Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Xmas

It's 3 o'clock on Christmas Day and Jo has the turkey cooking in the oven. Smells great. We've chatted with family, opened our prezzies and are now relaxing  on the couch with the puppies watching The Big Bang Theory. Almost time for their afternoon walk but before we go, I'm going to do a bit of a reading update. I finished a book this morning so I'll provide my review. I also received 3 books for Xmas so I'll also provide the synopses for them as well.

Just Finished

1. The G-String Murders by Gypsy Rose Lee (1941).

"The G-String Murders (1941) was one of two mysteries written by burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. It was one of those nice little surprises I discovered a few years back and decided to give it a try.

As a mystery it was entertaining but not outstanding; lot of suspects and kind of formulaic. It starts with one of the burlesque house's strippers being found dead (strangled by a g-string). Of course the police investigate but the main part of the story is the alternate investigation by Gypsy and her boyfriend, Biff. As I say, lots of suspects, lots of threats and more suspicion amongst the burlesque actors.

The story is more enjoyable as a picture of the burlesque troupe, the characters, their lives, etc. More focus on the back stage activities than the actual burlesque shows. You see their cramped dressing rooms, the back-stabbing amongst the women, the costumes, their lives when they aren't working. You get police raids, time spent in the lock-up, relationships, drinking, parties. It's a wonderful, rich picture that Gypsy offers you. Even down to Gypsy designing and sewing her stage costumes and costumes for her friend, Gee Gee. It's a fascinating portrait, most enjoyable.

The book was turned into a movie, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Lady of Burlesque, that maybe TCM will show sometime. There is also an excellent afterword on Lee's life (in my edition at any rate), including some letters she wrote to her publishers. Well worth reading, an enjoyable, entertaining story. (3.5 stars)"

New Books

1. The Archers: Ambridge at War by Catherine Miller.

"Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the beloved radio show, Ambridge at War takes readers back to before it all began . . .
 
It’s 1940 and war has broken out. It is midnight at the turn of the year, and Walter Gabriel speaks the same line that opened the very first radio episode –  'And a Happy New Year to you all!' For Ambridge, a village in the heart of the English countryside, this year will bring change in ways no one was expecting.
 
From the Pargetters at Lower Loxley Manor to the loving, hard-working Archer family at Brookfield Farm, the war will be hard for all of them. And the New Year brings the arrival of evacuees to Ambridge, shaking things up in the close-knit rural community.
 
As the villagers embrace wartime spirit, the families that listeners have known and loved for generations face an uphill battle to keep their secrets hidden. Especially as someone is intent on revealing those secrets to the whole village . . ."

2. A Promised Land by Barack Obama.

"In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.

Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.

Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden.

A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,” and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible.

This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama’s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day."

3. The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power.

"An intimate, powerful, and galvanizing memoir by Pulitzer Prize winner, human rights advocate, and former UN Ambassador Samantha Power.

In her memoir, Power offers an urgent response to the question "What can one person do?" and a call for a clearer eye, a kinder heart, and a more open and civil hand in our politics and daily lives. The Education of an Idealist traces Power’s distinctly American journey from immigrant to war correspondent to presidential Cabinet official. In 2005, her critiques of US foreign policy caught the eye of newly elected senator Barack Obama, who invited her to work with him on Capitol Hill and then on his presidential campaign. After Obama was elected president, Power went from being an activist outsider to a government insider, navigating the halls of power while trying to put her ideals into practice. She served for four years as Obama’s human rights adviser, and in 2013, he named her US Ambassador to the United Nations, the youngest American to assume the role.

Power transports us from her childhood in Dublin to the streets of war-torn Bosnia to the White House Situation Room and the world of high-stakes diplomacy. Humorous and deeply honest, The Education of an Idealist lays bare the searing battles and defining moments of her life and shows how she juggled the demands of a 24/7 national security job with the challenge of raising two young children. Along the way, she illuminates the intricacies of politics and geopolitics, reminding us how the United States can lead in the world, and why we each have the opportunity to advance the cause of human dignity. Power’s memoir is an unforgettable account of the power of idealism and of one person’s fierce determination to make a difference."

So there you go. I hope your Christmas has been great and you had a super dinner. Merry Christmas. 😷