ewan McGregor (Star Wars franchise, Halston, Trainspotting) will play Count Alexander Rostov in the upcoming series A Gentleman in Moscow https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAXdlusI6aoxJ01xHQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jCD5ejpoMLg-gVdw, an adaptation of Amor Towles's 2016 novel. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the project "is set to commence production later this year and will debut in the U.S. on Showtime and on Paramount+ internationally."
"It's an amazing, wonderful story, and I am very excited to get to play such a fabulous role," said McGregor, who is also executive producer.
A Gentleman in Moscow is written by showrunner and executive producer Ben Vanstone (All Creatures Great and Small, The Last Kingdom). It is the first production to come through eOne's first-look deal with Tom Harper's company Popcorn Storm Pictures.
Harper, who will also executive produce with Xavier Marchand (Nautilus, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris) and Towles, said: "The book is a rare and delicious treat, and I fell in love with it the moment I picked it up six years ago. We are thrilled that Amor entrusted this brilliant team with bringing the [Hotel] Metropol to life and couldn't be more delighted that Ewan will be playing the Count."
Things my Son Needs to Know about the World by Fredrik Backman is a funny little non fiction book (I mean that literally, it isn't even 200 pages long) that had me wondering what Backman, the author of great books like A Man Called Ove and Britt-Marie Was Here had to say to his son that was so important that he made it into a book. What this book ends up being is a collection of essays about how immature and awkward and ridiculous Backman is, as a man and a father, and how deeply grateful he is to have a competent and intelligent wife, who seemingly overlooks his stupidity on a regular basis. Here's the blurb: 'You can be whatever you want to be, but that's nowhere near as important as knowing that you can be exactly who you are'
In between the sleep-obsessed lows and oxytocin-fuelled highs, Backman
takes a step back to share his own experience of fatherhood and how he
navigates such unchartered territory.
Part memoir, part manual, part love letter to his son, this book relays the big and the small lessons in life. As he watches his son take his first steps into the world, he teaches
him how to navigate both love - and IKEA - and tries to explain why,
sometimes, his dad might hold his hand just a little bit too tightly.
This is an irresistible and insightful collection from one of the
world's most beautiful storytellers - the bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown.
The thing is, there's less actual advice and more comedic riffs on Backman's own life and inability to act like a responsible adult in this book. It's almost cringe-worthy that a grown man thinks it's charming that he's always screwing up in the most destructive or embarrassing ways, and he feels the need to relay all this to his infant/toddler son. These are not things I'd want to relive once I am a teenager or young adult, especially about my father. There are some things that are actual advice, and I get why he's spouting those, but by the time his son is a young man, these things will seem hopelessly outdated and old fashioned. Though I did laugh at times in this book, I really felt that what Backman needs is someone to tell him that he can stop trying to be a stupid teenage boy who wants to be in a rock band with his buddies, and grow the heck up and face his responsibilities with a bit more gravitas and expertise. Children learn by making their own mistakes, not by reading about their parent's mistakes. Anyway, I'd give this book a B, mainly because I really admire Backman's wife for putting up with him, and I am glad that his son has made him reflect on what it means to be a man.
Violeta by Isabel Allende is a fictional work about a 100 year old woman describing her life and loves in detail to her grandson. While it is lovingly and evocatively written, I was ultimately bored when the plot was mired in all the horrible South American and American politics. Here's the blurb:
There was a great deal of Violetta's life story that was passionate and engrossing, but I failed to make a strong connection to her as a protagonist because she seemed like a person who wasn't happy no matter what was happening, and just when it seemed that she might finally grasp the brass ring, something else would come along and destroy her life and her chance at happiness. It was all very melodramatic and over the top. What might be seen as passionate by others seemed like tantrums and immature behavior to me. Still, I'd give this novel a B-, and recommend it to anyone who likes telenovellas about a long and political life.
