I was glad I borrowed Betty White's new book "If You Ask Me..." because it felt like a total ripoff. If I'd actually paid for it I probably would have taken it back and gotten a refund. The margins were around two inches on all sides, and the font was huge. It seriously took me an hour to read, and it was all just filler nonsense, nothing really interesting or revealing about her life at all. Just churned out to capitalize on the recent resurgence in her career, which is just sad. Betty's better than that. I have one of her older books on hold, so I hope it's a little more interesting.
"Stay" by Deb Caletti was amazing. It's a YA book about a girl named Clara who is hiding out in a sleepy beach town, avoiding her crazy, jealous ex-boyfriend, Christian. She can't even tell her friends back home where she's at for fear Christian will find out. Clara and her dad (her mother died when she was little) find themselves enjoying their new home away from home, and they both meet potential romantic interests. Caletti alternates between the present and what happened with Christian, so about 2/3 of the way into the book the reader, like Clara, is jumping at every noise and expecting Christian to pop out from every corner. It was really tense, and I just kept waiting for the payoff. I'd like to read more books by her, it was just so nicely written.
Alice Ozma and her dad decided to read for 1,000 nights straight, and in her memoir "The Reading Promise", she details in loving memory their "Streak" as well as her special relationship with her dad, who was a single man trying to raise two daughters. He did an excellent job, in my opinion: Alice is funny and articulate and very charming. Reading her book is like sitting down and chatting with her over lunch: she just comes across as so real and so friendly and pleasant to be around. And her dad is awesome! An elementary school librarian in an impoverished neighborhood, he is a champion of books and readers everywhere. Alice and her dad read together every single night for over 9 years, until she left home to go to college. It was a beautiful book, so sweet, I really loved it. Back when I was a kid I wanted to be part of the Ingalls family because I loved Laura's books so much, and I knew Pa would always look out for me. Now I want to be part of Alice's family :)
2 comments:
What's up with this sudden popularity with Betty White these days? I don't understand (but to be fair, there are a lot of things I don't understand!)
It's ironic because she's literally been on television since it began. I think the resurgence in popularity has to do with being older and still being "cool", in a way. She really is a neat lady. Just read a different book by her! ;-)
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