Frida Kahlo by Maria Hesse

Title: Frida Kahlo: An Illustrated Life

Author: Maria Hesse Translator: Achy Obejas

Publisher: University of Texas Press 2018

Genre: Graphic Novel Memoir

Pages: 152

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

One of the most important artists of the twentieth century and an icon of courageous womanhood, Frida Kahlo lives on in the public imagination, where her popularity shows no signs of waning. She is renowned for both her paintings and her personal story, which were equally filled with pain and anguish, celebration and life. Thousands of words, including her own, have been written about Kahlo, but only one previous biography has recorded her fascinating, difficult life. Frida Kahlo by María Hesse offers a highly unique way of getting to know the artist by presenting her life in graphic novel form, with striking illustrations that reimagine many of Kahlo’s famous paintings.

Originally published in Spanish in 2016, Frida Kahlo has already found an enthusiastic audience in the Spanish-speaking world, with some 20,000 copies sold in just a few months. This translation introduces English-language readers to Kahlo’s life, from her childhood and the traumatic accident that would change her life and her artwork, to her complicated love for Diego Rivera and the fierce determination that drove her to become a major artist in her own right. María Hesse tells the story in a first-person narrative, which captures both the depths of Frida’s suffering and her passion for art and life.

Such an incredibly beautiful book about Frida Kahlo’s life. I loved turning each page to see what painting Hesse was going to recreate or reinterpret. I loved the little snippets of diary entries and letters sprinkled through more straight-forward biographical information. I adored poring over each illustration. Truly a remarkable work honoring a remarkable woman.

Next up on the TBR pile:

I was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib

Title: I was Their American Dream

Author: Malaka Gharib

Publisher: Clarkson Potter 2019

Genre: Graphic Novel Memoir

Pages: 160

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Theme

I Was Their American Dream is at once a coming-of-age story and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid.

Malaka Gharib's triumphant graphic memoir brings to life her teenage antics and illuminates earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised. Malaka's story is a heartfelt tribute to the American immigrants who have invested their future in the promise of the American dream.

I picked this one up on recommendation from the local library. While I was engaged in the story of identity and culture, I couldn’t help but compare it to other books and specifically graphic novel memoirs I have read. I kept being reminded of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. That volume really gutted me. This one felt a little too comedic to have the impact that I thought it should have. I wanted a bit more gravity to the story than I actually got. Beyond the comparisons, this was a interesting volume, just not quite something I would love.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Title: Brown Girl Dreaming

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books 2014

Genre: Middle Grade

Pages: 368

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Theme - February

Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

I’ve seen this book on so many Best Of lists and it won so many awards. it’s been on my To Read list for years and I finally got around to reading this one. I’m not usually one for books in verse, but this one really struck me. I loved turning every page to find out more about Woodson’s life. I loved the little snippets of memories and stories. I loved the imagery she evokes on every page. The constant callbacks to her family and ancestors were beautiful. This was such a great book. I would love to see this on required reading lists for middle schoolers. Perfect age to dive in to discussions.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl

Title: Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir

Author: Ruth Reichl

Publisher: Random House 2019

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 269

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

When Condé Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America’s oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone’s boss. Yet Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no?

This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat. Readers will meet legendary chefs like David Chang and Eric Ripert, idiosyncratic writers like David Foster Wallace, and a colorful group of editors and art directors who, under Reichl’s leadership, transformed stately Gourmet into a cutting-edge publication. This was the golden age of print media—the last spendthrift gasp before the Internet turned the magazine world upside down.

Another Anne Bogel Summer Reading List pick. I’m slowly working my way through the entire list for this summer and most of the picks have been enjoyable. I haven’t followed Reichl’s career, but I loved reading about her time at the editor of Gourmet magazine. I was fascinated by her transition of jobs and quick learning I never knew exactly what an editor-in-chief of a magazine did, and this book was a great lesson. However, my favorite parts were when she dove into food itself. Now that I’ve read this one, I feel like I need to read Reichl’s other works.

