RYCJ's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 25 Apr 2025 15:35:12 -0700 60 RYCJ's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky]]> 1112498 When ABC News' Good Morning America asked its viewers to write essays describing true-life experiences, the network never imagined receiving more than twenty thousand pages of inspiring stories. After a panel of bestselling authors and editors chose three finalists, America was given the opportunity to vote on which aspiring author's story would be published. This audiobook is the result of the most ambitious search ever conducted to publish an extraordinary life story.

Farah Ahmedi is born into the world just as the war between the mujahideen and the Soviets reaches its peak in Afghanistan. Bombs are falling all over her country, and her native Kabul is swelling with thousands of people looking for homes and jobs. When Farah steps on a land mine on her way to school, her world becomes much smaller than the dreams and hopes in her heart.

The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky recounts an epic journey. It deftly interweaves a childhood in Afghanistan-where the classrooms are naked chambers with only chalkboards on the walls-with an American adolescence, where teenagers struggle to decide whether to try out for school plays and where to go to college.

Thanks to a number of good people who crossed her path at critical moments, Farah is thriving. She is actively enjoying the realization of her childhood dreams. Farah is living proof that not only can the human heart endure, it can also thrive. The Story of My Life is our new great American memoir.

]]> 5 Farah Ahmedi 0743545346 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 3.93 2005 The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky
author: Farah Ahmedi
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/02
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Overall, despite the book being a little dated (published 2005) the content remains relevant. Farah might not be good with names, but from a child's eye looking through her small window she does a remarkable job describing what it was like living in Afghanistan and immigrating to America. I was really touched by this story. If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend doing so. Read it in a day.
]]> <![CDATA[A Football Mom's Playbook: Devotions and reflections to raise champions on and off the field.]]> 127909033 This “playbook� was birth out of our time as praying moms of D1 football players at Baylor University. It gave us an opportunity to bring Baylor parents together to build a championship parent culture. We were also blessed not only to provide encouragement and support throughout the season to parents, but also the players. We pray that this labor of love will bless both parents and athletes of not just football but of any sport.]]> 112 Sheila Henderson RYCJ 5 5.00 A Football Mom's Playbook: Devotions and reflections to raise champions on and off the field.
author: Sheila Henderson
name: RYCJ
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves:
review:
The kind of book to keep on a nightstand and pick up whenever a pick-up is needed.
]]> <![CDATA[The Boy From Block 66: A WW2 Jewish Holocaust Survival True Story (Heroic Children of World War II Book 1)]]> 75858652
January, 1945 . 14-year-old Moshe Kessler steps off the train at Buchenwald concentration camp. Having endured the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, lost touch with his entire family, and survived the death march in the freezing European winter, he has seen more than his share of tragedy.

Moshe knows only one thing about Buchenwald. Everyone knows it.

If you want to survive, you have to get to Block 66.

The Germans are cruel and determined � but they are not prepared for Buchenwald’s secret resistance, which rises up with one mission only: to protect the camp’s children from harm.

This is the incredible true story of Moshe Kessler and Block 66 � the children’s block that was at the forefront of one of the most shocking and inspiring stories of Holocaust survival.]]> 243 Limor Regev RYCJ 5 4.45 The Boy From Block 66: A WW2 Jewish Holocaust Survival True Story (Heroic Children of World War II Book 1)
author: Limor Regev
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves:
review:
Another Holocaust survivor whose story will be remembered forever.
]]> Leslie F*cking Jones 123027172
Now, I’m gonna be honest: Some of the details might be vague because a b*tch is fifty-five and she’s smoked a ton of weed. But while bits might be a touch hazy, I can promise you the underlying truth is REAL. Whether I’m talking about my childhood growing up in the South, my early stand-up days driving from gig to gig through the darkest parts of our country and praying I wouldn’t get murdered, what Chris Rock told Lorne Michaels, that time I wanted to shoot Whoopi Goldberg on SNL, and yeah, I’ll tell you all about Ghostbusters and the nudes and Supermarket Sweep and The Daily Show . . . I’m sharing it all in these pages. It’s not easy being a woman in comedy, especially when you’re a tall-*ss Black woman with a trumpet voice. I have to fight so that no one takes me for granted, and no one takes advantage. These are the stories that explain why. (Cue the Law & Order theme.)]]> 288 Leslie Jones 1538706490 RYCJ 3 4.09 2023 Leslie F*cking Jones
author: Leslie Jones
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/16
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves:
review:

]]> My Mother Was Nuts 13587511
My Mother Was Nuts is an intimate backstage pass to Penny’s personal life, her breakout role on The Odd Couple , her exploits with Cindy Williams and John Belushi, and her travels across Europe with Art Garfunkel on the back of a motorcycle. We see Penny get married. And divorced. And married again (the second time to Rob Reiner). We meet a young Carrie Fisher, whose close friendship with Penny has spanned decades. And we see Penny at work with Tom Hanks, Mark Wahlberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, and Whitney Houston.

Throughout it all, from her childhood spent tap dancing in the Bronx, to her rise as the star of Laverne & Shirley , Penny lived by simple “try hard, help your friends, don’t get too crazy, and have fun.� With humor and heart, My Mother Was Nuts reveals there’s no one else quite like Penny Marshall.]]> 326 Penny Marshall 0547892624 RYCJ 5 3.68 2012 My Mother Was Nuts
author: Penny Marshall
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves:
review:
I really liked this memoir, especially the opening. Overall, this funny, witty memoir filled with dry humor, short chapters…and shorter sentences was a treat to read. The writing was really good, even if I wanted to read more about Mom. She was hilarious!!!
]]> <![CDATA[Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative]]> 207376026
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF FALL 2024: Bookshop, Apple Books, and more!!

Keke Palmer thought she knew who she was. What it means to be a good person and what it takes to be a success. It all seemed so simple, until she realized the challenges she would have to face to prove to herself who she wanted to be. From feeling alienated to having to restart her career after ten years in to becoming a single mother just months after her son was born—everything she worked for in life that she felt granted her what she wanted now also reminded her that “life is going to life� and throw curveballs regardless of what you deserve. She found herself asking, Where do I find my power? How do I master myself?

In her own raw and intimate words, Keke talks about everything from her struggles with boundaries to unconditional love, forgiveness, and worthiness. “Don’t block your blessings and potential opportunities by allowing the voices of other people to influence your actions,� she says. “How you’re choosing to set yourself up for success is between you and the person looking back at you in the mirror.�

Throughout the book, Keke also poses readers with the questions needed to get them through their own challenging times by sharing personal stories and lessons she’s learned along the way. She gets candid about the tools she’s developed to take the reins, harness her vulnerability, and recognize ownership in the narrative of her life—which allowed her to turn personal power into major power.

In this exhilarating, deeply poignant, and often laugh-out-loud book, Lauren Keyana Palmer gets real about life, work, love, and belief. These pages will encourage readers to empower themselves with the truth, leverage their currency, and find the keys to master themselves and the art of alchemy. Keke writes, “You are not on anyone else’s timeline, only your own.�

The result is a tour de force.

They said, “Jack of all Trades, Master of None.�
She said, “No, I am the Master. Of Me.”]]> 256 Keke Palmer 1250372518 RYCJ 5 3.54 2024 Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative
author: Keke Palmer
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/11
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves:
review:
The writing is cool, chic, conversational... and passionately feely. Overall, you must truly know and love you to see how she sees; a redeeming factor much respected. Individuals walking in their lane, happy and satisfied with life, always willing to learn, not only benefit their audiences, but society too. Very Good.
]]> Solito 59900688 Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago—“one day, you’ll
take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.�

Javier Zamora’s adventure is a 3,000-mile journey from his small town in
El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border.
He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a
mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling
alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote� hired to lead them to safety,
Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.

At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents� arms,
snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He
cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns,
arrests and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two
weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside fellow migrants
who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.

A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and
intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey,
but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most
unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story
of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.]]> 384 Javier Zamora 0593498062 RYCJ 5 4.46 2022 Solito
author: Javier Zamora
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves:
review:
The scenic writing is clear and certainly moving. But as poetic as this story was told, this was a hard one to read.
]]> <![CDATA[Bullwhip Days: The Slaves Remember: An Oral History]]> 1475958 496 James Mellon 0802138683 RYCJ 5 4.51 1988 Bullwhip Days: The Slaves Remember: An Oral History
author: James Mellon
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.51
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/17
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
review:
This collection of ex-slave narratives captures more than �29� full 'tactfully edited' narrations relaying (just prior to emancipation) how the slave business operated. More than how slaves were bred and the cow-hide whippings, along with being forbidden to read or write, and how many were forced to believe they were less than animals... and more, to include the perceptions of such treatment and variations between slave holders' practices, there is a wealth of dialogue collected. Overall, poignant narratives and sharp pacing. It was hard to put the book down. A must read.
]]> <![CDATA[Share My Life: A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption]]> 61273825
Known for his smooth affecting crooning and dapper style, Kem’s journey to the stage is nothing short of inspiring. In Share My Life , Kem goes back to the very beginning before his time to introduce his grandmother who worked as a sharecropper in the South and had thirteen children. As Kem’s family rises from the sharecropping and ultimately lands in Detroit, there is an unspoken mantra of “hard things are better left unsaid,� which has devastating consequences down the line. And so, Kem grows up in the midst of an impenetrable silence. His mother is never without a beer in her hand, and his relationship with his father is oddly tense. Emotionally starved, Kem internalizes harmful feelings, eventually spiraling to drug use in his search for relief.

At nineteen, Kem is homeless, roaming the cold Detroit streets. In the overly bright AA halls, Kem comes across men like himself verbalizing their feelings. The meetings helped him discover his own voice, using music as an outlet that has since touched millions.

In Share My Life , Kem chronicles his incredible journey of self-discovery. The young boy who struggled with feelings of worthlessness becomes a man willing to put everything on the line for his dream.]]> 272 Kem 1982191244 RYCJ 5 4.16 Share My Life: A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption
author: Kem
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/08
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
review:
Words that come to mind when thinking of Kem's music and memoir; cerebral…soulful…sensitive� and a little melancholy. ‘I Can’t stop loving you� …’Love Calls� …’Nobody� …and ‘Promise to Love� are my all time favorite Kem songs. Beautiful testimony. Highly recommended. Read hardback copyright 2023 edition.
]]> <![CDATA[In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom]]> 29776980 'I am most grateful for two things: that I was born in North Korea, and that I escaped from North Korea.'

Yeonmi Park was not dreaming of freedom when she escaped from North Korea. She didn't even know what it meant to be free. All she knew was that she was running for her life, that if she and her family stayed behind they would die - from starvation, or disease, or even execution.

This book is the story of Park's struggle to survive in the darkest, most repressive country on earth; her harrowing escape through China's underworld of smugglers and human traffickers; and then her escape from China across the Gobi desert to Mongolia, with only the stars to guide her way, and from there to South Korea and at last to freedom; and finally her emergence as a leading human rights activist - all before her 21st birthday.]]> 273 Yeonmi Park 0241973031 RYCJ 5 4.54 2015 In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
author: Yeonmi Park
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/06
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
review:
Overall, 'In Order to Live' is straightforward, and the pacing is fierce! Mother and daughter’s escape to China (in particular) is where not only the title is explained, but where Yeonmi’s grit and resolve shines. She learns how “to feel…� as she knew no ‘I�, ONLY ‘WE�, which fortuitously purveys the pros and cons of 'we' type thinking... and its impact on, not only people, but the country. Humanitarians, women, and really anyone seeking an understanding of culture, societies and modern human trafficking will be enlightened by this testimony. Read it in a day. Highly recommended!
]]> Will 58375739
“It's the best memoir I've ever read.� —Oprah Winfrey

“Will Smith isn't holding back in his bravely inspiring new memoir . . . An ultimately heartwarming read, Will provides a humane glimpse of the man behind the actor, producer and musician, as he bares all his insecurities and trauma.� —USA Today

Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Achievement

One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of music and film that anyone has ever had.

Will Smith’s transformation from a West Philadelphia kid to one of the biggest rap stars of his era, and then one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood history, is an epic tale—but it’s only half the story.

Will Smith thought, with good reason, that he had won at life: not only was his own success unparalleled, his whole family was at the pinnacle of the entertainment world. Only they didn't see it that way: they felt more like star performers in his circus, a seven-days-a-week job they hadn't signed up for. It turned out Will Smith's education wasn't nearly over.

This memoir is the product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind. Written with the help of Mark Manson, author of the multi-million-copy bestseller The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Will is the story of how one person mastered his own emotions, written in a way that can help everyone else do the same. Few of us will know the pressure of performing on the world's biggest stages for the highest of stakes, but we can all understand that the fuel that works for one stage of our journey might have to be changed if we want to make it all the way home. The combination of genuine wisdom of universal value and a life story that is preposterously entertaining, even astonishing, puts Will the book, like its author, in a category by itself.]]> 418 Will Smith 1984877925 RYCJ 5
And still, most unforgettable and forever touching are the insecurities he lay bare� and the making of the Ali movie. Indeed, the tears fell. The bungee jumping was just the icing on this cake. What a sweet landing. Loved it. Highly recommended.]]> 4.24 2021 Will
author: Will Smith
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/11
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
review:
Totally did not expect the overall deep dive. It reached the point where no matter how I felt about (for instance) incidents such as the Monopoly game he played with his family, or the Gigi/Jada prank, I had to respect his raw honesty. His personality really shines through his memories, which on top is his drive and devotion to his career. YES SIR!!! Everything comes second to the dream!

And still, most unforgettable and forever touching are the insecurities he lay bare� and the making of the Ali movie. Indeed, the tears fell. The bungee jumping was just the icing on this cake. What a sweet landing. Loved it. Highly recommended.
]]> Connie: A Memoir 206119058 In an industry dominated by white men, Connie Chung stood alone, the first and only Asian woman to break into the television news industry. This is her extraordinary story, told with incisive wit and remarkable candor. Connie Chung is a pioneer.In 1969 at the age of 23, this once-shy daughter of Chinese parents took her first job at a local TV station in her hometown of Washington, D.C. and soon thereafter began working at CBS news as a correspondent.Profoundly influenced by her family’s cultural traditions,yet growing up completely Americanized in the United States, Chung describes her career as an Asian woman in a white male-centered world.Overt sexism was a way of life,but Chung was tenacious in her pursuit of stories � battling rival reporters to secure scoops that ranged from interviewing Magic Johnson to covering the Watergate scandal � and quickly becamea household name. She made history when she achieved her dream of being the first woman to co-anchor theCBS Evening Newsand the first Asianto anchor any news program in the U.S. Chung pulls no punches as she provides a behind-the-scenestour ofher singular life. Fromshowdowns withpowerful men in and out of the newsroom to the stories behind some of her career-defining reporting and the unwavering support of her husband, Maury Povich, nothing is off-limits � good, bad, or ugly. So be sure to tune in for an irreverent and inspiring this is CONNIE like you’ve never seen her before.]]> 336 Connie Chung 1538766981 RYCJ 5 4.10 2024 Connie: A Memoir
author: Connie Chung
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/05
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
review:
Soon as this one came out, I grabbed a copy! Having admired Connie as a child, it was a treat to open her book and be so pleasantly surprised. In short, I loved how she assessed …and addressed her male peers. She didn't balk or complain but stood her ground. She learned the ropes... rolled up her sleeves and played the game. The polite “China doll’s� spunk was simply fascinating. The way she narrates what it was like being one of so few females in an industry during a day when “just the facts ma'am� ruled and professional women wore skirts *mostly* to the knees, did not disappoint. What a great read! Highly recommended. Read hard copy 2024 copyright edition.
]]> <![CDATA[Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis]]> 27161156 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062300546.

Hillbilly Elegy recounts J.D. Vance's powerful origin story...

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate now serving as a U.S. Senator from Ohio and the Republican Vice Presidential candidate for the 2024 election, an incisive account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working class.

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for more than forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.

The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.'s grandparents were "dirt poor and in love," and moved north from Kentucky's Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually one of their grandchildren would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of success in achieving generational upward mobility. But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that J.D.'s grandparents, aunt, uncle, and, most of all, his mother struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, never fully escaping the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. With piercing honesty, Vance shows how he himself still carries around the demons of his chaotic family history.

A deeply moving memoir, with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.]]> 264 J.D. Vance RYCJ 5 3.81 2016 Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
author: J.D. Vance
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/15
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
review:
Definitely a good memoir to read. Great pacing and the intro was a bonus! Vance keenly describes his humble beginnings. From seeing the erosion of communities to the breakdown of families life was tough, and tougher for fragile families. Gratefully there was Lindsay and Mam'aw, and later the push he needed from the Marine Corps and lessons he took from college and working in the Senate...true treats for a vivid hard story. Overall, in so few pages this all-around humbling story resonates. Highly recommended. Read soft-copy 2016 copyright edition.
]]> <![CDATA[A Man from Another Land: How Finding My Roots Changed My Life]]> 9541786 Grey's Anatomy actor Isaiah Washington explains how filling in the gaps of his past led him to discover a new passion: helping those less fortunate. DNA testing revealed that Washington was descended from the Mende people, who today live in Sierra Leone. For many people, the story would end with the results of the search; for Isaiah, it had just begun. Discovering his roots has given him a new purpose, to lead an inspirational life defined by faith and charity.

After visiting Sierra Leone, and researching the country and its needs, Washington forged a strong relationship with the Mende people, and was inducted as Chief Gondobay Manga in May 2006. He established The Gondobay Manga Foundation to institute many improvements suggested by the country's people, addressing educational concerns, practical issues (road building, water supply, and electricity), and rehabilitative projects.

