BOOK REVIEW for The Beginning of Shi*t: An unapologetic Weight Loss Memoir by Suzanne Culberg

 

TITLE:            The Beginning is Sh*t: An apologetic Weight Loss Memoir

AUTHOR:        Suzanne Culberg

Genre:                Memoir

RATING:           5/5 stars

I loved this book.  

Suzanne is very honest about her weight as well as her situation.  She basically  wrote a book that could easily describe me, minus the kids and all the crying.  

Seriously, what is up with all that crying? getting angry, I get, feeling frustrated, scared.....all valid, but the crying on every other page was the one thing I found annoying.  

If you want to know how being overweight and feeling out of control sounds like, then read this book - everything she wrote touched me.

I also question the roles her family, hubby, and friends have in her life.  They are basically rarely mentioned, and at one point, I seriously thought she had divorced and chose not to tell us.

Bottom line, loved the honesty. I totally loved the pace of this book, and I totally identified.

BOOK REVIEW for Mania Tartan, turmoil and my life as a Bay City Rollers by Stuard Woody Wood

 

TITLE:                 Mania Tartan, Turmoil - and my life as a Bay City Rollers

AUTHOR:            Stuart Woody Wood

GENRE:                Memoir

RATiNG                3 out of 5 stars

I will start by reiterating that I still love the Bay City Rollers today and play their music all the time.

While it seems as though every fan had their own reasons for liking one of the guys more than the others, I can say that I liked Les as a teenager and now, I can appreciate all of them as they all contributed to the music.

It was quite a rude awakening for me, as an adult, as I discovered how much each of the guys suffered while in the band, including sexual abuse .  It was scary and sometimes I think how happy I was,  not knowing any of it, so I could honestly enjoy Rollermania (no cell phones way back in 1977).

Over the last 20 years or so, Les wrote a memoir, as did Alan and I even managed to read the entirety of the brick of  a book (over 400 pages) written on the music industry and how it chewed and spit out all of the Rollers.

I mention this because I will read anything on the Rollers.  Having said that,  Woody's book is,  boring.  Kind of vanilla.  I really had to force myself to get through it.  This is not something I felt with any of the other books.

While Woody describes events, accompanied by how he felt about them, the narration feels very one tone.  There is very little actual dialogue and he does not know how to build a story, everything sounds as though he is reciting it in a neutral voice (I read the book, not the audio).

The end result was, in my opinion, a boring book

I appreciate all the contributions he gave the band and I even plan on seeing him if he and his new band come to my hometown, but he is a way better singer and songwriter than he is as author.

BOOK REVIEW for Drunk Love, a Marriage Under the Influence by Melissa Fletcher

Thank you to Library Tales Publishing for sending me an e-copy of this book.

TITLE:                  Drunk Love: A Marriage Under the Influence

AUTHOR:            Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje

GENRE:                Memoir

RATING:                5 stars

This was a great read.

I did not like Melissa or Mark at all, and honestly, I am surprised they are still together.

For someone in his own recovery group, he is very annoying and often comes across as denying his own reality!

This book works on several levels:

1 the honesty to detail the good and the bad.

2 rarely have I seen a memoir about addiction so thoroughly explain, to the readers, what AA is and is not.

3 the message of hope.

I read a lot of memoirs on addiction, and the writing is solid, and the pace is great.

I really enjoyed this, or as much as you can enjoy reading such a serious subject.

BOOF REVIEW for A Marriage that Changed the World - Lois and Bill Wilson by Tom Adams and Joy Jones

TITLE:          A Marriage that Changed the World - Lois and Bill Wilson

AUTHOR:     Tom Adams and Joy Jones

GENRE:        Non fiction

RATING:       5 stars

I loved this book. I am a fan of A.A. history and this book gives such an interesting taste, particularly when Lois is a widow.

I do find that some subjects are glossed over, but overall this is an amazing read, created by dutiful research.

This book can be read by those in various programs as an inspiration and by those who love an addict for hope.

The best proof that there is a Higher Power in the world has been pr metoven when Bill Wilson and Dr Bob Smith met and the second miracle was that Lois and Annie married these men and stayed with them through all of it.

