Tag Archives: Memoir

Aug10

August Authors – Laurie Notaro – Humorous Memoirs

Posted on by
Standard

August Authors – Laurie Notaro – Humorous Memoirs

Author August: Goscinny & Subwoolfer

***

Bee says:

This month I challenge you to share one of your favourite authors every day. As an additional challenge also share a song that connects in some way with that author.

***

As I mostly do, I’m featuring a favorite book instead of author. To me, favorite author means I get all their books and wish for more. If I like one book by an author, that doesn’t make them a favorite author, though the book might be.

***

From the Wiki article:

Laurie Notaro is a historical fiction novelist from Eugene, Oregon, where she lives with her husband. She was born in Brooklyn, New York but spent most of her early life in Phoenix Arizona where she had quite the checkered past.
She graduated with a journalism degree from Arizona State University and then worked as a journalist for years.

Notaro published “We Thought You Would be Prettier,” her first work in 1995, and her first fiction novel “There’s A Slight Chance I Might Be Going to Hell” in 2007.

A list of her books, and a bio of the author  … Laurie Notaro … https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/laurie-notaro/

***

“An Idiot Girl’s Christmas”, by Laurie Notaro. She’s one of my favorite authors, as I’ve read all her books, and this one is just as good. She writes short essays of her true life adventures, and they most all have a humorous take on her life. This one is all about the funny things that happen at Christmas time.

***

Here’s a song. It has nothing to do with the books, except I like the song, and I like the books, because the books are hilarious essays, and this video is so hilarious, too. It’s been my earworm now for quite awhile!

***

“Foo Fighters” Learn to Fly

***

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2025 BS

Nov23

Just Another Kid – SOCS – just

Posted on by
Standard

Just Another Kid – SOCS – just

 

Just Another Kid – For Linda’s challenge:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 23, 2024

***

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “use ‘just’ in your first sentence.” Use the word “just” any way you’d like in your first sentence, then just write to your heart’s content. Enjoy!

***

Just a book review I posted before. (2018)

***

“Just Another Kid”, by Torey L. Hayden, is just one of the author’s many books. I’ve read them all many times, and can say she is one of my favorite authors.

Her career is in childhood education, more specifically, she teaches special needs children. She writes of the specific children (names changed, of course), and everything that happens in her classes. There are many tears, lots of laughter, and more than that, there is learning, and love.

This book concerns her dealings with one of the children’s mothers. That the mother signs on as a classroom volunteer/aide, is a great help to Ms Hayden. However, she is to find out the mother has many problems of her own. Ms Hayden helps her work through her difficulties, just as she does with the children. So, in a way, she is ‘just another kid’.

If you’ve never read one of Torey L. Hayden’s books, I would highly recommend them.

***

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2024 BS

Apr19

A to Z Blog Challenge 2018 – Letter Q

Posted on by
Standard

A to Z Blog Challenge 2018 – Letter Q

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

***

***

Welcome to the 2018 edition of the A to Z Blogging Challenge!

All through the month of April, the challenge asks us to blog every day (except Sundays), and to go through the alphabet A to Z, connecting our posts to the letter of each day.

My idea for this time, my 5th to participate, is to showcase a book or two each day, and provide a tiny bit of information about them. These will not be a full book review, but just saying what it is about, and if I liked the book or not.

These books are mostly books that I already have on my shelves, and have read, or are on my to be read stacks. There will be a very few of them that I don’t already own, or have read.

I will also post a quote each day that has something to say about books, or reading.

Hope you enjoy, and maybe see a book or a few that you might want to read, too.

***

***

“Quarantine” (the Loners), by Lex Thomas, is so good. This is the first book in a series of YA novels, which are set in a high school. Some catastrophic event causes a horrible virus to spread, so the whole school is quarantined. Unless help from the outside comes along to eradicate the virus, the teens are stuck until they reach, I believe, age 18, and then they graduate by being able to leave. The contamination is over for them. Meanwhile, they gravitate toward groups of like-minded students to form gangs. The first we read about are the ‘Loners’. Each gang is out for themselves, and they have battles for survival against the others.

In the next few books, another gang is featured in each one, but they all interact. You want to keep getting these books to find out how it all turns out.

***

***

“Queen of the Road”, by Doreen Orion, is the true adventures of how a couple, with their large dog and two cats,  travel across 47 states, in an old converted bus. In this memoir, they tell all about their adventures in retro fitting the bus, meeting other travelers, and their misadventures, including a stopover at a nudist RV park.

This is a fun to read book, as you get to hear some hilarious tales of being on the road.

***

***

Mystery Box Chickens

***

The MB Chickens will be back tomorrow to reveal the book titles beginning with letter R.

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2018 BS

Jun27

RECYCLED BOOK READING CHALLENGE

Posted on by
Standard

RECYCLED BOOK READING CHALLENGE

https://lifexperimentblog.com/2016/01/26/recycled-book-reading-challenge/

***

It’s time for the monthly Recycled Book Reading Challenge.

This is where we take a book we’ve been meaning to read, that has been stacked up in our ‘to be read’ pile for awhile, and actually read it. I know I have a lot like that. We are to give a review of the book, one that has been bought at a discount, at a yard sale or thrift store, or any used book store. There’s where the ‘recycled’ part comes in. Giving these used books a chance can lead to some great reading. 🙂

This past month I read this one.