Next up on the TBR pile:

I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott

Title: I Miss You When I Blink

Author: Mary Laura Philpott

Publisher: Atria Books 2019

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 276

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Nonfiction Bingo - Self-help Title

Mary Laura Philpott thought she’d cracked the code: Always be right, and you’ll always be happy. 

But once she’d completed her life’s to-do list (job, spouse, house, babies—check!), she found that instead of feeling content and successful, she felt anxious. Lost. Stuck in a daily grind of overflowing calendars, grueling small talk, and sprawling traffic. She’d done everything “right,” but she felt all wrong. What’s the worse failure, she wondered: smiling and staying the course, or blowing it all up and running away? And are those the only options?

In this memoir-in-essays full of spot-on observations about home, work, and creative life, Philpott takes on the conflicting pressures of modern adulthood with wit and heart. She offers up her own stories to show that identity crises don’t happen just once or only at midlife; reassures us that small, recurring personal re-inventions are both normal and necessary; and advises that if you’re going to faint, you should get low to the ground first. Most of all, Philpott shows that when you stop feeling satisfied with your life, you don’t have to burn it all down and set off on a transcontinental hike (unless you want to, of course). You can call upon your many selves to figure out who you are, who you’re not, and where you belong. Who among us isn’t trying to do that?

A real mixed bag here. I just didn’t connect to Philpott or her life even though we share a lot of similarities in our lives. Most of the essays came off as “let me tell you how to live” instead of a more personal sharing of struggles. I felt like the author came across as very condescending at many points throughout. I just really couldn’t connect with Philpott and wanted her to stop telling me what to do. Just really didn’t connect at all to this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa

Title: A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape From North Korea

Author: Masaji Ishikawa

Publisher: Amazon Crossing 2018

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 172

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Motif - Governments; Modern Mrs. Darcy - Outside of My Genre Comfort Zone; Alphabet Soup - I

Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa was just thirteen years old, and unwittingly became members of the lowest social caste. His father, himself a Korean national, was lured to the new Communist country by promises of abundant work, education for his children, and a higher station in society. But the reality of their new life was far from utopian.

In this memoir translated from the original Japanese, Ishikawa candidly recounts his tumultuous upbringing and the brutal thirty-six years he spent living under a crushing totalitarian regime, as well as the challenges he faced repatriating to Japan after barely escaping North Korea with his life. A River in Darkness is not only a shocking portrait of life inside the country but a testament to the dignity—and indomitable nature—of the human spirit.

Very disappointed in this book. It was our Girly Book Club selection for March. I wasn’t expecting a fun and light read, but was really not in the mood for a super dark and depressing memoir. I struggled to find much light in the book. And most of the information about conditions in North Korea I have read about through news investigations. I felt very sorry for what the author went through to strived and ultimately get out of the situation, but I didn’t couldn’t connect to any in the book. And the writing style really bugged me. I understand that this one has been translated, but I just couldn’t move beyond the simplistic writing. I compare a book like this to Elie Wiesel’s work and really found it lacking. Definitely not for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman

Title: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

Author: Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman

Publisher: Dutton 2018

Genre: Nonfiction - Memoir

Pages: 288

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Love Libraries; Popsugar - Same Letter Name; Nonfiction Bingo - Essay Collection

The year: 2000. The setting: Los Angeles. A gorgeous virtuoso of an actress agreed to star in a random play, and a basement-dwelling scenic carpenter said he would assay a supporting role in the selfsame pageant. At the first rehearsal she surveyed her fellow cast members, determining if any of the men might qualify to provide her with a satisfying fling. Her gaze fell upon the carpenter, and like a bolt of lightning the thought struck her: no dice. Moving on.

I love these two so much, I had to read their joint memoir/essay collection. I really enjoyed the single essay sprinkled throughout the book. Very funny! The larger chapters with dialogue between the two were slightly less fun. It was the back and forth. I had to really pay attention to understand who was talking. Those portions would have been better in audio form. But I still really enjoyed learning more about them.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

Title: Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls

Author: Lauren Graham

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2016

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 224

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Goodreads Choice Award Winner

In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, “Did you, um, make it?” She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood (“Strangers were worried about me; that’s how long I was single!”), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway (“It’s like I had a fashion-induced blackout”).

