Another great book by Octavia mixing time travel science fiction with historical fiction of slavery in Maryland. Well worth the read.

Wow, I did not expect such a raw, brutally honest, deep account of her life.

Horses, animal cruelty, barns, stables, carriages, whips, alcoholism

Very difficult but important read. Will help in being a better advocate, long way to go still.

Huge fan of Lionel Richie's work. Was interesting to learn about his early years and his development towards becoming the accomplished and widely recognized singer/songwriter and national treasure that he is today. The influence of his mom and dad and siblings in his childhood growing up in Tuskegee, Alabama. He covers his time in college (Tuskegee University) as the Mystics his first group. His time in the 70's as part of the Commodores who were the black Beatles of their time and the close relationship that he had with the band members who he considers his brothers. Lionel tells all about his personal relationships which has had its ups and downs. He covers all the amazing and talented artists that he has worked/collaborated with over the years too many to mention and across all the different genres of music. The greatest night in pop documentary which covers the making of the USA for Africa benefit song - We are the world is covered in great detail which was co-written with Michael Jackson and produced and arranged by the late great Qunicy Jones. He has many other stories to share and the one about how he came up with the lyrics and music for the song Lady which he pitched to Kenny Rogers with the preface that the Commodores had turned him down and at that stage he only had the one word! I have attended his concert and seen him perform live and I plan to attend another one soon as he is an amazing live performer! I listened to the book read by Blair Underwood (of LA show more Law fame) and he does a great job of bringing Lionels words to life. Go on and give his book a read/listen and take a trip from the music of the 70's up to today. show less

A very detailed and thorough book on the life and times of the Rolling Stones and the band members through the years. The development of the band from the boroughs of London to a worldwide phenomenon. The relationships between the band members and their dynamics are covered. The comparison to and contrasts with the Beatles is covered as the author wrote a book about them also.

High School in backwater Illinois with a twist of supernatural and the macabre. Difficult subject material and graphic violence depicted.

Listened to the audiobook version performed by EGOT and co-author Viola Davis. It was easy to visualize Judge Stone in her role based on Viola's Emmy winning role as Annalise Keating in HTGAWM. The story is gripping and very relevant to current developments. Will look to see how the books translates to the screen.

Going through an interest in medical stories/books and having read a few recently one of them, not sure exactly which (think is was [Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health], recommended this book, and I am very glad that they did as it was a really inspirational read along the lines of The Diary of Anne Frank. As very sobering and humbling book to read about dealing with adversity, unexpected medical disaster and the challenge of recovering from the setback to resume what will be a very changed life.

A classic in the genre of short mysteries solved by the indefatigable Sherlock and ably assisted by Dr Watcson who is the narrator of these stories. Reading these stories for me is like putting on well-worn gloves that fit perfectly. The distinctly British backdrop and primarily situated in London makes for a very interesting study in the society at that time. Will be looking to read more Sherlock stories in future.

Having read Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green earlier this month, this book was recommended to me as the next read so I put in on hold at the local library and within a few days it is available for me to access and read. Boy was it an eye opener. Now it is well known that politicking, corruption, egos and in some case ineptitude all contribute to the dismal state of the medical industry and medical treatment in the US. This book delves into these sadly interesting topics.

I enjoy Dystopian stories and just to show how much I can share that I have an emergency bag packed (with wind up radio, torches and batteries, emergency foods, etc.) and ready to go and we have agreed as a family our meeting/hiding point if we are separated for whatever reason. I have agreed with a friend who has enough firearms for a small army that I will be relying on him from that perspective. If you don't have these things in place, then read this book and learn what happens to those folks....

Look much about what Charlie relates in his memoir does not make him admirable but is it entertaining, heck yeah. He is honest about his failures and flaws, and he does try to be a better person, but he trips himself up over and over again it stops being funny! So, what he is just human after-all! He covers his upbringing and his career in movies and TV which is prolific indeed. His personal life, many wives and girlfriends are covered as well. A pretty quick read so go ahead and jump right in.

Sally Fields autobiography is largely what you would expect from a Hollywood A-lister during the 70's and 80's the shows the movies, the events but it was not all glitz and glamour. What Sally shares about her up-bringing, the abuse, the challenges as a woman in the entertainment business at that time, the difficulty in her relationships is all shared in her book. Sally comes across as someone who overcame the challenges and obstacles she faced along the way and despite it all was able to rise to the top and achieve greatness in her field. While at time it is heartbreaking to read through some of the content it is important to recognize how Sally was able to rise above it all.

I was not really familiar with Tom and his music but when Audible notified me about the latest Paul McCartney Words + Music drop I had a look through the catalog and saw this one which I had not listened to and unlike the one for Paul did not require a credit/payment. I was really impressed by his background, his music and his political messages. Will be adding him to my regular listening playlists.

Police

Hard book to read given the subject matter, but important lesson to learn about how corruption takes place from the 13th floor of the lipstick building on wall street. Biggest ponzi scheme in the world folks. While Stephanie does not reflect well in her book, her story is worth reading about.

