I found this fun meme/game from blogger and avid book reader, Lisa Loves Literature. I thought I would play along. You can too if you want.
This meme was started by Lost in a Story and picked up by Lisa.This is her 30th installment, my first.
Here is how it works:
- Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
- Order on ascending date added.
- Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
- Read the synopsis of the books
- Decide: keep it or toss it
I have 735 books on the TBR pile as of this writing. Since this is the first time I have done this, I am only going to do the first 5. I might do more next week.
Here we go...
Synopsis: Official Book Club Selection is Kathy Griffin unplugged, uncensored, and unafraid to dish about what really happens on the road, away from the cameras, and at the star party after the show.
Writing with her trademark wit, the feisty comic settles a few old scores, celebrates the friends and mentors who helped her claw her way to the top, and shares insider gossip about celebrity behavior–the good, the bad, and the very ugly. She recounts the crazy ups and downs of her own career and introduces us to some of the super talented people she encountered before they got famous (or, in some cases, after fame went to their heads).
My thoughts: She annoys me so much that I am not sure why I ever thought I would read her book.
Verdict: Toss
Synopsis: They've said some crazy things about me over the years...here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time.It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event... A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. I've always been drawn to the dark side, me. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working-class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time.
My thoughts: I used to watch his show for awhile with Sharon. Then it just got gross. Ozzy may be sober and clean now but he is still one messed up dude. I don't need to read about him.
Verdict: Toss
3. Then Again
Synopsis: Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it Scotch-taped on a pencil box she’d collaged. I even found a pamphlet titled THINK on her bedside table. Mom liked to THINK.
So begins Diane Keaton’s unforgettable memoir about her mother and herself. In it you will meet the woman known to tens of millions as Annie Hall, but you will also meet, and fall in love with, her mother, the loving, complicated, always-thinking Dorothy Hall. To write about herself, Diane realized she had to write about her mother, too, and how their bond came to define both their lives. In a remarkable act of creation, Diane not only reveals herself to us, she also lets us meet in intimate detail her mother. Over the course of her life, Dorothy kept eighty-five journals—literally thousands of pages—in which she wrote about her marriage, her children, and, most probingly, herself. Dorothy also recorded memorable stories about Diane’s grandparents. Diane has sorted through these pages to paint an unflinching portrait of her mother—a woman restless with intellectual and creative energy, struggling to find an outlet for her talents—as well as her entire family, recounting a story that spans four generations and nearly a hundred years.
More than the autobiography of a legendary actress, Then Again is a book about a very American family with very American dreams. Diane will remind you of yourself, and her bonds with her family will remind you of your own relationships with those you love the most.
Synopsis: Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it Scotch-taped on a pencil box she’d collaged. I even found a pamphlet titled THINK on her bedside table. Mom liked to THINK.
So begins Diane Keaton’s unforgettable memoir about her mother and herself. In it you will meet the woman known to tens of millions as Annie Hall, but you will also meet, and fall in love with, her mother, the loving, complicated, always-thinking Dorothy Hall. To write about herself, Diane realized she had to write about her mother, too, and how their bond came to define both their lives. In a remarkable act of creation, Diane not only reveals herself to us, she also lets us meet in intimate detail her mother. Over the course of her life, Dorothy kept eighty-five journals—literally thousands of pages—in which she wrote about her marriage, her children, and, most probingly, herself. Dorothy also recorded memorable stories about Diane’s grandparents. Diane has sorted through these pages to paint an unflinching portrait of her mother—a woman restless with intellectual and creative energy, struggling to find an outlet for her talents—as well as her entire family, recounting a story that spans four generations and nearly a hundred years.
More than the autobiography of a legendary actress, Then Again is a book about a very American family with very American dreams. Diane will remind you of yourself, and her bonds with her family will remind you of your own relationships with those you love the most.
My thoughts: What is not to love about Diane Keaton. It seems she writes lovingly about herself and he mom. This one I still want to read for sure.
Verdict: Keep
4. Growing Up Amish
Synopsis: Ira Wagler was born in 1961, the ninth of a Canadian Amish couple's eleven children. At seventeen, in the dark of night, he left the religious settlement, but it was only nine years later that he finally left the church for good. His favorite Bible verse is from Psalm 34: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." In this new memoir, he tells what it was like growing up Old World Amish and what it felt like leaving it for a strange new world. Far more than picturesque; Growing Up Amish conveys one man's heartfelt experience.
My thoughts: I am always fascinated by other religions or ways of life. The Amish have intrigued me since I was a child. I first saw a family back in 1976 and have always wanted to know more about their life. This is an insiders look and will still cause me curiosity.
Verdict: Keep
5. What Do People Do All Day?
Synopsis: An illustrated panorama of the animals of Busytown at work, describing the occupations and activities of many of her citizens through detailed drawings with labels indicating processes and equipment used as they perform their jobs.
My thoughts: I love Richard Scarry books for children. However, I think I would rather pick this one up from the library or purchase a hard copy to read to my young grandkids. We could point and read all day.
Verdict: Toss
Final Thoughts:
So, I only kept two of the five. I find it interesting that two of the three I tossed are memoirs. I do love that genre but since I have had them on my list since 2012, it is not likely that I will ever read them. Besides, I am just not as interested in those anymore.
Check out my TBR list next week.
Happy reading!
Michelle
1 comment:
So glad you joined in this week! Looks like you had a few memoirs on your list. I always think they sound good, but often I don't get to them. Hope you're happy with what you've kept! I agree that it is probably easier to just check out the Richard Scarry books, as much fun as they are, will they be read over and over?
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