In a pandemic year there’s plenty of time for reading. Here’s my fave 10 books.
THE PIANIST by Wladyslaw Szpilman
Finding myself feeling a tad down after 9 months of a pandemic, I looked to this book for some inspiration. An incredible true story of survival of a world class polish pianist during World War II in Warsaw, Poland. Of course the Polanski film version of this book is terrific too but reading it somehow gave me a good swift kick in the pants of how fortunate I am during this pandemic. Can you imagine not eating for days on end, hiding from place to place in constant fear that you will be found and shot or sent to an extermination camp? This is a nail biting, sad, yet ultimately triumphant story that while only some 200 plus pages packs more meaning and emotion than many books twice its length.
THE DEMOLISHED MAN by Alfred Bester
The first book ever to receive the Hugo Award for science fiction and deservedly so. It’s set in the future where specialized and trained people can read the minds of anyone they encounter. This book reads like a detective story with lots of suspense and set in a world where everything has changed except for the ancient instinct for murder. Bester is up there with Asimov and Bradbury. Fun read.
LEAVES OF GRASS by Walt Whitman
I found Whitman’s short story like poems to be filled with life. He covers a lot of ground with the beauty of nature, the tragicness of war and the beauty of love in everyday things. Apparently he updated this work until his death so there are a few versions but I’m betting they are all good. Lol, this is the book that Bill Clinton gave to Monica Lewinsky. I’m sure it was to show her how “deep” he was. It worked.
APROPOS OF NOTHING by Woody Allen
This is one of the best celebrity autobiographies I’ve ever read. Even if you’re not a fan of Woody I think you’ll find it vastly informative and entertaining. He goes into how he got his start writing funny bits and jokes for newspaper columnists and eventually other comics and television shows. Great anecdotes about the films he worked on. His funny humor is everywhere throughout and he goes into painful detail about his battle for his reputation with Mia Farrow’s alleged accusations. He provides eye opening facts about the case that many in the media and even some of his peers have ignored and thereby “canceled” him.
MY WICKED, WICKED WAYS by Errol Flynn
Okay, another celeb autobiography which I’m a sucker for and this one definitely does not disappoint as I love reading about old Hollywood. Flynn has a sardonic tone sometimes and his life is somewhat of a trainwreck at times; scandals, expensive divorces, bad investments, criminal charges, many affairs with women and exotic traveling. In short, one helluva self destructive ride.
THE BLUE GUITAR by John Banville
Banville is a writer’s writer. So many beautifully written descriptive passages in here that I found myself jotting a few down. It’s not about a guitar but a beautiful and sad story of a love affair that does not end well. The main character is an artist, a painter and it also shows how difficult it can be to be creative at times. His characters are so richly drawn that this could be a textbook for students of novels.
THE FLAME by Leonard Cohen
A collection of Cohen’s words of songs, poems, thoughts and his illustrations. A great insight into the brilliant mind of Cohen. The kind of book you can go back to many times to re-examine a passage. I felt at times like I had a copy of his diary. Loved his little scribbles and illustrations. Great stuff.
STILL HARPING FOR MY DAUGHTER by Marc Silver
A sci fi fantasy novel that has more twists and turns than Chubby Checker on American Bandstand. Mr. Silver, who happens to be a good friend of mine, delivers a fun romp and read that had me wondering what wacky thing was going to occur next. Vivid heartfelt characters and wonder laced. Oh, yes and if you own a Prius you will relate 100%.
TEENAGE NINJA TO MUTANT TURTLE by Kenn Scott
Hey, yet another friend of mine’s book! Mr. Scott’s true story of how he became a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is not only about how a young man becomes involved and cast in a major motion picture but is also about determination, discipline and literally making things happen. Loads of heart here. Any young person interested in an entertainment career would do well to check this out.
CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL SONGWRITER by Shelly Peiken
I had to put at least one songwriting type of book on this list and this one is an informative and honest take of the music business both in the past and current. Peiken delivers tales of how she got started and triumphs in a male dominated arena and how the days of a single writer for a hit pop song are very rare. It’s not a “how to” book on songwriting, it’s a personal story of how she made it in the business and what one can expect today.
0 Comments