When Isabel Gillies’s husband got a job she packed up her two toddlers, and belongings and moved from New York City to Ohio.  After only a few months of doing so her husband informed her that he was leaving her and their two boys.  A friend told her it “happens every day.”  The story doens’t even have the slightest hint of self pity, Isabel writes candidly as if speaking with a close friend.  With divorce rates close to 60% this memoir hits close to home for many of us.

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Tags: book, divorce, happens every day, isabel gillies, Literature, memoir, New York City, nonfiction, ohio, read

How many former paratroopers do you know who write poetry?  Of those who said yes, how many were actually good at it?  Derrick C. Brown is a man of many hats and a man of many words and his poetic phrasing definitely demands an awestruck pause.  His 2003 collection of poems entitled I’m Easier Said Than Done resonates with the inner scramblings of our souls and the illogical struggle of our minds.  The elegiac assemblage won the 2004 California Independent Book Critics Award.  In that same year Derrick C. Brown founded Write Bloody Publishing, which is now located in Los Angeles, New York City, and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Derrick C. Brown has also been the lead singer/songwriter of John Wilkes’ Kissing Booth and All Black Cinema.  

From CD release to book publication, Derrick C. Brown is a magician of words.  His poetry is silly yet pensive, frank yet elusive.  You will find him touring the NYC area in January between the 12th and the 17th.  Check out his website for specific venues.

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Tags: All Black Cinema, book, California Independent Book Critics Award, Collection of Poems, Derrick C. Brown, I'm Easier Said Than Done, John Wilkes' Kissing Booth, poetry, Write Bloody Publishing

Recently I picked up Melvin Burgess’ 1996 Carnegie Medal and Guardian Award winning novel Smack and was, yet again, emotionally affected. Two young teenagers run away from home and find shelter in a squat in Bristol, England with a couple who also happen to be heroine addicts.  Soon they are both hooked as well.  What starts as a venture of freedom turns into a struggle to hold onto something concrete. 

Originally printed in the UK under the title Junk, Melvin Burgess depicts the progressive fall into addiction candidly using the voices of ten different characters, opening up the bigger picture without alluding to the author’s point of view.  Scrounge up those old high-school summer reading lists and make sure to check this one off.  Better late than never.

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Tags: book, Bristol, Carnegie Medal, England, Fiction, Guardian Award, Junk, Melvin Burgess, novel, Smack, Squat

From the start of Melanie Lynn’s novel I was unsure and frankly, quite skeptical of Jumble Pie‘s appeal.  The story tells of two unlikely friends and the pie that brings them together.  Immediately I placed this work of fiction in the category of a light drama such as “Ya-Ya Sisterhood” or “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”. True, the story is emotionally charged, yet halfway through I found myself entertained by the twists and turns played out by the characters.  People are not as they appear and life is anything but “a piece of pie”.  

If you are looking to amplify your philosophical intellect this is not the read for you, but on a rainy day, if you have nothing better to do, pick up Jumble Pie.  You just may end up with a surprisingly satisfied afternoon.

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Tags: book, drama, emotional, Fiction, friendship, Jumble Pie, Literature, Melanie Lynn, novel, Pie, read, sisterhood of the traveling pants, ya-ya sisterhood

“You know what they say about Abbie, if you dont like his mood, wait a minute.”-  Steal This Movie Abbot Howard Hoffman, “Abbie,” was one of the United States most radical political activists during the 1960′s.  His pioneer ideals and persistence to “the cause” quickly made him a target.  Abbie was beat up, framed, stabbed, and arrested (multiple times) all in the name of freedom.

If you have never heard of the “Chicago 8,” they were protesters on trial in 1968 for anti-Vietnam war protests that took place in Chicago.  Accused of crossing state lines with the intent to riot, a conspiracy trial from the start, Abbie and his fellow comrades used this opportunity to further their support for civil rights, anti war movements and freedom.  Their courtroom antics had no boundaries. They dressed up in judge robes, placed Viet Cong Flags on the defendants table, called the judge by his first name, and refused to back down to the accusations of the court.  It is still one of the most popular courtroom cases of United States history.  

Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture is Abbie’s version of an autobiography.  At times, the book feels like a list of Abbie’s personal notes, the way he feels about people, protests he led, wood-stock, and his life.  It never fails to grip your attention; his story is so unbelievable it feels as if he fabricated the entire thing.

Along with the books and movies that are already out, December 2009 adds another film to the mix entitled “The Trial of the Chicago Seven.”  Take your pick and feed your brain.

“I’ve had some good times, had some bad. Took some lumps.  Scored some points.  Half-way through life, at 43, I still say, ‘go for broke.’  No government, no FBI, no judge, no jailer is ever gonna make me say uncle.  Now, as then, let the game continue.  I bet my stake on freedom’s call; I’ll lay these cards with no regrets.(Abbie Hoffman)”

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Tags: 1960's, abbie hoffman, activists, autobiography, book, chicago, chicago 8, courtroom, freedom, history, Literature, made for a motion picture, movie, politics, steal this movie, trial, united states, vietnam war, wood-stock

Matthew Chapman, a screenwriter and journalist, wrote a novel in 2007 about the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial in Pennsylvania where the school board attempted to teach intelligent design in the classroom.  It’s no coincidence that the author is the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin himself and although Chapman does not divulge his personal view on the matter, he acquaints the reader with a step-by-step, in depth following of the trial.  From creationist theory to darwinism, the most convincing arguments of each perspective were relayed.  

Galileo once said, to “never look for scientific information in any theological source” and although genetics is one of the strongest pieces of evidence for evolution, is it not possible to have the same genetic material in different animals? For example, nuts and bolts make up a car and they also make up a plane, but a plane does not come from a car.

Kitzmiller v. Dover trial lasted 40 days and 40 nights and Judge Jones ruled in agreement with the theory of Galileo.   When the Judge was asked about the duration of the trial he stated, “it is an interesting coincidence, but it was not by design.”

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Tags: 40 Day and 40 Nights, book, creationism, darwin, galileo, intelligent design, Judge Jones, Kitzmiller v. Dover, Literature, Matthew Chapman, novel, pennsylvania, read, trial

Malachy McCourt was born in Brooklyn, raised in Limerick, Ireland and returned to NYC in his early twenties (and who can blame him?).  The memoir, A Monk Swimming, is full of amusing accounts of McCourt’s life.  After a few years back in the great metropolis, Malachy McCourt had begun to make a name for himself with both appearances on common soap operas and gigs telling stories on late night TV.  An Irish pub opened on 3rd avenue named purposely after Malachy.  It was there that he became a celebrated bartender. He recalls the women who, in the 1950′s, had only recently been permitted to sit at the bar and how they consistently called him “cute”, this being a lingual adjustment, as “cute” means sly and cunning in Ireland.

It is said by the Irish that, “to eat is an accomplishment, to get drunk is a victory.” Malachy’s anecdotes reveal that he took this earthen proverb seriously and through his attachment to the mug a broken relationship between father and son is exposed.

I loved it.  Malachy tells a story like none other.  He is captivating in narrative, which makes it almost torturous to put down.

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Tags: 1950's, A Monk Swimming, alcohol, book, brooklyn, earthen proverb, Ireland, irish, Irish Pub, Limerick, Literature, Malachy McCourt, memoir, nyc, reading