BOOK REVIEW for Loud Fast Words by Dave Pirner

 

TITLE:                     Loud Fast Words

AUTHOR:               Dave Pirner

GENRE:                  Not sure how to describe this - non fiction

RATING:                 5 stars

I am usually  pretty definitive in what I am reading.  I love reading memoirs (celebrity or otherwise) so, technically, this book should never have been part of my reading history, because it is NOT a memoir.

I am not sure what happened, but as I was browsing in a bookstore,  one of my favorite things to do, and was heading to the cash register with a pile of books,  I casually looked down at a table and this book caught my attention.  Have no idea why, but I just scooped it up, along with all my other books .

When I got home, I looked at the cover and thought 'wait,  this is written by someone in Soul Asylum?".  I had a distant memory of Soul Asylum, very vague and to me, they had "that guy with all the hair in front of his face" (a pet peeve of mine BTW) "who sang that song about trains".

My generation had so much good music, that Soul Asylum never even made my top 10.  How can it? when I was enjoying Zeppelin, Supertramp and the Eagles to name a few.  Plus, at the time,  Soul Asylum was into grunge (I do remember that) and that type of music was NOT my thing at all.

Anyway, all of this to say that I adored this book.  A lot of the lyrics are thought provoking and I found out that I really, really enjoy Stand Up and Be Strong (especially with Pirner singing it with his son) and yes, that "train" song is also really good.  

I made a point of reading each page and then listening to the tune, so I have been on this book for quite a while now and I ended up going down the rabbit hole a bit.  There were other songs I really enjoyed too, so I have added Sould Asylum to my repeat playlist, even though it appears that their music has been called, grunge, alternative rock and rock....I suppose it is genius to make music that is not defined by only one music type.

I am so impressed with Pirner's creativity (yes, that  guy with all the hair in front of his face), he is obviously doing (songwriting) what he was put on this planet to do.  

Pirner and I  have nothing in common - oh wait!, we are both the same age and we both breathe the same air, that's about it.  While I am no music expert, the depth of some of his lyrics has really touched me.  The little blurb at the top of each page, discussing his mindset at the time of the writing of a particular song, gives us just a hint of what he was living or thinking or feeling at that time.

I really enjoyed reading this book and discovering (ok, granted 40 years later) some really great songs.

As I do when I finish a memoir (this is not that, but still), I do a deep dive on the author and I did this with David Pirner.  While Pirner is obviously funny and very intelligent, it was a bit of a letdown, to me, to see that he is also kind of a cliché musician, with the work hard and party harder mentality.  Obviously, he owes me less than zero, but I was kind of dejected. Addiction is a b**** for sure, but I had hoped Pirner would have grown through it,  and maybe he has, but watching some interviews or concerts can be kind of painful.  Yet, at times, he is so on the ball, its amazing.

He is such a contradiction, it really intrigues me.

Of course, the irony here, is that he could easily take this review and turn it into something powerful, a skill I have not been born with, obviously.

HAPPY NEW YEAR onwards to 2025

  Looks like I did not meet my 2024 challenge - missed it by 3 books.

2024 Reading Challenge

2024

READING

CHALLENGE

books completed

3 books behind schedule

36/39 (92%)

View Challenge

I rarely use this blog to express personal things, but I do make exceptions at the end of the year.

I discovered a great song in 2024 - Bridges Burn by Needtobreathe. My whole life I have been told to 'never burn my bridges" because I may need to use that bridge, at some point, especially when it comes to my career.  I have come to realize that I WANT to watch all my bridges burn, I am tired of looking behind me for answers and I am tired of trying to fit square pegs into round ones.

Going back into my past, be it  relationships or jobs has NEVER paid off, not once.  I kept trying to "fix" the relationships and  that somehow,  the fact that I did not end up with a particular guy the first time, was something I could now go back and fix - NOPE, the Universe had it right the first time, Every. Single. Time. Even from a career point of view, I refuse to go back and repeat the same mistakes over and over, just with different employers. 

Learning this has given me several life lessons that I wish I had learned the first time around, but my mother has always said that I needed to be hit over the head with the brick before "I got it".

To, once again, quote NEEDTOBREATHE, I now pretty much "dance in the light of a lesson learned" and I love it! 

