Title: You’re Never Weird on the Internet (almost)

Author: Felicia Day

Published: 2015

Ready: January 2015

So the back story. I like Felicia Day, like was really into her Web stuff. When I went to Comic Con a few years ago I got myself on the Geek & Sundry PR list so I could get into their party and spy on her and her cool friends. I was the total nerd in the corner, but, I mean, I was a nerd in a room full of nerds. That is actually cool. I also went to just one panel at Emerald City Comic Con another few years ago, and of course it was hers.

I mean, this song:

And, the husband didn’t know he was a Felicia Day fan, but watched Eureka and still watches Supernatural (ha! just outed you, honey) and didn’t make the connection that this cool girl I kept talking about was actually the same cool girl that was in these shows that he watched.

So when her memoir came out, he watched some interview about her and then was relaying back to me facts and stuff about her life and I’m like, yeah! I know she was home-schooled. Cool, right. I didn’t know she was a violin prodigy, and graduated from college early with a double degree in music and math. Cool again!

Two personal chapters, around her harrowing work schedule that caused extreme anxiety (or was it the other way around?), and Internet negativity and her experience with #GamerGate. It has always astounded me the negativity people can be when sitting behind a monitor. I mean, Felicia Day, people. How much sweeter, cuter, nerd-friendlier can you be? And when she describes the horrific things she went through (getting Doxx’d, getting restraining orders against stalkers) … gah! Mean people suck.

With the exception of the chapters I just mentioned, this book was a lighthearted look into all that she’s done for people who love nerdy stuff. Personally, because the husband and I am also a fan of her non-Web stuff, I would have taken a glimpse into her non-Web life. You kind of want to hear a few fun anecdotes about Hollywood. Like, how she met Joss Whedon. Some background on “Dr. Horrible.” She is such a non-name dropper, it’s a bit of a letdown. (Your “friend” from “How I Met Your Mother,” the one who got you access to the stage so you could borrow a plant for “The Guild”? That was Allyson Hannigan, right? Because, you know, Buffy, right? AMIRIGHT?)

Recommended for: Fans of Felicia, Buffy, Supernatural and Geekdom.

Book review number 6, the final book I read in January.

Title: Marcelo in the Real World

Author: Francisco X. Stork

Published: 2011

Read: January 2016

Here’s the quick back story on this one … my friend Kate (Kate who first recommended The Hunger Games to me and I am forever in her debt for that), recommended a long long time ago. How do I know? I wrote it down in OneNote in a file I titled “Books from Kate.” Late last year she recommended it to me again and so I finally added it to my library list.

Not gonna lie. I put it down a few times within the first 25% of the book or so. Marcelo is a 17 year old entering the summer before his final year in school. He shows characteristics of Asperger’s, with a knack for reading and memorizing scripture and internal soundtrack playing in his mind. Rather than spend the summer at his special school doing something he loves (working with horses), he finds himself working in the mailroom of the law firm that his father co-owns.

I kept putting it down because of the people that Marcelo meets. People are mean! But the interesting part is that the author adds in additional elements: a legal case, a smart and talented girl in the mailroom. Interesting discussions on faith and God via a Rabbi who acts as a teacher and therapist. What won me over is how Marcelo’s innocence plays into recognizing right and wrong in a topsy-turvy world.

Nice and smooth prose. Easy to read (it is a young adult book). While the antagonistic characters were fairly formulaic, Stork provided enough back story to make it interesting. And the good guys (Jasmine and Rabbi Heschel come to mind) were full of thoughtful dialogue that added to the richness of Marcelo’s character.

Recommended to: Young Adult fans

Title: The Scam

Authors: Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg

Published: September 2015

Read: January 2015

Here is the premise of this series. Kate O’Hare is a by-the-book, bad-ass FBI agent tracking down a con artist Nicolas Fox, who’s life revolves around elaborate heists and scams. She catches him, and then in a series of events that unfold in the first book, the pair end up working together clandestinely to take down bad guys using the same con-artist/illegal tactics that special agents are not supposed to do.

Anyway, this is the fourth in the series that is dependable for its comic writing, elaborate hoaxes, excellent chemistry between Fox & O’Hare (you get it, right, FOX and o’HARE), and even though I suspect things will work out in the end it’s still a little bit (not a lot) suspenseful. Kate is my kind of protaganist. No nonsense, ass-kicking, junk-food eating who holds her own against, well, everyone. Also love the great side characters (notably, Kate’s father, Jake, former Special Forces).

