Sunday, May 31, 2020

April 2020 Books

April was a fab month for celebrity memoirs!

♥ Lady In Waiting ¹ by Anne Glenconner - After seeing Lady Anne Glenconner on The Graham Norton Show discussing her life and promoting her memoir I instantly bought a hardcover copy from Amazon UK. When Audible finally released the audiobook version in the States I snapped it right up. This woman's life is completely riveting and this is one of the best books I've read in a while.

* Inside Out ¹ by Demi Moore - This autobiography was available for free from the library and since Demi Moore read it, I had to give it a listen. I really admired how honest and open Ms. Moore was about the decisions she's made - good, not so good, and everything in between.

♥ In Pieces ¹ by Sally Field - Sally Field's memoir read like poetry. It's deep and beautifully written. She describes her life in such exquisite detail that it paints an image in your mind's eye and draws out sounds that aren't heard outside of its home in your thoughts. When she described so perfectly a moment of clothes being pulled from a clothesline, I immediately felt transported as I saw the clean clothes flapping, heard the snap of the clothespin as the cotton shirt was torn from its jaws, smelled the freshly cut lawn, and felt the whirl of wind around me. An absolutely divine execution of drawing the reader in and allowing them to witness Sally Field's life, rather than hearing about it.

* Sula ¹ by Toni Morrison - Another knock-out from Toni Morrison. Next up from this brilliant author is Beloved or maybe Song of Solomon...

* Funny, You Don't Look Autistic ¹ by Michael McCreary - I saw this on Libby, my library audiobook app, and decided to give it a try. I needed something light after Sula and this was funny and charming.

♥ Steve & Me by Terri Irwin - Terri Irwin's book on her life and particularly her life with husband Steve Irwin was spectacular. I kept expecting a happy ending, even though I knew it was not to be. It was the only think I didn't like about this book. The world needed Steve Irwin for far longer than we had him.
* Alien Superstar ¹ by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver - I needed some Henry Winkler silliness and his most recent book with Lin Oliver was such fun! An alien that lands on earth and becomes a huge Hollywood star. Completely delightful - I hope this is a new series!!
A Story Told Lately ¹ by Anjelica Huston - Anjelica Huston is one of those names and faces that I've known my whole life, although I didn't really know much about her. Hearing her tell tales of her early life was so engrossing that I instantly dove in to her follow up.

♥ Watch Me ¹ by Anjelica Huston - Watch Me was as good as Ms. Huston's first memoir. This one though left me just really loving Jack Nicholson. I always had the impression that he was full of himself, very self centered and aloof. From everything Ms. Huston says he is a funny, warm, compassionate, and caring man. Flawed, but wonderful to the core. I was so happy reading of her romance and marriage to artist Robert Graham only to be devastated a few hours later when he passed away. I had no idea and it was so heartbreaking. But Anjelica Huston goes on and I hope she has many more adventures and experiences which leads her to write a third memoir.

¹ - audiobook
² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.

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