***

“Peking to Paris”, by Dina Bennett, was the book I read this past month. I can’t remember where I got it, probably at a library book sale, but it’s been in my to be read pile for quite awhile. I liked this book a lot. There are even photos!

The main subject here is about a husband and wife who take on the challenge of a long road rally. It was for people that own antique cars. Some of these cars were beautiful examples of the era that they were built. The challenge was to drive from Peking, China, to Paris, France, to actually complete the challenge in 35 days, and of course to win the prize at the end.

Dina knew nothing about cars, races, or rallies. Her husband was all into it, though. He would do the driving, and she would be the navigator. She had a lot to learn. Their car, a 1940 LaSalle, was finally ready to go, and so were they. Naming the car,  Roxanne, they began their adventure.

Through all kinds of weather, car break-downs, arguments, hostels, and fabulous hotels, they endured. They made some friends along the way, and saw some amazing sights in the countries they passed through.

Dina writes this memoir from her point of view, which includes lots of humor at the predicaments she finds herself in. The rally took place in 2007, and the book was printed in 2013. I think you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I did.

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2017 BS

 

 

Jan2

RECYCLED BOOK READING CHALLENGE – HIGH on ARRIVAL

Posted on by
Standard

RECYCLED BOOK READING CHALLENGE – HIGH on ARRIVAL

https://lifexperimentblog.com/2016/01/26/recycled-book-reading-challenge/

Click the link above to find out how to join in.

***

It’s time for the monthly Recycled Book Reading Challenge.

This is where we take a book we’ve been meaning to read, that has been stacked up in our ‘to be read’ pile for awhile, and actually read it. I know I have a lot like that. We are to give a review of the book, one that has been bought at a discount, at a yard sale or thrift store, or any used book store. There’s where the ‘recycled’ part comes in. Giving these used books a chance can lead to some great reading. 🙂

This past month I read this one.

img_4902

This is a memoir written by Mackenzie Phillips, called “High on Arrival”.

I do like reading memoirs, auto-biographies, biographies, and many kinds of non-fiction. This one was one of the most thorough I’ve read in awhile. Ms Phillips does not sugar coat any part of her life that she writes about.

If you remember, she was one of the stars of the TV sit-com, “One Day at a Time”, and appeared in the movie, “American Graffiti”. She has been acting for many years, and she tells about all of her experiences on that front…the good and the bad.

Mostly, though, she chronicles her life with her famous father, John Phillips, one of the members of the popular singing group, “The Mamas & the Papas”, and the rock and roll lifestyle she was born into. She tells how there were no rules or limits placed upon her and her brother, and drug use was an everyday routine. She goes into great depth describing her days as a hard core, drug addicted junkie. Her relationships suffered, her jobs as an actress were compromised, and honestly, she seems surprised to have lived through it all.

If you are squeamish about depictions of sexual abuse, and horrendous drug use episodes, then I would recommend this book be for Mature Readers only!!

I am glad Ms Phillips has gotten her life back together, these days, and hope she continues in the future.

This book was published in 2009, by Gallery Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, Inc. It can be found on Amazon.

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2017 BS

 

Dec2

RECYCLED BOOK READING CHALLENGE – BAR FLOWER

Posted on by
Standard

RECYCLED BOOK READING CHALLENGE – BAR FLOWER

https://lifexperimentblog.com/2016/01/26/recycled-book-reading-challenge/

***

The recycled book reading challenge is where we post a review of a book we’ve read the past month. Ultimately, it should be a used book, found at library sales, yard sales, thrift stores, etc. We know we have lots of books stacked up, ready to be read. Now is the time to pick one up and actually read it!

Find out more about this challenge by clicking the link above. It’s fun! 🙂

***

My recycled book this time came from the book store, in their used section. I’ve had it quite a while, and I’m glad I finally got to read it. It is called “Bar Flower”, and is a memoir written by Lea Jacobson. Here’s a photo of the cover.

img_4588

Ms Jacobson writes of her experiences in Japan. She studied the Japanese language in college, and was fluent in speaking it. So, she decided to go live in Japan to pursue teaching. She did find a job, and enjoyed it, but ran into trouble with the organization she was obligated to, and their rules.

Still needing a job, she investigated the businesses of the night…the nightclub/bar scene, which is a major, complicated industry there. She did secure a job in one of the nightclubs, as a hostess. These jobs were classified as being in the sex industry, yet the jobs of being a hostess, was not at all selling sex. The girls were only required to sit at a table in the bar, and visit with the male patrons who came in. They were to provide drinks (at the customer’s expense), and be pleasant to talk with. That was all, and it was strictly enforced by the bar’s ‘mama’ proprietress.

Lea made friends with some of the other girls who worked there, had fun dressing up, and of course drinking. She had one job at a certain bar for a long time, then one at another place. She would go back home to the U. S. from time to time, to continue her studies, but always came back to hostessing in Japan. She still had dreams of teaching, though.

It was a very interesting book, that gives a glimpse of what the nightlife is like in some areas of the Ginza in Japan. It also goes into her struggles with alcoholism.

If you enjoy memoirs that are a bit different, you would like to read this one.

I noticed it is available on Amazon for only one penny!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS