On My Radar:

The 1997 Masters: My Story
by Tiger Woods with Lorne Rubenstein
Grand Central Publishing
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

To mark the twentieth anniversary of his historic win at the 1997 Masters, Tiger Woods will for the first time reflect on the record-setting win both on and off the course.

In 1997, Tiger Woods was already among the most-watched and closely examined athletes in history. But it wasn't until the Masters Tournament that his career would definitively change forever. Woods, then only 21, won the Masters by a historic 12 shots, which remains the widest margin of victory in the tournament's history, making it an iconic moment for him and sports.

Now, 20 years later, Woods is ready to explore his history with the game, how it has changed over the years, and what it was like winning such an important event. With never-before-heard stories, this book will provide keen insight from one of the game's all-time greats.

On My Radar:

Grace Notes: My Recollections
by Katey Sagal
Gallery Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Gripping, singular, and gorgeously reflective, Grace Notes is a memoir told in essays by beloved actress, Hollywood veteran, and singer/songwriter Katey Sagal—perfect for fans of Mary Louise Parker’s Dear Mr. You and Patti Smith’s M Train.

Popular and award-winning star Katey Sagal chronicles the rollercoaster ride of her life in this series of evocative and beautifully written vignettes, resulting in a life story recounted unlike any other Hollywood memoir you’ve read before.

Sagal takes you through the highs and lows of her life, from the tragic deaths of her parents to her long years in the Los Angeles rock scene, from being diagnosed with cancer at the age of twenty-eight to getting her big break on the fledgling FOX network as the wise-cracking Peggy Bundy on the beloved sitcom Married…with Children.

Sparse and poetic, Grace Notes is an emotionally riveting tale of struggle and success, both professional and personal: Sagal’s path to sobriety; the stillbirth of her first daughter, Ruby; motherhood; the experience of having her third daughter at age fifty-two with the help of a surrogate; and her lifelong passion for music. Intimate, candid, and offering an inside look at a remarkable life forged within the entertainment industry, Grace Notes offers unprecedented access to the previously unknown life of a woman whom audiences have loved for over thirty years.

Fiction Focus:

A Simple Favor
by Darcey Bell
Harper Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:


She’s your best friend.

She knows all your secrets.

That’s why she’s so dangerous.

A single mother's life is turned upside down when her best friend vanishes in this chilling debut thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

It starts with a simple favor—an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another. When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son Nicky after school, she happily says yes. Nicky and her son, Miles, are classmates and best friends, and the five-year-olds love being together—just like she and Emily. A widow and stay-at-home mommy blogger living in woodsy suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a sophisticated PR executive whose job in Manhattan demands so much of her time. 

But Emily doesn’t come back. She doesn’t answer calls or return texts. Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong—Emily would never leave Nicky, no matter what the police say. Terrified, she reaches out to her blog readers for help. She also reaches out to Emily’s husband, the handsome, reticent Sean, offering emotional support. It’s the least she can do for her best friend. Then, she and Sean receive shocking news. Emily is dead. The nightmare of her disappearance is over.

Or is it? Because soon, Stephanie will begin to see that nothing—not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor—is as simple as it seems. 

A Simple Favor is a remarkable tale of psychological suspense—a clever and twisting free-fall of a ride filled with betrayals and reversals, twists and turns, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge. Darcey Bell masterfully ratchets up the tension in a taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing story that holds you in its grip until the final page.

On My Radar:

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
by Kory Stamper
Pantheon
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Many of us take dictionaries for granted, and few may realize that the process of writing dictionaries is, in fact, as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it, to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language. She explains why small words are the most difficult to define, how it can take nine months to define a single word, and how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence. And along the way, she reveals little-known surprises—for example, the fact that “OMG” was first used in a letter to Winston Churchill in 1917.

Word by Word brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a startlingly rich world inhabited by quirky and erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate. Certain to be a delight for all lovers of words, Stamper’s debut will make you laugh as much as it makes you appreciate the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language.

On My Radar:

The Rules Do Not Apply: A Memoir
by Ariel Levy
Random House
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

When thirty-eight-year-old New Yorker writer Ariel Levy left for a reporting trip to Mongolia in 2012, she was pregnant, married, financially secure, and successful on her own terms. A month later, none of that was true.

Levy picks you up and hurls you through the story of how she built an unconventional life and then watched it fall apart with astonishing speed. Like much of her generation, she was raised to resist traditional rules—about work, about love, and about womanhood.

“I wanted what we all want: everything. We want a mate who feels like family and a lover who is exotic, surprising. We want to be youthful adventurers and middle-aged mothers. We want intimacy and autonomy, safety and stimulation, reassurance and novelty, coziness and thrills. But we can’t have it all.”

In this profound and beautiful memoir, Levy chronicles the adventure and heartbreak of being “a woman who is free to do whatever she chooses.” Her own story of resilience becomes an unforgettable portrait of the shifting forces in our culture, of what has changed—and of what is eternal.

In My TBR Stack:

Printer's Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History
by J.P. Romney and Rebecca Romney
Harper Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

A funny and entertaining history of printed books as told through absurd moments in the lives of authors and printers, collected by television’s favorite rare-book expert from HISTORY’s hit series Pawn Stars.

Since the Gutenberg Bible first went on sale in 1455, printing has been viewed as one of the highest achievements of human innovation. But the march of progress hasn’t been smooth; downright bizarre is more like it. Printer’s Error chronicles some of the strangest and most humorous episodes in the history of Western printing, and makes clear that we’ve succeeded despite ourselves. Rare-book expert Rebecca Romney and author J. P. Romney take us from monasteries and museums to auction houses and libraries to introduce curious episodes in the history of print that have had a profound impact on our world.

Take, for example, the Gutenberg Bible. While the book is regarded as the first printed work in the Western world, Gutenberg’s name doesn’t appear anywhere on it. Today, Johannes Gutenberg is recognized as the father of Western printing. But for the first few hundred years after the invention of the printing press, no one knew who printed the first book. This long-standing mystery took researchers down a labyrinth of ancient archives and libraries, and unearthed surprising details, such as the fact that Gutenberg’s financier sued him, repossessed his printing equipment, and started his own printing business afterward. Eventually the first printed book was tracked to the library of Cardinal Mazarin in France, and Gutenberg’s forty-two-line Bible was finally credited to him, thus ensuring Gutenberg’s name would be remembered by middle-school students worldwide.

Like the works of Sarah Vowell, John Hodgman, and Ken Jennings, Printer’s Error is a rollicking ride through the annals of time and the printed word.

On My Radar:

Cheech is Not My Real Name: ...But Don't Call Me Chong

Cheech Marin

Grand Central Publishing

Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Cheech Marin came of age at an interesting time in America and became a self-made counterculture legend with his other half, Tommy Chong. This insightful memoir delves into how Cheech dodged the draft, formed one of the most successful comedy duos of all time, became the face of the recreational drug movement with the film Up in Smoke, forged a successful solo career with roles in The Lion King and, more recently, Jane the Virgin, and became the owner of the most renowned collection of Chicano art in the world.

Written in Cheech's uniquely hilarious voice, this memoir will take you to new highs.

Fiction Focus:

Every Wild Heart: A Novel
by Meg Donohue
William Morrow
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

From USA Today bestselling author Meg Donohue comes a mystery, a love story, and a mother-daughter tale about two women on a precarious journey to uncover their true selves.

Passionate and funny, radio personality Gail Gideon is a true original. Nine years ago when Gail’s husband announced that he wanted a divorce, her ensuing on-air rant propelled her local radio show into the national spotlight. Now, “The Gail Gideon Show” is beloved by millions of single women who tune-in for her advice on the power of self-reinvention. But fame comes at a price. After all, what does a woman who has staked her career on being single do when she finds herself falling in love? And is the person who is harassing her in increasingly troubling ways a misguided fan or a true danger to Gail and her daughter, Nic? 

Fourteen-year-old Nic has always felt that she pales in comparison to her vibrant, outgoing mother. Plagued by a fear of social situations, she is most comfortable at the stable where she spends her afternoons. But when a riding accident lands Nic in the hospital, she awakens from her coma changed. Suddenly, she has no fear at all and her disconcerting behavior lands her in one risky situation after another. And no one, least of all her mother, can guess what she will do next…

On My Radar:

Walking to Listen: 4,000 Miles Across America, One Story at a Time
by Andrew Forsthoefel
Bloomsbury USA
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

A memoir of one young man's coming of age on a cross-country trek--told through the stories of the people of all ages, races, and inclinations he meets along the highways of America.

Life is fast, and I've found it's easy to confuse the miraculous for the mundane, so I'm slowing down, way down, in order to give my full presence to the extraordinary that infuses each moment and resides in every one of us.At 23, Andrew Forsthoefel walked out the back door of his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, with a backpack, an audio recorder, his copies of Whitman and Rilke, and a sign that read "Walking to Listen." He had just graduated from Middlebury College and was ready to begin his adult life, but he didn't know how. So he decided he'd walk. And listen. It would be a cross-country quest for guidance, and everyone he met would be his guide.

