Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart
A Memoir
Showing posts with label memoir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memoir. Show all posts
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Saturday, September 22, 2012
When I first book blogging, I had a pile of maybe 5 books to read (oh the days when I had less than a room of books in my TBR!) and one of them was Crazy Love by Leslie Morgan Steiner. I really enjoyed the book for what it was. I'm a little obsessed with books about abusive relationships because I like to know I'm not alone. But this book sparked my interest in other memoirs. And while I do enjoy reading memoirs, I find them the hardest to review... on one side I feel like they should be books that we just take in and not speak about and on the other hand I want to share how amazing it is that this person had the courage to tell their story, whatever it is and put a huge part of themselves out into the public to be ripped by someone they don't even know.
Why is it that some people enjoy reading memoirs that are essentially about someone else's life? Does that make us nosey? I mean, maybe not because it's them who put this work out into the world but does anyone else feel a little nosey when they read memoirs? No? Just me? Oh, okay lol.
Aside from serious memoirs I also enjoy ones about other people who were also cast members for Disney parks and how their experience was or Unnaturally Green by Felicia Ricci who was our Wicked Elphaba standby in San Francisco. I was curious to know what went on back stage and what did Wicked cast do on their free time?!
I bring this up because as I was reading someone else's blog post about their top favorite memoirs, they mentioned Lucky by Alice Sebold and as I was reading the reviews on Amazon, I was amazed at what some of these people said about the book which is about her being a rape survivor. The book got a ton of really great reviews and it also got a lot of really awful offensive reviews. How can someone just say someone's memoir about rape is boring? What?!
Have you read any memoirs? Do you enjoy them or stay away from them?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Release Date: Sept 20th, 2011 by Felicia/Ricci
Details: 286 pages, paperback
Genre: Memoir
Source: Author (Thank you so so much Felicia!)
Summary (Goodreads):
Ever wonder what it's like to perform in a megahit musical (when you have little idea what you're doing)? From her audition to closing night -- to every moment in between -- Felicia takes you behind the scenes of her first professional show (ever!) as she understudies the lead character of Elphaba in Wicked's San Francisco company.
As she leaps professional hurdles, she faces personal challenges as well: falling in love after heartbreak (with a spatula-wielding muscle hunk), living far away from home (in the worst neighborhood of all time), confronting her overachiever demons (and an all-consuming fear of failure), and learning, time and again, what it means to be green.
Hop into the mind of a total newbie as she gazes at professional theater's Man Behind the Curtain, in all his naked glory. Who could look away?
As you might know, I'm a huge huge fan of the musical Wicked (in fact I've seen it a total of 14 times in the last 2 years). Felicia was our Elphaba standby in San Francisco when they were here from 2009 - 2010 and although I never had the pleasure of seeing Felicia on stage as Elphaba, I was a huge fan of the blog she kept up while she was here. As a fan of a production and cast, you're always curious to know if they're normal people like us (okay, tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this!) and what is it that they do on their free time.
Unnaturally Green covers all those, and more. Felicia takes us on her journey to becoming the green girl from the very beginning up until her very last day in San Francisco. While I was lucky enough to see Behind The Emerald Curtain (while it was hosted by the amazing Nicolas Dromard) and to tour backstage (as you can see here -- which is one of my most viewed posts, yeah I don't know), there still a lot to be curious about and Felicia does a great job with taking you step by step with how everything comes together.
And maybe it's just me but I totally squealed when there was any scene having to do with Nic or Neka or Etai or Eden lol.
Unnaturally Green is a great read for those who are fans of not just Wicked but theater as well and are curious to know what life is like on and off stage. Felicia's memoir is full of humor and laugh out loud funny moments (like the conversation with her and Neka about her... problem lol) and rich memories.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Alexis by Alexis SingerRelease Date: Aug 2nd, 2010
Details: 168 pages, paperback
Source: Publisher (Thank you HCI Teens!)
