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Ever since I was a child, reading became a passion for me. Whenever I would pick up a book, the story took me on a journey to places I have never been to before. One of the first authors I read was S.E. Hinton who wrote ‘The Outsiders,’ and ‘That Was Then, This Is Now.’ She inspired me to write. Just like reading I also enjoy writing short stories. Writing these stories, took me into a different world. Most of the characters I invented became real people to me. Both reading and writing are my special talents. I am proud of them for a reason: I am Learning Disabled, which makes it a little harder for me to learn certain things. The sad reality is not many people with LD can read or write. Now, as an adult I enjoy reading books. I read about one a week. Some of my favorite authors are: Stephen King, Olivia Goldsmith, and Joyce Carol Oates. I also, have an enormous bookmark collection approx. 4,000 and counting. Let the reading begin!

 

Patty Taylor survived it all:  a bad childhood with a Mom who drank and homelessness.  While in her teenage years, she met an older man, Rick Malone, a drug addict who always beat her.

Now, a young single mother in her early twenties, Patty, is a singer in a jazz band.  Aside from working nights as a dishwasher, Patty, took this job for her love of singing and most importantly to provide  for her  two year old son, Willie.

After Rick's prison release which stemmed from a drug conviction, he tracked Patty and the son he never knew down, while the band toured.  Will Patty take the wacko back?  Has Rick changed?

Author Lisa Tucker wrote Shout Down The Moon with courage.  The characters are people you love to hate, while others you have sympathy for.  Life could be very hard in a band, especially if the singer is a female.

 

Many families each year are affected by violent crimes.   The characters in Mary Higgins Clarks' novel Daddy's Little Girl, were affected by that same tragedy.

Let's meet the Cavanaugh family:  Dad, Ted, was a police Lieutenant.  Mother, Genine, was a housewife.  Their older daughter, Andrea, was a fifteen year old high school student, who secretly dated nineteen year old Robson Westerfield.  Seven year old Ellie, was still in elementary school.

They lived in Oldham-on-the-Hudson, a village in Westchester, New York.  Ellie, woke up one morning.  Andrea, never returned home from the previous evening.  She studied at a friends house.  Ellie, told her parents about a secret hideout in the Westerfield's garage where Andrea and her friends would hang out.  They directly lived behind the Cavanaugh's.  Ellie, led her parents to their garage.  She discovered Andrea's body.  Robson Westerfield, was arrested, tried and convicted at trial.  The Cavanaugh's marriage ended in divorce thereafter.  Genine, turned into an alcoholic.

For almost twenty-three years, Robson Westerfield remained in prison.  By this time, Ellie, was a newspaper journalist in Georgia.  She learned that Westerfield might be paroled.  To stop his release, Ellie, returned to  New York.  Despite her protest, Westerfield is released.  Would he kill again?

Written in the first person voice of Ellie, I felt her pain.  Clark, made her believable.  A novel like this shows how a family could be torn apart when a loved one is murdered.

 

Welcome to the life of Wilbur Baggett, main character in Robert Inman's Captain Saturday.

A local celebrity who appeared on Raleigh, North Carolina's  Channel 7 as a weatherman, Baggett, had everything:  a beautiful wife, Clarice, a son Palmer in medical school and a good paying job.  Baggett's picture perfect life came crumbling down when he was "let go" from his job.

My favorite funny part of this story, was when Wilbur raced to Channel 7 after being "let go" to retrieve $50,000 by a certain time.  As he raced to his old boss' office, he injured his knee after he fell.

While Inman's book was funny in some parts, it was sad in others.  The book flashed back to a time when Wilbur was a teenager.  His parents were killed in an airplane crash.

Robert Inman mixed laughter and  sadness really well.  His characters were strong driven people determined to get what they want.  I give this book an A+.

 

Welcome to Carson Springs, California where the plot for Wish Come True by Eileen Goudge takes place.

Anna Vincenzi, was a 37 year old woman who worked as an assistant for her older sister, actress Monica Vincent.  Monica, was everything Anna wanted to be: slim and beautiful.  She loses weight and is a total knock out.  While Monica is in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, Anna meets Dr. Marc Raboy.  They fall in love.  Everything is going great for Anna, until Monica is found dead in a pool. 

While the plot was well written, the characters weren't well developed.  They seemed a little sketchy.  I give this book three and a half stars.

