A Sportscaster's Guide to Watching Football: Book Review

Do you remember that old Rock Hudson movie, Man's Favorite Sport? Rock plays an author who is an authority on the sport of fishing. The problem is that his character doesn't know how to fish.

Now it's my turn. I don't understand football even though my friends think I do.

In high school it was assumed that we all knew how to play. I remember running around the field in P.E. without having a clue what I was doing or who to tackle. Yes, I found myself on the ground a lot looking up at the sky. This was the pre-Internet 1970's when there was no Google to help or lifeline to call.

Now many years later, and with gray hair that just happened over time, I've decided to correct this deficiency. My goal this fall is to (a) understand the game of football and (b) develop a vocabulary to engage in meaningful dialogue when I find myself watching the sport with friends. This will replace the smile and nod of head.

Author Mark Oristano to my rescue. His (autographed) book, A Sportscaster's Guide to Watching Football, arrived last night and I read it immediately. Right from the start it felt approachable at only 146 pages. This is the book for the novice wanting to understand the game.

Oristano is passionate about football and tackles the topic with an entertaining narrative. He scored a touchdown in my opinion. (See, the vocabulary is already working).

Sprinkled throughout the book are "Cool Things To Say During a Game." And the Ultimate cool thing that ends the book (no spoiler alert!). Here's one example. When someone is frustrated by an incomplete pass I can smile knowingly and say, "I'll have to wait for the films." I love it.

There are also 12 "Time Outs" with interesting side notes. My favorite is the first one about Mike Ditka. He went up to the Ref when a penalty was called against the Cowboys, and calmly asked if the guy was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. After the man said, "No," Ditka replied, "Good" and then screamed,"because that was the worst g--d---- call I've seen in my entire %#*#  football career!"

This fall when football season comes around, I'm going to be ready.

A Sportscaster's Guide to Watching Football by Mark Oristano. Copyright 2009. Synergy Books. ISBN 978-0-9821601-1-4.

Triumph of the City: Book Review

Triumph of the City
by Edward Glaeser

Penguin Press, Copyright 2011
338 pages, ISBN 9781594202773

Rob's Rating: 4/5

Quote from Book: "Great cities are not static, they constantly change and take the world along with them."

This is the first time I've been asked to review a book written by a Harvard professor. And when you consider where I live, I may seem like an odd choice for a book about cities.

According to author Edward Glaeser "...Americans should live in denser, more urban environments."

I'm the opposite by choosing to live on an island considered to be one of the world's most isolated. I feel like a rebel after reading this book. And if I agree with Glaeser, I should feel guilty at the same time. 

Even though Glaeser makes a strong case for cities, I'm not moving. And yet, I've always been attracted to them. In truth, I love New York.

Glaeser's writing provokes thought and controversy depending on your beliefs. He excels at analyzing the great cities of the world including their history and challenges. Glaser provides research and insight on how to make our cities better and stronger. His work serves as a blueprint for the future. Skyscrapers are not an endangered species in Glaeser's world.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Triumph of the City:

"An open city can't exist in a closed nation." (page 251)

"There is no such thing as a successful city without human capital." (page 223)

"Information technology is changing the world, making it more idea intensive, better connected and ultimately more urban." (page 37) 

"Poverty often shows that a city is functioning well." (page 257)

Environmentalists may cringe a few times while reading Glaeser's work. Actually, the author suggests that they "...toss copies of this book into the recycling bin."

I won't even mention his take on Thoreau. Okay, I will because it's just too good: " a somewhat underemployed Harvard graduate," and "Thoreau's walk in the woods did much more for his soul than for the woods themselves."

Glaeser is biased towards cities. And I'm biased towards small towns. But I like to be challenged and Glaeser succeeded.

My thanks to Trish at TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to host. Visit the TLC website for a list of blogs participating. For more information on Dr. Edward Glaeser, read his bio on Wikipedia.

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Book Review

How Starbucks Saved My Life
by Michael Gates Gill

Gotham Books, Copyright 2007
265 pages. ISBN 9781592402861

Rating: 3/5

Quote from book: "Work is dignity, I repeated to myself. That could be my mantra."

There were many things I liked about this riches-to-rags-to-riches story. And a few things I had a hard time swallowing. Grab a cup of joe and join me in today's discussion of, How Starbucks Saved My Life, by Michael Gates Gill.

I wasn't sure what to expect and the book left me questioning how transparent the author chose to be. On the surface it's a good story of an older worker who lost it all and found a new beginning as a barista at Starbucks. In the end he wrote a book and sold his story to Creative Artists for a possible movie. Wow! I wish I had thought of that.

The action flows between the past and present. One moment we're hearing about the time the author had a beer with Ernest Hemingway in Spain or rubbed elbows with Queen Elizabeth in his prior life. If this was to impress me it didn't work.

I found myself skimming the passages where many names were dropped and waited for the action to return to Michael mopping the floor in the bathroom at Starbucks or learning the art of coffee. Sort of a humbling experience for this guy who once earned a six figure income.

Starbucks appears to be the shining star where all good things happen. Almost too good to be true. Michael didn't find much to dislike. I was ready to apply for a job after reading the book.

Then it hit me. The author, who attended Yale, spent his career in advertising. Of course! He didn't just stumble into a $10 an hour job at Starbucks but probably saw an opportunity and ran with it. Nothing wrong with that. The story would have been more interesting to me had the author been more honest about his motives.

Otherwise I'm asked to believe that this high powered executive commuted several hours a day to a Manhattan Starbucks, for minimal pay, never thinking anything would come of it, and just walked into fame (and probably fortune).

What do you think? 



FTC Note: I saved money for several cappuccino drinks and checked this book out from the Lihue Library.

Where's My Wand? by Eric Poole: Book Review

Where's My Wand?
By Eric Poole

Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, Copyright 2010
263 pages, ISBN 978-0-399-15655-7

Rating: 5/5

Reading Challenge: GLBT 2010

Quote from the book: "My pursuit of a flawlessly raked floor did not strike me as odd, since perfection was not optional in the Poole family militia..."

Here's a trip down memory lane set in the shag carpeting days of the 1970's. It's a coming of age story that is full of heart and good humor. For those of us who grew up feeling different and not always popular, we have a new hero. He's Eric Poole, the self described "Endora of St. Louis."

Eric is funny. I mean really funny. There were times when I laughed so hard that my partner came running to my side. I just held up, Where's My Wand and pointed to the cover. Sometimes I felt a lump in my throat when Eric tackles not so funny issues like death, being bullied and trying to fit in.

The issue of sexuality takes a back seat for most of the book. We know Eric is gay but like most of us growing up, it takes awhile to register. Eric was warned in church that, "one never knows when the homosexual is about. They can appear normal; and it may be too late when you discover they are mentally ill." I don't know about you, but that would scare me straight.

Whenever Eric had a problem to tackle, he channeled the character of Endora on TV's Bewitched and used magic powers to create a positive outcome. As Eric gets older, however, he begins to realize that, "I didn't need magic. All I needed was me." A good message for all.

Find your wand and let Eric cast his spell on you. This book will charm and make you smile.

For More Information: Visit author Eric Poole on Facebook or his blog.

FTC Advisory: I purchased my copy from Barnes and Noble on-line.

Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden: A Book Review

My own sister died when I was eight of a gunshot wound. That ended my idyllic childhood in Eastern Washington. My parents never recovered. I fantasized being somewhere else. Maybe rich and powerful too because I thought that would be a better life.

Author Wendy Burden also grew up in the same era I did, but unlike me, had connections to wealth. On the surface she was living my dream as a Vanderbilt-Burden. After reading Wendy's book, Dead End Gene Pool, I realized her life was not the dream I envisioned wealth to be as a child.

Wendy's father died of a gunshot wound when she was seven. The Burden family was plagued by alcohol and drug addiction. Her memoir meticulously captures with dry humor the pain of growing up in a rich and dysfunctional environment.

"My grandparents were into modern art and French wines...(and sleeping masks and prescribed barbiturates). My mother was into tans acquired in different parts of the world."

The rich may be different. In my childhood I played pin the tail on the donkey with a picture of one on the wall. In Wendy's childhood she played the game with a real donkey. 