Obviously, I will still make mistakes, but god willing, they will never be because I chose to look back instead of ahead.  I want to keep looking forward, I do not look backwards anymore because that is not the direction I am going.

So, to all the people in my past,  be it bosses or boyfriends, thank you for the life lessons, but I do not want you in my life.  Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Happy 2025 to everyone, publishers, people who read this blog, even when I do not update it for weeks, and to the people  I do love and love having in my life - health and happiness to all, May you always dance in the light of a lesson learned.

BOOK REVIEW for Suburban Junky by Jude Hassan

TITLE                   Suburban Junky

AUTHOR:            Jude Hassan

GENREL               Addiction & Recovery Memoir

DATE:                    Released in 2012

RATING:                5/5 STARS

I loved loved this book.  It is a difficult read, and Jude does not sugarcoat any of it.

From the bad and the ugly, he details his fall into addiction. I read a lot of addiction memoirs. This is one of the best reads when it comes to seeing how low even "good boys" can fall.

It is obvious that the love of his family has made so much of an impression on Jude and its touching.

I would love for him to write a sequel.

Love this.

BOOK REVIEW for Children Of Darkness and Light, Lori Vallow, Chad Deybell and the Story of a Murderous Faith

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me an e copy of this book.

TITLE:              Children of Darkness and Light, Lori Vallow, Chad                                            Deybell and the Story of a Murderous Faith

AUTHOR:       Lori Hellis

GENRE             True Crime

RATING:          3.5 stars

The author digs into the LDS church (Mormons) and while some of it was pertinent and interesting, it went on too long. It got convoluted and if you are not reading this book for lessons on being Mormon, you probably will end up drifting, as I did. It is obvious that she was setting up the situation so we could better understand Lori and Chad, but it was too much.

When she places Chad and Lori snack into the middle of their lives - both before they met and after, they met, its clear that religion (even distorted to the ump degree) was a major catalyst for their future actions. Although, I do question whether this was more about sex, power and money and a lot less on them believing they were assigned to the 144,000, although Lori seems to believe it and Chad wants Lori and power, so he keeps feeding her.

The description of the children was heartbreaking and the author did a great job of being respectful throughout the entire book.

Unfortunately, then we go back into further descriptions of Mormons and there is very little to do with Chad and Lori.

This book is 40% about Lori and Chad and the rest is on religion. Unfortunately, this is not the book I thought I was reading.

Kudos though for obviously excellent research.

BOOK REVIEW for Flash Flood by Gabrielle Prendergast

 

Thank you Orca Publishing for sending me an electronic copy of this book to read and review.

TITLE:                Flash Flood

AUTHOR:          Gabrielle Prendergast

GENRE:             YA fiction

RATING:             4 stars

I love that Orca Publishing writes books with social issues and does not shy from them.

This one was both heartwarming while thrilling me.  Short book, but in that time, all the characters were great - surprise, surprise! there is not a huge rebellion going on.

Really enjoyed this one.

BOOK REVIEW for A Lie for a Lie by Jane Buckingham

Thank you to  Greenleaf Book Group Press for sending me an e-copy of this book to read and review.

TITLE:            A Lie for a Lie

AUTHOR:      Jane Buck

GENRE:         YA

STARS:       5 stars

I know that there are several messages intertwined in this book, but honestly, I wasn't looking for life lessons, I was looking for fun and it delivers.

I took a chance with this book as this was the author"s first YA novel..

It was terrific.

I actually did not like any of the main characters, not even the lead Sabrina.  She played the victims so often and her interactions with her "friends" felt selfish.  Her constant whining about Harvard just made me dislike her. Nonetheless, the sheer fact that all the characters are flawed simply added to the overall suspense of the novel.  

The REVENGE list and texts is a great idea for a novel.  Different reactions from different people help us to better understand how each person reacted to being a target on the REVENGE list, until Sabrina gets involved.  What follows is a whoddunit that was really well written.  Anytime I thought I knew who the guilty person was, it turned out I was wrong.

The writing is just at a perfect pace and the author knows how to seamlessly propel a plot.  Loved the writing, loved the plot and loved the story.