Tag: Biography

Books, NonFiction

Queen Meryl by Erin Carlson

RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 320
Quick Review Meryl Streep has the most Academy Award nominations of any actor ever. There’s a reason for that, and Erin Carlson dives into the why in Queen Meryl. 

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Reading Queen Meryl by Erin Carlson in Houston, Texas. | Dress | Shoes | Watch |

Happy Publication day to Erin Carlson and Queen Meryl from Hachette Books. I like Erin Carlson as an author; I like Meryl Streep as an actress. The combination makes for a great and informative read. 

Meryl Streep has become an enigma. She is probably one of the greatest movie stars to have ever lived. With 21 Academy Award nominations, it’s hard to argue the contrary. She has had her critics, like all great artists do. Through it all, she has brought characters to life on the stage and the silver screen. She has not let age or Hollywood hold her back from telling complex stories with grace. Erin Carlson brings this magnificent woman to life in her latest book Queen Meryl. 

Beginning in Meryl’s formative years, Carlson looks at what transformed Mary Louise, the girl, into Meryl, the artist and actress. Carlson follows Meryl Streep’s career from stage to film, documenting the most important phases in her career and life. Meryl Streep has spent her career choosing films with care to tell women’s diverse stories. From Kramer vs. Kramer to Out of Africa to Silkwood to Mamma Mia to The Devil Wears Prada and so many more. 

Carlson allows Streep a voice by quoting her often throughout Queen Meryl. Pulling from speeches, history, friendships, interviews, and more, Carlson creates an image of the woman and the artist fighting for visibility and change through her work and activism. Streep is funny and self-deprecating while still exuding assuredness.   

Queen Meryl includes breaks for history lessons, speech snippets, critical responses, and more. The book also includes sketches of Streep throughout her career before every chapter. A few iconic photos are used at key points. Each chapter begins with a memorable quote from the movie Carlson will focus on during that chapter. It is obvious that Carlson is in awe of the legend and the woman; her ability to speak directly to the reader about her own emotions is a good pairing for the seemingly warm and hilarious Streep. 

I highly enjoyed reading Queen Meryl by Erin Carlson. I have loved Meryl Streep for as long as I can remember, but there was so much I didn’t know about her life and career. She is inspiring as a person and activist. I hope the world remembers her as the complex and interesting woman Erin Carlson paints her to be. 

Memorable Quotes
“Allow me to describe the plot of this 1977 gem of a movie that you should drop everything (except this book) and watch immediately…”
“Despite her perfect image, Meryl wasn’t immune to insecurity – especially during dark nights of the soul when the mind tends to ruminate on uncertainty, regret, and rejection.”
“Meryl avoided doing films that sexualized her or made her a prop to a male lead.”

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Title: Queen Meryl; The Iconic Roles, Heroic Deeds, and Legendary Life of Meryl Streep
Author: Erin Carlson
Publisher: Hachette Books
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780316485272

Books, NonFiction

Wild and Crazy Guys by Nick de Semlyen

RaeAnna

Worth A Read Most Definitely
Length 336
Quick Review The 80s saw a comedic revolution, and there were several men at the center of that revolution.

Reading Wild and Crazy Guys by Nick de Semlyen on a gravel road in Old Town Spring, Texas| Skirt Set | Purse | Fringe | Shoes | Watch

I grew up on 80s comedies. Steve Martin’s SNL skits were performed by a twelve year old me in the hallways of my church for a captive audience of my peers who were less educated on comedy of years past. I was introduced to Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, The Jerk, Coming to America, National Lampoon’s Family Vacation, and a plethora of other classic comedies long before I understood most of the jokes. None-the-less, I grew up laughing to the humor of Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, and the other comics gracing the pages of Nick de Semlyen’s Wild and Crazy Guys.

If you don’t know anything about the comedy scene or the people inhabiting it during the 80s, look no further than Wild and Crazy Guys. Nick de Semlyen peeks into the revolutionarily funny period that gave the world movies, like Stripes and Animal House.

I was literally laughing out loud reading this. It’s such a great look into the backstory of some of the most influential movies in my life. I don’t know if I should be proud how much these men and movies influenced me, but they did. Thanks, Dad.

Wild and Crazy Guys by Nick de Semlyen | Skirt Set | Purse | Fringe | Shoes | Watch

Wild and Crazy Guys starts with an iconic but not for laughs fight in the SNL dressing room between Murray and Chase. It sets the tone of how funny these men were while also reminding people how serious, driven, and a little crazy they were about comedy and their careers. de Semlyen goes into great detail about the things going on in the comics personal lives and the behind the scenes of the movies and shows. I appreciate how well researched the book was and included anecdotes, quotes, experiences, reviews, and more from contemporaries and historians.

For as funny as these men and their movies are, there is a dark side to fame and comedy. de Semlyen does not shy away from talking about drugs, alcohol, partying, and fame, including John Belushi’s overdose and Doug Kenney’s controversial death.

