I’m hoping to see this film at some point so it’s good to hear it’s an accurate portrayal of the times. It makes a pleasant change.
Category Archives: Autobiography
BOOK BLITZ: DOUBLE HAPPINESS BY TONY BRASUNAS
It’s the first time I’ve taken part in a virtual book tour, but it’s been a pleasure. Book review to follow, on 31st January.
Two book reviews
I know I said I wasn’t reviewing any books this month because I’m concentrating on my novel but I got to 43000 words yesterday so I took some time off to finish reading an ARC I’d got from http://www.netgalley.com and another book I’d borrowed from the library. My reviews follow.
Review: ‘My Brief History’ by Stephen Hawking
10th September 2013
Bantam
Stephen Hawking has written several popular science books that have been incredibly well received. And now he has written his own story. I have read an uncorrected e-book and am now able to review it.
Continue reading “Review: ‘My Brief History’ by Stephen Hawking”
Review: ‘Did I Say That Out Loud? Conversations About Life’ By Kelly McDermott Harman
Wegost Press
2013
This e-book is 87% true, 13% blarney, according to the author; a collection of humorous personal anecdotes. I couldn’t help but laugh as Kelly described conversations with her family and friends, including the one with her sister about getting concussion from a drunk man three weeks before a further head injury in a car accident, or the time she had to help said sister explain to their parents why she had left her husband, the conversation she had with her family paediatrician about her sons being serial killers in training (creative cricket death was involved), or her mother’s story about quilt shops and concealed weapons permits.
Review: ‘A funny thing happened on the way to heaven’ by Corey Taylor
2013
Ebury Press
This second book by Stone Sour and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor follows on from Seven Deadly Sins in a round about way. He is again pondering the mysteries of life and death while sprinkling the whole with memories. This time it is his experiences with ghosts. Ever since he was young he has had encountered the paranormal and lived in various haunted buildings. People have told him their own ghost stories; they are gathered here with the express intention of starting a conversation.
Corey Taylor is an articulate and intelligent, if uneducated, man and has clearly thought his ideas through. Whether the reader believes the stories he tells or agrees with his hypothesis of ‘intelligent energy’ is up to them. He won’t tell you what to think, only to think.
I’m not sure whether I agree with much that he has written, except that people need to use their intelligence and not let ignorance and dogma control them. He clearly believes and feels strongly about the subject. It shines in his writing. The writing style is conversational, he goes off at a tangent regularly, but that is not necessarily to the detriment of the work.
An enjoyable and interestting look in to the mind of an important member of the Metal music fraternity.
Bye,
Rose
Review: ‘Girl least likely to’ by Liz Jones
4th July 2013
Simon & Schuster UK
Liz Jones is Fashion Editor at the Daily Mail and a columnist for the Mail on Sunday, having worked in the media for the last 30+ years.
Born in 1958 the youngest of seven children to an ex-army captain and a housewife, Liz Jones grew up in a variety of places around Essex wearing handmade and hand me down clothes, but dreaming of working for Vogue. She never quite managed it. Anorexic at 11 and still obsessed with food, having it all and losing it all because she never felt good enough, Ms Jones has considered herself a failure from a young age and has striven to be better.
I think I’ve occasionally read her column, for the simple reason that when I’m at my grandparents flat and I haven’t anything with me to read, it’s the only vaguely honest and interesting piece I can find in the paper. This autobiography is the same; the writing is fluid and moving. I read it in a single sitting.
One review described the book as ‘laugh out loud funny’. I disagree; it’s sad, with odd moments that are funny in hindsight, but must have been embarrassing or painful at the time. A vivid example of how a strong work ethic and success can mask low self-esteem, this is a powerful story.
Rose
Everything Is Better With Dragons 