Audrey Hepburn: a Life of Beautiful Uncertainty

 

What a lovely tribute to a gracious and wonderful lady who left the world much too soon. Audrey grew up in the Netherlands and almost starved to death during WWII. She dreamed of being a ballerina and ended up in movies instead. She was her own harshest critic: thinking herself not attractive or talented (she was, of course, both in spades). 

What really got me was how genuinely kind she was to everyone. She never had a bad word to say, even about people who said terrible things about her. She ensured that her sons had good relationships with their fathers and said nothing but nice things about them in front of them. She wanted to be a mother more than anything so when her first son, Sean, was born, she scaled back her acting career and was happy to do so. She didn't make very many movies, but for the most part they were all well done. Later on in life she devoted herself to UNICEF and helping children around the globe. In a culture where vulgarity is rewarded, we need more people like Audrey Hepburn. 

Another Fine Mess

Ryan's sequel to "Bless Your Heart" was super fun and she ended it on a cliffhanger, so I'm happy there will be more. I love the Evans ladies!

After "Bless Your Heart", there are only two Evans women left: Lenore and her granddaughter, Luna (Ducey and Grace both died at the end of the first book). Lenore hires Kim, a young lady who went to cosmetology school, to help out in the funeral parlor. Kim is the first non-Evans woman to be taken into their confidence regarding their special obligation of putting down the restless dead. The new sheriff, Roger Taylor, who was in love with Grace, also understands what's going on. He is dismayed when just a month after the end of the last mess, more strange killings start happening. The official line is a rabid ghost wolf, but then a wolf expert visits town and casts doubt on that line. Lenore is at a loss as to what could be so viciously attacking people. 

It was really good and really, really gory (shouldn't have read it while trying to eat dinner, seriously). I love her unique way of describing things.  
 

Lemons Never Lie

 

Alan Grofield is an actor who owns and runs a small summer stock theater in Indiana. During the off season, he commits robberies to help fund his theater. He goes to Vegas to meet with a guy named Myers who has an idea about ripping off a brewery in upstate New York. Since the plan involves killing some people, Grofield says "no thanks" and leaves. A friend of his, Barnes, also walks out. Barnes ends up winning a nice amount of money while gambling and Grofield is attacked in his hotel room later on that night because Myers thought he won the money (he was with Barnes). Grofield goes home to Indiana and Barnes shows up, nearly dead, after being beaten and robbed by Myers. 

Things go off the rails for Grofield, who tries to go after Myers. It was a good, quick read, I like Westlake's books. 

John & Paul: a Love Story in Songs

 

I thought I might cry after the last Mike Hammer novel but I *did* cry at the end of this one. So tragic. Not just John's murder at such a young age but the fact that he and Paul, who were pure magic together, never fully reconciled before he died. 

I love the Beatles. John and Paul were both enormously talented songwriters and musicians on their own but together they were lightning in a bottle. The world had never experienced anything like them before and I don't think we will again, at least not in my lifetime. 

It's strange to try to think of a male friendship as them "being in love". We tend to equate that with a sexual relationship but as Leslie points out, it doesn't need to be. John and Paul were more than just best friends, it was a deeper connection than that. They communicated without words. They brought out the best and the worst in each other. They expressed their love for each other in their music, their intensely personal lyrics, and they way they often emulated each other. That's why there are still raging debates online regarding certain sections of songs: is it John singing or is it Paul trying to sound like John? Or is it John trying to sound like Paul trying to sound like John? Because they were so adept at imitating each other sometimes it's impossible to tell. It was a moving and beautiful story about two young men, cast adrift, who found each other at just the right times in their lives and captured something magical that they shared with the world. We're all better off for having had them, even if it was all too brief. 

Baby, It's Murder

 

Oh man. The last Hammer novel. I think I might cry. Collins did an excellent job with this series. I'm totally in the mood to go back and reread "I, the Jury", though. I just might, it's been years.

