The Best of 2020

      "The Best of 2020." For most of us, "Best" and "2020" probably don't belong in the same sentence, but I thought I'd look back at my reading log for 2020.  It's been a mixed bag - 30 books, including memoirs, fiction, short story collection, history, political satire, comedy, and autobiographies. Some have been great, some good, some unfinishable. First, my favorite three reads of the year.

    The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty is one of my favorite books of all time. History and food are two of my great passions, and this book is a fantastic combination of the two. Twitty is a culinary historian who cooks traditional 19th century southern food, using 19th century techniques. He often appears at historic sites as a historical interpreter, in costume and demonstrating antebellum cooking as it was done then, largely by enslaved Africans who fused their tastes, skills, and knowledge into the mix, creating what we now know as southern food or soul food. As a gay, black, Jewish man, his perspective opened many doors in my mind, and I learned from almost every page. I've also done a couple of his included recipes.  The Cooking Gene is a book that I will return to again and again, and I can't wait to see him in person at an appearance in the future.  "The Old South is a place where people use food to tell themselves who they are, and to tell stories about where they've been."

    Erik Larson is one of my favorite authors. Winston Churchill is one of my favorite historical figures. Lo and behold, the two meet in The Splendid and the Vile, a record of the year 1940. The United Kingdom was standing alone against the Axis onslaught that had conquered much of Europe. Hitler turned his attention to conquering Britain, and Britain was battered and beaten by the Blitz, almost to the point of collapse. Winston Churchill returned from political exile to lead the British people during its darkest hours. The Splendid and the Vile  sets the scene in great detail, and I really got a feel for just how close conquest was. This is my favorite Larson book, Larson at his best.

    My last choice is not really history related, but it's by another one of my favorite authors, You may know David Sedaris from his essays on National Public Radio, in magazines, or his occasional late night talk show appearances. To put it bluntly, David Sedaris is a weird little man who sees the world through his own weird little lenses, and he's made a career of writing essays that can be hilarious, ironic, life-affirming, depressing, and sad, all at the same time. Most of his essays are based on his own life and his own family, all just as weird as he is. This fall, he published The Best of Me, a collection of his works that he personally curated.  It doesn't included some of his most famous works, but works that he personally thought were his best. In fact, even though I have read all of his books in the past, there were only a few stories that I had read before, and I didn't mind reading them again.  Sedaris does extensive book tours around the world, reading stories. In fact, this is his way to "workshop" them so to speak, since the readings often lead to revisions, and he often reads unpublished work in order to edit it. If you see him speak in person, you can see him constantly marking up his script as he reads, based on the audience's reactions.  If you want to give Sedaris a try, I would suggest you start with this collection, and listen to the audiobook version, which he reads.  As a sample from the book, here's one of my favorite Sedaris stories, and it's a Christmas story. (Warning: he does use explicit language and write about adult themes.)

 

Author Spotlight: Stephen L. Carter

     Stephen L. Carter is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include The Emperor of Ocean Park and Back Channel,  and they would probably be classified as political thrillers, but they are full of historical research and insight. His nonfiction includes Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy, Integrity, and Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster. 

    I first discovered Carter when I was in my car and heard this interview on NPR ( https://www.npr.org/2018/10/10/656079710/stephen-carters-book-tells-how-his-grandmother-helped-convict-a-mob-boss ) about his book Invisible.  I  was immediately hooked. It was the story of his grandmother, Eunice Carter. I had never heard of her, and I bet few, if any, of you have.  But it's one of the most compelling stories ever. Eunice Carter was a black woman, the granddaughter of slaves, who became, who became the only female member of a twenty-member task force of government prosecutors tasked with bringing down the most powerful mob figure of the day, Lucky Luciano. She is an incredible figure, facing struggles against racism and sexism throughout her career, and her work was essential to toppling Luciano. She was a black Republican feminist in the 1930s and 1940s. A contemporary said of her, :If she were a man, she would be President." Her story, and life, were complicated even more by the fact that her brother was an active Communist Party member and organizer. It's one of the most interesting stories that I've read in a while.

    I then picked up Carter's The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln: alternate history, political thriller, historical fiction, courtroom drama, all wrapped in one novel. Imagine that Lincoln survived the assassination attempt, and, two years later, he is impeached by Congress. Today, many of us have forgotten that Lincoln was a very divisive President, even in the Union states. He was never universally popular; he faced vociferous opposition and criticism from many. He came close to losing re-election in 1864.  Carter's book is a great historical suspense novel.

