Bossypants by Tina Fey

This was a good read. It was a well put-together book, great for jumping into whenever I had a few spare minutes for a few pages here and there. Also great for traveling, as it's funny and light-hearted, doesn't require too much concentration to take it in. Fey told funny stories about her childhood, adolescence, all the way into her post-graduate years touring with an acting & improv group, to her time working her way up on SNL, and being the big boss at 30 Rock. What endears Tina Fey to fans and readers, I believe, is her ability to stay grounded, humble and even unaffected by her own fame and acclaim. When she wrote of her accomplishments, she wrote about the stressful or awkward parts in getting there, so you know she's a real person who worked for her success and experienced normal everyman/everywoman stuff like anxiety and weight struggles. But she never dwelled on any of those things in a "I went through a bad time" way - instead she retold them, reflecting on the humorous aspects of her struggles and dilemmas. She talked about professional lessons she learned and the good bosses she had, and talked very little crap on people whom she didn't like.

Fey's positive and amused outlook and poised writer's voice were refreshing in a world of celebrities who all seem to "write" their own books at some point. You can tell Fey is actually a writer, and the stories which were included in the book were short, sweet and to-the-point. It felt appropriately concise and entertaining. This was a story about her life, yet she didn't seem to self-indulge ever. My favorite parts of the story were when she told of her lessons learned from SNL creator Lorne Michaels, and about working with Amy Poehler, who is my all-time favorite SNL actress and comedy actress. Perhaps though, my very favorite thing about this book, was the way Fey delivered her brand of feminism, through humorous musings, without coming off entitled, bitter or bitchy. Choice excerpt: "My unsolicited advice to women in the workplace is this. When faced with sexism or ageism or lookism or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: "Is this person in between me and what I want to do?" If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you're in charge, don't hire the people who were jerky to you....don't waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions. Go "Over, Under, Through!" and opinions will change organically when you're the boss. Or they won't. Who cares?...Do your thing and don't care if they like it."

1984 by George Orwell

I had been meaning to read this dystopian novel for years. Just one of those books that I'd heard smart people speak of often, that I knew was important in literature. However, I knew nothing about it before I read it. I try to have as little background information as possible when I read a book for the first time. It lets me better imagine the work at its time of initial composition, publishing and release, and the author's perspective when writing it. Anyway, it took me a long time to read 1984 because the setting and descriptions were the opposite of romantic and it was pretty void of any kind of humor, which are the types of themes and elements I gravitate towards in literature. The reading of the actual text was kind of torturous for me. HOWEVER, this book was super uncanny and disturbingly poignant to read in 2013. In this story, the government literally is always watching what its people are doing. Similarly, in 2013, I noticed such a rise in the ways people's lives were captured and published by themselves and others. For example, I hate the way that now people's facebook pages are used by news stations in order to reveal information about someone in a news story. I feel like there's a true invasion of privacy now that didn't exist even several years ago. I come across places which have security cameras now which I would never expect to have a security camera. And I know that most cameras were installed for safety reasons, but still...it's like...you're always being filmed wherever you go. Big brother really IS watching! Anyway, irregardless of the uncanny accuracy of Orwell's predictions for the future of our society, I liked the love story within. It gave the plot a nice bit of suspense and was the only reason I kept reading. I was very close to putting the book down and never picking it back up at several times, but the love story was interesting. It's not that I didn't like this book, it's just not supposed to be "likeable"...it's not supposed to be one where you could read it again and again. It is supposed to scare you, supposed to move you to worry about what's going on in our world with the government. Anyway...ever since reading 1984, I've been thinking about books and technology in a whole new way. And that is a huge sign of a good piece of art for me--if I continue to think of it long after I've read/viewed/consumed it. So what to say in conclusion? This was a book everyone should read, even if only once and it takes you an entire year to complete it. (I'm not ashamed that it took me a whole year to actually finish it haha).