At Velda's funeral (another reason to cry), Mike is reminiscing with Pat Chambers about a time when he went to Long Island to help Velda out with her younger sister, Mikki. Their mom broke her hip and is in a nursing facility, and seventeen year old Mikki has undergone a radical character change. She's dropped out of tennis, which she used to love, and lost a lot of weight. She stopped dating the long haired, motorcycle riding bad boy and is now going with upstanding society boy Second (he's named after his dad, so everyone calls him Second, instead of Garrett). The twists weren't very twisty (I saw them both a mile away) but they were fun nonetheless. 

It's the end of an era. RIP, Mickey, Mike, and Velda. 

Dead in the Frame

 

I'm not sure which Pentecost and Parker book this is...four or five, maybe? It's a fun series. 

While Will is vacationing off the grid with her girlfriend, Holly, Ms. Pentecost is arrested for the murder of Jessup Quincannon. Quincannon is the sicko who has a museum full of memorabilia from famous murders. He threatened to expose a dark secret about Lillian's past in front of a room full of his exclusive club members. Lillian shows up to the event, goes up to his office, and the rest of the guests hear gunshots. She was the only one in the room with him. It looks like an open and shut case, but Will knows her boss would never kill anyone. 

The solution was clever if not a bit contrived (not as contrived as pole vaulting over mud to leave footprints, but hey, not everyone can be Erle Stanley Gardner). 

A Travesty of a Mockery of a Sham

 

I do so adore Woody Allen. I can't believe he's going to be 90 this year. 

McGilligan wrote a very thorough biography on Allen. It was interesting. I learned about his early years writing for TV shows, doing stand up, and appearing on "The Tonight Show" (I went back and watched some clips on YouTube--hysterical). I always forget he has such a strong Brooklyn accent until I hear him speak. 

I was surprised to discover the "Play It Again, Sam" (my favorite Woody Allen movie and yes, I know he didn't direct it) wasn't on anyone's top 10 lists. A lot of folks consider his other films to be funnier. Well, okay. I love that movie so much, although it's Tony Roberts (RIP) who makes me crack up. Every time that man walks into the scene I just start laughing. I'm sure the running payphone gag doesn't resonate today but I still find it funny. 

There are a lot of his movies I haven't watched in a really long time, and some I've never seen, so I have a feeling I know how I'm going to spend many of my upcoming weekends 😊 

Black Tunnel White Magic

 

This one started off with a major red herring, including the title. 

In June of 1990, four teenagers found a body in a tunnel at Chatsworth Park. The park had a reputation for being spooky since it was near Spahn Ranch, which is where Manson and his followers spent a lot of time. One of the teenagers reported seeing figures in black robes running in and out of the trees as they walked to the tunnel, not speaking or getting close, but clearly up to something. The victim was identified as Ron Baker, who was supposedly attending a Magic Circle meeting, a group for Wiccans, earlier that evening. 

Cue the "Twilight Zone" theme, right? Wrong. 

Originally police pursued the Wicca angle, wondering if Ron had been involved in the occult or was used in some sick ritual. Turns out his murder had a much more common motive: greed. 

Ron lived with two roommates (I see no need to type their names, so I'll just use initials): DM and NB. One night the two of them were watching an old episode of "Dragnet" that involved a kidnapping with a ransom. Both guys agreed the perps bungled it and they would do a much better job. Thus a half-baked plan was hatched to kill Ron and demand a ransom from his parents, which they did. 

I have to pause here to contemplate the pure evilness of knowing that their son is dead (because they killed him) and calling Ron's parents and making a ransom demand anyway. Sick, sick bastards. 

From the start, police were suspicious of both men but had no evidence. DM was especially a real nutcase, faking his own kidnapping and going on the run. NB was arrested for armed robbery and DM took advantage to go to the police and offer up testimony against his ex-roommate in exchange for a deal. NB was charged and sentenced to life in prison. All DM had to do was keep his mouth shut and he would have skated, but he couldn't manage that, so he too was eventually arrested, charged, and sentenced. 

Sadly, the governor of California commuted DM's sentence and he's now a free man. NB is also making his own case to be let out of prison early. 

And the evilness just continues. Rest in peace, Ron. You and your family deserved so much better.  

