Dolly Parton, Songteller by Dolly Parton, Robert K. Oermann

Dolly Parton is an acknowledged angel on earth and this is a fascinating look at how she comes up with her songs. Interspersed with the stories are snippets from the a. Not only a talented songwriter, Dolly is an acclaimed actress whose work spans decades. Her stories are fascinating, her spirit uplifting. I love hearing about her life in her own words. Is she unrelentingly nice about everyone she's ever worked with? Yes. Is it a breath of fresh air? Yes, it is.

Five stars

This book came out November 17th, 2020

Borrowed as an audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Last Stand: Ted Turner's Quest to Save a Troubled Planet by Todd Wilkinson

One of the ladies in my general book club recommended this book about 8 or 9 years ago and I'm sort of wishing I had read the book then; it would have resonated more deeply closer to the time it was written. 
I live near Bozeman (at least by Montana standards) and so knew that Ted Turner's ranch was nearby and was interested in learning more. Wilkinson certainly provided it. He is a very good writer who has written a lot about the Yellowstone area and honed his craft nicely. His talent shows through in the book even if the topic of Ted Turner gets a little stale after awhile.

Three stars

This book came out April 2nd, 2013
Hard copy from library
Opinions are my own

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

 TW: Sibling death
Twice this week, I've started reading a book only to be unexpectedly hit with a sibling dying. Brosh handles it so much better than the other book I was reading. It is one of her shorter chapters but she is able to delve into the grief one feels as well as the unmooring it creates.
And it is a testament to her writing that she had me laughing (first the buildup of the story of her sneaking over to her neighbor's house as a young child and then following up with the story of horse poop mysteriously showing up in her family's home and detailing the suspects... I was in stitches) then sobbing, and then laughing again.
I highly recommend getting this book as a hard copy. I read Brosh's first book that way and enjoyed seeing the colors of each section and getting to see my progress. It was much less satisfying in the ebook form.

Five stars

This book came out September 22nd, 2020

Borrowed as an ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

Short stories and comics tell the stories of the author's life. Most are funny but some are rather serious, documenting the author's struggle with depression. The book was well put together with different color pages for each of the stories. It is a fun read that includes stories about her dogs (one of which looks like a German Shepherd to me but I might be biased.) I wasn't expecting the mental health parts but should have guessed from the quote by Jenny Lawson (whose readers will enjoy this book and vice versa).

Four stars
This book came out October 29th, 2013
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler

My mother encouraged me to read this book that in turns made me laugh and cry. Can you be irreverent about cancer? Especially if you are a "good Christian" and the diagnosis makes you question so many things? Yes. But not everyone does it with the grace and truth that Bowler writes with. A dip into "Prosperity Christianity" is included; the belief that, if you believe in God enough, if you are a good person, you will be blessed with whatever you want whether it is health or wealth or anything else. Her look at death made me cry so many times but this is the kind of glimpse into Christianity that I adore; brutally honest about the failings but steadfast nonetheless. This is the glimpse into death that I adore; brutally honest about how much it sucks and not just because you have lost or are losing someone but because of how inadequate our culture is in dealing with it.

Four and a half stars
This book came out February 6th, 2018
Hard copy I passed on
Opinions are my own

Everything's Trash, But It's Okay by Phoebe Robinson

Phoebe Robinson is back with more of her observations about life. This time she covers feminism, toxic masculinity and other hard (and some not so hard topics with her trademark humor).
I have to admit, I suspect that I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one because of where I am in my own life versus Ms. Robinson's writing. I think that most people will enjoy this book as much as the first.

This book came out October 16
Three stars
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley. Opinions are my own

The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein

I chose this book because I thought it would be about the work that a cleaner does. This book is more the portrait of one particular cleaner. That threw me off as did the fact that the "Present Day" chapters of this book is told in the present tense. For some reason, that just grates on me as a reader. Another thing that grates, the author is clearly a good friend/in deep awe of her subject and that ruins her objectivity. While I agree that Sandra Pankhurst is a pretty amazing woman, this book shows only a shining light on Sandra. I like to see a little more grit, more of the dark side of a biography's main topic. And we know for sure that Sandra herself is an unreliable narrator, so how much can we trust the historical chapters interspersed with the present day?

Two and a half stars
This book comes out April 10

Meaty by Samantha Irby

I listened to We Will Never Meet in Real Life and loved it so when this book came up on NetGalley, I requested it immediately. And I have to say, I really, really think that this would be better "read" as an audiobook. Part of the charm of the first book was listening to Irby's cadence and hearing the stories in her own voice. While the essays in this book are similar to those in her first, I just didn't connect as well as I did with her voice in my ears.

Three stars
This book comes out April 3
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Unqualified by Anna Faris

If you've ever listened to the podcast, you've got a good idea of what this book is going to be like. If Faris had a ghostwriter, that person captured her voice perfectly. A lot of these stories have also been part of the podcast. And then there's the super-awkwardness of having your ex-husband not only do your introduction, but be referred to by "my sweet husband" in all of the stories that include him. I have a feeling this will be a fabulous audiobook.
If you like Hollywood bios, you'll like this book. If you like Anna Faris, you'll like this book.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out October 24

The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness by Paula Poundstone

With the absolute mountain of self-help books out there that are promising happiness to everyone, it seems like there are also a mountain of books offering to test those books and let you know how it goes. I love Paula Poundstone and was excited to see how she would approach the topic. I think I set my expectations a little too high.
Each chapter is set up as a science experiment with descriptions of conditions, hypothesis, procedure, environment, etc. She tries things like exercise, being positive, going into nature.
Part of my problem with the book was that it was so fragmented by chapter. Ms. Poundstone took a long time to write the book so there wasn't a lot of flow.

