Scott Gummer

Parents Behaving Badly, by Scott Gummer, is a fun read. Several scenes are hilarious, but the sweet, tender side to this story makes it most memorable.

Ben and Jili move back to their hometown, where many broken and unfulfilled dreams are buried. As they adjust to their once familiar surroundings, they learn to deal with the ghosts of their pasts. Old flames flicker, secrets are revealed, and unspoken questions receive answers.

To be honest, I feel the beginning of the story is a little slow show more and confusing—too many characters to follow and not enough background to feel grounded in the story. That quickly changes when the characters burst to life and the storyline becomes infused with humor. That’s not to say the entire story is fun and games. It also touches on the frustrations, insecurities, temptations and questions that Ben and Jili’s marriage faces.

The author does a great job of projecting imagery through his words. Although the physical descriptions of the characters (with an exception here and there) are not as crisp as I would have liked, the scenes are vivid, lively and full of color.

I’m not a baseball fan, so many of the coaching references, plays, and strategies go over my head; but my lack of knowledge does little to thwart my enjoyment of the story and its satirical undertone. There are two basic storylines: Ben’s relationships with his family and friends, and the mad goings-on of little league baseball. The tales meld together nicely; glued together by pain, frustration, fear and laughter.

As a parent, even though my children did not participate in team sports in school, I can relate to a large part of this story. The small town of Palace Valley contains residents with big problems. There are several characters I swear live down the street from me ... the middle-aged Barbie wannabe, the obsessed and obnoxious little league coach, the gorgeous temptress who wants nothing more than to steal someone else’s man, and the insufferable know-it-all. Let’s not forget the children caught in the middle of the madness, forced to live the dreams of their parents.

*I received this book as an early release. It did not influence my review or rating. show less

This book should be required reading for any parent signing up their precious little one for sports as well as anyone contemplating coaching! An enjoyable and quick read, it has a nice "people-watching" feel to it as it explores just how messed-up suburban families can be. I wanted the plot to dig a little deeper...the conflicts were almost watered down, but sometimes it's nice to have a light read. I also liked hearing the story from the male perspective. Parents Behaving Badly will appeal show more just as much to men as it does women, especially the detailed accounts of dramatic Little League games. There is a good balance between humor and sentiment -- would make a great foundation for a television sit-com.

Please note that I was provided an advance reading copy of this book by the publisher which has not affected my review. show less

This was a fun little story of a middle-age marriage, the silliness of suburbia, and the overbearing parents and coaches in Little League baseball. It was entertaining and worth listening to the end, though a touch forgettable.

FIRST things first: "The Golfing Machine" by Homer Kelley is not available in ebook form on Amazon, which is unusual. So, when someone like myself searches for "The Golfing Machine" the only thing that pops us is this book, which as you can see from the thumbnail above, seems to be "Golfing Machine" and since it has the name Homer Kelley in the title AND is the only book that comes up under the search ... well ... you get the picture. Or maybe you don't. It's this: I thought I bought Homer show more Kelley's "The Golfing Machine" when I purchased this using my Kindle (it doesn't help that the Kindle has a small black and white screen too ...)

In any event, I read it, and it was mildly interesting. There really isn't enough content, let alone drama, to justify an entire book.

SPOILER: This guy was obsessed with golf and studied the golf swing from a technical point of view and wrote a technical book about the mechanics of the golf swing that broke new ground because such a technical book hadn't been written before.

The book, which is really a biography about a book and it's author and some of the author's friends and family, really didn't delve deep enough into Kelley's character, to really hold interest. The author spends a lot of time on tangents writing about the lineage and families of related characters, e.g. Bobby Clampett's mom and dad, etc.

The author, Scott Grummer, is a pretty good writer. He turns a phrase here and there, and he did a good job drawing a book out of not a whole lot of anything interesting.

As a golf nut who is technically minded, he did primer (warn) me about the book I really want to read. And, if there is any book that might need a book to preface it, it sounds like the Golfing Machine might be such a book.

If this review sounds a little catty, my apologies, but I feel like the guy who downloaded a song that was a cover of the song I really wanted to download, listened to it and thought, eehhh.

Now I'm off to read "The Golfing Machine".

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