Peril In Paperback by Kate Carlisle

First, I was intrigued by the title, next the main character’s name is Brooklyn.  I had to read it and see what it was about.  Also, the book is subtitles as “a bibliophile mystery.”  Naturally, I wanted to see how books fit in the story. 

This is a mystery book about a book restorer by the name of Brooklyn Wainright.  It seems that she always gets involved in murders and there are other books that the author has written about Brooklyn. 

The author held my interest. A group of people are spending the week at a country estate to celebrate the owner’s 50^th birthday.  When guests start dying – the mystery begins.  If you have ever seen the movie “Ten Little Indians”, you’ll know the plot - and actually, it was mentioned in the book.

I would recommend it as a quick week-end read.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire & Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

After the hubbub about the movie, I had to read the story to see what it was all about.  As of this writing, I have not seen the movie yet. 

The setting is North America, some years after devastation and destruction. There are 12 districts and 1 Capitol.  The Capitol rations food, clothes and any other article needed for the citizens to live a half-way decent life.  The hunger games involve 1 citizen from each district, pitted against one another. All this death and gory as entertainment for the Capitol and to keep the districts in line.

Katniss Everdeen is 16 when she volunteers for the hunger games.  She volunteers  because her younger sister was selected and she does not want to lose her. She has no imagination of the horrors that await her.

It is a great young adult story.  I can see the appeal because teens are the ones involved in the hunger games and it’s all about survival.  Who will be the last one alive?  This would mean that your family is well fed and lives the best life for 1 year.

I read all three books and liked the way it ended. 

Jokes My Father Never Taught Me by Rain Pryor

This is about the life and times of Rain Pryor, one of the children of comedian Richard Pryor. She tells a candid story of growing up with a Jewish mother and black father. It wasn’t easy. Born in 1969 and growing up in the 70’s she faced racial connotations from adults and children alike. She also grew up with a set of parents that didn’t hold anything back from her. They cussed in presence and also when speaking directly to her. She had a well rounded word bank at the young age of four. At least Rain decided that she would do the opposite with her children then how her parents raised her – at least, the way Richard raised her. All in all, she dearly loved her father. Through all his issues, girlfriends, wives, drugs and illness, she never turned away from her father. She understood his upbringing had a lot to do with his ways and means. It’s a well known fact that he grew up in a whorehouse owned by his grandmother who also raised him. When his grandmother died, Richard’s world changed. According to Rain, this was the beginning of his downfall.

I’ve always known Richard Pryor to be an X-rated comic, but he didn’t start out that way. During his early years, he was compared to Bill Cosby; however he wanted to be known for himself, thus the transformation of talking about things that others wouldn’t want to talk about – race relations, sex, and drugs. He did open the way for the comics of today and also had a good acting career. Unfortunately, when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis his health deteriorated slowly, along with his career. Richard Pryor died in 2005 at the age of 65.

Rain went on the become an accomplished actor, starring in the television show Head of the Class alongside Robin Givens (the former Mrs. Mike Tyson) and Howard Hesseman (WKRP in Cincinnati). She became an actor on her own name and is still acting today.

This book was published in 2006 and at the time Rain Pryor was currently starring in her one-woman show titled Fried Chicken and Latkas.

SH*T My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

I thought it to be the equivalent of a “dark comedy” of memoirs. The author’s father says what he means and means what he says. I’ve often thought of writing a blog on “sh*t my mom says”, but this guys dad takes the cake! As a parent, I never cursed at my kids, however, the author’s dad has a no-holds barred attitude. He has 2 favorite 4-letter words and I’m going to let you imagine what they are! At least my mother only used the word “ass” when conversing with me. Then there’s the story about dad defending the house with a rifle, crawling on the floor, nude. When he discovers the “burglar” is just his sister-in-law getting a late night snack, he shrugs it off with the comment that a man’s house is his house. Filled with stories and quips and rants from a doctor of nuclear medicine, he really does care and love his family. I thought it was good for a few laughs. What started out as a simple twitter feed, is now a published book. What a great way to get a major book deal. And his dad is just as amazed! And, btw, there was also a TV comedy of the same name starring William Shatner as the ranting dad. I have not seen the show as I’m waiting for its release on DVD. The author, Justin Halpern is a writer and contributing editor at Maxim Magazine.

The World In Pieces by Bart Midwood

I enjoyed reading this story of the Brody family. If you think your family has issues, I’m sure this one may top it all. The juiciest tidbit is that Lo Yadua is the son of Anchel and Surah Brody and they are brother and sister! The family is Jewish and that’s just to give you an idea on how they may have handled that. The journal starts with Blima Brody, mother of Anchel and Surah. She was a free-spirited girl. A girl who spoke many languages, thus she was able to talk with anyone – and this she enjoyed dearly. She translated letters and love notes for everyone. She was a young girl in love with Yusef. However, her father had different ideas. Yusef had a sister who married a non-jew, thus Yusef’s family was un-clean according to Blima’s father. He had already arranged for Blima to marry someone else, but she wanted no part of this. After her father broke Yusef’s legs, she decided to go ahead with the arranged marriage. The story gets juicer and I will spare you the details about Surah having sex on a ship with a bunch of sailors! A true story, the author tells a tale of Anchel and Surah Brody who, upon their death, left him a box filled with letters and diaries. After getting in contact with Lo Yadua, then his wife, then their daughter, he publishes part of the letters into this story. In between the stories of Anchel and Surah, he also prints the correspondence between himself and Lo Yadua. When Lo Yadua is killed, the correspondence is continued with his wife, Ilana. She adds more to the tale of her in-laws as well. It’s quite interesting and I enjoyed reading it.

Not Buying It by Judith Levine

What an interesting concept: to only buy necessities - and even then the author thought hard about the purchase.

This is a chronicle of the author and her husband’s year long project of not buying things they did not need. I love her candor about her project and her writing in general. Before starting, they shop and stock up.

During this project, they discover many free events and they make use of them. One was the public library. The author also talks about consumerism. Why do we buy the things we buy? Do we need them or is it because we have a coupon that expires which would make the price a steal? In the beginning, the author has a desire, almost a longing to buy something that is not needed. But by the end of the year, the she feels great about being able to walk through a store and not buy a single item. She doesn’t feel any urges whatsoever!

I admire their dedication!