From the Shadow of the Blues

 

I swear I've been reading over the last three weeks. Not *finishing*, obviously, but reading. I'm in the middle of three gigantic books I keep toggling between, trying desperately to finish before their dues dates (spoiler alert: I won't). 

This one was a short and quick read, so I knocked it out this weekend just so I wouldn't feel like I wasn't getting anything finished. I originally put it on hold thinking it was about John Lee Hooker, Sr., the great blues musician, and was slightly disappointed when I realized it's actually about his son. It turned out all right. His story was interesting, too. 

Junior was raised in Detroit in the 1950s and got hooked on cigarettes, alcohol, and heroin at an early age. He spent over half his life in various prisons for stealing and running con games in order to feed his habits. He ended up dedicating his life to God and became a preacher. 

Reading about how he literally robbed everyone in his family time and time again (his mother and sisters used to take their purses with them into the bathroom so he couldn't take money out of their wallets) and they still kept forgiving him and trying to help him was wild to me. I'm really glad he's in a better state of mind now, living and preaching in Germany and hopefully inspiring others to stop their bad behavior. 

Now I just need to find a biography about his dad...

Texasville

 

I've read "Texasville" many times before. The first time I read it as a teenager, I stayed up all night to finish it and was laughing out loud and was afraid I was going to wake up everyone in the house. Since then it's always been one of my favorite go-tos when I need a pick me up. 

I don't know why, but this time around it didn't seem very funny. Maybe because I'm the same age, or (gulp) older than the main characters. I was kind of surprised when I looked at other reviews for this book online how many people didn't like it at all. It's a sequel to "The Last Picture Show", so I could see how folks would be disappointed if they were expecting a story like "TLPS". "The Last Picture Show" is poignant and sad and touching. "Texasville" is the opposite: irreverent and at times nonsensical. 

Duane, one of the protagonists from "TLPS", is almost 50 and thinks everyone in the small town of Thalia has gone insane. He and his wife, Karla, have four kids and they're all trouble in their own ways. Dickie, who's twenty-one, sells drugs and is having affairs with at least two married women twice his age. Nellie, who's nineteen, has been married and divorced three times and has two kids. The twins, Jack and Julie, get kicked out of camp for various horrible things. Everyone in town is switching marital partners seemingly at random. Duane became very rich during the 70s, but now in the mid-eighties the price of oil has dropped and he's facing bankruptcy. On top of all that, the county is nearing its Centennial, and Duane is in charge of the thing. He spends a lot of time in his hot tub, shooting his gun at a two story doghouse he bought for his dog, who won't go near it. He's sad and miserable all the time and his wife and ex-girlfriend, Jacy, have become besties and constantly pick on him. 

I kind of felt for Duane. Everyone's behavior was appalling. No wonder he was so upset all the time. Everyone in town seemed to think his kids were charming and lively but I thought they were horrid little brats. Oh well. Hopefully in another decade or so when I reread it, it'll be funny again.  

Carson the Magnificent

 

I've read other biographies about Johnny Carson, but I really liked the writing style of this one. Zehme started the bio and then passed away before he could finish it, so Thomas tied it up. I don't know if it was Thomas' writing style or Zehme's. Either way, it was slightly snarky and witty. 

Ironically enough, as I was reading this book I discovered one of those channels that shows old TV shows, Antenna TV, shows episodes of "The Tonight Show", so I watched a few and they hold up. Still hilarious. I watched one where he interviewed Michael Landon and Landon was a lot funnier than I ever imagined. 

It's wild to imagine that he had 17 million people watching his show every night at one point. And that was before VHS and DVR, so they were watching it live. He really did own late night television and everything that has come after him has been a pale imitation. Honestly, I think NBC would be better off just showing Carson reruns than whatever they have on the air now at night (I have no idea, I haven't stayed up past 10 in about a decade). While it wasn't an all-encompassing biography (mostly focused on the show), it was still fun and I enjoyed it. 

Idea Man; Killer Story

 

After reading Bill Gates' autobiography, I thought it only fair to hear from his cofounder, Paul Allen, who sadly passed away in 2018. He wrote this book in 2011, and I was pretty impressed with how much he predicted, even back in the 70s: everyone carrying around their own calculator sized computer, AI, and streaming services surpassing cable TV. He was a bit off the mark about print books going away (he did say in 20 years, so he still has six years to go, but I don't think it's going to happen that soon). He truly was an idea man. 

