(3) High On Arrival By Mackenzie Phillips Read 7/10/16 This is the autobiography of child TV star Mackenzie Phillips. She is daughter of rock start John Phillips of Mamas and the Papas and such had a wild childhood filled with heavy drug use and almost no parental guidance. No surprise as an adult her life spiraled out of control filled with drugs, failed relationships and getting fired from lucrative jobs. The book is terribly disturbing and highlights the idea the money does not bring happiness. In the end she is clean, but you wonder what toll this life style has taken on her body.

(2) Sugarbabe By Holly Hill Read April 7, 2016 Story of a therapist who met a very wealthy married man and started an affair with him. At his urging she quit her job, this went find until his wife found out and he broke off their relationship... and along with it all her financial support. Left with out a job and a mortgage to pay she decided to look for a sugar daddy who would pay her bills in exchange for sex.. the girlfriend experience. The book is about her quest to find this person. She tries out a few people and has reservations about each one, and had problems finding someone who wants to do this long term. In the middle of this she spends a lot of time exploring her feelings on this, and what marriage and monogamy means to society. Her journals of this adventure became the book. The book was fair, it was a lot of self exploration and a lot of detail about how she dressed and what food she bought for her dates.

(1) Tutankhamun The Book of Shadows By Nick Drake Read March 20, 2016 This is a mystery set in ancient Egypt. There are several brutal murders and it seems it may be a plot to destabilize the current King Tutankamum. The investigator works the case and also works with the royal family. Not a bad novel, a lot of detail of ancient times, and seems historicaly accurate from what I have read about this era. I would give this a 7.5/10

The Switch (5)

The Switch, by Elmore Leonard Read: 4/13/15 Was on vacation and laying on the beach, seemed like a great time to read a Leonard novel. Story is set in Detroit in the late 70's and some of the styles and habits are amusing. Bright suits, lots of drinking and smoking... ah the good ole days - lol. The story is of Mickey who is married to Frank Dawson, successful businessman, she has a nice house in the suburbs, membership to the club, money.. yet she is not happy with her life, or her marriage. As she struggles with her unhappiness and why she doesn't express it better to her husband, she is kidnapped by Ordell and Louis. They have the inside information that Frank has a racket going downtown restoring apartment buildings using stolen materials and then renting them to pimps for cash and putting half of it in a private account in Freeport. Mickey is oblivious to all of this... and also that Frank is there with his mistress... or right before he left he had filed for divorce. So his wife he is trying to divorce is kidnapped, and if he doesn't pay $1 million dollars he will never see her again. Huh... what to do... Like many Elmore Leonard stories that is a twist a the end. You get more wrapped up in the characters than the actual outcome.

Playground (4)

Playground: A Childhood Lost Inside The Playboy Mansion By: Jennifer Saginor Read: March 18, 2015 The story starts with the author is 6, her parents have divorced and she is with her father. Dad is a doctor in Beverly Hills, know as Dr Feelgood. He is good friends with Hugh Hefner and spends a great deal of time at the Playboy Mansion where he has his own room. While dad is playing backgammon with Hef, Jennifer is free to run around, feel monkeys, play in the pool, order room service and play video games. She thinks it is the ideal life. However she is also exposed to naked women, couples having sex, rampant drug use. But perhaps worst of all is her fathers attitude toward women in general and his great anger at his ex-wife. She and her younger sister spend their young years playing at the Mansion but are sworn to secrecy not to tell their mother. She eventually finds out and the parents enter into a bitter custody battle which is shocking in their anger toward each other and their utter disregard for their children. The kids become just a prize to claim in the battle. Eventually when she is about 13 Jennifer moves in with her father, she does this after an argument with her mother. This sets off a chain of events that will forever impact her life. With her father out partying all the time she is left alone at home. No parents, separated from her sister, her sadness lead to an out of control life, lots of drugs, out all night partying lovers... all this before she can legally drive a car. As time goes on Dad becomes more and more out of control. Vicky a 19 year heroin addict who had ties to a Columbian drug lord. As Dad descends into heroin addition he becomes more and more paranoid collecting guns, security and generally scarring the hell out of her daughter who feels trapped. Unable to return to her mother who tells her 'you should have thought about that when you moved out' and a father that gives his 17 year old a loaded hand guns with instructions to sleep with it. There really is no conclusion to the book, the author is now in her 40's and talks about how she is estranged from her mother and sister and the lasting scars her childhood left on her life. She does this in a matter of fact way rather than trying to generate sympathy. An interesting book but deeply disturbing that parents could be this reckless with their children.

