5 comments about Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota.

1. I share five basic traits with Chuck Klosterman.
   We were both born in the same year, we both grew up in somewhat culturally isolated communities, we both love 80s hair metal, Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil was the record that had the biggest impact on our early teenage lives and finally, we can both karaoke Guns 'n Roses' Apetite for Destruction from start to finish. There are still some differences in our journeys from childhood to maturity, but those are mere details. I spent my teen years baking on a tropical Latin American shithole instead of freezing on a Midwestern wasteland and I had access to MTV as early as in 1982. Instead of becoming an indie rock loving hipster during College like the author I kept my metal faith in the early 90s, Nevermind notwithstanding, and moved on to extreme metal as the decade progressed, but in the end, it doesn't matter, since we both still rock to the same aquanet friendly songs when drunk.
   You might say that because my teenage music related experiences are pretty similar to Chuck's I'm bound, even obligated to love this book and that is a very valid point, but that doesn't mean anyone can enjoy it, since it's very entertaining and written with an unassuming, funny and down to earth style. Since the story of a nerdy teenager using rock music as a means to escape his boring, drab day to day life and overcome his own lameness can be the story of countless people everywhere, this book transcends its limited musical scope and ultimately becomes a paean to music lovers of every genre and origin, while still managing to make poignant observations about the radical changes media and music consumption went through the 80s. Highly recommended for pop culture enthusiasts, music lovers and anyone who was a teenager during the 80s.



2. Despite his repeated vehement claims otherwise, Klosterman walks a very narrow tightrope between abject hipsterdom and populist music allegiance. And as long as he can keep it up, he'll have a steady readership from both camps. Hipsters, pop culture addicts, metal fans, and anyone who appreciates lengthy charts outlining why hardcore metal fans like certain songs that aren't metal in the least will all devour the content of these passages with relish.



3. I could write a book full of factual and analytical errors in this book. For an avowed fan of metal and a paid rock critic, Klosterman knows little more about the subject than the names of the band members. Virtually everything else in this book is incorrect. There are the occasional witty one-liners and a few slightly interesting stories, but the overly lengthy yet superficial analysis--and countless inaccuracies--are too annoying to make any of this worth the trouble.



4. I'll keep this one short and simple...if you feel the desire to read a Klosterman book...this is the one. I truly enjoyed this book. Although I am a bit older than Chuck I cold relate to his experiences and thoughts. Now, you want some good advice? Stay away from Eating The Dinosaur and Killing Yourself To Live...both are garbage, pure and simple, they're terrible. Dave in Mass



5. I picked this up expecting a portrait of Klosterman's youth in rural ND and how it, and he, was affected by music--I was sorely disappointed. There is no odyssey, only Klosterman's opinions of the 80's metal scene (some interesting, some annoying, and some flat out dumb). Fine for anyone between the ages of 35-45 who actually obsessed over hair bands as much as he did, but if you were born after 1975 (I was) and aren't interested in a meaningless avalanche of names and dates (I'm not) don't bother reading.

1 comments about STIEG LARSSON Biography: The Man Behind Lisbeth Salander.

1. I am disappointed that Amazon would offer this as a "book" selection. I loved the Millennium series and wanted to know more about the wonderful author who penned them, so I was happy to see a biography offered. However, it is nothing more than what could be gleaned from the Internet in a short Google search. It consists of Kindle locations 1 - 94 which takes about three minutes to read. Certainly not worth the $3.99 charged for less than 6 pages of very generalized text. Save your money since there is more information in Wikipedia than in this "book".
   
   Update: Right after I posted the review above, I emailed Amazon customer service about my displeasure that this is offered as a legitimate Kindle selection and requested a refund which they promptly processed. (Great service, Amazon!) In the spirit of "buyer beware," I went back to look more closely at the product description and it does say that the content is only 12KB (again, NOT a book... more a leaflet). As I stated in my email to CS, I feel this selection is more or less a scam and does not live up to the Amazon brand. I hope the publishers will take a good look and remove it from the Kindle Store.

5 comments about Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America.