Paul left Microsoft in 1983 after a health scare made him realize he wanted to live his life, not be cooped up in an office 20 hours a day having Bill yell at him. He had his issues with Bill but he also admitted that he brought out the best in him and he never had another partnership so successful. 

Paul wisely hung onto the majority of his Microsoft stock, so when it went public in 1986 he was a multi-millionaire overnight. Then a multi-billionaire. He used his wealth to enjoy his life, and even though it was short, it sounded like he really did pack the most into it that he could. He bought sports teams, yachts, and funded museums, charities, and commercial spacecraft. He seemed to have an interest in a million different things and spread his money around. It was a fascinating book. 

One might think, given my penchant for true crime books, that I also love true crime television. Not so. While I do occasionally enjoy a well made documentary on true crime, I find the TV shows so repetitive. It seems like it's always spouses cheating and killing each other. It depresses me that there are so many murders out there. 

At any rate, Claire was a producer for 48 Hours and hunted down stories for the show. She would attend trials and try to set up interviews with the main players, pitching it to the network. It sounds like a nightmare job to me, to be honest. Going up to complete strangers who are most likely grieving in some way and trying to set up an interview? No thank you.  

The cases she wrote about were interesting enough, but the real story was the behind the scenes details about how she researched and procured the interviews, pitched the show, and everything in between. It was interesting, but it didn't change my opinion about true crime TV. 

 

Source Code; People Pleaser

 

I have been obsessed with Bill Gates since I was a teenager. I have no idea why. I didn't have my first computer until I was in college many years later, we didn't have one when I was growing up. I had very limited experience using them at friends' houses. But in the early 90s, Bill Gates and Microsoft were everywhere. I was fascinated by this world I didn't understand in the slightest but was clearly groundbreaking. I went to the library and read everything I could find about Bill: magazine articles, newspapers, a few books (I distinctly remember two: one not very nice and the other one fawning). I read Bill's book "The Road Ahead" when it came out, again, not understanding much, but delighted to hear from such a genius. And he clearly is a genius, with an amazing brain. 

So to say I tore through his autobiography in record time is a bit of an understatement. He writes about his early years before Microsoft took off. Bill was an active kid: he was in the Boy Scouts and loved to camp and hike. From the beginning, his parents and teachers realized he was different. He said it himself in the end: had he been born today he would have been diagnosed with some form of autism, due to his hyperfocus on any one particular subject (in elementary school, he turned in a nearly 200 page report on the state of Delaware). Once he got started he couldn't stop until he learned everything there was to know (and, as I type this, it occurs to me that I share some of that trait as well. Too bad being obsessed with Richard III isn't a path to becoming a billionaire). Bill got hooked on computers early and learned to code at 13 while he was at Lakeside school. He and a core group of friends (including his future business partner Paul Allen) had access to a teletype machine that connected to a computer in California, where they could write simple codes and test them out. I think I understand computers a *smidge* more now than when I was 14, so even though he got pretty technical at times, I was able to keep up. And he did a great job of explaining things in layman's terms. 

I really hope he continues his autobiography. I would love to hear about the early days of Microsoft. What an amazing ride it must have been, to be on the cutting edge of something so important, something that changed our world. It's one of those books that I wish I could go back and reread for the first time. 

I'm not much of a people pleaser, honestly. I speak up for myself when I need to (in a completely nice, polite way, of course 😀). Jinger's advise was really aimed at people who never speak up for themselves, never express an opinion but just go along with whatever everyone else wants (also not me. But in my defense, I'm usually with a group of people who can't make a decision. Since making decisions is a big part of my job, I just do it). Still, there were some aspects I could relate to, such as being too hard on myself. I struggle with this one a lot. As she (and lots of others) have pointed out, would I talk to my friends the way I talk to myself? No, of course not. So why do I do it to myself? I need to work on that. And I do. Perpetually. 

