Read for work. Fun and informative biography of Edwin Binney. Minus one star because the illustrator made the women and girls cartoonishly, impossiblyRead for work. Fun and informative biography of Edwin Binney. Minus one star because the illustrator made the women and girls cartoonishly, impossibly thin while portraying the men and boys realistically. Gross....more
A witch trial in Pennsylvania in 1929? I had no idea. I also didn't expect Stephanie Clifford/Stormy Daniels to make an appearance. (She makes a prettA witch trial in Pennsylvania in 1929? I had no idea. I also didn't expect Stephanie Clifford/Stormy Daniels to make an appearance. (She makes a pretty good living as a tarot reader.)
Vivid and compassionate writing. I will look for more by this author....more
I have no training in engineering, but by the time I had finished several lectures, I was saying, "Oh, ponding took out the scuppers? Yeah, that'll haI have no training in engineering, but by the time I had finished several lectures, I was saying, "Oh, ponding took out the scuppers? Yeah, that'll happen." Excellent introduction to the subject, with lectures on bridge collapses, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the "Plywood Palace," the Boeing scandal, Chernobyl, and many other subjects. Each video lecture includes images from Google Earth, computer models, historical sources, and—best of all—working models built by the author. ...more
Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker staff writer and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, conducted more than 300 in-depth interviews on the topic of . . . reality teEmily Nussbaum, New Yorker staff writer and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, conducted more than 300 in-depth interviews on the topic of . . . reality television?! The title is a bit of a cheat because it comes from the movie The Truman Show. But the whole thing is written well and held my interest, even though I haven't seen some of the shows Nussbaum writes about. (But I have seen a lot of them. Even The Gong Show.) I didn't know that the whole reality vs. scripted conflict goes all the way back to radio, when people complained that writers and actors and musicians were being thrown out of work by a show called—I'm not kidding—Candid Microphone....more
I thought this book was very old because the typical banker, investor, fraudster, and so on is described as "he." But it's from 2018. I thought this book was very old because the typical banker, investor, fraudster, and so on is described as "he." But it's from 2018. ...more
Fascinating glimpses of women through the ages—everything from cave art to a specific type of vibrator. I enjoyed learning about the 100 MPH coat, desFascinating glimpses of women through the ages—everything from cave art to a specific type of vibrator. I enjoyed learning about the 100 MPH coat, designed for early motorists, and the bikini, designed for scandal. The audiobook has a stellar array of readers, including Daisy Ridley, Gillian Anderson, Margaret Atwood, and many other notables. ...more
"The money's in the basement." —Karen Carpenter, explaining why she sang in low tones despite having an impressive vocal range
"But Richard is the star"The money's in the basement." —Karen Carpenter, explaining why she sang in low tones despite having an impressive vocal range
"But Richard is the star, Karen's just the drummer." —Agnes Carpenter, blatantly favoring one of her children and completely misjudging the Carpenters' sound
Karen Carpenter and her brother Richard chased success. They wanted money and fame and popularity, and as a result they tended to choose safe, dated, or even reactionary musical styles. Even during and after the period where their sales plateaued, they strongly resisted trying new styles and forms. As a result, many music fans considered them to be awkward, sentimental, or fake. But THAT VOICE. It's one of the most distinctive and appealing in pop music history.
Karen and Richard's mother sounds appalling, blatantly favoring Richard and discouraging Karen from seeking therapy for the anorexia that killed her. Their father is meekly uncommunicative. And Richard sounds controlling and tiresome, full of bitterness and complaints whether the records are selling well or not. (The one time in the book when he seems pleased about something is in 1994, when the superb tribute album If I Were a Carpenter came out.)
Both Richard and Karen experienced severe anxiety, which they sought to control in different ways. Richard got addicted to downers, but because doctors had a better idea of how to treat his addiction, he survived. Karen became anorexic and bulimic and abused laxatives. Doctors knew very little about treating eating disorders at the time, so she did not survive.
Also, Karen dealt with a tremendous amount of sexism. Her brother and their record company made her give up the drums and front the band. They criticized her drum playing, but there was never any effort to make her better at the drums. Take a look at this clip to see how talented she was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o82d9... If you don't have time for the whole thing, just watch the drum solo at the end.
The other thing that gets me is how (male) colleagues assumed they understood her without asking her about anything. The parents considered Richard a musical prodigy from the age of three. They moved the family from Connecticut to southern California when the kids were teenagers so that Richard would have a better chance of professional success. Karen watched and listened all the time. She tried different instruments without much success. She became obsessed with jazz drumming as a young teenager. She worked with a choral teacher for years, both before and after she got famous. She joined the high school marching band and became the first girl on the drum line there, working her way up to co-leading the band. She experimented with singing in a higher and a lower register. And then she goes to an audition with Richard when she's sixteen and these guys insist "she was born with that voice, it just came out of her." What absolute bullshit. She worked and researched and strategized to get that sound....more
My favorite bit of trivia from this series: On the day Joséphine was crowned empress, she was wearing underwear that had emeralds sewn into it.
