REVIEW - Being Henry audiobook

OVERVIEW

I have recently listened to several celebrity memoirs and some were great, good, and okay. This was just lovely!

I loved Henry Winkler as an actor in "Happy Days" and "Royal Pains" and now I love him as a human being. His life was a roller coaster, but the mantra of his life is gratitude! So lovely!

Henry shares so very much which was difficult including his undiagnosed dyslexia until his 30s. The memoir reads like he is just sitting in my ear talking to me or we are talking over coffee. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars

Writing: 5.0 stars

So, so perfect. I loved that Henry broke the "fourth wall" at times which made it so very real and personal. He really got down into the deep, dark secrets of his life, but they did make Henry the kind and compassionate human that he is. Henry learned from the generational trauma in his life and did not repeat it with his own family. The ending for me was the cherry on top - very beautiful and powerful.

Narration: 5.0 stars

So great. I'm so grateful that he explained that Henry is who he really is. The Fonz is a character that he plays. So many people lose sight of the fact that Henry is a lovely person first!

The narration was real, funny, and emotional at times. He was a great narrator and it was an amazing job, especially with his dyslexia! Just wonderful!

Character Arc: 5.0 stars

The majority of the memoir was in chronological order which I greatly appreciated. There were times when it was appropriate for Henry to tell an earlier life story that explained or elaborated on that current story. There was so much about Henry that I didn't know so it was interesting to learn all about it!

Memorable: 5.0 stars

I didn't even realize that Henry was a first-generation American or Jewish. His parents escaped Nazi Germany just before Hitler's horrific murder of millions. Unfortunately, this escape had a difficult effect on Henry's life. So very sad, but Henry vowed to not let this happen to his children and it didn't!

Entertaining: 5.0 stars

Henry is a natural storyteller. I could listen to hours more of him reading the phone book. 

Another interesting tidbit, Henry has an MFA from Yale. I think that this has gotten lost in the shuffle of "Happy Days". He did a lot of studying and worked hard to be the amazing actor and storyteller that he is. 

 

Book cover: 4.5 stars

It's a happy portrait of Henry. But the close-up face shot is being overdone in memoir covers. 

Book title: 5.0 stars 

Perfect!

Suggestions: 

I wish that there had been more chapters to this memoir! 

HIGHEST recommendation

STATISTICS

Being Henry by Henry Winkler

9 hours, 22 minutes

Listened to as an audiobook from the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)

Release date of 10/31/2023

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Henry Winkler

My Goodreads Review

Macmillan Audio

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next audiobook is...

 Being Henry by Henry Winkler

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

Goodreads - Books by Dorothea

Hi, everyone!

Since I want to protect my privacy and that of my friends and family, I have updated my Goodreads profile to booksbydorothea from my personal name. 

Additionally, the new email address for this blog is booksbydorotheablog@gmail.com instead of my personal email address. 

This change will allow me to keep my private and blog material separate! Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

Thanks so much for your support!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - If You Would Have Told Me audiobook

OVERVIEW

This memoir happened to come out along with a lot of other anticipated ones such as Britney Spears's. The big difference between the two is that John name names. I am not sure about how I feel about this. It could be perceived as mean and spiteful.  

John comes from a beautiful family that he obviously loves very much. He lives the American dream and becomes a star! 

It is just wonderful that he found his ultimate dream of his own family with his wife and son.

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars

Writing: 3.5 stars

The writing for this memoir is really good, but not what I would expect from a Hollywood actor. I am assuming that there was a ghostwriter, but I could be very wrong. I also think that the storytelling lost its punch about halfway through the book.

Narration: 5.0 stars

Very good! John Stamos narrates this himself. 

At times, his voice breaks when speaking of those that he has lost or laughs at memorable anecdotes. He also does passing impersonations of some famous people. Overall, I really enjoyed his narration.

Character Arc: 3.5 stars

The memoir was all over the place and time jumped which was really confusing. I think that we covered his birth to the present time, but I could not swear to it in a court of law. I think much more about his time on Full/Fuller House is what his fans are looking to hear about, but I think that he purposely wrote it this way. 

Memorable: 3.5 stars

The most memorable thing was that John and I are very close in age and lived very similar Southern California childhoods. 

Entertaining: 3.5 stars

At times, it was laugh-out-loud funny especially when John shared his personal experiences. But the name-dropping and close friendships with comedians that I find coarse and nasty are bothersome. 

 

Book cover: 4.0 stars

Nice face portrait, but it is being overdone. 

Book title: 4.0 stars 

Really nice.

Suggestions: 

The title was supposed to be HIS catch phrase, but he did not use it nearly enough in the book. 

RECOMMEND

STATISTICS

If You Had Told Me by John Stamos

8 hours, 44 minutes

Listened to as an audiobook from the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)

Release date of 10/24/2023

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

John Stamos

My Goodreads review

Macmillan

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next ebook is...

 The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - Every Time We Say Goodbye ebook

OVERVIEW

This is the third book I have read by Natalie Jenner and I absolutely loved it!!

The novel is the third in the Jane Austen Society trilogy and the best of the trilogy. This probably could be called a stand-alone book, but I think that the experience would be so much richer and understandable if the other two books in the series were read first!

This novel wraps up the story of the Jane Austen Society trilogy perfectly. It is primarily about Vivien (playwright) who leaves London for Rome to escape from the harsh reality of the theater world. 

The character development is powerfully and beautifully done which is what I love about historical fiction. There are a lot of characters, but Natalie provides a list of characters at the beginning which is useful. Most of the characters were easy to remember as some were based on historical characters or were such great characters!

This book was excellent! 

OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars

Writing: 5.0 stars

Natalie's writing gets stronger with each novel that she writes! This novel takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. The writing is very descriptive, but not so much that it slows the story down. 

Character development: 5.0 stars

This book really has only one main character, Vivien. Others might argue that there are more, but the secondary characters support Vivien rather than share the storyline. Vivien rises about her lower middle-class background by attending university, but WWII interrupts her engagement to her fiancé. She takes a job rewriting a movie in Rome and then the story takes off beautifully!

The secondary characters are John, Nino, her coworkers at the studio, and her friends from a bookshop in London.

The tertiary character is Italy - specifically, Rome. The characters all come together because of Rome.

Storyline:  5.0 stars

The story is told in two timelines - 1943 when the resistance is fighting the Nazis for control of Italy and 1954/1955 when Vivien is primarily in Rome. 

The stories sync up and are woven together beautifully with some major twists that were very unexpected, but masterfully done!! 

The main locations were Rome (and the surrounding areas) along with some of the story taking place in London and Devon, England.

Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars

I have tried to avoid WWII novels as the horror is so haunting for me. But, I think that this story has not been told before in such detail. It shares the inaction that Italy endured before and after the war due to the inaction by the Vatican to save the lives of Jews, resistance, and normal citizens.  

Book cover: 5.0 stars

Stunningly beautiful.

Book title: 4.5 stars 

Lovely.

HIGHEST recommendation

BOOK INFORMATION

NetGalley ARC Kindle book

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

352 pages 

Allison and Busby

Release date of 03/21/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Natalie Jenner

My Goodreads review

Allison and Busby

NetGalley

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next ebook is...

 Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - Good Taste ebook

OVERVIEW

This was a novel about the writing of a book called "How The English Eat". Stella is a writer who travels around England in 1931 to learn more about the "old time" or traditional foods of England. 

She has many adventures while writing her book, but she learns so much about herself and what writing and food mean to her. Also, she finds what REALLY matters in her life. 

This is a VERY English book so it was hard for me to follow at times because the food was so unfamiliar. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars

Writing: 3.5 stars

Okay, so I could NOT pin down what was making this lovely book feel like a textbook at times. The author has a Ph.D. in History which I discovered at the end of the book! At times, it felt like a historical cookbook. 

I would have loved it more if it had more of a true historical fiction feel. 

The letters that Stella received from posting in the various newspapers were AMAZING!!

Character development: 4.0 stars

I loved the characters in this book! I thought that they were the quintessential English folks that I imagine when I think of my VERY extended cousins who still live in England (only know of them through genealogy). 