I'm envious Wendy got the Easy Bake Oven for Christmas, "It practically screamed Crematorium." I wanted one too but got Creepy Crawlers instead. Wendy called it, "a control freak's dream set with a baking oven that could leave scars worthy of an acetylene torch."

The word, "survivor," comes to mind when I read this book. And the truth is we all carry some scars from adolescence. Some more than others.

Approach Dead End Gene Pool with an open mind and heart. The writing will sometimes shock you, sometimes make you laugh and leave you questioning what makes a life rich.

Rob's Rating: 4/5

For author information, visit Wendy Burden's website and Facebook page. She will also be commenting live on the website Books On The Brain, May 18, at 5:00pm, PST.

Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden. Gotham Books. 2010.

FTC: I received a complimentary ARC of Dead End Gene Pool from the publisher. 

Thanks, Lisa, for the chance to participate on my first TLC Book Tour. Be sure to visit the TLC site for a list of all participants.

Book Review: Tea and Sympathy: The Life of an English Teashop in New York

There's a lot of Britain wrapped up in this tiny New York teashop. It's the tea version of Cheers. Longtime waitress Anita Naughton captures the atmosphere, including behind-the-scenes escapades, in her book Tea and Sympathy: The Life of an English Teashop in New York.

The only thing missing is the aroma of fresh scones baking in the oven. Not to worry. With over 60 recipes included (with notations) by owner Nicola Perry, you can be cooking up all your favorite Brit dishes in no time.

Written with wit and humor that inspires laughter and touching moments, I immediately felt part of the Tea and Sympathy (sometimes dysfunctional) family. The book follows its rise from obscurity to fame. This is the place where Brit's and teashop fans gather in NYC (and everyone knows your name).

With only ten tables the room is small, casual and noisy. You never know who might be sitting next to you. Anita recalls one time when a group of Buddhist monks walked in. It turned out to be the Dalai Lama.

When I lived in Pennsylvania I always included Tea and Sympathy on my visits to Manhattan. My former mother-in-law (a Londoner) thought it was the best teashop in the states.

On my last visit two years ago, I had a tea party there with Paperback Swap friends who swap tea with me monthly.

The teashop has rules for all customers to follow (which the book explains). It may seem off-putting to first time guests but stiff upper lip. Owner Nicola Perry says we all need boundaries. Well said.

Rob's Rating: 4/5 with recipes being 5

This year Tea and Sympathy is celebrating it's 20th anniversary. Be sure to visit their website for information on menu, prices, location and more. If you include Tea and Sympathy in your NYC plans, be sure to let me know.

I also have a list of my top 10 things to do in New York City which I wrote for the NYC Reading Challenge. Speaking of which, this book fulfills my reading requirement.

Tea and Sympathy: The Life Of An English Teashop in New York by Anita Naughton, with an introduction and recipes by Nicola Perry. G.P. Putnam's Sons. 2002. ISBN 0399149376.

FTC Advisory: I was promised all the tea in China for a positive review. Joke. I purchased a used copy of this out-of-print book from an Amazon seller.

Book Review: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin

When Steve Martin made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, his dad published a negative review of the performance. Their difficult relationship is one of many personal disclosures that Steve shares in his book, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life.

What first impressed me about the book was the writing. It's concise which is not easy to accomplish considering the time span over three decades. Steve writes about, "someone he used to know." A young boy who grew up to be a successful stand-up comedian.

At age ten, Steve landed what I would have considered a dream job in my youth. He worked at Disneyland selling guidebooks and then performing magic tricks. By age twenty-one, Steve was writing for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on television. It took 16 performances on The Tonight Show to finally be a hit. What paid off was perseverance and always trying to be better than the last show. 

Steve observed others, studied artists like Jack Benny, practiced, practiced, practiced, performed throughout the country and looked for ways to be unique. His idea to drop the punch line and let an audience decide what's funny helped to create a unique style of comedy.

The book captures the time period from the 1950's through 1970's. Since I came of age during these years, it brought back memories to me. 

Steve writes with humor and offers personal insights to his life including difficult times. There are also photos scattered among the pages.

