Just for the Record by Geri Halliwell

Just for the Record by Geri Halliwell

I was never a Ginger fan for some reason, so on my recent Spice Girls kick, I wanted to be fair and read everyone’s books (who has one, that I could find, yada yada yada).

I have to say, this book did make me like Geri a lot! It was really interesting to hear about her personal life and post-Spice career. I hadn’t followed that, so I looked up some of the songs mentioned in the book and liked them - ESPECIALLY her 2000 Brits Award performance - epic!

She’s still not my favorite Spice but I think that’s ingrained in me from the 90s by this point, so I’ll just say I do recommend this book for Spice Girl fans and think it’s a quality celebrity memoir.

Brutally Honest by Melanie Brown

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEL B! Now let's talk about your book.

I recently got on a Spice Girls kick after listening to their albums, remembering how amazing they were, and realizing I’ve never read any of their memoirs! Mel B had me tearing up from the first page with her honesty about her marriage, insecurities, and struggle to overcome everything. She said it was hard to act like an empowered woman with this happening behind the scenes but I think sharing it now makes her more empowered and relatable than ever before.

It jumps around a lot and in some places is difficult to follow the thread. I kept having to google some of her relationships to grasp the timeline and files the stories from the book into the right place. However, she's open about ADHD and Paris Hilton was the same in her memoir, so I can appreciate the authenticity of feeling like you're getting inside the people's minds.

Selfishly, I wanted a lot more information about the Spice Girls days, but this is Mel B's book and it focuses more on her personal life and relationships, especially her abusive marriage. I just need to get my hands on Catch a Fire from 2003 which apparently covers her early fame.

Still, this was a compelling read and I can't wait to find her earlier book, along with others by Spice Girls.

America the Beautiful? by Blythe Roberson

You know I had to take a photo of the book with the backpack I lived out of for six months straight.

Ah yes, two travel books back to back. Though this one is very different from Emily Henry...

In this book, Blythe Roberson quits her job to travel the country... just like I did in 2011. Well, I didn't quit - my company sold its business overseas and fired everyone. But the general concept is the same! Instead of fighting with dozens of other graphic designers to get a new job in the city, I just... didn't. I gave up my lease and put my stuff in storage and planned trips for months at a time, living out of a backpack.

Roberson goes to some of the same parks I hit, aka the biggest National Parks. But there are many I didn't visit, and many I'd never even heard of, so it was really interesting to read about her experience, which was somewhat similar to mine in many strange ways, but also very unique. I too met up with friends along the way, sometimes traveling together, sometimes just crashing at their places. I too drove alone for long stretches and started to feel like life wasn't real. I too wondered why the hell I was visiting these tourist traps along with everyone else in the country.

It's a unique experience to go to a beautiful, natural place and drive around for an hour looking for a parking spot. I thought I was the only grinch who experienced that lack of luck and felt bitter about it, but no, Roberson did too. I don't think that makes it a good thing necessarily, but it makes ME feel better, and that's what matters.

In all seriousness, this is a funny book about travel and friends and getting to know yourself, perhaps too much. There's a fun hook of Roberson earning Junior Ranger badges (which I did NOT do, and now need to do it all again). She also delves into the history of many parks, which I also didn't do - I just went to experience the location and take photos (many of which are now lost thanks for the great hard drive death of 2021).

It was hard for me to read this diplomatically because I kept stopping and thinking of my own experiences, so I might venture into the Goodreads reviews and see what people said if they didn't have a road trip foundation. I'm also very tempted to unearth my travel journals and see what embarrassing book I could write about my experience...

Beverly Cleary Author Study: My Own Two Feet

This is the second installment of Cleary's autobiography, from college to the publication of Henry Huggins. Her life was so interesting. After working her way through junior college and college during the Depression, she puts herself through graduate school studying library science. Cleary works for a year as a children's librarian, then works for several years as an Army librarian during World War II. She wrote Henry Huggins when she was 33!

