Review: The Man Who Fell To Earth

The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like "War of the Worlds", (view spoiler)[but with the alien (singular) succumbing not to smog but to gin and governmental overstep (hide spoiler)]. My second Tevis book, and I find his writing likable, though feeling a bit askew, like you are looking at things slightly differently than normal, at an angle. Not your father's dystopia.

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Review: Dance Dance Dance

Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this a more familiar story from Murakami, with shades of a mystery novel through parts, though with Murakami's normal surrealness. And as with most of his stories, I had to stop in the middle to try out some mentioned music, in this case Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay". Needed a touch more sheep.

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Review: Somebody's Fool

Somebody's Fool by Richard Russo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed Russo's early books, including "Nobody's Fool". The characters, the situations, the towns were all so familiar to me from growing up in a small town that had the same kinds of characters and the same characteristics. I was expecting the same kind of nostalgia-tinged trip with Russo's new Fool book. That's not how it went down. This one felt closer to who I am now, more adult. Very enjoyable trip.

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Review: BASEBALL LIVES

BASEBALL LIVES by Mike Bryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed playing baseball as a kid, but knew I wouldn't become a pro player. I found I enjoyed watching the minors and the majors, and thought, hey, instead of being a professional player, since that wasn't in the cards, could I work elsewhere in baseball? I found this book was quite interesting in diving into the other jobs out there that kept the work in the game. I appreciated that you got introduced to a number of very different people, in many different jobs. I don't think I'll ever make it in the game, but I think I would have enjoyed working with some of these folks.

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Review: Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So how is it that I didn't read this until I was 60? I remember seeing bits of the movie back, oh, 50 years ago or so. Of course what I remember was how (view spoiler)[ people kept books alive by becoming the books, memorizing the text of their chose book and passing on orally the wording of the book to the next generation in order to be able to return it to print when the government allowed (hide spoiler)]. I was expecting to get a deeper dive on that aspect. Instead, the book was more about the change in heart of a "fireman". The part that I remembered from the movie was just a way to wrap up the end of the book. There wasn't any more depth to the concept. I found that a bit underwhelming. Overall a good book, but would be better if you didn't know about the movie.

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Review: Along The Illinois

Along The Illinois by Edgar Lee Masters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading through Master's last book of poetry. The poems reminded me of Spoon River Anthology, as well they should. My favorite was "Cricket in the Kitchen". I also enjoyed the way Masters evoked the Illinois prairie that he wrote about. For many years, I drove through the Spoon River valley on trips, and was glad to see references to some of the towns, and a lot of the flora and fauna.

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Review: Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond

Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond by Henry Winkler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was in grade school when Happy Days was first run, must see TV. Every Wednesday, you would hear comments about what happened, but much more often you'd hear a catchphrase from the show - usually Fonzie's 'Heyyyy". Jumping the Shark was just another cool episode for us, interesting because it took place away from Al's Diner or the Cunningham home and featured a motorcycle jump, like Evel Knievel, hero of the elementary-aged bicycle set. Happy Days defined must watch TV. And Fonzie was king. I wanted to read this to hear about those days for Winkler, and what happened after. The book reads mostly like you'd expect, with stories about his family and his career. This one, compared to other celebrity memoirs I've read, seemed to be a little more closely tied to ongoing counseling for Winkler. He portrays his family as quite bad folks over and over. While Winkler seems a gentle, goofy guy, he was too overbearing about how rough he had it growing up well off with confusing parents. It strikes a false cord in what I found otherwise to be an interesting entertainment life story. Overall, I liked the story, and I really enjoyed Winkler's narration of his book. He comes across as a regular guy who is a little attention-needy. And I may just have to watch Barry, he makes a good case to give it a try.

I received a pre-release download of the audiobook from the publisher in exchange for a review.

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