THE AMERICAN DREAM? A JOURNEY on ROUTE 66 DISCOVERING DINOSAUR STATUES, MUFFLER MEN, and the PERFECT BURRITO: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR by Shing Yin Khor

 

Published in 2019 by Zest Books.
Illustrated by the author, Shing Yin Khor.

In another recent review I wrote this:

I have a real weakness for oddball travel books. I have read a memoir about a man that hitchhiked throughout Europe and North Africa, a book about a man's bicycle trip from the UK to India, a book about a man who walked across Afghanistan, a book about a man who rode a motorcycle around the edges of Afghanistan, a book about two women who biked from Turkey to China, a book about a man who walked the length of the Nile, a man who walked the Appalachian Trail with his deeply irresponsible friend from high school...and more. And more. And more.

This book continues that tradition with a twist - it is done in comic book style. Usually, this is called a graphic novel, but this book is not a novel because it is not fiction. The author calls it a "graphic memoir."

Illustration from the back cover

The author/illustrator is an immigrant from Malaysia. She came over as a child and is very familiar with southern California. She realizes that she doesn't really know a lot about the rest of her adopted country so she decides to travel the old Route 66.

The author travels with only her little dog as a companion. She is on a tight budget so she often sleeps in her car.

Along the way she sees a lot of interesting Americana, Americans of all types and ponders her relationship with the country and its people. Plus, her dog makes friends everywhere.

I rate this graphic memoir 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: THE AMERICAN DREAM? A JOURNEY on ROUTE 66 DISCOVERING DINOSAUR STATUES, MUFFLER MEN, and the PERFECT BURRITO: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR by Shing Yin Khor.

YES PLEASE (audiobook) by Amy Poehler

Published in 2014 by HarperAudio.
Read by the author, Amy Poehler.
Duration: 7 hours, 31 minutes.
Unabridged.

Amy Poehler tells about her life in this memoir. She is best known for her work on Saturday Night Live and her starring role in the NBC series Parks and Recreation. I love Parks and Rec so I decided to give her memoir a listen.

She starts with her early life, her first jobs, college and finally discusses her pre-SNL career. From time to time she has guest readers come along and contribute audiobook-only material. Seth Meyers was no surprise, but Kathleen Turner, Patrick Stewart and Carol Burnett were. Her parents each read their own short chapters. It gave the audiobook a bit of a podcast feel.

Most of the book was quite enjoyable, but there were too many instances of TMI (too much information.) For example, I now know Amy Poehler's feelings about men performing oral sex on her. I didn't need to know that. 

The section about SNL was fun. The chapter on Parks and Rec was even better.

The section on her divorce from Will Arnett is very depressing and surprisingly fact free. That was fine by me - I am not her friend and I don't need to know any details (I wish she'd have kept this in mind when discussing oral sex!) The next couple of chapters meander around with no energy until she moves on to other topics. I get that - divorce is a depressing topic. 

In the last third of the audiobook there is an extended rant inspired by a fan who drops off a script with her while she is riding on a train (or maybe a plane.) She indignantly goes on and on about how this man is discounting all of the work she did as she climbed the career ladder by simply dropping off a script and leapfrogging his way to the top. Who does this no-talent lazy bum think he think he is? 

It felt so different than the rest of the book - it was unpleasantly jarring. I felt like I had somehow stepped behind the scenes and witnessed Poehler having a bad moment after a very long, very hard day. Then, I remember that this was not a random "bad moment" - it was well considered and thought out since it was written, read by editors before it was printed and read by Poehler for the audiobook.

The book is 9 years old so there are lots of more recent things that a fan would like to hear about that just cannot be there. Also, all of her frequent positive comments about Louis C.K. did not age well based on subsequent revelations about the creepy sexual things he did in front of female comics. Every time Poehler mentioned him I wondered if she was also a victim.

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: YES PLEASE (audiobook) by Amy Poehler.

This book was banned in a school district in Florida during the 2023-2024 school year. I assume it was because of the oral sex comments that I have previously mentioned. Here is the link to the article with a pdf of the very extensive list of banned books.

MY LIFE AMONG the UNDERDOGS: A MEMOIR by Tia Torres

 

Published by HarperAudio in 2019.
Read by the author, Tia Torres.
Duration: 5 hours, 50 minutes.
Unabridged.

Tia Torres is the director of the Villalobos Rescue Center, a dog rescue center featured on the Animal Planet TV show Pitbulls and Parolees. The rescue center used to be primarily for wolves and wolf hybrids but it morphed into pit bulls when police departments and city animal shelters would ask them to take in pit bulls on the theory that if you could handle a wolf you could handle a pit bull.

Turns out, they were right. Now she runs one of the largest pit bull rescue centers in the country.

This memoir talks about Torres' early life, her family and her early experiences with animals. But, the primary focus of the book are the special dogs that she and her family have had over the years. 

The author and one of her dogs

I have to confess to being a fan of the show. My wife started watching it and I was drawn in. Soon enough, we had marathoned through all 18 seasons of the show and you feel like you are invested in Tia, her family and, of course, the dogs.