Series: Kinda (Louder Than Words)
Rating: 3 out of 5
Summary (goodreads):
At the age of sixteen, Alexis Singer was solicited by, manipulated by, and eventually became involved with a married thirty-seven-year-old man over the Internet. He coerced her into having cybersex with him and sending him explicit photos of herself.
I feel incredibly awkward rating someone's personal experience.
Alexis takes us on the journey of what it's like to be seduced by an online predator. I had a few mixed feelings about this book... I've been on the internet for years, and maybe it's just me, but I've never given out my real name to someone I don't know. The only time I've given out my name online was on a forum my real life friends were on, but even then, I gave out only my nickname. To me, the funny thing about the internet is, you can be whoever you want to be. And when I was younger, I wanted to be someone else. So I always was (to be completely honest right now, Marie isn't my real name, but it is half of my real name so I guess I'm not exactly lying). I wondered through out the book why she would give out her real name or real life information, but I guess (after discussing this with my husband) it's common for people to not really think about it.
The signs that Alexis' predator gave were obvious ones and she even admits that she eventually knew where this would lead, but yet she still came back for more. She still craved his attention, even though he knew her requests were wrong. What he was doing was wrong. And I can't help but think, she could had easily logged off, or easily turned off the laptop. I know that her addiction to him was hard and unexplainable, but somewhere in there you have to realize that he's married and this is wrong. And just let it go. I hate how that statement made me sound like a jerk, I don't want it to sound like I'm saying "oh well it's just that easy" because I can imagine it's not. I was happy with the outcome and that she eventually did release herself from that situation. I was curious to know what happened to the predator after.
Internet experiences are... crazy. I guess I was lucky enough that my first online "relationship" (which was with a guy, across the country) wasn't anything crazy, but we're now Facebook friends and we still do talk a lot from time to time. And another online "relationship" which ended up much more awkward (and I have to admit, I did form an addiction to this guy at several points, but we're around the same age) is that he completely lied about who he was. His name, his race, his age, and what he looked like. It wasn't until 6 years after I knew him (and keep in mind, we kept in touch all those years!) that I tracked down his real MySpace and confronted him about it. Which resulted in him not speaking to me for a few days because he didn't know what to say. But in the end, I'm glad to know who he really is. At least all other events in his life weren't false. At least, I'm hoping they weren't...
I do recommend this book for younger teens, especially in these times where they're spending more time online and on social networking sites (I mean come on, my husband's 5 year old sister's TV shows talk about MySpace and she goes online!) which can be so much more dangerous than forums and chat rooms! I recommend it to parents with teens who spend a lot of time on the internet as well, just to be informed of a real life experience of something that can really happen.
*Thank you to HCI Teens for the chance to review this book on my blog!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
To Serve My Country by Jenna TurnipseedPublished: March 25th 2009
Details: Paperback, 144 pages
Disclosure: Bought from Amazon.com
Summery (Goodreads):
Young woman searching for purpose, a young soldier making her mark in the world. The author puts her life, her thoughts, her challenges, and her pride on display in this insightful story of a young woman's discovery of self. This coming-of-age biography shows how she discovered meaning in her life; conveying an honest and emotional portrayal of life in service to her country. This is the true story of a young woman venturing out into the world seeking adventure, and discovering life, love and herself.
To Serve My Country is about Jenna, and her journey through the United States Army as a female solider.
There isn't much I can say about the book, it's pretty much summed up in the sentence above. The book does take you on her journey, it shares with you the experience of being in the military, the freedom you don't have, the hardships... it also focuses on her life, her life as a wife and as a mother. On her decision to re-enlist or to not. About her journey back in the military later in life but with the National Guard and how different that was for her since she was so use to the Army ways.
This was a quick read for me and while I did enjoy it, I also didn't. It didn't tell me anything new, I know what people see when they're deployed. The stories she didn't weren't what I didn't like, it was the structure of the pages that bothered me. It read more like a published blog. The chapters were short and had one word titles. She could had added a little more detail in certain area's. Or explained a few more things more clearly.
