6 posts tagged “books”

 

For starters, I must admit that I have never been a Tori Spelling fan.  I don’t know if maybe I judged her too harshly.  Probably.  But a few weeks ago I couldn’t find anything to watch on TV (yes I know, hard to believe with 500 channels) and I saw her reality show was about to come on.  I decided to watch it for the hell of it.  I may not be a fan of hers, but I always was curious about her.

 

I had heard that she was raised in the biggest mansion California has ever seen.  I thought she was an only child.  (I now know differently thanks to the book.) And I thought she was daddy’s little girl.  I knew that her father made just about every TV show I watched from the 70’s through the 90’s and that he was a very talented man.  Other than that, I knew nothing.

 

As I sat there watching her reality show, I began to get a different perspective of her and actually felt guilty for pre-judging her.  Who was I not to like her?  She seemed sweet and very down to earth;  Very real.  What I couldn’t understand was why her and her husband were struggling to buy a home and they were currently living in a rental.  I mean…with all that wealth and all.  How could this be possible?  I began to wonder if it was all a put on for the audience of her reality show. 

 

In the episode of her reality show that I was watching, she mentioned that her book had just come out.  She was sitting with a friend on the couch and they were discussing it and how her x husband and her mother were going to be infuriated by it. 

 

Hook, line and sinker.  She got me.  The next week I went to the library to get the book

 

I thought the book would be more about her life.  It did share much of her life with us, but what it really was about, is her relationships.  One that was highlighted was her relationship with her mother.  It seemed to be the central theme.    

 

Turns out Tori was not raised in that huge mansion, but her family did live there.  Yes, her father is worth a disgusting amount of money, and no he did not leave her any.  Well…he did.  Something like eight-hundred thousand dollars of it; after taxes about four-hundred thousand.  Yes I know that’s a lot of money, but that is equivalent to about $5 for Mr. Spelling.  So what happened to all his money?  That question is never answered.  But I take it may have something to do with her mothers affair with a man that was a con artist and part of the reason Mr. Spelling died.  Now don’t take my word for it, I wasn’t there.

 

The story is sad.  Tori comes across very lonely and insecure.  There were parts of the book where I felt so sorry for her.  So saddened to see a young girl have so much but so little at the same time.  Her relationships with men sickened me and made me want to shake her in hopes of waking her up to see reality.  But over all, she is no different than you and me.  Simple, humble, and without much money now days. 

 

Her relationship with her mother reminded me of my relationship with mine.  You can tell her mother played a real number on her.  I hope that lady reads the book and wakes up to realize she needs to love her daughter.  You can feel Tori’s pain  just reading her words.     

 

Would I recommend the book?  Yes and no.  It’s not an intellectual read or even a good read, but it’s her life. 

 

I give the book 3 stars.

 

“THE CASE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN”, by Julie M. Fenster

 

I will be the first to admit that reading history and war books are a real buzz kill for me.  I usually can’t get past the first two chapters and they bore the daylights out of me.  Thing is, I actually enjoy history and there are those in history that I hold great admiration for.  One of them is Abraham Lincoln.  For the longest time, (years upon years,) I have promised myself to begin reading more history.  So when I went to my local library and saw a copy of “THE CASE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN,” by Julie M. Fenster, I decided to get it.

 

This book was written with stories from the 1856.  When the suppression of slavery and the suppression of Catholicism and political parties were in flux. 

 

The cover is interesting.  It has a picture of Abraham Lincoln with a home from his era.  And beneath it it says, “A story of adultery, murder, and the making of a great president.”

 

I am a hardcore thriller reader so this book sounded like it was right up my alley.  Truth is that not much of it was about murder or adultery.  It was about history, about Abraham Lincoln as a man and lawyer.

 

The first few chapters were not difficult to read, but difficult to pay attention to.  If you don’t know much about history (such as myself), you may have to read some parts over.  I know I read 3 chapters over in order to get everything straight in my head.  But once I did, the rest of the book was simple and interesting to read. 

 

What I loved about the book is that it made Lincoln seem human and not like an authority figure that lead our beautiful country.  It shares his quirks and shortcomings as well as his glory.  The photographs are fantastic and they have quite a few of them in the book.

 

If you enjoy history or want to see Lincoln from a different angle than our president, I recommend this book.  I give it 3 ½ stars.