    I just picked up Back Channel and Palace Council and added to my long To Be Read List.  Back Channel is set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Palace Council,  set in 1952, is about a conspiracy to manipulate the Presidency. I'm looking forward to both.

Virtually Festive

     One of the things my wife and I have missed most in 2020 is going to book festivals. We really discovered them only a few years ago, but we quickly fell in love and decided to attend as many as we could. We went to a few in Savannah and Decatur Georgia, and we were looking forward to the Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading after we moved into the area. Book festivals allow readers to sit in on book talks and interviews with authors of all genres, and readers also get the chance to meet and interact with authors whom they admire. Festivals allow readers to feel a real connection to authors and works they enjoy, and they discover many more things to read. There is also a camaraderie that develops when you find yourself in a group of people with the same tastes in reading that you have. 

    Then, of course, COVID 2020 destroyed all that. Or did it? Most book festivals and authors adroitly pivoted to offering virtual book festivals, recording interviews with authors and hosting live virtual events that readers can log in to. In fact, going virtual allows festival planners to stretch their events from 1 or 2 day events to weeks, months, or forever. Readers can watch recorded interviews from anywhere at any time.

    Check out these festivals virtually and make plans to attend one in person as soon as your able.

Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading: Originally scheduled for November 12-14, you can go here for recorded interviews, which will be uploaded throughout the weekend. 

https://www.tampabay.com/expos/festival-of-reading/ 

The Savannah Book Festival is usually held on the second weekend of February. Savannah Georgia is always a great place to visit, but the weather is usually pretty nice at this time.  The 2020 event happened live, but planners have already  cancelled the 2021 event. Instead, they will be hosting events and posting videos over several months. See this page for information:

https://www.savannahbookfestival.org/ 

The Decatur Book Festival is usually held on Labor Day weekend, at venues throughout the city. It's a little different from many other festivals because they often put together panels of authors in the same genre or to talk about a particular theme, but they also have single author events.  Here's the link to their recorded talks:  https://decaturbookfestival.com/festival/past-sessions/

The Library of Congress has hosted the National Book Festival for 20 years now, and they have lots of recorded talks and interviews on their Youtube Channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/c/loc/playlists?view=1&sort=dd&shelf_id=2 

Time For a Good Laugh, part 2

     Here are three more great books about the world of comedy.

    Craig Ferguson is my favorite comedian. He was my favorite late night talk show host for years as host of The Late Late Show, and I've seen him 3 or 4 times live. Riding the Elephant is his third book, following his novel Between the Bridge and the River, and his first memoir American On Purpose.  Riding is very funny, very revealing, and very candid. Ferguson is one of my all time favorite celebrities because of his humor and his down to earth personality. IF you are not familiar with his work, check him out.

    The Comedians by Kliph Nesteroff is based on over two hundred original interviews extensive research; it is a thorough narrative of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past hundred years. The book is full of great stories about all the greats of comedy and about people you've never heard of, but should have. I learned about the strict caste distinctions between Vaudeville and burlesque comedians, and I learned the mafia controlled comedy clubs and careers in the 1940s and 1950s. 

    Mixed Nuts by Lawrence J. Epstein focuses on the great comedy teams. Each chapter focuses on a team like Burns and Allen, the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges, Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, and others. The reader learns about each team's formation, career and contributions, and ultimately, maybe inevitably in some cases, their breakups.

    Both books are well-researched and tell great stories about American culture.

    

Time for a Good Laugh, part 1

     If ever we needed a laugh, it's now. 2020 has been rough for all of us. Over the last year, I've read several books by and about comedians.  They are a lot of laughs, of course, but they are also great entertaining stories, with some good life lessons imparted as well. 

    I actually listened to all of these, narrated by the authors themselves, and I highly recommend this route. It was great to hear the subjects tell their own stories. 

    

    Eddie Izzard's Believe Me definitely falls into that arena. As he narrates the book, Izzard often goes off text, on tangents that he didn't include in the book. It's a really entertaining look into how his mind works. Izzard is a British comedian and actor who is known for several things like performing in women's clothing, performing his stand-up in multiple languages around the world, and running 27 marathons in 27 days for charity. In his book, he writes frankly about his childhood, his career, and his alternative sexuality. Izzard has a fan base that crosses all demographic lines because he has the ability to reach practically any audience.