I would have loved a third installment all about her writing, fame, motherhood, and awards because she's so fascinating. Her writing style was always matter-of-fact and humorous, which gave great insight into her personality while making every book a joy to read. What a treasure.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: A Girl From Yamhill

 

Beverly Cleary shares her childhood up through high school graduation in the first installment of her autobiography. She includes a lot of historical information about her pioneer ancestors. When she wrote about her early childhood on the farm, I could see where a lot of Emily's Runaway Imagination came from. 

These memories reminded me a lot of my maternal grandmother, too. She grew up on a farm and was close to the same age as Cleary. We had read some Cleary books together, including Emily's Runaway Imagination, so I had my grandmother's memories going through my head as I read this book. It made for a very cozy experience.

Cleary's story is touching and real and interesting. She is very honest about her childhood and her relationship with her mother. As she grew into a teenager, I could see where some of the subject matter for her YA books came from as well. Her writing style in this book is just as natural as it is in her fiction books. 

Best Adult Nonfiction Read in 2020

Tracing the Desire Line by Melissa Matthewson (2019). Very interesting, poetic memoir about self and marriage. I flagged so many beautiful, thought-provoking sections to go back to. I read this in May when the "novelty" of quarantine had worn off. I was feeling kind of isolated, combing through past relationships to figure out what I might want in the future. I read this book over several nights, soaking in a hot bath with a waterproof notepad next to me. The gorgeous language let my imagination run free so I'd have to scribble ideas to continue later in my own writing. I'm looking forward to re-reading this one in the future, in a different life situation, and see what I get from it then.

The Incredible Shrinking Woman by Athena Dixon (2020). This essay collection is amazing. You can tell Athena Dixon has a background in poetry because the language is so beautiful, while still being so raw and matter-of-fact. So many of these pieces made me feel seen and understood. I know this is a collection I'll come back to time and time again. This is one of the first books I've read as an "adult" that makes me think "Oh, so the stuff I write can find a home." Not that I'm comparing my writing to Dixon's, but it's nice to know that such exploratory, experimental formats can find a place and be appreciated by readers instead of molded into something more mainstream.

But Enough About Me by Jancee Dunn (2006). I love Jancee Dunn from Rolling Stone but somehow didn’t know about her books. I absolutely loved this one - from the (old, but still entertaining) celebrity gossip to her humorous life stories. It was kind of an escape read and made me want to read more by Dunn.

Sex Object by Jessica Valenti (2016). I love this book because it helps me realize that stuff like... “this” happens to everyone, and it doesn’t have to be rape or assault to be wrong. This book made me feel understood and empowered but also just angry. Definitely want to read more by Valenti; I love her style.

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld (2020). Seinfeld has been my favorite show forever, and I’ve seen Jerry’s standup shows a few times (in person and recorded specials). I’ve read SeinLanguage. Therefore some of the jokes in this book were repeats, but this was still one of the best books I’ve read this year. I love how they were arranged chronologically, and how you can see Seinfeld’s thought progression in a lot of the jokes (and of course over time). A lot of jokes had me laughing out loud.

Best Adult Nonfiction Read in 2019

I typically make the disclaimer that these are books I read in 2019, not necessarily books that were published in 2019. But for adult nonfiction, 4/5 books were actually published this year, and one was from 2018, so I feel pretty on top of my game right now. ALSO - please note ALL OF THESE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN BY WOMEN!!! WHOOHOO!

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty (2019). I’ve loved Doughty since I read her first book, and was so excited to see she had a new one out. Her first was interesting and engaging, her second was incredibly informative, and this one is fascinating. I love that it’s written based off questions from children, and I suppose it could be read by children, but I don’t know if it’s being marketed that way. The questions are interesting, though - surely we’ve all wondered about some of them at one point or another. Doughty’s answers are well-researched but also understandable even without extensive knowledge of death science. She also displays her excellent sense of humor in pretty much every answer. I want to be her friend. Also, the illustrations are AMAZING.

