On Tuesday, you Bitches will have your turn to tell us what you've been reading during the first two months of The 2016 Infomaniac Book Challenge.
But TODAY, we look at the Mistress's list of books for January and February.
NON-FICTION:
Over the Top and Back: An Autobiography by Tom Jones (published 2015)...
The “Panty Magnet” confessed to bedding 250 women a year at the height of his fame and he had a string of extramarital affairs. But if you're after the juicy details, look elsewhere. This memoir isn’t a kiss and tell. Rather, it’s an enjoyable account of Tom Jones’ journey from a working-class family in a Welsh coal-mining town to becoming an international sex symbol. Anecdotes galore, delivered in a congenial manner will keep you turning the pages.
Maggie Smith: A Biography by Michael Coveney (published 2015)...
Beloved for her role on Downton Abbey as the Dowager Countess, Lady Violet, Dame Maggie Smith's career spans an incredible six decades on stage and screen. This well-researched account of her life shines a light on her remarkable career and talent. It’s a little more difficult to get a handle on her private life as she’s known to be reclusive and doesn’t give interviews. For an actress so illustrious and accomplished, she remains a mystery.
Boys in the Trees: A Memoir by Carly Simon (published 2015)...
"This book is my way of going back through my childhood, my music, my romances, my marriage ... and trying to make sense of it all," Simon says. She shares her deepest desires, fears and regrets as she chronicles her rise to fame, her struggle with low self-esteem, depression and stage fright, and her tumultuous marriage to singer/songwriter James Taylor. For those of you wondering about her "boys in the bed," you'll find accounts of her flings with Cat Stevens, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Kris Kristofferson, and other lovers.
The Sound of Music Story: How A Beguiling Young Novice, A Handsome Austrian Captain, and Ten Singing von Trapp Children Inspired the Most Beloved Film of All Time by Tom Santopietro (published 2015)...
Since its debut over 50 years ago, The Sound of Music has gained legions of fans the world over. It's the third highest grossing film of all time, behind only Gone With the Wind and Star Wars. This thorough account chronicles the real-life Maria von Trapp and her family, and delves into the compelling story of the making of the both the Broadway play and the movie. Did you know that Doris Day was considered for the role of Maria before Julie Andrews was chosen? Or that Christopher Plummer so disliked working on the film that he called it, “The Sound of Mucus?” If you’ve enjoyed this iconic film or you’ve faithfully attend sing-a-longs dressed in a dirndl or lederhosen, "I Have Confidence" that this book could become one of your "Favourite Things."
Poison Penmanship: The Gentle Art of Muckraking by Jessica Mitford (published 1988)...
Poison Penmanship collects seventeen of Jessica Mitford’s finest pieces of investigative journalism. Included are essays regarding her exposés of the funeral business and corruption in the American prison system. The New York Times wrote, "Mitford's pen is mightier than the sword." An irrepressible writer with rapier wit, Mitford died in 1996 but her legacy lives on through her writing.
The Wild Oats Project: One Woman's Midlife Quest for Passion at Any Cost by Robin Rinaldi (published 2015)...
The self-indulgent true story of how a San Franciscan woman’s extra-marital affairs destroyed her marriage.
My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life by Ruth Reichl (published 2015) Thanks to Normadesmond for this recommendation...
When publisher Condé Nast folded Gourmet magazine and laid off its staff, editor Ruth Reichl, at age 62 was at loose ends. She found solace and regeneration in her own home kitchen where she whipped up a tempting array of dishes over the course of a year. The result is this mouth-watering cookbook/memoir. Reichl says, “A good cookbook should make you want to get up and cook." Mission accomplished.
The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind by Michio Kaku (published 2014)...
Theoretical physicist, Michio Kaku is The Mistress’s go-to resource for understanding science in a fashion that the layman can understand. In this book, he clearly explains how our brains function and the mind-boggling possibilities that lie ahead for the future of the brain, our third largest organ.
FICTION:
Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe (published 2014)...
Narrated by 9-year-old Lizzie as she plots to find a husband for her divorced mother. A charming novel that makes me want to read more from this author.
American Housewife by Helen Ellis (published 2016)...
Twelve short stories about the psyche of the American housewife. The Mistress must have a different sense of humour than the venerable Margaret Atwood who called this book, “cackle-making.” Or perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood for this one.
The Piano Maker by Kurt Palka (published 2015)...
Set in a Canadian town in the 1930s, this story follows a mysterious woman with a troubled past. Told in flash-backs, the story is slow-moving but beautifully crafted.
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald. (published 2013 in Sweden.) Translated from the Swedish by Alice Menzies. (English translation published 2016)...
A young, Swedish woman leaves home for the first time and travels to small-town Iowa to visit her elderly, bibliophile pen-pal. She arrives at the station but no one is there to meet her. What's a girl to do? This delightful debut novel is recommended for readers who like reading books about friendship and for those who like reading books about books. Happy ending guaranteed.
And so ends Part One (January-February) of The Mistress's reading list for the 2016 Infomaniac Book Challenge.
12 books in 2 months! That's thanks to a long, cold Canadian winter. It's unlikely I'll top those numbers for the remainder of the year.
On Tuesday, March 1st, we'll be asking YOU Bitches what you've been reading. Until that time, we hope you've enjoyed browsing The Mistress's choices for January and February.
Wow! Four fiction books? Next you'll have to try some science fiction!
ReplyDeleteAside from the cold and inconvenience, I'd love to get snowed in for a few days to allow for more reading. I might even stretch to reading non-fiction.
MR. DeVICE: The Mistress read many a SciFi book in her youth. Now there are so many subgenres of Science Fiction that I wouldn’t know where to start.
DeleteAfrofuturism? Paranormal romance? Space Opera? Space Punk? The mind boggles.
How the hell did you find time to read so many books???? And then where do you store so many??? I either need to have less sex or work few hours. I managed to read one, one book Mj. And you never did review your kitten book.
ReplyDeleteMISTRESS MADDIE: The Mistress has a very long commute to work on (ugh) public transit. Not to mention how she doesn’t sleep much at night.
DeleteI have more bookshelves than sense. Also, I exchange many books with friends and relatives. And storage is a breeze with an eReader for those books I don’t want to keep in my collection indefinitely.
The kitten book was the cat’s meow.
That's putting your transit time to very good use! Escape the bus ambiance and enjoy a book: win-win!
ReplyDeleteI personally can not read in a moving vehicle due to a tendency to motion sickness.
LX: The Mistress recommends Gravol.
DeleteOr better yet, avoiding public transit altogether.
Impressing list, dearest Mistress.
ReplyDeleteBTW I find anything von Trapp-related to be pretty gross, an indigestible sugar overdose imho.
Biographies are fascinating, auto or not. I barly read fiction, scientific or not, and can not read on transport. Not because of motion sickness, but because there is so much interesting to see. When I had to use a train for some time, I always made sure to sit on the other side, noticing as many details as possible.
MAGO: The author addresses the “schmaltz” and “saccharine” aspects of the story.
DeleteHe also mentions that The Sound of Music has never been popular in Austria and Germany.
As for public transit, I keep my eyes open during the scenic parts of the journey; farmland, wooded areas, the rivers, etc., and anywhere in the urban landscape where architectural design triumphs. But on certain routes, the banality of the industrial landscape is mind-numbing. At that point, The Mistress escapes into a book.
Holy Moly! You've read a whole lot of books! I've done read one and still working on the second! Do informational pamphlets on the prevention & treatment of social illnesses from the health clinic count?
ReplyDeleteOf all Maggie Smith's roles, the first one that pops to my mind is the Reverend Mother, from the Sister Act movies. What can I say? I love singing nuns, all because of The Sound of Music. Which leads me to the The Sound of Music Story, which sounds very interesting. That's a huge family! With an army of children, you have two choices: Go into the entertainment industry or start a mafia syndicate.
EROS: No, pamphlets don’t count but we’d love to know if that ointment I sent you cleared up your little problem.
DeleteAs for Dame Maggie, the Mistress recommends watching the recent film, “The Lady in the Van,” in which Maggie Smith plays a transient, elderly woman who takes up residence in a dilapidated van in an author’s driveway.
though maggie's always wonderful, she had a particularly amazing stretch in the mid 1980s.
Delete1. "a room with a view."
universally adored i would imagine.
2. "the lonely passion of judith hearne" a film i imagine few know about. pretty heart wrenching and masterfully played by maggie, as well as the entire cast (which includes prunella scales!).
3. "a bed of lentils"....part of the series, "talking heads" an alan bennett monologue.
as far as i know, "judith hearne" is only available on VHS and "lentils" i had on tape, but a vcr ate it.
It appears to be available from Australia... Jx
Deletesays it PAL, so i guess it would play at your house jon, but maybe not in the states & canada.
Deleteyou're such a sleuth, bravo!
NORMA: I saw The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne somewhere. Could it have been broadcast on TCM? I can’t remember if I saw the film first or read the book (by Brian Moore) first.
DeleteI’m off to Google "A Bed of Lentils.”
Norma: You may be able to play PAL on a PC; however "multi-zone" players are dirt cheap these days, surely?
DeleteMJ: It's "A Bed Among the Lentils".
Jx
mistressa: you're asking me to remember when i first saw "judith hearne?" i don't remember my middle name! maybe it was TCM...maybe HBO? or maybe i'd rented it at a blockbuster years ago?
Deletejon: no doubt you're right, but i've got a museum of players in my house now! i think we are all allotted so many techy formats per lifetime & i've used my up!
Thank you all for the recommendations on Maggie Smith. I'll be on the lookout for these.
DeleteAnd rest assured that the health clinic has given me a clean bill of health and I have been deemed fit to integrate and interact with society once more.
I have read a few wine lists, and a few menus. In English and Spanish. Does that count? Jx
ReplyDeleteJON: ¿Qué?
DeleteManuel: I say to man in shop "Is rat." He say "No, no, no. Is a special kind of hamster. Is filigree Siberian hamster." Only one in shop. He make special price: only five pound.
DeleteBasil: Have you ever heard of the bubonic plague, Manuel? It was very popular here at one time. A lot of pedigree hamsters came over on ships from Siberia.
Ah, the classics. Jx
TWELVE?
ReplyDeletei'm lucky if i get through 3 in a year. i read when i get into bed and if i'm lucky, i manage 5 pages. you'd understand if you saw the "mickey" i gulp down at the nightstand.
NORMA: We know they call you “The Big Gulp.”
Deletemy maiden name was heimlich.
DeleteFunny, I thought Norma was the original Deep Throat?
DeleteThank you for bringing Prof. KAKU to my notice, I did not know him. I confess that I'm a bit cautious about his book about the mind's future, but as I understand he is not a fiction writer, but describes actual developments in research.
ReplyDeleteI never fully grabbed the string-theory, so he seems the one to turn to.
MAGO: Here’s Kaku’s website. I’ve watched a lot of his YouTube clips. He excels at explaining scientific theory to the layman. Even The Mistress can grasp the basics of string theory, thanks to him.
DeleteI uderstand string theory. Jx
DeleteJON: Ha!!!
DeleteBlimey. I am ashamed of myself.
ReplyDeleteSx
Is that all you have to say for yourself, Miss Scarlet?
DeleteI've only read that one book I mentioned in your first post regarding reading.... I am carrying The Hour Glass Factory around with me in the hope that I might read it.
DeleteSx
MISS SCARLET: “The Hourglass Factory”… Now a major motion picture called “Suffragette” with Meryl Streep and Helena Bonham Carter although The Mistress has yet to see it.
DeleteCrikey.... I am so out of touch that I didn't even realise that this book and film were connected. I definitely need to be thrown into the Oubliette.
DeleteSx
Oh, Miss Scarlet, I may have the wrong info. I'm not sure the film is based on this book. My mistake.
DeleteI still need to be thrown in the Oubliette!
DeleteI will write my book post tomorrow. It will be short, obvs.
Sx