Dual citizenship has been a dream of African-Americans such as W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, but Washington became the first to realize that honor in 2008. A twofold milestone, it was also the first time an African president granted citizenship based on DNA.]]> 304 Isaiah Washington 1599953188 RYCJ 5 4.14 2011 A Man from Another Land: How Finding My Roots Changed My Life
author: Isaiah Washington
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/14
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
What a fascinating testimony! Though a choppy read, I loved this straightforward passionate account of Isaiah discovering his Roots. Without leaving a bunch of spoilers my favorite part was the 'South Africa visit'� and his later connecting with the Mende and Temne people of Sierra Leone. I couldn’t stop smiling about the coronation... and the message he passed along on behalf of his great ancestors! Totally unexpected, as was the reply he got back. So much is contained in this memoir! What a beautiful testimony. The kind of personalized education difficult (if not impossible) to find in history books. Absolutely impressive. Highly recommended!!! Read 2011 hardback edition.
]]> Coming Home 206571264 From the nine-time women’s basketball icon and two-time Olympic gold medalist—a raw, revelatory account of her unfathomable detainment in Russia and her journey home.

On February 17, 2022, Brittney Griner arrived in Moscow ready to spend the WNBA offseason playing for the Russian women’s basketball team where she had been the centerpiece of previous championship seasons. Instead, a security checkpoint became her gateway to hell when she was arrested for mistakenly carrying under one gram of medically prescribed hash oil. Brittney’s world was violently upended in a crisis she has never spoken in detail about publicly—until now.

In Coming Home, Brittney finally shares the harrowing details of her sudden arrest days before Russia invaded Ukraine; her bewilderment and isolation while navigating a foreign legal system amid her trial and sentencing; her emotional and physical anguish as the first American woman ever to endure a Russian penal colony while the #WeAreBG movement rallied for her release; the chilling prisoner swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout; and her remarkable rise from hostage to global spokesperson on behalf of America’s forgotten. In haunting and vivid detail, Brittney takes listeners inside the horrors of a geopolitical nightmare spanning ten months.

And yet Coming Home is more than Brittney’s journey from captivity to freedom. In an account as gripping as it is poignant, she shares how her deep love for Cherelle, her college sweetheart and wife of six years, anchored her during their greatest storm; how her family’s support pulled her back from the brink; and how hundreds of letters from friends and neighbors lent her resolve to keep fighting. Coming Home is both a story of survival and a testament to love—the bonds that brought Brittney home to her family, and at last, to herself.]]> 320 Brittney Griner 0593801342 RYCJ 5 4.36 2024 Coming Home
author: Brittney Griner
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/10
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
Brittany really ‘palms� her story. The short clipped sentences stick. She recounts her early childhood� school teasing she describes painfully clear, along with an otherwise affectionate upbringing. The bond with her dad, and how their relationship developed and grew was one of the most beautiful parts of her story! OH, I SO LOVED IT� because that near step-by-step replay of what happened leading up to her incarceration was hard to read. She might not see herself a kid, but I do, which I’m particularly sensitive when reading about kids living these hard experiences. This is an account young people would benefit from reading; or perhaps those in professional positions assisting young people with filtering through this complicated world. Highly recommended. Read 2024 hardback edition.
]]> The New Immigrants 14655452 222 Anne Snowden Crosman 1937454118 RYCJ 5 4.00 2012 The New Immigrants
author: Anne Snowden Crosman
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/03
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
Though readers might want more from this collection of personal immigration narratives, I couldn't be mad at the redemptive quality of stories (largely hailing from Sedona, Arizona residents). Almost all of the testimonies expressed love for their native culture, traditions and country, along with freedoms enjoyed in America. Great Job. I read the copyright 2012 paperback edition.
]]> <![CDATA[Around the World in Black and White: Traveling as a Biracial, Blended Family]]> 131067670
They soon discover that this is not entirely true.

This charming family love story, sure to inspire wanderlust, is peppered with funny parenting mishaps, thrilling adventures, breathtaking sceneries, unforgettable monuments, and culinary bliss. However, as you are taken through the temples of Southeast Asia, the pyramids of Egypt, the rolling hills of Tuscany, and the African plains, you will also be exposed to the world as experienced by a biracial, blended family. Around the World in Black & White is a tale of self-discovery, racial awakening, resilience, and deeper understanding. This bold, witty, and heartfelt memoir will have you rethinking how you travel, how you see the world, and how the world sees you.]]> 416 Alana Best 164742531X RYCJ 5 4.53 Around the World in Black and White: Traveling as a Biracial, Blended Family
author: Alana Best
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/17
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
A breath of fresh air was my first thought. Though I found the read a bit feely, the overall story was easy on the eyes. For the most part this travel adventure seemed fun, filled with stories that include considerable narratives on the joys and sorrows of extended family who here and there also joined this year-long venture. Readers looking for a chill memoir to read will enjoy this experience. Read 2023 soft-copy edition.
]]> <![CDATA[Not Without My Daughter: The Harrowing True Story of a Mother's Courage]]> 353024
Now the true story of this courageous woman and her breathtaking odyssey bursts upon the screen in the Pathe Entertainment production starring Academy Award-winner Sally Field!
(back cover)]]> 423 Betty Mahmoody 0312925883 RYCJ 5 3.96 1987 Not Without My Daughter: The Harrowing True Story of a Mother's Courage
author: Betty Mahmoody
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/20
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
The book definitely is better than the movie! The details were sharper. Iranian homes, parks, stores, streets, and of course the culture and lifestyles were explained in specifics impossible to capture in an hour and a half long film. The writing is a big credit to the pacing as well. There truly is a lot in here. A page-turner for sure! Highly recommended, even if you’ve seen the movie. Read 1987 mass-market paperback.
]]> <![CDATA[Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It]]> 33559198 An instant New York Times bestseller! Charlamagne Tha God—the self-proclaimed “Prince of Pissing People Off,� cohost of Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club, and “the most important voice in hip-hop”—shares his eight principles for unlocking your God-given privilege.In Black Privilege, Charlamagne presents his often controversial and always brutally honest insights on how living an authentic life is the quickest path to success. This journey to truth begins in the small town of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, and leads to New York and headline-grabbing interviews and insights from celebrities like Kanye West, Kevin Hart, Malcolm Gladwell, Lena Dunham, Jay Z, and Hillary Clinton. Black Privilege lays out all the great wisdom Charlamagne’s been given from many mentors, and tells the uncensored story of how he turned around his troubled early life by owning his (many) mistakes and refusing to give up on his dreams, even after his controversial opinions got him fired from several on-air jobs. These life-learned principles -There are no losses in life, only lessons -Give people the credit they deserve for being stupid—starting with yourself -It’s not the size of the pond but the hustle in the fish -When you live your truth, no one can use it against you -We all have privilege, we just need to access it By combining his own story with bold advice and his signature commitment to honesty no matter the cost, Charlamagne hopes Black Privilege will empower you to live your own truth.]]> 322 Charlamagne Tha God RYCJ 5 4.29 2017 Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It
author: Charlamagne Tha God
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/12
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
Opened the book with zero expectations to land on high-end reading entertainment. This memoir is CLEAR. Crisp. Chop-chop to the point hip-hop fierce pacing! The real life lessons and 'demotivational' (lol) spiels create good energy, giving the book an overall 'hard to close' effect... a rarity for self-help books. Liked the genuine feel as well. CThaGod is spiritual, not religious... and a storyteller to the core. There is something for everyone in here. Great job. Highly recommended. Read Copyright 2017 soft copy edition.
]]> He Talk Like a White Boy 258912 232 Joseph C. Phillips 0762423994 RYCJ 5 3.75 2006 He Talk Like a White Boy
author: Joseph C. Phillips
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/22
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:
The writing is warm, indulgent and moderately paced. Spots that caught my immediate attention was the description of Rosalind's career 'supposedly' suffering and Esther Rolle picking at racism like scab, "so it would never heal." I adored his perspectives on finding marriage fulfilling, and was tickled by his observations on women and power. Raising children, same thing. Loved his relationship with his sons and fond of the "Mom is raising boys, Dad was raising men." Powerful stuff. Likewise found his conservative insights (for the most part) absorbing. "When excellence is demanded. Excellence is delivered." At times however, particularly in the 'Idealism' Chapter, things read a bit wordy and nebulous but overall found this memoir a remarkably masculine empowering read dressed by very warm humorous writing. A hard book to put down. Reads like it was written the other day, when I read the soft copy 2006 copyright edition. Highly recommended!!!
]]> <![CDATA[Memoir of a Nerd: Humorous Essays and Short Stories]]> 58317673
In these tense times of uncertainty and division, this remarkable book is just what the doctor ordered! The book is filled with hilarious and humorously told stories.

A self-described nerd, the author recounts his experiences growing up in the '50s and the endless predicaments he has found himself in throughout his life. From spending formative years as a missionary in Japan to learning life lessons in Las Vegas, Mancini's antics seem never-ending. His days looking for love, as he says in all the wrong places, are very funny.

You will surely laugh at the hilarious and often absurd events in this very personal memoir! The author writes with wit, optimism, and humor. This book is a rare gift of humor that will give anyone a good laugh. Recommended to anyone who needs a break from these crazy times.

Read Memoir of a Nerd and find out why the author admits that if there were an award for "Worst Chapter Title," the last chapter of his book would likely win it!

Review
Memoir of a Nerd: Humorous Essays and Short Stories is a collection of brief anecdotes. Almost all are meant to be humorous, and they are. Author Hank Mancini is a prankster, and many of the stories are accounts of pranks he played on his unsuspecting victims. One story is about when a prank was played on him. Mancini's book is also an account of life in the USA in the 1950s and the story of the 2 1/2 years he spent in Japan. Mancini also writes about his attempts, with varying degrees of success, to date women. Much of the book tells of old-fashion innovations such as drive-in movie theaters, iceboxes, camera film that needed to be developed, and much more Although there's room for imaginative storytelling in a book like this one, it appears that Mancini gives a mostly verbatim account of the incidents.

I enjoyed this book and laughed out loud at many of the stories. As I mentioned, one of the many pranks author Hank Mancini tells about is one played on him, and I'm going to be tempted to play that Mr. Behr prank on someone myself. I was also moved by one story that was about an extremely serious issue. Because I'm only a few years younger than Mancini, I delighted in his reminiscences of the 1950s, including the story of sneaking friends into a drive-in movie in the trunk of a car, which I also did. Those who are too young to remember the mid-1900s will learn about life in their parents' or grandparents' time. Memoir of a Nerd: Humorous Essays and Short Stories is a fun read and a good book to have on your bedroom nightstand.
Reviewed By Joe Wisinski for Readers' Favorite]]> 214 Hank Mancini RYCJ 5 4.13 Memoir of a Nerd: Humorous Essays and Short Stories
author: Hank Mancini
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/06
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:
To be clear. I search high and low for just this type book! Favorites? “I Did It� (Ha!) The Uncle Leo description (haha). The way he explains things� to people under 30 (hahaha). “Babies look alike…� (shaking my head)� That blue towel. ‘Mailing May� (a book I must now check out). The archaic mail system…who knew? Wasn’t born in the 40’s or 50’s but 60’s is close enough to find these stories fun, funny and relatable. Pacing is super fast. AGAIN! I love, Love, LOVED this book!!!! Read copyright 2022 soft-copy edition. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir]]> 123262219
As the front man for the sixties pop-rock-funk band Sly and the Family Stone, a songwriter who created some of the most memorable anthems of the 1960s and 1970s (“Everyday People,� “Family Affair�), and a performer who electrified audiences at Woodstock and elsewhere, Sly Stone’s influence on modern music and culture is indisputable. But as much as people know the music, the man remains a mystery. After a rapid rise to superstardom, Sly spent decades in the grips of addiction.

Now he is ready to relate the ups and downs and ins and outs of his amazing life in his memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) . The book moves from Sly’s early career as a radio DJ and record producer through the dizzying heights of the San Francisco music scene in the late 1960s and into the darker, denser life (and music) of 1970s and 1980s Los Angeles. Set on stages and in mansions, in the company of family and of other celebrities, it’s a story about flawed humanity and flawless artistry.

Written with Ben Greenman, who has also worked on memoirs with George Clinton and Brian Wilson, and in collaboration with Arlene Hirschkowitz, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) is a vivid, gripping, sometimes terrifying, and ultimately affirming tour through Sly’s life and career. Like Sly, it’s honest and playful, sharp and blunt, emotional and analytical, always moving and never standing still.]]> 320 Sly Stone 0374606978 RYCJ 5 3.51 2023 Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir
author: Sly Stone
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/11
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:
Overall, I couldn’t get enough of the precocious writing, and not always so nice. The short, choppy, kind of cocky� ‘you dig� 70’s type writing read like a few word ninjas crafted it…on drums, keyboards and a sky high harmonica. Music was Sly’s first, last and all-encompassing thing. He said he would do it for free. Loved that! My absolute favorite albeit, was reading about his friendship with the psychedelic funkadelic George Clinton. (Couldn’t pull us off dance floors� or out of nightclubs when these music maestros blasted through speakers…well not until the roof came down� hahaha). These guys were our rock. Thank You, Sly! Read Hardback (Library) 2023 copyright edition.
]]> Dimestore: A Writer's Life 30753997
“This is Smith at her finest.� —Library Journal , starred review

Set deep in the mountains of Virginia, the Grundy of Lee Smith’s youth was a place of coal miners, tent revivals, mountain music, drive-in theaters, and her daddy’s dimestore. When she was sent off to college to gain some “culture,� she understood that perhaps the richest culture she would ever know was the one she was leaving. Lee Smith’s fiction has always lived and breathed with the rhythms and people of the Appalachian South. But never before has she written her own story.
Dimestore ’s fifteen essays are crushingly honest, wise and perceptive, and superbly entertaining. Together, they create an inspiring story of the birth of a writer and a poignant look at a way of life that has all but vanished.]]> 224 Lee Smith 1616206462 RYCJ 5 3.94 2016 Dimestore: A Writer's Life
author: Lee Smith
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/06
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:
Smith’s memoir is a nostalgic vignette of pleasant, poetic, and photogenic memories. Readers can drop this one in a beach bag and take on vacation to read beneath an affable zephyr, sunk in a comfy hammock. I really enjoyed this rich look back on family, friends and fun old days! Read soft-copy 2016/2017 copyright edition.
]]> Elon Musk 122765395 From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter.

When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.

His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive.

At the beginning of 2022—after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth—Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. “I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,� he said.

It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground.

For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him, and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?]]> 688 Walter Isaacson 1982181281 RYCJ 5
Personal Highlights: For the most part, I got him; doing things others wouldn’t…couldn’t� or hadn’t. Excluding his social life, marriages, mood swings, etc.; his philosophies developing best practices... “Going Russian…� ...five-point check system...and general ethos is clear. Overall, innovation typically proffers potential gains for humankind. The long-term advantages AI might provide for the blind, deaf, and disabled seem promising... like the conveniences of Tesla vehicles and factors entertaining the public with private space travel is trending. Anyone interested in annals encompassing physics, engineering, risk-taking, or Musk in general will find reading this biography incredibly valuable! Read Hardback copyright edition 2023.]]> 4.28 2023 Elon Musk
author: Walter Isaacson
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/20
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:
Overall, a great reading experience. The writing is pretty straightforward, casual, contemporary Journalism. The pacing, primarily due to length, is moderate.

Personal Highlights: For the most part, I got him; doing things others wouldn’t…couldn’t� or hadn’t. Excluding his social life, marriages, mood swings, etc.; his philosophies developing best practices... “Going Russian…� ...five-point check system...and general ethos is clear. Overall, innovation typically proffers potential gains for humankind. The long-term advantages AI might provide for the blind, deaf, and disabled seem promising... like the conveniences of Tesla vehicles and factors entertaining the public with private space travel is trending. Anyone interested in annals encompassing physics, engineering, risk-taking, or Musk in general will find reading this biography incredibly valuable! Read Hardback copyright edition 2023.
]]> Friends: A Love Story 6681915 400 Angela Bassett 1426827423 RYCJ 5 good-rainy-day-reads
A love story I'll always treasure and remember! Pragmatic, FUN, and a sassy but classy keeper!!!]]> 4.33 2007 Friends: A Love Story
author: Angela Bassett
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: good-rainy-day-reads
review:
The choppy writing worked `like' magic, but what seals the love part of this story was when Angela was going on and on running her mouth, and Courtney was just sitting back trying to listen as he's also asking her to hold it down. Just too cute; especially when she couldn't `hold it down' and him sitting there thinking, `what do I have here!?!'... YET realizing this was the woman he wanted to marry! ...Exactly how true love works... `being yourself' and letting the chemistry (if it's present, which in their case it was), go thru its natural process.

A love story I'll always treasure and remember! Pragmatic, FUN, and a sassy but classy keeper!!!
]]> <![CDATA[The Business Romantic: Give Everything, Quantify Nothing, and Create Something Greater Than Yourself]]> 24315557
Against the backdrop of eroding trust in capitalism, pervasive technology, big data, and the desire to quantify all of our behaviors, The Business Romantic makes a compelling case that we must meld the pursuit of success and achievement with romance if we want to create an economy that serves our entire selves.

A rising star in data analytics who is in love with the intrinsic beauty of spreadsheets; the mastermind behind a brand built on absence; an Argentinian couple who revolutionize shoelaces; the founder of a foodie-oriented start-up that creates intimate conversation spaces; a performance artist who offers fake corporate seminars for real professionals—these are some of the innovators readers will meet in this witty, deeply personal, and rousing ramble through the world of Business Romanticism.

The Business Romantic not only provides surprising insights into the emotional and social aspects of business but also presents “Rules of Enchantment� that will help both individuals and organizations construct more meaningful experiences for themselves and others.