One September morning the world forever changed.  At the time I stayed home unemployed.  While I was in my bedroom, I turned my television set onto the news.  There before my eyes, was a gigantic hole in the World Trade Center.

Like most people, my first thought was 'A small airplane accidently crashed.'  I didn't think anything more of it.  The second airplane hit.  Right then and there, I knew this was no "accident."   Bridget Marks' novel 'September,' brought back memories of that horrific day in American history.

New York socialite/activist Marielle Bennett worked the primary election polls in the race for mayor at the Twenty-third Street Center for the Blind.  Word got out an airplane hit the World Trade Center.  Her son, John Paul, worked in the twin towers.  A police officer  drove her downtown to search for her son.  Marielle, was hit with falling debris.  The story flashed back to a September thiry years before when Marielle was in love with a man, Ghani Irabi.

The characters were mixed in with real events.  This made them seem like real people.  The book showed how a lot of people were forever changed on the worst terrorist attack on American soil.

 

Joyce Carol Oates' Rape A Love Story, was recently published in paperback.  Not once was I disappointed reading this book.

Thirty-five year old Martine Teena Maguire and her twelve year old daughter Bethel, were chased through a park after a 4th of July celebration.  While Bethel escaped, Martine was gang raped and left to die in a boathouse.  Through Bethel, you get to see what a child feels watching their parent survive a vicious attack.

Besides the characters, the writing was a tremendous plus.  Oates' did a lot of research of what a rape victim goes through.  This is a story of a mother and daughter surviving the unthinkable and beating the odds.

As an 80's fan of such heavy metal bands like Ratt and Dokken, I always wanted to know what went on behind the scenes.  David Konow's book Bang Your Head The Rise And Fall Of Heavy Metal did just that.

The book opened up with an introduction.  Konow and his father walked down Hollywood Boulevard, when he was just a kid.  A carload of teenagers drove by blasting heavy metal.  This was Konow's first taste of that type of music.

Heavy metal music originated from England in the late 1960's with bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin forming.  These bands influenced a lot of other musicians later to come.

At first I wasn't happy how David Konow approached writing this book.  While I read this book, I began to realize he wrote it from the music business point of view. 

The most interesting story that held Bang Your Head together was the Van Halen story.  Singer David Lee Roth came from a wealthy family in Indiana.  Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth never got along.  Roth, was jealous of Van Halen.  Eddie, had everything including a pretty wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli.  Roth, was fired in 1985 because he wanted to do a solo record.  Sammy Hagar, replaced David Lee Roth.  In 1996 Hagar, was fired from the band for the same reason Roth was fired years earlier.  It was ridiculous.  They should be able to do a solo record, just as long as it doesn't interfere with band commitments.

Van Halen tried to reunite with David Lee Roth after he sang two songs for a Van Halen greatest hits CD.  In September 1996, the reunion failed when Van Halen went on the MTV Video Music Awards.

Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth, had a disagreement.  Roth, wanted to talk to the press about Eddie's hip replacement surgery.  Needless to say, Eddie was furious.  He and Roth ended up in a fight.  Soon after, Roth was out of the band again.  Ex-Extreme singer, Gary Cherone, was hired.  The band recorded Van Halen 3.  Both the album and tour tanked.

While jealousy could destroy some bands, drugs and drinking could destroy others.  Bands like Metallica, Guns N' Roses, and Motley Crue have all been through it.  The bad boys of rock and roll, Motley Crue, formed in the early 1980's.  Drugs were a big problem.  In 1987 Nikki Sixx died from a drug overdose.  He was revived by paramedics.  On December 8th 1984 Vince Neil and Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley went out on a beer run.  Neil's blood alcohol level was .017 twice the legal limit.  Neil's car swerved into an oncoming car.  The driver of the other car suffered permanent brain damage.  Neil's passenger Dingley died.  Vince Neil spent very little time in jail-30 days to be exact.  This goes to show if you are rich and famous you can get away with anything.

The book went on to talk about the '90s and a new sound from Seattle called Grunge. Bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam came out.  Heavy metal music was fading out.  A lot of musicians were afraid of losing their audience and their popularity.

What I have learned, is it's hard to be a musician.  You have a lot of responsibilities and pressure on you.  After reading Bang Your Head, I never want to be in a band.

 

Alice Hoffman's Local Girls, is based on the Samuelson family, of the fictional Long Island town of Franconia.