    Are you one of the people who discovered actor Leslie Jordan from his quarantine videos on Instagram and other social media?  Probably not. Like me, you've probably seen him in his fantastic scene-stealing roles on sitcoms in the last 2-3 decades. It seems he's been on every sitcom there is, and he even made an appearance on an episode of  Star Trek: Voyager.  During the COVID quarantine, he started posting hilarious videos of random thoughts, and he became a viral social media phenomenon. If you haven't seen one (language warning):

My Trip Down the Pink Carpet  is the hilarious story of his career.

    Name Drop is a collection of stories of comedian Ross Mathews' encounters with celebrities during his career. It is really a fun, fast read.

    One of the greatest storytellers or raconteurs alive today in my opinion is movie director John Waters. He's published several books, and he does an annual speaking tour around Christmas. We've seen his show in Atlanta a couple of times. He's always entertaining, even if you don't particularly like his movies. Mr. Know It All is his latest memoir.

Narrative Nonfiction

     Narrative Nonfiction. Do you know that term? I first came across the term a few years ago, and, honestly, I am still not sure that I know what it means.  Book Riot defines it this way: Narrative nonfiction—also known as creative nonfiction or literary nonfiction—is usually defined as nonfiction that uses the techniques and style of fiction (characters, plot, conflict, scene-setting) to tell a true story. (Book Riot's list of fifty great narrative nonfiction books: https://bookriot.com/narrative-nonfiction-books/ ) I am still not sure what it means, and when the term "narrative nonfiction" was first used.  I have always just called such books good history. I guess it has to with popularity, referring to books that have wider appeal, books that become bestsellers and get a lot of buzz.  

    If there is a king of narrative nonfiction, it has to be Erik Larson. (See previous blog about Larson here http://thehistocratsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2015/03/author-spotlight-erik-lawson.html ) His books are always big sellers, and I've read and enjoyed every one. In February of 2020, Larson published The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, And Defiance During the Blitz.  I was fortunate enough to also attend his book tour appearance at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta, see him talk about the book, meet him and get a signed copy.  

    This book checks a lot of boxes for me. It's a Larson book, so, of course, it is great storytelling based on thorough research at its best.  Also, the book is about one of my all-time favorite/most interesting figures in history, Winston Churchill.  The setting of the book is 1940-1941 London, during perhaps the darkest time of British history. I have always known how difficult the German blitz was, and how perilously close the fall of Britain was, but The Splendid and the Vile paints a vivid picture of life at the time. After reading the book, I admire Churchill even more. Yes, he had some pretty major faults, but would Britain have survived with any other leader? His wife Clementine comes across as an extraordinary character; I think I would like a good biography or movie about her.  Unfortunately, Winston and Clementine's son Randolph fell far from the tree. Larson also gives us a look at the other side, the behind the scenes intrigue amongst the men in Hitler's immediate circle. The story of Rudolf Hess' flight and capture is especially interesting. The Splendid and the Vile is currently my favorite Larson book. 

    If Larson is the king of narrative nonfiction, Karen Abbott is definitely a contender for queen. Abbott is a very prolific, best-selling author. I've read three of her books, and I've enjoyed and learned from each one. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy  tells the story of four women who served both the Union and Confederate sides in the Civil War. Sin in the Second City is the story of the most famous brothel in American History, Chicago's Everleigh Club, and the two sisters that operated it, arguably among the most powerful women in the city. Her most recent book is  The Ghosts of Eden Park, the story of the most successful bootlegger in Prohibition history, George Remus, the female prosecutor determined to bring him down, and his wife, determined to kill him.  If you're fascinated by the Roaring 20s, the world of The Great Gatsby, or the TV series Boardwalk Empire (Remus is portrayed in an episode.) , this is a great book for you. Abbott's stories are all stranger-than-fiction, and they all feature really larger-than-life women whose stories might not be told otherwise. I'd suggest picking up any or all of her books.

    

Reading Slump

 

    

    I never would have thought it could happen. I'm retired. I've got nothing but time on my hands. I should be reading all day. I am enjoying lots of pool and beach time. My To Be  Read (TBR) list gets longer every day.  However, I am apparently in a reading slump.  

    I'm almost always reading 2-3 books at a time, mostly history or historical fiction, with  something different thrown in once in a while, but I currently have 4 books going, for a long time. It's not that they're bad or that I am not enjoying them; I'm just not making progress.