So, it’s quick reading. Easily finish a book in a day. I recommend starting from the top (The Heist) to get the full experience. Warning on Book #4: Cliffhanger, which is a bummer because I’ve caught up to the publishing of the series and will have to wait to find out what happens. Boo.

Recommended for easy beach (or bus) reading

Title: So That Happened

Author: Jon Cryer

Published: 2015

Read: January 2015

I read an excerpt of this in “The Hollywood Reporter” last year (a funny story about Charlie Sheen) and knew this would have to go on my list of to-reads. While “Pretty in Pink” is probably my third favorite John Hughes YA films (after TBC and SC of course), Duckie has always been one of my favorite characters. And what a treat this memoir is because Jon Cryer dedicates TWO chapters to his time playing him.

This is a very fun read, particularly because, while Cryer is recently known as the Emmy-winning Alan Harper from the now defunct “Two and a Half Men”, prior to that he found success on Broadway and, as I’ve learned, a lot less success (but at least he found work) in film and TV.

Now let’s take a break from this review for a little personal anecdote. I told the husband what I was reading and he sorta rolled his eyes. We used to watch “Men” together back when it was good (which, reading the memoir, I’ve determined that “it was good” back when Charlie Sheen was sober). But we did get tired of it and moved on.  But the husband was like, Jon Cryer, whatever. And then when I mentioned to him that blip about how when Ashton Kutcher joined the “Men” cast there was an awkward moment Jon was trying to avoid on account of Jon having dated Kutcher’s then wife back in the 80s (yes! these are the types of fun stories included in the memoir!), the husband was like, “oh yeah they were in a movie together. He played a photographer.” and i was like A-HA! You DID see Jon Cryer movies! And finally he readily admitted to having seen a few. I don’t know why I felt vindicated. Maybe he shouldn’t have rolled his eyes in the first place.

Anyway, good stories from Cryer. My particular favorite is his recalling of a stage performance of Sondheim’s “Company” at Lincoln Center, which he performed along with Stephen Colbert, Martha Plimpton, Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, among others. I love this story because the talented NPH ALSO brings up this experience in HIS memoir, which I read last year and it was enjoyable to read both actor’s perspectives. Mainly, Cryer thought he was woefully unprepared and everyone else was great. NPH believed HE was woefully unprepared compared to the other cast. All can agree that Patti LuPone was amazing.

I also appreciated Cryer’s take on his character Duckie. It would be an easy out to speculate this crazily dressed, animated, somewhat effeminate and just plain different high school student is gay (which, according to the memoir, Molly Ringwald alludes to many years later). It would be more accurate to follow Cryer’s beliefs, that he’s just who he is, and there are young men (and women) at that age of high school who are dealing with a mix of what society expects of them, what they truly want to be, and Duckie expressed himself as an individual (and perhaps on a subconscious level, was playing himself in some ways). Not everyone will be the typical boy. I think it was smart of Cryer to recognize that. I guess that’s why they pay him the big bucks.

Recommend to 80s teen movie fans, or TV fans.

Title: Why Not Me? 

Author: Mindy Kaling

Quick Summary: Follow up to her first book, Kaling, now the creator, writer and star of her own sitcom, shares funny experiences with her family and friends and navigating Hollywood as only she can.

Very quick, no surprises. She covers all the stuff I expected she would: work, love life, family and a few funny Hollywood stories in between. All of her favorite friends are here! Her Mentor! Her soup snake, B.J. Novak.  She’s honest, too, sharing her thoughts around announcing the Emmy nominations and coming to the realization she wouldn’t be on that list. It was an honest moment that she could have blown off as “whatever” but she shares the panic, sadness that comes with not getting what you didn’t realize you wanted.

This was a lot of fun to read. What needs to be recognized in awesome chicks like Mindy is the hard work they do to get to where they are (actually the hard work memoir is her first one) vs the idiot celebrities who are famous for no good reason.

In the book Kaling quotes Holden Caulfield. Cheesy, yes, but this is feeling I often have with favorite authors.

Just one coffee date. One happy hour, it’s all I ask. Mindy is definitey in this category. BTW, this section, Soup Snakes, is about B.J. They are soup snakes, and I suppose if you were a fan of “The Office” you would get the reference.

Respect the women who have worked their butts off to get where they are and have what they have. This girl’s work schedule is insane. She told me so in this book.

4 stars. Recommend? Yes to Mindy Project or Office fans, to women of immigrant parents, to fans of funny women and funny memoirs. People who have read and enjoyed Bossypants, Yes Please or others like that.

This is review #3. How am I doing? Harder than I thought it would be to do. Maybe I should read less.

 Title: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Author: Allison Bechdel

Quick summary: In this graphic novel memoir, author shares her upbringing and how she discovers her sexual identity, which ends up being right around the time she discovers secrets of her own family and must deal withe the sudden death of her father.

Now that I’ve committed to reviewing all of the books I read, I suppose I should say something about this one. Huh.

Interesting childhood that she experienced and I enjoyed the graphic novel presentation of the memoir, especially the use of real photos and documents, transformed into comic panels. I picked it up because the Broadway show won so many awards, and I like to include graphic novels in my book routine every now and again. I didn’t know what it was about before starting it, though. The story was compelling but tbh it didn’t wow me.

3 stars. Recommend? I’d give it a shrug.

Okay, next.

Ah! I’m already behind in my new 2016 goal of book review writing. Better get started …

Title: Anything For You

Author: Kristan Higgins

Date of Publish: December 2015

Summary: Boy and girl are friends with benefits. Rom-com novel spins around how they got to this point, and how they move forward. (#5 in “The Blue Heron” series)

Favorite side character: Colleen, of course. I only made up this section so I could talk about “Dog-Face”, as her twin brother, Connor, so affectionately calls her.

Favorite line: “Hail Mary, full of grace, you already dated her! You lying liar of lie-land!”

I like: Connor. But his morning-after flub was NOT cool. And the comedic chaos of the worst business investor meeting ever was almost too much to bear.

I liked less: Jessica. Too much of a martyr for my taste.

The Blue Heron Series is not my fave, a little uneven. The O’Rourke twins have been great side characters throughout, so I’m glad to see a book dedicated to them (Colleen’s was #3, Waiting On You)

4 stars. 4 because I did stay up half the night to finish, and reread parts of it. Recommend? Yes.

Im still working on the format of these reviews, excuse the randomness of this.

So, it’s like this.

I read.

A lot.

Mainly on my commute, but sometimes I pull the occasional late night to finish up a good one. These are not all masterpieces. It’s hard to get really into a masterpiece when you’re sandwiched in one of those side seats on the bus to work balancing a Kindle on top of a wet umbrella and heavy backpack. Not ideal reading location. I like stuff I can pick up and put down quickly if necessary. Most of the books I read are of the the 200 – 300 page mainstream variety, with some of my favorites including romance, young adult, urban fantasy, mystery/comedy or mystery/romance. I also like sports memoirs, Hollywood memoirs, non-fiction related to journalism or other personal interests (e.g. Boys In The Boat). I try to find books that take place in Seattle, and sprinkle in a few prizewinners or ones that everyone’s read into the mix as well.

I read.

A lot.

Of books that well read people may look down upon.

Sorry, writers that I love. I love you. But I’m sometimes embarrased by you. Because sometimes I want to pretend I’m really well read. I’m not well read. I’m just read. But starting this year (if I can manage this), I’m going to put a stop to the embarrassment and let everyone know about the books I read. I’m going to use this blog that I pay good money for to review and record it all. Because, you know what? The writers I’m sometimes embarrassed by are quite good. These writers are repeatedly on the New York Times Bestsellers Lists. Why? Because lots of people buy and read their books. And that’s why I read them. So, say goodbye to being embarrassed.

I read. And sometimes I stop reading mid-book if I don’t like it. And I’ll be sure to let you know when I do that as well. I’m talking to you, The Corrections. 

(By the way, it’s very okay to stop reading a book if you don’t like it. Don’t feel obliged to finish one just because you started. Nancy Pearl says it’s okay, so it’s okay)

This year, I anticipate my reading numbers to go down, (I’ve topped 60 books annually for the past five years (not that I’m counting, oh wait, I am counting. Thank you, Goodreads). Last year my goal was to up the quality of the books. This year it’s to blog/review/journal more about what I’m reading. Which leads me to here: My first review of the first book I finished in 2016: Anything For You by Kristan Higgins