The Business Romantic offers a radically different view of the good life and outlines how to better meet one’s own desires as well as those of customers, employees, and society. It encourages readers to expect more from companies, to give more of themselves, and to fall back in love with their work and their lives. ]]> 325 Tim Leberecht 0062302523 RYCJ 5 4.50 2015 The Business Romantic: Give Everything, Quantify Nothing, and Create Something Greater Than Yourself
author: Tim Leberecht
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2014/10/01
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves:
review:
The writing is passionate, and the messages a mix of challenging, rousing, and practical, while the moral is patently clear:: Quote:: “create love ‘in� what you do,� which requires not only recognizing and understanding our individual skills, but building on those skills, nurturing them, and yes, ‘loving them�. This is what creates 'universal' transferable skills, an equivalent to achievement... our repayment to ourselves for nurturing the love in what we do. Nice concept.
]]> <![CDATA[Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days]]> 49937453
Adrienne Wilson is a depressed, suicidal teenager—until the day she receives a diagnosis of stage IV liver cancer. Facing the fight of her life, Adrienne discovers just how much she wants to live.

As Adrienne’s legal guardian, Andrea acts as her parent, sister, friend, and guide. In her bestselling and award-winning medical memoir Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days, Andrea Wilson Woods tells a brilliant, touching story that captures the reader’s heart and attention with clarity and grit.

This emotional true story is a beautifully written, insightful, page-turning book on how we connect as humans and why life—no matter how truncated—is worth living. Among smiles and tears, this heartwarming and heartbreaking memoir will touch your soul and change your life.]]> 394 Andrea Wilson Woods 1544504608 RYCJ 5
Overall, ‘better off bald� contains a wealth of information anyone can learn from, particularly caregivers of patients diagnosed with aggressive forms of cancer. Highly recommended.
]]> 4.58 Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days
author: Andrea Wilson Woods
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/10
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves:
review:
Aside from the meticulous hard read, ‘better off bald� is crisp, passionate, straight to the point and incredibly detailed. Nicely done. It made for an exceptionally informative read. Transitioning the narrative in a back and forth fashion as well allows readers to learn a little about Adrienne through her own notes and backstory. ‘Build Your Bliss’� great quote. The chemo quilt was quite touching, as were Dr. Aquino’s words on page 172. Those were poignant words that might make many readers appreciate ‘quality of life.�

Overall, ‘better off bald� contains a wealth of information anyone can learn from, particularly caregivers of patients diagnosed with aggressive forms of cancer. Highly recommended.

]]> Transparent 9740079
Never one to stop at the surface of the story, Lemon digs deep, exposing his own history with wealth and lack, with family secrets and painful revelations--and explains how those painful early experiences shaped his ambitions and gave him the tools of empathy and fearlessness that he brings to his work. Then Lemon turns the same searing honesty on the news industry itself, taking the reader behind the scenes of September 11, 2001, the DC Snipers, the epidemic of AIDS in Africa, Hurricane Katrina, the election of Barack Obama, and the death of Michael Jackson among other events.

With his clear and compelling storytelling and the rich detail of an Emmy-winning journalist, Lemon reveals his own painful journey from a little boy who dreamed of broadcasting in segregated Baton Rouge in the early 70s, to his current perch at CNN in a fascinating and compelling look at the world of television news and his own experiences reporting in it.]]> 220 Don Lemon 0982702787 RYCJ 5 3.48 Transparent
author: Don Lemon
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.48
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2011/08/25
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:
Don Lemon shares highlights of his family and career that are reminiscent of a man who may one day, when he’s settled in his grazing graceful days, might really enlighten us with a deeper reflection of his experiences. Being a journalist, and after reading Transparent, I already see he has a head start.
]]> <![CDATA[Top Billin': Stories of Laughter, Lessons, and Triumph]]> 74834903 From the MTV trailblazer, stand-up comedian, and actor, a hilariously candid memoir that is an intimate, entertaining, and heartfelt tour through the exclusive, elusive, and eternally iconic world of �90s pop culture.

Imagine 50 Cent’s Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter written by a nerdy Black kid from Newark, New Jersey, who made it big despite the skepticism of his family. That’s Top Billin'.

Bill Bellamy is Carlton Banks’s slightly cooler and comedically inclined alter-ego—a guy who went against the grain and left a promising corporate career path to pursue comedy (much to the dismay of his family). Making the leap paid off—in ways Bill never expected. In Top Billin', he looks back at his time at MTV during the �90s, when the cable music channel was at the epicenter of pop culture. He recounts his legendary interviews with the biggest pop stars—Tupac, Biggie, and Kurt Cobain—making friends with Janet Jackson, and even coining the infamous term “booty call� on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. During his time at MTV, Bill broke color and class barriers, appearing four times a week on the network’s various programs, including MTV Jamz and MTV Beach House.

Top Billin' is an exclusive, all-access backstage pass to Bill’s career and life. It’s all in here—memories, music, and unforgettable moments, including conversations with some of the decade’s legendary artists, the best of the �90s celebri-tea, nostalgia, and insights on what it meant to be a tastemaker during one of the most exciting and innovative periods in music and American pop culture history.]]> 257 Bill Bellamy 0063237644 RYCJ 5 4.04 Top Billin': Stories of Laughter, Lessons, and Triumph
author: Bill Bellamy
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.04
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/13
date added: 2024/03/21
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed this bustin� moves testimony type writing. The humor is entertaining and delightful. Respected his views and how he represented himself. Passionate. Articulate. Well-dressed. Humbled…and well� handsome and talent is his blessing. And Booty Call!?! So now I know who coined the phrase. Overall, it was hard to put this one down! Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[The Undiscovered Paul Robeson : An Artist's Journey, 1898-1939]]> 123527008 Excellent Book 0 Paul Jr. Robeson RYCJ 5 my-keepers 5.00 The Undiscovered Paul Robeson : An Artist's Journey, 1898-1939
author: Paul Jr. Robeson
name: RYCJ
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/07
date added: 2024/03/21
shelves: my-keepers
review:
In strict straight storytelling fashion so much is contained in this tome. Race relations, inner-race relations, International relations, his personal relationships, thoughts, philosophies, teachings, lessons� this biography is an absolute must to experience. I even got a good chuckle. Essie, Paul’s wife, was something else. Had to respect her, (in sets). Like, WoW!!! Paul Jr. really respected his father, and parents and family and readers for that matter, so demonstrated in this superb narration. One of the best books I’ve ever read. Time well spent. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Anchored in Bias, Fired Over "White Tears"]]> 56428692
Lisa made national news when her twenty-year career as a news reporter / anchor ended abruptly after she shared an article on her personal Facebook page entitled, "How White Women Use Strategic Tears to Avoid Accountability" written by fellow journalist Ruby Hamad-an article that offended two of her white female coworkers, which ultimately got her fired.

After being terminated for sharing TheGuardian.com article, Lisa committed herself to understanding racism, unconscious biases, institutionalized racism, and how those issues factored into her stagnant career and job loss.

In this book, courtroom testimony, along with exhibits, prove that the employer expected to support Lisa's career goals only wanted to harness and control her labor while silencing her voice.

Guilty of racial ignorance, Lisa foolishly believed that if she worked hard, played by the rules, and people liked her, she could avoid the racial pitfalls that swallowed the dreams of her forefathers and condemned others to a life of criminalization, poverty, and shame.

She was wrong.

Lisa's book is a powerful, transparent look at the racism, systemic racism, and the anti-blackness that exists in cities, neighborhoods, and newsrooms throughout the United States.]]> Lisa Benson RYCJ 5 4.50 Anchored in Bias, Fired Over "White Tears"
author: Lisa Benson
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/08/02
date added: 2024/03/02
shelves:
review:
Most interesting was how the repetitiveness in telling this story really served the overall credibility of the account. Anyone who’s ever worked for a company and seen people come in behind them, with less credentials and experience, but receive not only the sweet assignments� and promotions, but assignments and promotions you’ve been seeking for years, will understand Lisa’s disappointment and frustration. This is a very good memoir. Highly recommended.
]]> A Promised Land 55361205
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.

Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.

Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden.

A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,� and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible.

This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama’s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.]]> 768 Barack Obama 1524763187 RYCJ 5
I made (at least) 50 pages of notes—mainly noting a few stories Barack shared, his style and reason for wanting to become president, along with policies he advocated... and why. Overall, most personally touching was the photo insert of the little black boy looking into Barack's eyes. How could anyone miss the symbolism in the picture and NOT MELT? Well Placed!]]> 4.32 2020 A Promised Land
author: Barack Obama
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/12
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves:
review:
Must admit, what I really celebrated, was reading this memoir, in its entirety, in one week!!! First 700-page political memoir I’ve ever read.

I made (at least) 50 pages of notes—mainly noting a few stories Barack shared, his style and reason for wanting to become president, along with policies he advocated... and why. Overall, most personally touching was the photo insert of the little black boy looking into Barack's eyes. How could anyone miss the symbolism in the picture and NOT MELT? Well Placed!
]]> <![CDATA[How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived]]> 55339007 Viral sensation and Emmy Award-winner Leslie Jordan regales fans with entertaining stories about the odd, funny, and unforgettable events in his life in this unmissable essay collection that echoes his droll, irreverent voice.

When actor Leslie Jordan learned he had “gone viral,� he had no idea what that meant or how much his life was about to change. On Instagram, his uproarious videos have entertained millions and have made him a global celebrity. Now, he brings his bon vivance to the page with this collection of intimate and sassy essays.

Bursting with color and life, dripping with his puckish Southern charm, How Y’all Doing? is Leslie doing what Leslie does best: telling stories that make us laugh and lift our spirits even in the darkest days. Whether he’s writing about his brush with a group of ruffians in a West Hollywood Starbucks, or an unexpected phone call from legendary Hollywood start Debbie Reynolds, Leslie infuses each story with his fresh and saucy humor and pure heart.

How Y’all Doing? is an authentic, warm, and joyful portrait of an American Sweetheart� a Southern Baptist celebutante, first-rate raconteur, and keen observer of the odd side of life whose quirky wit rivals the likes of Amy Sedaris, Jenny Lawson, David Rakoff, and Sarah Vowell.]]> 272 Leslie Jordan 0063076195 RYCJ 5 4.13 2021 How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived
author: Leslie Jordan
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/18
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves:
review:
What a treat! Overall, Leslie's stories are fun and endearing. One of my favorite vignettes was Ronnie Claire. There could be only one Ronnie Claire in this world and she was it. The Olio... loved it too. There are just so many tales in this memoir to enjoy. Really appreciate the fact he shared beyond being short, or funny, or blue-eyed, or gay. Very good. To (kind of) quote him, "thank you for sharing. And nice to meet ya'!" Definitely a life well lived, and a book well written to boot. Read copyright 2021/2022 edition.
]]> <![CDATA[Behind the Laughter: A Comedian’s Tale of Tragedy and Hope]]> 40590409 224 Anthony Griffith 0785219501 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 4.27 Behind the Laughter: A Comedian’s Tale of Tragedy and Hope
author: Anthony Griffith
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.27
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/02
date added: 2023/12/12
shelves: my-keepers
review:
The clean humor, and Anthony and Brigitte's take on life (marriage and morality vs. getting paid humor) definitely was refreshing to read. The tribute to their daughter as well touched me deeply. Overall, this was one of the best memoirs I've read this year. Well done.
]]> <![CDATA[The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood]]> 281755 343 Kien Nguyen 0316284610 RYCJ 5
Overall, Kien gives vivid voice to the plight of Amerasian children and their families, just by detailing what it was like living in Nhatrang (South Vietnam), before and after the Tet Offense. Well done. Highly recommended. Read paperback 2001 edition.]]> 4.31 2002 The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood
author: Kien Nguyen
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/16
date added: 2023/10/20
shelves:
review:
This is a really good book! Initially I mistook this memoir for a novel. The dramatic “quoted� narration read fierce, but mystical. Halfway along however, it occurred to me how difficult it's been said to translate Vietnamese language and sentiments into English. Regardless, I simply couldn’t close the book!

Overall, Kien gives vivid voice to the plight of Amerasian children and their families, just by detailing what it was like living in Nhatrang (South Vietnam), before and after the Tet Offense. Well done. Highly recommended. Read paperback 2001 edition.
]]> <![CDATA[Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes]]> 61273821 America’s most popular sports media figure tells it like it is in this surprisingly personal book, not only dishing out his signature, uninhibited opinions but also revealing the challenges he overcame in childhood as well as at ESPN, and who he really is when the cameras are off.

Stephen A. Smith has never been handed anything, nor was he an overnight success. Growing up poor in Queens, the son of Caribbean immigrants and the youngest of six children, he was a sports-obsessed kid who faced a number of struggles, from undiagnosed dyslexia to getting enough cereal to fill his bowl. As a basketball player at Winston-Salem State University, he got a glimmer of his true calling when he wrote a newspaper column arguing for the retirement of his own Hall of Fame coach, Clarence Gaines.

Smith hustled and rose up from a high school reporter at Daily News (New York) to a general sports columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer in the 1990s, before getting his own show at ESPN in 2005. After he was unceremoniously fired from the network in 2009, he became even more determined to fight for success. He got himself rehired two years later and, with his razor-sharp intelligence and fearless debate style, found his role on the show he was destined to star in: First Take, the network’s flagship morning program.

In Straight Shooter, Smith writes about the greatest highs and deepest lows of his life and career. He gives his thoughts on Skip Bayless, Ray Rice, Colin Kaepernick, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Cowboys, and former President Donald Trump. But he also pulls back the curtain and talks about life beyond the set, sharing authentic stories about his negligent father, his loving mother, being a father himself, his battle with life-threatening COVID-19, and what he really thinks about politics and social issues. He does it all with the same intelligence, humor, and charm that has made him a household name.

Provocative, moving, and eye-opening, this book is the perfect gift for lovers of sports, television, and anyone who likes their stories delivered straight to the heart.]]> 288 Stephen A. Smith 1982189495 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 4.11 2023 Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes
author: Stephen A. Smith
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/25
date added: 2023/10/12
shelves: my-keepers
review:
This book is one of the main reasons I read memoirs. I wholly respect Stephen's hustle. He's well versed on sports. Calls it like he sees it. Apologizes when he's made a mistake. But it is what's inside this book that explains who he is... his upbringing, his disappointments and achievements and what's behind his on screen persona. Nice job.
]]> <![CDATA[Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat]]> 25817479 You want to know about the struggle of growing up poor, black and female? Ask any girl from any hood. You want to know what it takes to rise above your circumstances when all the cards are stacked against you? Ask me.

Comedian Patricia Williams, who for years went by her street-name "Rabbit," was born and raised in Atlanta’s most troubled neighborhood at the height of the crack epidemic.

One of five children, Pat watched as her alcoholic mother struggled to get by on charity, cons and petty crimes. At seven Pat was taught to roll drunks for money. At 12, she was targeted for sex by a man eight years her senior; by 13 she was pregnant. By 15 Pat was a mother of two.

Alone at 16, Pat was determined to make a better life for her children. But with no job skills and an eighth-grade education, her options were limited. She learned quickly that hustling and humor were the only tools she had to survive.

Rabbit is an unflinching memoir of cinematic scope and unexpected humor that offers a rare glimpse into the harrowing reality of life on America’s margins, resilience, determination, and the transformative power of love.]]> 240 Patricia Williams 0062407309 RYCJ 5 my-keepers
PRAISE Miss Troup with the kick-butt boots, yet my favorite was Patricia going to get her sister's girls, and begging Michael to stay. OH Man! I so loved that part!!! Overall, this memoir is one of few I wished lasted longer. Would've loved to read the highlights of her comedy career. I'm sure this one will be among my top ten favorites read this year. It is an absolute must to experience. Highly recommended. Read hardback 2017 edition (In A Day!).

]]> 4.38 2017 Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat
author: Patricia Williams
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/03
date added: 2023/10/12
shelves: my-keepers
review:
The story is phenomenal, and not solely for its content, but for its deep-rooted premise. Touching and hard on the heart, its the redemptive quality that sets 'Rabbit' apart from many.

PRAISE Miss Troup with the kick-butt boots, yet my favorite was Patricia going to get her sister's girls, and begging Michael to stay. OH Man! I so loved that part!!! Overall, this memoir is one of few I wished lasted longer. Would've loved to read the highlights of her comedy career. I'm sure this one will be among my top ten favorites read this year. It is an absolute must to experience. Highly recommended. Read hardback 2017 edition (In A Day!).


]]> <![CDATA[Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom]]> 55077570 In this triumphant memoir, Carl Bernstein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of All the President’s Men and pioneer of investigative journalism, recalls his beginnings as an audacious teenage newspaper reporter in the nation’s capital―a winning tale of scrapes, gumshoeing, and American bedlam.

In 1960, Bernstein was just a sixteen-year-old at considerable risk of failing to graduate high school. Inquisitive, self-taught―and, yes, truant―Bernstein landed a job as a copyboy at the Evening Star, the afternoon paper in Washington. By nineteen, he was a reporter there.

In Chasing History, Bernstein recalls the origins of his storied journalistic career as he chronicles the Kennedy era, the swelling civil rights movement, and a slew of grisly crimes. He spins a buoyant, frenetic account of educating himself in what Bob Woodward describes as “the genius of perpetual engagement.�

Funny and exhilarating, poignant and frank, Chasing History is an extraordinary memoir of life on the cusp of adulthood for a determined young man with a dogged commitment to the truth.]]> 384 Carl Bernstein 1627791507 RYCJ 5
Overall, an informative recording of history. Read hardcover 2022 print edition.]]> 4.12 2022 Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom
author: Carl Bernstein
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/20
date added: 2023/10/12
shelves:
review:
Most engaging was following 'the kid's' excitement (before finishing high-school) working for the 'Evening Star'. Typing 90 wpm... taking dictation and the dated processes and mechanics it took getting local news into print, along with rubbing elbows with people and events by way of the precious press badge...so much is in this book. Especially restorative was coming across the quip; "I noticed that he (meaning another reporter/mentor) did more book-and-reading research than most local reporters... and "I" could see the dividends."

