I Almost Forgot You by Terry McMillan

At first I was trying to figure out where the story was going, but it got interesting as only Terry McMillan can do.  I have always enjoyed her novels.

This book made me think about old boyfriends. Do you only do that when you are single?  Or do married folks have the same thoughts? 

Trick Baby by Iceberg Slim

White Folks is a dude that Slim met in jail. Slim writes this story as told to him by Folks while he served 10 days in jail.  They were cell mates.

“Trick Baby” is the story of a black man who is as pale as his white father.  He is the product of a black woman and white man.  

John Patrick O’Brien Junior aka White Folks is alone in the world when his mother is put in a sanitarium.  He tells his story to Slim of how he became a confidence man.  He also talks about the problems he faced as a black man who looks like a white man.  He was teased and taunted by kids in school and they told him that their parents forbid them to play with him because he looked white and because his father was white.  The rumor in the neighborhood was that his father was a trick (a john) and his mother was a prostitute.  I liked how his mother told him that the children were not to blame for how they treated him, but their parents were because they poisoned the children’s minds about people who have different skin color. 

Robert Beck knows how to tell a story.  His writing is pure and raw and sincere.  He knows how to bring depth to his characters. 

The Story of the Night by Colm Toibin

Richard Garay lives with his mother and bares a secret that he cannot tell anyone. A funny anecdote from the story is that his mother notices how happy Richard has been acting and starts to tease him that he has a girlfriend.  He was happier but not because of a girl. 

The setting is Argentina during a time that the country is going through a political change.

Richard teaches English and also cares for his ailing mom.  When she dies – he is left feeling alone.  When he is approached with a job offer to work with 2 Americans he wonders how their influence can help him.  All the while, he keeps his secret life a secret until he can’t keep it a secret anymore.

A deeply written novel involving the inner turmoil of a young man which is happening the same time as turmoil in the country he lives in.

Pimp: My Life as a Pimp by Iceberg Slim

Wow!!.

First, I began the audio version of this book because I couldn’t locate a hard copy or ebook.  My first notes read that every other sentence started with the word ‘bitch”!   I never finished it, but eventually I got an e-book version from the library.

This is the true tale of Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck), who became a pimp, turned his life around and then became a successful author.  If he can turn his life around, anyone can. 

This is such an old-school book that it took me a while to read it.  There is a glossary in the back of the book that lists words such as hogs, georgiaed, grand, bang, square, vines, jib, okee doke, etc.  I had to read the glossary before I started!

The author had an IQ of 175 when he was tested as a teenager.  What in the world would possess him to want to be a pimp?  This is a man who attended Tuskegee University. 

All-in-all, I like the story and his writing, but most especially that he redeemed himself and realized that he could do better with his life.

Radical Chic by Tom Wolfe

Yes, this definitely got my attention in the opening chapter.  Leonard Bernstein has a vision of a black person rising from behind his piano while he is conducting and he decides to host a fundraiser on behalf of the Black Panthers.

“Radical Chic” is the term used for those (highly fortunate, rich, well-off) willing to hold meetings to raise funds on behalf of those who cannot help themselves.  Some of these groups were grape workers who urged a boycott against California grape growers. Another such group was the Panther 21.  These struggles mostly dealt with lower classes of people and may or not involve racial profiling. 

Unfortunately not everyone was in agreement with all this “help”. An interesting peep into the upper echelons of society who try to help the lower echelons and the backlash they receive from other upper echelons.

Six Years by Harlan Coben

A friend recommended this book after she was intrigued by the synopsis.  Jake attended his ex-girlfriends wedding six years ago and now he reads an obituary about her husband.  When he attends the funeral, the widow is not his ex.  Where did she go?

This was the very first novel that I read of Harlan Coben and I thought it was so good that over the past three years I read all of his books (except the Myron Bolitar series).

Oddly enough, I posted blogs on all the other books and for some reason never posted this one. In the words of another famous author, “The first shall be last”.

Women Food and God by Geneen Roth

I read this book because I bought a coloring book of the same title and discovered the author wrote a corresponding book and the coloring book came after.  Naturally I needed to read the book and see what it was about.

The author equates our relationship with food to something that we are not dealing with. It could be something from your childhood, etc etc…  I think she is right. She holds seminars to help women deal with this issue.

There was only one small chapter referencing God.  The book really is only about dealing with the reason women eat the way they do – when it becomes unhealthy and the yo-yo dieting, etc, etc.

An insightful book with ideas that you can use for not only food, but any habit you form.

Food is comforting.  What I’ve noticed with myself is that I have to have something to eat every time I read and I read a lot. I should look into this!