The term “Magical Thinking” is defined by the Free Online Medical Dictionary as: irrational belief that one can bring about a circumstance or event by thinking about it or wishing for it.
You can find a better definition of Magical Thinking on one of the first pages of Burrough’s book. Burroughs uses the classic childhood example of “step on a crack and break your mother’s back”.
Continue Reading “Magical Thinking: True Stories – by Augusten Burroughs”
I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary that you read Burroughs’ first memoir before reading Dry, because Burroughs does a great job of filling in the blanks just enough to make the reader get what he’s referring to. I still highly recommend reading Running with Scissors first, anyway, to get the full story.
Continue Reading “Dry – by Augusten Burroughs”
Your childhood, no matter how bad or crazy you think it was, will seem tame in comparison to what Augusten Burroughs experienced. Running with Scissors is one of those memoirs that makes all of us with “bad childhoods” feel a little more “normal”.
Burroughs writes so honestly, so intimately, censoring nothing, that it makes the reader feel like they’ve been sitting inside his head while these events were being lived.
Continue Reading “Running with Scissors – by Augusten Burroughs”
Zombies spawned from cell phones, what could be cooler than that? The action starts almost immediately in Cell, and is violent, bloody, and fast. Before you know it, the zombies are everywhere.
The story line is a simple one. Clayton Riddell is coming back home from an interview, which went well. He stops for a moment and gets in line to buy an ice cream.
Continue Reading “Cell – by Stephen King”
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, is a book that has been banned from schools and/or libraries. This is unfortunate, because the book is a story that brings a message of hope. No matter how bad life gets, there is always hope that things will get better. I believe that this is something everyone needs to hear, especially young people.
The book is a memoir. These events actually happened to Maya Angelou. Her story starts when she is about three years old, and on a train with her brother on their way to their grandmother’s house. That is where they will grow up.
Continue Reading “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – by Maya Angelou”
The full title of this book is My Pet Virus: The True Story Of A Rebel Without A Cure. I enjoyed this book so much! Who knew a book about contracting HIV could be hilarious?
Decker uses his somewhat twisted sense of humor (my favorite kind) to tell his story. He was born a “thinblood”, which is his word for “person with hemophilia”, and contracted HIV from tainted blood products when he was a child (in the 1980’s, before blood was checked for HIV).
Continue Reading “My Pet Virus – by Shawn Decker”
Mrs. Ballard’s Parrots is a unique art book of photographs taken by Mrs. Ballard. She had all these birds, mostly parrots of different kinds. During the 1970’s, Mrs. Ballard made costumes for her birds, dressed them up, and took photos.
She made entire scenes for these costumed birdies, including props and backdrops (many of which are quite elaborate.) I find it astounding that her birds allowed her to dress them and that they would stand still for the photos. She must have trained them well, and given them their favorite treats as a reward.
Continue Reading “Mrs. Ballard’s Parrots – by Arne Svenson”
Bird lovers, and people who have birds as pets, will love this story! It is a true story. It’s full title is: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill: A Love Story with Feathers. The book was written by Mark Bittner, who was homeless and directionless when the story started. It seems he is looking for a religion, as well as some work that is meaningful. He also wants to fall in love.
Continue Reading “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill – by Mark Bittner”