1. This book starts by providing, somewhat indirectly, the enormous amount of background information that is necessary in order to appreciate what was happening in Hungary during the 1940s and 1950s. More specifically, it provides the information that histories of this time and region typically leave out, information about what real people and families had to live through. I do not have an extensive knowledge of the country or its history, having only visited once and although I read a few books beforehand, the revolution and the disruption brought on by World War II to the area was more a historical fact to me than anything else. For me, it was a rich, well-written, easy to read (without at all being trite or too light) piece. It is well-researched and the author readily owns up to any gaps in knowledge or research while also providing potential gap-fillers based on the information she has come across.
   This book educated me on what it means to run the sort of "human experiments," as the author refers to them, for the people on whom the experiments are run, as well as on the many people who are indirectly impacted. Kati Marton's experience is unusual in that she was old enough to know that something was going on and that it was serious, but not old enough to fully experience the ultimate fears that beset her parents and other elders. As a result, she can approach this text with a comfortable combination of personal knowledge and emotion and a curiosity that is exactly appropriate. Her parents would not have wanted to drudge through the AVO and U.S. government files on their activities, would not have wanted to track down old friends who betrayed them - the memories were too painful.
   The stories of the interplay between the U.S. government and Hungarian citizens (both official and unofficial) was fascinating reading for me, as I was completely unfamiliar with the details of how press was used during the cold war and the extent to which the human factor (families associated with these individuals) figured into government action (or inaction).
   The book is a more realistic and raw version of a book I read recently about a jewish family fleeing Iran, The Septembers of Shiraz. That is a fictional piece, although strongly influenced by the experiences of the author's family. The author in that case was younger and did not fully appreciate what was going on around her and this makes that a more literary piece.



2. This book arrived on time or before. The condition was fine. I am very anxious to read Katie Marton book because she was nearby at Chautauqua for a presentation at the Literary Society. Chautauqua Institution is a world famous village, gated, where very famous people have been, including Thomas Edison,and too many others to mention. Also very famous entertainers, opera singers, symphonies, actors, etc. My husband is from Hungary and I have been there twice. I also heard an interview with Ms. Marton and that sparked my interest in this book.



3. For those of us raised in a Western democracy, this story of Kati Marton's family is almost unimaginable. The last journalists reporting from behind the Iron Curtain in 1950s Hungary, Endre and Ilona Marton lived in and worked amidst the intrigues, the betrayals, the paranoia and the terror of daily life in a Communist regime.
   
   Kati Marton goes in search of her family's history, interviewing those who knew her parents and gaining access to the files of the Hungarian secret police. Even knowing as much as she does about Communism, she is astounded at what she finds. "You are opening a Pandora's box," says the historian who hands her the thick stack of documents and photos.
   
   Her family's life, down to the smallest moments, was recorded in these files. Police agents spied on them, and almost everyone they knew -- neighbors, friends, nannies -- reported on them. Even after her parents' arrest and imprisonment and their release and move to America, government agents spied on them with the expressed intent of turning them into spies.
   
   I think that's what astonished me most. Ms. Marton amply documents the mindless black-and-white thinking of people within a Communist system. The kind of relationships the Martons had with Westerners and with diplomats and journalists were inconceivable in such a system. You were either loyal to your country or an enemy and a spy; because the Martons worked among Westerners, and within a profession such as journalism, they were spies. And, of course, their Jewish ancestry didn't do anything to endear them to authorities with minds such as this.
   
   Ms. Marton speculates as to the reason her parents took such risks -- that they were naive, that they were young and full of life, that because of their American ties they felt protected. Whatever the reason, her parents certainly ended up on the losing side in what she calls "the Age of Fanatical Utopias." As a child, she was protected by innocence from the full knowledge of the wrongs perpetrated against her family. As an adult, she has to come to grips with it. In this memoir, she takes us along on her fascinating journey of discovery.



4. This book is a tale of journalist, Kati Marton's exploration in to her own family's history. She is a native Hungarian and, born in 1949, lived through one of the most tumultuous and violent periods in Hungarian history. She writes primarily about her parents, Associated Press journalist Endre Morton, and her Mother Ilona, also a journalist. Both of these individuals were openly anti-Communist and associated with anti-communist Hungarians as well as many westerners, particularly Americans. Marton writes of her experiences growing up with many westerners nearby, and how the Hungarian government threw not only her Father but also her Mother in jail for what they reported. She writes, sometimes astoundingly clinically, about the effort to free her Father and then her Mother too from jail and escape from Hungary.
   