I would recommend this book if you're a female thinking of joining the military of if you're curious to know what it's like, this book is a great insight on that. But if not, I probably wouldn't recommend this book.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Loose Girl by Kerry CohenPublished: June 3rd, 2008
Details: Hardcover, 224 pages
Summary (Goodreads):
Some girls turn to alcohol. Some to drugs. Kerry Cohen turned to sex. This is her memoir.
The thing I hate the most about writing reviews is that I always think that my review could be so much better after I've posted it.
There's so much I could say about this book, I don't know where to start! And I'm afraid my review won't reflect exactly how I feel about it.
Loose Girl is about Kerry. Her parents got divorced when she was young leaving her to live with her attention seeking mother who played victim every chance she got and her sister who catered to their mother's games. Her mom suddenly decides to be a nurse and moves across the globe, leaving them with their father. Awkward, right? Kerry spends her whole life seeking for something to fill a void in her life. And she does this by seducing boys. Boy after boy after boy... after boy. She comes off as needy when they won't give in and she convinces herself that she's ruined everything. Then moves on to the next. She holds a few relationships here and there, but that void seems to never be filled. She does eventually wise up, she goes to college to pursue her dreams and she meets someone who changes everything.
I really, really, really liked this book. From the moment I opened it, I was hooked. I was sucked into Kerry's story because it sounded so much like my own. I know, this is a book blog but hey, it's also a blog so if I want to incorporate my own feelings into my reviews, then I should be able to!
Reading through the pages of this book brought me back to it all. The never ending itch and desire to feel loved, wanted and accepted by anyone through sex. Even if it was feeling wanted for 2 minutes. In my mind, it was always at least for those 2 minutes he wanted me. Even knowing that at the end of the day, it's just going to hurt you more. Her story about her mother and her sister brought me back to my own past (and sometimes, present). I thought it was ironic that she went to school for writing and I myself am going to school for writing and also, finding that someone who turned it all around.
I know people have a problem with this book as far as she didn't put much detail or more into her wising up. But if I were to write my own memoir, what exactly would you say about that area of your life? There isn't much to say. When it comes to happiness and finally understanding that this doesn't have to be you, there isn't really much to say.
Wonderful book with an eye opening experience that people should know about. Definitely one of my favorites.
Rating: LOVED IT!
There's so much I could say about this book, I don't know where to start! And I'm afraid my review won't reflect exactly how I feel about it.
Loose Girl is about Kerry. Her parents got divorced when she was young leaving her to live with her attention seeking mother who played victim every chance she got and her sister who catered to their mother's games. Her mom suddenly decides to be a nurse and moves across the globe, leaving them with their father. Awkward, right? Kerry spends her whole life seeking for something to fill a void in her life. And she does this by seducing boys. Boy after boy after boy... after boy. She comes off as needy when they won't give in and she convinces herself that she's ruined everything. Then moves on to the next. She holds a few relationships here and there, but that void seems to never be filled. She does eventually wise up, she goes to college to pursue her dreams and she meets someone who changes everything.
I really, really, really liked this book. From the moment I opened it, I was hooked. I was sucked into Kerry's story because it sounded so much like my own. I know, this is a book blog but hey, it's also a blog so if I want to incorporate my own feelings into my reviews, then I should be able to!
Reading through the pages of this book brought me back to it all. The never ending itch and desire to feel loved, wanted and accepted by anyone through sex. Even if it was feeling wanted for 2 minutes. In my mind, it was always at least for those 2 minutes he wanted me. Even knowing that at the end of the day, it's just going to hurt you more. Her story about her mother and her sister brought me back to my own past (and sometimes, present). I thought it was ironic that she went to school for writing and I myself am going to school for writing and also, finding that someone who turned it all around.
I know people have a problem with this book as far as she didn't put much detail or more into her wising up. But if I were to write my own memoir, what exactly would you say about that area of your life? There isn't much to say. When it comes to happiness and finally understanding that this doesn't have to be you, there isn't really much to say.
Wonderful book with an eye opening experience that people should know about. Definitely one of my favorites.
Rating: LOVED IT!
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