Twelve year old main character Gretel Samuelson learns life can be very hard.  After the break up of her parents marriage, her mother, Frances, is diagnosed with cancer.  Frances' cousin, Margot, moves in to help Frances take care of Gretel and her older brother, Jason.  As time goes by, the three of them helplessly watch Jason's life spiral downwards into the world of drugs.

Hoffman, wrote this book straight from the heart.  Her characters show courage despite a families' misfortune.

 

 

Ladies, have you ever been out on a date with a man, where you thought the two of you just "clicked" only to realize he never called you again?  Did your boyfriend, pull a disappearing act, instead of breaking up with you?  He's Just Not That Into You The No-Excuses Truth To Understanding Guys, is the book for you.

Co-authors Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo worked together on HBO's Sex And The City.  Behrendt, was a consultant and Tuccillo worked as a story editor on the hit television series.  One day, while they were at a meeting, a woman they worked with talked about a man she liked.  The woman got confused by his mixed signals.  Behrendt told her, 'He's just not that into you.'  People at the meeting were shocked.  This was how the book was conceived.

What kept my interest in reading this book, was how both Behrendt and Tuccillo taught women signs to look out for when a man isn't interested in them.

Single women everywhere should read this book.

 

The world came to know Amy Fisher, a then young 17- year -old also known as The Long Island Lolita, who shot her lover Joey Buttafuocos' wife, Mary Jo, in the head.  Mary Jo, survived the May 1992 attack.  Fisher, recently published her autobiography If I Knew Then...

Before I read this book, I didn't know what to expect.  Was I  going to be reading a book full of lies and half truths?  The answer remained to be seen.

To my surprise, the autobiography turned out to be interesting reading material.  Since her 1999 prison release, Fisher turned her life around.  Now at age 30, a newspaper columnist for The Long Island Press, married with a child and another baby on the way, Fisher, reflects on the past and where she is today.

Amy Fisher, first thought of writing a book for parents to spot signs of trouble in their teenagers.  That thought soon changed.  Since her column first appeared in The Long Island Press, Fisher received mail from people everywhere wanting to know about her relationship with Joey, doing time in prison, etc.  This book has a little bit of everything mixed in.

Growing up in Merrick Long Island, Fisher, wrote that her parents Elliott and Rose Fisher let her have too much freedom.  Whenever she did something bad like fail a class, her parents never punished her.  Amys' parents should have kept a tighter leash on her.  She would have never ended up in such a mess later on.

Since her parents were never around, Amy, decided to put her trust in adults who would later let her down. Joey Buttafuoco, a man old enough to be her father, would do just that.  They met at his family owned business, Complete Auto Body.  Buttafuoco, was a mechanic.  Shortly after, their affair began.

Joey, often talked to Amy about having her kill Mary Jo with a gun.  Amy, knew this wasn't right.  Even though Amy was 16-17 -years -old, she should have known not to get involved with a married man.  Buttafuoco, should have also kept his hands off a minor.  To this day, Buttafuoco, has never fully admitted to having an affair with Amy.  As for Amy, she only served half her sentence.  Originally, Judge Marvin Goodman sentenced her five to fifteen years in prison for the assault on Mary Jo.  She only served seven years.  Buttafuoco, was later charged with statutory rape.  He only served six months in jail.

Prison life was not glamourous.   The prison guards were horrible to Amy Fisher by raping and torturing her.  Amy, is lucky Mary Jo didn't die.  She would have never gotten out of prison.  Plus, if Mary Jo wasn't so forgiving, Amy would still be serving her sentence.

After being released from prison, Amy changed her name.  She went from job to job, only to be fired for looking like 'Amy Fisher.' Amy, made the decision to get plastic surgery.

Happier times came for Fisher.  She met a guy, Lou, on the Internet.  They had a son, Brett, and got married last year.

Warning Signs, is a chapter where Fisher, gives advice to parents to watch for signs their teenagers are heading for trouble to avoid this happening to someone else.

The real victim in The Long Island Lolita saga is Mary Jo Buttafuoco.  Everyday for the rest of her life, she has to live with a bullet in her head- a sad constant reminder that someone stupid and selfish tried to end her life. Over the years, Mary Jo's life has gotten better by first divorcing Joey.  Now, she's engaged to another man and deserves a lot of happiness.

 

 

Millions of elderly people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease every year.

