Merry Christmas

Look at all those books, what a great pile of gifts. I hope you Christmas is full of wonderful stories to share.

My Nine Lives: A Memoir of Many Careers at the Keyboard - Leon Fleisher and Anne Midgette

Title: My Nine Lives: A Memoir of Many Careers at the Keyboard

Author: Leon Fleisher, Anne Midgette.

Publisher: Published November 30th 2010 by Doubleday

ISBN: 9780385529181

Copyright: 2010

Pages: 240, photos and author notes, the book is over 300

Quick Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It: I won this on Goodreads giveaway, I read each and then review on the site.

Where I Obtained the Book: Doubleday sent it to me.

Synopsis: The pianist Leon Fleisher—whose student–teacher lineage linked him to Beethoven by way of his instructor, Artur Schnabel—displayed an exceptional gift from his earliest years. And then, like the hero of a Greek tragedy, he was struck down in his prime: at thirty-six years old, he suddenly and mysteri¬ously became unable to use two fingers of his right hand.

It is not just Fleisher’s thirty-year search for a cure that drives this remarkable memoir. With his coauthor, celebrated music critic Anne Midgette, the pianist explores the depression that engulfed him as his condition worsened and, perhaps most powerfully of all, the sheer love of music that rescued him from complete self-destruction.

Miraculously, at the age of sixty-six, Fleisher was diagnosed with focal dystonia, and cured by experimental Botox injections. In 2003, he returned to Carnegie Hall to give his first two-handed recital in over three decades, bringing down the house.

Sad, reflective, but ultimately triumphant, My Nine Lives combines the glamour, pathos, and courage of Fleisher’s life with real musical and intellectual substance. Fleisher embodies the resilience of the human spirit, and his memoir proves that true passion always finds a way.

Review: Interesting and lots of music talk. The people he met and trained with or trained, were impressive. I love that he can trace his teacher back, through teachers, to Beethoven. He seemed to have the same problems many celebrities have with personal relationships, three marriages and two families of children(opus 1 and opus 2). As most celebrities he felt the need to share his political views at the end of the book. He is disgusted with the current president and his policies, I had to agree with him. Of course he was talking of President Bush and I'm talking about President Obama.

It was a good book and fast to read, an interesting look at a music filled-life. Maybe not always the way he imagined, but music inspired and enjoyed all the same.

Author Biography: Anne Midgette is an American journalist and classical music critic. Her father was the painter Willard Midgette.

Midgette is a 1986 graduate of Yale University. After university, she lived for 11 years in Munich, Germany, reviewing opera, music and art throughout Europe for The Wall Street Journal, Opera News, and other publications. In 1998, she returned to New York City. After several other writing stints, she became the first woman to review classical music for The New York Times on a regular basis in 2001. She continued as a classical music critic, theater critic and arts writer for the newspaper from 2001 to 2007.

Together with Herbert Breslin, she wrote the book The King and I, about Breslin’s 36 years managing the tenor Luciano Pavarotti, which was published in 2004. She is currently working with the pianist Leon Fleisher on a book about his life, My Nine Lives, to be published on November 30, 2010.

In January 2008, Midgette took over as temporary classical music critic for The Washington Post. She replaced Tim Page as the newspaper's chief classical music critic in July 2008.

Midgette is married to the composer and music journalist Greg Sandow.

Leon Fleisher bio is in the summary section, his photo is on the cover of the book.

Other Reviews:

Random House

Washington Post

Pittsburgh Live

My Husbands Woman - Dee Dee M. Scott

Title: My Husbands Woman

Author: Dee Dee M. Scott

Publisher: Published September 27th 2009 by Ahsyad Publications

ISBN: 9780615327129

Copyright: 2009

Pages: 198

Quick Review: 2 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It: I read and review any books I win on Goodreads.

Where I Obtained the Book: I won an autographed copy on Goodreads. Synopsis: Young and beautiful twenty-year-old Meshia can have any man she wants, but who she can't get enough of is her thirty-eight-year-old married lover, Byron. Successful attorney Byron enjoys being the world of two women:a wife he loves and a mistress he lust for. Wife Alexandra has based her sanity on the faithfulness of her husband Byron. When she discovers their hidden affair, she takes Byron and Meshia into a bizarre world, one of which they could never have dreamed of, not even in their worst of nightmares.

Review: After reading about a quarter I began to wonder how this book got published. The writing was stilted along with the dialog and it was way too farfetched, maybe it would have been better if she had added a vampire or two(I don’t know, but it needed something.) I continued to read and at the end I looked up the publisher and it was self published.

The story was way out there and the writing needs work, I guess there is a sequel. I won’t be reading that. I put the book on Swap and the next day someone requested it, I hope they like it better then me.