 

 

I am a new mommy.  I've only been a mommy for a little over a year.  I had never planned on having children or getting married for that matter.  Life took it's course and here I am going to the library getting books on how to potty train, how to be a better mommy, how to discipline my child and the best nutrition for a little one.  Of course I had to get this one, "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success for Parents," by Deepak Chopra being he is one of my favorite authors.   

Sometimes when I am enjoying a book and I can see there is a lot to learn from it, I speed through it making mental notes of what I need to remember and what I need to do.  I am so excited to find something so informative I can't put the book down and my speed reading makes me forget everything I learned.  Alas I find myself re reading it.  THIS is one of those books.  So much to learn from.  So many great tips.

It reminds us how blessed we are to have our children.  How we must respect them and love them and the importance of how to discipline them with both love and respect.  There is much more to learn but this was my favorite part. 

Would I recommend this book?  Sure would.  But if you aren't a very spiritual person and like logic and straight to the point stuff, you might not enjoy this one so much.  It's worth a shot though. 

4 Starts

I enjoyed this book.  I got it for a few reasons.  One of them is NOT because I am a realtor.  My brother and some of his friends went to a motivational seminar that he and a few other famous and very successful men had put together.  They all came out of there inspired and sharing fantastic new things they had learned.  I used to be the Head of a Speakers bureau and new how inpiring these men could be.  So when I went to the library and saw this book I had to get it.  I am going through a rough phase in my life health wise, with my husband, etc.  I was actually hoping he would help me put it all in order.  It had nothing to do with business itself.

I came out not learning much more than I already knew, but rather reminded of what I already knew and what I needed to apply in my life.  He was indeed inspring and motivational.  Each chapter is short and to the point.  It has something to teach you.  At the bottom of each chapter Trump has a "Coach" section in which he coaches you on what you should get out of the chapter.  It's a great addition to the end of each chapter and part of what I took away with me from the book.  Each chapter is taught using his experiences and him telling you the story of his successful endeavors in real estate. 

I never was much of a Trump fan (as a person. As a professional how could I not be a fan?) He always seemed well...cheesy to me.  His hair, his voice, his horrible NY style of talking (sorry to any New Yorkers).  He came across so cocky and ridiculous.  I thought he was one of those men that would walk all over someone to get what he wanted.  It turns out the book taught me a lot about him.  It gave me a different perspective on the kind of many he is.  He is very intelligent, concerned with people and even an environmentalist to a degree. 

This book is great for business people, realtors, brokers, and anyone who wants to improve themselves in general.  I highly recommend it.

4 Stars

In life there are things that mold us.  That fulfill us.  That touch our souls so deeply we cannot run away from them.  They make us who we are.  To me what touches me most are children, animals and our environment.  But mostly…animals. 

 

 

 

Does this mean I don’t care for children?  No of course not.  Children are our future.  It sounds cliché but it is the truth.  They are innocence.  They are love.  How could I not love them?  But animals are often overlooked.  They offer us the deepest love and I’m not talking about the kind we receive from humans, but rather the unconditional kind that only they know how to provide.  They can tell us we are sick before we know it.  They put their lives before their very own to defend us.  They cause us no harm and mean no pain yet we are torturous to them in many ways and aren’t even aware of it.

 

 

It is torturous when we buy lets say dogs, from pet stores, for those very animals come from puppy mills where they are kept in tiny cages in their own excrement and urine.  Where they are tattooed with a date that expires them and they get killed.  Where they have such little space they can barely stretch or turn around in their cages.  These poor puppies often times if they don’t get adopted stay there for years without ever seeing the sunshine or playing in the grass.  The have to urinate on themselves because they don’t let them go to the bathroom anywhere else.  They don’t have their cages cleaned.  There are too many of them to feed or care for and they never get human contact.

 

 

 

 

 

Other things we do without thinking of the consequences of the poor animal, is eat them.  Many people are lovers of frois gras and consider it one of the most delectable of foods.  When they go out to celebrate it is often something they order.  But the grueling pain the ducks were put through to get you your frois gras on the table is disgusting and inhumane.  Some of the things they do is stick a thick and long tube into their little mouths and force feed them.  They aren’t careful they just shove them in there regardless of pain, discomfort, infection, cuttings, etc.  They force feed them 10 times the amount of food their tummys can normally hold so that their livers will expand 10 times their size.  And only then will they be released of such pain because they are murdered and then put on our tables, for our “celebration.”