Walking toward the Pacific, he faced an Appalachian winter and a Mojave summer. He met beasts inside: fear, loneliness, doubt. But he also encountered incredible kindness from strangers. Thousands shared their stories with him, sometimes confiding their prejudices, too. Often he didn't know how to respond. How to find unity in diversity? How to stay connected, even as fear works to tear us apart? He listened for answers to these questions, and to the existential questions every human must face, and began to find that the answer might be in listening itself.

Ultimately, it's the stories of others living all along the roads of America that carry this journey and sing out in a hopeful, heartfelt book about how a life is made, and how our nation defines itself on the most human level.

BookSpin Review:

Kept in the Dark
by J. Ronald M. York
St. Broadway Press, LLC
Hardcover


  I wanted to read KEPT IN THE DARK primarily because of the Nashville connection -- I have a nearly insatiable desire to read true stories about cities I've lived in.  The dark subject matter gave me pause as I wasn't sure I wanted to read about sordid family secrets.

 It has to take a lot of something I don't have to share such a "controversial and uncomfortable" secret with the public.  My first question was "Why?"  According to York, "...my hope in sharing this would be that it might help someone in a similar situation."  This is an admirable position, and one I cannot doubt is true.

York's story takes us from his youth in Florida until his adulthood in Nashville.  After his Father's death, he found a box of letters that had been written between his parents during an eight-month* period in the 1950's that resulted in York feeling anger, hurt, confusion, and frustration. I can only imagine the feeling, upon discovering such a family secret, that you can never ask your parents any questions.  All you get is what the letters tell you and what you intuit or learn though them.

I don't like giving too many specific details in these little reviews that I do, so I won't tell you the secret.  If you guess, you'll probably get close, but not exactly spot on.

Kept in the Dark is a quick read, if a little sad.  There are lots of victims (of various types) in the book, but the writer does seem to have a more level head than I would in this situation.  I have to commend him for the courage to tell his story and for the strength to not be angry.

- - - - - - - -

From the author's website:

The jail was located on the top 9 floors of the Dade County Courthouse in downtown Miami. The young father could look down from the 21st floor, to the street below. His wife and child would come each night, stand on the sidewalk and wave to him. They would flash the car lights to signal they were there and he, in return, would strike a match from his window to let them know he was watching. Although separated by just a few miles, they were only able to see each other each Sunday, for 2 hours, through glass and wire. Writing letters became their way of communicating and 100 letters were exchanged during an 8-week period.

This was a secret my parents, family and a few close friends took to their graves. No one ever told me and I was too young to remember. And yet, a box containing the letters, yellowed newspaper clippings, faded photographs and cards of encouragement from friends was left for me after everyone was gone. 

Although the crime took place more than 60 years ago, it is still as current as today’s headlines. After much thought and reflection, I am ready to share this story. Controversial and uncomfortable, it is still deeply rooted in unwavering love. A horrific mistake was made leaving a family to heal, rebuild their lives and hopefully, forgive.

*This review has been edited to reflect that the period of time his parents wrote letters back and forth was 8 months and not 8 years, as previously posted. I regret this error.

BookSpin Review:

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
by Michael Finkel
Knopf
Hardcover

From BookDude:

Many of us have a fantasy of disappearing.  We try to imagine what it would be like to go away where no one can find us.

Christopher Knight did it.  One day in 1986 he walked into the woods and didn't emerge for nearly 30 years.

I knew I wanted to read this book and tore into it as soon as it arrived.  It didn't hurt that  I have read Michael Finkel before and enjoyed his work.

I have a lot of love for books about loners and people who blaze their own trails...sometimes literally.  I knew this story had a lot of potential and wasn't disappointed.  Christopher Knight's story will stick with you.

I don't like to bog my reviews down with too many facts; I prefer try to avoid spoilers and let other readers discover the details without my influence.

Suffice to say that Knight's story is compelling and maddening as we get to know all the hows: how did he do it, how did he succeed so long, how was he not found ( and how he was).

- - - - - - - -

From the publisher's website:


In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothing, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of his secluded life—why did he leave? what did he learn?—as well as the challenges he has faced since returning to the world. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.

On My Radar:

Duck Season: Eating, Drinking, and Other Misadventures in Gascony - France's Last Best Place
by David McAninch
Harper
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

A delicious memoir about the eight months food writer David McAninch spent in Gascony—a deeply rural region of France virtually untouched by mass tourism—meeting extraordinary characters and eating the best meals of his life.

