Book Review: Shirley, I Jest

Katie May 8, 2015 0 Comments

Shirley, I Jest, is written by Cindy Williams who is better known as “Shirley” from Laverne & Shirley.  I found it interesting that as an actress she is bad at lying (there is an excerpt in the book about quitting her job by lying and saying she broke her arm) yet I always thought that acting was mostly lying – but I guess not! She also mentions a story where she is working as a waitress and Jim Morrison comes in – and is in on a joke with her coworkers to mess with her! Some hazing at a new job! Overall there is a lot of fun stories in the book – some superstitious like getting a job on Room 222 on November 22 when she had just turned 22 on August 22…  At the halfway point in the book there are some photographs of Cindy and her family. The second half of the book focuses more on her time on Laverne & Shirley, her friendship with Andy Kaufman and some encounters with celebrities.

Overall this was a fun read and fun to find out more about Cindy and her life before and after she was Shirley. I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for this review.

About the Book

Cindy Williams, best-known as half of the comedic duo of Laverne & Shirley, has had a wild and lively career in show biz. After spending years waiting tables, she landed her first big break with a role in American Graffiti as Ron Howard’s long-suffering girlfriend. This book is an engaging and heartfelt journey from Williams’s blue collar roots to her unexpected stardom—from being pranked by Jim Morrison at the Whisky a Go Go to the emotional rollercoaster of celebrity.

Cindy Williams is an actress and comedian who has starred in some of the most notable movies and television programs in entertainment history. Her career began in the 1970s in prestigious movies like Travels with My Aunt (with Maggie Smith, directed by George Cukor) and American Graffiti (with Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, and Richard Dreyfuss and directed by George Lucas). Williams is now focusing on theater, and has performed in shows across the country, including the musical Nunsense. She lives near Palm Springs, California.

Book Review: Pop Goes the Circus!

Katie May 8, 2015 0 Comments

Pop Goes The Circus is the 4th book in the Three-Ring Rascals series, I had previously read The Greatest Star on Earth which was the 2nd in the series.  These books are geared towards kids so they are very easy reads with a ton of illustrations mixed in.  In this book, Gert (the mouse) is looking for her brother Bert because he hasn’t been doing his chores. She finds him, but then he disappears again – after being carried away by a balloon!  Meanwhile, Flora runs away from home because she wants to see her friends in the circus but neither of her parents will take her because they are too busy with the pending arrival of a new baby. Her parents put up all the money they have as reward money, but it gets stolen by most wanted crooks buster and robin.  Somehow Bert and Flora get the money back from the robbers, make their way back to the circus (just as they are having a funeral for Bert!) and everyone is able to go back to where they belong – Home!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Two runaway rascals go on the road in the fourth installment of this highly praised, popular series.

Bert the circus mouse has gone missing! The members of Sir Sidney’s Circus figure he’s nearby, sulking after an argument with his sister, Gert. Little do they know that he’s been carried away by a rogue balloon. Meanwhile, in a faraway state, Flora LaPasta is tired of being ignored as her parents prepare for a new baby, so she mails herself to Sir Sidney’s Circus in protest.

A popped balloon and a mixed-up shipment soon bring Bert and Flora together. In the worst of times, a best friendship is born. But can the pair make it through a world of bad drivers, angry mobs, and greedy robbers? How long can a circus mouse and a runaway girl survive on their own?

Book Review: Alone Forever: The Singles Collection

Katie May 8, 2015 0 Comments

 Alone Forever is another awesome comic from Liz Prince. I had previously read her book Tomboy and loved that as well.  This book focuses on her dating life – or lack thereof – and while she’ll be alone forever.  I don’t know what it is about Liz that I love – maybe that I think we’re kind of similar in our tomboyish alone forever keep going back to OKCupid even though we know we shouldn’t ways… but there is just something about her comics that I can’t get enough of.  I didn’t want this book to end!

Definitely recommended if you’re looking for a funny read… although you’ll probably enjoy it more if you’re single.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

About The Book

Liz Prince, author of the world’s cutest relationship comic, “Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed?”, returns with a new comic about being — gasp! — SINGLE.

Finally bringing her popular webcomic to printed form, Alone Forever explores the joys of flying solo, free to focus on what really matters: comics, punk rock, and cute boys with beards.

Drawn in Liz Prince’s ultra-charming style, filled with self-deprecation and cats, there’s something for everyone to relate to in this celebration of self-reliance in the age of OkCupid.

Book Review: Blood, Sweat and My Rock N Roll Years

Katie May 8, 2015 0 Comments

Blood, Sweat, and my Rock N Roll Years answers the question – “Is Steve Katz a Rock Star?”  Steve Katz may be best known as a founding member of Blood Sweat and Tears, but this book tells the story of his whole career – starting with the Even Dozen Jug Band (even if there were 13 on their first recording), The Blues Project, Blood, Sweat & Tears and American Flyer.  After being in bands, he became a suit at Mercury Records as the VP of A&R and then he went to work for Green Linnet Records where he signed celtic bands.  Currently Steve is living in CT with his wife Alison – and none of his neighbors know of his rockstar past!

Now a days if Steve performs he is lucky to get 30 people to show up – more if he is partnering up for shows with some of his friends.

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for this review.

About the Book

On paper Steve Katz’s career rivals anyone’s except the 1960s’ and ’70’s biggest stars: the Monterey Pop Festival with the legendary Blues Project, Woodstock with Blood, Sweat & Tears, and even producing rock’s most celebrated speed addict, Lou Reed. There were world tours, and his résumé screams “Hall of Fame” — it won’t be long before BS&T are on that ballot. He has three Grammies (ten nominations), three Downbeat Reader’s Poll Awards, three gold records, one platinum record, and one quadruple platinum platter (the second Blood, Sweat & Tears album), not to mention three gold singles with BS&T. All together, he’s sold close to 29 million records. He had affairs with famous female folk singers, made love to Jim Morrison’s girlfriend Pam when Jim was drunk and abusive, partied with Elizabeth Taylor and Groucho Marx, dined with Rudolf Nureyev, conversed with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Tennessee Williams, hung out with Andy Warhol, jammed with everyone from Mose Allison to Jimi Hendrix, and was told to get a haircut by both Mickey Spillane and Danny Thomas.

But his memoir is more Portnoy’s Complaint than the lurid party-with-your-pants-down memoir that has become the norm for rock ’n’ roll books. It’s an honest and personal account of a life at the edge of the spotlight—a privileged vantage point that earned him a bit more objectivity and earnest outrage than a lot of his colleagues, who were too far into the scene to lay any honest witness to it. Set during the Greenwich Village folk/rock scene, the Sixties’ most celebrated venues and concerts, and behind closed doors on international tours and grueling studio sessions, this is the unlikely story of a rock star as nerd, nerd as rock star, a nice Jewish boy who got to sit at the cool kid’s table and score the hot chicks.
Steve Katz was a founding member of The Blues Project and Blood, Sweat & Tears. He became a record producer, working with rock renegade Lou Reed, among others. Now, Katz and his wife, Alison Palmer have a ceramics shop, Alison Palmer Studio, in South Kent, Connecticut.