Whoopi is one of my favorite actresses from the 80's starting from her performance in Jumpin' Jack Flash and followed through with her appearance in Sarafina, Sister Act and Star Trek Next Generation. I appreciated her ability to take on difficult and meaningful roles as a role model to woman, blacks, black women in science and just as great human being, being herself in the world. Being a black woman in Sci-Fi was still a new thing when she started her career which was influenced by the awesome Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from Star Trek) the OG in this space. This book was about both her mother and her brother, and Whoopi shares her life experiences having been influenced by both of these important family members in her life. She also shares the tremendous impact of Mike Nichols on her career as a stage performer and off course the rest is history! There is some name dropping which is to be expected for an actress of her caliber, but I will leave that for you to find out about. Throughout the book Whoopi's humor, humility, appreciation for the blessings upon her life has been abundantly displayed. The loss of the two most important people in her life has left her a changed person who is coming to terms with her loss while still being there for the rest of her family. I see that she has written a few other books as well, so I will be taking a look at those also!

Practical leadership tips and ways to improve your leadership.

An excellent first book by Shelby Van Pelt that draws you into the story and never lets go. I had to restart the book as I found myself a bit lost the first time around but that probably says more about my attention span at the time and is not at all a reflection of the book. The second time around it clicked into place for me. I did find the Cameron character very irritating, a 30 something cocky, know it all slacker but I suppose he comes around in the end! Tova is a delight, I really like the character and off course Marcellus steals the show! I listened to the audio version with excellent performances by Marin Ireland and Michael Urie, makes it well worth the listen. Will certainly look out for more from this up and coming author.

First book read in 2026, starting the year off with a bang. The story is compelling and I was able to speed through in just 2 days. The story is an interesting look into the societal striations in India and how difficult it is to rise above from a low position in the hierarchy. Is this situation unique to India, I don't think so however there are some unique touches that are well covered in the book.

1/4: I watched the movie adaptation of the book and about half-way through during the drunk driving scene, I remembered that I had watched the movie some time ago. It was still really well done and sticks pretty close the the book.

This was not an easy read especially now in 2025, where is seems at least from my part of the country, that we are moving backwards. However, it is an important book to read to see how woman came to help other women in need when the law was against them doing so. the risks that these women took to perform their role was indeed admirable. A good deal of the book is dedicated to the politics of woman's reproductive rights as well as the treatment of women in need by the male dominated legal and medical systems. My hope is that more folks read this book and others to take appropriate action.

As a fan of Sachin's cricket reading his autobiography was a must for me. Sachin covers his younger days, his family and how he started off in cricket. He covers his career in pretty good details detailing how he developed and grew into the giant sportsman and GOAT in the world of cricket and its clear that this was based on being the hardest worker, most determined competitor who is constantly looking for that edge, to use a cricketing term. He covers how he met and married his wife and their two children and the difficulties they had when he was playing international cricket and could not see them during their childhoods, looks like he is making up for this in his retirement. Some great insight provided on his role as Indian's captain and the highs and lows that comes with that role. He also shares his relationship with other cricketing greats both of Indian origin such as Rahul Dravid and Surav Ganguly as well as from other countries such as Brian Lara, Shane Warne amongst others. Well worth the read to understand and appreciate more about the legend at both a professional and personal perspective.

Book #8 of the fun jungle series and the fun continues. Ok to read before reading the previous as everything is nicely explained so you can catchup pretty quick. My kid really enjoyed this book and the series overall. Will definitely read any other books released in this series.

The second book in the Jaipur Trilogy and boy am I looking forward to book 3.

A pleasant read that started off slow but really got interesting and took off like a rocket after the first 4 chapters. There is a lot to take in with this book and will need some time to fully digest for lack of a better word, I must be hungry! Did have a neat ending with all the loose ends resolved one way or another. Very immersive experience with an Indian setting in Bombay pre-world War II that includes travel to some major cities in Europe which was really refreshing as it was told from a young and naive Indian women’s perspective. Was especially nice to have read soon after Shantaram which I am watching on Apple TV. Think this book would also make a good movie or mini-series.

I first heard about Ted Lasso during a training session on Leadership where the darts scene was referenced (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S16b-x5mRA) and I was hooked! Five years and three seasons later here I am reading all about it. Must read for fans of the series or if you just curious!

There are many reviews for this book so I won't repeat what has been already covered. I read this book in two sections starting in Sep this year where I got to about half way through, then I put it down for some time as I was not sure I was going to finish but I picked it up again in Nov and finished the remainder in a few hours. It is a fast paced read and kind of feels like you being catapulted through the story at breakneck speed, and I have only felt this kind of "pull" in Stephen King works. So whatever Frieda is doing to achieve this result I am a fan and will be looking eagerly to see what comes in the next book.

I enjoyed Jaleel White's book about his experience with his life and being a child actor in a tough industry and during a difficult time. He is very open and shares about both his successes and his shortcomings and how he has stayed true to his values throughout. Fair amount of name dropping - Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Eddy Murphy, Patti Labelle, Bill Cosby, Alfonso Ribeiro amongst others. Well worth the read a both a fan of his work or just to get a feel for the zeitgeist at the time.

Read this book end to end in a day. I found about about it from the person sitting next to me on a flight who was avidly reading the book and really enjoying it so I took a note of it and added to my TBR pile to get around to it at some stage and here we are! Look it didn't all makes sense but it was entertaining and as a formula 1 fan who could relate to greater racers referred to in the book such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet and off course Michael Schumacher it made the story all the more special. My IMDB records indicate that I watched the 2019 movie although I really can't remember it at all even after I watched the movie trailer so I will see when I can watch it and will come back to update this review.