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Review: Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

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NPHHave never really been a fan of NPH…but that’s only because I’ve never really watched him and I am not one to follow celebrity gossip. I had no clue he was married and had children. I barely knew he was gay to be perfectly honest…..NO…..my home is not under a rock on the moon!

Now that I have made my disclaimer, I will say, I really enjoyed this book. It was a pretty quick read. I loved the “choose your own ending” type of books….and this was no exception…haha….really, he did a brilliant job with that. It could have been a complete disaster. But really, isn’t that how his whole life (up to this point) story goes? There are so many different events that NPH has been though that many others would have handled differently….I think many of his choices could have ended in complete disaster. However, he seems to meet them head on and always seems to come out the other side, if not gleaming, well….at least confident that he made the correct choice for HIM….that’s perhaps what makes him so attractive and successful. He doesn’t seem to bend to the rules (even whilst he is, indeed, bending to the rules). He is confident, even in his uncertainty…

He is refreshing in his honesty. He doesn’t make apologies. He doesn’t try to back-step and cover up any wrong mistakes. He stands a bit straighter, throws back his shoulders, brushes off any lint, and steps fully into the spotlight and proclaims, “here I am”. He doesn’t seek the spotlight and demand everything be about him….but damnit, he won’t back down and he’s not afraid to make his feelings heard in a very loud and unquestionable way. I have to admire that. Here we have a guy that should be worried about his personal image. It’s how he makes his living. But his take it or leave it, I am who I am is what is so utterly refreshing about him. He leaves no doubt that if push comes to shove, the fame and hollywood image is nothing he is not willing to sacrifice for love of his family.

Yes, it took him a long time to get there. I imagine it was never easy for him. But unlike many childhood actors, he seems to have kept on a somewhat straight (haha…see what I did there?) path to get to where he is. He didn’t crash and burn. He didn’t use his success as an excuse to make poor decisions. Now that he knows who he is, he makes no apologies and remains true to himself. That is sometimes very hard for anyone to do….let alone someone who is so securely in the public spotlight….Bravo, NPH….I might not have been a massive fan before, but I sure am now…..well done you….

Until next time…..

Urania xx

Buy it now Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

Review copy provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Review: Virgin by Radhika Sanghani

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*viso ummmm….I appreciate this book, because honestly, it’s the first book I’ve actually been able to read in months without actually forcing myself to pick it up and finish it.

However, I can’t decide if I like it or not….I see where it could have actually been a very good book. It just fell short in so many places. The main character just felt forced. The humour felt forced. All I could think of though out the entire book was that I was pretty thankful that I never had a friend that was so obsessed with her virginity…or better yet….so obsessed with *herself*…..Okay….let me rephrase that….of course as young girls we were all obsessed with our sexual journey to a certain point…however, I like to think that we weren’t so self-absorbed with it to the extent that nothing else mattered in our lives….and I should hope that those that made it to the age of 21…well….I certainly hope that they wouldn’t have still been so focused on it….

I suppose I am just old-fashioned without considering myself old fashioned….by that I mean…well….I guess I have issues with sexual relations with people who you aren’t exclusive with and have no intent to be so….I suppose I also have issues with simply going out with multiple partners whilst having sexual relations with them…..

hey ho…I’m not passing judgement….I’m just saying I personally have issues with it and I really can’t relate to it….so perhaps I am not the best person to rate this book….

I’m not a prune…I’ve enjoyed books where there might be a love triangle….I understand people can be confused….I suppose I don’t even have problems with people have multiple partners if that’s what they want….I guess I just have issues with people not putting a higher worth on something that can be so intimate. Don’t misunderstand me…I’m not just referring to the main character here…This wasn’t just a one person trait here…it was multiple characters….

And therein lies the rub….

That’s why this book wasn’t as wonderful as it could have been for me….it wasn’t the actions of the characters that bothered me…..it’s how those actions made me feel about how they valued themselves….or actually a lack of value. It cheapened the entire book for me. They were so occupied with themselves that they often overlooked what it meant to others….they selfishly took and then became offended when others seemed to be doing the exact same thing….if what you’re concerned with in life is superficial and what you offer others is also done only for what you can get out of them and not what it can mean to someone….well….don’t be surprised if you get the same type of behaviour in return….just saying…

Until next time…

Urania xx

Review copy provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now Virgin by Radhika Sanghani

Review: How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly in Love by Ken Baker

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20131130-204119.jpgThere is an unnatural, unhealthy obsession with being perfect in today’s world. We are constantly bombarded with images of celebrities who have been airbrushed within an inch of their lives. Young girls especially are being inundated with the message that who and what they are is never good enough. Spray tans, teeth whitening, diet pills, fiendish workouts, liposuction, eating disorders, plastic surgery…you name it and it must be done in the name of beauty.