   Even though she was a child at the time, Marton writes very vividly about the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 as well as the emotions of living in a totalitarian state. She's also very candid about her parents relationship and what she found in those government files about her parents. She illustrates how the American government, as well as the AP, tried to free her parents. This I found astounding because I'd never known her parents as famous journalists prior to reading this book.
   
   Marton's best contribution in this book I think is its portrayal of life in under a communist regime.



5. When you finish this book and put it down, you can not help but feel for the author on her discovery of her parents: the part they played in history, the personal sacrifices and yet the author found all these pieces after her parents have passed on, unable to communicate to them her feelings. It is hard to write about history objectively and let alone one when it involves your parents: brilliantly told and objective as much as she could be. History told with a human touch and. It will certainly touch you at some level of your soul. Great read.

5 comments about Bitch Is the New Black: A Memoir.

1. Inspired by a comment by Tina Fey on a 2008 airing of //Saturday Night Live// about accomplished women being bitches, author Helena Andrews shares what it means to be a 20-something single, black woman in her memoir, //Bitch Is the New Black//.
   
   Andrew's story, woven through 16 essays, examines growing up with a lesbian mother on Catalina Island, getting an Ivy League education, and landing a career as one of the top political reporters in the United States. Andrews' wit, humor and charm provide a strong voice that leaves readers laughing. Just as quickly, she'll capture your heart when discussing her emotions following an abortion and her best friend's suicide. Andrews and her band of best friends keep one another's spirits up by offering encouragement and taking a no nonsense approach to life and men.
   
   But can this successful woman find love? Or, do her accomplishments frighten men?
   
   Andrews' distinct voice skips across each page, creating a powerful bond with readers. I felt like she was my new BFF and we were dishing about our loves and losses over a drink. It's this kind of connection that makes //Bitch Is the New Black// memorable.
   
   And sometimes, making the bitch connection is a defining and empowering moment.
   
   Reviewed by LuAnn Schindler



2. I loved this book so much that I started rationing chapters so I wouldn't finish it too quickly. Though I am the first to roll my eyes when I hear yet another person less than 10 years out of college has decided to pen their memoirs, I give BITNB a pass on the grounds of awesomeness. From a play-by-play of her date with Barack Obama's bodyman Reggie Love, to sobering passages on the suicide of a friend and the domestic violence she witnessed growing up, Andrews' wit and unflinching honesty never fail her.
   
   I should add that this book is not about "single black women and their plight", as many a news outlet made it seem. It is about *a* single black woman and the truth of her life, happy or otherwise. I much prefer it that way.
   
   Read it!



3. I find Helena's memoir to be witty, well-written, and a welcome departure from much of the tone and subject matter from we've received from black writers in recent years.
   
   Her wit, snark, and youthful exuberance are refreshing. This book has several laugh out loud moments. The first few chapters provide the largest share of them, but do look out for the later chapter where Helena finds her inner Planters and lets her boss know what a horrible employer she was shortly after firing her.
   
   It's one of many examples of why I believe Bitch has the potential to translate extremely well on film.
   
   Honestly, I haven't enjoyed a collection of essays this much since Lisa Jones' Bulletproof Diva or Angela Nissel's The Broke Diaries.
   
   There are elements of sadness there - particularly when she speaks of her almost-but-not-quite boyfriend, Dex, her abortion, her friend's suicide, along with bearing witness to a violent fight between her mother and her girlfriend as a young child.
   
   Those topics add layers of depth to both the book and its author - making it even more annoying that Bitch Is The New Black was initially dismissed as some diatribe about a lonely black chick whose heart is as cold as her vagina.
   
   That's not what this book is and I take comfort in knowing more and more readers are finding that out.



4. In a world of half-hearted and/or half-assed apologies, Helena Andrews gave me 241+ pages of straight, no chaser, unabashed honesty, and I adored every word of it. She's not every girl and ain't fidna be the every girl speaking for all young, black, single ladies, but she's definitely that girl--the one that all-kinds-of-loud says what you and your finely arched eyebrow have been thinking about career-ishness, pop culture, friendship, menfolk and love (or the lack thereof). If you appreciate honesty--in all its heartbreaking, hilarious and hell yes forms--read this book.
   
   It's a collection of stories standing akimbo in the face of all those who too quickly assess black women as being too much of everything bad and not enough of anything good. As raw as the Eddie Murphy of old and worldlier than your 'round the way girl, BITNB manages to unearth a bit more of the much-hyped mystique surrounding us pigeon-holed BBFs today with sass and great heart.



