Here's to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

The secondhand embarrassment is PAINFUL. I'm cringing so much.
Alexa play All Too Well…because….like…it fits 
Bro. Pride. Can we just like. Talk about Pride.

Sees the Dear Evan Hansen references.
Yes I want all of the Broadway pride shirts.
480 Pages

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Me whenever anyone does anything occult:

 "Who died?" my brain:

"Welcome to New York" my brain:

Am I counting the number of boys/girls and like...matching them up...yes
"Charity begins at home. So does mental illness."
siiiiiiiiigh. and now there are going to be copy-cat killers

When they try to do Momma Mary dirty:

I'm here for Jericho.

Transubstansiation...please don't do the Eucharist dirty. 
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaas my ship. I have two but yessss I wanted this one.
Das awkward
He's a Marvel character
I CAN SEE ALL THE EQUATIONS.

496 Pages

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Arthur is so anxious and I love him.
"In New York, you walk...In Georgia, if it's hot, you park your car by Target, go to Target, and then move your air conditioned car 100 feet to Starbucks" .....I'm not from Georgia, but I did not come here to be attacked.
Ok Ben, but do the cool Catholics go to Mass...cause like...
Hey bi-romantic ace. I see you. 
Arthur: what's wrong with me?!? me: anxiety. 
I am having so much second-hand anxiety. 
And now I am tense because I cannot handle conflict. at all. 
WAIT. IS THE TITLE SUPPOSED TO BE THE DEAR EVAN HANSEN REFERENCE. WHAT.
Arthur calm down. 
....Did I have this many feelings as a teenager..
wait.... a comic about dinosaurs...oh no.
480 Pages

One Last Stop by Casey McQuinston

Noodle. Nooooooooooooodle
August baby you deserve the world.
I'm not saying I want a cross-over with my babies...but like...please....starts doing the math to see if there could be a cross-over....
.......what kind of weird supernatural....
Hey look, it's me having my quarter-life crisis, but it's in a book.
"You've got what you need and sometimes the universe has your back" fjkdsljfkslajfkljl
Look at all of the bi-panic.
Dude I missed the anniversary by a day.
August:


Don't talk to me. I can't
432 Pages

Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin

Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It was refreshing to read about maintaing love in a marriage rather than finding love as so many romances are about. The characters are likeable but not perfect, just as real people are. This book was entertaining but not memorable. Audiobook

385 pages.

View all my reviews

"God, If You're Not Up There, I'm F*cked" by Darrell Hammond

In his record setting 14 year stint on Saturday Night Live, Hammond did 107 impressions, most famously Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Chris Mathews, and Sean Connery.  I watched many of those episodes live and in reruns and was always impressed with how accurate he was with so many diverse and very real people.  In this autobiography, Hammond explains what he looks for and how he prepares each new impression as well as all of the hard work so many people contribute to put a new episode of SNL on air each week.  As a long time SNL fan, I really enjoyed his explanations of how the writers, performers, make-up, hair, wardrobe, interns, hosts, and Lorne Michaels work together to make it all look so fun and effortless.  He doesn't throw any of his former colleagues under the bus and even has good things to say about the hosts with whom he appeared.

However, the most compelling part of Hammond's autobiography is his continuing fight with mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse, and cutting due to his physical and psychological torture by his parents all through his childhood growing up in Melbourne, FL.  His mother was a cruel and damaged person who took out her demons on her son, even when he was a toddler, by cutting his tongue with a knife, slamming his hands in doors, and more.  She said awful things to him and purposely scared him.  Hammond's father was a vet from WWII and Korea who suffered from flashbacks and untreated PTSD and constantly threatened to kill people who made him mad, even his own son.  His rages were terrifying, and Hammond coped by drinking beer at a young age and escaping into baseball, which his father loved.  His impressions also started at a young age, as that was how he was able to connect with his mother, who also liked to do impressions of their neighbors.  The only love he felt as a boy was from the family's African-American maid, Myrtise, to whom this book in dedicated.

Hammond's road to SNL was a long one; he was 39 when he was hired.  How he got there and stayed so long while battling mental illness and substance abuse throughout his tenure is fascinating, sad, horrifying, and incredibly impressive.  I highly recommend this book, especially to SNL fans.  Hammond is a true survivor.  273 pages.

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

This is book two in The Diviners trilogy by popular teen fiction author, Libba Bray. This series combines all my favorite fiction genres: historical fiction, mysteries, Gothic and paranormal. Character driven with enough detail to recreate 1927 New York City and weaves in consequences of real historical events.

You do not have to read the first book in the series: The Diviners, but it would give you background information on the main characters that could be helpful in understanding their group dynamic and who knows whose secrets. The conclusion of the first novel is  also alluded to throughout this story.

