My Unexpected Life in Hollywood
A Rapid Review
Publisher: Penguin Audio | April 2015
Format: Audio Download | 9 hours | Rating: 4 stars
Audio Listening Level: Easy
If it can happen in show business, it’s happened to Jon Cryer. Now he’s opening up for the first time and sharing his behind-the-scenes stories in a warmly endearing, sharply observed, and frankly funny look at life in Hollywood.
Funny and entertaining with lots of behind-the-scenes stories of his 30 years in movies, theater, and television, this was an enjoyable read. Jon Cryer is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Alan Harper on Two and a Half Men and, to the 80s generation, as Duckie in Pretty in Pink. Those are the characters I was familiar with and what prompted me to read his memoir.
We get to see a personal side to the actor and learn about his early years in theater, his near misses at stardom before Men (he was one of the actors considered for the part of Chandler on Friends), and about his years on Men, about his relationship with Charlie Sheen—the good, the bad, and the meltdown on social media, and the re-booting of the show with the hiring of Ashton Kutcher to name just a few. (There were other actors considered to replace Charlie Sheen, and did anyone know Jon Cryer dated Demi Moore? I didn’t. He describes discussing it with Ashton as “awkward!”. No more spoilers, just read the book).
Audio production
The author narrates the book adding authenticity and realism to his stories. Who better to tell the tales than the actor himself! And it feels like he is talking directly to us, the listener. This was an easy book to listen to while multi-tasking around the house. Even those who don’t usually listen to audio should find it easy to follow along.
——————————–
Source: Review copy provided by Penguin Audio.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
There are so many good books coming out in the next few months. I’m excited about all of the titles that arrived last week. Some I requested and a couple were pleasant surprises.
New Arrivals
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain from Ballantine Books.
Circling the Sun tells the story of the beautiful young horse trainer, adventurer, and aviator Beryl Markham, from her childhood in British East Africa to her relationship with hunter Denys Finch Hatton and rivalry with Out of Africa author Karen Blixen—a notorious love triangle that changed the course of Beryl’s life.
Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews from Tandem Literary.
Will true love find a foothold in this small beach town before it’s too late and disaster strikes? Told with Mary Kay Andrews inimitable wit and charm, Beach Town is this year’s summer beach read!
Disclaimer by Renee Knight from Harper.
Finding a mysterious novel at her bedside plunges documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft into a living nightmare. Though ostensibly fiction, The Perfect Stranger recreates in vivid, unmistakable detail the terrible day Catherine became hostage to a dark secret, a secret that only one other person knew–and that person is dead.
10% Human by Alanna Collen from Harper.
How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness: In this riveting, shocking, and beautifully written book, biologist Alanna Collen draws on the latest scientific research to show how our personal colony of microbes influences our weight, our immune system, our mental health, and even our choice of partner.
Love Is Red by Sophie Jaff from Harper.
This electrifying, addictive, and hypnotically beautiful debut spins suspense and literary fantasy into a stunning epic—the first volume in the Night Song Trilogy—ablaze with fear, mystery, and possibility.
Orient by Christopher Bollen from Harper.
A gripping novel of culture clash and murder: as summer draws to a close, a small Long Island town is gripped by a series of mysterious deaths—and one young man, a loner taken in by a local, tries to piece together the crimes before his own time runs out.
How was your week?
——————————–
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Garden season never truly ends for me; I’m always gardening, indoors and out. But there’s a special feeling in the spring when the days get longer and the air has that fresh smell. I want to get outside and plant stuff in the ground.
Pink Geraniums
At the end of every growing season I bring a selection of favorite annuals inside to spend the winter. If the plants can survive the dry air and the lack of indirect sunlight, I can usually coax them back to life in the spring. These brilliant pink geraniums are a favorite and I save a few plants every season.
View into my patio door
I have two south-facing windows and a sunny west window in the laundry room where I overwinter about 50 plants plus my year-round houseplants. The geraniums got a little anxious and have already begun to bloom. Above was the view into my patio door last weekend. Yeah, I know, I should probably invest in a greenhouse.
Take cuttings to make more plants
This week I began taking cuttings from the geraniums and rooting them in small pots. I’ve always had a green thumb—plants seem to like me. Whatever it is, they usually respond well and don’t die too often. That doesn’t mean I haven’t killed my share of plants—just ask my orchids!
Use rooting hormone
The trick to successfully rooting most cuttings is to use a rooting hormone and a good potting soil; then put them in a sunny window and lightly water or mist the cuttings every day.
This works on many plants that won’t readily grow roots in water, but geraniums are one of the easiest plants to grow—they will usually root without the hormone, but I use it to give them a boost.
The benefits of taking cuttings are getting a plant exactly like the original, plus you will save lots of money at the garden center.