    They're worth talking about though, and worth recommending. Maybe one of them will arouse  your interest.

    

    Three of the books are set in Georgia, my home state, and I love to read Georgia history. First is Administrations of Lunacy, the history of Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. Central State was built during the asylum movement, inspired by reformer Dorothea Dix,  of the mid 1800s. Dix was involved in the planning and construction of the asylum; she served as an advisor in several states as they built their asylums.  Central State Hospital was, for a long time, the largest mental hospital in the world. Closed years ago, the buildings and grounds have become an attraction of sorts, with many claiming that it's one of the most haunted places in the world. (Article for background https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/asylum-inside-central-state-hospital-worlds-largest-mental-institution/ )  Since I lived and taught  in Milledgeville for most of the 1990s, it's of particular interest to me.  Administrations is a thorough examination of the hospital's operations, focusing on the Jim Crow segregation years.

    The second book is a novel written by former President Jimmy Carter. Carter has written several books, but this is his only novel.  It's the story of some of Georgia's first white pioneers, set before and during the American Revolution.  It's a really good historical novel; frankly, I am a little surprised that Carter's a pretty good fiction writer.  My only complaint is that he's a just a tad too pedantic sometimes, going into great detail to explain tensions and grievances that patriot rebels had against the British. It can seem a bit clunky sometimes if you know a lot going in to the novel.

    Third is Taylor Brown's Pride of Eden.  This recently published book has gotten a lot of critical acclaim and appears on many lists of recommended books.  Brown is from southeast Georgia, and several of his books are set there. I read and enjoyed his book The River of Kings. I started his Gods of Howl Mountain, but I lost interest.  His books are beautifully written; you might call his writing style lyrical or poetic. He's an excellent storyteller. However, I've run into a block on Pride. It's the story of a man who runs an animal sanctuary in coastal Georgia, rescuing abused wild animals from circuses, zoos, and private owners.  I want to finish it, but I have a problem with the book.  Every living being in the book, human or animal, is abused, damaged, troubled, or evil.  It's emotionally draining to read.

    Finally, there's The King of Confidence. This book checks a lot of boxes for me. It's about an American history topic that I'd never heard of before. It's about a charismatic religious leader/cult leader/ con man who was eventually assassinated,  and it's well written. The main character is James Strang who went from being an atheist to claiming to be the true heir to Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. the Mormon Church. He was a rival of Brigham Young, and he created his own movement and community. His life and death were fodder for national newspapers.   

    So that's what I'm currently trying to read.  And I've got stacks of other books to follow.  One day. Sooner than later, I hope.

    

Musical Memories

     In the last year, I've read several biographies and autobiographies of some of my favorite musical performers.  

    Anyone who knows me knows that I  am a huge Prince fan, and I have been since his earliest albums in the late 70s and early 80s.  I followed every twist and turn in his career, and I was devastated by his death. I only got to see him in concert once, his last concert ever, at the Fox Theater in Atlanta the week before he died.  A few months before his death, Prince decided it was time to write his autobiography and hired Dan Piepenbring to co-write it.  With the support of the Prince estate, Piepenbring organized what they had accomplished so far, along with notes and other Prince documents to put together the posthumous The Beautiful Ones.  The book is a fantastic collection of Prince's words, from interviews and notes, including lots of pages, literally in his own handwriting.  Prince was always known for being secretive, mysterious, and inscrutable. In The Beautiful Ones,  he opens up about his life and his music more than he ever had before. Readers are immersed in Prince's world like never before.  It's a must for any Prince fans, but even people who aren't fans may be interested in getting a glimpse of one of the most highly regarded musical geniuses of the last last hundred years.

    If you know Prince, you know that he was a songwriting and producing machine, writing thousands of songs in his lifetime. He was responsible for an entire sub-genre of funk, the Minneapolis sound. He created groups and performers and shared songs with and/or produced dozens of other acts. There may be hundreds of musicians who owe their entire careers to him. The first group he created was The Time. He put the band together, wrote almost all of their songs in the beginning, played on their albums, and included them in his tours and movies.  The lead singer of The Time was/is Morris Day, a teenage friend of Prince's who became his collaborator and, in many ways, his rival.  Day's autobiography, On Time: A Princely Life in Funk, is a fast and fun read. He is open and honest about his relationship with Prince, and he details examples of how Prince's controlling perfectionism both built his career and also stifled it to a degree. He's open about the ups and downs of their personal relationship, and his personal life. The two had just begun rebuilding their relationship months before Prince's death.