I can’t suggest Wild and Crazy Guys by Nick de Semlyen more. It is definitely not for everyone. If comedy is your jam, pick this one up. You won’t regret it. I promise.

Memorable Quotes
“…Candy argue passionately that it should be cut entirely, believing it was sexist and designed to make him look like a pig in a sty.” About the wrestling with topless women scene in Stripes.
“…since Murray believed all good things came from difficult conditions.”

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Title: Wild and Crazy Guys
Author: Nick de Semlyen
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9781984826640

Books, NonFiction

First by Evan Thomas

RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 496
Quick Review A biography of the Supreme Court’s first female justice of the peace.

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Reading First by Evan Thomas in Galveston. | Black Dress 

I loved this book. First by Evan Thomas is a beautiful look into the life and work of Sandra Day O’Connor. It is an in depth and interesting look at the life of a fascinating and brilliant woman. Thomas pays homage to a life built on principle, truth, honor, and family.

I didn’t know much about Sandra Day O’Connor when I started the book, except for the fact she exists and the Supreme Court bit. Surprisingly, a lot of my peers don’t know anything about her either. Even my feminist friends didn’t realize she was the first woman on the Supreme Court. Ugh, the education system fails again. I couldn’t wait to dive into this book, and it did not disappoint. Thomas writes an account as brilliant and intimate as the woman deserves.

Sandra Day O’Connor was born and raised on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. She went to Stanford for her B.A. in Economics as well as for law school. She married her husband John O’Connor. As an educated woman in the 1950’s, she had difficulty finding work as a lawyer even though she was more than qualified. She became the mother of three boys and was an active part of their Arizona community. In the 1960’s, she was an assistant Attorney General in Arizona before becoming a Senator in Arizona’s state legislature. In 1974, she became a judge. In 1981, Reagan appointed Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court, where she worked tirelessly for justice. She was the First woman to be on the Supreme Court.

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First by Evan Thomas | Black Dress | Straw Hat

There is so much in a life, but in an extraordinary life, there is even more. First could have been a much longer book and still been interesting. Thomas writes about the life and the woman. She was funny, personable, and hardworking. Sandra Day O’Connor cared. She cared about her family, the people around her, and the country. She worked for the good of the community and the world. She kept her personal feelings aside from her job in order to make the right decision. People who met her were always charmed.

I, generally, don’t love female biographies written by men. They don’t have the life experience of women and can’t write an accurate depiction of what women go through. Thomas is not afraid to point out the inequality and male blind spots O’Connor faced in her daily life as a strong and smart woman.

One thing I deeply admire about Sandra Day O’Connor was her dedication to her family and her career. In a time when women didn’t have careers, she rose to one of the highest positions in the country. Her husband supported her and was a partner, but she did the same for him.

I highly suggest First by Evan Thomas. It is a beautiful biography and homage to a revolutionary woman.  

Memorable Quotes
“She learned not to take the bait.”
“Revolution always breeds counterrevolution.”
“when Sandra Day O’Connor joined the Court in 1981, the justices were still working out whether gays and women enjoyed the same Fourteenth Amendment protection as African Americans did.”

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Title: First; Sandra Day O’Connor
Author: Evan Thomas
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780399589287

Books

The Queen of Katwe by Tim Crothers

RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 224
Quick Review Phiona Mutesi is from one of the worst slums in the world in a country left behind. Overcoming every impossibility, she is one of the most promising young women in chess.

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Phiona Mutesi should not be a name I know; it should not be a name anyone knows. She is from Katwe a slum of Kampala in Uganda. It has some of the worst living conditions in the world. She was born poorer than poor. Through what can only be explained as divine intervention, she found chess and success and a place in a world she didn’t even know existed.

Tim Crothers published The Queen of Katwe in 2012. A Disney movie of the same name was released in 2016 starring Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo. I saw the movie before I knew about the book. Obviously, the book is better, but the movie was pretty damn good. Tim Crothers happened upon Phiona’s story as a sports journalist. His attention was captured, and this book became the product.

Crothers spends more time describing Katwe, conditions, Uganda, and people than he does Phiona. At the time of publication, Phiona was maybe 14. Her life just beginning. He does this because it is necessary to set the scene in which Phiona was born into. It would be impossible to understand the magnitude of the miracle without understanding the devastation of her reality.

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Katwe has a sad history. People from rural areas left for a better life in Kampala, but with no skills suited to city-life they found refuge in a place they could go without notice. Katwe grew from a swamp to a sprawling slum. As Uganda went through regime changes and rebellions Katwe saw the worst of it. The citizens are often flooded out of their homes or ravaged by disease. Tragedy and death is their reality. So much death that Uganda is the youngest country in the world with an average age of 14. No one is certain of their birth year simply guessing how old they are. Surviving is the driving force. A need to eat and lack of funds and opportunity requires children to work. Without education a cycle has formed of dependency, poverty, ignorance, and children having babies.