Yes, Chef, a memoir by Marcus Samuelsson is an eye opening non fictional look into what it takes to become a world-class chef, especially if you are a person of color (POC, or BIPOC). I found the prose and the storytelling riveting and I could hardly put the book down as Marcus glides through the various kitchens and encounters the powerful people who run them, who are also mostly racists. I also enjoyed Marcus's take on the great food network chef stars like Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay, both of whom are real racist, classist jerks, unsurprisingly. Here's the blurb: “One of the great culinary stories of our time.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times
It
begins with a simple ritual: Every Saturday afternoon, a boy who loves
to cook walks to his grandmother’s house and helps her prepare a roast
chicken for dinner. The grandmother is Swedish, a retired domestic. The
boy is Ethiopian and adopted, and he will grow up to become the
world-renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson. This book is his love letter to
food and family in all its manifestations. Yes, Chef chronicles
Samuelsson’s journey, from his grandmother’s kitchen to his arrival in
New York City, where his outsize talent and ambition finally come
together at Aquavit, earning him a New York Times
three-star rating at the age of twenty-four. But Samuelsson’s career of
chasing flavors had only just begun—in the intervening years, there
have been White House state dinners, career crises, reality show
triumphs, and, most important, the opening of Red Rooster in Harlem. At
Red Rooster, Samuelsson has fulfilled his dream of creating a truly
diverse, multiracial dining room—a place where presidents rub elbows
with jazz musicians, aspiring artists, and bus drivers. It is a place
where an orphan from Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, living in America, can
feel at home.
I loved that Marcus S was so driven to mix various cultures flavor profiles to create something new and exciting, while still maintaining the quality and cultural importance of each dish. He had my mouth watering at the description of so many of his dishes. What I didn't love was that Marcus sacrificed everything on the altar of his ambition, including treating his former girlfriend and mother of his daughter like they didn't exist, and having his parents pay his child support for years. He doesn't even meet his daughter until she's 15. I understand being scrappy and working hard to pursue your dream, but you don't have to use that as an excuse to be a sh*tty person/parent. Chefs are allowed to have personal lives. I was also dismayed by the amount of racism and classism there is in the restaurant business. I would have thought we would have evolved more by this point, but I was obviously mistaken. This made me realize how many cooking shows on the Food Network are all white affairs. This is a real shame, as Chefs like Marcus S bring exciting African cuisine to people who might not have had a chance to experience or enjoy it. I also loved that Marcus paid it forward by helping other POC and children of color learn about cooking and African cuisine in particular. Anyway, I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who is a "foodie" or interested in what it takes to be a world-class chef.
Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor is an atmospheric, dark and almost gothic YA fantasy that has echoes of the wonderful "Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern in it, with a bit of the glamor and mystique of Alice Hoffman's Magic series and MJ Roses jewelry and scents fantasies. The prose is luxurious and the plot twisty enough to keep readers glued to the page. Here's the blurb: Decadent and darkly enchanting, this lavish YA
fantasy debut follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the
deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.
All
her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with
her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town
of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel
Magnifique comes to town.
The hotel is legendary not only for
its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing
in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t
afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to
join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of
their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are
unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding
dangerous secrets.
With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as
her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the
magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from
the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to
risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than
never returning home.
While I understand that we're supposed to find Jani's extreme attachment to her pouting and spoiled/selfish sister Zosa charming, I didn't really like either girl, and found Jani's mean French snobbery, rudeness and dissatisfaction with everything around her, good and bad, to be tedious and annoying. I wanted to smack them both for getting into trouble that nearly gets them killed in every chapter (and it ends up with Zosa losing some of her fingers), when they're repeatedly told what is dangerous and what to steer clear of. In a hotel full of power-hungry psychopaths, it's a wonder that either girl gets out alive. Also, I don't see how the "romance" between Jani and Bel was kept alive when both seemed to have nothing but angry words and contempt for the other. I guess that is what counts for courting in France? The magic was a bit too grotesque for me, and most of the characters wielding it were pure evil, so I found myself struggling to see the point of this fantastical journey. Still the ending was lovely and I was glad to have read it. So I'd give this pretty volume an A-, and recommend it to anyone who is a Francophile and a lover of dark and disturbing magical fantasy stories.
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