"My Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal" by Russell Brand

I recently finished reading Russell Brand's first installment of his autobiographical "Booky Wook" series and quite enjoyed it. I think I enjoyed this one more. The first one, he tried more and I laughed more I think, but with this one, I could better see the celebrity that I know him as, and he had more stories about time spent in the U.S., which being American I can better relate to. In his first book, there were tedious details about his childhood and adolescence to give background into who he is, but in this one, he made the stories more relevant for what the reader probably wanted. Also, it helped that during this book, he was sober and clean--so that whole dramatic scene was eliminated and other topics could be focused upon. I much liked reading his stories about filming "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" in Hawaii, being friends with Morrissey and Noel from Oasis (respectively), his crush on Helen Mirren and meeting various celebrities during his MTV VMA hosting and filming "Get Him to the Greek." Particularly funny and somewhat inspiring was a story about a media debacle that Brand caused when he joked on air about having sexual relations with one of their guest's granddaughters. In that particular situation, Brand went through a bad time and learned some valuable lessons about going too far with his humor and how to be more vigilant of potential domino effects. I enjoyed Brand's second book and would love to meet him in person someday! I would probably want to discuss his books in detail, as there were many fascinating stories.

Between a Heart and a Rock Place, A Memoir by Pat Benatar

So I now feel like I know Pat Benatar. She seems pretty cool lady who really has her head on straight. Her book was a pretty good read, for women especially, since she's a tough cookie who juggled being the lead singer of a rock band and mothering 2 children. Her husband is her longtime guitarist in her band, which is interesting. I am always way more fascinated by couples who are in the same band together, because I know it's not easy and there are so many layers that can complicate things. When a couple makes it work for the long term, I am awestruck. I respect her for making it work and not giving up. There was a time when Benatar and her now husband were broken up, too, which was inspiring to read about. I liked reading about the mistakes and misjudgements she made while young, because it shows she's human and had a past that wasn't really what you would expect of a famous female rock singer. It wasn't anything bad, just unexpected and interesting. In this particular memoir, it was delightful to find out about the person on the other side of the songs that you hear on the radio. I don't know that I could rouse up one bad things to say about Pat Benatar. She wrote about living in back country Hawaii for a while, which would be so amazing. I don't know why more celebrities don't get homes that are clear away from much civilization and people prying into their private lives. I always admire when people do that, because it seems like a no brainer for gaining a sense of peace aside from the celebrity and vanity of it all. Anyway - what I found most interesting in Benatar's memoir was the battle she and her band went through with their former record label, Chrysalis. It was very eye-opening for a musician. All in all, a good read :) I recommend.

Book Review: "My Booky Wook" by Russell Brand

Russell Brand is a celebrity figure whom I've always found to be fascinating. "Get Him to the Greek" is a permanent fixture in our home - our go-to film when there's nothing good on TV and we want guaranteed entertainment and laughs (despite the fact that we've seen it dozens of times). I think Brand is brilliantly funny in that film.

Part One of Brand's autobiographical series,My Booky Wook, was rather entertaining and amusing. I did find myself laughing out loud every so often during my reading. Nothing in it was really unexpected from what I had already learned about Brand through the media, but some of the details were surprising and interesting. For example, the story about how Brand lost his virginity was not really a shocker, but it explains a lot. It was impressive to me how vividly he seems to recall much of his childhood, adolescence and beyond, especially considering how much drugs and booze he put into his body. I also found both his lexicon and syntax to be rather sophisticated.

I would recommend Brand's book to anyone who's ever been fascinated by the man. If you have never taken an interest in his personality, work or life, then this book probably isn't for you, because it goes really into depth about his life and experiences. Now that I'm finally finished with his first book, I'm just starting his second, "My Booky Wook 2" which seems like it can thankfully pick up where the other left off and tell more about his adult life and experiences as a celebrity. Here are some of my favorite excerpts from My Booky Wook:

"Weeks passed, gerbils germinated. I think Barney disgraced himself by getting pregnant with one of his son's children; I despaired of them. I did consider a Sodom and Gommorah-style smiting, preserving only Barney, but when I looked at their little faces my wrath was assuaged: 'How can I stay mad at you? You incestuous, cannibal little slags.'"