I really really wanted to like this memoir. I enjoyed watching Lauren Graham on both Gilmore Girls and Parenthood. I was looking forward to hearing her fun stories about life in Hollywood. And yet, I just didn't really enjoy this one. I felt that the stories were very meandering. I just kept getting pulled back out of the narrative. Her references and silly asides seemed very dated already. I would hope that care would be taken when adding very time specific references and the ones chosen just weren't that great two years on. Pretty disappointed in this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

Title: Out of Africa

Author: Isak Dinesen

Publisher: 1937

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 399

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (Rory Gilmore); Popsugar - Male pseudonym; Share-a-Tea

With classic simplicity and a painter's feeling for atmosphere and detail, Isak Dinesen tells of the years she spent from 1914 to 1931 managing a coffee plantation in Kenya.

This one has been on my list for years, especially after I read Circling the Sun. I was a little thrown off by the nonlinear nature to this book, but quickly got over the format. The volume is part memoir, part travelogue. I really fell into the atmosphere of Kenya and Karen's life there. Passages of this book were incredibly beautiful. It took me a bit of time to get through this one only because I had to reread some of the descriptive passages. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Title: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

Author: Trevor Noah

Publisher: Spiegel and Grau 2016

Genre: Nonfiction Memoir

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (Nonfiction Adventure); Popsugar - Book by a person of color 

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

Such a powerful collection of stories. Noah has an amazing ability to tell a funny story and embed a serious conversation about a hard topic right there in the middle. His stories read a lot like Jenny Larson's from Let's Pretend This Never Happened. Her stories aren't about growing up under and after apratheid in South Africa, but they have a similar tone. I laughed along with his youthful misadventures. I marveled at his ability to move in and out of communities. I commiserated with this troubles at school. And then I was absolutely gutted by his frank discussions of racism and hate. Noah gives us an inside view of a tumultuous transition. I had to pause multiple times to place his own stories into a larger tragic context. Very good, but very powerful. And do not get me started on the final story about his mother. I was in tears reading it. I knew what was coming, but that didn't mean I was any more prepared for the story. An amazing read! And in a few days I get to discuss it with friends at book club. Hoping for a great conversation.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Buffering by Hannah Hart

Title: Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded

Author: Hannah Hart

Publisher: Day Street Books 2016

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 272

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Librarian Recommendation

By combing through the journals that Hannah has kept for much of her life, this collection of narrative essays deliver a fuller picture of her life, her experiences, and the things she’s figured out about family, faith, love, sexuality, self-worth, friendship and fame.

Revealing what makes Hannah tick, this sometimes cringe-worthy, poignant collection of stories is sure to deliver plenty of Hannah’s wit and wisdom, and hopefully encourage you to try your hand at her patented brand of reckless optimism.

Picked this up before Christmas from the librarian recommendation pile. Originally the ARC was offered as free book for Labor Day. I love watching Drunk Kitchen and was very interested in learning more about her personal life. After reading, I had to take a bit of time to digest everything. Hart unpacks a ton of hard topics within a very short book. I was floored by the amount of stuff she has had to deal with in her fairly short life. Somehow Hart injects a bit of humor into these sometimes dreary stories. I feel like this book is in the vein of Jenny Lawson's Let's Pretend This Never Happened. And I absolutely loved Lawson's book. I don't think Hart has quite the same self-depreciating humor, but she has a few great messages through this book. A very interesting read!

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Title: Bossypants

Author: Tina Fey

Publisher:Little, Brown and Company 2011

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 277

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Written by a comedian; 52 Books - W52; Perpetual (Feminism #33)

Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

A very enjoyable read for this Christmas holiday. I've been wanting to pick this one up for awhile and finally got it from the library. The first half the book focusing on her younger life was interesting,but I feel like the book really picked up once she started sharing stories and lessons from her professional life. The insights into the improv world, writing, and producing shined. I think I preferred Amy Poehler's book, but that may be because her humor is more like mine. I still loved Fey's lessons. I ended up reading this in three days. High praise as my reading time currently is limited.

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

Title: Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

Author: David Sedaris

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2013

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 275

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Recommended by a family member; 52 Books - W48

A guy walks into a bar car and...