5. From the hype about this book, I started reading it with the expectation that I would be enlightened about why black women are largely single. Ha, fooled me! This book was a self-centered, arrogant rant about the author's life, with only tidbits here and there about black women's relationships with me. My girlfriend, for her birthday, invited several of her friends to a retreat, and she asked each of us to read the book. I only finished it so that I could participate in the discussion of the book, which turned out to be a discussion on how painful it was for each of us, well-degreed black women, to get through the book. The girlfriend who had asked us to read the book exclaimed, "there must be something that you liked about it!" Okay, I thought the writing style was engaging, but the content was horrible, disjointed, boring, convoluted, contrived, and way too detailed. If I were reading a book about Oprah Winfrey's life then, yes, I want all the tidbits; but for an author who few people have ever heard of before, I can't really get excited about her life story. I passed the book along to two other friends so that they wouldn't waste the money that I had wasted on it. I'm fine if they never return the book to me.

5 comments about Pill Head: The Secret Life of a Painkiller Addict.

1. Well done. Well researched as well. The author accurately depicts the life of an addict. I thought it was an interesting read- definitely kept my attention. Having known some 'pill-heads' myself, I would say this book is very accurate. What really gets me is this. I have been prescribed various meds over the years for this or that. But, I can honestly say that I really don't *get* using these types of meds for recreation or just plain 'getting high'? I can't even imagine just doing these pills for the fun of getting high. To each their own, but it just boggles my mind how one could function on these pills. Anyhow, the book is well done- well researched and well written. I just hope this very talented writer stays clean. Best of luck to you Joshua.



2. This is a well written book, which makes sense since the author is a former magazine editor. However, this also presents a problem, because the book is written more like a series of magazine articles. There really wasn't much of an overall theme here (other than pill usage) that kept the book together or really got me interested.



3. This is a very important topic substance abuse concerns permeate all facets of our society. Hearing the courageous stories of people's struggle with addiction helps to bring strength to all of us.
   Aaron Bryant: BSW,CSAC Author A Synchronous Memoir of Addiction and Recovery



4. I would love to thank Joshua Lyon for writing this. This book was a huge comfort and also confirmed so many of the things I have personally gone through, researched, wondered and felt. I would like to read a book about Emily's story as well! Some of her quotes felt as if they were echoed from my own mind. I am already going through and highlighting my favorite parts, and will definitely be reading it again.



5. Good biography of someone addicted to Oxy and coke. Takes you thru the disease. The writer is very good.

5 comments about Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora.

1. Lam's writing is deeply moving. Going beneath an often impenetrable silence Lam reincarnates with passion, not only for himself and his family, but for many others as well, what it `feels' like to be an immigrant in America from Vietnam.
   
   The stories are touching and genuine; the burning of the family memoirs and photos... painful. Trying to assimilate in American culture by telling wartime stories to assume popularity with classmates...tear-jerking, along with his first act of betrayal asking his brother, "Are you sure that's what you want me to say?" ...I had to laugh here however... reminded me so much of something I would have done/asked. And then the others; the Nguyen brothers, the long tearful flux of stories pouring from the detention center in Hong Kong, and his grandmother in the convalescent home... loved her however.
   
   Tremendous & heartfelt writing. And indebted to the passage, "Home is portable if one is in commune with one's soul. ...For mine is a landscape where Saigon, New York, and Paris intersect, where the Perfume River of Hue flows under the Golden Gate Bridge." Astonishing. Outstanding!



2. Andrew Lam writes with such great passion and sensitivity that one becomes totally absorbed in his essays that are in his award winning book "Perfume Dreams". Truly a gifted effort that delivers a literary image of what it feels like to be a Vietnamese-American immigrant. His essays are like a coming of age story with so much more depth than most you read today. This book is amazing and inspiring--it will leave you in an emotional state long after you put the book down.
   
   The author writes about his culture and his struggles for identity. He has roots in two countries not only physically but also spiritually and emotionally as well. His observations, along with his reactions, thoughts and his musings about life and other people are both insightful and entertaining; his essays are important chronicles. The book can be read in an afternoon but it may take a lifetime to fully appreciate what the author has lived and written about.
   
   The book is worthy of your time to its read. I give this book my fullest personal recommendation. This book is a FIVE STAR BOOK!



