Deep Thoughts from a Hollywood Blonde

A fluffy Hollywood bio, Jennie Garth of "Beverly Hills, 90210" fame "Deep Thoughts from a Hollywood Blonde". It was a quick read, but interesting and fun. I'm amazed, thinking back, how young she and the rest of the 90210 crew were, to be so famous so fast must have been incredibly terrifying. Her high profile divorce from Peter Facinelli (great on "Nurse Jackie", by the way) sounds incredibly painful and horrifying. I could relate when she talks about how she would follow happy couples, trying to figure out what they did differently. I do the same thing. When I see an older couple, walking, holding hands, eating dinner together, I nearly burst into tears, because I wanted that in my life so badly and it feels like I'll never get it.
Well, this took a bad turn from book review to oversharing :)

I Don't Know What You Know Me From; Call Me Burroughs

Two very different celebrity biographies this week. First up, the delightful and charming Judy Greer's "I Don't Know What You Know Me From" (I hope I got the title right, I've been saying it wrong all week). I know what I know Judy from: practically everything! "Arrested Development", "Archer", "Two and a Half Men", etc. She's one of those actresses that seems very funny and down to earth, and she came across that way in her book, too, just very real, someone you'd lie as a friend in real life. Just very cool and laid back and very funny. There were some definite laugh out loud moments, like her chapter on going to the Oscars.

"Call Me Burroughs" by Barry Miles took me six weeks to finish, not because it wasn't good (it was really good), it was just so dense, a real brick of a book. I, like most teens, discovered Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs and felt like they truly understood the angst I was living (oh, so angsty was my suburban childhood!). I dreamed of hitchhiking cross country and living in a commune. Their lives seemed so free and amazing. I always found Burroughs' books hard to read but worth it, and this biography was so fascinating and well researched. I'm sure I'll be reading some of Burroughs' own works here in the not too distant future.

A Story Lately Told; Buzz

The first of Anjelica Huston's planned biographies, "A Story Lately Told", tells of her young years growing up in Ireland with her mom and older brother, Tony. Her father was rarely around, but when he was he was larger than life. Her parents split up and her mom moved her and Tony to London. She lived there, visiting Ireland. Her mother died young in a tragic car accident, and Anjelica got involved in an abusive relationship with a man she was with for four years before her dad finally helped her get the courage to leave him. It was an interesting story, she's lived such an unconventional life, I can't wait to hear more about it.

"Buzz" by Anders de la Motte, the second in the "Game" trilogy. The first one was so good, and I really enjoyed this one too, they're very thrilling and fast paced. Henrik is hiding out and staying under the radar until he meets a woman who he goes to Dubai with and she ends up being murdered. He goes back to Sweden to see if he can solve the mystery of who killed her, and infiltrates the company she helped found, Argos Eye. Unfortunately he is found out and nearly gets himself killed. He and Rebecca come up with a plan with the help of an old family friend that Rebecca trusts but Henrik doesn't. It's impossible to tell who you can trust. Seriously, I've no clue. I suspect everyone.

Sword of Shannara

A coworker recommended this one, "Sword of Shannara" by Terry Brooks. It wasn't bad, but it is clearly a LOTR rip off. Shea is told by mysterious Druid Allanon that he is the last of the house of Shannara, and as such is the only one who can wield the sword to kill the coming Dark Lord. Shea and his adopted brother Flick set off to get the sword, gathering some friends along the way to help. Like I said, it wasn't bad, but I don't have any interest in finishing the rest of the books, either.

True Hollywood Noir; Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor Part 2; Nicholson

"True Hollywood Noir" by Dina Di Mambro was a bit of a waste of time, unfortunately. It was self-published and really could have benefited from some editing, there was a lot of needless repetition. All the information in the book was basically pulled from other books, TV shows, etc. Nothing really new.

"The Walking Dead: the Fall of the Governor Part 2" by Robert Kirkman was pretty good. Better than the show has been lately, sadly. Lilly Caul finds out she is pregnant and is determined to stand by the governor and make Woodbury a safe place. She ignores his ever increasing madness, but by the time Michonne is done with him it's hard to ignore his spiteful vengeance. Lilly covers for him with the rest of the town while he's recuperating, and eventually when Blake is back on his feet he starts planning an attack on the prison with Lilly acting as his right hand girl. Lilly suffers a miscarriage, and is more determined than ever to make the prison pay. The go out there, guns blazing, and some of the survivors escape, but not before Lilly shoots and kills Judith and Lori. When she realizes she's killed a mother and her baby, Lilly turns on the governor and takes him down. She and a small group of Woodbury residents survive and make it back to rebuild and hopefully make Woodbury a better place. I did like it, but that being said between this book and the first one "Fall of the Governor Part 1", seriously both books were way too long and totally unnecessary. Just seemed like they were trying to cash in on the popularity of the show.

"Nicholson" by Marc Eliot is a great bio about a great actor who has definitely lived an interesting life. Eliot pulls no punches in describing all of Jack's faults and bad moments. He has a bit of a snarky humor that made it really fun to read.