Overall, an informative recording of history. Read hardcover 2022 print edition.
]]> Little Failure: A Memoir 20588695 After three acclaimed novels, Gary Shteyngart turns to memoir in a candid, witty, deeply poignant account of his life so far. Shteyngart shares his American immigrant experience, moving back and forth through time and memory with self-deprecating humor, moving insights, and literary bravado. The result is a resonant story of family and belonging that feels epic and intimate and distinctly his own.
Born Igor Shteyngart in Leningrad during the twilight of the Soviet Union, the curious, diminutive, asthmatic boy grew up with a persistent sense of yearning--for food, for acceptance, for words--desires that would follow him into adulthood. At five, Igor wrote his first novel, "Lenin and His Magical Goose, "and his grandmother paid him a slice of cheese for every page.
In the late 1970s, world events changed Igor's life. Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev made a deal: exchange grain for the safe passage of Soviet Jews to America--a country Igor viewed as the enemy. Along the way, Igor became Gary so that he would suffer one or two fewer beatings from other kids. Coming to the United States from the Soviet Union was equivalent to stumbling off a monochromatic cliff and landing in a pool of pure Technicolor.
Shteyngart's loving but mismatched parents dreamed that he would become a lawyer or at least a "conscientious toiler" on Wall Street, something their distracted son was simply not cut out to do. Fusing English and Russian, his mother created the term "Failurchka"--Little Failure--which she applied to her son. With love. Mostly.
As a result, Shteyngart operated on a theory that he would fail at everything he tried. At being a writer, at being a boyfriend, and, most important, at being a worthwhile human being.
Swinging between a Soviet home life and American aspirations, Shteyngart found himself living in two contradictory worlds, all the while wishing that he could find a real home in one. And somebody to love him. And somebody to lend him sixty-nine cents for a McDonald's hamburger.
Provocative, hilarious, and inventive, "Little Failure" reveals a deeper vein of emotion in Gary Shteyngart's prose. It is a memoir of an immigrant family coming to America, as told by a lifelong misfit who forged from his imagination an essential literary voice and, against all odds, a place in the world.
Praise for "Little Failure
"
"[A] keenly observed tale of exile, coming-of-age and family love: It's raw, comic and deeply affecting, a testament to Mr. Shteyngart's abilities to write with both self-mocking humor and introspective wisdom, sharp-edged sarcasm and aching--and yes, Chekhovian--tenderness."--Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times"
"Hilarious and moving . . . The army of readers who love Gary Shteyngart is about to get bigger."--"The New York Times Book Review"
" "
"Dazzling . . . "Little Failure" is a rich, nuanced memoir. It's an immigrant story, a coming-of-age story, a becoming-a-writer story, and a becoming-a-mensch story, and in all these ways it is, unambivalently, a success."--Meg Wolitzer, "NPR"
" "
"An ecstatic depiction of survival, guilt and perseverance . . . as vivid, original and funny as [anything] contemporary U.S. literature has to offer."--"Los Angeles Times"
"[A] touching, insightful memoir . . . [Shteyngart] nimbly achieves the noble Nabokovian goal of letting sentiment in without ever becoming sentimental."--"The Washington Post"

"From the Hardcover edition."]]> 349 Gary Shteyngart 0812982495 RYCJ 5
I pawed over many spots; like the cucumber quip ...the sweepstakes incident ...his father's shutki ... his several readers around the world ([sic]/pun) ...and especially his (Igor's) innate desire to become a writer! Overall, A classic.]]> 3.67 2014 Little Failure: A Memoir
author: Gary Shteyngart
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/09
date added: 2023/10/12
shelves:
review:
The writing grabbed me first. Lyrical, tight, rigidly risible... the long winding choleric sentences took me on a page-turning ride through wintry Russian culture and a balsamic childhood largely comprising of blips and clips assimilating in the U.S.

I pawed over many spots; like the cucumber quip ...the sweepstakes incident ...his father's shutki ... his several readers around the world ([sic]/pun) ...and especially his (Igor's) innate desire to become a writer! Overall, A classic.
]]> <![CDATA[Things That Crash, Things That Fly]]> 55820493 Things That Crash, Things That Fly, the groundbreaking new memoir from award-winning writer Scott Gould.

Gould navigates that awkward vacation with his soon-to-be estranged wife in Serra, Italy, then sets out on another, longer journey—a winding route through heartbreak and anger, confusion and futility, despair and discovery. When Gould wangles (under dubious circumstances) a fellowship to research the death of William Guilfoil, a young WWII fighter pilot who crashed and died in the hills near Serra, he instead sets his sights on clarity and closure in his ex-wife’s ancestral home. As he grinds through an uncharted future, his story and Guilfoil’s become intertwined, and Gould gathers the fragments of a fractured heart. With a brutal honesty tempered with surprising humor, he tells us how he begins to stitch them back together.

Things That Crash, Things That Fly is about many things: lost love, daughters and fathers, evaporating marriage, Italian sandals, friendship, bad knees, acrobatic birds, secrecy, oddly placed piercings…but most of all, Gould’s inventive memoir is about how it’s truly possible to rise and soar, even after you’ve struck the ground.]]> 276 Scott Gould 1925965465 RYCJ 5 good-rainy-day-reads 4.20 Things That Crash, Things That Fly
author: Scott Gould
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/29
date added: 2023/10/12
shelves: good-rainy-day-reads
review:
Poetic writing. Smooth... relaxing... easy-going flow, often humorous and draws on the emotions; kind of reminiscent of 'The Alchemist' (writing-wise, not story). Overall very good...and interesting, even if somewhat repetitive. Read paperback, 2021 copyright 2021 edition.
]]> My Grandfather's Son 907011 289 Clarence Thomas 0060565551 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 4.21 2007 My Grandfather's Son
author: Clarence Thomas
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/17
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves: my-keepers
review:
So much is tucked (and packed) in this clear, concise, to the point enlightening memoir. Personal favorites was the opening, particularly the quotes and axioms... such as when the young Clarence "got up the nerve to tell his grand/father 'slavery was over'." "NOT IN MY HOUSE," replied his grandfather. The "educated fool" was a quip I personally remember hearing (a lot in black communities). The argument with John over seat-belt law... loved that too. There is just so much in here. A very quick read. I really, really liked it. (read copyright 2007 edition)
]]> <![CDATA[When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home]]> 432290 0 Erma Bombeck 0517105284 RYCJ 5
Update! My personal favorites; The traumatizing drives in Ireland and Italy. Camping with children. Touring (internationally) with groups (or in those group packages). Tipping in America vs elsewhere. Taking a cruise...for romance. Shopping from Turkish carpet-sellers, or in Hong Kong. Flying for peanuts. Airline food; "never eat anything that blinks first." Describing the theater event in Indonesia. And this one. In One Word. ALASKA. Just on and on and on, to the exculpatory "please note" appendage...oh my, I cried laughing!!! Simply delightful writing. If you've read it before, read it again. LOL! If you haven't, I highly recommend giving this one a try.]]> 4.08 1991 When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home
author: Erma Bombeck
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1991
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/13
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves:
review:
OMGoodness, I can't believe I read this book years ago. I just put it down a few days ago, AFTER laughing ALL NIGHT!!!

Update! My personal favorites; The traumatizing drives in Ireland and Italy. Camping with children. Touring (internationally) with groups (or in those group packages). Tipping in America vs elsewhere. Taking a cruise...for romance. Shopping from Turkish carpet-sellers, or in Hong Kong. Flying for peanuts. Airline food; "never eat anything that blinks first." Describing the theater event in Indonesia. And this one. In One Word. ALASKA. Just on and on and on, to the exculpatory "please note" appendage...oh my, I cried laughing!!! Simply delightful writing. If you've read it before, read it again. LOL! If you haven't, I highly recommend giving this one a try.
]]> <![CDATA[[Just] [Tyrus]: A [Memoir] [Paperback] 2022]]> 151689977 New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller!

Pro wrestler and political commentator Tyrus goes deep into his wild but triumphant life story, from his painfully dysfunctional upbringing to bodyguarding for Snoop Dogg, to becoming a wrestling icon and one of the most provocative on-air voices today.

“The author relates all of his adventures through a series of vividly memorable anecdotes�. A revealing glimpse of a multifaceted entertainer who defies easy labeling.� —Kirkus

“I loved Just Tyrus. I read it in one day and cheered for him when I got to the end. Tyrus has written a book that is at once raw, tender, intelligent, candid, and hilarious. Tyrus took a very rough start to his life and used perseverance, confident humility, and accountability to land firmly on his feet. What a triumph!� —Dana Perino, former White House Press Secretary to George W. Bush and Fox News anchor and host

The product of a 1970s mixed marriage, George Murdoch learned to fight early in life, fending off both race-baiting bullies and the demons of a dysfunctional home. Couch surfing all through high school and most of college, the quick-witted, sharp-tongued giant played football, ran drugs, and bounced at clubs to try to survive. After a false start with the WWE, he eventually became Snoop Dogg’s bodyguard and traveled the world with the hip hop legend, biding his time and honing his rap. When the WWE urged him to return, George became “Brodus Clay� and, for the next several years, reinvented himself numerous times under the watchful mentorship of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, “the American Dream.� He was eventually christened “Tyrus,� and shortly after, a chance social media encounter with Greg Gutfeld at Fox News resulted in Tyrus finding a new sage social commentator. Ferociously funny, blunt, and tenacious, Just Tyrus traces his unlikely and spectacular rise. As always with Tyrus, it’s in-your-face and offers no apologies.

“George aka Tyrus aka the realest most blunt human being on the face of planet earth. Never had a problem telling you what was on his mind or how he felt, good or bad. Tough exterior but a heart of gold. Front liner, great friend, and excellent coach for my youth football team. His work ethic is obvious, taking him from football to bodyguard to pro wrestler to a superb personality on Fox News. I’ve seen him climb the ladder of success, and I’m happy that I was along for the journey.� —Snoop Dogg
]]> 169 Kimo Nayer RYCJ 5 my-keepers 5.00 [Just] [Tyrus]: A [Memoir] [Paperback] 2022
author: Kimo Nayer
name: RYCJ
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/07
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Definitely a solid good read. Tyrus definitely blows the trumpet for order and discipline, and strong work ethics ...delineated throughout the telling of his story. "Find your passion and then do the work..." is one of his axioms. Given this outlook was the impetus that helped him find his purpose (after a difficult ...I say traumatic... childhood) I couldn’t have fallen harder for his story. Short, touching, direct, and humorous in many spots, this is a beautiful memoir.
]]> <![CDATA[You Carried Me: A Daughter's Memoir]]> 30462243 Melissa Ohden is fourteen when she learns she is the survivor of a botched abortion. In this intimate memoir she details for the first time her search for her biological parents, and her own journey from anger and shame to faith and empowerment.
After a decade-long search Melissa finally locates her birth father and writes to extend forgiveness, only to learn that he has died without answering her burning questions. Melissa becomes a mother herself in the very hospital where she was aborted. This experience transforms her attitude toward women who have had abortions, as does the miscarriage of her only son and the birth of a second daughter with complex health issues. But could anything prepare her for the day she finally meets her birth mother and hears her side of their story?
This intensely personal story of love and redemption illumines the powerful bond between mother and child that can overcome all odds.]]> 160 Melissa Ohden 0874867886 RYCJ 5 4.23 2017 You Carried Me: A Daughter's Memoir
author: Melissa Ohden
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/21
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves:
review:
This is a deeply personal account. Melissa's testimony is both beautiful... and harrowing. Memorable parts for me, outside of the truly painful aspect to her story, was her upbringing... and meeting and marrying Ryan... and how she coped by reading biographies, along with that campaign Ad quote. "No, I wasn't in control. But God was." Beautiful� to include that tear-jerking all-bracing hug!
]]> Spare 62296528
For Harry, this is that story at last.

Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.

At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.

Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.]]> 410 Prince Harry 0593593804 RYCJ 5 my-keepers
I greatly respect how the Prince describes his affectionate upbringing; The parenting. The familial practices and values. The pranks. Scoldings. Mentoring, etc.,... even the friction. Seems like an average family. And Gosh. I fell in love with the language, clipped sentences...and the humor TOO! This is some fine writing. Definitely visual, what made it so hard to put down the book. Without giving away spoilers, this memoir WAS NOT what I expected; it is more than what I imagined!!!

My goodness, there was so much LIGHT in here, none more affecting than his remembrances and deep connection to his Mum. Princess Diana is encapsulated throughout, and her son is definitely carrying her light! LOVED IT!!! Highly recommended.]]> 3.78 2023 Spare
author: Prince Harry
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/13
date added: 2023/03/15
shelves: my-keepers
review:
I was warned: "This memoir is REALLY good." The advisory turned out 100% accurate.

I greatly respect how the Prince describes his affectionate upbringing; The parenting. The familial practices and values. The pranks. Scoldings. Mentoring, etc.,... even the friction. Seems like an average family. And Gosh. I fell in love with the language, clipped sentences...and the humor TOO! This is some fine writing. Definitely visual, what made it so hard to put down the book. Without giving away spoilers, this memoir WAS NOT what I expected; it is more than what I imagined!!!

My goodness, there was so much LIGHT in here, none more affecting than his remembrances and deep connection to his Mum. Princess Diana is encapsulated throughout, and her son is definitely carrying her light! LOVED IT!!! Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[America Made Me a Black Man: A Memoir]]> 56304453 256 Boyah J. Farah 0063073358 RYCJ 5 4.00 2022 America Made Me a Black Man: A Memoir
author: Boyah J. Farah
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/25
date added: 2023/03/15
shelves:
review:
Most striking about Boyah's memoir was the writing. Our memoirist is a lover of words and it shows in the poetic way he recounts moving back and forth between his experiences living in Nugaal Valley (Somalia) and Boston (U.S.A). In Somalia he loves the land and in America he loves riding the highways. The contrast he makes between both is as engaging as striking.
]]> You’ve Got To Laugh 58363100
But who is Alison Hammond really, and how did she become the personality we know and love? Shaped by the influence of her incredible mum, Alison went from small roles on television shows as a youngster to that life-changing appearance on Big Brother , before landing her dream job on This Morning . And through it all, she found the joy in every day, the positives in any situation.

You've Got to Laugh gives a never-before-seen insight into Alison's her loves, her losses - with a side order of gossip. As well as being a hugely entertaining and uplifting read, Alison's story will inspire you to grab life with both hands and make the most of every single moment.]]> 320 Alison Hammond 055217856X RYCJ 5 dynamic-reads 4.11 2021 You’ve Got To Laugh
author: Alison Hammond
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/07
date added: 2023/03/15
shelves: dynamic-reads
review:
I'm always looking for upbeat memoirs to read, which was how I found Alison's book. I took one look at the cover. Read the title. And bought it! ...And I'm glad I did TOO!!! I got a lot out of her unique handle on managing life's bumps and bruises. Highly recommended.
]]> Bleachers 5347
As Coach Rake's 'boys' sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake � or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, still struggling to come to terms with his explosive relationship with the Coach, his dreams of a great career in the NFL, and the choices he made as a young man, the stakes could not be higher.]]> 229 John Grisham RYCJ 5 Although not the greatest sports' fan, I nonetheless enjoyed this novel. Quickly the question in this little thriller became, who really was Coach Eddie Rake, and what had he done? Definitely a visual story, straight to the impactful ending. I think I can now call myself a true Grisham fan! Loved it!!!]]> 3.53 2003 Bleachers
author: John Grisham
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2022/12/27
date added: 2022/12/29
shelves:
review:
Finally! I finally read a Grisham novel!
Although not the greatest sports' fan, I nonetheless enjoyed this novel. Quickly the question in this little thriller became, who really was Coach Eddie Rake, and what had he done? Definitely a visual story, straight to the impactful ending. I think I can now call myself a true Grisham fan! Loved it!!!
]]> <![CDATA[True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants: Memoirs and Memories From the Golden Age of Flying]]> 63201509
TWA provided an enviable jet-set lifestyle for flight attendants—and the opportunity to travel to exotic destinations like London, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong and Bombay. Flight attendants appeared on TV and in movies, and rubbed elbows with the rich and famous, from Elizabeth Taylor and John F. Kennedy Jr., to presidents and Popes, all while decked out in designer uniforms from clothing designers like Oleg Cassini and Ralph Lauren.

In the 1960s and 1970s, TWA accepted fewer than 1% of applicants to be flight attendants—making it tougher to get into than Harvard. Plus, a flying career offered the best education money could never buy.

TWA flight attendants could cook chateaubriand medium rare, deliver a baby at 35,000 feet, and survive a plane crash—all the while immaculately dressed from their never-a-strand-out-of-place hairstyles, all the way down to their mandatory high heeled shoes. But the glamorous lifestyle of a TWA flight attendant sometimes came at a cost.

True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants is a diary-style fly girl memoir with stories from hundreds of TWA flight attendants, and filled with a fascinating behind-the-scenes, never-before-seen look at the glamour, excitement, and struggles faced by young women as they traveled the world with TWA during this exciting time in airline history—from the golden age of air travel through the great stewardess rebellion and beyond.]]> 425 Kathy Kompare 1951744888 RYCJ 4
Overall, in addition the historical pitch of becoming a flight attendant being compared to getting accepted into Harvard, I enjoyed a number of the short tales. Personal favorites; "A Christmas Lament" (cute poem)…and the “Slam clickers�(haha)! “Hey little mama� I as well enjoyed, and oh man, "Did I hear him correctly…� that one I won't easily forget!]]> 3.79 2022 True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants: Memoirs and Memories From the Golden Age of Flying
author: Kathy Kompare
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/15
date added: 2022/12/29
shelves:
review:
This collection of ‘flight� tales is full of historical vignettes...such as "the look"... as in the nails, the hair, attitude, mannerisms, the dress, grooming and training all hostess/stewardess/fight attendants (prior to the 80's) were expected to exude. I remember those days. My aunt began her career as a TWA stewardess in the 60's (one of the first black females to earn her flight wings). Our family adored her. She was gorgeous and so poised, which this book is an eye-opener to what her other experiences with TWA must have been like.

