Book Review

                                                  
I just finished "One More Time, a Memoir" by Carol Burnett.  I give it 4 stars.  I really really liked it.  I am fascinated by people's lives and backgrounds and this was everything I want to know about, well everyone.  She weaves through little anecdotes, experiences and memories effortlessly and although random, it somehow flows.  She starts with her first memory and stays pretty chronological as she goes through her whole childhood, adolescence and early adult life.  She started this book as a letter to her daughters so they would know her background, and cement those childhood stories she had told them at bedtime.

Even though her young life could be called a tragedy, it never feels that way.  She really refrains from judgment and/or rationalizing when talking about the dysfunctional people in her life.  You just see it through her sweet, innocent, honest eyes and you just know she'll be okay.  Of course she also adds her cheery sense of humor and wry observations that just make it quite sweet. I really liked her and loved what a good head she had on her shoulders and found myself amazed at how much she made of herself with just sheer determination.  If you're wanting to know how her show came about and how the rest of her adult life went, she doesn't really get into that.  But she does talk about her early starts in the career and it is truly inspiring. I would definitely recommend this.

Rating:  I would give it a pg-13.  It was very clean except for some language.  GoshDarnit (but the real words) : ) was used quite frequently.


                                             
I Read "The Midwife, A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times" by Jennifer Worth last month and loved it.  I give it 4 stars.   This is the book that the PBS show "Call the Midwife" is based on.  This book is the first in a trilogy/series (I think).  I did things a little backwards and watched the show first.  I adore it and so I was curious to see if the book lived up to my high expectations.  It did not disappoint.  I recognized all of the stories and it was fun to read about the characters I had grown to love, which btw the show does an incredible job of finding the PERFECT person for the role. Chummy is exact.

If you've watched the show you know how beautiful and profound and delightful the stories and characters can be.  If you're not familiar with it, this is written by Jennifer Worth who was a young midwife is the East End of London in the late 1950's.  She lived with an order of Nuns who were the midwives in that area.  You get to love and know each midwife and nun and follow along with Jenny Lee (the author) as she goes from pure disgust, disdain and misunderstanding to a place where she loves and respects and can understand the impoversihed people from the East End.  Just from a historical, cultural standpoint it is fascinating and gives you such a taste of what life was like.  And then you add individual stories of bravery, tragedy, love, overcoming hard circumstances, etc.. it is really inspiring.  Basically each chapter is another birth story and you get an interesting look into these family's most private and sacred chapter of their life.  I would highly recommend this book.

Rating: PG-13. Clean, except a chapter about a prostitute.  Its sad and tragic and almost Eponine like, but it does get a little graphic, so just skip the chapter called "cafe life".

                     
"Maisie Dobbs" by Jacqueline Winspear is a fantastic mystery series that I've devoured lately, which btw don't you just love series?  I get so depressed when a book ends, but with a long series like this one, you can graduate from torrid love affair to a long term stable relationship.  The main character is guess who? Maisie Dobbs.  She is a private investigator and psychologist, so she really dives into getting into her client's,  the perpetrators and victims heads, which is always fascinating to me.  She spends more time on analyzing individuals and their backgrounds than the gory, explicit stuff.  Its always interesting and exciting though.  The time period is also really cool and I've learned a lot of history and what society, cultural norms and life was like during and after WW1 in London.  It's always clean, and always riveting.  She lets you stumble along in the dark for a long time and I almost never see it coming together (maybe I'm an idiot though), until she explains it all at the very and I mean very end.   I give this series 5 stars and would love to own the set.

Rating: PG.  Nothing untoward, (can you tell I've been reading and watching British stuff?) but just more grown up themes.