3. The telling of this most personal journey avoids any and all hyperbole or belittling. Boldly Andrew Lam presents the opportunities found by the exile who chooses to leave his homeland as well as the demanding adjustments he must undergo if he is to succeed in his adopted country.
   
   Back in Vietnam he is viewed as one who is exceptional, a person who has achieved the highest level of sucess. Those opportunites, he finds, do not exist in fact or spirit in his native land.



4. 
   Perfume Dreams is a must read book for all Vietnamese Americans. Andrew is a gifted writer, a gate keeper / history teller for Vietnamese American who are living in America. He has never lost his touch with his root.
   
   The Perfum Dreams touches all sides of experiences the Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. The "haves and not haves, the fortunate and unfortunate" lives of Vietnamese-Americans.
   
   I am looking forward for more of his future books. We should all feel proud to have someone like Andrew to keep us in touch with ourselves and remind us of the challenges in living in America.



5. Andrew Lam has been writing about the Vietnamese diaspora longer than anyone I know. Since the early 1990s his works have appeared in national publications. "Perfume Dreams" is the amalgamation of his perspectives, ones that many of us former refugees can relate in our own lives. I had the pleasure of taking part in book events in NYC and LA with Andrew. In a way we've come full circle since our last elementary school day in Saigon when a defecting South Vietnamese jet bombed the Presidential Palace a few hundred meters across the street. Pick up this must-have book to better understand the Vietnamese identity in America.

5 comments about Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism (Turning Points in History).

1. I remember very well listening to Edward R Murrow when I was growing up. His was the voice of authority. I laughed in this book when Edwards recounted how Murrow had to call the bingo numbers because his wife, who was the social director on the boat, was seasick. That must have been some bingo game.
   
   The history recounted in this book was fascinating, especially the relationship between Murrow and Walter Cronkite. The flame of TV journalism lit by Murrow was already fading by the time of his death and went out with Cronkite. Murrow's fears about the direction television was taking was prescient regarding the state of news broadcasting today. He just didn't know how bad it would get.
   
   I was interested to learn that Murrow was one of the forces behind PBS in a final attempt to salvage journalism in TV.



2. A good book should create an impact in the reader. It should touch a person or inspire them to take a stand. The story of Edward R. Murrow is that type of story. This particular book follows Murrow's impact in the embryonic industry known as broadcast journalism. Though I sometimes felt the author was too concerned with the comings and goings of Murrow's staff, it does not take away from the overall product. This is not intended to be a thorough biography of Murrow.
   
   Murrow got his start in education through the International Institute of Education, which is reflected in his belief that the news should educate. Also at this time, Murrow served as the Assistant Secretary of the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars which relocated displaced German Jewish scholars to America. His work would lead him to become a war correspondent for CBS radio during World War II, providing some of the most influential information of the time.
   
   With the new media of television, Murrow would not start behind the camera. But with the backing of CBS boss William S. Paley, See It Now would become the standard bearer for news. Though it is best known for its stand against McCarthyism, the program allowed a multi-sided view of issues. In other words, it served to educate the public.
   
   In the words of the author, "... Many of today's public affairs programs reflect the polarized political climate and are overtly partisan to entertain listeners and viewers whose minds are already made up. People no longer tune in to a program for a detached assessment of political matters, they tune it to have their bias reaffirmed." (158-159) Today's media thrives in sound bites and shows a topic in black and white, forgetting that there are a lot of shades of gray to an issue. Murrow brought out the gray in the issue.



3. I listened to this in the car and found myself sitting in the garage waiting for a passage to conclude. It was riveting and I was amazed at what I learned about Murrow in his own words. A wonderful audiobook.



4. Edward R. Murrow was a giant of a man and more than just the liberal hero of felling Sen. Joseph McCarthy (who went overboard on a very real problem of Communism in the US - see books on Venona), which takes up much of this small book.
   
