So I haven't been able to keep up with posting the books I've been reading, so this is going to be a sort of catch up entry with a bunch of books thrown into it.
Backstage at the Dean Martin Show by Lee Hale
This is a book I've had for awhile and just haven't gotten around to reading it. The author worked on The Dean Martin Show (and its many incarnations) as a creative assistant and he also had the unique opportunity to "be" Dean. Since Dean did not like to rehearse someone needed to literally stand in for him while the rest of the cast and guest stars for the week rehearsed the show. Unfortunately, I am too young to have seen any large quantity of the shows, but I have caught clips and a very small amount of actual episodes. What I have been able to watch is proof enough of Dean's improvisational skills and his comedic timing. I truly believe the show would not have been as successful as it was without these key elements. Also, Dean is just charming and you feel comfortable watching him, like he's an old friend. Anyway, it was interesting to see the behind the scenes action from a crew person's point of view. The little tidbits about the stars who came on the show, or who didn't, were always interesting. Also, the stars who appeared on the show are yet another testament to Dean's character and likability. As the book goes into the later years of the television show and eventually the Dean Martin Roasts, it takes on a sad tone. Dean seems to have changed (in my personal opinion after his divorce from Jeanne) and it reflected in the show, causing it to drop in ratings. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was written with honesty with the intent of giving a peak at a very interesting set up for a television variety show. I mean really, how many shows can you think of are notorious for the host not rehearsing?
Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan
I absolutely love reading this book. It takes a look at romance novels and why they are so popular. But it not only defends the genre, it even rips it apart and analyzes all of the annoying and over done stereotypes the genre has, but all with a good sense of humor. The authors also run the Smart B******, Trashy Books blog where they review romance novels and look at other things involved with them. It is easy to tell how much these authors love the romance genre. They have decided to take a more appropriate approach and look at its flaws and it bright points. It was a great read and what was even better, was reading a romance novel right afterward and finding that many of the things they discussed were true.
Paradise by Judith McNaught
I read this book as part of a two books in one book. It was given to me and chances are I probably wouldn't have picked it up on my own. That said, I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed the book by the time I had finished it. I do think at certain points the author was too detailed and descriptive (and I like a lot of details and description) not to mention that she employed the use of the big misunderstanding a.k.a. "the Big Mis" (coined by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan). In other words, all of the problems between the hero and heroine stem for one colossal misunderstanding. It's an idea that is used over and over again in romance novels, but none and I mean none of the ones I have encountered have had nearly as many "Big Mises" as this one! And yet some how I wasn't bored by it, I wanted to know how everything turned out, even though it seemed to never end (all 530 pages of it). At the same time I did have to suppress a few groans after the second time there was a misunderstanding and saying to myself, "Not again!" But of course everything works out in the end and all the "Big Mises" were well worth seeing the two characters come together in the end.
Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk
This was the first book I've read by Chuck (as my friend calls him). She is a huge fan and I was curious to see what his next book was about after hearing her say how she was going to see him speak. So I looked it up on Amazon and was very intrigued by the cover. I liked the cover it was interesting and neat (not weird like I find some of his other covers to be). (I must digress and confess that I am hopelessly sucked in by a good cover. I do generally judge books by their covers even though I know I shouldn't. I once wrote a paper on the cover of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight about how it literally sucks you in to buying it, tempting it with the most symbolically tempting fruit, an apple, held by ghostly white arms dissolving into a black background. So much goes through your head when you seen the image that you don't even know why you decide to pick up the book.) Anyway, so I read the brief synopsis and then thought this would be a good book to start from if I wanted to read something by Chuck. I didn't get the idea it was going to be too weird or too out there according to my interpretation of them.
After I got the book I was even more surprised by how different the idea was. Tell-all books are probably some of the best ideas to market because they give off the idea that they are going to reveal some juicy gossip about someone famous. And even though the character of Katherine Kenton is completely fictional, the author uses real people involved in Hollywood at the time (though which time period it is is beyond me, I'm going to say its somewhere between the 1940s and the 1960s probably before 1965). It was hard to pinpoint the time period because of references that were made. The popularity of certain songs makes me think it took place in the '40s but a reference to Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls makes me think it could have been the '60s, although the narrator could simply have used it to give the reader a frame of reference. I really enjoyed seeing all of the people, places and other items rendered in bold font was pretty neat and I was happy because I knew who most of the people named were.
I enjoyed the book, and found it to be an interesting read. It took me a while to read it though, I didn't read it continuously as I usually do when I read books. I read others in between this one. While I kind of saw the ending coming, I eventually forgot what I thought about midway through the book and was only reminded that I had figured it out when I came to the end. To me, that means the author did his job. I don't like to figure out an ending (and you may ask well then why do you like romance novels, they're so predictable? Well they are and they aren't and there's something comforting about knowing two characters will end up together no matter what). In mystery and detective type stories, I do tend to try and figure out what happens. How can you not? The author leaves clues in front of you that are simply begging to be put together.
I don't know if I'll read another Chuck book. I think I'll have to get some more details about them and from my friend to see if I'll be able to tolerate the weirdness.
The Devil You Know by Liz Carlyle
This is probably one of my favorite romance novels, and certainly my favorite by Liz Carlyle. I was over a friends house and saw it on her shelf and asked her if I could borrow it so I could read it again since it had been awhile. I think what I like most was the hero, Bentley Rutledge. I can not think of a more perfect name for a British rogue. For all his character flaws, he is charming and loveable. The story is great, too. It was one of the first romances I clearly remember reading and I have some memories attached to it which probably make me enjoy the book even more. In fact I can remember reading it during an English class in high school. I had a teacher in my freshman year who said the biggest form of disrespect you could give to a teacher was to read while he or she was teaching. Well I did that during my sophomore English class. I didn't get caught, which leads me to believe the teacher didn't see me. It was one of those things where I was aware of it, but she wasn't. I clearly remember sitting at my desk (first row against the wall on the windowed side of the class room, second desk on a gray, overcast day) and reading the book underneath the desk. Three of my good friends were in the class and I had told them about the book. We were all so surprised that the main character Frederica (Freddie who was a virgin up until page 20 or so) leaped into the action so quickly. None of us had found a book where it happened quite so soon. Not long after, my friend used a movie title to describe the book, and well it kinda stuck for us as a joke. As usual though, it was great to re-read the book and of course spend some time with Bentley.
From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
I wasn't planning on re-reading this, not because I didn't like it, but because I brought it with me to my boyfriends house to read by the pool so that I wouldn't have to worry about ruining a good book (I'm hopefully getting a hardcover copy of it soon!). Well after I started it, I simply didn't want to just leave it off where I had stopped. I'm glad I did. I really enjoy the Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood books. They're fun and a chance to escape to a totally different world. If you ask me, there's no better way to escape from reality than a book with humor in it. I found myself enjoying this one more than I did when I originally read it. This may have been because I wasn't trying to devour the series as fast I could and instead just picked it up for its familiarity.
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