Goodbye, Sweet Girl by Kelly Sundberg (2018). I read this at the perfect time in my life. When you're going through a relationship ending, reading about others experiencing the same can really make you feel like you have a support system, even if you don't, or can't be this open with others around you. (Although I would recommend this to anyone and everyone, because it's just a great book all-around.) It was recommended by a friend, and I would in turn recommend it to pretty much anyone. Sundberg is so open and honest about her relationship history, her marriage, and being a mother. Her prose is beautiful and emotional and touching. Many sections had me nodding in agreement, others had me biting my nails, and others had me weeping. A must-read.

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan (2019). The summary of this book screamed that it was perfect for me. Spoiler alert: IT WAS. I want to be Jessica’s best friend but as a fellow shintrovert, I know we will never hang out. Twitter friendship it is. Jess takes a year to set goals to push herself out of her comfort zone and try to become an extrovert. She tells a story in front of an audience for The Moth, she takes stand up and improv classes and performs at clubs, she goes to networking events and actually networks, she speaks to strangers. It all gave me small anxiety attacks (which made me feel alive!) and also had me laughing out loud in so many sections. I loved relating so hard to this person and her year. It also reminded me of the year I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to go to grad school in DC, where I also spoke to strangers and took comedy classes. But here I am, shintrovert for life, reading as much as possible and living vicariously through those books. I have since loaned out my copy to others, and recommended the title to even more.

Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis (2019). I liked American Housewife, but this blew it away in my mind. I loved the style of lists and “How To” articles for obscure things. I loved pretty much every essay in this book. Can’t get enough of Ellis’ style! It was a fun, entertaining, but interesting read right when I needed it. Definitely one you should check out and either read a bit at a time, or all the way through in one sitting.

Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman (2019). The idea of going on tour as part of an orchestra that doesn’t actually play grabbed my attention, but Hindman’s writing made this book more than that. The whole thing seemed so surreal, but Hindman put enough personality into it where you felt like you were also trapped in this strange situation. (Literally - much of the book is written in second person, which is very immersive and interesting.) Who wouldn't pretend to play an instrument for good money?! If you like strange stories, you should check this out. And then google to find out who The Composer is, and then watch tons of his videos on YouTube and see if you can tell if the musicians are really playing or not. Don't forget to check out the CONSTANT SMILES! And also fall down the rabbit hole of Threatin, if you haven’t already.


Have you read any of these nonfiction books? What did you think of them? What nonfiction books would you recommend to me?

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan

The summary of this book screamed that it was perfect for me.

What would happen if a shy introvert lived like a gregarious extrovert for one year? If she knowingly and willingly put herself in perilous social situations that she’d normally avoid at all costs? Jessica Pan is going to find out.
When she found herself jobless and friendless, sitting in the familiar Jess-shaped crease on her sofa, she couldn't help but wonder what life might have looked like if she had been a little more open to new experiences and new people, a little less attached to going home instead of going to the pub.
So, she made a vow: to push herself to live the life of an extrovert for a year. She wrote a list: improv, a solo holiday and... talking to strangers on the tube. She regretted it instantly.
Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come follows Jess's hilarious and painful year of misadventures in extroverting, reporting back from the frontlines for all the introverts out there.
But is life actually better or easier for the extroverts? Or is it the nightmare Jess always thought it would be?

Spoiler alert: IT WAS. I want to be Jessica’s best friend but as a fellow shintrovert, I know we will never hang out. Twitter friendship it is.

Jess takes a year to set goals to push herself out of her comfort zone and try to become an extrovert. She tells a story in front of an audience for The Moth, she takes stand up and improv classes and performs at clubs, she goes to networking events and actually networks, she speaks to strangers. It all gave me small anxiety attacks (which made me feel alive!) and also had me laughing out loud in so many sections.

I loved relating so hard to this person and her year. It also reminded me of the year I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to go to grad school in DC, where I also spoke to strangers and took comedy classes. But here I am, shintrovert for life, reading as much as possible and living vicariously through those books.