Dirty Sexy Politics (3)

Dirty Sexy Politics By: Meghan McCain Read: March 15, 2015 Meghan is the daughter of Senator John McCain of AZ, who ran for President in 2008. Meghan had just graduated from college and joined the campaign. She was not an official staff member, but blogged about the campaign instead, which was still a new idea at the time, especially for the Republicans. The book is less about politics and more about what Megan went through emotionally on the campaign. Dealing with the handlers, denied access, constantly being told she was making mistakes that would cost them the campaign. In the beginning of the book she talks about how the Republican party has changed from a party of hands off government and personal freedom to a tool of the far Right. Too concerned about gay marriage and image than about the real issues. This of course is a big turn off for the younger generation which Meghan represents. This echos a sentiment I have long held. I voted in my first Presidential election in 1984 and had always thought of myself as a Republican. In the past several elections they have continuously disappointed me in their choice of candidates and the issues they promote. I increasingly have nothing in common with their platform. Overall it was an interesting book and a worthwhile read. It is a different take on how politics impacts the families of the candidates.

Crime Partners (2)

Crime Partners By: Donald Goines Read 3/11/15 Donald Goines was a Black writer born in Detroit. His novels are all gritty stories of life on the street, drugs, pimps, guns, murder. This book is no exception, follows 2 stickup men as they try to make the big score. Along the way they hook up with a man named Kenyatta who is trying to clean up the streets by killing off drug dealers and racist cops. They are not dedicated to the cause, but like the money involved. Also loosely follows two cops that are trying to solve the murders. Like most of his books this is a quick read, but enjoyable. His style reminds me of Elmore Leonard, lots of street slang, and it is more about the characters than the end result of the story. This was actually the first of four Kenyatta novels. Turns out Goines wrote more books that I realized in his short life. Goines personal life seems to rival his novels, and he was murdered at age 37). Going to try to find some more of his books, although they seem to be hard to comes across.

Getting My Pretty Back (--)

Getting My Pretty Back By: Molly Ringwald Not finished Fresh off finishing Maureen McCormick's book I picked up Molly Ringwald's book which I have had since last summer when I received it from Paper Back Swap. The book had looked interesting, written when she turned 40, and reflecting on a teen star entering middle age. What it turned out to be was fashion and lifestyle advice for the 40 something woman who is trying to regain vitality in her life. I read about 50 pages (which was quick because there are LOTS of drawings, pictures and quotes). Deciding I really didn't need a cheese fondue recipe or advice on the types of jeans to buy or how to tie a scarf I gave up on this book. Life is too short, and I have SO many books to read. Beside I already get GQ which seems to have good style advice aimed more at me.

Here's the Story (1)

Here's the Story By: Maureen McCormick Read: March 8, 2015 I read an article about Maureen McCormick who played Marcia Brady on TV. Picked up the book through PaperBack Swap It was a quick read and a fairly interesting story. After the TV show ended when she was about 18, she got heavily into drugs which seemed to rule her life for many years, and seemed to have costed her a number of opportunities in her career. She stumbled along and eventually during one of the Brady reunion shows she got some help which began her long road of recovery. Through a co-star in the show she was introduced to a church which became influential in her recovery by providing the support structure she did not otherwise have in her life. Here she met her husband, but their life was filled with turmoil. While clean Maureen was prone to paralysing self-doubt which would lead to bursts of anger usually directed at her husband, who evidently is a Saint. Seems he stayed by her through this turmoil when most people would have thrown in the towel and walked away. In time she was diagnosed with depression and was treated for it and for the first time in her life she felt better. She still had lots to face in her life, but she had renewed direction. She repaired relationships with her mother and became a happier person. The last portion of the book mainly concerns her family, which was always somewhat disjointed. Her oldest brother was always very successful. She has another brother with intellectual handicap, the other brother spent his whole life drifting, doing drugs and getting in and out of trouble, and in his late 40's was still largely being supported by his parents. As the parents age and the mother is diagnosed with cancer the parents move in with this son. He became very controlling and had undue influence over his parents much to the dismay of the rest of the family. An interesting read, overall a very sad story. It is nice that she is doing better now, but you can't help but feel loss for all the years that she was mired in anger and depression.

Flameout: The Rise and Fall of Burger Chef

Flameout: The Rise and Fall of Burger Chef by: by John P. McDonald Read: November 2014 I sorta remember Burger Chef from my young childhood. I remember poking around on the Internet a few years ago reading about the chain, but the spot on Mad Men really rekindled by interest in it. Found this book on the history of the chain, and I bought a Amazon Fire in the fall, and this book was available to read for free! It follows the story from the founders, who were basically engineers who had made various equipment for the restaurant industry. The Burger Chef idea was originally a way for the company to sell more equipment by providing a turn key business that people could take advantage of the hamburger craze of the 50's and on. They grew to become the second largest chain behind McDonald's and were within a breath of becoming #1 but the size of the organization hit its limits. Due to the way they had structured the franchises the company was having problems getting access to capital. They sold to General Foods who spent years tinkering with the successful model, alienating the franchise owners and they eventually fell behind the other chains and died out.