"My mum used to send me these postcards from hospital....There'd always be some encoded, 'Try and be a good boy' message stitched into it. Well, I wish I'd been naughtier, if anything. When I look back, it's not those misdeeds I regret...but the times when I conformed. I regret that I didn't realize...it's all just a trick to indoctrinate you into being a conditioned, tame, placid citizen. Rebel, children, I urge you, fight the turgid slick of conformity with which they seek to smother your glory."

And lastly: "Another thing which happened at that orgy that shouldn't is a washing-machine repair man turned up--not as a guest, but to repair the washing machine. That's bad scheduling, isn't it? 'Are you busy between nine and twelve on Wednesday?' 'No, not really, well...I was planning to have an orgy.'

Book Review: "Not Dead and Not For Sale" By Scott Weiland

It was perfect timing that I bought and read this book in mid-August, as I had tickets to see Stone Temple Pilots play a show on the beach over Labor Day weekend. And they were still really good live!

Something I loved about his book was that Weiland would talk about a certain time in his life, and then talk about a few songs he'd written during that time, and explain what the lyrics were about. As I listened to the songs on my ipod while I read each chapter on the beach, I could make sense of what he was singing and it was a really cool literary-meets-musical experience. Sure, Weiland talked about his experiences getting loaded and doing smack, but he didn't focus on his drug problem. Rather than bragging, it came off like he was just being honest about the history of his music and life as a musician.

He did talk about his childhood, and it surprised me to learn that he grew up in a financially rather well-off family. One part that I found shocking about Weiland's life was a trip he took to Paris one winter. He talked about nearly being murdered and castrated in the Parisian countryside and only barely escaping with his nuts. Crazy.

My favorite part about Weiland's stories was learning what a sensitive, mellow guy he seems to be...not something I'd sensed much from his music, as it's often dark and semi-heavy. He's also really devoted to his family and only really wrote about one woman the whole novel. Quite a contrast from reading the Motley Crue autobiography right before this one. I do recommend Weiland's book if you want a glimpse into the vocals and dynamic of Stone Temple Pilots.

Book Review: "The Dirt" by Motley Crue

Length: 400-some pages
Genre: Band Autobiography

I love to read band and artist autobiographies and biographies. This one, written by all four members of Motley Crue, was riveting! I wasn't expecting this one to be so un-put-downable, but it really was. Obviously the language and literary sophistication left something to be desired, but other than that, I was so into this book! Between the bandmates' detailed stories of their respective childhoods, their meeting, their early days as a band, their mind-bogglingly numerous sexcapades and drug abuse over the years, and their highs and lows as a major touring rock band since the 80s, it was all a lot to take in and all quite shocking to read about. Most interesting, was the fact that it was told from EACH of the bandmates' perspectives, so you really get a real feel for their individual personalities and a full idea of where everyone's heads were at during certain times and events. Additionally, it was hard to keep track of all the girls/girlfriends they wrote about because there were so many!

Other than the shallow goings-on that one might expect in such an artist autobiography, Motley Crue also wrote about some really personal and difficult times that each of them went through apart from the band. From Nikki Sixx's rough childhood and Vince Neil's detailing his daughter's unfortunate health problems, to Mick Mars' health problems and Tommy Lee's jail stint--by the end of these chapters, I was somehow oozing compassion for these guys who had seemed like such pigs at various earlier points throughout the book. It made me see the members of Motley Crue as real people with feelings and sensitivity as musicians, even if their pursuits and music may be lacking in integrity.

Motley Crue knew what they stood for and what they didn't stand for, and they sensed early on that their stories would be valuable and a juicy dish for readers and fans someday. Their story is rare and there will never be another band quite like them--they are four extremely original personalities and artists. Also included in "The Dirt" are about 20 pages of full color glossy photos of the band from their respective childhoods, to their first promotional photos to their respective wedding days. The photos help to visually narrate the lengthy read. I highly recommend this delectably deviant read.