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.