Overall, in addition the historical pitch of becoming a flight attendant being compared to getting accepted into Harvard, I enjoyed a number of the short tales. Personal favorites; "A Christmas Lament" (cute poem)…and the “Slam clickers�(haha)! “Hey little mama� I as well enjoyed, and oh man, "Did I hear him correctly…� that one I won't easily forget!
]]> Uphill: A Memoir 58929026
An empowering, unabashedly bold memoir by the Atlantic journalist and former ESPN SportsCenter coanchor about overcoming a legacy of pain and forging a new path, no matter how uphill life’s battles might be.

Jemele Hill’s world came crashing down when she called President Trump a “white supremacist�; the White House wanted her fired from ESPN, and she was deluged with death threats. But Hill had faced tougher adversaries growing up in Detroit than a tweeting president. Beneath the exterior of one of the most recognizable journalists in America was a need―a calling―to break her family’s cycle of intergenerational trauma.

Born in the middle of a lively routine Friday night Monopoly game to a teen mother and a heroin-addicted father, Hill constantly adjusted to the harsh realities of not only her own childhood but the inherited generational pain of her mother and grandmother. Her escape was writing.

Hill’s mother was less than impressed with the brassy and bold free expression of her diary, but Hill never stopped discovering and amplifying her voice. Through hard work and a constant willingness to learn, Hill rose from newspaper reporter to columnist to new heights as the coanchor for ESPN’s revered SportsCenter . Soon, she earned respect and support for her fearless opinions and unshakable confidence, as well as a reputation as a trusted journalist who speaks her mind with truth and conviction.

In Jemele Hill’s journey Uphill , she shares the whole story of her work, the women of her family, and her complicated relationship with God in an unapologetic, character-rich, and eloquent memoir.]]> 256 Jemele Hill 1250624371 RYCJ 5 4.05 Uphill: A Memoir
author: Jemele Hill
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/10/30
date added: 2022/11/01
shelves:
review:
Jemele hails from humble beginnings, the stage from which she forms her opinions and views. She helps readers understand her grandmother's and mother's perspectives, which I was team mom from start to end. I got her, and understood Jemele's frustrations as well. Overall, Uphill is moving, engaging and a must read. Finished it in a day! Highly recommended.
]]> Finding Me 58687126
This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.

As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.

Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.]]> 304 Viola Davis 0063037327 RYCJ 5 4.54 2022 Finding Me
author: Viola Davis
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/10/14
date added: 2022/10/20
shelves:
review:
Viola's rough beginning was challenging to read, and yet so necessary for this narrative as it clearly evidences how far easier it is to remove physical constraints, than mental shackles. She did a phenomenal job there. Of course I rooted for every hurdle, she hurdled; starting with 'the Life Saver Show'. What an appropriate name. I also loved her trip to Africa. And yeah, related to the fact that the actor/artist industry is not the easiest career pursuit. She definitely shed a lot of insight there, as likewise her views about her role in films such as 'The Help.' Overall, this is a memoir I highly recommend reading!
]]> <![CDATA[Breaking History: A White House Memoir]]> 61075755 463 Jared Kushner 0063221500 RYCJ 5
Overall, 'Breaking History' provides tremendous insight into this administration and government in general, along with a lasting impression of Jared’s contributions and a linear view of his father-in-law’s management style and social customs. "Talk less, do more. Focus on what's important, ignore distractions. It is up to each of us to decide how we will use our time here on earth." This memoir is a must read. Highly recommended!]]> 4.13 2022 Breaking History: A White House Memoir
author: Jared Kushner
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/09/17
date added: 2022/10/09
shelves:
review:
This memoir reads written with laypersons in mind. The chapters are concise and clear, and the pacing is brisk and moving. The humility and resilience it took a novice like Jared functioning at this level of government, running up and down WH halls navigating in-fighting, allegations, investigations and the likes, while negotiating trade deals, peace agreements, a crime bill, and responding to national emergencies... not excluding his likely greatest task; looking out for his father-in-law, is a sight I still cannot, not unsee.

Overall, 'Breaking History' provides tremendous insight into this administration and government in general, along with a lasting impression of Jared’s contributions and a linear view of his father-in-law’s management style and social customs. "Talk less, do more. Focus on what's important, ignore distractions. It is up to each of us to decide how we will use our time here on earth." This memoir is a must read. Highly recommended!
]]> <![CDATA[Dyn-O-Mite!: Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times--A Memoir]]> 16554986 288 Jimmie Walker 0306821109 RYCJ 5 4.20 2012 Dyn-O-Mite!: Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times--A Memoir
author: Jimmie Walker
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/16
date added: 2022/08/24
shelves:
review:
I applaud Jimmy for not only hurdling obstacles never meant to be scaled, but for writing his story. Favorite chapters were 'Black Sheep among Black People' and 'On the Road'. Both summarized much, albeit in a painfully powerful way. Well done. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Aunt Hattie's Cookbook: Southern Comfort Food Favorites]]> 56304585 260 Hattie N. Washington 1950707016 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 5.00 Aunt Hattie's Cookbook: Southern Comfort Food Favorites
author: Hattie N. Washington
name: RYCJ
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/19
date added: 2022/07/21
shelves: my-keepers
review:
I couldn't get over the interior of this book. Presentation is key, which even more brilliant than the photos and interior layout, are the recipes! I mean, Beer Battered Deep Fried Chitterlings! And fried Crusty crab balls! And oh.My.Goodness! That Help-Less Chocolate Pie is going down tonight! Be prepared for a healthy serving of recipes...lots of ideas... and so much love and inspiration. Not only will you find Southern Comfort meals, but healthy dishes too, some compliments from other parts of the globe. There also are measuring tips and ingredients that can be repurposed or substituted, plus proper cookware tips, a glossary, and more! This cookbook is a must. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim]]> 10176 --davidsedarisbooks.com]]> 257 David Sedaris 0965904830 RYCJ 5 4.12 2004 Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
author: David Sedaris
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/15
date added: 2022/07/21
shelves:
review:
Among two of Sedaris' other books, 'Me Talk Pretty One Day' and 'Holidays on Ice', I liked this one best. His dry wit is always a treat and the overall entertainment value high. I practically read the book in one sitting. Highly recommended. (read 2004 copyright edition).
]]> <![CDATA[Paperboy Days: Adventures of the Last Great American Paperboy]]> 24333937 236 Ken Hohman 0692363920 RYCJ 5 good-rainy-day-reads 4.50 2015 Paperboy Days: Adventures of the Last Great American Paperboy
author: Ken Hohman
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/27
date added: 2022/06/02
shelves: good-rainy-day-reads
review:
Ken's story really grew on me. I loved the nostalgic moonwalk (back) thru the 70's. Describing 'them days' through his paper route; the customers, his friends, brothers and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette colleagues, along with his parents, the community and historical vignettes of Pittsburgh itself, proved to be more than doting stories around a paper route. All around, from the 'collection stories' to the sex education class, this memoir is built around many wonderful memories...well worth the read. I really enjoyed this book, as much as I adored the Cover!!! Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today]]> 55959514 256 Valerie Bertinelli 035856736X RYCJ 5
Overall, a beautiful testimony. Highly recommended.]]> 3.99 2022 Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today
author: Valerie Bertinelli
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/10
date added: 2022/05/14
shelves:
review:
My favorite parts was the way she embraced motherhood, and her son. I smiled big on her son's answer to the groupie question. Too sweet. The trip to Italy and learning some of what goes on behind the Food Network I enjoyed as well. The photos were a big bonus. I love rock & roll! I also didn't expect to find recipes enclosed, so this was another big treat. Mom's lasagna and the Sicilian chocolate love cake I'm going to try... because the pizza recipe I already tried! It turned out FABULOUS!!!

Overall, a beautiful testimony. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Black, White, and Gray All Over: A Black Man's Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement]]> 59545036 477 Frederick Douglass Reynolds RYCJ 5 4.61 2021 Black, White, and Gray All Over: A Black Man's Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement
author: Frederick Douglass Reynolds
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/12
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves:
review:
This journal is really more than a kaleidoscope of police work and politics. Frederick lends readers his lens to see how his personal experiences facilitated his ability to both protect and serve the communities, and administer to police departments and its constituents simultaneously.
]]> Diary of a Mad Diva 18693683 New York Times bestseller I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me, the unstoppable Joan Rivers is at it again.

When her daughter Melissa gives her a diary for Christmas, at first Joan is horrified—who the hell does Melissa think she is? That fat pig, Bridget Jones? But as Joan, being both beautiful and introspective, begins to record her day-to-day musings, she realizes she has a lot to say.

About everything. And everyone, God help them.

The result? A no-holds-barred, delightfully vicious and always hilarious look at the everyday life of the ultimate diva. Follow Joan on a family vacation in Mexico and on trips between New York and Los Angeles where she mingles with the stars, never missing a beat as she delivers blistering critiques on current events, and excoriating insights about life, pop culture, and celebrities (from A to D list), all in her relentlessly funny signature style.

This is the Diary of a Mad Diva. For the first time in a century, a diary by someone that’s actually worth reading.]]> 300 Joan Rivers 0425269027 RYCJ 5 3.35 2014 Diary of a Mad Diva
author: Joan Rivers
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/22
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves:
review:
Three things; she was big on charity work...she spared no one or nothing with her brand of humor and I laughed (really hard) 36 times by page 100 of a 289 page book.
]]> <![CDATA[Diary of a Lost Girl: The Autobiography of Kola Boof]]> 180026
Critically acclaimed for her powerful novels "Flesh and the Devil", "Pure Nigger Evil" and the classic short story collection, "Long Train to the Redeeming Sin"...I'm now convinced that there's no way Kola Boof could ever create a fictional character in one of her novels that is more glamorous, sad, enigmatic and intriguing than she herself is in real life.]]> 441 Kola Boof 0971201986 RYCJ 5 3.61 2003 Diary of a Lost Girl: The Autobiography of Kola Boof
author: Kola Boof
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/18
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves:
review:
This was a hard book to close. There’s a lot of rant and she is young, but “she’s spent her whole life being dictated to.� Love her... believe her…agree with her� or not, her thoughts, opinions, and story is real talk.
]]> Every Day I'm Hustling 36680893 Every Day I'm Hustling is a personal book with a message Fox passionately believes that you make your own luck, that you never ever wake up in the morning thinking somebody’s going to call you and offer you that part or ask you out on that date that’s going to change your life, that you have to wake up and put on your longest eyelashes and fiercest heels and go out and make your life happen yourself.

The actress provides start-today strategies for success in business and “been there� lessons in love, buttressed with stories from her early family life all the way through to today. Always honest and always funny, Fox also tells behind-the-scenes tales from some of her biggest movies � such as Uma Thurman’s life-changing advice during Kill Bill and Will Smith's downtime pep talk on Independence Day. And she maps out exactly what it took to come back with a role on the smash hit Empire and her own frisky show on Lifetime, Vivica’s Black Magic. She also shares her how-is-she-53? secrets to looking your best, no matter the age on your driver’s license.]]> 288 Vivica A. Fox 1250134463 RYCJ 5 3.97 Every Day I'm Hustling
author: Vivica A. Fox
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.97
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/01
date added: 2022/04/04
shelves:
review:
The entertainment value in Vivica’s hustle is as magnetic as the generous storytelling. The practical advice she gives is particularly insightful and often on point. ‘Stay positive, believe in yourself, give back and help others.� So much is in here. I can't possibly touch on it all. There's even an Index! So well done. This book is for anyone. I loved it! Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Coming of Age In Mississippi: The Classic Autobiography of Growing Up Poor and Black In the Rural South]]> 50610964 511 Anne Moody RYCJ 5 4.52 1968 Coming of Age In Mississippi: The Classic Autobiography of Growing Up Poor and Black In the Rural South
author: Anne Moody
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.52
book published: 1968
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/03
date added: 2022/03/03
shelves:
review:
I couldn't get over how challenging, but easy a read this story was. There is much to take from Moody's feelings and lessons and sacrifices she (and others) made towards demanding basic human rights in Mississippi and beyond. Highly recommended!
]]> Just as I Am 50622390 Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. Here, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and mother, a sister, and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by His hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say.]]> 432 Cicely Tyson 0062931067 RYCJ 5 4.49 2021 Just as I Am
author: Cicely Tyson
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/26
date added: 2022/03/01
shelves:
review:
First, I thank Cicely Tyson (resting in Heaven), for sharing her life experiences. Being a big fan of her starring role in the movies Sounder, Roots, and the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman made the nuggets she shared about how those films came to be, a genuine treat. Just a marvelous read!
]]> <![CDATA[Mirror Mirror: Confessions of a Celebrity Makeup Artist]]> 49595196 200 Trista Jordan 1645431231 RYCJ 5 3.83 Mirror Mirror: Confessions of a Celebrity Makeup Artist
author: Trista Jordan
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.83
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/29
date added: 2022/03/01
shelves:
review:
This memoir reads just like the cover looks like... fun, cheeky, gossipy and easy on the eyes. I enjoyed it!
]]> The Glass Castle 7445 THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing--a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.]]> 288 Jeannette Walls 074324754X RYCJ 5
I agree with the hubby. "Everyone who is interesting has a past" or just as fitting, "the best stories come from those with an interesting past!" What a DAMN GOOD MEMOIR! Highly Recommended!!!]]> 4.32 2005 The Glass Castle
author: Jeannette Walls
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/26
date added: 2022/03/01
shelves:
review:
I really loved this memoir!!! A winner for sure! Except then, why has this book been in my bookcase for YEARS!?! Every single element of Jeannette's story...from start to finish� impressed me. The writing. The reflections. The tone. The story. Everything... though make no mistake about it, Jeannette had a rough childhood. Initially I was on the fence about what was happening in the home. Her parents humored me in parts and not all of their perspectives were entirely off base... that being until things weren't so funny.

I agree with the hubby. "Everyone who is interesting has a past" or just as fitting, "the best stories come from those with an interesting past!" What a DAMN GOOD MEMOIR! Highly Recommended!!!
]]> <![CDATA[Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Other Side of the Fist Bump]]> 54698705
Ben takes his role as your new black friend seriously, providing original and borrowed wisdom on stereotypes, slurs, the whole “swimming thing,� how much Beyoncé is too much Beyoncé, Black Girl Magic, the rise of the Karens, affirmative action, the Black Lives Matter movement, and other conversations you might want to have with your new BBFF.

Oscillating between the impulse to be "one of the good ones" and the occasional need to excuse himself to the restrooms, stuff his mouth with toilet paper, and scream, Ben navigates his own Blackness as an "Oreo" with too many opinions for his father’s liking, an encyclopedic knowledge of CW teen dramas, and a mouth he can't always control.

From cheating his way out of swim tests to discovering stray family members in unlikely places, he finds the punchline in the serious while acknowledging the blunt truths of existing as a Black man in today’s world.]]> 320 Ben Philippe 0063026449 RYCJ 5 3.80 2021 Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Other Side of the Fist Bump
author: Ben Philippe
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/12
date added: 2022/03/01
shelves:
review:
Although the tongue-in-cheek narratives seemed suited for a select audience, evidenced by the title, beneath the cover is a wide berth of content suitable for anyone who enjoys contemporary satire. I thought it was good. Really enjoyed the friendship with Morgan. And great cover!
]]> <![CDATA[Angela Davis: An Autobiography]]> 58434086
Angela Davis has been a political activist at the cutting edge of the Black Liberation, feminist, queer, and prison abolitionist movements for more than 50 years. First published and edited by Toni Morrison in 1974, An Autobiography is a powerful and commanding account of her early years in struggle. Davis describes her journey from a childhood on Dynamite Hill in Birmingham, Alabama, to one of the most significant political trials of the century: from her political activity in a New York high school to her work with the U.S. Communist Party, the Black Panther Party, and the Soledad Brothers; and from the faculty of the Philosophy Department at UCLA to the FBI's list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Told with warmth, brilliance, humor and conviction, Angela Davis’s autobiography is a classic account of a life in struggle with echoes in our own time.]]> 420 Angela Y. Davis 1642595683 RYCJ 5 4.54 1974 Angela Davis: An Autobiography
author: Angela Y. Davis
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.54
book published: 1974
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/10
date added: 2022/03/01
shelves:
review:
The writing is clear, detailed and incredibly interesting. No words were wasted. I read a lot of memoirs and autobiographies and still amazed by the depth of content written so straightforward that it made getting through almost 400 pages easy. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier]]> 43015
My new friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life.
“Why did you leave Sierra Leone?�
“Because there is a war.�
“You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?�
“Yes, all the time.�
“CǴDZ.�
I smile a little.
“You should tell us about it sometime.�
“Yes, sometime.�

This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.

What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived.

In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.

This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.]]> 229 Ishmael Beah 0374105235 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 4.16 2007 A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
author: Ishmael Beah
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2018/02/17
date added: 2022/02/03
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Overall I especially appreciated the vivid visuals; Ishmael’s family, the customs and cuisine, the incredible sounds and topography. The writing is detailed, thoroughly conscripted from a child’s eye, and sparing embellishments, believable. It was as hard to read this book, as it was to put down. The rich storytelling brought this deeply troubling, but compelling testimony off the page. A recommended must.
]]> <![CDATA[Act Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me]]> 50998944
Luckily, he has a strong example to follow: his beloved late grandmother, Estelle Marie Talley. Jamie learned everything he knows about parenting from the fierce woman who raised him: As he puts it, she’s “Madea before Tyler Perry put on the pumps and the gray wig.�

In Act Like You Got Some Sense —a title inspired by Estelle—Jamie shares up close and personal stories about the tough love and old-school values he learned growing up in the small town of Terrell, Texas; his early days trying to make it in Hollywood; the joys and challenges of achieving stardom; and how each phase of his life shaped his parenting journey. Hilarious, poignant, and always brutally honest, this is Jamie Foxx like we’ve never seen him before.]]> 240 Jamie Foxx 1538703289 RYCJ 5
Overall, (as there is much more to 'act like you got some sense'), God bless Miss Reeves, and for sure his grandparents. Most definitely; ‘You know you’ve done a good job parenting when your kids start parenting you.� Great job! Highly recommended.]]> 3.85 Act Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me
author: Jamie Foxx
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.85
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/17
date added: 2021/11/19
shelves:
review:
The entertainment/inspirational value in this memoir is high. Jamie is not ‘the� traditional dad, though he embodies traditional values. He’s a fierce protector, a solid provider and is available to his daughters. So, (of course) he gets men respecting women right. I laughed hardest about them hashtags, along with his growing up experiences... his version of a 'time out' and that bit on the ‘calm’…with the footprints in the ceiling! Oh man, too funny, similar to Miss Anelise with the “Jamie Foxx in the house!� …And her acknowledging God (and the devil in that same space); made it easy to appreciate her poetry. Fierce! I Loved it!

Overall, (as there is much more to 'act like you got some sense'), God bless Miss Reeves, and for sure his grandparents. Most definitely; ‘You know you’ve done a good job parenting when your kids start parenting you.� Great job! Highly recommended.
]]> Girl, Interrupted 68783
Kaysen's memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a "parallel universe" set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties. Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching documnet that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.]]> 169 Susanna Kaysen 0679746048 RYCJ 5 3.95 1993 Girl, Interrupted
author: Susanna Kaysen
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/16
date added: 2021/11/19
shelves:
review:
Although it took a minute to process, the time spent finally comprehending this much talked about and lauded book was worth the read. In a few short pages Kaysen does a splendid job confirming what I always believed (from my lay perspective) about mental illness. What's more ironic; despite a decades old experience, today in 2021 things haven't changed much. Mental breaks are treated in a similar fashion as the way Kaysen shares her life interruption. For those dealing with a mental crisis, whether helping someone close or studying or practicing in the field, or even if you yourself are thinking things aren't quite right, this is a great book to read. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Nobody Will Tell You This But Me]]> 52804098 A funny, warm, and brilliantly original memoir in which a grandmother speaks to her granddaughter from beyond the grave, telling, with candor and irresistible humor, stories from both their lives--of kinship, loyalty, tenacity, and love.

Bess Kalb--whip-smart, Twitter-famous TV comedy writer and regular New Yorker "Daily Shouts" columnist--has saved every voicemail message her grandmother, Bobby Bell, ever left her. The two were best friends and confidantes. Bobby doted on her granddaughter; Bess adored Bobby. In 2017, nearly ninety, Bobby died.

In this moving, wildly imaginative memoir, Bobby Bell is still speaking to Bess, her inimitable voice in Bess's head, bristling with the loving friction between one headstrong woman and the granddaughter who grew up to be an equal force of nature. Bobby gives Bess critical advice (on career and romance; lipstick and hair). And she relates the history that made her who she is, beginning with her mother's escape from the pogroms of Belarus in the 1880s to the cramped Brooklyn apartment where Bobby was born; and Bobby's own marriage to a successful businessman, which made possible the educations that helped her children and grandchildren flourish.

But from the time Bess was born, Bobby bestowed a unique flavor of love upon her granddaughter: tea at the Plaza; new dresses at Bloomingdales; and above all, her nobody-will-tell-you-this-but-me truths, full of devotion and well meaning, even when they hurt.

This unusual love story celebrates the very special bond that can skip a generation and hold iron-clad. Told through documents, photographs, and verbatim dialogues between two remarkable women, it is an unforgettable account of survival and family; of women's lives across different generations; of gratitude and grief--all rolled into one hilarious, poetic, page-turning book.]]> 201 Bess Kalb 0349013500 RYCJ 5 4.25 2020 Nobody Will Tell You This But Me
author: Bess Kalb
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/10/12
date added: 2021/10/13
shelves:
review:
This was an endearing memoir, so easy on the spirit. I especially enjoyed the dialogues and capers between grandmother and granddaughter. Loved how grandma doted on her granddaughter, hopping on planes at the drop of a hat to sit outside her darling grandchild’s kindergarten class so she would stop crying. Grandma, clearly a card, will keep readers humored. She not only left Bess with a piece of her spirit, but a healthy serving of the family’s history. What a pleasant memoir. I suspect anyone looking for the pearls in life will enjoy the narratives as well.
]]> The House at Sugar Beach 2643182
Helene Cooper is “Congo,� a descendant of two Liberian dynasties—traced back to the first ship of freemen that set sail from New York in 1820 to found Monrovia. Helene grew up at Sugar Beach, a twenty-two-room mansion by the sea. Her childhood was filled with servants, flashy cars, a villa in Spain, and a farmhouse up-country. It was also an African childhood, filled with knock foot games and hot pepper soup, heartmen and neegee. When Helene was eight, the Coopers took in a foster child—a common custom among the Liberian elite. Eunice, a Bassa girl, suddenly became known as “Mrs. Cooper’s daughter.�

For years the Cooper daughters—Helene, her sister Marlene, and Eunice—blissfully enjoyed the trappings of wealth and advantage. But Liberia was like an unwatched pot of water left boiling on the stove. And on April 12, 1980, a group of soldiers staged a coup d'état, assassinating President William Tolbert and executing his cabinet. The Coopers and the entire Congo class were now the hunted, being imprisoned, shot, tortured, and raped. After a brutal daylight attack by a ragtag crew of soldiers, Helene, Marlene, and their mother fled Sugar Beach, and then Liberia, for America. They left Eunice behind.

A world away, Helene tried to assimilate as an American teenager. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill she found her passion in journalism, eventually becoming a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. She reported from every part of the globe—except Africa—as Liberia descended into war-torn, third-world hell.

In 2003, a near-death experience in Iraq convinced Helene that Liberia—and Eunice—could wait no longer. At once a deeply personal memoir and an examination of a violent and stratified country, The House at Sugar Beach tells of tragedy, forgiveness, and transcendence with unflinching honesty and a survivor's gentle humor. And at its heart, it is a story of Helene Cooper’s long voyage home.]]> 354 Helene Cooper 0743266242 RYCJ 5
Overall, anyone wanting a straightforward view of the slave trade, and its relationship to Liberia, the British, the United States and numerous African tribes will treasure this personal account. And anyone looking to read a story with teeth, will find it hard to put this book down. I didn't miss a page. Highly recommended!]]> 3.90 2008 The House at Sugar Beach
author: Helene Cooper
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/28
date added: 2021/10/13
shelves:
review:
This memoir, without contest, is a phenomenal story. The writing is clear, organized, and touching. I couldn't get over how the stories weaved together, transitioning between tender memories, historical vignettes and political narratives. This aspect of writing is nothing short of spectacular. Add this to the storytelling and this is, simply, one fierce memoir!

Overall, anyone wanting a straightforward view of the slave trade, and its relationship to Liberia, the British, the United States and numerous African tribes will treasure this personal account. And anyone looking to read a story with teeth, will find it hard to put this book down. I didn't miss a page. Highly recommended!
]]> Shark Tales 9524155 "Shark Tales" is down-to-earth, frank, and as heartwarming as it is smart. After reading it don't be surprised if you find yourself thinking, "If she can do it, so can I." Nothing would make Barbara happier.]]> 320 Barbara Corcoran 1591844185 RYCJ 5
Overall, the best part of this timeless work is how Barbara paired her upbringing with her business decisions. The stories are indeed chocked full of valuable lessons looped through some amazing storytelling. She doesn’t tell you what to do. She tells you HOW she did it. I simply can’t get over the content and how this story came together. Highly recommended.]]> 4.12 2001 Shark Tales
author: Barbara Corcoran
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/15
date added: 2021/09/17
shelves:
review:
This memoir is dated, but the content no less relevant. The sheer volume of storytelling is fabulously presented; the layout first class and writing down-to-earth, passionate-edgy, and humorous. This actually surprised me. Barbara recollecting her vulnerabilities was unexpected, particularly her early bout with stage fright and encounters with moguls such as Trump (to name one). It also was a treat to read stories so genuine and grounded. When it came to the Ray ordeal, Barbara’s strength really resonated. No pity party whatsoever! From this vantage point it was easy to find appeal in her purpose; finding (fair) ways to grow her business. The 88 apartments comes to mind, along with a few quotes that also stuck: “Publicity is easiest and cheapest to make happen.� “Moms can’t quit� …and “Not one of us is as smart as all of us� (in regards to team work).

Overall, the best part of this timeless work is how Barbara paired her upbringing with her business decisions. The stories are indeed chocked full of valuable lessons looped through some amazing storytelling. She doesn’t tell you what to do. She tells you HOW she did it. I simply can’t get over the content and how this story came together. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[I Tried to Change So You Don't Have To: True Life Lessons]]> 52587713 An inspiring, hilarious memoir about learning to resist the pressures of conformity, love yourself for who you are, embrace your flaws, and unlock your true potential.
Now cohost of Fox's The Real and SiriusXM's Café Mocha, Loni Love hasn't taken the typical path to becoming America's favorite straight-talking girlfriend and comedian. She was not the child of Hollywood legends and she never wore a size 00. Rather, she grew up in housing projects in Detroit, more worried about affording her next meal than going on a diet. When she moved to Hollywood after graduating college with an engineering degree, seeking to break out in the entertainment world, there was nothing that would convince her to eat the kale salads and quinoa bowls that her colleagues introduced her to, which looked to Love like "weeds my grandma used to pay me a dollar to pull from her yard."
Still, despite the differences that set her apart in the status-driven world of entertainment where being thin, young, blond, and bubbly is sometimes considered a talent, Love spent years trying to fit in -- trying to style her hair just so, dieting, dating the men she thought she was supposed to be with. In this book, she tells the uproariously funny story of how she overcame the trap of self-improvement and instead learned to embrace who she was. As Love writes, "There's a saying a lot of people live by: 'Fake it till you make it.' For me, it's always been 'fake it, and then have the whole thing blow up in your face.'" I Tried to Change So You Don't Have To explores all of the embarrassing mistakes, terrifying challenges, and unexpected breakthroughs that taught her how, by committing ourselves to our own path, we can take control of our destiny.]]> 229 Loni Love 0306873729 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 4.19 2020 I Tried to Change So You Don't Have To: True Life Lessons
author: Loni Love
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/08/28
date added: 2021/08/30
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Overall, Loni's journey is told in an organized, patently clear and engaging manner. On top of being easy to read, it holds many surprises! Flawless is another word I’d use to describe the telling of her story, kind of correlating to her trained profession before stepping up to mics and entertaining crowds. �...From the tooter to the rooter!� —that meaning, from Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects to Hollywood, which didn’t happen overnight, is what really makes this memoir so humbling and touching and impactful all rolled in one. Simply a MUST READ. Absolutely beautiful! Highly recommended!!!
]]> <![CDATA[Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist's Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America]]> 40144524
Most civil rights victories are achieved behind the scenes, and this riveting, beautifully written memoir by a "black first" looks back with searing insight on the decades of struggle, friendship, courage, humor and savvy that secured what seems commonplace today-people of color working in mainstream media.

Told with a pioneering newspaper writer's charm and skill, Gilliam's full, fascinating life weaves her personal and professional experiences and media history into an engrossing tapestry. When we read about the death of her father and other formative events of her life, we glimpse the crippling impact of the segregated South before the civil rights movement when slavery's legacy still felt astonishingly close. We root for her as a wife, mother, and ambitious professional as she seizes once-in-a-lifetime opportunities never meant for a "dark-skinned woman" and builds a distinguished career. We gain a comprehensive view of how the media, especially newspapers, affected the movement for equal rights in this country. And in this humble, moving memoir, we see how an innovative and respected journalist and working mother helped provide opportunities for others.

With the distinct voice of one who has worked for and witnessed immense progress and overcome heart-wrenching setbacks, this book covers a wide swath of media history -- from the era of game-changing Negro newspapers like the Chicago Defender to the civil rights movement, feminism, and our current imperfect diversity. This timely memoir, which reflects the tradition of boot-strapping African American storytelling from the South, is a smart, contemporary consideration of the media.]]> 368 Dorothy Butler Gilliam 1546083448 RYCJ 5 my-keepers
I also couldn't help but be impressed by the many ‘other� star performers she’s met; Winston Churchill� Alex Haley�.Sterling Brown� working with Maury Povich ...interviewing Ayatollah Khomeini…writing Paul Robeson’s biography! Her association with Woodson (the man who not only started negro history week (currently Black History Month) …but challenged students to think critically) had to be a favorite. That quote (how the ‘mis-educated, mis-educates others�) is particularly relevant in relation to the overall premise. It seemed to be why (for example) it wasn’t known (during the Regan era) “there were so many Archie Bunkers.� It’s also why (I like to think) I got that offhand “go slow� quip. Ms. Gilliam wanted to ‘get it right�, hoping to humble a 400-year old (plus) dogmatic ignorance crippling an otherwise logical system by reporting on and bringing ‘black female sensibilities on events and stories to broader audiences�. It was a job well done. Thank you, Ms. Gilliam. Highly recommended!]]> 3.77 2019 Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist's Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America
author: Dorothy Butler Gilliam
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2021/08/22
date added: 2021/08/30
shelves: my-keepers
review:
What I respect about ‘Trailblazer� is the overall sentiment. Ms. Gilliam hails from humble beginnings during a demanding era. She’s “not a yeller and a screamer� but “loved being a ‘star performer’� focused on bringing ‘black female sensibilities on events and stories to a broader audience.� So loved that part.

I also couldn't help but be impressed by the many ‘other� star performers she’s met; Winston Churchill� Alex Haley�.Sterling Brown� working with Maury Povich ...interviewing Ayatollah Khomeini…writing Paul Robeson’s biography! Her association with Woodson (the man who not only started negro history week (currently Black History Month) …but challenged students to think critically) had to be a favorite. That quote (how the ‘mis-educated, mis-educates others�) is particularly relevant in relation to the overall premise. It seemed to be why (for example) it wasn’t known (during the Regan era) “there were so many Archie Bunkers.� It’s also why (I like to think) I got that offhand “go slow� quip. Ms. Gilliam wanted to ‘get it right�, hoping to humble a 400-year old (plus) dogmatic ignorance crippling an otherwise logical system by reporting on and bringing ‘black female sensibilities on events and stories to broader audiences�. It was a job well done. Thank you, Ms. Gilliam. Highly recommended!
]]> <![CDATA[Easy Like Sunday Mourning (Page Turners, #2)]]> 20515457 Jeremy Rogers makes a good living designing video games, but nothing prepares him for the real world adventure of being accused of poisoning his own employee. Add in falling for a sassy attorney with a competitive ex-husband, a clingy blonde coworker, and a mammoth-size dog that eats his furniture. Suddenly fighting off a screen full of zombies or preventing an alien invasion seems like child’s play.
Maggie and Jeremy find themselves embroiled in a game of death threats, lies, and betrayal. Maggie must learn to trust again while playing the most dangerous game of all. Because defeat could mean not only losing her heart, but also her life…]]> 294 Jennie Marts 1494942038 RYCJ 5 3.97 2014 Easy Like Sunday Mourning (Page Turners, #2)
author: Jennie Marts
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2014/04/01
date added: 2021/08/10
shelves:
review:
Engaging, fun, funny, relaxed story. Easygoing beach read.
]]> Sula 11346 174 Toni Morrison 0452283868 RYCJ 5
Sula reads like a magnificent jigsaw puzzle rife of hypocrisies, myths and morals. It’s the roaring twenties, and set in rural Medallion, Ohio where a number of tragedies occur. In ‘up from the bottom� (the black part of town) there was Nel, Sula’s best friend who lived in a fairly respectable home, and Sula raised under a roof with grandmother Eva, mother Hannah, uncle Plum, and a variety of nomads and eccentrics. I struggled however, to keep the people straight, though the characters are well scripted. National Suicide Day, also an integral part of the story, snaked through the tragedies (Chicken Little’s, Hannah’s and Plum’s death in particular) creating a web of both intrigue and cryptic ambiguity. But the part that really got me was Eva's response when asked if she really loved her children. That reply, and the overall story with it, is what makes Morrison’s novels especially redeeming. Highly respected, and of course recommended. (Note: Read 1973 edition) ]]> 4.05 1973 Sula
author: Toni Morrison
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1973
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/15
date added: 2021/07/20
shelves:
review:
Typically stories set in the early 20th century, particularly those written on black culture in America, have always been challenging to read. Except Morrison’s writing is alluring, which Sula is another remarkable work.

Sula reads like a magnificent jigsaw puzzle rife of hypocrisies, myths and morals. It’s the roaring twenties, and set in rural Medallion, Ohio where a number of tragedies occur. In ‘up from the bottom� (the black part of town) there was Nel, Sula’s best friend who lived in a fairly respectable home, and Sula raised under a roof with grandmother Eva, mother Hannah, uncle Plum, and a variety of nomads and eccentrics. I struggled however, to keep the people straight, though the characters are well scripted. National Suicide Day, also an integral part of the story, snaked through the tragedies (Chicken Little’s, Hannah’s and Plum’s death in particular) creating a web of both intrigue and cryptic ambiguity. But the part that really got me was Eva's response when asked if she really loved her children. That reply, and the overall story with it, is what makes Morrison’s novels especially redeeming. Highly respected, and of course recommended. (Note: Read 1973 edition)
]]> <![CDATA[Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer's Life]]> 6344456
Central characters include Michael's father, whose prediction that Michael's "scribbling" wouldn't get him on the subway almost came true; his artistic first wife, whom he met in a Greenwich Village high school; and their son who grew up on the Lower East Side , fluent in the language of the street and in the language of the parlor. Then there are Greenberg's unexpected a Holocaust survivor who on his deathbed tries to leave Michael his fortune; a repentant communist who confesses his sins; a man who becomes a woman; a Chilean filmmaker in search of his past; and rats who behave like humans and cease to live underground.