Sixteen year old Emery has always presented herself to the world as a happy, funny, self-deprecating person despite being an extremely overweight teenager. On the inside, how, she is an emotional mess. Her life is far from perfect. Dad Jasper is an ex-NBA player now obsessed with working out and presenting the right image to the public. He is also an absent, uninvolved parent. Mom Brandi is the ultimate trophy wife determined to stay thin and young. And sister Angel is an aspiring model/reality show star who also happens to be shallow and self-absorbed. Is it any wonder Emery has issues with food and body image? She copes with these feelings by binge eating. Her boyfriend Ben, who is also overweight, professes to love her just the way she is. When her family is approached by a famous reality show producer with a tempting offer, Emery and her family can’t resist. For the promise of a million dollar payday, she agrees to subject herself to the scrutiny of the viewing public as she attempts to lose 50 pounds in 50 days. The dark side of the reality show world is revealed as she attempts to reach this goal. She also must face some hard truths about her family and especially herself if she hopes to ever be healthy both physically and emotionally.

I loved this book and read it in one day. It was that hard to put down. Emery’s sharp wit, sarcasm, and sense of humor carried the story. You can clearly tell that she’s using humor to cover up a much deeper pain. I was pulling for her from the very beginning to succeed in spite of her callous, narcissistic family. At first glance it might seem as if this book is an endorsement for the “Hollywood business” of being perfect. Emery does spend a great deal of time trying to achieve the unattainable goal of being perfect. But the story goes deeper than that. It’s a message that what we see on TV and in magazines is in fact NOT reality. Emery does want to be skinny and pretty. What young woman doesn’t? But she also struggles with doing what she knows is the right, healthy thing to do. This book is categorized as a young adult book, and I do think older, more mature teens, girls especially, would appreciate and benefit from the story. Use caution, however, with younger teens as the language is a bit harsh and sex is mentioned on more than one occasion. A humorous, fun to read story with a great message!

~Thalia

Buy it Now: How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly in Love

Review: Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

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where'd you go bernadetteAre you kidding me? I loved this book! Are you kidding me? I never saw that coming! Are you kidding me? I surely didn’t see THAT coming! What a charming, funny book, that is also horrible and the exact opposite of charming and funny at the very same moment! A true paradox of a book. I shocked myself by laughing out loud at terrible things. I hated and loved most of the characters. I felt sorry for them and angry at them, again, at the same time. I lived near Seattle for a number of years. The description of the Emerald City both offended me and warmed my heart at the same time. It made me angry and giggly at the same instance.

So if we take this book and read the description this is what we get:

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic….

For much of the book you believe this is what the novel is about. Then the author, Maria Semple, throws in a little twist. A simple hand written note from Bernadette’s husband. Suddenly you start to understand a little bit more. However, Semple then throws in an e-mail from Bernadette and you’re like, “OMGreatGoodness, I am so getting this book now! Oh my, I can’t believe this”…..and the hidden truths of the past and present are dropped here and there, bit by bit….until suddenly the entire picture you had painted in your head is like looking at a Bev Doolittle original painting! You’re looking at this image and the more you look, the more you see….the whole image you first glanced at is built upon one little hidden gem upon another…and another….

I was just as surprised by some of the twists in the novel as the characters were. All I can say is that this novel reinforces what we all already know…Don’t judge a book based solely upon its cover. We all do things for different reasons. We all have pasts that shape whom we are today. What you take as indifference from someone might be anything but….

I admire Semple for not giving this ending a happy ever after finish. There are still messy bits that can’t be easily solved…bits that the characters will have to deal with after this book finishes. I admire her for turning a simple straightforward “chick lit” book into so much more. I appreciate the laughter and the shock value as well. Sure, you might look at parts of the novel and think, “But grown adults would NEVER act that way”….I say hey ho…they do it every single day….thank you Semple for putting it in the light of day….

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now Where’d You go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Review: The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

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20131227-125151.jpg It’s the late ’60s and five ladies who hang out with their children at a park in Palo Alto strike up a friendship. Ally, Kath, Brett, Linda and Frankie have different marriage situations, different backgrounds, and varied financial statuses, but they all want the same thing: to be noticed and appreciated.

