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Greenlightsby Matthew McConaughey |
(the official blurb)
I’m not the biggest McConaughey fan in the world—I don’t think I’ve ever not liked anything he’s done, but I don’t seek him out—and am not at all the target audience for this. But something about what he said about the writing of this book when he was on Hot Ones, made me want to take a look. That my library had the audiobook available to borrow made it all the easier to do so.
This dude can tell a story. I’m sure he’s exaggerating a lot of the events—not necessarily being dishonest, just spinning a good yarn. And honestly, I don’t care. I had a blast listening to this. If 30% of this stuff is true, he’s led a great life and probably deserves to make up 70% of it for the entertainment value.
You’re not going to get a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff about his movies (there are a couple of exceptions), it’s mostly about his personal life—childhood, family, friends, wife, and some miscellaneous solo adventures.
I laughed, I learned a thing or two, I shook my head a few times. Mostly, I just enjoyed a good storyteller at work. (I’m not sure any other narrator could’ve pulled it off, but McConaughey made it feel like we were sitting around a campfire or at a bar somewhere).
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The World’s Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette’s, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Familyby Josh Hanagarne, Stephen R. Thorne (Narrator) |
(the official blurb)
I’d started a full post about this book months ago, and just couldn’t get it to the point I was satisfied with it—I think because something about Hanagarne’s story made me want to get granular about it. I’m going to try really hard to limit myself to a couple of quick paragraphs.
There’s a part of me that wanted more about Tourette’s, but after his initial diagnosis and learning to cope (for lack of a better term), Hanagarne largely left that behind. Sure, it was clear that Tourette’s was a constant presence in his life, but he didn’t dwell on it. He talked about some of the things he did to combat the symptoms, but he didn’t talk that much about having to deal with it day after day. This makes sense, it’s not what I expected, but as I listened to the book, I couldn’t argue with it.
Hanagarne’s a reader, has been for his whole life—and right there is where I made my connection to him. He talks like a reader, cares about literacy and knowledge, makes reader-ly references—an instant connection between me and his book. I can see myself having regular conversations with him that last for hours.
A lot of the book focuses on his family—both growing up and then his wife and their struggles to have a child and struggles adopting. A lot of that was heartbreaking, but it was inspiring to see the way that he and his wife kept moving forward.
I have to address this because Hanagarne does so much in his book, skip this paragraph if you want. What broke my heart more than that though was his repeated discussions of the struggling with his faith. Like every Latter-Day Saint I’ve talked to, he worried about doing enough. Praying enough—and sincerely enough. Doing enough good works. Believing enough. So that God would bless him, help him with his Tourette’s, his depression, his marriage, having a kid. It’s all about his performance, so that he might be enough. There was no Gospel here. No promise. No grace. No faith as the Bible describes. Just human striving. I was sincere when I said my heart broke, I stopped the book frequently to pray that even now, years after this book was written, someone would come alongside him and help. Even now, thinking about this book makes me hope that he actually hears the Gospel.
He’s living a fascinating life and this book was a great way to talk about it, not only can Hanagarne talk about books, he knows how to write one. There are no easy answers when it comes to religion, family, or Tourette’s. Just one guy stumbling through this and other things as best as he can.
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No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortalityby Michael J. Fox |
(the official blurb)
It’d be easier to talk about this if I’d read Fox’s earlier books, to compare. But from what I gather, the past memoirs have been about embracing his challenges and finding ways to celebrate the life and career that he’s enjoyed.
This book seems to be about when it gets hard to be an optimist. When the challenges seem to be winning (and, sure, he’s in a privileged place, but his challenges are the kind that’d break many people), how do you stay optimistic? Or do you? Well, if you have people like Fox does in your life (and one great-sounding dog), maybe you do. Fox describes himself as characteristically optimistic, but lately, it’s because of the people in his life and deliberate decisions on his part to stay that way.
He talks about the challenges, he’s honest about the impact on him, and he celebrates the people—friends, family, strangers, medical professionals—who’ve helped him keep going. But told with a lot of heart and humor. I really enjoyed this.
Fox doing the narration—clearly not the easiest task for him, made it even better.
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A Very Punchable Faceby Colin Jost |
(the official blurb)
Jost tells some jokes about Long Island, himself, cast members of SNL. He talks about growing up on Long Island, some early struggles in his life, his early career and making it to SNL and the ups and downs there, and what’s probably next for him—usually the stories are littered with tiny jokes, but not always.
The best—and most heartfelt part of the book—is when he describes the work his mother did in relation to the fire department and 9/11. Not that the book wouldn’t have been entertaining without it, but it’s that section that made it feel worthwhile.
It’s a pleasant way to spend a few hours, and it’ll make you chuckle at least a few times.
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