The main characters are Stella, her father, and her mother (deceased). Stella is a writer who published a book that did mediocrely well. She is working on her new book about the food of England when her dad unexpectedly moves into her small cottage. Her mother's impact on the book is felt throughout through her love for her family, but most especially at the end. 

The secondary characters are Dilly, Michael, Lucien, and Freddie. These four characters help Stella understand the meaning of friendship, integrity, and truth. 

Storyline:  3.5 stars

I honestly can say that I predicted the ending of the book, but not all of it. The author had a few twists up her sleeve. 

The main locations were London and Yorkshire, England. 

Memorable/Informative: 3.5 stars

The main thing that I took away from this book is that I am not sure that I would like much English food.  

I do wish that the author had had a glossary and description of the food mentioned in the book. This American was not familiar with much of the food at all.

Book cover: 3.0 stars

It was okay.

Book title: 3.0 stars 

It was appropriate for the storyline. But the name of the book that Stella was researching would have been even better!

RECOMMEND 

BOOK INFORMATION

NetGalley ARC (via Book Club Girl) Kindle ebook

Good Taste by Caroline Scott

429 pages 

Simon and Schuster UK

Release date of 11/07/2023

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Caroline Scott

My Goodreads review

Simon and Schuster UK

NetGalley

Book Club Girl

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

30 Days of Gratitude

Hi, everyone!! 

As this is November 1st, I wanted to share this GREAT 2023 Gratitude Challenge!! Personally, I am going to use this as a prompt for my daily journaling. 

Whatever you choose to do or choose not do with the 2023 Gratitude Challenge, I hope that your November is filled with much gratitude!

Happy reading,

Dorothea💜

OCTOBER 2023 - Monthly Wrap-up

Hi, everyone!

 

I hope you all have had a great September and have read lots of very good books!! I know that I definitely did!

 

BEST BOOK OF 2023

There are now ELEVEN books vying for MY Best Book of 2023.

• The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (May)
• Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See (June)
• How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair (July)
• A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power (August)
• The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman (August)
• Evergreen (Japantown Mystery #2) by Naomi Hirahara (August)
• The Women by Kristin Hannah (September)
• After Annie by Anna Quindlen (September)
• Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki (October)
• The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (October)
• Making It So by Patrick Stewart (October) audiobook

It will be so very interesting to determine which book I decide on as MY Best Book of 2023! I have so many good choices and it gets harder the more books that I read. This may be a photo finish!

My first audiobook made the 5.0-star qualifying - it was well written, beautifully narrated, and just lovely - Making It So by Patrick Stewart!

I hope that the quality of books in November continues to be good for me! I have had at least one 5.0-star book every month since I restarted this blog in May 2023 so that is quite the run!

 

GOODREADS READING GOAL:

My Goodreads reading goal keeps increasing in 2023! In May, it increased from 50 to 60 books; in September, it increased from 60 to 80 books; and in October, it increased from 80 to 100 books! This may be a bit of a stretch goal as I have never read this many books in one year, but I will do my best to meet it!

Currently, 81 books out of 100 books GOAL. 19 books to go by December 31, 2023. 

 

STATISTICS:

10 total books

7 e-books; 3 audiobooks

3 books were an ARC (Advance Reader Copy)

7 books were library books

0 books were purchased e-book

0 books were an Amazon First Reads

0 books were a gifted physical book

Audio listening time in October: 28 hours, 2 minutes

Pages read in October: 2,045 pages

 

BOOK RATINGS with BOOK COVERS:

5.0-star books (3) 

Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki REVIEW

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok REVIEW

 

Making It So by Patrick Stewart REVIEW

4.5-star books (1)

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister REVIEW

 

4.0-star books (4)

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth REVIEW

Between The Seams by Dolly Parton REVIEW

The Woman In Me by Britney Spears REVIEW

The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange REVIEW

 

3.5-star book (1)

So Fetch by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong REVIEW

3.0-star books (1)

23½ Lies by James Patterson REVIEW

If you want to read my full review of any of these books, there are individual review posts for each e-book or audiobook below the picture of the book. You can just click on the specific book link to get to that book review!! 

 

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜

 

P.S. For more information about my book ratings, you can find out more HERE.

My next audiobook is...

 If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