The women decide to start writing — and sharing their work on Wednesdays at the park. As they navigate the world of literary critique without hurting feelings, they learn to love each other despite any shortcomings in their talent or personalities.

I just loved this book. It reminded me of my relationship with my sister and my best friends – always honest, sometimes abrupt or annoyed, always loving. These ladies were strong and independent, even as housewives in the 1960s. But they intelligently chose to rely on each other when a husband cheats, a pregnancy ends in miscarriage, self-esteem tanks, an old injury leaves physical and emotional scars, and breast cancer threatens to take a mother from her children. The women weren’t perfect. They judged each other silently, and supported each other out loud. But I guess you don’t really care what someone thinks of you when you’re suffering; you care how people treat you.

I think I mostly loved this book because the friendship was real – flawed and imperfect, but they always figured out what to do to move on from their mistakes. I laughed and cried at these five women sharing a relationship this special, while raising children, taking care of their homes and husbands, and dealing with the tragedies life threw at them.

The ending? Think Johnny Carson, blatant hilarity, and true love for our fellow man. I mean, woman.

–Calliope

Buy it now The Wednesday Sisters

Review: I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, Narration by Jayne Entwistle

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12033455I’ve read a few Sophie Kinsella books – The Shopaholic books are extremely cute and really good “chick lit”. I didn’t LOVE them, but liked them a lot. So after reading some reviews of I’ve Got Your Number it seemed this one could be really good, maybe great. It so did not disappoint!! I listened to the audible book and the narration was so good – she didn’t just read the book out loud, she became Poppy Wyatt, the main character. It’s actually been a few months since I listened to this and I still can hear her voice perfectly in my head.

Poppy Wyatt is getting married to her dream guy, Magnus. In the very opening of the book Poppy loses her family heirloom engagement ring at a hotel and immediately after loses her phone in the chaos. When Poppy finds a different phone and grabs it to be able to report the stolen ring and phone things get fun because she picked up the phone of businessman Sam’s assistant.

What follows throughout the book are email exchanges, text messages and voicemails.  Through all of these different formats Poppy gets to know Sam and feels that she has a good sense of him.  I love the use of these formats in books, to me it adds so much more because it shows how the characters communicate with others.

I’ve never shared an in-box with anyone in my life. I didn’t expect it to feel so…intimate. It’s as if we’re suddenly sharing an underwear drawer or something.

Hi-jinks ensue throughout the book while Poppy tries to get her ring back and also hide the fact she lost the ring from her fiancee. Poppy also gets involved with business matters of Sam’s since she has his phone and receives all of his work communication there as well.

I loved this book. It surprised me with the comedy, I was laughing out loud at some of the exchanges between Poppy and Sam. But it also has a touching quality to it as Poppy examines her relationships and rethinks judging people right away. Poppy’s sense of right and wrong is great and the overall sense of humor the book has made me love it.

“I have no idea what to say next. I don’t speak Japanese, I don’t know anything about Japanese business or Japanese culture. Apart from sushi. But I can’t exactly go up to him and say “Sushi!” out of the blue. It would be like going up to a top American businessman and saying “T-bone steak!” 

I highly recommend this book, it’s extremely funny and touching at the same time. All of the characters were very realistic and I felt that I know people exactly like them. This is a stand alone romantic comedy that I don’t think anyone should miss!

5 stars

~ Clio

Buy it Now I’ve Got Your Number: A Novel

Review: I Could Pee on this: And Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano

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image“Her sweater doesn’t smell of me
I could pee on that”

This is a witty and hilarious book of poetry written from a cat’s perspective. The book is divided into four chapters: family, work, play and existence. In each chapter, each poem is a cat’s ponderings on that particular theme.

Yes, the poems can be silly. I mean, just look at the title of the book. But the poems are also insightful. After reading certain ones, you think “Truly, that’s what my cat is thinking when he/she decided to scratch my face.” Most importantly, reading this book will cause you to smile and smile and smile some more. And then you will laugh and laugh and laugh some more.

“Did you know?
Did you see?
Did you count?
How many times
I had to smack that moth
On your forehead
With my paw?
He’s dead now, though
Definitely dead
One more smack
You’re welcome”

You don’t have to be a cat lover to enjoy this delightful book. This is one my favorite gifts that I have received. When I read it, it makes me smile because not only am I thinking “that’s exactly what my cat does!” but I am also thinking of my thoughtful friend who gave me the book. Thank you, E for one of the best gifts ever!

~Thalia

Buy It Now I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats