My Life As Neil Patrick Harris

Is it a DIY book? A memoir? A choose-your-own adventure fiction full of mystery and magic?


Yes.


It's all of that and more. Actor Neil Patrick Harris has penned his autobiography...kinda. He's left it up to the reader to decide how his life will go by incorporating one of Harris' favorite book styles from childhood. He's chosen to write his memoir in a "Choose-You-Own-Adventure" format and I couldn't wait to see how this would work.


At the end of the first chapter which describes his parents and Southwestern childhood, Harris lets the reader choose: go on with this happy tale, or see how life might have been otherwise. Naturally, I read both segments (which is where a bit of fiction comes into play) and loved the humor and fun he included in describing his childhood. I knew right then that I'd be reading every page. There were no more choices for me.


At times, my choice to take every adventure threw me for a loop since the pages and chapters didn't necessarily make sense when read in straight order. But I got the gist. He threw in some magic tricks (since he is, after all, an amateur magician). And some retrospectives from fellow actors mentioned in his book. This is why it would have sucked for me to choose my own adventure for him; I would have missed out on so many fun chapters.


This was a fast, light read unlike any other memoir I've read. It seems so in character for him. Not that I know him. But through this bit of lighthearted engagement, I feel like I do.




Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review: Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking

It wasn't until I read Anya Von Bremzen's memoir, Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking, that I realized I know next to nothing about Russia. Her memoir, part history lesson, part food chronicle, part personal tale, is a combination that appealed to me on many levels. While I often got bogged down in the details of the politics going on in the Soviet Union, it was a necessary frame-of-reference for the food the author then described. I learned quite a bit having the story told in this context.




Oddly, the tales she told made me long to visit Russia and see some of this for myself, and at the same time, made me think I should never visit Russia. This, combined with the recent coverage of the winter Olympics followed by the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine, all jumbled together in the same way that the information in this book did. Bottom line, I don't know what to think about Russia.




But I do know one thing: I want to try Russian food. It wasn't until I read this book that I realize I've never had Russian food. In fact, I can't think of any Russian restaurants anywhere either. There must be some in San Francisco, though I missed them. And while the cuisine seems very similar to Polish food (which I love), there is something distinctly Russian about the recipes and cultural staples she describes. I'll be on the search for Russian food now.




Or, I suppose, I could pick up one of Von Bremzen's cookbooks and try to replicate a recipe myself. She is a James Beard-winning food writer with five cookbooks to her name.




But this memoir should be read before making any Russian dishes. Understanding the story behind the foods and putting meals into the context of Soviet history should be one of the main ingredients of mastering Soviet cooking.








*I received this book to review from Blogging for Books.

Review: The Soul of All Living Creatures

When I was a student in zoology, we were tasked with studying an animal at the zoo and writing a paper about our observations. It seemed so simple at the outset. I chose zebras and spent hours watching them graze in their confined space. I studied their stripes. I worked at distinguishing one animal from another. In essence, I had no idea what I was doing.


Studying animals and animal behavior seems like it should be a simple and straightforward task, too. A dog wags his tail; he's happy. But there's so much more to it than that, which is exactly why we need veterinarians like Vint Virga to observe our animals and treat them when there's something wrong. Dr. Virga sees more than just the symptoms displayed by a sick or injured animal; he sees the whole being and its relationship to us.


As a specialist in veterinary behavioral medicine and consultant to zoos and wild animal parks, Dr. Virga's expertise spans the animal kingdom from dogs and cats to wild species such as leopards, gibbons, wolves, and giraffes. He has served as an advisor to leading U.S. corporations, professional associations, and animal welfare organizations and has appeared as a featured guest on ABC World News, National Geographic Explorer, and PBS Nature.


What I learned from reading his book is how patient we need to be with our animals when they're sick. And how patient we need to be with ourselves. We're so quick in our society today to rush to solve problems without always understanding what the problem is. We may not even recognize what we're seeing when we observe our pets or other animals. There's a language there that we haven't quite breeched. It takes more time, more practice, and more patience.


I enjoyed reading Dr. Virga's book because it wasn't just about the animals. It's about our relationship to them and what we learn about ourselves as we learn more about the animals around us. This is a book for any type of animal lover -- including those interested in human behavior.


You can read more about Dr. Virga and his book The Soul of All Living Creatures in this New York Times article.




*I received this book from Blogging for Books to review.

Book Review: Summer House with Swimming Pool

I loved Herman Koch's novel The Dinner so I couldn't wait to read this book. His characters are so despicable. There wasn't a single one in The Dinner that was redeemable. This was true again in Summer House With Swimming Pool. I'm starting to wonder what goes through the mind of this author!




If you read this book, it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that Koch has little respect for women. His characters view them as nothing more than sex objects, including the two young girls in the novel who are 11 and 13-years-old. Koch pushes it to a limit that sent alarm bells ringing through my mind. The girls pose for a couple of boys as they stand on a diving board and are squirted with hoses as part of a "Miss Wet T-shirt" contest. The girls' father finds it amusing. I found it disturbing.


What kind of father is okay with boys making his daughters into sex objects at that (or any) age? One of the boys gets angry at the younger girl and calls her a "slimy bitch." Again - what kind of father allows a boy to call his 11-year-old daughter that in front of him?




All of the male characters in the novel are atrociously misogynistic. I couldn't stand any of them. I knew the book would take twists and turns that rattle the rational mind, but didn't expect some of the things that came up. Again, it made me wonder what in the world goes through Herman Koch's mind? That being said, I can't wait for his next book to be translated into English. So what does that say about my own psyche?