I wish My favorite bit of trivia from this series: On the day Joséphine was crowned empress, she was wearing underwear that had emeralds sewn into it.
I wish I had kept track of how many miles I logged on the rowing machine while watching this series of 48 lectures about Marie Antoinette, Madame de Staël, and of course Napoléon. This is a detailed and enthusiastic combination of social history (the words and deeds of regular people), economics, political philosophy, military history, and much more. Dr. Desan makes an effort to include information about women and their rights. I've watched a lot of Teaching Company courses, and this one has more lectures, more images, more animated maps, more political cartoons, more everything....more
Seventeen and a half hours! Seventeen and a half hours of audiobook details about Regency-era sports, clothing, sexism, debtors' prisons, breakfasts, Seventeen and a half hours! Seventeen and a half hours of audiobook details about Regency-era sports, clothing, sexism, debtors' prisons, breakfasts, manners, theater, stagecoaches, fashion, and liquor! I loved it. I don't know much about this era, so a lot of the information was eye opening. Some of my favorite bits:
• The first person to publish a work about atheism in English was Percy Bysshe Shelley. His 1811 essay "The Necessity of Atheism" got him kicked out of Oxford.
• Toll takers did not have to provide change. If the toll cost sixpence and you only had shillings, you had to pay a shilling. So travelers brought many sixpences with them.
• If you wanted to travel on a stagecoach but couldn't afford it, you could pay half price if you were willing to sit on top of the stagecoach and hang on the entire time.
• Cookbooks became very popular during this period. The goal for the author of one of the most popular cookbooks was for any servant who could read to become a cook. I'm sure you can see the potential convenience and savings of this.
• The Prince Regent, later King George IV, was very powerful during the latter part of his father's reign because not only did poor old George III have bouts of insanity, but he eventually became deaf and blind as well. Most British people intensely disliked the Prince Regent for being rude, lazy, gluttonous, mean, and wasteful. He wore spectacular clothing, though.
• The famous dandy Beau Brummel spent three hours every morning washing and getting dressed. He was besties with the Prince Regent but eventually they had a big fight and Brummel insulted the prince by calling him "your fat friend" in public....more
Feminist analysis and criticism of what the author calls the Upskirt Decade. She even throws in a cogent explanation of the subprime mortgage crisis iFeminist analysis and criticism of what the author calls the Upskirt Decade. She even throws in a cogent explanation of the subprime mortgage crisis in the chapter on Kim Kardashian. It doesn't really fit there, but I'm impressed anyway. I didn't know much about the wrestler Chyna, so that was the most interesting chapter to me....more
I read this for work. Very serious story about Ai Weiwei, who grew up in a prison camp, became a famous artist, and made art related to the refugee crI read this for work. Very serious story about Ai Weiwei, who grew up in a prison camp, became a famous artist, and made art related to the refugee crisis....more
Read for work. I'm so happy that this book is available so that young children can learn about some vital events in U.S. history. I enjoyed the text, Read for work. I'm so happy that this book is available so that young children can learn about some vital events in U.S. history. I enjoyed the text, but the art didn't do anything for me. Your mileage may vary....more
I read this for work. I told my husband, "The last chapter is on nihilism." He said, "OH WHO CARES?!" :-D Anyhow, this is a thoughtful overview of theI read this for work. I told my husband, "The last chapter is on nihilism." He said, "OH WHO CARES?!" :-D Anyhow, this is a thoughtful overview of the greatest hits of Western philosophy, and there is also some philosophy from other regions plus some feminist philosophy....more
Informative but mostly lighthearted account of how Black and Brown people have been portrayed in English-language horror movies. Things have gotten beInformative but mostly lighthearted account of how Black and Brown people have been portrayed in English-language horror movies. Things have gotten better but there are still double standards and omissions. The author explains that Black people deserve portrayals in all genres of movies doing all types of things, just as characters of other races do. I burst out laughing when the author brought home this point by saying, "Black people like Etsy too."...more
I was in tears by the end of this book about the passengers and crew of a doomed cruise ship overwhelmed by Covid and turned away from port after portI was in tears by the end of this book about the passengers and crew of a doomed cruise ship overwhelmed by Covid and turned away from port after port. I knew that there was controversy over cruise ships at the start of the pandemic, but I didn't know that crew members and a few passengers languished on board for weeks on end, that rescue missions ended up aborted, and that Argentina refused reentry to its own citizens....more
Intriguing accounts of speculative bubbles and collapses throughout history. My favorite parts were about the South Sea Bubble and the Gilded Age. ThiIntriguing accounts of speculative bubbles and collapses throughout history. My favorite parts were about the South Sea Bubble and the Gilded Age. This is the 1999 edition, made into an audiobook in 2019. So there are parts that a major publisher would never allow into print today, such as the assertion that White people discovered Australia (there were plenty of other people there already) and that women were granted the right to vote (they won it themselves, of course). The last event the book covers is the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management....more
"The screaming was much louder than I had anticipated." —Cassidy Hutchinson, former special assistant to the president, describing what it was like to"The screaming was much louder than I had anticipated." —Cassidy Hutchinson, former special assistant to the president, describing what it was like to stand outside the Oval Office
This had way more horror-movie elements than I had anticipated.
Summary: Cassidy Hutchinson says she chose a life of public service to advance the policies she believed in (which she cannot or will not describe except in the vaguest terms), to increase bipartisanship (in what turned out to be one of the most partisan administrations in U.S. history), to support her colleagues (who overworked, assaulted, insulted, and abandoned her), and to live the values of her parents (whom she despises, and with good reason).
Horror-movie elements:
• Little-kid Cassidy feels sad when her dad repeatedly breaks his promises to her and her little brother, but then her dad tells her that he has left her and brother a special surprise for them in their mailbox. She unwraps the foil package and finds two deer hearts, still warm, dripping with blood.
• Teenage Cassidy wakes up in so much pain that she pees in her bed. She calls both parents and begs for help, but they refuse. One doesn't want to be disturbed while on vacation, and the other one has been sh¡tty to her for her whole life. Neither of them believes in doctors, whatever that means. She drives herself to the hospital and is immediately treated for appendicitis.
• On January 6, Rudy Giuliani sexually assaults her. Her description of his cold fingertips creeping up her thighs is nauseating. I found myself wishing that she had belted him with one of the binders she was always carrying, so he would have crumbed into dust.
• Matt Gaetz exists.
Funny parts in a serious book:
• Donald Trump gives her hairstyling tips. She submits to his will, but the results don't flatter her. (Now that I think about it, that last sentence describes this whole book.)
• Mark Meadows's staff accidentally gets him drunk. While he's out sick with Covid, they leave White Claws in his fridge and forget to remove them. He comes back and pounds a couple of them (the White Claws, not the staffers) because he is Southern Baptist and has never previously had a drink in his life and doesn't know from White Claw. He offers a third can to his colleague, a Latter-Day Saint, who is Not Pleased. The whole thing is acutely embarrassing and Meadows manages to avoid Trump until sobering up.
• Debbie Meadows (Mrs. Mark) is so stupid that she tells Hutchinson to forbid Mark from burning things in his office fireplace. He's done this so often that his suits all stink and she can't keep up with the dry cleaning. It never occurs to Deb to wonder why Mark is burning stacks and stacks and stacks of documents at work.
• Governor Ron DeSantis is such a self-obsessed ninnyhammer that Hutchinson scolds him for asking for special favors and wasting everyone's time, and he apologizes profusely.
• There is a thwarted attempt to pardon Kimberly Guilfoyle's gynecologist.
Unanswered questions:
• What is Cassidy Hutchinson going to do with the rest of her life?
• Is her father actually mentally ill, or does he just feign mental illness when someone asks for help or expects him to be responsible about something, or is he just a complete sh¡tstain with no redeeming qualities?
• Have her family members abandoned her since she published this book, or are they not capable of reading it?
My verdict: The first 15 percent of this book, which covers Hutchinson's childhood and young adulthood, is weak. I don't know if she just couldn't bear to talk about her childhood or if the editors didn't leave enough time for this part to be fleshed out fully. Her descriptions of working in the White House are interesting and compelling. Her descriptions of her testimony and its aftermath are a little bit self-aggrandizing, but on the other hand she was only 25 when she wrote the book and had been through a lot. It is appealing to see someone actually learn from history—during her crisis, Hutchinson becomes obsessed with former Nixon aide Alexander Butterfield and models her actions and demeanor on his.
Hutchinson seems like a hard worker and a hard drinker. I hope she finds better friends and colleagues and is able to lead a peaceful life. She has bought herself a dog, which is a good start....more
Short, often fascinating accounts of bizarre incidents in history, some obscure and some well-known. To me, the most interesting chapter was about AlfShort, often fascinating accounts of bizarre incidents in history, some obscure and some well-known. To me, the most interesting chapter was about Alfred Loewenstein, the third-richest man in the world. One day in 1928 he fell out of his private plane into the English Channel. Murder? Suicide? Accident? Faked death? Absent-mindedness?? Nobody knows, although it's interesting that his wife didn't attend the funeral and didn't add his name to the gravestone.
I didn't know that Adolf Hitler had his own Dr. Feelgood. According to the author, the cocaine was bad for Hitler's health and mental acuity, but the methamphetamines were much, much worse. (There's no attempt to blame anti-Semitism on drug use, of course. Hitler was depraved long before a quack pumped him full of drugs.)
Disappointing. I've enjoyed Biskind's earlier books, and I was hoping that he would select a dozen or so "peak television" shows and explain what madeDisappointing. I've enjoyed Biskind's earlier books, and I was hoping that he would select a dozen or so "peak television" shows and explain what made them successful, unusual, memorable, or otherwise worthwhile. Instead, this is a mostly business-focused account of scores of TV shows. We ping-pong around in time, so it's hard to get a sense of trends or sea changes. And there's a lot about harassment, humiliation, and general misery on the set. I did get one memorable image out of this book, though: David Chase, at the top of his Sopranos success, a multimillionaire, with his teeth rotting out of his head because he was so phobic about going to the dentist. What a shame for him and for the people around him....more
Loading...