This is a great read for those interested in show business or just starting out in any career. He shows that success comes from not only a strong belief in self but also through hard work perfecting what you do best.

Steve was "born standing up," and has brought laughter to all of us.

What's your favorite Steve Martin moment?

Rob's Rating: 5/5

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin. Scribner. Copyright 2007.

FTC: This was the March selection for my library book discussion group. I purchased my copy several years ago and just read for the first time.

Book Review: How To Get Things Really Flat by Andrew Martin

Subtitled, "Enlightenment for Every Man on Ironing, Vacuuming, and other Household Arts," this book promises to remedy all Oscar like behavior. Unfortunately, while the idea is great the book falls flat.

Before I go further, let me just say for the record that I'm a recovered, Oscar. In my twenties when I needed to clean quickly, my best tip was to box the dirty dishes from the sink (there was no dishwasher and things piled up). Eventually when I saw the cupboards were bare or silverware missing, it was a reminder to go hunting for dishes in the closet. A girlfriend made the gruesome discovery of my efforts and decided I needed intervention (we're still friends by the way).

For a book like this to have been of help, it needed a few diagrams and something like "CliffsNotes" added to the text. Instead the reader is given lengthy (and interesting) explanations on subjects like ironing and research done on the topic.

What I really, really didn't care for were the stereotypes in the book. At the beginning the author wants men to know that holding a duster will not make him any less of a man. Well said, but did he have to imply that men might think cleaning is gay like behavior? Or that female shoppers are not decisive?

The tips in the book are helpful and sometimes humorous. I also liked that this book is definitely British. It was released last year in the USA and contains footnotes for Yanks and a preface written specifically for the American edition.

In the end, however, the stereotypes in the book influenced my rating. Clothes need labels but do people?

Rob's Rating: 3/5

About the Author: Andrew Martin lives in London and is the writer of seven novels, including five titles beginning with The Necropolis Railway, featuring the young Edwardian detective, Jim Stinger.

How To Get Things Really Flat by Andrew Martin. Copyright 2008, 2009. The Experiment Publishers. ISBN: 9781615190027.

FTC: Library Copy (and heading back there soon).

Book Review: Confections of A Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado

"Every pastry has the potential of making someone perfectly happy, of momentarily stripping them of adult worries and baggage."

I know that's how I feel every time I bite into Gesine's espresso cheesecake. It's one of 18 recipes included in her book, Confections of a Closet Master Baker. I can't wait to bake them all. Each recipe is lovingly introduced like this one. Her grandmother in Europe used to save used coffee grounds for cakes. That inspired Gesine's espresso cheesecake with its base developed by her mom.

Gesine's mission in life is pastry. That was always the case but it took law school and a successful career as a Hollywood executive for Gesine to realize her true calling.

"When I baked, the gentle sweetness and soft spunge of a well-made sticky bun soothed my growing bitterness at God and humanity."

She threw in the towel (and monetary dough) for a sweet life in Vermont and opened her own bakery in Montpelier.

 

Her life's journey is woven around food and family. Gesine is brutally honest that owning a bakery isn't a piece of cake. It's a long day starting at four in the morning. Her advice to any home baker considering this journey is, "Don't do it!."

"I'll tell the home bakers with big pastry dreams, that it is possible. It may kill you, strip you of your sanity and finances, but it can also be rewarding."  

Gesine's story rang true for me which is why I enjoyed it so much. My partner was a Hollywood executive who worked twenty years with Michael Ovitz at Creative Artists Agency. He had enough of Hollywood and moved to Kauai where he happily bakes with me.

This is a book for closet bakers everywhere. It's a sweet tale of pastry, homemade goodness, and finding your life's passion. The recipes and story of a day in Gesine's bakery will have you in the kitchen before the last chapter.

"Please take this little pastry. It embodies my goodness and kindness together as one tasty treat." 

What secret desire is simmering in your closet?

Rob's Grade: 4/5

Author's Website: Click here.

I made Gesine's Espresso Cheesecake. Click here for my review.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado. Copyright 2009. Broadway Books. ISBN 9780767932684.

(FTC Note: I purchased my copy, and the one for my giveaway, from Barnes and Noble on-line).