From here the story could take many turns. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you with twists of humor and intelligence and leave you deeply moved.

Sedaris remembers his father's dinnertime attire (shirtsleeves and underpants), his first colonoscopy (remarkably pleasant), and the time he considered buying the skeleton of a murdered Pygmy.

Hmmm... So I really enjoyed Sedaris's other books, but this one fell a bit flat for me. The essays felt a bit tired of overdone. I couldn't really connect with his stories. I was very distracted while reading this one. I couldn't seem to focus.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Title: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Author: Cheryl Strayed

Publisher: Vintage Books 2013

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 342

Rating:  3/5 stars  Movie: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Oprah's Book Club; Book to Movie; 52 Books - W46

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

I wasn't initially jumping to read this book. I have memories of hating Eat, Pray, Love and thought this was going to be in the same vein. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but I don't think I'm the right person to love this book. I finished the book and had a neutral reaction. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. I just wasn't that into Cheryl's journey or even her. I just kept thinking "okay fine, you lost your mom and lost your way. But where were the great insights during your journey?" So not bad, but not good.

Movie: 

I liked the movie a little more than I liked the book. I felt that the Cheryl in the movie was a bit more relatable. But the big plus of the movie is the visuals of the settings. Such gorgeous cinematography. Just for that, I had to add a start from my rating for the book.

An Innocent, A Broad by Ann Leary

Title: An Innocent, A Broad

Author: Ann Leary

Publisher: William Morrow 2004

Genre: Nonfiction - Memoir

Pages: 244

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction; Popsugar - Autobiography; Perpetual (NonAd)

When Ann Leary and her husband, then unknown actor-comedian Denis Leary, flew to London in the early nineties for a brief getaway during Ann's second trimester of pregnancy, neither anticipated the adventure that was in store for them. The morning after their arrival, Ann's water broke as they strolled through London's streets. A week later their son, Jack, was born weighing only two pounds, six ounces, and it would be five long months before mother and son could return to the States.

In the meantime, Ann became an unwitting yet grateful hostage to Britain's National Health Service -- a stranger in a strange land plunged abruptly into a world of breast pumps and midwives, blood oxygen levels, mad cow disease, and poll tax riots. Desperately worried about the health of her baby, Ann struggled to adapt to motherhood and make sense of a very different culture. At once an intimate family memoir, a lively travelogue, and a touching love story, An Innocent, a Broad is utterly engaging and unforgettable.

Our book club selection for August and I'm just not that impressed. This memoir of early motherhood in a different country until hard circumstances just didn't pull my heartstrings that much. The focus on the neonatal unit wasn't that interesting. The focus on life in a foreign city was more interesting, but was too infrequent for me to really be excited. Overall I read this, but I'm afraid it's just not for me.

Dear Mr. You by Mary-Louise Parker

Title: Dear Mr. You

Author: Mary-Louise Parker

Publisher: Scribner 2015

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 240

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NonAd); Nonfiction

An extraordinary literary work, Dear Mr. You renders the singular arc of a woman’s life through letters Mary-Louise Parker composes to the men, real and hypothetical, who have informed the person she is today. Beginning with the grandfather she never knew, the letters range from a missive to the beloved priest from her childhood to remembrances of former lovers to an homage to a firefighter she encountered to a heartfelt communication with the uncle of the infant daughter she adopted. Readers will be amazed by the depth and style of these letters, which reveal the complexity and power to be found in relationships both loving and fraught.

Our book club selection for April (yeah I finished it early). And I must say that I wasn't a huge fan at all. I just couldn't get behind her style of writing. Some of the essays were very intriguing, but others fell flat for me. I really enjoyed the one about her grandfather. Very moving. I just don't think this book was for me...

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr

Title: Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World

Author: Anthony Doerr

Publisher: Scribner 2007

Genre: Travel memoir

Pages: 210

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NonAd); Nonfiction

Exquisitely observed, Four Seasons in Rome describes Doerr's varied adventures in one of the most enchanting cities in the world. He reads Pliny, Dante, and Keats -- the chroniclers of Rome who came before him—and visits the piazzas, temples, and ancient cisterns they describe. He attends the vigil of a dying Pope John Paul II and takes his twins to the Pantheon in December to wait for snow to fall through the oculus. He and his family are embraced by the butchers, grocers, and bakers of the neighborhood, whose clamor of stories and idiosyncratic child-rearing advice is as compelling as the city itself.

I listen to a podcast called What Should I Read Next? This was a recommended read a few weeks back. I loved Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See so I was intrigued about his travel memoir based on part of the time that he wrote the novel. This slim volume is a love letter to Rome punctuated by musings of parenthood and insomnia. I loved getting to know Doerr and his family. I especially loved his descriptions of the fountains of Rome. Overall, I really enjoyed this memoir. It made me want to travel to Rome immediately.

Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

Title: Yes, Please

Author: Amy Poehler

Publisher: Dey Street Books 2014

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Pages: 352

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure; Feminism; TBR Reduction; Ebook; 52 Books - W13

Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous, Yes Please is full of words to live by.

Oh yes! This was a great memoir to read. I loved watching Amy Poehler on SNL and Parks and Rec. I had to eventually read this novel. Actually this is our book club selection for April. I can't wait to discuss in a few weeks. But first, my thoughts:

This is not a typically structured memoir. We don't get a chronological account of her life and accomplishments. Instead we get a series of vignettes from her life and some essays of life lessons. I liked the mix of life stories and advice. I wouldn't say to shelf this in the self-help section, but Poehler definitely has some great life advice. Plus it's just funny. I love her sense of humor and loved reading her funny stories and observations. I also appreciate that she didn't get too nitty-gritty dirty details from her life. I don't really need to read all about her divorce about Will Arnett. I respect Poehler's decision to keep that chapter of her life private. Overall the book felt real to me. I now feel like I have a better understanding of Amy Poehler the woman. I don't think this is the book for just anyone. But for those readers already fans of Poehler, this book made me love her more.

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Title: I am Malala

Author: Malala Yousafzai

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2013

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 327

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall Reading Challenge; Nonfiction Adventure; Mount TBR; 52 Books - W43

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I'll admit that I was a bit unsure about reading this one.  I haven't had the best track record when it comes to memoirs/autobiographies from younger people.  Glad I was wrong.  This book was a special treat to read. I loved hearing about Malala's childhood.  Her love of her homeland shines through. We get to see Pakistan through her eyes and it is beautiful. Every once in awhile we get the noticeably different voice of her co-author, journalist Christina Lamb. Those parts had more of a newspaper article feel to them.  While informative about some of the larger political and social events, I kept wanting to hear more from Malala. Overall, an amazing read.  Recommend to all!

Expecting Adam by Martha Beck

Title: Expecting Adam

Author: Martha Beck

Publisher: Harmony 2011

Genre: Nonfiction - Inspirational

Pages: 368

Rating: 1/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall Reading Challenge; Nonfiction Adventure; Read Your Freebies; Well Read Reader - Memoir

John and Martha Beck had two Harvard degrees apiece when they conceived their second child. Further graduate studies, budding careers, and a growing family meant major stress--not that they'd have admitted it to anyone (or themselves). As the pregnancy progressed, Martha battled constant nausea and dehydration. And when she learned her unborn son had Down syndrome, she battled nearly everyone over her decision to continue the pregnancy. She still cannot explain many of the things that happened to her while she was expecting Adam, but by the time he was born, Martha, as she puts it, "had to unlearn virtually everything Harvard taught [her] about what is precious and what is garbage."

Thoroughly disappointed in this one. I was expecting a feel good, yet harrowing struggle through a difficult pregnancy and subsequent birth of her son.  And yet, I could not find any sympathy for Martha and her struggle.  She whined.  The world revolved around her.  Her life ended with the pregnancy.  Ugh!  Get over yourself lady!  I wanted to read of an honest and brutal account of a difficult time, but there were no good lessons within the book.  And the book wasn't at all about her son Adam.  I can't summon any understanding for a woman who has everything, complains about how life changes, and places blame on others. And don't get me started about the supernatural aspects of the book. No thank you!