 

And that delicious steak?  Oh yes, major torture.  Everything from getting beat up, to electrocuted, to having their throats slashed in front of each other.  Can you imagine the horror of watching your friends and family being murdered and knowing you are next?  YES animals have feelings.  Or the pigs and chickens…well I’ll stop here I don’t want to give you more details.  You get the point. 

 

Why do we do this?  Why don’t we care?  If someone did this to our loved ones we would be in an uproar.  However since these animals have no voice we turn our heads and pretend we don’t know what is going on.  In many cases people truly aren’t aware.  Others think animal advocates are just being ridiculous and exaggerating.

 

 

 

Right now I am reading a book titled, “A Rare Breed of Love,” by Jana Kohl.  If you haven’t read it and you are an animal lover I highly recommend it.  It has made me smile and laugh and yes cry.  Both happy and sad tears.  Tears of thankfulness and tears of anger.  It has also taught me a lot.  Ignorance is no excuse to do wrong so reading it has enlightened me and made me respect and honor animals more than I even did before. 

 

The story behind this book is of Baby, a poodle that was rescued from a puppy mill and her life traveling with her owner (or mommy) to teach people about puppy mills and how harmful they are.  The photographs in the book are beautiful and inspiring.  You can see the joy in Baby’s eyes that now she has a forever home.  You can see that she no longer starves as she did in the puppy mill, and there are photos of her running in a field and she looks like she is in heaven.  Literally.  But Baby only has 3 legs. Since she wasn’t allowed to move in the cage she was in for 9 years and never steped out of it, her bones became brittle and  one day she stepped of her adoptive mom’s home and lost her leg. 

 

The book shows baby (in more photos than I can count) with celebrities and politicians.  She is a famous little poodle now and she looks proud to be doing such justice for her friends she left behind in the puppy mills.  Baby can’t bark because the owner of the puppy mills stuck scissors down her throat and cut her vocal cords so that they didn’t have to hear Baby’s barking cry’s for help when she was in  pain and agony from starvation, diseases neglect.  But even though she can’t bark, you can see the joy of freedom in her face.  (this procedure of cutting the vocal cords is a common one amongst puppy mills).

 

One of the many celebrities that Baby met was Paul Harvey, the radio personality.  There is a picture of her with him in the book and she looks like she is purring like a kitten she is so happy.  I wish I could share the photo with you.  I bet she loves all that loving after not having received any contact for the first 9 years of her life.  She is so grateful to have a forever home.

 

When Baby and her owner (mommy), met Paul Harvey, he gave them something he had written a while back.  I find it so true.  Here it is:

 

 

 

PRIORITIES

By Paul Harvey

 

This is partly personal…

 

If your heart is burdened most by the starving babies of Sub-Saharan Africa, I will respect that.

 

If you lose sleep worrying about brutality within our prisons, I will respect that and do what I can to help.

 

If you are most anguished by the world’s ceaseless wars or by

The prospect of a nuclear war, your preoccupying priority defends itself.

 

Will you lend me mine?

 

My nightmares relate all of man’s inhumanity to man—

To our willing acceptance of cruelty to the other animals.

 

Somebody once sent to my attention a “humane mouse trap.”

The label promised that the “mouse dies in his sleep

Without pain or suffering.”

 

Before recommending it, I researched it.

 

I learned that the mouse smells peanut butter inside,

Enters the plastic box, and is trapped inside.

 

A spokesperson for the product said that 2 ½ years of testing

Had proven the mouse panics and dies of fright.

 

Or—because the area is so tiny, the mouse from hyperactivity

Works up a sweat and dies of heat prostration.

 

This, the label describes as “without pain or suffering.”

So much for the trugh in advertising.

 

I am going to try and be as dispassionate as possible about this.

 

I do not mean to suggest that it is but one step from

Suffocating animals to putting people in ovens.

 

It’s not.

 

It is several steps.

 

The first step is tolerating any pain which we cannot

Ourselves feel.

 

Anguish is anguish. It known no gender, no race, no species.

 

Pain is pain.

 

If it is your own child who is suffering,

You relate especially to his or her hurt

Any hurts to others---yours included

Are comparatively insignificant.

 

It is not that your child is suffering any more…

Perhaps your child is suffering less…

 

Than a mouse suffocating in its dark cramped coffin.

 

Your child is tortured.  “That is hideous—a high crime!”

A mouse dies in agony. That is pest control.

And there are options.