    David Bowie's death impacted me as hard as Prince's. Like with Prince, I had been a long-time fan and admirer, and I saw Bowie in concert only once as well.  Dylan Jones' David Bowie: the Oral History uses interviews with dozens of friends and associates of Bowie to tell the story of his life. It is extremely thorough. Like Prince, Bowie was purposefully enigmatic and chameleon-like. In this book, we learn a lot about Bowie, his life, his personality, and his career.

     On Time, The Beautiful Ones, and David Bowie are all successful because they are so honest and revealing. Elton John's autobiography Me is just as open, honest, and revealing. Elton pulls no punches and writes honestly about his memories (or the stories that he doesn't remember personally and had to be told). Whereas Price and Bowie were always quite reluctant to reveal much about their personal lives to the world, Elton John has always been one to say what's own his mind, leading to some pretty famous media and personal feuds over the years. He doesn't hold back in his book either.  In that regard, the book is very much like the movie biopic Rocketman,  which showed Elton warts and all. That's the reason that I personally much prefer Rocketman to the more popular Bohemian Rhapsody, which was intentionally whitewashed by the surviving members of Queen - to the point that I found it to be dishonest and boring. (By the way, Elton narrates the audiobook, and I highly recommend listening to this one.)

    That leads me to Face It, by Debbie Harry, the lead singer of the group Blondie. I also listened to the audio version of this book, narrated by Debbie herself.  I'm a Blondie fan, and, sadly, I was very disappointed by the book. Why? Because, she was not at all open, honest, and revealing.  Not only does she point out many times that she doesn't remember everything, thanks to drugs, but she merely scratches the surface of her live. Everything is very superficial.  For example, Blondie fans know that she had a long time relationship with Chris Stein of the band. In her book their breakup barely rates a sentence; it was like "By the way, Chris moved out that week" or something. I had learned nothing about her after reading the book.

A Continuing Series.... Or Several....

  

There’s something comfortable about the familiar. Everybody has that favorite television series, movie series, or book series to which they like to return. You know and like the characters, and you’re familiar with the creator’s storytelling style. It may even be like having a conversation with an old friend. Over the last year, I’ve read a few books in series that I’ve enjoyed.

What if Abraham Lincoln and his longtime friend Joshua Speed solved mysteries in their days as young law partners in Illinois?  Jonathan Putnam, a nationally renowned lawyer and a Lincoln scholar,  writes books that imagine exactly that.  A House Divided is the fourth in the series. Inspired by actual events and lots of historical research, House Divided has Lincoln and Speed attempting to save their client from being convicted of murder and finding themselves mixed up in a great financial mystery.  In the process, they find their friendship shaken by the appearance of a headstrong and forward-thinking young woman named Mary Todd.  A House Divided  is just as entertaining and interesting as the previous three entries in the series.

The Council of Twelve is the seventh book in a fictional series written by Oliver Potzsch. Potzsch wrote the first in the series, The Hangman’s Daughter, after he discovered that his family history included a long line of city executioners.  That discovery led him into deep research of the lives of medieval and Renaissance-era executioners, and he found that the job was often hereditary, and, while the job of torturing and executing prisoners was considered essential, the executioners and their families lived in a very unique social position. On one hand, they were seen as unclean and unfit to live amongst the population, but, on the other hand, they were often sought out for their knowledge of healing and medicine.  In The Council of Twelve, the hangman Jakob and his family travel to Munich for a meeting of the hangmen’s guild.  In Munich, the family discovers that a number of young women have died under mysterious circumstances, and they set out to discover why. As in the previous six books, the mystery is intriguing, the story is entertaining, and it’s fun to see the family member grow and develop.  For history lovers, there is also so much great historical detail about the time and place that you can almost picture the streets.

When Tony Hillerman died in 2008, many of his fans were afraid they had read the last of Navajo policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Hillerman had written 18 contemporary mystery novels starring Leaphorn and Chee that were full of the history, the legends, and the flavor of the Southwest and of Navajo and Pueblo culture.  No need to worry though; Hillerman’s daughter, Anne Hillerman, picked up the pen and continued where her father left off. So far, she has written three Leaphorn and Chee novels, and they stand up to her father’s work.