   In actuality, Murrow was a rare quality of a man that shined for a bright moment amidst much darkness. His notion of fairness and character is better addressed in A.M. Sperber's "Murrow: His Life and Times" (read p. xi and following). Although, the best contemporary view of those times - to be neutral - is now found wanting, as no one is neutral - although he was exemplar regarding fairness, even when he went to defend his associate Laurence Duggan (p. 99), who was not only a KGB informer, but in fact, a KGB agent (this wasn't known to the public until after Murrow's death). Nevertheless, Murrow was a man who stuck to his guns and his character and redefined journalism (earlier journalism had a "yellow" reputation since the 19th century). My father had worked with him in the 1950s at CBS and told us that he was down to earth and a solid person. He was the ultimate gravitas statesman of journalism. He was not so easy to categorize, which journalism since the Watergate era has done in political terms (when the media was redefined by the Bernstein / Woodward team at the Washington Post - decidedly with a left bent).
   
   Bob Edwards, who has hosted "Morning Edition" on NPR, writes briefly on Murrow and tends to mold him in the image of a contemporary liberal media hagiography, but never really shows the depth of his character and the times that were (again, see Sperber).
   
   In his afterward, Edwards comments on the devolution of broadcast journalism. His most telling paragraph is when he writes:
   "If there's a Murrow now among young journalists, he or she will probably leave the business before arriving at a position that gets our attention. If that person shares Murrow's background and training, he or she likely will end up as the president of a small college, enjoy the work, and know the names of every freshman's parents. That would be a very good thing and we should not necessarily mourn the loss of such an individual on a bigger stage" (p. 165).
   
   Another outstanding journalist of that era to research was the Chicago-based Clifton Utley.
   
   I still remember those great weekend days when my father would listen with memory to "Edward R. Murrow - A Reporter Remembers, Vol. 1: The War Years, 1939-1946", those London broadcast recordings of Murrow starting with the memorable line, "This is London". He would start his later broadcasts with a similar focused-styled phrasing that captured the imagination and hearts of people everywhere.



5. This was a very well written short volume which covered the major aspects of Murrow's career. While I found it very lucid and enjoyable, my only small complaint was its brevity. An excellent overview.

5 comments about Audition.

1. I was a real Barbara Walters fan. I picked up the audiobook in preparation for a long trip out to Houston - figured it would be interesting to hear about her interviews and interesting encounters. However, it was definitely more like an autobiography - and to be honest, it was a little too much hearing it being read by her personally. The way she emphasized the words -- it came off as "look how lucky I am, look what a great life I have, look what I can do - I can have it all." She likely would have never meant this - but it just all sounded very pollyanna. Her father had an outstanding warrant for his arrest due to tax evasion and totally blowing off court appearances and couldn't make it back to NY - she sounded like she was going to cry about it! Then she called a friend and had the whole issue "taken care of." Please. The guy failed to pay his PAYROLL taxes. That means he was stiffing his own employees from their social security. She just glossed over glaring lapses in judgment just to brag on her breaks or how good she ahd things, how much money she made, the life she had. Then she wraps it all up in her "insecurity." Wow. It's just everything I thought about her really just went out the window. I liked my impression before this. What was her editor thinking.



2. I couldn't put this book down. Walters has written a very personal, highly candid, warm, and occasionally funny book. I can't understand why others put her down for having a career that took away from her personal caring for her daughter. Lots of very active career women are caught with that type of dilemma. And Walters expresses loads of working-mother guilt. Yes, Walters was a highly competitive journalist. She obviously slept around a good bit, but she was candid about it in her book.
   All in all this is a well-written book about a very interesting personality.



3. great read by a wonderful lady. i read it when it first came out and sent this particular large print copy to a friend in geargia.



4. This a fabulous book to read on a Kindle. My mother recently spent 2 weeks in the hospital. I was there with her day and night. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Fortunately I had my Kindle with me. I have not always had the greatest success with Kindle books. It's sometimes hard to keep my mind on a long complicated story when I'm constantly being interrupted. But Barbara's book was a godsend. I could read a few paragraphs at a time and easily kept up with the narrative. I have to admit that I really, really enjoyed this book. Barbara has met almost everyone who is anyone and has something interesting to say about him or her. And she is honest about her mistakes. I find that refreshing. I read some of the negative reviews here, and if I weren't so tired from sitting around the hospital, I'd refute every one of them. This is a fascinating book. I highly recommend it.



5. Barbara Walters "tells all" in this biography/memoir and doesn't come across as being exemplary in her personal life with her parents, sibling, daughter and husbands. But oh, what a life she has lead! Her retelling of her travels and the multitude of interviews she has done is mesmerizing. This woman has lived a full life and has taken us on her journey through the pages of this book. It was a great read.

5 comments about The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant.