 Set in 1927 New York City the story begins with the readers meeting, Ling Chan, a dream walker. She can enter other peoples dreams and she can speak to the dead when she is dreaming and deliver messages to the living from them IF they want to be found. Ling meets Henry, a hopeful Broadway musician, who is also a dream walker and he can influence people's dreams and change them from sad to happy. Ling agrees to help him try to find an old friend of his in the dream world. Little do the two of them know, that a mysterious force has been released in New York City and people are going to sleep and not waking up. The sleeping sickness slowly destroys the body while the person sleeps.

Meanwhile, fresh from her adventure in Diviners, Evie O'Neil publicly announces that she is a diviner and has become the newest media darling with her own radio show doing psychic readings on objects that belong to the audiences dearly departed. But she has alienated her uncle and most of her friends with her new high-flying, partying life-style. But Henry and Ling will need Evie and all of her and Henry's friends to help them figure out what is causing the sleeping sickness and poisoning the dream world.

Pages: 624 but it is sooooo worth the journey with these characters!

The Debutante Divorcee by Plum Sykes

This books was superficial and indulgent. I devoured it. If you like reading about designer clothing, home decorating, handsome polo players, and extravagant vacations you will enjoy this book too.

250 pages.

"Dad is Fat" by Jim Gaffigan

This book is all about Gaffigan being a father to five children.  We learn their names, ages, how they were born (all home births), and how goofy they can be.  The comedian and his family live in a two bedroom, walk-up apartment in NYC and do not own a car, so you can imagine the craziness.  And he gives all the credit for making it work to his wife, whom he seems to worship.  Even though this book is completely about being a dad, his observational humor can still be appreciated by those of us without kids.  Gaffigan reads the audio version and has a great delivery technique.  I'd like to listen to more of his books.

Audio:  5.5 hours
Print:  288 pages

Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy by Sudhir Venkatesh

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

While attending Columbia University, the author does research on the New York City social groups and those trying to rise from their poor racial beginnings.  304 pages.

NYPD Red 4 by James Patterson and Marshall Karp

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Manhattan movie premiere, heist gone wrong, and murder.  All together another good book.

Audio:  6 hrs. 58 min.

Print:  332 pages

The Gangster by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

The Italian American gang the Black Hand will attempt to kill President Teddy Roosevelt in 1905 and almost succeed.  387 pages.

Devoted in Death by J.D. Robb

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

They met in Oklahoma and killed over twenty people on their way to and in New York City, but crime never wins.

Audio:  12 hrs. 25 min.
Print:  352 pages

"Bad Idea" by Damon Suede

This story features two characters with unusual professions.  Trip Spector is a comic book artist who draws squeaky clean superheroes whom he has come to hate.  Silas Goolsby is a special effects makeup artist currently working for a popular t.v. show.  They meet at a zombie run charity event and are smitten.  With Silas' encouragement, Trip creates "Scratch", an adult graphic novel that could let him write his own ticket.  However, Trip is not a risk taker, and when Silas gives Scratch an outing in public, Trip panics and lets his fears take over his common sense.  Will the men's relationship survive?  Will Scratch be their savior?  These were two nerdy, funny, and flawed but lovable characters whom I won't soon forget.  350 pages (Kindle edition).

Jazz by Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Traces and talks about the evolution of jazz. Parishes of New Orleans sparked the fermenting of jazz, later Chicago became a magnet when southerners moved north. Kansas City was hot in the 30’s and LA was in the 50’s, but New York became the focus where jazz matured.

Audio:  29 hrs. 45 min.

Print:  619 pages

"A Deadly Secret" by Matt Birkbeck

The subtitle of this true crime book is "The Bizarre and Chilling Story of Robert Durst."  I recently viewed "The Jinx", a documentary about Durst and the 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathie, and I wanted to know more about the case.  This book seemed to be the most in-depth and was first published in 2002; the edition that I read was updated in March of 2015, after "The Jinx" had aired on HBO.

However, this is not just about Kathie's disappearance but also about the murder of Morris Black, a Texas drifter killed and dismembered by Durst in 2001.  The author interviewed the major players in both cases, including the police, private detectives, Kathie's family and friends, prosecutors, and witnesses.  He does a thorough job of going through details and using them to show that Durst is a sociopath.  The only quibble I have is with the way the author uses quotations of conversations for which he wasn't present nor were recorded.  Durst is currently being held in Louisiana on an illegal firearms violation but has been charged in California with the 2000 death of his friend Susan Berman.  That case is also covered in the book.  299 pages.

"Shot Through the Heart" by CJ Bishop

Although this is the first book in the Cowboy Gangster series, it is built off of a different series, which I have not read.  I figured as much while I was reading it since so many other characters who were not in the story were mentioned and played integral parts.  This book focused on Axel Anders a 22-year-old man who's suffering from PTSD after being gang raped by his brother and three other evil men.  Clint Maddox, the "cowboy gangster," feels very protective of Axel after meeting him through Axel's (good) stepbrother, Angel.  Clint is a cold-hearted enforcer for the Sanitini family and is surprised by these feelings.  The book basically deals with both men tentatively growing closer with lots of flashbacks to awful events in their lives.  It was quite a roller coaster ride.  And there was a cute puppy.  295 pages (Kindle edition).