Letters For Emily, is the story of  Harry Whitney, a man who died from Alzheimer's disease.  After Harry's death, his son Bob, and wife Laura went through his belongings.  They discovered letters and poems he compiled in a book, for their seven year old daughter, Emily, with whom he was very close to.

The best part of this story, was how author Camron Wright mixed in real events with fictional characters.  His grandfather Harry S. Wright had the same disease.  He also, left behind a book of poems for his children and grandchildren to forever cherish.  This is one book not to be missed out on.

On January 16th, 2004 the book industry was shocked by the unexpected death of Olivia Goldsmith best known author of The First Wives Club and most recently Dumping Billy.  Goldsmith, 54, died of complications from plastic surgery.

In Goldsmith's latest novel, Kate Jameson is a school psychologist.  Kates' best friend, Bina Horowitz's engagement to her boyfriend, Jack, is broken off.  Bina, will do just about anything to get him back-even if it means dating Billy Nolan aka Dumping Billy.  Kate, gets Billy to date Bina.  Every woman Billy dates and dumps goes onto marry the next  man she meets.

Through the years as I read all of Olivia Goldsmith's novels, I was entertained with laughter.  Her novels were written with humor and style.  Dumping Billy, was no different.  As Goldsmith's biggest fan, I will miss her writing.  This is her second to last novel.  Olivia Goldsmith novels will live on in the hearts of her fans.

Most recently, I read Riding With The Queen,' by Jennie Shortridge.

Tallie Beck, was a thirty-four year old would be rockstar.  After being kicked out of a band, Tallie, moved back home to Denver after a seventeen year absence.

With no money in her pocket and no place to live, Tallie, had to get a job at a bar, Sing Out! as a performer.  First, Tallie, moved in with her younger sister, Jane.  After Tallie came home drunk one night, Jane kicked her out.  She moved in with her mentally ill mother, Lee.

Jennie Shortridge showed  what it is like to be a struggling musician.  Her writing was sharp with an emotional edge.

 

Welcome to the world of  eight year old Kate Cooper, main character in Martha McPhee's 'Bright Angel Time.'  Kate and her two older sisters Jane and Julie, learn to adapt to life traveling across  the country with their recently divorced mother, Eve.  She goes to search for her boyfriend, Anton Furey, a spiritual priest.  Once they meet up, they blend their two families together and go on a spiritual journey.  While on their journey, the kids don't attend school.  During this time, Kate, turns religious.

For me this story didn't hold up well.  It was too spiritual for me.

 

The most recent book I reviewed was Sharon Wyse's The Box Children.

Twelve year old Lou Ann Campbell and her family are poor Texas farmers.  In the summer of 1960, Lou Ann, starts a diary she must keep away from her crazy mother, Loretta, older brother, Will, and father, Bill.  In the diary, she writes about events that have affected her.

Author Sharon Wyse, is a native Texan and the daughter of two farmers.  Much of her life reflected on the character of Lou Ann.  When an author develops a character who has a  background similar to their own, it helps not only  the character to grow, but, the story to grow as well.  This is a really good writing craft for a first time author.  Oprah Winfrey should  pick The Box Children as her next bookclub selection.  This would be the perfect book, Oprah should share with her television viewers.

Summertime is here and what a perfect way to start off this months book review of The Last Summer by John Hough Jr.

It's the summer of 1968.  America, is in the Vietnam War.  Bobby Kennedy, is shot to death while campaigning.  Claire Malek, is a single thirty-seven year old mother who quits her secretarial job.  Claire and her teenage daughter, April, move to Cape Cod.  Claire, gets a job as a newspaper reporter for the Covenant.  At the newspaper, she meets fellow reporter twenty-two year old Lane Hillman.  They quickly fall in love.

What I liked best about The Last Summer, was how Hough mixed in real events with fictional characters.  He kept the book at an even pace.  This wasn't one of those mushy overdone romance novels.

 

The most recent book I read was Open House by Elizabeth Berg.

The story was about forty-two year old Samantha Morrow.  After twenty years of marriage her husband, David, walked out on her and their 11 year old son, Travis.  In order to keep living in her house, Samantha, had to take in boarders to make the mortgage payments.

The best part about Samantha, was that Berg didn't make the character feel sorry for herself.  In my eyes, the character of Samantha seemed like a strong woman determined to make it on her own.

This is the type of book recommended for someone going through  a marriage separation.

 

 

 

Romance novels aren't normally my cup of tea.  Most of them are too corny.  Barbara Taylor Bradford's 'The Women In His Life,' stood out differently from the rest.

Maximilian West, a billionaire tycoon was away on a business trip in London when his life became lonely for him.  He flew back home to New York to make amends with his oldest daughter, Alix, with whom he had a falling out.  While he stayed at his summer house in East Hampton, Maximilian, got shot by an intruder.  From there, the novel went back in time with the women who loved and cared for Maximilian.  Two of my favorite characters were:  Theodora, Maximilian's  nanny. She became his guardian after his parents were killed by Nazi's.  Anastasia, Maximilian's first wife and the mother of his two children.  Anastasia and Maximilian never stopped loving each other  even after their divorce.  I believe these two women helped shape Maximilian's life.

What kept the book at a smooth pace and interesting were the time changes from the war with Germany, to John F. Kennedy being shot to death, to the Berlin Wall being knocked down.  I liked how Bradford mixed in these characters with real events that happened.  This is a job well done.

 

 

Connie May Fowler, is best known for her novels such as Sugarcane and Before Women Had Wings.  What many of her fans didn't know, was her struggle for survival.

In her memoir When Katie Wakes, Fowler wrote about suffering abuse both as a child and later as an adult.  While in her late twenties, Connie, lived with an abusive boyfriend who beat her on a daily basis.  That was until the day, she adopted a beautiful black Laborador Retriever she named Kateland, who helped Connie change her life around for the better.

The parts I liked best about the book were the flashbacks to Fowler's childhood.  It helped me better understand why she stayed with her abuser.

Personally, I applaud Connie May Fowler, for sharing her personal story of hope and survival.

 

 

People both on the Barnes & Noble and Borders websites, have been making out 'My Life In Heavy Metal,' by Steve Almond like it's the greatest book they ever read.  Let me give you a different view: this book wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Almond, wrote twelve short stories of people who were in love or were in relationships.  The biggest disappointment were the characters.  They weren't fully developed.  Some of the main characters who narrated the stories didn't even have names.  When characters aren't fully developed, the reader gets confused and makes the story ten times harder to follow. 

In my personal opinion, this book should never have been published.

 

Every woman has her own story to tell and ‘Personal Velocity,’ isn’t any different.  Author Rebecca Miller, brought to life seven fictional women each with their own unique stories.

All seven short stories were good.  Three of those stories in the book really stood out to me.  The first one, is the story of  Greta Herskovitz, a married book editor who has an affair with a popular author.  Next, is the story of Delia Shunt, a woman who is married to an abusive husband.  Third, is the story of Paula Friedrich, a young pregnant woman who picks up a hitchhiker on the road. 

Rebecca Miller, should be applauded for making these characters into real people.  She wrote  from the heart with style.  Each one of her characters speak for women everywhere.

 

After seeing the movie The Shipping News, I decided to buy the book.  I thoughtthe book, would be just as intriguing as the movie.  Meet Quoyle, a 36 year old newspaper reporter.  After losing his wife in a car wreck, Quoyle moves his family to Newfoundland to rebuild his life. The biggest disappointment about Annie Proulx’s book, was she didn’t develop the story well.  The  movie was much more developed and very detailed. I highly recommend renting out the movie, rather than reading the book.

 

 

First, let me start off by saying that Ratt put on a great at The Crazy Donkey 11-19-03. They sang songs like Insane, Shame, Shame, Shame, You're In Love, Over The Edge, Round N' Round, etc. I stood right in front of guitarist Warren DeMartini. We smiled at each other. At the end of their set, I stuck out my hands for Warren to shake. Instead, he put his snakeskin guitar in my hands. I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. My sister, Jen, who also came to the show with me, couldn't believe it either. Some people said I should have run off with the guitar. Being the honest and good hearted person I am, I gave the guitar back to Warren's guitar tech.
As my sister, and I were leaving the club, it was pouring rain. While we were walking to my sister's car, I saw two guys standing outside the tour bus, they were talking to Warren. My sister yelled to him "this is  the girl that gave you back your guitar"- And he waved me over!!!
Warren, actually invited me on the tour bus. I didn't want to stay long, because, I knew they had to get going to their next gig. The first thing right out of my mouth to Warren was 'I was in shock, when you handed me your guitar.' I was laughing too. Warren, handed me a guitar pick.  My sister, who was standing outside in the pouring rain took a picture of Warren and I. This is the third time I met Warren.

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