Fun Home on Stage

I was excited to see the Fun Home play because I wanted to see how a graphic memoir would translate to stage. I've see picture books as plays, and other "classics" like Peter Pan and Lord of the Flies. But for some reason it wrinkled my brain to imagine the little boxes of a graphic memoir on stage.

It wasn't until after I saw the play that I broke it down further in my mind and thought about how it was a graphic memoir - based on real life, so of course it would easily transfer to a play, because the action was done by real people in the first place.

I did love how it was done, though. The artist Alison Bechdel stood at her art table and watched the action of younger Alisons interacting with her family. After something happened, she would say "Caption..." and brainstorm possible explanations to put with her drawings.

I wasn't a huge fan of the songs. They were gorgeous but I think there was so much action and emotion to explore in the story itself without it being turned into a musical. That being said, the kids' song about the funeral home was definitely my favorite part of the night!

Fun Home

Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

This is a graphic novel about a girl who finds out her father is gay only after she comes out as a lesbian. He dies shortly after, and she remembers her strange relationship with him, as well as her childhood growing up in and around funeral homes. There could have been a lot more emotion to the story, but I think telling it as a graphic novel kind of diminished that possibility. The drawings didn’t add much depth or insight, but it would have been a sparse story without them.

I've also read Are You My Mother? by Bechdel and had a similar reaction regarding the emotion in the book. I can see how both books were therapeutic for Bechdel to write and illustrate, but I didn't get much of that from the drawings or even the story. They were both interesting, but dragged a bit with the navel-gazing, heavy literary references, and other stuff that could have been cut out to make a snappy, impactful graphic novel.

Fun Home is going to be performed as a play at Playhouse on the Square in May, so I'm excited to see how it translates to the stage. If you've read much of this blog at all, you know I love comparing books to movies and play versions of themselves, so we'll see how Fun Home turns out!

Best Adult Nonfiction Read in 2016

I’m pretty hit-or-miss when it comes to reading nonfiction. It’s not what I gravitate towards, but if I’m interested in something, I’ll read about it. I especially love memoirs, anything by Bill Bryson (hilarious!), and anything that reads like fiction (Jon Ronson is really growing on me). I only read 15 nonfiction books this year, so it wasn’t too hard to whittle the list down to 5.

Pictures from my Instagram, except for The Glass Castle, which I apparently didn't photograph.

Also, eBooks are dominating this list, which doesn't make for good photos.

In order from most recently published to oldest:

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (2016). Disclaimer: I love, Love, LOVE Lauren Graham! I love her on Gilmore Girls and I love her on Parenthood and I’ve loved her little cameos on Newsradio, Seinfeld, Third Rock from the Sun, yada yada yada. So I started this book expecting to love it. Actually, I was waiting on pins and needles to get a chance to read it, because my library only got a digital copy and I was #9 on the holds list. Waiting for a book you’re dying to read is NOT easy! I was laughing out loud within the first few pages. It was a great book, and makes me want to be friends with Lauren Graham even more than I already did. Highly recommended if you like the actress, or memoirs, or laughing.

The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson (2015). Bill Bryson is always a treat, but he’s gotten better with age. Now he detests stupid people more than he used to, and it comes across in his writing. His informative prose is very well-written, but the glimpses into his thought process are more hilarious than ever. I’ve spoken to a few people who didn’t think this book was as great as his others, but I thought his asides were really funny. I also enjoyed the history of England and descriptions of certain locations, but this might be because I visited England a few years ago, loved every second, and think of it often, so this book was a great chance for me to revisit.

I Work at a Public Library by Gina Sheridan (2014). I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone, but I love Love LOVE this blog and the book. So funny. I read it in a single sitting because I couldn’t put it down. I think librarians and civilians will love this book equally because it’s so easy to imagine each scenario happening.