A Model Summer (8)

A Model Summer
By Paulina Porizkova
read 6/18/11


Written by a former model as fiction, but may be semi-autobiographical. Follows a 15 yr old girl who is sent to France for the summer to model. She has little direction or supervision and is painfully insecure. She stumbles along without any help trying to figure out what she is expected to do... along the way she learns some lessons about life sex love people and relationships.

The Signal (7)

The Signal
by Ron Carlson
read 5/29/11

Story about a guy fly fishing with his ex-wife in Wyoming. Gets into the back story about how they met and why they broke up, inter mixed with some other story teasers. The story was ok... had trouble figuring out where it was going at times. The imagery was cool as they hike through the wilderness.

A Charmed Life (6)

A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle
By Liza Campbell
Read 5/15/11

When she was a young girl her Grandfather died and her father inherited a title and a Cawdor castle in Scotland as his birthright. So the family moves to the castle and dad proceeds to spend lavish amounts of money and cars and parties, he can be extremely mean to his wife and family. Makes a series of bad business decisions while drinking more and more. Eventually the wife leaves and he remarries, after he dies the estate becomes a mess and more facts about his life come to light.

Enjoyable read, but heavy on British history....

Street Players (5)

Street Players
Donald Goines
Read May 8, 2011

Two books in 2 days :) According to the cover Donald Goins is the greatest ghetto writer that ever lived. This is a tale of several pimps in Detroit focusing on Earl and his struggles with his girls, his ups and down, fortune and failure.
Interesting in the late 60's genere.

Three Stations (4)

Three Stations
Martin Cruz Smith
Read May 7, 2011

I love the Arkady Renko novels, I read my first on in 1981 in High School and have enjoyed each one since. This is the latest in the series, Renko still in Moscow, still in trouble with his bosses... and still trying to solve crimes that nobody wants him to look into. This book spends a lot of time with Zhenya the boy who Renko has met in previous books. He is living at Kosomol Square a notorious railway station know locally as Three Stations, he meets a young girl who has had her baby stolen and is trying to help her while Renko investigates an OD of a prostitute.
Another excellent book, I read it in a day and wished it would not end so soon!

Whoreson (3)

Whoreson
By Donald Goines
Read 4/24/11

Donald Goines was a Michigan writer of some note before being killed in 1974. He wrote about the black urban experience. This book starts in the 40's with a baby born to a prostitute and follow him as he grows up in the slums of Detroit and quickly learns the game, running prostitutes and scams so he can lead the easy life. The book is an interesting look a the ghettos of the 1950s and how the man would do anything to get to the ends.. with no regard to the people he crushed on his way.
Highly recommended, I will have to pick up some of his other novels!

The Lost Symbol (2)

The Lost Symbol
By Dan Brown
Finished 4/23/11

This is the latest Dan Brown thriller, and the plot is wound around Freemasonry, and set in Washington DC. Surprisingly I didnt find the part about Masonry that interesting, but there was some great stuff about DC.
I have this love hate relationship with Dan Brown.. his books read like a made for TV movie... they keep leading up to cliff hangers then focus on another character. This is annoying, however he has the wonderful way of slowing revealing information and back story that is very clever.
This was a worthwhile and enjoyable read.

Cubra Libre (1)

Cubra Libre
Elmore Leonard
finished 3/31/11

My reading has become nearly non-existant, but I will see what I can do to turn this around. I started reading this book last fall and stopped. I picked it up again this winter and started from the beginning... then fell off... and read about 1/2 of it this week. Honestly this is not one of Leonards best. It is set in late 1800's in Cuba and revolves around a horse trader who gets thrown in jail... involved in a plan that involves a pretty girl from New Orleans and $40,000 in cash... all set against the back drop of the looming Spanish American war. I kept getting lost in the characters and the causes... at least I got through it!

Life Before Man (4)

Life Before Man
Margaret Atwood
Read Sept 5, 2010

I really enjoy Margaret Atwood books... they are hard to catagorize, but always very interesting. This one written in 1979 revolves around a couple Nate & Elizabeth. Elizabeth is in a deep depression as her lover Chris has just committed suicide. From here we delve deeper into their lives, their childhood and in time Nate develops a relationship with Lesje a co-worker of Elizabeth's.
The story is not so much about what happens is it is about learning about the characters and what drives them, what motivates them to go on.

Catcher In The Rye (3)

Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
Read 8/25/10

I have not been reading much and came across an article on an entertainment site that listed the best opening lines from books... and this was one of them, so I got a copy of it and read it. This is suppose to be a banned book, although from todays perspective there is not much offensive in it... perhaps that was different in the late 40s when it was written.
It is basically the story of a person who is going insane.. it is told after the fact, but that isnt always obvious. The person becomes more and more detached from everything around him and his life, tormented by the death of his younger brother and his inability to do well in school and please his parents he eventually goes off the rails.