 

So somebody allowed it to happen.  Confronted with the options of allowing

The mouse to die in peace or pain, somebody had to say, “What’s the difference?”

 

There are equally effective options.

And civilization should have reached the point which we should care

which is which.

 

When it comes to suffering, the only thing which separates the smartest of us

From the dumbest is our vocal cords.

 

If we allow them to hurt only because they cannot speak,

May God have mercy on them—and us.

 

Reading has been my passion since I was a young child.  I was raised by my mother's mother and family and what they called a library was simply a closet with tools in it.  More of a...ummm...shed if you will.  What this had to do with an actual library is beyond me.  I never saw anyone in the family pick up a book.  So my love of reading definitely didn't come from that side of the family.  From them came my love of fashion and all that is beautiful.

My mother doesn't read.  The only thing I've seen her pick up is one of Kevin Trudeaus books.  I cannot believe how attentive she is to his words.  She reads a little bit every night.  She is just so interested in what he has to say.  To be sincere, I read the book myself, and it is good.  Good for you mom!  It took you 60 years to find something to read that really called your attention.  But you know what they say, "Better late than never!"   

Then there was my father's family.  Highly educated and unable to live one moment of their lives without books.  I wasn't raised with them.  Saw them on a rare occassion, but I do envision books every time I think of them, so at some point I must have realized they were bibliophiles.

My father is a physician.  Both a Neurologist and a psychiatrist.  He really knows how the brain and the human mind works and ticks so let me tell you, running one past him growing up was no easy feat!  My father used to have a study.  That study housed hundreds of medical books.  People expect doctors know the answer to everything but my father used to say a good doctor never thinks that highly of himself and instead is always in search of a better way, a cleaner cure, a new treatment, etc.  I never saw him read anything he couldn't learn from.  I used to be that way, but now I am expanding my horizons and I read fiction as well.  Just don't give me romance novels.  They make me gag and fall asleep. 

My dad would line 7,8,9, books on the floor and read them all.  He was a speed reader like you wouldn't imagine.  I always admired that and tried to emulate him but I soon found out it is not as easy as it seems.  I would love to take a class on it.  With all the reading I want to get done, that would come in handy.  I hope I can influence my daughter in the same way.

Vanessa is only 17 months, but for a while now, we go to the library weekly.  I checkout 6 books in her name (yes she has her own library card).  And we read them every night.  Yes...all of them.  They are short and to the point and she just loves them!I have pictures of her a few months old surrounded by books and she looks thrilled.  It's one of my favorite pictures.  

Last week I found out about the library having reading time for the kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I'll have to take her.  They even have reading in spanish, and since I am only speaking to her in spanish and not English (she has TV and friends for that), she may benefit from it. 

I remember that as a child in elementary school I couldn't wait for the school book fairs.  I would run home with the school newsletter and the photos of some of the fantastic books they would be selling.  I couldn't even sleep the night before the book fair.  Too much excitment!  Yes...nerdy I know, but I just loved books!

Once at the fair I could feel my heart beating faster as I got closer and closer to entering those two big doors that would lead into the room where all the book fair books would be sold.  I can honestly say these books kept me away from the depressing and very sad things occuring in my home.  I would open one up and before I knew it I was in another land.  No longer feeling the lonliness and fear of not knowing where i belonged and what would happen next.

Judy Bloom was discovered at the book fair.  I learned how to become a woman from her.  Years later I got a hold of her book "Wifey."  Boy was that a discovery in and of itself!  I didn't even know what a period was so you can imagine my eyes opening wide when I got to the juicy parts! I also discovered fantasy worlds such as those in "The Phantom Tolebooth," "The Secret Garden," and "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." 

Believe it or not, I get the same sort of joy out of walking into a bookstore like Barnes and Nobles.  Just knowing there is knowledge in every corner, history upon all the shelves, discoveries, mysteries and humor to be found, intrigues me and calls my name in every direction.

Today I went to Barnes and Nobles and jotted down about 50 books I want to read.  I usually do this and then bring the list home, add it to my "Books I Want to Read" list on Kaboodle.com and then go to my library website and look up the books.  I was excited to see that most of them are available and I put them on hold.  I am looking forward to picking them up and diving into them while sitting at the park or in my pool. 

There is one genre I never expected to read.  That of "parenting."  But I found some fantastic books and I will be reading them.  Hope they make me a better mommy! 

These are the 10 books I have put on hold at the library: