Glass Castle

"Walls has joined the company of writers such as Mary Karr and Frank McCourt who have been able to transform their sad memories into fine art." - People

Compared to Frank McCourt, I much more thoroughly enjoyed Jeannette Walls's memoir, The Glass Castle.  Though I've never read Mary Karr, so I can't compare, I did enjoy the tale of the unconventional and poverty-stricken upbringing of the Walls children by their uniquely dysfunctional parents. The Walls' parents chose an alternative lifestyle for them and their children which they saw as beneficial; the children only learned to pull themselves up by their bootstraps to break the cycle. I couldn't put down this heartfelt memoir. 

Teacher Man

Teacher Man is Frank McCourt's final memoir. It is still disjointed, like 'Tis, but not as bad. It is more of an elaboration on the teaching aspect of his life, so it was a little more enjoyable to me. Regardless, I still recommend it with the catch as before -- only if you like Angela's Ashes more than I did! Read on!

Night

Night is Elie Wiesel's tale of his life and experience surviving the Holocaust at the death camp of Auschwitz. To be completely honest, I didn't really like it. But how can you analytically critique someone's heartfelt story? Is it cruel to dislike a personal memoir of the Holocaust? It's really hard to compare one person's pain to another, but Night is not one of the most touching, shocking, or what-have-you holocaust novel I've read. He didn't come alive to me, as Anne Frank does her diary or the characters in Devil's Arithmetic do. Maybe there was a problem in translation? Night wasn't originally written or published in English. Maybe I've read too many novels about the Holocaust? I've read a ton; maybe that's made me hardened to it? Maybe I'm not a sap anymore? Okay, that's not true, because I almost cried at the middle school while going over the end of Anne Frank. But I just didn't really enjoy Night. It seemed rather disjointed to me. This is not to say it didn't have a good message, because it did. Wiesel teaches peace and equality. He sings his father's praises, as his novel is just as much about his relationship with his father as the camps they were in. Night  has a good message, but is not one of my favorites. Read on!

'Tis

'Tis is Frank McCourt's sequel his memoir Angela's Ashes and continues on with the story of his life. To be completely honest, I didn't love it. I'm not sure I even liked it. It felt really disjointed and was kind of boring. It didn't pull me in. I really couldn't relate to Frank and I felt like he made a lot of the problems in his life. He made some bad choices and made his life harder than it needed to be; it was hard to sympathize with him and enjoy the book. I only recommend this book if you enjoyed Angela's Ashes more than I did, in which case you will also enjoy 'Tis more than I! Read on!

The Education of Little Tree

The Education of Little Tree was recommended to me by one of the English teachers at the middle school. It is a memoir-style novel that may or may not be true. Asa Earl Carter published under the pseudonym of Forrest Carter, and after his death his brother said that the family had no Native American heritage despite the story line. There's a lot of controversy surrounding this novel, not only because Carter's story being a fictional work posing as a memoir. Carter was involved with the KKK and The Education of Little Tree is reputed to be his deathbed repentance.

Whether or not The Education of Little Tree is true or false (I vote false), it has a good moral and teaches a good lesson. Little Tree's parents, one white and one Cherokee, die and his Cherokee grandparents take him in and raise him.  They teach him their ways of simple living, tradition, love of nature, and to "spread the good." They make efforts to educate themselves and place emphasis on Little Tree learning by experience and making his own choices. 


Personally, I think the history of the author does not negate the message of this novel. I wouldn't say it's my favorite book, nor would I have picked it up on my own, but I found it to be a good read enjoyed it. Read on!

My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business

I have a great big chimney sweeping, car flying, singing and dancing crush 

on one Mr Dick van Dyke.

Let's be real- Who doesn't? 

He's amazingly talented, even in his post-retirement age days.

He wrote this book about himself, and I absolutely adore it.

And him.

Oh Dick, I swoon.

He's quite an amazing man, in addition to the song-and-dance man

we all know and love.

His life has truly been lucky; he is so lucky.

He married his high school sweetheart and stayed with her almost 

entirely through thick and thin. She gave him four children. She stayed with him during the early, struggling years. And when they parted, he made sure she would want for nothing.

The one thing I admire most about Dick?

He made a promise to never be in anything he couldn't watch with his children.

He didn't want to tarnish his name or his character.

And you know how we all like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but it's kind of missing that Disney Magic? That little spark that just makes you sit in awe and wonder? 

Dick knows that too. He actually turned it down quite a few times before he agreed to it.

I just love this man. 

All I want is one last Dick-and-Julie song-and-dance classic.

Dick? Julie? Robert Iger? Can you help a sister out?

I think Walt would approve!!!

So anyway, if you love Dick as I do, read this book. Watch Mary Poppins.

.: magic :.