If you are a fan of the show, this is a must read. If you have never heard of the show, this book will most likely be of limited interest.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: MY LIFE AMONG the UNDERDOGS: A MEMOIR by Tia Torres.

GREENLIGHTS (audiobook) by Matthew McConaughey

Published in October of 2020 by Random House Audio.
Read by the author, Matthew McConaughey.
Duration: 6 hours, 42 minutes.
Unabridged,

Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey's memoirs are a unique blend of life lessons, reminiscing and bumper stickers that he admired. The title, Greenlights, refers to life giving you opportunities to move forward that you need to take.

The life lessons and bumper stickers are laid out as he tells his life story. He decided to acknowledge his 50th birthday by going through his diaries and notebooks full of observations that he has kept for decades. It is not a true biography, but it is not a true philosophical discussion. What he ends up with is a rambling, yet endearing story.

Some observations:

-His childhood was more than a little concerning.

-I loved his decision to go on the road for a year. 

-John Mellencamp. He's a fan - he quotes his songs several times. I get it. 

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey.

THE LIFE and TIMES of the THUNDERBOLT KID: A MEMOIR (audiobook) by Bill Bryson

Published in 2006 by Random House Audio.
Read by the author, Bill Bryson.
Duration: 7 hours, 39 minutes.
Unabridged.

Bill Bryson's memoir of life in 1950's Des Moines, Iowa is a wonderful trip into another time and another place with a gifted storyteller.

There is nothing particularly amazing about this story. It's not a coming-of-age story with a profound climax - it is just a heartwarming reminiscence of the way things used to be - the good and the bad. It is often laugh-out-loud funny and reminds me a lot of the works of Jean Shepherd, even though they are set 20 years later.  You know Jean Shepherd if you are a fan of the movie A Christmas Story.

Downtown Des Moines in the 1950s. 

The author, Bill Bryson read the story. His incongruous English accent is a bit weird for a boy from Des Moines. My understanding is that Bryson spent so many years in the United Kingdom that he lost his American accent. Nevertheless, he did a great job.

Highly recommended.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: THE LIFE and TIMES of the THUNDERBOLT KID: A MEMOIR by Bill Bryson.

My Mother Was Nuts: A Memoir (audiobook) by Penny Marshall

Published by Brilliance Audio in September of 2012.
Read by the author, Penny Marshall
Duration: 8 hours, 30 minutes.
Unabridged.

Penny Marshall, best known as Laverne DeFazio on the TV show Laverne and Shirley, tells all (or at least a lot) in this name-dropping memoir. If you are offended by frequent use of curse words and references to drug use, My Mother Was Nuts is not your book.

Let me begin with an important point in my review: I listened to it as an audiobook that was read by Penny Marshall. This is important because I think it added immensely to the experience despite Marshall's relatively poor reading style. She mumbles, slurs words throughout and pauses at weird moments to take a breath but that is part of Penny Marshall's style. On top of that, at emotional moments, such as the death of her mother and discussing the 9/11 attacks the listener can hear the emotion in her voice. Add to that her famed New York accent, her great impersonation of her brother Garry (creator of Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley among other shows) Lorne Michaels (creator of Saturday Night Live) and Robert DeNiro and you have an enjoyable experience.

The title of her memoir comes from the difficult relationship Penny Marshall had with her mother, who was also the director of a dance studio in the Bronx and the person who taught Penny how to dance, sing (sort of) and, most importantly, entertain. Penny's father seems to have been mostly an enigma in her life - a colorless personality who worked in advertising.

A still from the opening credits of Laverne and Shirley

Penny's tales of her childhood are both sad and side-splittingly funny. The name-dropping starts early. She knew Calvin Klein from the old neighborhood. She worked with Marvin Hamlisch at a summer camp, etc. Penny's college years started out strong but ended with a forced marriage due to pregnancy. After a divorce, Penny's career in Hollywood starts, thanks to contacts created by her brother Garry (already an established script writer by this time) and the story goes into the stuff most people picked up the book to hear about. Penny Marshall does not disappoint, telling numerous name-dropping anecdotes and her life with up-and-coming celebrities off of the set.

Sometimes the book focuses too much on name-dropping (especially in the NBA section towards the end) and not so much on actual story-telling, but that is when I thought to myself that she is almost seventy years old and this story often reminds me of older folks (like I am some sort of spring chicken!) reminiscing about their younger days. That being said, there are times when the name-dropping is fun, especially if you think about how many of these people worked together on different projects and you get a real feel for how connected Penny Marshall is.

So, is this a great, insightful, soul-searching memoir? No. It's just Penny Marshall telling you about her life. That's it. It's an imperfect life but it she tells it pretty well. It's sometimes funny, sometimes sad and usually interesting. She leaves this advice: "Try hard, help your friends, don't get too crazy, and have fun."

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: My Mother Was Nuts: A Memoir

Reviewed on June 22, 2013