Though he’d been a card-carrying Francophile all of his life, David McAninch knew little about Gascony, an ancient region in Southwest France mostly overlooked by Americans. Then an assignment sent him to research a story on duck. After enjoying a string of rich meals—Armagnac-flambéed duck tenderloins; skewered duck hearts with chanterelles; a duck-confit shepherd’s pie strewn with shavings of foie gras—he soon realized what he’d been missing.

McAninch decided he needed a more permanent fix. He’d fallen in love—not only with the food but with the people, and with the sheer unspoiled beauty of the place. So, along with his wife and young daughter, he moved to an old millhouse in the small village of Plaisance du Gers, where they would spend the next eight months living as Gascons. Duck Season is the delightful, mouthwatering chronicle of McAninch’s time in this tradition-bound corner of France. There he herds sheep in the Pyrenees, harvests grapes, attends a pig slaughter, hunts for pigeons, distills Armagnac, and, of course, makes and eats all manner of delicious duck specialties—learning to rewire his own thinking about cooking, eating, drinking, and the art of living a full and happy life.

With wit and warmth, McAninch brings us deep into this enchanting world, where eating what makes you happy isn’t a sin but a commandment and where, to the eternal surprise of outsiders, locals’ life expectancy is higher than in any other region of France. Featuring a dozen choice recipes and beautiful line drawings, Duck Season is an irresistible treat for Francophiles and gourmands alike.

Guest Post:

A guest post by R.B.N. Bookmark, author of A Minger's Tale: Beginnings

Why?? 

There are many reasons, all of them far too numerous too recount as why one would write a book. 

It is an insane idea that rattles around in ones head like marbles trapped in a tin can. The more one ponders on this ludicrous idea the louder the rattle in your head. 

I have likened the birth of A Minger`s Tale to an unwanted pregnancy. It was never planned nor wanted. As for the reasons how it came about, well I´d give anything to turn the clock back and

change the events that led up to it. 

The reasons for my first (and what some hope will be my last forray into selfpublishing) are clearly stated in the opening chapter of my book – well at least that was my intention…..and yet. 

Things are never as clear cut in life as one would wish, and needless to say neither is writing a book. You see as the book progressed so did the initial reasons I had for writing it, it became something far more than just a family tale in a corner of England far remote from the bright lights of London. 

A campus newspaper by the name of Humanity Hallows wrote and published a review of Minger`s Tale. It is no understatement I was shocked almost into tears when I read it. Tears of joy, that is because at last someone had read between the lines, and understood where the book was coming from. It had created an affinity between writer and the reader, which is something any writer good or bad must strive to achieve. 

“The narrator and his family are elevated to represent an entire generation of people, whose individual plights and stories rarely receive the attention they ought to. “ excerpt from
Humanity Hallows book review of A Minger`s Tale – Beginnings

R.B.N. Bookmark

I tried to make the main character Ribban as ordinary as possible, show the vulnerability and the feeling of being an outsider in society. The story is almost sixty years old and yet, the process of growing up never changes, he is a child of his times as we are today. 

Now I know some people have commented on why I wrote a collection of stories without any storyline, and it is a valid comment which I shall endeavour to answer. 

Ribban Bookmark is a drifter, he meanders through the perforations of life`s tapestry like wind through airtex underwear. He lands where he falls, picks himself up and does the same thing all over again. His story is devoid of a common denominator; his storyline is day to day and a life he lives by the hour. 

Ribban and I are very much alike. We share the same hopes and fears, both of us at times have felt the frustration akin to a dog desperately searching for a lamp post in a blackout. Consequently both of us know what it feels like to end up with wet feet. 


So now 12 months after the books release how do I feel and what is my next move? I have to admit
being called a writer metaphorically speaking fits me like a pair of trousers twice my size. I find myself forever pulling them up but from time to time a bad review will leave them hanging around my ankles. 

Book number two, Half Way to Manchuria was scheduled for 2017 but I´m afraid the book is on hold at the moment – whether or not it ever sees the light of day is at this point in time very uncertain. 

So tell me after reading my story – would you write a book? 

I often ask myself the same question and no matter what I may think, no matter the world of selfpublishing has to throw in my direction, my answer is invariably the same. 

“YES”

A Minger's Tale: Beginnings
by R.B.N. Bookmark
CreateSpace
Trade Paperback & Kindle


**

Book Dude would like to thank Virtual Author Book Tours and Teddy Rose ( @teddyrose1 ) for the opportunity to participate in the book tour for A Minger's Tale: Beginnings by R.B.N. Bookmark.