Giant Love

 

I love the movie "Giant". What's not to love? Texas and horses and cattle and oil and James Dean. It's a great story. I read the book when I was a teenager (I have it around the house somewhere). I bought it at a used bookstore, and I was so excited to find it. My local library didn't have it, and none of the bookstores I went to had it, either. 

Which brings us to one of Gilbert's questions: why has everyone forgotten about Edna Ferber? She was an extraordinarily popular writer in her day. She won a Pulitzer for one of her first books. So what happened? It's hard to say. "Giant" is the only book of hers I've ever read, and while I really enjoyed it, I doubt I would have sought it out if I hadn't seen the movie first. 

"Giant Love" was divided into two sections: the book and the movie. Gilbert also sprinkled in lots of biographical details about her great-aunt. It was entertaining and fascinating, and I really wish I knew why her books aren't still popular today. 

Billy the Kid

 

A coworker saw this book on my desk and asked "Haven't you already read that?" and I said "No, I've read many books about Billy the Kid, but not *this* book". Honestly, I don't remember reading a fiction book about Billy before, it's all been biographies. (**checked my blog and I did read one fictional account back in 2017, so there you go). 

So it was fun! Coleman saw "Young Guns" around the same age I did, and he was (like me) inspired by Billy the Kid's story. I checked out and bought every used book I could find about him. Did Pat Garrett really kill him, or did he live on anonymously? That's a tough question. When I was younger, I was firmly in the "no way did Garrett kill him" camp, but now that I'm older, I think it's most likely that he did. I can't imagine Billy, barely twenty-two, going on to live a life of quiet solitude and never again causing any problems. From all accounts he killed recklessly and often without thinking. Coleman did a great job of humanizing Billy while also showing his more ruthless side. He did find himself in a lot of terrible situations where killing was the only way to survive, but he also killed because it was convenient. I really liked it, I couldn't put it down. 

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls; The Bookshop; The Sopranos Sessions; Blood and Ink

I was able to finish a few books this weekend that I was mostly done with, but this one I started reading on Friday and finished Saturday, because hey, it's Grady Hendrix and I love him. 

The book takes place in 1970 in Florida, at a home for teenage girls who are pregnant. They stay, have their babies, who are put up for adoption, and then go back home with the story of having visited a relative for a few months. Fairly common back then. 

Neva shows up at Wellwood House and is immediately renamed Fern and instructed not to talk about her former life with the other girls, they are all supposed to remain anonymous. Life at Wellwood House is monotonous: cleaning, lessons, eating, and watching TV (honestly, his descriptions of the food were some of the grossest things about this book, and there are graphic descriptions of childbirth). 

Then the bookmobile comes. Fern's a huge reader and she's very excited. The librarian gives her a special book and cautions her to keep it a secret: How to Be a Groovy Witch. Fern's intrigued, as are a few of the other girls. When the spell they try works, they start to dig deeper into the book, hoping it can fix some of their problems. 

It was fun and I enjoyed it, but if you're at all squeamish about pregnancy, spaghetti and tuna casserole, or projectile vomiting, this one probably isn't for you. 

A much less gross book, "The Bookshop", celebrates the American bookstore. He went back to the beginning of the nation and the various shops that sold books, to the current day and the juggernaut that is Amazon. Brick & mortar bookstores are making a comeback, though, because customers have discovered the community aspect isn't something they want to lose. 

I worked at a bookstore for five and half years when I was in college. Working there is how I decided to become a librarian: I loved being around books and the people who enjoyed them, but I hated the retail aspect of it. I sent so many customers to the library so they wouldn't waste money buying books for their school reports. I'm sure my bosses would have hated that if they'd known, but I just couldn't do it. I prefer buying from an actual bookstore when I do occasionally buy books rather than borrow them. I like browsing. It was an interesting look at how bookshops have survived and thrived.

Speaking of books I actually own--I finished one! Every year I try to read some of the books I've bought, but they always get shoved to the side by books with due dates. I was so excited to buy this book a few years ago, and then put it on the shelf and forgot about it until recently. 

The authors analyzed each episode and interviewed David Chase. They also included newspaper articles written about the show while it was on the air, and at the end they paid tribute to James Gandolfini. I still remember being stunned when I heard that he'd died so suddenly. 