——————————–
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
Publisher: PenguinAudio, Riverhead | Sept 2014
Format: Hardcover, 255 pages
Format: Audio Download | 6 hours
Rating: 5 stars
From the Publisher:
Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a few) from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs, and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences. Filled with surprising stories of accidental genius and brilliant mistakes—How We Got to Now investigates the secret history behind the everyday objects of contemporary life.
Thoughts
This was a fascinating look at innovation and discovery. Concentrating on just six areas – glass, cold, sound, clean, time, light – and using what he calls the “hummingbird effect,” the author demonstrates how discoveries build upon one another and bring about changes in seemingly unrelated ways, leading us in directions we never imagined.
For example, glass: before the 15th century, most people were farsighted and never knew it; most couldn’t read and had no need to see tiny shapes formed into words. Therefore, spectacles remained rare and expensive items. The invention of the printing press changed that when it brought the written word to the masses, creating a market for spectacles. People began experimenting with lenses; microscopes, telescopes, and cameras were invented, creating a multitude of new discoveries in the sciences as a result.
The author discounts the lone genius theory where one person magically came up with an idea and “invented” it. He demonstrates how most innovations were collaborations. An example was the light bulb: multiple individuals were working on developing a light bulb, and many “invented” it, but the person known for the light bulb was the one whose bulb outperformed the others and was most successful in bringing it to market. And that was Thomas Edison.
I could babble on a lot about this book and how much I enjoyed it. But instead I’m going to encourage you to give this a read or a listen and have fun learning about how all the things we take for granted became part of our daily lives. And no, you do not need to know one bit about science to enjoy this – just curiosity about the world around us.
Audio production
Audio Listening Level: Easy
I can be a bit of a science nerd and once I started reading this I didn’t want to stop and switched between audio and print so I could keep going. The audio was competently read by George Newbern in a very listenable but documentary-like style. For those who prefer the visual, there were some very cool drawings, photos, and illustrations that make having a print copy worthwhile. But in either format it was an enjoyable read.
——————————–
Source: Review copies provided by Penguin Audio and Riverhead Books.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
——————————–
More Wordless Wednesday. © 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Ella by Mallory Kasdan, Illustrations by Marcos Chin
Publisher: Viking Books | January 2015
Age: 5 – 8 years | 56 pages
This is ELLA. She is six years old. She lives at the Local Hotel. She has a nanny called Manny. He has tattoos for sleeves and he might go in with some guys to buy a grilled cheese truck. Sometimes Ella weaves purses out of Ziploc bags and reclaimed twine. (She is artsy of course.) She has a dog named Stacie and a fish named Rasta and a scooter which is important for getting everywhere she needs to be. Altogether she has been to 62 events including that Hillary Clinton fundraiser. She is NEVER bored. If Ella and Kay Thompson’s Eloise got together for a play date, they would have a very good time indeed.
A charming homage to Eloise, and a delightful update on the classic.
Instead of living at The Plaza, Ella lives at The Local Hotel, and, like Eloise, she is a precocious child who knows everything about the hotel and the people in it; a capable, competent little girl whose upscale, successful mom is often traveling or away from home.
The dialog and humor feel directed towards adults, who will smile when recalling Eloise from their youth, while young children will enjoy the illustrations and the modern-day theme. Much of what happens during Ella’s adventures can be used to spur conversation and lessons with the young readers.
Rating: 4 stars
——————————–
Source: Review copy provided by the Tandem Literary.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Here’s what arrived last week…
New Arrivals
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson from Little Brown.
The stunning companion to Kate Atkinson’s #1 bestseller Life After Life. Her new novel tells the story of Ursula Todd’s beloved younger brother Teddy–would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband, and father–as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century.
Glamourpuss by Sarah Weeks from AmazonVine.
A sassy, delicious picture-book gem from award-winning author Sarah Weeks and Caldecott Medal winner David Small.
Audio Downloads
Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum from Random House Audio,
A striking debut novel of marriage, fidelity, sex, and morality, featuring a fascinating heroine who struggles to live a life with meaning—“a modern-day Anna Karenina tale.
So That Happened: My Unexpected Life in Hollywood by Jon Cryer from Penguin Audio.
If it can happen in show business, it’s happened to Jon Cryer. Now he’s opening up for the first time and sharing his behind-the-scenes stories in a warmly endearing, sharply observed, and frankly funny look at life in Hollywood.
———
Still time to enter the giveaway for…
The Tusk That Did the Damage by Tania James
A tour de force set in South India that plumbs the moral complexities of the ivory trade through the eyes of a poacher, a documentary filmmaker, and, in a feat of audacious imagination, an infamous elephant known as the Gravedigger.
Enter on or before April 8th. US and Canada only.
How was your week?
——————————–
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Under My Apple Tree 