HERMAN KOCH is the author of eight novels and three collections of short stories. The Dinner, his sixth novel, has been published in twenty-five countries, and was an international bestseller. He currently lives in Amsterdam.




*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Review: What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding

I can't decide how I feel about this book. It was initially off-putting as author Kristin Newman immediately jumped into her sexual escapades around the globe. It reminded me of twentysomethings who think it's cool to brag about "that time I was so wasted," or "I was so drunk," etc. But instead, it was Kristin boasting about all the men she slept with in various foreign countries. I don't consider myself that prudish, but there were times when it seemed like she was trading sex for a place to stay or a ride when she needed one.




But her writing won me over and soon I was caught up in the adventures and locales she described. As a writer for several sitcoms, she had the time and the money to spend on periods of extended travel and her stories were entertaining and funny. It was easy to see how she made a living entertaining people with humor.




Then I'd teeter back to not liking her. Maybe it was jealousy in part because I'm more aligned with the "people who were breeding" in my twenties and early thirties while she was globe-trekking. (Is it my imagination or is her book title purposely offensive?) I can admit that a part of me wishes I'd been as wild, carefree and uninhibited as she was. Then I remember who I am, and that I'm not an extrovert who gloms onto strangers and takes them up on their offers to fly halfway around the world to stay at their place. That's just not me.




But I loved the adventures and the travel descriptions. So I teetered back to liking the book again.




Overall, I'd have to say I liked the book. It kept me reading and made me drool with envy. Unfortunately, Kristin's sexual romps were distracting in what was otherwise a great travel memoir.




Decide for yourself. You can read the opening chapter here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/221612141/What-I-Was-Doing-While-You-Were-Breeding




*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Picking Cotton

Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson
answer questions at Miami University.

In 1984, Jennifer Thompson was raped in the middle of the night in her own off-campus apartment. She woke to find a man in her room. Once she realized that he intended to rape her, she decided to focus on her assailant and memorize every detail about him that she could in order to help the police catch and convict him. She narrowly escaped her assailant that night and underwent a rape kit at the hospital and worked with the police to make a composite sketch based on her description of the man. She later picked Ronald Cotton as her rapist from a batch of photos, and identified him again in a line-up. Cotton was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He served 11 years before DNA evidence proved he was innocent in Jennifer’s attack and he was exonerated of the crime.

Thompson and Cotton have since collaborated on a book that tells their stories, and now make public appearances together to bring awareness to the fallibility of eye witness identification and the number of people wrongly convicted based on that testimony.

I was fortunate enough to hear them speak last night as part of Miami University’s Criminal Justice Week. The room was packed to standing room only, and yet, as Jennifer spoke, you could have heard a pin drop. No one moved. No one rustled or made any sound at all. We were riveted.

I know that Jennifer has told her story hundreds, if not thousands of times now, and yet, she mustered up all the fear, anger, rage, and hate that she went through. Her performance made us feel as though the rape and trial had happened just months ago. We were right there with her, hating Ronald Cotton, too. Except that Ronald Cotton was the wrong man.

Once she finished, he rose from his seat and walked up to the podium to tell his account of the story. Soft-spoken and much less emotional than Jennifer, Ronald described the confusion he felt when he heard that the police were looking for him. He went to the police station to clear up the matter and was instead handcuffed, arrested, and placed on $150,000 bail that his family could not pay. Later, in court, Jennifer identified him again as her attacker and the jury came back with a guilty verdict.

He told us all of this matter-of-factly. Then the judge asked him if he had anything to say and instead of words, he broke into song; a song he had written to God while he was incarcerated awaiting trial. He sang it for us, just as he had in court, and we sat spellbound.

Despite the fact that Ronald has shared the platform with Jennifer during all their speaking engagements, his speech was not as polished and practiced. Instead, his quiet demeanor came through and we could feel what a gentle man he is.

Both Jennifer and Ronald described what life was like once he was released from prison. He wanted to meet her, but she was scared to death that he would hate (and possibly hurt) her for what her testimony had done to him. Family members finally convinced her to meet him so the two met at a church. She immediately apologized to him, telling him that she could never apologize enough, but hoped that someday he could forgive her.

“I forgave you years ago,” he said. And that changed everything for her.

I read Picking Cotton a couple years ago, so was already familiar with the story, but hearing them speak together was more powerful than I ever could have expected. They intend to keep traveling around the country, encouraging people to work toward justice reform. If you ever have the opportunity to hear them speak, do. Their story will change you, too.

Our House Got TP'ed!

We woke up this morning to find that our house had been TP'ed during the night. Halfheartedly toilet-papered; they only used two rolls, but still. It came as quite a surprise. And that's exactly how we reacted: surprised.

When I think about toilet-papering a house, I think of juvenile pranks intended to either irritate the person who lives there, or elevate them, like athletes who dump a cooler full of Gatorade on their teammates. I'm not sure how this episode was intended. It was pretty harmless, and we found it amusing, so I'll go with it being fun-spirited.

We're trying to figure out who might have done it. I wondered if my husband was the target? He's a teacher. One of his students could have figured out where he lives. Or it could have been aimed toward my daughter's attention. Maybe a neighborhood boy likes her? Of course, our house could have been chosen at random. Or it could have been the antics of one of the neighborhood kids who knew that we wouldn't get upset about it.

Whatever it was about, it amused us. We've never had this happen, and felt oddly special to have been singled out.

I'm sure we would have felt differently if it had rained.

Now I'm wondering what will happen to our house on Halloween?