This book came out May 9
Three stars

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

I really wanted to like this book better. I've been on a great kick of autobiographies and I love Carrie Fisher IRL so I was looking forward to this story. It was hyped as a book about Fisher's time filming Star Wars but was mostly vague comments about the affair she had with Harrison Ford and some touches of what it was like growing up as the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. There are some excerpts from her journals but, as a nineteen-year-old, Fisher had not yet developed the wit that she has today and a lot of it was more of the vague sighing over a love affair that, the way she writes it, was mainly sex with very little else.

Three Stars
This book came out November 22

You Can't Touch My Hair And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson

OK, so the biography authors I've been reading lately have really been knocking it out of the park and Phoebe Robinson is no exception. I had never heard of her before but the title of her book intrigued me. I soon learned that Phoebe is a an actress and, if I still watched the Daily Show, I might've seen her there.

And her strong authorial voice makes me feel like I get to know her as a person. A wonderfully delightful person. She talks a lot about what it's like to be a black woman in today's day and age and speaks very insightfully into the struggles that she faces as someone who is more often surrounded by people who are not her skin color than people who are.

Her stories are told with not a little bit of humor but at the bottom you can still feel the anger and frustration that builds up as these little micro aggressions get you Every. Single. Day. She brings her experience to the page in a way that even I, a white woman living in Montana, can start to understand. I will most definitely be looking up 2 Dope Queens and will be looking out for more by this author as well as her partner on "Queens," Jessica Williams (awesome name!), who wrote the forward.

This book comes out October 4

Five Stars

Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson

There is a reason that the blogs I read are talking about how much they love this book. It's fantastic. Not just a retrospective into her film history, Mara Wilson talks about her life up until now. The fun sides (getting to work with Danny DeVito) but a lot of the darker sides as well (her mother dying, her issues with OCD). Her writing flows, jumping back and forth seamlessly along her timeline. I sat down to read a few pages and resurfaced in the world a couple hours later having devoured the whole thing. It's the kind of book that makes you want to sit down with the author and see if they're really like their writing because it's just... that... good.

Five stars
This book comes out September 13

In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett

A wonderful look behind the scenes of "The Carol Burnett Show." Stories about the people (cast members, guests, friends, and those working behind the scenes), about the clothes, about the sketches... Carol includes them all. This isn't a strict biography, it's more of a stitching together of stories (some are repeated but told from different angles).
A feel-good book that is exactly what you want when reading Carol Burnett.

Five stars
This book comes out September 13

Housebroken by Laurie Notaro

I picked this book because of the similarity of the author's name to Tig Notaro (who the author TOTALLY references). I loved Lauren's breezy style and her conversational writing didn't grate on me as much as another recent read. I especially loved "Frankly, if I walk into your house and you don't have two hundred books in there somewhere that you haven't read yet, I don't trust you. I don't want to know you as a human." (27-28).
Fast and fun, this is most definitely an author I want to read again.

Four Stars
This book comes out July 5

You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein

So. I obviously skimmed the description on this one. I really thought it was either about coming out as gay or transitioning (I think I also got that from the title). And it made sense when the author started describing herself as a "tom man" but it got a little confusing from there until I finally figured out that the author is actually a straight woman. Yep. But she is a funny lady, evidenced by her bio at the end that enlightened me to the fact that she's the head writer on the Amy Schumer show. Finally got it figured out!
But this was a collection of essays she put together over the course of a couple of years. Reflections on her life, some about growing up, others about past loves. I liked it quite a bit. Not a ton of laugh out loud moments but some nice gentle humor that I enjoyed.

Four Stars
This book comes out July 5

The Bitchy Waiter: Life on the Other Side of the Menu by Darron Cardosa

I had not read this blog before but I was a server so I thought I'd give this book a chance. Having been a blog, it took some getting used to reading. Almost 30 pages in, I was seriously considering DNF'ing this book. It was just too choppy. But I'm glad that I stuck it out. It was a good book. I could have done without the fiction section but I have definitely had those afternoons where no one comes in and your mind wanders.
If you've been a server, you'll enjoy this book. If you've never been a server, welcome to the world of food service.



This book will be published on April 5th

Sailor and Fiddler by Herman Wouk

It is sad but true that I am a graduated English major who never read any Herman Wouk. Of course, I know of this author; Marjorie Morningstar has long been on my TBR list but the length is... <whew!> prohibitive. But I enjoy biographies and requested an ARC from NetGalley on the basis of this being an autobiography of a 100-year-old man. It is not a biography plumbing the depths of Wouk's life (upon seeing the 100-page notation, I guessed that) but it is a charming (can one call a biography a novella? Maybe it's a novella-length biography?) read nonetheless. For such a celebrated author, Wouk has a rather dry sense of  fame, not falling into the pitfalls of his own press. He also has a wry affection for his long-time wife (who died in 2011) that shines through in every mention of her.
A nice book for those who haven't read Wouk's work and one not to be missed for those who have.
Three stars
Comes out on January 5, 2015

The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray: A Critical Appreciation of the World's Finest Actor by Robert Schnakenberg

I'm not a HUGE Bill Murray fan (I like his work, but am not obsessive) but thought this looked like a fun book offered from NetGalley so I requested it. I guess Murray is pretty darn private so there didn't seem to be anything groundbreaking about the book. I'm guessing that this book might be more geared toward the hard-core fans but I could be wrong. For someone who doesn't know much about Murray other than his general body of work and the fact that he seems to photobomb an ungodly number of people, it was just okay.

Santa Claus Man by Alex Palmer

Generally, I try to avoid biographies written by family members who aren't children. People tend to be glamorized. And while that did happen in this book, it was still a well-written book. And an entertaining read about an interesting con man.