Author Biography: Dee Dee M. Scott began writing songs at the age of six. By the time she was twelve, she was writing poetry. At the age of seventeen, four of her poems won first place in an International Poetry contest, and she was traveling throughout the U.S speaking on racial unity, diversity, and equality.

Dee Dee's poems, A Pile Of Beautiful Red Roses, God Is, and, An Angel Given Wings To Fly, were published in anthologies, After The Storm and Nature's Echo.

Dee Dee is a rising songwriter, poet, author, playwright, and motivational speaker. She is also the founder of Ahsyad Publications.

Recently, Dee Dee was chosen to represent Columbia, S.C as a member of the National Association Of Professional Women for 2010/2011.
She resides in Columbia with her children and husband of 13 years, Danny L. Scott.

Dee Dee's freshman book, My Husband's Woman, is available to order now.

Dee Dee has also written an inspirational poetry book titled; I've Never Seen A Hearse Pull A U-Haul. It will be released in 2010.

Other Reviews:
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Divine Caroline

Indulgence in Death - JD Robb

Title: Indulgence in Death
Author: JD Robb
Publisher: GP Putnams
ISBN: 9780399156878
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 373

Quick Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It: This is book 31 in the "In Death" series and I still like them.

Where I Obtained the Book: I reserved this from my library

Synopsis: First it was a limo driver shot through the neck with a crossbow. Then it was a high-priced escort found stabbed through the heart with a bayonet.

Random hits, thrill kills, murderers with a taste for the finer things in life-and death-are making NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas angry. And an angry Eve can be just as an efficient and dangerous predator as the killer.

As time runs out on another innocent victim's life, Eve's investigation will take her into the rarefied circle that her husband, Roarke, travels in-and into the perverted heart of madness...

Review: I struggled a lot with this review because while this book added to the personal story lines of a very tight group of characters, characters which I enjoy, the actual mystery was non-existence. Basically we had a space filler mini mystery (i.e. a few chapters in the beginning) followed by a non-mystery. Essentially we meet a couple of assholes and then spend the next couple of hundred pages verifying that fact until, as always, Eve triumphs over the arrogant bastards with a serving of hot humility.

Just like some episodes of SNL are not winners, you can't have 31 books in a series with them all being the best one. But I do not want to sound negative. I love the characters, love the futuristic world, and love the writing style, and more often than not, the actual case is pretty good. This is a series you want to start at the beginning, because the relationships within the books are just as important, if not more so, than the individual mysteries themselves. I think that is a testament to Robb's (Nora Roberts) writing chops in the romance world.

Author Biography: J. D. Robb is the pseudonym for Nora Roberts. In this name, Nora Roberts has produced the bestselling series "In Death," which has 39 books in it to date. Nora Roberts has published more than 130 novels, which has been translated into more than 25 languages. She has been given the Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into their Hall of Fame. Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring Maryland.

Other Reviews:
McClatchy Tribune News

The Good, the bad, and the unread

FYI:

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis

Title: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Author: C.S. Lewis

Publisher: New York : Collier, 1986, c1952.

ISBN: 0064471071

Copyright: 1952

Pages: 210

Quick Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It: I Love the Narnia Series.

Where I Obtained the Book: Got this at my local library. Synopsis: Lucy and Edmund, accompanied by their peevish cousin Eustace, sail to the land of Narnia where Eustace is temporarily transformed into a green dragon because of his selfish behavior and skepticism.

Review: I’m reviewing this book because the movie is coming out and everyone should read this first and then go see the movie. The adventures the ship and its mates get into is interesting and a bit scary at times. What an amazing journey.

This is my favorite of the series. I really enjoyed the characters and especially the rat. The ending is the best and makes the book even better.

Author Biography: C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis, "Jack" to his intimates, was born on November 29, 1898 in Belfast, Ireland. His mother died when he was 10 years old and his lawyer father allowed Lewis and his brother Warren extensive freedom. The pair were extremely close and they took full advantage of this freedom, learning on their own and frequently enjoying games of make-believe. These early activities led to Lewis's lifelong attraction to fantasy and mythology, often reflected in his writing. He enjoyed writing about, and reading, literature of the past, publishing such works as the award-winning The Allegory of Love (1936), about the period of history known as the Middle Ages. Although at one time Lewis considered himself an atheist, he soon became fascinated with religion. He is probably best known for his books for young adults, such as his Chronicles of Narnia series. This fantasy series, as well as such works as The Screwtape Letters (a collection of letters written by the devil), is typical of the author's interest in mixing religion and mythology, evident in both his fictional works and nonfiction articles. Lewis served with the Somerset Light Infantry in World War I; for nearly 30 years he served as Fellow and tutor of Magdalen College at Oxford University. Later, he became Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University. C.S. Lewis married late in life, in 1957, and his wife, writer Joy Davidman, died of cancer in 1960. He remained at Cambridge until his death on November 22, 1963.