1. This was a fun read. It was for a class in Human Sexuality with an LGBT focus. I enjoyed the reading. Savage is very funny as well as touching.



2. I've read numerous books on this topic, from a variety of different perspectives: adoptive parents, birth parents, adopted children, adoption counselors, etc. But this is by far the best I've come across. It is refreshingly honest in its perspective of an adoptive parent (although sometimes heartbreakingly so). While I am an admitted fan of the author (both his column and other books), I really can't recommend this book strongly enough to anyone who has adopted, is in the process of adopting or is considering doing so.



3. Just to let people know "Melissa'(not her real name) is alive and well in Virginia and planning to move back to the west coast soon.



4. I ended up reading Savage's books in reverse order (I'm sure Savage would complain that to me, marriage should always come before a child), but it really doesn't matter. Savage's account of the adoption of his son is never a question of whether or not it will succeed; it's about the journal, about Savage's acerbic and insightful wit, and about the challenges and fears that come along with the process. Savage's writing is a joy to read; he's funny, smart, and self-deprecating enough to see through his grandiose front. But it's the emotion underneath, be it fear, anxiety, humor, or love, that makes the book so endearing and so memorable; the last page, as much as Dan would hate to hear me say it, is beautiful writing that brought a tear, quite literally, to my eye. It's a shame that the people who most need to read this book, and most need to understand why gay adoption is not only not a bad thing, but even a wonderful thing, will probably never pick this up.



5. Having read Dan Savage's columns a few times, I was prepared for this book to be witty, sarcastic and funny. However, it is so much more. It is honest, touching, and endearing. There were more than a few times where I had tears in my eyes from reading. I was completely engrossed in this book, reading over the course of a few days at every opportunity I had. I highly recommend this one.

5 comments about Take the Cannoli : Stories From the New World.

1. I read in a review that Vowell compares to Sedaris...not even close; although, I found some of the stories entertaining...



2. Very fun read. Not as good as "Assassination Vacation" because it's a collection of essays, but very fun and intriguing nonetheless.



3. Sarah Vowell is an amazingly sassy, witty journalist. She takes you all around America (and all the around the world) as she shares pieces of her life interspersed with hard journalism.
   
   Her stories are diverse, and include a stay in the Chelsea Hotel, an obsession with The Godfather, a humorous trip to DisneyWorld, and a trip to Frank Sinatra's "nowhere" hometown. She searches out her Cherokee history on the Trail of Tears, and talks about her "house divided" (she and her dad supported different political parties).
   
   Her moving, humorous, and altogether interesting account make this a very worthwile read. I reccommend this book to anyone who would like to know the entire history of America as it affects the Michigan Bridge, or who always wondered what goth America was like. In other words, anyone who wants a picture of the diversity of America should definitely read this book.



4. You would think that reading and reviewing a book written ten years ago about American culture might be tricky. You would expect that so much has changed that a book like this would be more like a history lesson than a view into America. But surprisingly, in spite of all that has happened since the turn of the century, Vowell's essays are as true and as a vibrant as when she wrote them. I have to admit that I am a fan of Vowell ever since I read her book Assassination Vacation. The best part of that book is Vowell taking us on a tour of America and making the history she finds relevant to today. This is a gift that she carries into these short essays.
   
   Vowell takes us on a journey along the "Trail of Tears," as she travels the same path which her Cherokee ancestors were forced to travel when they were driven from their homes by Americans. She spends a few days at the Chelsea Hotel where Sid Vicious might have killed Nancy Spungen. She heads to Hoboken to discover the town where Frank Sinatra grew up. She tells us the history of a street corner in Chicago and then explains the lessons she learned from taking band in high school and from watching the movie the "Godfather."
   
   The end result is a very enjoyable series of essays that hold up even though they are 10 years old. If you have enjoyed reading Vowell's other books then I can heartily recommend this one.



5. "Take the Cannoli" consists of a number of witty essays written by Sarah Vowell, who grew up in the middle of nowhere and went on to build a life for herself as a writer living in one of America's largest cities. These stories are largely autobiographical and chronicle Sarah's life and family, with some history lessons woven in as well. They're all very entertaining pieces, but I believe most of them were adapted from radio bits, and they aren't as deep or emotional as they could be. Still, though, Sarah is a great writer, and her commentary is amusing and endearing at the same time. This book was a very enjoyable read.