Defusing the Angry Patron

This morning I finished reading "Defusing the Angry Patron" by Rhea Joyce Rubin. Not like it helps all that much, the tips she gives, but I try anyway. It's terrible when you try to help people who are rude and ungrateful all day long for a living. It makes you really start to hate life.
I need a vacation...

Never Die Easy

Last night I finished reading Walter Payton's autobiography "Never Die Easy". Payton was a great football player (even if he did play for the Chicago Bears), and a wonderful human being who loved all of humanity and took good care of his family, friends, and fans. He had a wonderful attitude and outlook on life, and I'm trying desperately to remember all that he said and incorporate it into my life. He died at the age of 45, just 11 months after finding out that he needed a liver transplant, and then finding out that he had cancer so he didn't qualify for a transplant any longer. But because his liver was so weak, he couldn't fight the cancer. He knew he was going to die, and he never complained; he was just grateful for the days he had. What a brave individual. This was a great book and it made me cry. It also makes me question God. Sincerely, we need more Walter Paytons and less child molesters/serial killers/general creepy jerks in this world. Why take a great man like him in his prime who could have done so much more for humanity? What are we suppossed to learn from this? That life isn't fair? Trust me, we already know.
On a totally unrelated note: (we are losing a lot of great authors lately) RIP Ira Levin, of "The Stepford Wives" fame. He also wrote "Sliver" (which was made into a not-so-great movie with Sharon Stone). The book, however, was pretty good and I recommend it.

Mister B. Gone

Last night I finished reading "Mister B. Gone" by Clive Barker. It was pretty awful. First of all, Barker is not the type of person you read if you want plot or interesting characters: he's all about the gore and the gross-out, which this book didn't even do. It's the story of a demon pulled up from the 9th level of Hell in the 1300s who spends 100 years or so wandering the earth before showing up at Gutenberg's house and being trapped in a book by his printing press. Huh? Exactly. And I don't think he had an editor proofread it or anything, there were so many continuity errors it was ridiculous for a 250 page book with one main character. All through the book, Mr. B (the demon) urges the reader to stop reading. I wish I would have listened. Very disappointing.

Next Man Up

Last night I finished reading "Next Man Up" by John Feinstien. He hung out with the Baltimore Ravens during the 2004 season, and reported on the every little day decisions that are involved with running an NFL team. It was really interesting, and amazing to me how much the players and coaches bounce around from team to team. I mean, I already sort of knew about the players from watching football for the last 10 years. They would introduce someone and I would think, hey, didn't they play for someone else last year? But I never realized how prevalent it is. It was a good book; I enjoyed it, and after watching football for nearly 11 hours straight yesterday, I can honestly say I am still not tired of football books. I am, however, running out of ones to read.
On a totally unrelated note: RIP Norman Mailer. If you've never read "The Executioner's Song", I highly recommend it.

Rozelle and You Can Lead a Politician to Water But You Can't Make Him Think and Dave Barry's History of the Millennium So Far

Okay, last night I finished reading "Rozelle" by Jeff Davis, a wonderful biography about the NFL's greatest commissioner. He served from 1960-1989, and made pro football what it is today. The book technically just wasn't about Pete Rozelle; it was about the NFL in general (for example, one chapter dealt with the famous Ice Bowl game, which Rozelle was not even at; he was in Oakland watching the Raiders/Houston Oilers game), but that's okay. It was interesting and well researched and no, I am not done reading football related books yet!
After I finished "Rozelle" I read Kinky Friedman's latest "You Can Lead a Politician to Water but You Can't Make Him Think". The Kinkster ran for Governor of Texas in 2006, and sadly lost (I would have voted for you, Kinky!!). I love Kinky's humor books: he's funny and makes a lot of sense. I think he would have been a great governor, but I'm glad he's still writing (his previous one before this one said he would stop if he was elected). Well, his mysteries aren't all that great: I read one and wasn't impressed. Anytime an author uses themselves as a character in their fiction it is just weird (somewhere in Florida Stephen King's ears are burning). It was a fun, lighthearted humor book, just what I needed for some laughs.
Then this afternoon I read Dave Barry's latest "Dave Barry's History of the Millennium So Far". I love Dave Barry; he's hilarious. And his fiction is good, too! But anyway, this book wrapped up the last 6 years. It's amazing how much you forget (anyone remember Elian Gonzalez, the little Cuban boy whose Florida relatives didn't want him sent back? I had totally forgotten). He is a total equal opportunity offender, unlike some so-called humorists that are popular now. I needed the laughs, and Barry provided.

The Moonstone

Today I finished reading "The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins. It was a really suspenseful mystery, not terribly believable, but for the time (the 1850s) it would have been. Still, I really liked the butler who narrated the first part of the book, and all the narrators had great personalities that shone through the writing. It was an interesting book showing how old-fashioned mysteries in the vein of Sherlock Holmes are written.

Louder than Words

Last night I read Jenny McCarthy's "Louder than Words", about her autistic son, Evan. Autism fascinates me; I think it's because no one's really sure what causes it and there are so many different forms that some treatments work for some kids but not for others. She has chosen to share her story with us in hopes of educating everyone on how widespread this disease has become. It's truly shocking: 1 out of every 150 children will be diagnosed with autism. To me, this is totally unacceptable. We need to take a more aggressive stance and really put some research money into discovering what causes this and how to better treat it. Luckily for Jenny, diet and therapy have done wonders for Evan, and I was glad to hear it. As someone who hopes to have children someday, this is definitely a cause for concern.