Hilarious and bittersweet, Greenberg's stories invite us into a world where the familial, the literary, the tragic and the mundane not only speak to one another, but deeply enjoy the exchange.]]> 232 Michael Greenberg 159051341X RYCJ 5 my-keepers
Overall, I couldn’t get enough of the eagle-eyed, sometimes dry humor. I laughed hardest getting to ‘Another way of Starving�. Be your own boss and you’ll starve nicely; now that’s real humor. It kind of put a little sobering salve on ‘to receive distinction one’s failure must be total.� This is a classic for sure. Highly recommended! ]]> 3.37 2009 Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer's Life
author: Michael Greenberg
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/13
date added: 2021/07/15
shelves: my-keepers
review:
The writing is idyllic; short, rich often sardonically humorous chapters. I particularly related to the opening and respected the varied narrations on Jewish faith. Mom was a treat and the convos with Dad a treasure. The ‘Trip South’� as in to Buenos Aires and the ‘Final Word�, along with ‘Beg, Borrow, Steal� were other appealing nuggets. I couldn’t wait to read the latter chapter� just to see if I read into that title correctly. I did.

Overall, I couldn’t get enough of the eagle-eyed, sometimes dry humor. I laughed hardest getting to ‘Another way of Starving�. Be your own boss and you’ll starve nicely; now that’s real humor. It kind of put a little sobering salve on ‘to receive distinction one’s failure must be total.� This is a classic for sure. Highly recommended!
]]> Greenlights 52838315 From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.

I’ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me.

Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: If you know how, and when, to deal with life’s challenges - how to get relative with the inevitable - you can enjoy a state of success I call “catching greenlights.�

So I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops.

Hopefully, it’s medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot’s license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears.

It’s a love letter. To life.

It’s also a guide to catching more greenlights - and to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.

Good luck.]]> 289 Matthew McConaughey 0593139135 RYCJ 5
I enjoyed how Matthew introduced his family, especially mom who he describes as beating cancer twice (…on aspirins and denial). He comes from humble beginnings, raised on old-school values. The internship he did, staying as an exchange student with an Australian family showed his core personality. HUMBLE. And definitely determined and strong-willed. Punching a hole in that door, wrestling that indomitable man in the African village, the bar fight, and pursuing the lead part that earned him a lucrative film career were good examples. One of my favorites albeit, was that phone call to his father and the advice he got back. “Don’t half ass it!� …One of his first real greenlights! Loved that! Overall, an easy memoir to curl up with. Highly recommended.]]> 4.21 2020 Greenlights
author: Matthew McConaughey
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/14
date added: 2021/06/20
shelves:
review:
The interior of the book is simply gorgeous. It’s organized too. There are graphics, poetic notes, clips of screenplays, pages ripped out of journals, footnotes, and plenty of photos� along with a generous amount of storytelling.

I enjoyed how Matthew introduced his family, especially mom who he describes as beating cancer twice (…on aspirins and denial). He comes from humble beginnings, raised on old-school values. The internship he did, staying as an exchange student with an Australian family showed his core personality. HUMBLE. And definitely determined and strong-willed. Punching a hole in that door, wrestling that indomitable man in the African village, the bar fight, and pursuing the lead part that earned him a lucrative film career were good examples. One of my favorites albeit, was that phone call to his father and the advice he got back. “Don’t half ass it!� …One of his first real greenlights! Loved that! Overall, an easy memoir to curl up with. Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America]]> 7897556
The financial crisis that exploded in 2008 isn’t past but prologue. The stunning rise, fall, and rescue of Wall Street in the bubble-and-bailout era was the coming-out party for the network of looters who sit at the nexus of American political and economic power. The grifter class—made up of the largest players in the financial industry and the politicians who do their bidding—has been growing in power for a generation, transferring wealth upward through increasingly complex financial mechanisms and political maneuvers. The crisis was only one terrifying manifestation of how they’ve hijacked America’s political and economic life.

Rolling Stone�s Matt Taibbi here unravels the whole fiendish story, digging beyond the headlines to get into the deeper roots and wider implications of the rise of the grifters. He traces the movement’s origins to the cult of Ayn Rand and her most influential—and possibly weirdest—acolyte, Alan Greenspan, and offers fresh reporting on the backroom deals that decided the winners and losers in the government bailouts. He uncovers the hidden commodities bubble that transferred billions of dollars to Wall Street while creating food shortages around the world, and he shows how finance dominates politics, from the story of investment bankers auctioning off America’s infrastructure to an inside account of the high-stakes battle for health-care reform—a battle the true reformers lost. Finally, he tells the story of Goldman Sachs, the “vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity.�

Taibbi has combined deep sources, trailblazing reportage, and provocative analysis to create the most lucid, emotionally galvanizing, and scathingly funny account yet written of the ongoing political and financial crisis in America. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the labyrinthine inner workings of politics and finance in this country, and the profound consequences for us all.]]> 253 Matt Taibbi 0385529953 RYCJ 5
Overall, this story of greed and political oblivion folding in domino fashion home mortgages, banks, education, healthcare, insurance and anything else people live on day to day was hard read, and even harder to admit... my gosh� finding ‘pure� victims was tough!]]> 4.14 2010 Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America
author: Matt Taibbi
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/17
date added: 2021/06/20
shelves:
review:
What initially grabbed me was the writing. I liked it. Satirical and passionate. It, however, wasn’t altogether easy reading. Comprehending this digest of America’s financial markets and key players took distinguishing between jargon and properties such as ‘Randian mindsets� explaining negotiable instruments and financial portfolios� soon defined as ‘the game�, rubbing shoulders with political stanchions� in no time armed with ‘bailouts�, and a crest of ‘high lettered� educators who eventually would be teaching the next generation short-term thinking and how to “rethink one’s conception of “value�.

Overall, this story of greed and political oblivion folding in domino fashion home mortgages, banks, education, healthcare, insurance and anything else people live on day to day was hard read, and even harder to admit... my gosh� finding ‘pure� victims was tough!
]]> Nelson Beats The Odds 26150185 34 Ronnie Sidney II 0996532404 RYCJ 4 4.33 2015 Nelson Beats The Odds
author: Ronnie Sidney II
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/10
date added: 2021/06/20
shelves:
review:
Glad to support an author not only advocating for children lacking support, but an author who has the educational resources to help those undervalued youth.
]]> Black Wall Street 842221 280 Hannibal B. Johnson 157168221X RYCJ 4 4.08 1998 Black Wall Street
author: Hannibal B. Johnson
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/03
date added: 2021/06/20
shelves:
review:
Detailed account of what happened in the 'Greenwood District' in Tulsa Oklahoma. The amount and level of research is amazing. Not only is there an account of what led up to the destruction of this once thriving community, and as well as what happened during and after 'the Black Wall Street' burned to the ground, but there is a wealth of information on the financial resources (and businesses) that sustained the community during its growth.
]]> <![CDATA[Of Monkey Bridges and Bánh Mì Sandwiches: from Sài Gòn to Texas]]> 44152490 Through each traumatic transition, Oanh Ngo Usadi retains her optimism as she and her family adapt to new environments and cultures in their journey to become Americans.]]> 229 Oanh Ngo Usadi 0999882821 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 4.38 2018 Of Monkey Bridges and Bánh Mì Sandwiches: from Sài Gòn to Texas
author: Oanh Ngo Usadi
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/25
date added: 2021/05/27
shelves: my-keepers
review:
What really grabbed me about this memoir was the sheer volume and magnitude of compelling storytelling. Only mid-way into the book and it felt like I had lived in Vietnam. The descriptions are vivid; living on the countryside inclusive of orchards, livestock, climbing trees…and oh, those monkey bridges! I could literally taste the cuisine� particularly the durian, especially when it was compared to M&M’s; a fascinating story all around... from the cursory details on Buddhism, to the political backdrop and currencies introduced into circulation, along with what it took to plant and grow food, making Tofu and turning bean sprouts into milk, plus taking care of animals� and pets� each one of these lessons coming with a poignant story, the differentiation from learning by rote and simply knowing. What I'm saying, this one is a MUST READ. Again, that's only half the story. Aside from the opening, (doctors, lawyers and businessmen like Oanh's father (&family) being exiled from their native land) there's the other half of this story, as in what it took getting to America, and then the adjustment living in America. This book/this story, is one the richest memoirs I've read this year. (And I've read hundreds, if not thousands of memoirs). So well done. Highly recommended!
]]> <![CDATA[The View From Breast Pocket Mountain: A Memoir]]> 55322139
The View From Breast Pocket Mountain is a unique and previously untold story, a treasure trove of experiences crossing borders and cultures, creating a life, and finding contentment in a far-off country.

To those who’ve ever wondered what their lives would be if they’d taken that road without a map, this is the book you need to read. The View From Breast Pocket Mountain gives us a glimpse of a life not designed or even imagined.

As a motherless teenager raised by a caring albeit strict father, we see Anton’s developing awareness of the world beyond the boundaries of her New York City neighborhood before she goes on to live in a castle in 1960s Denmark and a cabin in 1970s Vermont. With a burning curiosity and vision of a life as yet unformed, she travels overland to Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and finally to the place she’ll come to call home, Japan.

This memoir is filled with unexpected encounters with the very famous and those unknown and unnamed. On a journey through marriage and motherhood, love, laughter, tragedy and hope, we follow along as Anton makes her way through a life unplanned but well-lived. The View From Breast Pocket Mountain is a story for our time, reminding the reader of our interconnectedness, our shared humanity.]]> 296 Karen Hill Anton 0578696606 RYCJ 5 my-keepers
Karen’s ultimate move to Japan began on a casual whim; ‘hey, would you like to go to Japan with me for a year?� “Sure.� And off she goes, leaving America with her young child, which is hardly where and how her story begins.

Overall, what is most admirable (and unique) about Karen’s experience� aside from her upbringing, and mastering in calligraphy, or leaning into marriage and motherhood (nurturing and raising four bilingual/bicultural children), along with that ROAD TRIP to JAPAN� is the fact that Karen also is a journalist who has written columns for Japanese newspapers about her cross-cultural experiences; remarkable credits alone, before delving into the highlights of a rich ‘must read� journey.

Personally, I love HOW Karen tells her story. Matter-of-fact. Transparent. Quiet. This is what happened. She didn’t have all the answers, but she knows 'educated from schooled', values independence, critical thinking and intellectual stimulation, electives that didn’t stop her from persevering when circumstances dictated it, nor blight her perspective from sharing a well-rounded diaphanous view of what living in Japan was, and is like. This is standout women's literature for sure! Highly recommended!]]> 4.63 2020 The View From Breast Pocket Mountain: A Memoir
author: Karen Hill Anton
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/16
date added: 2021/05/18
shelves: my-keepers
review:
This is the kind of experience that young ‘compelling� women take on.

Karen’s ultimate move to Japan began on a casual whim; ‘hey, would you like to go to Japan with me for a year?� “Sure.� And off she goes, leaving America with her young child, which is hardly where and how her story begins.

Overall, what is most admirable (and unique) about Karen’s experience� aside from her upbringing, and mastering in calligraphy, or leaning into marriage and motherhood (nurturing and raising four bilingual/bicultural children), along with that ROAD TRIP to JAPAN� is the fact that Karen also is a journalist who has written columns for Japanese newspapers about her cross-cultural experiences; remarkable credits alone, before delving into the highlights of a rich ‘must read� journey.

Personally, I love HOW Karen tells her story. Matter-of-fact. Transparent. Quiet. This is what happened. She didn’t have all the answers, but she knows 'educated from schooled', values independence, critical thinking and intellectual stimulation, electives that didn’t stop her from persevering when circumstances dictated it, nor blight her perspective from sharing a well-rounded diaphanous view of what living in Japan was, and is like. This is standout women's literature for sure! Highly recommended!
]]> <![CDATA[I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds]]> 49629805 256 Sunny Hostin 0062950827 RYCJ 5 4.17 2020 I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds
author: Sunny Hostin
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/15
date added: 2021/04/19
shelves:
review:
I had a feeling this was going to be good memoir, and it was. Sunny's journey to motherhood particularly stood out. Any woman experiencing infertility will definitely want to read her experience. I also found her story suspenseful. I couldn't wait to read what she was going to share next. Her perspectives are relatable, and the overall story genuine and humbling. Highly recommended!
]]> <![CDATA[BLACK WOMEN SPEAK OUT: STORIES OF RACIAL INJUSTICE IN AMERICA]]> 55344742 0 Yolanda Johnson Bailey RYCJ 5 5.00 BLACK WOMEN SPEAK OUT: STORIES OF RACIAL INJUSTICE IN AMERICA
author: Yolanda Johnson Bailey
name: RYCJ
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/01
date added: 2021/03/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms]]> 50998942
Shellye Archambeau recounts how she overcame the challenges she faced as a young black woman, wife, and mother, managing her personal and professional responsibilities while climbing the ranks at IBM and subsequently in her roles as CEO. Through the busts and booms of Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, this bold and inspiring book details the risks she took and the strategies she engaged to steer her family, her career, and her company MetricStream toward success.

Through her journey, Shellye discovered that ambition alone is not enough to achieve success. Here, she shares the practical strategies, tools, and approaches readers can employ right now, including concrete steps to most effectively: Each chapter lays out key takeaways and actions to increase the odds of achieving your personal and professional goals. With relatable personal stories that ground her advice in the real world and a foreword by leading venture capitalist and New York Times bestselling author Ben Horowitz, Unapologetically Ambitious invites readers to move beyond the solely supportive roles others expect them to fill, to learn how to carefully tread the thin line between assertive and aggressive, and to give themselves permission to strive for the top. Make no apologies for the height of your ambitions. Shellye Archambeau will show you how.]]> 288 Shellye Archambeau 1538702894 RYCJ 5
What was most impressive about this book however, what I really took to heart, is the premise behind the title; Choice versus Sacrifice. Admittedly, it did take reading the explanation…and the entire book... to really get it. Very well done. Highly recommended!]]> 4.03 2020 Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms
author: Shellye Archambeau
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/03/27
date added: 2021/03/30
shelves:
review:
From the start, the brief to the point ‘Forward� pulled me in. I applaud the advice; control what we can, fake it til we make it, find cheerleaders, life isn’t fair. All conventional wisdom. “What’s important to you?� —Another strong reflection. “Defining success.� —Absolutely. Page after page contains solid, very relevant, clear career advice, along with an engaging story to boot.

What was most impressive about this book however, what I really took to heart, is the premise behind the title; Choice versus Sacrifice. Admittedly, it did take reading the explanation…and the entire book... to really get it. Very well done. Highly recommended!
]]> Giving Away Simone 1484224
For birthmothers, there are no simple equations of loss and gain. Each adoption is its own unique universe of complexities and ambiguities. But often the most personal is also the most universal, and there are truths to be found in every story. This beautifully rendered, intensely personal memoir gives essential shading to choices usually reduced to black and white. Waldron does not dispense advice; she probes the emotional fallout, on both sides of adoption, an area in which sedated platitudes have presided for far too long. "]]> 256 Jan L. Waldron 0385485999 RYCJ 5 3.65 1995 Giving Away Simone
author: Jan L. Waldron
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/16
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves:
review:
Oh my goodness this story is so meaningful and useful and RELEVANT!!! I LOVED the grandmother! Respected the Farrell’s. And thought the world of the brother. Jan relayed perfectly the strongholds on genetics and paternity, and the historical trend of what young (unmarried) girls of the yesteryears who got pregnant dealt with. Like how many times have we met a woman who openly admitted to giving away a child? And yet the number of orphaned, adopted and abandoned children are staggering. Rebecca on the other hand described perfectly how children naturally want to know their birth origins, and the emotional toil they experience when learning they were ‘given away�. (More so female children). There was so much to absorb. Just too many places for deep reflection. Those letters, along with both Jan’s and Rebecca’s perspectives throughout, was a real turning point for me. I was beyond moved. Overall, ‘Giving Away Simone� is heartfelt, genuine, powerful� and wait for it� wait for it� SPOILER ALERT: I really LOVED that ending AND afterword! Awesome. What an unforgettable story! A Must!
]]> The Beauty in Breaking 50043108
Michele Harper is a female, African American emergency room physician in a profession that is overwhelmingly male and white. Brought up in Washington, DC, in an abusive family, she went to Harvard, where she met her husband. They stayed together through medical school until two months before she was scheduled to join the staff of a hospital in central Philadelphia, when he told her he couldn't move with her. Her marriage at an end, Harper began her new life in a new city, in a new job, as a newly single woman.

In the ensuing years, as Harper learned to become an effective ER physician, bringing insight and empathy to every patient encounter, she came to understand that each of us is broken—physically, emotionally, psychically. How we recognize those breaks, how we try to mend them, and where we go from there are all crucial parts of the healing process.

The Beauty in Breaking is the poignant true story of Harper's journey toward self-healing. Each of the patients Harper writes about taught her something important about recuperation and recovery. How to let go of fear even when the future is murky. How to tell the truth when it's simpler to overlook it. How to understand that compassion isn't the same as justice. As she shines a light on the systemic disenfranchisement of the patients she treats as they struggle to maintain their health and dignity, Harper comes to understand the importance of allowing ourselves to make peace with the past as we draw support from the present. In this hopeful, moving, and beautiful book, she passes along the precious, necessary lessons that she has learned as a daughter, a woman, and a physician.]]> 304 Michele Harper 0525537384 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 3.81 2020 The Beauty in Breaking
author: Michele Harper
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/05
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Overall, a very easy read. The pacing is remarkably fast. I read this book in a day. Michele explains EM work in details lay people can understand; definitely valuable from a medical standpoint. The chapter; ‘Joshua: Under Contract� was powerful; a favorite! In general the book contains a tremendous amount of insight, particularly on staying well and wellness. I can't count the times I paused to reflect on one of the numerous stories. The reading transformation I experienced was REAL, and of course unforgettable. Really touched. A Must. Highly Recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[A Pot of Rice to the Wonders of Wonton]]> 50097433 "A Pot of Rice to the Wonders of Wonton is part memoir, part cookbook. Lorraine Witte weaves stories of growing up in Hawaii to Chinese immigrant parents in the 1940s with over thirty wonton recipes. Master the art of wontons with these easy recipes from classic to contemporary variations." -- Linda Anusasananan]]> 160 Lorraine Witte 0578518376 RYCJ 5 5.00 2015 A Pot of Rice to the Wonders of Wonton
author: Lorraine Witte
name: RYCJ
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/03
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves:
review:
The intro was lovely. The pictures adorable. And the recipes, YUM…YUM! The soft sanitized stories definitely makes me think I’m going to have some real success trying the recipes. At least three recipes I plan to try right away. As far as the short stories; Marbles and Milk Caps and My First Pretty Dress were two of my favorites. Overall, I got a clear sense of a woman who loved her hardworking father for not only inspiring her culinary aspirations and the wonders of wonton, but for shaping the productive woman she became. What a beautiful book!
]]> My Vanishing Country 52219321 Part memoir, part historical and cultural analysis, My Vanishing Country is an eye-opening journey through the South's past, present, and future.

Anchored in in Bakari Sellers' hometown of Denmark, South Carolina, Country illuminates the pride and pain that continues to fertilize the soil of one of the poorest states in the nation. He traces his father’s rise to become a friend of Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King, a civil rights hero, and a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), to explore the plight of the South's dwindling rural, black working class―many of whom can trace their ancestry back for seven generations.

In his poetic personal history, we are awakened to the crisis affecting the other “Forgotten Men & Women,� who the media seldom acknowledges. For Sellers, these are his family members, neighbors, and friends. He humanizes the struggles that shape their lives: to gain access to healthcare as rural hospitals disappear; to make ends meet as the factories they have relied on shut down and move overseas; to hold on to precious traditions as their towns erode; to forge a path forward without succumbing to despair.

My Vanishing Country is also a love letter to fatherhood―to Sellers' father, his lodestar, whose life lessons have shaped him, and to his newborn twins, who he hopes will embrace the Sellers family name and honor its legacy.

]]> 227 Bakari Sellers 0062917455 RYCJ 5 3.94 2020 My Vanishing Country
author: Bakari Sellers
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/13
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves:
review:
Bakari’s early interest in civics, in part inspired by his father’s activism in the struggle for civil rights during the 60’s, 70’s, and in part stirred by what he was seeing happening around him, were engaging to read. One perspective that personally stood out, was his stance on Healthcare. He really honed in on that one. Two thumbs up!
]]> <![CDATA[Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir]]> 48613168
Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Natasha Trethewey explores this profound experience of pain, loss, and grief as an entry point into understanding the tragic course of her mother’s life and the way her own life has been shaped by a legacy of fierce love and resilience. Moving through her mother’s history in the deeply segregated South and through her own girlhood as a “child of miscegenation� in Mississippi, Trethewey plumbs her sense of dislocation and displacement in the lead-up to the harrowing crime that took place on Memorial Drive in Atlanta in 1985.]]> 213 Natasha Trethewey 006224857X RYCJ 5 4.24 2020 Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir
author: Natasha Trethewey
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/14
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves:
review:
Be ready to pull out the tissue box. From beginning to end I couldn’t help but detect writing so faint and delicate, and yet so fiercely poignant that even the good times were hard to celebrate. Overall this story is well-written, poetic, touching and as well a cautionary tale to prevent other narratives as heartbreaking.
]]> <![CDATA[Daring to Date Again: A Memoir]]> 21449481 286 Ann Anderson Evans 1631529099 RYCJ 5 3.76 2014 Daring to Date Again: A Memoir
author: Ann Anderson Evans
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/07
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves:
review:
Brassy Ann just went for it and I, for one, applauded her. Sounded like she knew what she wanted and had few hiccups going after it. The splashes of humor entertained me as well, and I really enjoyed the many dating stories. Guy was my favorite! What threw me for a loop was when the no strings attached dating and the need for committed companionship crept on the pages. Ann got me on that one. Didn't expect it. That's a common challenge many daters struggle to manage. Perhaps some things never change. Straight sex-no strings attached even catch the most seasoned in their feelings. Overall a nice reading experience.
]]> <![CDATA[The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke]]> 334015
When Angela Nissel found herself struggling financially while in college, instead of sulking, she decided to entertain herself by creating an online journal that chronicled her day-to-day trials and tribulations. Written with humor and intelligence, her “Broke Diary� quickly found an audience as people wrote to Angela to empathize with, console, and laugh with her about her experiences and even share their own. The Broke Diaries is the first complete compilation of her experiences, written in a voice that is funny, unique, and dead-on.

On buying ramen noodles: I am sooooooo embarassed. I only have 33 cents. I (please don’t laugh) put the money on the counter and quickly attempt to dash out with my Chicken Flavored Salt Noodles. The guy calls me back! I look up instinctively, I should have run . . . Why didn’t I run???!! He tells me the noodles are 35 cents. I try to apologize sincerely. I thought the sign said 33 cents yesterday, so that’s all I brought with me. Could he wait while I ran home and get the 2 cents? I show him my student I.D. to let him know I am not a thief. He shakes his head and motions either for me to get the hell out of his store and never come back again or get the money as do come back. I don’t know. He said something like “Nyeh� and swiped his hand in my direction.
I can’t translate hand motions well.
The noodles: tasty!!!]]> 212 Angela Nissel 0679783571 RYCJ 5 my-keepers 3.75 2001 The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke
author: Angela Nissel
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: my-keepers
review:

]]> The Girl Who Couldn't Say No 3587438
Told with frank South African humour and refreshingly mature insight, Tracy Engelbrecht tells the story of how she came to find herself pregnant at 15 � and how she coped with pregnancy, birth and homework.”]]> 216 Tracy Engelbrecht 1770075747 RYCJ 5 my-keepers
And still, as distinctive as Tracy's voice was, it took getting past the pregnancy test before her voice grew on me. I related very well to many, if not all of her experiences... the moods, grown-ups who encounter young girls in this 'situation', and other 'condiments' that generally come with the territory in such a 'situation.' The reaction of her younger sister when the announcement was first made, I likewise found really moving. Her parents, especially her mother, not only handled 'the situation' well, but it had to be the largest blessing for Tracy and little Steven to have parents like this. Come to think on it, I should include some of the extended family as well. My only distraction was a (seemingly) misplaced anger that I tried to attribute to the pregnancy, knowing how often this life event (wildly) scrambles the hormones, and that's for women of any age…before, during, and after childbirth. It also could have been immaturity, or being a little spoiled maybe, except I was never quite sure.

That said, I really enjoyed the witty sarcasm. It's what made this story none-the-less very engaging. From Ms. H, to the Catholic nun (in the hospital), to Auntie Cruella, to that receptionist job, and many, many other spots, I really enjoyed how Tracy handled herself, this story, and the best part... her embracing motherhood the way she did. Great job. ]]> 3.22 2007 The Girl Who Couldn't Say No
author: Tracy Engelbrecht
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.22
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2012/12/01
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Some life events are pretty much universal... falling in love, getting married... and becoming a teenage mom. It happens all the time, except what sets apart each event is when you have a writer voice something like Tracy's.

And still, as distinctive as Tracy's voice was, it took getting past the pregnancy test before her voice grew on me. I related very well to many, if not all of her experiences... the moods, grown-ups who encounter young girls in this 'situation', and other 'condiments' that generally come with the territory in such a 'situation.' The reaction of her younger sister when the announcement was first made, I likewise found really moving. Her parents, especially her mother, not only handled 'the situation' well, but it had to be the largest blessing for Tracy and little Steven to have parents like this. Come to think on it, I should include some of the extended family as well. My only distraction was a (seemingly) misplaced anger that I tried to attribute to the pregnancy, knowing how often this life event (wildly) scrambles the hormones, and that's for women of any age…before, during, and after childbirth. It also could have been immaturity, or being a little spoiled maybe, except I was never quite sure.

That said, I really enjoyed the witty sarcasm. It's what made this story none-the-less very engaging. From Ms. H, to the Catholic nun (in the hospital), to Auntie Cruella, to that receptionist job, and many, many other spots, I really enjoyed how Tracy handled herself, this story, and the best part... her embracing motherhood the way she did. Great job.
]]> Larry Kane's Philadelphia 721786 280 Larry Kane 1566399610 RYCJ 5 my-keepers
I left Philadelphia in the early 80's; moving to locations where Philadelphia and gifted artists were cited enough times that it spiked my curiosity wanting to know what was it about this city that seemed to produce this talent. And then I opened Larry Kane's memoir where there he explained it--taking me back to memories of my family's passionate discussions. I can't begin to describe how meaningful that message was to me.

Transcending through Kane's interesting career honestly relayed, him often paring journalism today to the past, I again thought back to my parents...and their parents...and deep into the generations recalling many wondering what was becoming of the newer generations. I used to tease them all the time; `Why wonder? You raised us' --which none too ironic is the same driver I found conveyed in Kane's passionate Philadelphia driving journalism today. Caroline Kennedy's quote supports this contention. This is a profound keepsake of a memoir, to which I must add, Larry Kane (for me) will always be synonymous with Action News. ]]> 3.73 2000 Larry Kane's Philadelphia
author: Larry Kane
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2012/06/01
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Larry Kane writes a very deep memoir, delivering strong messages of which the premier truism was one that moved me to tears.

I left Philadelphia in the early 80's; moving to locations where Philadelphia and gifted artists were cited enough times that it spiked my curiosity wanting to know what was it about this city that seemed to produce this talent. And then I opened Larry Kane's memoir where there he explained it--taking me back to memories of my family's passionate discussions. I can't begin to describe how meaningful that message was to me.

Transcending through Kane's interesting career honestly relayed, him often paring journalism today to the past, I again thought back to my parents...and their parents...and deep into the generations recalling many wondering what was becoming of the newer generations. I used to tease them all the time; `Why wonder? You raised us' --which none too ironic is the same driver I found conveyed in Kane's passionate Philadelphia driving journalism today. Caroline Kennedy's quote supports this contention. This is a profound keepsake of a memoir, to which I must add, Larry Kane (for me) will always be synonymous with Action News.
]]> <![CDATA[The Wrong Answer Faster: The Inside Story of Making the Machine That Trades Trillions]]> 13838250 326 Michael Goodkin 1118133404 RYCJ 5 my-keepers
Also interesting was the reasoning on cheating versus stealing, particularly relating to the shoe-dog stint, lending to following the theory on need versus want; crucial elements to absorb. Taking in how the rich prefer to do business--intriguing; and Shelly's summation on capital venture--had to laugh. And coalescing Goodkin's memoir nicely was paralleling his recalling the first time flying nonstop; no Fedex, few telephones, and of course no computers, along with many business lessons learned--all now historical emblems framing a sequential angle I couldn't help but correlate to one of Razak's analogies; `knowing where you come from to have a clear picture of how to get where you're going.'

Given how this memoir predictably will serve future technology innovations; honorable mention of the Monte Carlo algorithm with radiation physics, I'm truly inspired. Nice relevant contribution.]]> 3.75 2012 The Wrong Answer Faster: The Inside Story of Making the Machine That Trades Trillions
author: Michael Goodkin
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2012/01/16
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Goodkin's father's early analogies right away made this memoir exceptionally interesting to follow. Learning versus memorizing and investing in oneself stoked my vote.

Also interesting was the reasoning on cheating versus stealing, particularly relating to the shoe-dog stint, lending to following the theory on need versus want; crucial elements to absorb. Taking in how the rich prefer to do business--intriguing; and Shelly's summation on capital venture--had to laugh. And coalescing Goodkin's memoir nicely was paralleling his recalling the first time flying nonstop; no Fedex, few telephones, and of course no computers, along with many business lessons learned--all now historical emblems framing a sequential angle I couldn't help but correlate to one of Razak's analogies; `knowing where you come from to have a clear picture of how to get where you're going.'

Given how this memoir predictably will serve future technology innovations; honorable mention of the Monte Carlo algorithm with radiation physics, I'm truly inspired. Nice relevant contribution.
]]> <![CDATA[REGGIE: You Can't Change Your Past, but You Can Change Your Future]]> 9638349
But someone loved me just the way I am, and someone loves you just the way you are.

Meet Reggie Dabbs.

Born as the result of a heart-wrenching decision made by his then sixteen-year-old mom, Reggie offers hope and inspiration to those who are stuck in the despair of their broken beginnings and are crying out for help. It is this first chapter in his life that sets Reggie on the journey of a lifetime—one filled with fear, regret, sorrow, and, ultimately redemption. Taking a chronological look at his life, Reggie reveals the transforming power of faith, weaving in personal anecdotes, biblical principles, and ten ways to discover everything from your voice and your name to your hero and your passion. Prepare to discover, as Reggie did, that although you cannot change your past, you can change your future.


“Reggie Dabbs is one of the strongest, most influential voices God has raised up to speak to this generation.”—Jentezen Franklin

�Reggie not only will inspire you but also will lead you on a journey to the core elements of life—and the potential therein to change.”—Mark Batterson]]> 240 Reggie Dabbs 0849946263 RYCJ 5 my-keepers
I found "Personal Tuesday" most meaningful. It speaks about pain in a way I don't believe I've heard put this way before. It's easy to understand the ideology of managing pain, but managing pain through embracing it unexpectedly slipped up on me. "Waiting by the door" conveyed a priceless message as well. Understanding his biological mother's position and the gift of her decision was another soft spot. The birth of his son was another. The youngster he found on that near fateful day, again powerful, and unbelievable I might add too. The impassioned Shammah was pretty tough getting through. I had difficulty swallowing and holding back the tears. But the part where I laughed the hardest, rounding out this stimulating motivational experience, and that was coming by Batman; Know Your Hero! A memorable story this one was...analogous for all of us trying to hide our pain inside our little superhero costumes... footies and all.

How truly priceless!]]> 4.08 2011 REGGIE: You Can't Change Your Past, but You Can Change Your Future
author: Reggie Dabbs
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2011/06/09
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: my-keepers
review:
Reggie is amazing, and that’s both the person and the book. He opens up with, “Hi, I’m Reggie,� and then personably engages readers by sharing the discovery of his “born� identity through Biblical parables and spiritual anecdotes. Humorous without doubt, his energy is insatiable in the way he delivers his messages. I’m not one who easily takes to motivational spiels, but this one had both my legs, pulling me right along with his audiences of mixed ages, genders, professions, and ethnicities to get suited up for a persuasive reality check. On point, there’s something in here for everyone.

I found "Personal Tuesday" most meaningful. It speaks about pain in a way I don't believe I've heard put this way before. It's easy to understand the ideology of managing pain, but managing pain through embracing it unexpectedly slipped up on me. "Waiting by the door" conveyed a priceless message as well. Understanding his biological mother's position and the gift of her decision was another soft spot. The birth of his son was another. The youngster he found on that near fateful day, again powerful, and unbelievable I might add too. The impassioned Shammah was pretty tough getting through. I had difficulty swallowing and holding back the tears. But the part where I laughed the hardest, rounding out this stimulating motivational experience, and that was coming by Batman; Know Your Hero! A memorable story this one was...analogous for all of us trying to hide our pain inside our little superhero costumes... footies and all.

How truly priceless!
]]> Musical Chairs 6901097 176 Jennifer Knox RYCJ 5 my-keepers 4.15 2009 Musical Chairs
author: Jennifer Knox
name: RYCJ
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: my-keepers
review:
I thoroughly enjoyed Jen's memoir, and anyone who appreciates the art of simple expressions singing to you will fall head over heels in love with the writing too. Not one word is wasted, and I do mean not a one! It's the key ingredients that preludes a page-turner, which Musical Chairs most certainly is.. For me, this account wasn't about a fifteen-year old girl who ran away from home, danced, ran from home to home some more, and found her niche. Just taking one itty-bitty frame of many such frames, I was truly taken by the way Jen laid her experiences on paper... such as her applying make-up on a girl's face... `with a shaky hand...extending a business card...one she imagined the girl would take home, stain with tears of inadequacy, and then ball up in a fit of never-mind-rage...' I also came to love the relationship she had with her father, and mother, and in particular enjoyed the musical interludes she shared with her grandmother(s)... Glory included. The writing here really goes far with so little (and I'm speaking of actual word choice) to paint one heck of a memoir. Sweet.
]]> The Great Gatsby 4671 The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald’s family and from his lifelong publisher.

This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author’s own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published by Scribner in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.]]> 180 F. Scott Fitzgerald 0743273567 RYCJ 5 good-rainy-day-reads 3.93 1925 The Great Gatsby
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: RYCJ
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1925
rating: 5
read at: 2009/10/01
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: good-rainy-day-reads
review:
Normally I don't care for sarcasm, particularly not in these extravagant quantities, but for this one an exception had to be made. To a stuttering mumbling degree the gratuitous liberties taken to moderate this colloquial tale of adultery & romance turned tragic is most intriguing and fixating.
]]>