jask50

Interesting but too Salacious

Revisado: 03-14-25

A provocative topic but doesn’t go beyond skin deep . A little too ‘look at this’ and not enough substance. The reader made it all seem like a joke.

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Super Interesting but Sometimes Sappy

Revisado: 02-06-25

I grew up always knowing who Cher was. She was omnipresent in the media, my mom was was titillated by her, and my older sister had some of her albums. I had no idea of her dramatic, pulp fiction back story!

Cher does a great job of remembering details and being candid about situations in her life. She over does syrupy sentimentality at times, but it almost seems like a way to throw some water on the fire of her bad circumstances. Cher admits that success and fame are mostly luck, but I believe her fortitude true love of performing helped immensely.

One thing that struck me as I listened to the book was that, although I’m sure Cher has seen a therapist or two, she appears to have little insight into her past. Some of the defiant, risky behavior of her youth was not so much because she was free spirit as she says, but she was also acting out in response to her very unstable home life. Maybe she purposely didn’t go into detail about coming to grips with her childhood, but she was strangely blasé about her mother-approved affair with a ten years older Warren Beatty when she was 15. I cheered for her as she broke the pattern of domestic abuse and male domination that was rampant in her family.

As for the performance, I loved hearing Cher read the beginnings of the chapters but wasn’t broken up about another woman reading the rest. Cher is busy! She has things to do!

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Shocking…But in a Good Way

Revisado: 01-27-25

Kristen Johnston tells a tragic story in such an honest way but somehow injects enough levity to keep the listener from being totally bummed out. Her perspective is engaging and entertaining. This book is worth a second listen.

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A Bright Spot

Revisado: 12-14-24

Ross Mathews exudes upbeat charisma and silly-sassy style without being too much. I want to move to Palm Springs just to run into him and talk about the weather or. . . anything. In a world going dark, he is a light. This book is medicine for the cynical!

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Worth Getting Through

Revisado: 12-08-24

Although my first impression was Winnie the Pooh (the voice) is gay and has a medical emergency, I was drawn in and felt a bit of privilege about being trusted with the intimate details of the illness and the author’s life. The medical aspect was interesting, but the impact on a life as a whole made me lean into this story and want an explanation of the illness and what the narrator could expect in the future. But with real life, nothing is ever that neat.

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Overdramatic and Delusional to the End

Revisado: 10-24-24

Lisa Marie Presley’s autobiography is a cherry picked collection of anecdotes meant to show the beautiful and tragic aspects of her life as the only child of the very famous Elvis Presley. However, the beautiful are hollow cliches and the tragic are delusions. Lisa Marie and her daughter gaslight themselves throughout. Elvis’ mother did not drink herself to death because Elvis was sent away to the Army for 2 years as they assert. She did it because she was an alcoholic. Lisa Marie was not a “wild child” running over peoples feet with her golf cart and threatening to get people fired. She was spoiled and entitled. Old French estates were all haunted so Lisa Marie bought an old British one. Are there only French ghosts? The biggest lie that perpetuates itself in this book is that Lisa Marie is irrevocably sad because of her father’s death. A history of family depression, an unstable and chaotic childhood, and an adult life with a lack of purpose never factor in to what might really be going on. There are a few interesting trivial facts interspersed, but overall - ug.

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PR Palooza

Revisado: 10-20-24

The story started out promising as Ms. Simpson was fairly candid and promised authenticity. But then it turned into a saccharine, Miss America-esque narration of her life. I was hoping for something inspirational but it’s not. It seems you need to be beautiful and surrounded by a large group of besties to overcome big problems. It was interesting to hear Ms. Simpson rationalize many of her decisions. She claims her Christian faith is the most important thing to her, yet she fornicates, shacks up with men, has children out of wedlock on purpose, and parties excessively. It’s fine, though. She is sure God wants her to be happy.

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da Vinci Comes Alive

Revisado: 10-12-24

I’ve heard of Leonardo da Vinci since grade school, but always in a clinical “these are his achievements” lecture way. It is a pleasure to hear about him as a human with family and friends. Drawing from almost everything written about and by da Vinci, the author breathes life into a universally acknowledged genius and makes him human. Although there is so much unknown about Leonardo, the facts, anecdotes, and conjectures presented here are illuminating. The reading of the book was well done, but sometimes a break is needed because of the sheer amount of information. The author borders on condescending to the reader at times, but overall introduces us to Leonardo Da Vinci the person.

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Interesting Perspectives on an Enigmatic Person

Revisado: 06-29-24

Listening to stories about Anthony Bourdain is always captivating, especially when the speaker is passionate about him. To hear all of the perspectives fills out the picture of Bourdain, but also subtly reveals characteristics of the speakers. Some you can relate to, some remind you of someone, and some tell more about Bourdain by who he interacted with and why.

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Interesting but Predictable

Revisado: 01-28-24

The main characters were not especially well - developed but the story line was still compelling. It was entertaining in a dark way.

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