Cher: The Memoir, Part One

I have never been a particular follower of Cher and I don’t recall ever watching her television show(s) but there was something about the description of her recent memoir – as well as the way she has reinvented herself over the years – that intrigued me and caused me to put it on my Fall 2024 Reading List.

Here is the publisher’s hyperbolic description:

The extraordinary life of Cher can be told by only one person . . . Cher herself.

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

In The Demon of Unrest, Erik Larson looks at the months leading up to the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, starting with the gallantry of Southern life (for the ruling class only) and the election of Lincoln, which agitated slave owners who assumed he would challenge their way of life and their prosperity.  As revealed in this narrative, the months leading to the attack on Sumter seem like a train careening off the tracks but with many moments when it seems someone should have been able to stop it.

Five Things including a Book Sale

Last week, my mother and I attended an author event at Boston College featuring Celeste Ng, which we enjoyed. BC has a freshman seminar in which many read Ng’s first novel, Everything I Never Told You. It was great to see several hundred students listening to Ng describe her writing process, including her habit of beginning her books with a very dramatic sentence.  I had to check this out:

Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust

Title: Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury

Author: Drew Gilpin Faust

Publication: Farrar Straus & Giroux, hardcover, 2023
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Her official name was Catharine, but she never used it. Her father, though from a wealthy Ivy League background, wanted only to breed horses, so that was what he did. The girl grew up in rural, segregated Virginia in the fifties, reading Nancy Drew and pony books, riding horses, raising steers with the 4H Club, attending a small country school.

Would you be surprised to learn that she would become the president of Harvard?

England Was an Island Once by Elswyth Thane – for the #1940Club

Title: England Was an Island Once
Author: Elswyth Thane
Publication: Harcourt, Brace and Company, hardcover, 1940
Genre: Memoir/History
Setting: England just before WWII

This week, Karen of Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon of Stuck in a Book are hosting the 1940 Club in which we all read and write about books published in the same year.

Happy Landings: Emilie Loring’s Life, Writing, and Wisdom by Patti Bender

Title: Happy Landings: Emilie Loring’s Life, Writing, and Wisdom
Author: Patti Bender
Publication: City Point Press, hardcover, 2023
Genre: Biography/Literary Criticism
Setting: Massachusetts and Maine

Patti Bender has created a biography of Boston-born writer Emilie Loring that is part labor of love and part interpretive narrative, describing a life story that was rich in friendship, idealism, and dedication to family – all of which were revealed in her books.

Widows of the Ice: The Women That Scott’s Antarctic Expedition Left Behind by Anne Fletcher

Title: Widows of the Ice: The Women That Scott’s Antarctic Expedition Left Behind
Author: Anne Fletcher
Publication: Amberley Publishing, hardcover, 2022
Genre: History
Setting: Britain and Antarctica

Description: British Naval Officer Robert Falcon Scott led two expeditions to the Antarctic: the Discovery expedition of 1901–1904 and the Terra Nova expedition of 1910–1913, from which he did not return.

The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: A Memoir by Justine Cowan

Title: The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: A Memoir
Author: Justine Cowan
Publication: HarperCollins, hardcover, 2021
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir/Social History
Setting: 20th century Great Britain

Description: Justine Cowan, an environmental attorney, grew up in a privileged home in Northern California, with a quiet, respected lawyer father and a British-born mother who was hypercritical of her daughters. Embittered by their troubled relationship, Justine distanced herself from her parents after leaving for college and it was not until after her mother’s death that she learned her mother had been raised in the famous Foundling Hospital in London, founded by Thomas Coram in the 18th century.

Heroes Are Human by Bob Delaney

Title: Heroes Are Human
Author: Bob Delaney with Dave Scheiber
Foreword: Dr. Richard Mollica
Publication: City Point Press, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Inspiration/Self Help

Description: In Heroes are Human: Lessons in Resilience, Courage, and Wisdom from the COVID Front Lines, author Delaney, who has survived trauma himself, looks at how our country’s medical professionals managed to cope with stress and hardship in order to provide care to patients.

Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas

Title: Funny in Farsi
Author: Firoozeh Dumas
Publication: Villard, hardcover, 2003
Genre: Memoir
Setting: California

Description: This warm and witty memoir tells the story of an Iranian family and its enthusiastic misadventures with life in America, embracing Thanksgiving and game shows on television, learning English with bafflement, and the author’s eventual marriage to a Frenchman she met at Cal Berkeley, which resulted in even more of a melting pot experience.

Literary Trails, British Writers in Their Landscapes by Christina Hardyment

Title: Literary Trails
Author: Christina Hardyment
Publication: The National Trust/Harry N. Abrams, hardcover, 2000
Genre: Nonfiction

Hardyment is a British writer who more than shares my love of literary pilgrimages. This oversized, illustrated book contains eight chapters of essays, pictures, vignettes about particular authors, timelines, maps, and more.

Fauci, Expect the Unexpected (Life Lessons from the Great Doctor)

Title: Fauci, Expect the Unexpected
Subtitle: Ten Lessons on Truth, Service, and the Way Forward
Publication: National Geographic, hardcover, 2021
Genre: Nonfiction/Inspirational

Description: Based on interviews from a National Geographic documentary, this book from world-renowned infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci shares the lessons that have shaped his life philosophy, offering a close-up view of one of the world’s greatest medical minds as well as universal advice to live by.

The Juvenile Novels of World War II by Desmond Taylor

Title: The Juvenile Novels of World War II
Author: Desmond Taylor
Publication: Greenwood Press, hardcover, 1994
Genre: Nonfiction/Reference

Description: World War II significantly impacted the lives of children who grew up during that time. From the start of World War II to the present day, many novels have been written on this subject for children and young adults, and these novels typically depict the impact of the war on the lives of young people.

Bookshelf Traveling - September 26

Time for another round of Bookshelf Traveling in Insane Times which was created by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness and is currently hosted by Katrina at Pining for the West.   The idea is to share one of your neglected bookshelves or perhaps a new pile of books.

This is an American History shelf that features some admired authors.  On the left are several books by David McCullough.   My parents heard him speak at Roxbury Latin and asked him to autograph John Adams (2001) for me.  I remember my friend Duncan read Truman (1992) aloud to his newborn when it first came out and that baby just got engaged!  I listened to the audio of Mornings on Horseback (1981)(about Theodore Roosevelt) as I drove to Quebec a year ago.   I also really liked The Wright Brothers (2015) but do not own that one.   Next is Down with the Old Canoe, A Cultural History of the Titanic Disaster (1996) by Steven Biel.  I have a separate section for books about the Titanic so this book is in the wrong place!  I think I got it mixed up with Tippecanoe and Tyler too, the 1840 campaign song my father told me about long ago. 

Bookshelf Traveling to India - July 11

Time for another round of Bookshelf Traveling in Insane Times which is being hosted by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness.   The idea is to share one of your neglected bookshelves or perhaps a new pile of books. 

Judith mentioned M.M. Kaye’s mysteries recently and that sent me to my India bookshelf. In the early days of HBO, coverage included Wimbledon and my family subscribed because we were big tennis fans.  HBO also aired its first miniseries, The Far Pavilions, based on Kaye’s 1978 novel and starring Ben Cross, Amy Irving, and Omar Sharif (when I checked the cast, I saw there is talk of a remake). The cinematography would have made it worth watching even if the story and acting hadn’t been very compelling!  The next day I went to the library to get a copy of the book, set in the 19th century Raj about a young Englishman born in India but raised in England; when he returns to India as an officer he falls in love with an Indian princess and struggles with cultural divides.  Kaye also wrote a well-reviewed three-book memoir, beginning with The Sun in the Morning (1990) about her childhood in India.  One critic wrote, "No romance in the novels of M.M. Kaye... could equal her love for India."   Shadow of the Moon, one of her other historicals, is just as good or better than The Far Pavilions, however.

What to Read During a Pandemic

While some people are compiling recommendations of dystopian angst or Stephen King-like disaster, my rules are different. The book can’t be depressing (of course, depressing is in the eye of the beholder), it has to be worth reading more than once, and it needs to be available as an eBook or from Project Gutenberg.  It would be diabolical to make you long for something you cannot get quickly and I am rarely so cruel!  Also, remember that your library owns many eBooks and may be willing to purchase more.  Download Libby, if you haven't already!