I love "The Sopranos". I've watched it numerous times (it was HBO a few weekends ago and I sat and watched for hours). I own all of them on DVD (back when that was still a thing). It was wonderful to get a behind the scenes look at the show and to hear what Chase had to say. Very interesting. 

And finally, "Blood & Ink", a book about an unsolved murder in New Jersey (no connection to the Sopranos). 

In 1922, the Reverend Edward Hall and his mistress, choir member Eleanor Mills, were found murdered on an abandoned farm. Hall was married to a wealthy heiress, Frances. Frances was shocked and refused to believe her husband would be unfaithful. Eleanor's husband was less shocked. Their marriage was pretty unhappy. 

The crime scene was trampled on by curious onlookers, evidence was taken, and the police had no leads and no suspects. At one point they looked at Frances and her brother, Willy, but their case was flimsy. 

Interwoven with the tale of the murders was the rise of tabloid journalism. It was an interesting book, and I can honestly say I have no idea who killed them. There just wasn't enough evidence to point to anyone. 

 

 

If Something Happens to Me

 

This was a fun, twisty one that played with time, making you think everything was happening chronologically when it wasn't. 

Senior year, Ryan and Ali were dating when Ali is kidnapped one night from the local Lover's Lane and vanishes without a trace. Even though there's no evidence pointing to Ryan, suspicion lands squarely on him and he's convicted in the court of public opinion. After graduating, Ryan changes his last name and hopes to start over, attending law school after college. He's in Europe on a trip with some of his fellow law students when the news comes in from Kansas: Ali's father's car was found in a lake with two dead men inside, but no sign of Ali. Only a note in her bag, in a waterproof case labeled: if something happens to me. Inside is a coded message. Deputy Sheriff Poppy thinks Ryan might know how to break the code and help her find out what really happened to Ali. She just has to find him. 

Hero of the Realm

 

Young Winston Churchill was kind of a badass, a real life James Bond type, which I wasn't expecting. 

During the Boer War, he was a correspondent. As such, he wasn't allowed to be armed, and he was caught with a gun and thrown in prison. He protested all the while about being a journalist and how dare they and did they know who he was?! No, no they did not. Nor did they care. 

Churchill pulled off a daring escape and hid out in the mines nearby, and was able to enlist the help of fellow Englishman John Howard, who hid him in a shipment of wool and was able to smuggle Churchill out on the train. Churchill was hailed as a hero and won a seat in Parliament on his return to England. The rest, as they say, is history. No one would ever need to be told who he was ever again. It was a thrilling tale of real life heroism and an interesting read.  

Gone at Midnight; The Hitchcock Hotel

 

I watched the Netflix documentary about the Cecil Hotel in downtown L.A. and the tragic death of Elisa Lam. She was reported missing and her body was found days later in one of the water towers on the roof after residents reported the water being discolored and tasting funny. I shudder to think how awful that must have been, for everyone involved. 

The footage released of Elisa in the elevator on the 14th floor is very disturbing and I had a hard time watching it, but I don't know why. I can't articulate it. Anderson suggests that the footage was slowed down to allow it to be edited: a chunk is missing. If you run the footage at a higher speed, it's not as strange or disturbing. I didn't try it myself, but it makes sense. 

He tried really hard to make the case that there's more to it than just poor Elisa being off her medication and having some sort of manic episode and ending up in the tank. I'll admit there are some oddities in the case (whether or not the hatch was closed is just one of many: the first employee on the scene who searched the roof said it was, but apparently he's disappeared and hasn't been heard from since). I just don't know if I'm willing to make that leap that he did. No matter what happened, it's a terrible, heartbreaking event. 

I really enjoyed "The Hitchcock Hotel". Alfred opened up a hotel near his old college with a Hitchcock theme. He's invited his five best friends from college for a free weekend, where he plans to get his revenge. As we (eventually) discover, Alfred was running an essay writing business and was found out and expelled. Of course there's more to it than that, but that was the basic premise. 

When Alfred is killed halfway through, that throws a wrench in it. There was a great twist at the end.