Robert Katende grew up in slums, but was lucky enough to have an education. Without contacts, he had little prospect. Through his faith, he made a contact that would change so many lives. He brought sports to Katwe. Giving the children who had no hope a bright spot in their day. Katende spread his faith through soccer and eventually chess as well as one meal a day. Sometimes the only meal the children would have. Phiona Mutesi followed her brother to chess club one day. Maybe it was the promise of a meal or a diversion from reality, she kept returning. She took to the game quickly.

Phiona had no understanding of the world outside her slum when she bordered a plane for the first time. Chess opened up her world in a way nothing else could have. Through her natural talent, her hard work, her drive, the tireless support of Katende and all the others, Phiona has traveled the world competing at the highest tiers of chess competitions, and she has won.

As I read, I was constantly on the verge of tears. It is an impressive account of overcoming every impossibility. Crother’s includes so many accounts of Ugandans overcoming and succeeding and Ugandans who are just surviving in Katwe. It is impossible to read this without being moved on an intensely deep level. There is one passage towards the end of the book, which summed up every emotion I had:

“Phiona Mutesi is the ultimate underdog. To be African is to be an underdog in the world. To be Ugandan is to be an underdog in Africa. To be from Katwe is to be an underdog in Uganda. To be a girl is to be an underdog in Katwe.”

It is an intensely moving passage. Crother’s spends the whole book demonstrating the truth of this statement. Phiona is an underdog. She’s an underdog who has continued to overcome.

The Queen of Katwe isn’t just Phiona’s story. It is the story of every person who helped her. By helping her succeed, they were paving a path for Uganda to gain respect in a world that has largely forgotten it. She’s a young woman with the weight of a country on her shoulders.   

*The Queen of Katwe was published in 2012. There is a new postscript for the paperback edition, which updates the reader about Phiona’s circumstances. I, of course, had to research more because I want this underdog to succeed. She is a Woman Candidate Master in chess with a FIDE score of 1628. She received a scholarship and is a part of the chess team at Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, which she started attending in 2017. She is still succeeding and creating her story!!!  

Memorable Quotes
“What name Phiona come back day after day were the beautiful pieces that attracted her in the first place.”
“…positive reinforcement being an unfamiliar but powerful incentive to a slum child.”
“Phiona was like a boy, but because she was not a boy, her opportunity to advance quickly in the game was mind-boggling.”
“The shriek of a dismissed girl from a dismissed world finally making herself be heard.”

Title: The Queen of Katwe
Author: Tim Crothers
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Copyright: 2012
ISBN: 9781501127182
Books

Edith Wharton

RaeAnna

Read: No
Length: 869
Quick Review: A thorough and insightful look into the life and writing of an influential, female author.

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Edith Wharton is an author known for her realistic social critiques of the American upper echelon’s wealth, morals, classicism, and more. Her use of language captured a way of life that was both disappearing quickly and unattainable to the majority of Americans. Wharton had a unique insight into the New York City aristocracy because she was born into high society.

Wharton is one of my favorite authors and has been for a long time. I first fell in love with her writing while reading House of Mirth and Age of Innocence. They are both wonderful and classics. One thing I didn’t know about Wharton but learned is her love for dogs. She cites receiving her first dog as a child as a pivotal moment in her life. As a dog mama, I completely and totally identify with this sentiment.

Edith Wharton was born in New York City in 1862. She was much younger than her two older brothers, which caused her to view her childhood as one filled with solitude. Between the ages of four and ten, she lived in Europe. Upon returning to New York City, she could never shake the feeling of otherness, which would often crop up in her work thematically. The feeling of being an outsider would eventually allow her to critique the aristocracy so poignantly. Wharton was a writer from the very beginning. She began publishing work in her teens but disappeared from the publishing world for many, many years. At the age of 23, she married Edward Wharton. After 28 years of marriage in 1913, they divorced. She didn’t begin publishing until the later years of marriage that Wharton began publishing. Wharton would spend a great deal of time in France and spoke French fluently but with a heavy accent. She passed away in 1937 in France, her preferred home.

Hermione Lee explores the life and work of Edith Wharton in a mere 870 pages. Edith Wharton was extensively researched and written with precision. Lee relied heavily on Wharton’s work for biographical clues and sites lengthy passages from her work. Lee sites so much of Wharton’s work that the book feels more like a textual analysis than a biography. Vast majority of the time, it was difficult wading through all the passages and analysis to find out about the historical information about the woman who penned the words originally.

I can understand why Lee cited Wharton’s work so heavily. Much of Wharton’s life is a mystery because she was incredibly private. She destroyed her correspondences and asked for the recipients of her letters to do the same. In her autobiography and memoir, she was not always truthful in her self portrayal. Turning to Wharton’s work is an obvious and helpful way of circumventing the research challenges.

Memorable Quotes
“The gift of her first small dig at the age of three was evidently as life-changing an event as her first publication, or her first car, would be.”

Title: Edith Wharton
Author: Hermione Lee
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright: 2007
ISBN: 978037540009