Fiction

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson: Major Ernest Pettigrew is perfectly content to lead a quiet life in the sleepy village of Edgecombe St Mary, away from the meddling of the locals and his overbearing son.  Then an unexpected friendship between the crusty, retired military officer and Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village, scandalizes everyone.

The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman: Natalie’s family is stunned when the Vermont resort they want to visit answers their inquiry, “Our guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are Gentiles."  She is determined to go anyway and it becomes a mission.

Favorite Reads of 2019

Happy New Year and wishing you many delightful reads in 2020! I am enjoying seeing other people's "Best of" year-end lists, even when I haven't read any of their books.  There is always room on my TBR pile for books that sound appealing.

Historical Fiction

Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce (2018)
This wound up being my favorite book of the year!  A warm and emotional story of a young woman who yearns to be a war correspondent during WWII but finds a job instead working on advice magazine during the day (what the Brits call an Agony Aunt) while doing her bit for the war at night as bombs fall.  You know how much I like books with WWII settings but some have become almost a cliche of tired plots.   This was fresh and appealing, humorous at times, heartbreaking at others, and altogether delightful. Those who remember Dear Lovey Hart will love it.

Favorite Reads of 2018

Adult Fiction

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

Do you ever save a book by a favorite author for just the right moment?   When I bought this, I was toiling miserably at a law firm and reading in short bursts on the subway.  The Rose Garden deserved uninterrupted attention and I finally I curled up with it on a cold fall day in 2018 and was swept away to Cornwall.  It starts slower than her other books, so be patient, but that made the eventual smoldering tension all the better.   I also recommend The Winter Sea, which was one of my favorite books of 2010.  Kearsley is the closest thing to Mary Stewart I have found.

That's What She Said by Kimothy Joy (Book Review)

Title: That’s What She Said: Wise Words from Influential Women
Author: Kimothy Joy
Publication: HarperCollins Wave, hardcover, April 2018
Genre: Nonfiction/Women/Inspirational/Gift

Description: This is an illustrated book that blends watercolor and short biography to showcase the contributions of more than fifty influential female leaders.  Author/editor Kimothy Joy found herself poring over the biographies of brave women throughout history—those who persisted in the face of daunting circumstances—to learn from their experiences. Turning to art, Joy channeled her feelings to the canvas, bringing these strong women to life in bold watercolor portraits surrounded by inspirational hand-lettered quotes. She shared her watercolors with her online community and encouraged everyone to raise their own voices and recharge for the battles ahead.

Now Joy has gathered her memorable illustrations and quotes and paired them with surprising, illuminating biographies of her subjects to inspire women of all ages, races, and backgrounds. That’s What She Said honors a powerful and diverse group of over fifty women—from Maya Angelou, Gloria Steinem, and Virginia Woolf to Sojourner Truth, Malala Yousafzai, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg—role models whose words and insights remind us that we must never give up the fight for a more just and equitable society.

This appealing book celebrates strong female leadership throughout history and may inspire current and future generations to find their voices and create change in their communities.

Audience: Readers who appreciate intelligent, outspoken women

Michelle Obama takes the high road *

My Impressions: Rather than simply review this book, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes:

Emmeline Pankhurst – This famous suffragette family has interested me since I was a teen when I watched a miniseries called Shoulder to Shoulder about them.

“As long as women consent to be unjustly governed, they will be.”

Jane Addams – Ever since I read a Childhood of Famous Americans biography of Jane Addams, she has been a favorite (and that was before I learned more about her from Emily of Deep Valley)

“True Peace is not merely the absence of war; it is the presence of justice.”

Grace Hopper – brilliant mathematician and Naval Rear Admiral

“Probably the most dangerous phrase that anyone could use in the world today is the dreadful one: “But we’ve always done it that way.”

Eleanor Roosevelt – perhaps the most impressive First Lady

“Do what you feel in your heart is right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.”

About the Author: Kimothy Joy is a Denver-based artist whose work combines watercolor and pen with hand lettering. Her artwork tries to add a sincere and hopeful message of empowerment to women and girls in a conversation where that is often lacking. She collaborates with like-minded individuals and organizations such as Melinda Gates, Reese Witherspoon's digital media company HelloSunshine, GUCCI, The Huffington Post, I AM THAT GIRL, and more - to spread a positive message of joy. 

Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Harper Collins IndieBound

Source: I was provided a pre-publication copy of this book by the publisher and TLC Book Tours for review purposes.   Please visit other stops on the tour by clicking below:

Tuesday, April 3rd: A Bookish Affair

Wednesday, April 4th: G. Jacks Writes

Thursday, April 5th: bookchickdi

Tuesday, April 10th: Leigh Kramer

Wednesday, April 11th: Literary Quicksand

Thursday, April 12th: Instagram: @thats_what_she_read

Wednesday, April 18th: Stranded in Chaos

Thursday, April 19th: A Bookish Way of Life

TBD: Instagram: @hollyslittlebookreviews

TBD: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

*Image of Michelle Obama is copyright to HarperCollins; shared above to show the illustrated format of the book

Forty Autumns (Book Review)

Title: Forty Autumns
Author: Nina Willner
Publication: William Morrow, trade paperback, 2017
Genre: Memoir/History

Plot: After World War II ended, the Russians took control of the eastern part of Germany, where Hanna, a pretty teenager and eldest of a large family, begins to question the repressive communist regime controlling what becomes East Germany. Her father, a respected educator, conforms to protect his family while her mother maintains optimism publicly but privately encourages Hanna to make a perilous escape to freedom in West Germany. Although Hanna eventually marries and settles in the United States, she never forgets her family, despite years with only an occasional censored letter as contact. This book depicts Hanna and her family, including the daughter and author – who amazingly became an Army intelligence officer stationed in Berlin – as well as the fascinating story of the family she left behind, their suffering and perseverance during the forty years before the Berlin Wall came down.

Audience: Fans of WWII historical fiction, books about strong women, 20th century history

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Library

My Impressions: This is an amazing book that reads like fiction but with the chill of knowing it really happened as the author describes. I have read many novels set around WWII but little about the Cold War (unless you count some later Helen MacInnes), and a review I read last year in Publishers Weekly or Kirkus caught my attention, so I was delighted to have this opportunity to review Forty Autumns. I cannot recommend it more highly, and believe Forty Autumns will make a great book group selection when it is my turn to pick.

Willner’s achievement is not merely her ability to tell the story of three generations of courageous women but the way she vividly portrays their parallel lives, their endurance, and the way they kept each other in their thoughts. Her research and careful reconstruction of events she did not personally experience is also impressive.

While Hanna was making a new life for herself in Heidelberg and later when she is living in the US, bringing up six children, she yearns for her family, unaware of the suffering they are experiencing and sending care packages that are rarely received. I liked the way author described the sense of connection between Hanna and her youngest sister Heidi, who met only once when Heidi and her mother briefly visited Heidelberg, but despite a significant age difference, that meeting gave Heidi the courage to resist the communist doctrine she was fed by her community. I especially liked the juxtaposition of the next generation – that while the author is stationed in Berlin as a young intelligence officer her younger cousin Cordula, on the other side of the Wall, is being groomed as an elite athlete for East Germany.

Hanna’s parents are the true heroes of this book: the father who tries to reconcile his love of teaching with the communist doctrine he is forced to incorporate to his curriculum for the sake of keeping his family safe, and the mother who tries to preserve the affection and loyalty that will protect her children through the deprivations they are forced to endure. I also appreciated hearing about the brave individuals who tried to escape but were killed in the attempt and a few, like the intrepid Gunter Wetzel, who flew over in a hot air balloon. It is hard to imagine oneself being that courageous.

Source: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher for review purposes. Thank you also to TLC Book Tours for inviting me to participate in the tour. You can visit other stops by clicking below:

Tuesday, August 15th: Openly Bookish
Wednesday, August 16th: Back Porchervations
Wednesday, August 23rd: Reading Reality
Wednesday, August 23rd: Laura’s Reviews
Thursday, August 24th: Literary Quicksand
Wednesday, August 30th: Bibliophiliac
Thursday, August 31st: Mama Vicky Says
Monday, September 4th: Doing Dewey
Tuesday, September 5th: My Military Savings
Wednesday, September 6th: Tina Says…
Thursday, September 7th: Man of La Book
Friday, September 8th: Eliot’s Eats
Friday, September 8th: Thoughts On This ‘n That
TBD: Wining Wife
TBD: Art @ Home