Are You Down? I'm Down

I've got a great, light summer read for adults and older teens out there, Mishna Wolff's I'm Down A Memoir. It's hard to believe that a book which concerns itself with race, poverty, divorce, and identity issues can manage to be a light summer read, but this one does. Without being exploitative, Wolff, a white woman, tells her experience of being raised in a poor urban black neighborhood by her white father who believed he was black. She writes of him, "He strutted around with a short perm, a Cosby-esque sweater, gold chains, and a Kangol-telling jokes like Redd Foxx and giving advice like Jesse Jackson. You couldn't tell my father he was white. Believe me, I tried."
Wolff's entire childhood seemed to be her father trying to make her down. Much of the humor and sadness in this memoir lie in how she fell short of that goal. Being down came much more easily to her younger sister Anora. Both lived with their father when their parents divorced, but eventually the author moved in with her mother and attended an academically rigorous and predominantly white school. This led to further identity conflict. While her situation is certainly unique, Wolff's central story of a girl wanting to belong and to please her parents is universal. For that reason, I think it's a good book to give to a teenager looking for something to read this summer. Plus, it's funny.

Perhaps Not So Family Friendly Foodie Friday? You Be The Judge

I work hard to keep The Book Bench a family friendly place to visit. You would think it would be easy as it is mostly about children's books and family reading, but sometimes I have to rein it in a bit. I just finished reading a cookbook/memoir/philosophical tome which is a bit of a headscratcher for me as to whether or not it can be included on this family friendly blog. It was written by Kenny Shopsin (with Carolynn Carreno). Kenny is the colorful and cranky proprietor and cook of Greenwich Village's corner grocery turned family restaurant, Shopsin's. Shopsin's was beautifully captured in a New Yorker essay by Calvin Trillin quite a few years ago which, thankfully, is included in Eat Me. Both Trillin and Shopsin himself make it clear that Kenny Shopsin can be rude, abrasive, vulgar, and an excellent cook.
So, is this a family friendly book? On the negative side, it is full of expletives and questionable descriptions of food (orgasmic or having the consistency of a nipple, for example). On the other hand, it is filled with many, many great recipes that would appeal to all types of eaters and about as many interesting and often sentimental stories. Kenny and his wife basically raised their children in the restaurant and his writing reveals his unabashed love of family. The cookbook includes many great photos and a cover gimmick that my kids couldn't resist playing with repeatedly. The cover shows a white egg. At the top, a little tab reads "Do not pull." Who could resist? When the tab is pulled, the egg turns into a photo of a plate with a fried egg, toast, and bacon.
I found Eat Me a fun and fascinating read. It was nice to learn that Kenny's famous pancakes begin with Aunt Jemima frozen pancake batter. He argues that pancakes are all about the equipment, physics, and chemical reaction. Furthermore, he tells anyone who would question his use of frozen prepared batter to face what pancakes really are: "...flour and milk drowned in butter and some form of sugar. As far as food value, you might as well take Crisco, whip it up with powdered sugar, and spread it on your face. I'm not saying that they're not delicious or you shouldn't eat them, but they're a luxury, a recreation, like smoking marijuana or having sex." See what I mean?

I've Always Wondered

I've always wondered if there is a difference between a chucklehead and a knucklehead. Can you use the two interchangeably or is there some connotational difference? Jon Scieszka's recent autobiography, Knucklehead, does not answer my question, but I'm going to let that slide because it's such an enjoyable read. Scieszka, author of more than two dozen books including The Stinky Cheese Man and the Time Warp Trio series, tells of growing up the second oldest in a family of six boys. Much of this book reminded me of my own childhood. I'm certainly not a boy, but I have three older brothers, and like Scieszka, attended Catholic schools. The autobiography recounts familiar scenes with plastic army men, wild sessions of outdoor play, hand me down clothes, low level pyromania, and beloved books. It's a short and quick read that will appeal to Scieszka's fans and boys in the middle grades and junior high.

Grayson

I like a lot of books. Some I recommend to friends and family, some I give as gifts, and a very few make me act positively evangelical. Lynne Cox's Grayson is just such a book. I was telling people to read it before I had even finished it. I've started counting how many copies I ought to buy for upcoming birthdays. In church this morning I saw a teenaged neighbor who I chat with about books at our lake during the summer. I thought about lending her my copy. I can't wait to start reading it aloud to my kids, although I know my third and fourth graders could probably handle reading it on their own.Grayson is a marvelous and endearing memoir which recounts an encounter the author had when she was a teenager with a baby whale while swimming off the coast of California. It's a story about courage and adventure as Cox swims with the baby whale for hours, helping him find his mother and avoid dying either from collapsed lungs on the shore or of starvation and dehydration in the water. The story is told simply and beautifully. At the same time, Cox describes her experience so clearly that I felt I was in the water with her. I'm no huge nature lover and I certainly hate exercising to the point of tired, much less exhaustion, and yet I was completely charmed by this story of both. Only 153 pages long, it is an easy and enjoyable read that I plan to press on anyone who will listen to me.

A Table for One at La Plata De Nada, Por Favor

A few weeks ago I was lamenting the fact that I rarely get to use all the Spanish I learned in college. Sure, I bought those Spanish language valentine conversation hearts, but I was eating them too fast too appreciate all the "Guapo"s and "Besa Me''s. Fortunately, my kids are on the last day of a four day weekend and we went to see The Pink Panther 2 starring Steve Martin. Amidst all of the slapstick humor which made me fear my sons would choke from laughing so hard while eating popcorn, there was a little Spanish. The characters dine at a Spanish restaurant in Rome named La Plata de Nada, the plate of nothing. Hooray, I put my tuition to work. That little gag reminded me of one of the many great details in Steve Martin's L.A. Story where Martin's character books a room for himself and Sarah Jessica Parker's spokesmodel in training character at El Pollo del Mar (ie The Chicken of the Sea). While pale in comparison to the Peter Sellers originals, The Pink Panther 2 was the perfect way to get the kids out of the house and to brag that I'm using my Spanish. And, lest you think I only "read" Steve Martin's movies, my bookclub has read two of his books in recent years, Shopgirl and Born Standing Up, both of which I recommend.

Living History

Pretty soon, the media is going to let President Obama get down to everyday business. There will be less scrutiny of the Obama family's every move, meal, and outfit change. Sure, the administration will be covered, but the Inaugural hype will die down, and that saddens me a bit because it means less face time with Doris Kearns Goodwin. She's been everywhere these last few weeks, the morning talk shows, evening news programs, and oh my gravy, Oprah Winfrey. That's right; Doris Kearns Goodwin was sitting front and center on Oprah's show yesterday. Listen, I'm not afraid to wear my nerdiness on my sleeve. I'll admit that the funniest thing I've seen since Election Night was when The Daily Show identified correspondent Aasif Maandvi as Aasif Kearns Goodwin Maandvi. Clearly, the writers at The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are not afraid to let their inner geeks show either. I loved seeing Doris on those programs. She is classy, has a great sense of humor, and tells excellent stories. Whether providing presidential historical context on a television show or in her books, she brings historical figures to life. My family, another group of individuals who love history are Doris Kearns Goodwin fans. Several years ago at Thanksgiving, I was in Cape Cod with my husband's family discussing Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Those present who had read it positively gushed. Then a few weeks later several of my relatives happily unwrapped copies from each other on Christmas morning. Yesterday on Oprah, Doris revealed that after reading the book, Barack Obama called her eager to discuss it. If I had known a person could just call her up to chat, I would not have been so jealous when my mother and brother had tickets to hear her speak at a local university last year!

If you, like me, are sad about seeing less of Doris Kearns Goodwin in the next few weeks, console yourself with the fact that she'll probably pop up around the one hundred day mark for the Obama administration or with one of her other books. I personally loved her memoir Wait Till Next Year. There's not much presidential in it, but it's a beautifully written book describing her love of family and baseball.

My Struggle with Six-Word Writing

Smith, the online magazine, has issued another six word memoir book. This one, Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak is out just in time for Valentine's Day. It is inexpensive and easy to read with a good 500 six-word memoirs on affairs of the heart. Two of my favorites:

Not always perfect, but so worthwhile.

and

We were our own Springer episode.

I've been thinking about these six-word memoirs a lot lately. I thought it would be fun to write one about my husband and/or marriage as a Valentine's gift, but that turns out to be impossible. He's great. The marriage is wonderful, but I just keep coming up empty. I am consoling myself on this failure by saying that he and I are too complex and our love too large to pin down in six words. I have, however, composed a few about motherhood. They came. They cried. They captivated and Loud, sticky, hectic, overwhelming, fuzzy bliss.

After that little exercise, I tried penning a six-word summary of the book I most recently finished reading, the superfun YA Book, Swim the Fly by Don Calame. It goes like this: Some swimming. Much teenage boy hilarity.

If you are inspired to write your own six-word composition, I would love to read it in the comments section.

Books, Books, and Talking about Books

I wanted to like Larry McMurtry's Books: A Memoir which tells of his experiences as a book scout and antiquarian book seller. I really wanted to, but I didn't. I quit reading it last week at Chapter 34. Before you get all impressed, most chapters are only a page or two in length. I was interested in the early stories of McMurtry's childhood, but the many tales of where he found certain rare books, what he paid for them, and what they later fetched at resale failed to hold my interest.

On Christmas Day, however, I had a conversation with a bright, poised, and much cooler than I was at her age 11 year old girl which could also have been titled "Books: A Memoir." We started by talking about the copy of Twilight she had received for Christmas and had already begun reading. She also received some of The Clique series of novels written by Lisi Harrison and aimed at girls in grades five to eight, as well as a box of Nancy Drew books from her grandparents. She had my full attention. We covered other old favorites including Eoin Colfer. I've said it here before, if you want to get a tween talking, bring up Artemis Fowl or Half Moon Investigations. We moved on to how she organizes her bookshelves, and I was hanging on every word. She may not have penned Lonesome Dove or the screenplay to Brokeback Mountain, but this sixth grader kept my attention with her reading autobiography longer than Larry McMurtry did with his. I wonder if he has a favorite Clique book.

Oops! and Who Knew?

The picture I put up yesterday of Lang Lang's book was of a different book by Lang Lang. That's right; he's got more than one out. I wrote about Lang Lang: Journey of a Thousand Miles, but accidentally used a photo of Lang Lang: Playing with Flying Keys which is also an autobiography. This one was written with Michael French for a 9 to 12 year old audience.

My Husband and I: Like a Couple of Teenagers

Actually, my husband and I aren't very much like teenagers. Caring for a pair of sick kids, getting the Christmas decorations up, and dealing with a broken water tank made us seem more like a couple of grumpy old men this week. However, we each read biographies that would make good reading for teenagers. Bill read Lang Lang: Journey of a Thousand Miles written by the pianist Lang Lang with David Ritz. Bill found the story of this world renowned musician fascinating and said he learned a great deal about modern Chinese history and culture as well. It seems that Lang Lang's intense relationship with his father is at the heart of the book. I just finished The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts written by Tom Farley, Jr. and Tanner Colby. It too presents a successful performer affected by a complex father-son relationship. This is a funny and incredibly sad story which of course ends with Chris Farley's death from a drug overdose. It includes over a hundred interviews with Farley's family, friends, and coworkers, including his three brothers, David Spade, and Chris Rock. The interviews are pieced together seamlessly to make The Chris Farley Show read in an easy, chronological way.

My husband and I found ourselves telling bits of our books to each other and discussing the themes of fame and success over the last week or so as we read our separate books. Given the right book at the right time, that is how teenagers can act.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I just finished a fantastic book that would be a good choice for high school juniors and seniors. It is the autobiographical The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle magazine who suffered a stroke that resulted in locked-in syndrome when he was 43 years old. Afterwards, he was paralyzed and only able to communicate by blinking his left eye. It is hard to imagine this graceful, beautifully written book was dictated by blinks of an eyelid. Clearly that and all of Bauby's experiences must have been frustrating to say the least, and yet The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is not filled with bitterness. It is wistful and humorous and thoughtful. Bauby describes the experience of locked-in syndrome as being caught in a diving bell, but ultimately, it is the butterfly, the power of the mind and spirit, which triumphs. The butterfly soars through memory and imagination. Bauby travels from his hospital room through memory and in flights of imagination.
Why is this a good choice for teenagers? It is short which is often a selling point. It is well written but never difficult to understand. It is inspiring. It puts one's own problems in perspective when considering Bauby's. Finally, although written by a Frenchman in his forties who had led a cosmopolitan lifestyle before his stroke, it forces readers to imagine themselves in Bauby's condition and how they might handle it.
Sadly, Bauby died just days after the French publication of the book. Recently, it was adapted into an award winning film. I'm curious to check that out next.