REVIEW - An American Story (audiobook)

 An American Story by Wilmer Valderrama (audiobook)

OVERVIEW

This memoir was not what I expected at all. Most memoirs include the good, bad, and the ugly. Unfortunately, it is only the good, good, and the good. Wilmer doesn't discuss the rape convictions of Danny Masterson or the sexual assault allegations against Michael Weatherly. Additionally, he claims to not do drugs with all of his partying, I find this hard to believe. Finally, there is no discussion of the underage or much younger women that he dated including his fiancee. It just doesn't appear to be an introspective and honest memoir. 

Additionally, this memoir is a fake greeting card about how much Wilmer loves the USA. It is piled on a little too much. 

Finally, no ghostwriter is listed, but I find it hard that Wilmer was so thoughtful and deep at thirteen and for most of his life. It felt so disingenuous.

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars

Writing: 3.5 stars

Wilmer's ghostwriter writes really well. Unfortunately, the parts written by Wilmer were not as well written. It was easy to discern the parts written by each. 

Narration: 4.0 stars

As a professional actor, Wilmer does a good job. But at times, the language of the book seemed to trip him up and should have been rerecorded. 

Character Arc: 3.5 stars

The audiobook is told in no semblance of order. It jumps back and forth in time as it tries to be in chronological order. 

Memorable:  3.5 stars

His life was difficult once his parents left Miami, Florida (where Wilmer was born) to return to Venezuela and then again when they came back to Los Angeles. Wilmer's stories of leaving Miami for Venezuela and ultimately to Los Angeles as an immigrant family were the best part of the memoir. 

Once Wilmer makes it in Hollywood, I don't believe the perfect remembrances of his life. Life is not all hearts, flowers, and unicorns while paying for every check! 

Entertaining:   3.5 stars

At times, Wilmer would tell a nice family story, but most of the memories weren't amazingly entertaining to me. 

Book cover: 4.0 stars

Good picture.      

Book title: 3.0 stars 

Good.  

RECOMMEND

STATISTICS

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (audiobook)

An American Story by Wilmer Valderrama

Harper Select

8 hours, 0 minutes

Release date of 9/17/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Wilmer Valderrama

My Goodreads review

Harper Select

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜

My next read is...

 The Unexpected Diva by Tiffany L. Warren (ebook)

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - The Answer Is No (ebook)

The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman (ebook)

OVERVIEW

This is a short story by Fredrik Backman, an author I had never read before. Unfortunately, this short story and his writing are not my thing. 

I do appreciate these free short stories by Amazon First Reads as I am exposed to new authors!  

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.0 stars

Writing: 3.0 stars

This short story has a few humorous moments in it. But the writing was very "tongue in cheek" and didn't work for me. 

Character development: 3.0 stars

The main character, Lucas, is a loner who tries to avoid all contact with other people. He stays in his apartment and orders takeout for all of his needs.

The secondary characters are the "Purple Dress" woman and the "Green Shirt" woman (we never learn their names). 

The tertiary character is the "three-headed" apartment board which is only referred to as "Head 1", "Head 2", and "Head 3" AKA "Linda". 

Storyline:  3.0 stars

Lucas has a problem whenever he answers the door as he has to interact with other people. The story starts with a frying pan left on the sidewalk. 

The main location is possibly Stockholm, Sweden.    

Memorable/Informative:  3.0 stars

Apartment boards are a pain in whatever city or country you reside in.  

Book cover: 3.0 stars

Okay.

Book title: 3.0 stars 

Appropriate.  

LUKEWARM recommend

BOOK INFORMATION

Amazon First Reads Kindle short-story ebook

The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman

68 pages 

Amazon Original Stories

Release date of 12/01/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Fredrik Backman

My Goodreads review

Amazon Original Stories

Amazon First Reads - November 2024

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

My next ebook is...

 The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman (ebook)

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - City of Time and Magic (ebook)

 City of Time and Magic (Found Things #4) by Paul Brackston (ebook)

OVERVIEW

This is the 4th book in this series (I hope the author writes #5) with cross-over characters from The Witches Daughter series. It combines both sets of characters seamlessly, but now The Witches Daughter series is a must-read for me!

For this novel, about a Time Spinner with psychometry, a writing desk is used as the "found thing". The storyline combines Time Spinners, Time Steppers, and Witches primarily in 1887 London and briefly in current times. 

Again, please note that I am being vague with many details about this book so as not to spoil the twists in this lovely book. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars

Writing: 4.5 stars

As always, the author wrote another lovely book. The descriptive language, dress, and customs are so well-researched and fascinating. 

Character development: 4.5 stars

The main characters are Xanthe (a time traveler), Liam (Xanthe's friend), and Lydia (another time traveler). 

The secondary characters are Harley (the local pub owner), Elizabeth (a witch), and Erasmus (a time stepper).

The tertiary characters are the assorted supporting characters in both times.   

Storyline:  4.5 stars

The storyline is about Xanthe traveling back in time to rescue Liam, who was kidnapped by Lydia. Since the period is unknown and possibly violent, Xanthe travels with Harley for support as she discovers what Lydia wants. Along the way, Xanthe makes friends with Elizabeth and Erasmus who help her locate Liam and learn about other evil happening.  

The main location was primarily London, England.    

Memorable/Informative:  4.5 stars

I loved learning about London in the late 1800s. It was a time of a minority of "haves" and a vast majority of "have-nots" lived in the huge industrial and port city of London. Interestingly familiar again?

Book cover: 5.0 stars

Perfect!!

Book title: 5.0 stars 

Excellent!  

STRONG recommend

BOOK INFORMATION

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (ebook)

The Garden of Promises and Lies (Found Things #3) by Paula Brackson

320 pages 

St. Martin's Press

Release date of 11/23/2021

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Paula Brackston

My Goodreads review

St. Martin's Press

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜

My next audiobook is...

 An American Story by Wilmer Valderrama (audiobook)

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - Wishful Drinking (audiobook)

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (audiobook)

OVERVIEW

This memoir was not what I expected at all. The story of her life itself is sad and complicated. Her parents were Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher who divorced due to his affair with Elizabeth Taylor. Both parents married and divorced spouses who had multiple divorces, spouses, and children. 

Carrie's memoir is a lot of fluff with a tell-all aspect about her parents. Some of the information shared was shocking and inappropriate to me. 

NOTE: Trigger warnings for mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse.

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars

Writing: 4.0 stars

Carrie writes well which would be expected by someone who already wrote four novels. 

Narration: 3.5 stars

As a professional actor, Carrie does a good job. But it was very overwhelming to listen to at times. 

Character Arc: 3.5 stars

The audiobook is told in no semblance of order. It is all over the place and very superficial. 

Memorable:  3.5 stars

Yes, Carrie's life was a mess starting with being born to two famous parents. Unfortunately, she also had bipolar disease and drug/alcohol disease which adversely affected her life. 

Entertaining:   3.5 stars

For most of the memoir, Carrie was over the top. At one point, Carrie said that she had too much personality for one person and not enough for two. She was too much personality for me. 

Book cover: 3.0 stars

Appropriate.      

Book title: 3.0 stars 

Sad, but true. 

RECOMMEND

STATISTICS

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (audiobook)

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Simon and Schuster Audio

3 hours, 6 minutes

Release date of 12/11/2008

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Carrie Fisher

My Goodreads review

Simon and Schuster Audio

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜

My next audiobook is...

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (audiobook)

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜

Amazon First Reads - November 2024

 

Hi, everyone!!

Did you know as part of your Amazon Prime Membership you receive a FREE monthly Kindle book available?? It is called Amazon First Reads!! You can find out more about it here: Amazon First Reads.

The Amazon First Reads email went out today! There is a free Kindle book and a free Kindle short story for November 2024. I am really enjoying the additional short story along with the free ebook!

My TWO choices for November 2024 are:

The Answer Is No by Fredrick Backman (short story)

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton (ebook)

So what Kindle book are you SELECTING?!? 

Also, as a reminder, remember to "buy" AND download the FREE books from Amazon! You can't read a book or a short story that hasn't been downloaded! Ask me how I know?!?

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜

DNF - Patriot (audiobook)

 Patriot by Alexei Navalny (audiobook)

Normally, I only like to listen to memoirs if they are read by the author. Unfortunately, in this case, the author is deceased and the British narrator just doesn't work for me. 

Additionally, as this is a heavy and difficult memoir (the audiobook opens with him describing his poisoning), I need to be in the right mindset for this book. 

This book may work for many other readers. It is just not the right choice for me.  

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜 

OCTOBER 2024 - Monthly Wrap-up

Good morning, everyone!!

Well, October has been a great month for reading. I read 11 books total with 7 audiobooks and 4 ebooks!!

I also have a first in my monthly best book for October 2024! It is a TIE between When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman AND Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine. Both books were amazing reads but covered difficult topics (The Holocaust/enslavement). I couldn't decide as both books moved me deeply so I mad the executive decisions, it is my blog after all, and declared a tie!

 

2^nd ANNUAL “booksbydorothea” BEST BOOKS OF 2024:

All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore (January) 5 stars (ebook)

Miss Morgan's Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles (February) 5 stars (ebook)

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer (March) 5 stars (ebook)

How To Read A Book by Monica Wood (April) 5 stars (ebook)

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarity (May) 4.5 stars (ebook)

The Friday Afternoon Club (June) 5 stars (audiobook)

The Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman (July) 5 stars (ebook)

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn (August) 5 stars (ebook)

The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates (September) 5 stars (audiobook)

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman (October - TIE) 5 stars (ebook)

Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine (October - TIE) 5 stars (ebook)

 

GOODREADS READING GOAL:

My goal is to read 100 books in 2024. As of 10/31/2024, I have read 80 books, or 80% of my goal.

 

OCTOBER 2024 STATISTICS:

11 total books

4 ebooks; 7 audiobooks; 0 physical books

3 books were ARCs (Advance Reader Copy)

3 books were library books

0 books were purchased

0 books were an Amazon First Reads

0 books were a Book Club Girl

 

Audio listening time in October:  66 hours, 34 minutes

Pages read in October:  1,387 pages

Average review rating: 4.50 stars

 

OCTOBER BOOK RATINGS with BOOK COVERS: 

5.0-star book (6)

Connie by Connie Chung (audiobook) LINK

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten (audiobook) LINK

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman (ebook) LINK

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop (audiobook) LINK

Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine (ebook) LINK

Sonny Boy by Al Pacino (audiobook) LINK

 

4.5-star book (1)

What I Ate In One Year by Stanley Tucci (audiobook) LINK

 

4.0-star book (3)

Something Lost, Something Gained by Hillary Rodham Clinton (audiobook) LINK

The Author's Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White (ebook) LINK

A Death in Diamonds (Her Majesty The Queen Investigates #4) by S.J. Bennett (ebook) LINK

3.5-star book (0)

3.0-star book (1)

From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley/Riley Keough (audiobook) LINK

 

  

If you want to read my full review of any of these books, there are individual review links for each ebook or audiobook next to the book title and author. Click on the specific book link to get to that book review!! 

 

Happy reading!

Dorothea 💜

 

P.S. You can find out more about my book ratings HERE.