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson (2011). I love Jon Ronson because he’s witty and somewhat snarky but writes very well, and his nonfiction really pulls you in. This book was incredibly interesting, and referenced a fair amount of Them, which is the next book I will read by him (about conspiracy theories - yay!). I’ve previously read So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, which was just as fascinating as it sounds. His subject matter is always incredibly interesting.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (2005). This book has been on my TBR forever, and recommended to me by countless people. I am so glad I finally got to it. The stories are so interesting, and I love Walls’ writing style. Definitely going to read more from her. Highly recommend this one.

Honor Girl

Honor Girl is a compelling graphic memoir that you will want to finish in one sitting, so be warned. Graphic memoirs just might be my favorite type of "graphic" book, like El Deafo by Cece Bell, Smile by Raina Telgemeier, and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.


Maggie has always gone to the same girls' camp every summer, but during her fifteenth summer, she falls in love. With a girl. (Because it's a girls' camp.) Maggie is shocked to find this vital piece of information she didn't know about herself, and spends the summer trying to deal with her feelings. The book is framed by seventeen-year-old Maggie looking back at the summer.

Besides the main storyline of coming out to herself, the side stories in this book are wonderfully, and completely embody the timeless feeling of summer camp. I loved the book for the story, because the people looked a little too much like anime drawings for me to relate to, but then I looked more into Maggie Thrash herself.

It turns out, she isn't an artist at all. She wanted to share the story of her fifteenth summer and coming out, but didn't want to tell it in a traditional way, so she decided to try making it a graphic novel. She looked up illustrations of people and trees and kept practicing until hers looked good. From an interview with MTV:

It’s sort of important to me to let kids know you don’t have to have art school cred to do this. Just do it. Anyone can do it. Not to devalue the medium, but don’t be intimidated by it. Just try it.

Also worth sharing are her thoughts on diversity in young adult fiction:

I’m really excited for the day when you can no longer presume that the protagonist is straight, or that they’re white, or that they have all their arms and legs. There’s this unwritten rule that the protagonist has to be a tabula rasa for you to be able to relate to them, and that a tabula rasa equals straight, equals white, and just that — it needs to, and everyone wants to, be able to relate to other kinds of protagonists and other kinds of stories.

Favorite Young Adult Books of 2015

For favorite picture books, I recommended only books that were published this year. For favorite young adult books, I'm highlighting my five favorites, but... none of these books were published in 2015. None. I read books that were published this year, but I read a lot of books this year, so I decided to go with my gut and post raves about my favorites, with no publishing constraints. (Next year, I vow to be more timely with my reading list so I can pull exclusively from 2016 books. Funnily, this list has 4 books that were published in 2014, and one in 2013, so I'm not TOO dated.)


El Deafo is a graphic memoir by Cece Bell. In really cute, bright illustrations, she tells the story of how she had to get hearing aids at a young age, and how she coped with being different from everyone else. I love graphic memoirs and Bell has a great style.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson is about twins who used to be best friends. Their mother wants them to attend a fancy art school, and when one twin is admitted and one isn't, it starts tearing them apart. The book is told in alternating chapters from each twin's point of view, across the span of three years. It's hard to summarize without giving the good stuff away, so let's just say there's a reason this book is an award-winner! I read and reviewed this for a class, and loved it so much I created a book trailer for it!

Girls Like Us is an amazing and emotional story about two teen girls with disabilities who graduate from high school and become roommates. They live with an old lady on the condition that they help her around the house. This book is so real and honest, and so moving. It was so good that I already want to re-read it; I think it'll stay on my list of all-time favorites.

Good Kings Bad Kings is another book with characters who have disabilities. The story is told from different points of view of teens living in the institution, as well as employees who work there. It's an interesting story, but due to the institutional setting, it's especially effective as a way to bring about change.

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek is a memoir by Maya Van Wagenen, a girl who found an old popularity guide and decided to implement it in her modern middle school life. Her writing is easy to read, with touches of humor and emotion. I've previously reviewed this book on the blog after I read it for a class. I loved it so much, I even developed an "If You Liked..." display based off of it, so you can check out some of those book suggestions as well!

Read them for yourself!
Bell, Cece. El Deafo. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2014. Print.
Nelson, Jandy. I’ll Give You the Sun. New York: Dial Books, 2014. Print.
Giles, Gail. Girls Like Us. Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2014. Print.
Nussbaum, Susan. Good Kings Bad Kings. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2013. Print.
Van Wagenen, Maya. Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek. New York: Dutton Books,
     2014. Print.

If you liked Popular...

I recently read and reviewed Popular by Maya Van Wagenen. I loved the book, bought a copy for my thirteen-year-old niece, and have recommended it to countless people. I also picked it as the topic of my final project for my summer class, Advanced Literature for Young Adults. We had to make a virtual book display using a Web 2.0 tool, and I'd love you to check out the one I made for Popular!

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek

Plot Summary
Maya Van Wagenen isn’t a total loser—she has one best friend. But on the food chain of middle school popularity, she’s only a step above the teachers. After finding an old book called Betty Cornell’s Teen-Age Popularity Guide, Maya decides to attempt changing her social standing. Her mother encourages her to tackle a tip of two a month from the book’s table of contents, keeping a journal of the experiment as she does. Maya goes from throwing on whatever clothes she can find in her closet to wearing pressed skirts and a string of pearls. She stops being content at blending in and pushes herself to sit at every table in the lunchroom. Though the memoir is about Betty Cornell’s Teen-Age Popularity Guide, Maya adds in elements of her home life, including a sister with autism, and schoolwork, including an ailing beloved teacher, to round out the story.

Critical Analysis
Maya’s writing is so honest and open that every teen girl will fall in love with her. Maya’s worries about her appearance, weight, and personality are universal, and are written about with an eloquent yet conversational voice that will draw in readers. The title, cover, and concept are all eye-catching enough to appeal to teen girls, but boys should also be encouraged to read the book. The lessons about fitting in and being popular vs. being well-liked are universal, and Maya interacts with a lot of boys in her school in a way that is enlightening for both genders.
     It can be hard to tell if a social experiment book will have a lasting place in literature, but if any do, Popular should definitely be one of them. Maya’s writing is timeless, and the idea of updating classic advice is something that will never go out of style. Before too long, Maya’s advice might be considered “classic” itself!
Related Activities
It’s time to get fancy! Teens will make pearls and bow ties out of paper. Collect junk mail and paper scraps so everyone can get their pick of paper types and colors. White paper can also be custom-decorated, so include markers and colored pencils as well. You can use glue sticks, or water down some white school glue to be painted on to the beads. Make sure you have plenty of stretchy string so teens can wear their pearl necklaces and bow ties!
     Find how to make different paper beads here:
          “How to Make Paper Beads.” WikiHow. Mediawiki, n.d. Web. 19 Jul. 2015.
     Find how to make a paper bow tie here:
          “How to make origami ties.” Origami-Make.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Jul. 2015.
     Maya Van Wagenen not only experimented with becoming classy by wearing pearls, she turned around and made her own project into a book! Teens can do something similar during this craft program. Let them film short videos explaining how to make the beads and bow ties from start to finish. Upload them on the library’s social media sites so other teens can learn how to do these crafts at home.

Resources
Read the book that inspired Maya’s experiment! It’s being republished to meet the demand of Maya’s readers, so get your hands on a copy and see how you can interpret and apply the advice to your own life!
     Cornell, Betty. Betty Cornell’s Teen-Age Popularity Guide. New York: Dutton Books for Young
          Readers, 2014. Print.
If you’re not into retro advice or changing your social status, you can spice up your life in other ways, with a variety of social experiments. This book is framed within your high school career, but most of the suggestions will fill your time after school hours.
     Stalder, Erika and Steven Jenkins. 97 Things to Do Before You Finish High School. San
          Francisco, CA: Zest Books, 2008. Print.

Professional Review
Coats, Karen. “Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen (review).”
     Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books 67.10 (2014): 546. Project Muse. Web. 19 Jul. 2015.

Read it for yourself!
Van Wagenen, Maya. Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek. New York: Dutton Books,
     2014. Print.