Tomorrow, my mom and dad will celebrate their 54th anniversary. That means, they were married in 1969. Thank goodness for Google as I can learn more about that day in history: So, it was a Thursday. Ok, mom and dad, why a Thursday and not a Saturday or Sunday? Oh wow, Mariah Carey was born…
Author: Mark
Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and the Women They Loved – by Chris O’Dell
As I was reading the new Leon Russell biography (I actually stopped reading it because it was a bit too much detailed on every single thing he did and with who, but I may go back in a few weeks to finish it), I learned that he had a brief fling with Chris O’Dell. I…
Reflections On…Books
I don’t have anybody in my very small circle of friends that I can sit down with and chat about the most recent books I have read. Nina will listen, but only to a certain point as she has different tastes of books than me. My parents have a very short attention span with my…
2023 Spring Break
Niko was off all week. He goes back to school tomorrow. Nina was also off all week. Nina goes back to work tomorrow. I was only off one day last week. So, what did Niko do during Spring Break? Well, he played lots of video games, watched a lot of YouTube, built lots of forts,…
Peanut Butter Memoirs: A Human Story of the Journey to Becoming a Law Enforcement Officer in (Very) Rural Maine – by David Wilson
In the Goodreads Society Facebook page, I saw a post from David Wilson asking very nicely if anybody would read one of his books, and post a review on Goodreads, Amazon, and any other platform. I know how hard it is to get people to leave reviews as I am also a published writer, so…
Sideman: In Pursuit of the Next Gig – by Mark Rivera
I saw this book in the Kindle library a few weeks ago, and Mark Rivera was mentioned by name in a prior book I read recently. So, I was a bit intrigued by this Mark fellow. Not me, somebody else named Mark! I didn’t think I would enjoy this book about a saxophone player, but…
A CVS Date
Last Thursday morning, I had to get more cough medicine as we used up everything we had in stock. Nina was sick with the flu and a cold and a few days later, I was sick with something different. The commonality we both had was a cough. Last weekend, I was absolutely exhausted, and I…
The Education of Kendrick Perkins: A Memoir – by Kendrick Perkins
I was a bit disappointed in this book, as I had to skip several parts of the book where it felt like I was being lectured about certain political and cultural things. I also expected to learn more about his time in high school. A few things I enjoyed about it were about his time…
Warrior: My Path to Being Brave – by Lisa Guerrero
When I was browsing through books, and saw that Lisa Guerrero had written an autobiography, I immediately knew I wanted to read it. I knew who she was from her work as a sideline reporter on Monday Night Football and The Best Damn Sports Show Period. I didn’t know that her mom died when she…
Prisoner of X: 20 Years in the Hole at Hustler Magazine – by Alan MacDonnell
This book was mentioned in the Chuck Berry book I recently read, and I am always intrigued by people who are writers and then they write a book about it. I enjoyed reading this book, and he had a lot of interesting stories of Hustler and Larry Flynt.
Dada, I Love You
Nina was sick a few days after Presidents Day with the flu and a cold. I hate seeing her not feeling well and did my best to cheer her up. Mostly, she was in the bedroom, and I was either downstairs working if it was a weekday or upstairs on the sofa with Niko if…
Chuck Berry: An American Life – by RJ Smith
I will admit and tell you that it took me a few times to get into this book as I couldn’t get past the first few chapters. But I finally decided to skim through them really quick and start from where his parents met. I enjoyed reading about his life, his musical influences, what his…
Nina’s Niko Notes
Wow, how about that for alliteration. Yeah, I know, unique! Okay, enough about the English language. Wait, I have one more thing to say on the English language, and that is Niko often asks us about homophones, words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Our explanation is always the English language is weird….
Uphill: A Memoir – by Jemele Hill
Before Niko was born in 2016, I was a sports fan; not the biggest and flashiest, but a fan in general. I was a frequent viewer of ESPN, and that is how I know who Jemele Hill is. I didn’t know about her controversial Tweets that got her in trouble a few times, I didn’t…
After Happy Ever After – by Adam Fletcher
After the 3rd book ends, Adam and Evelyn make a drastic decision to move to Istanbul for a few months to enjoy the scenery and to test their relationship. Well, this book, tells us what happened, and just like his other “weird travel series”, I really enjoyed this one. With all of his books I…
Candles, Girl Scout Cookies, Markers, Lego’s, and Pizza
No, this isn’t the title of my unpublished autobiography, but it could very well be. I like everything but candles! One of my many fun names that Nina calls me is Marker! Nina, can you please provide my readers with all of my nicknames? Actually, please don’t. Thanks. No, this is way better than that….
Tuk-Tuk for Two: Escape to India with two strangers, in the unforgettable race of a lifetime – by Adam Fletcher
This is the 3rd book by Adam Fletcher in his “weird travel series.” And just like the first two, I really enjoyed this one. Yes, I googled an image of a Tuk-Tuk, just to have a better idea of what they were dealing with. So, it is indeed a story of two strangers, and of…
Don’t Come Back: a travel adventure of bad-tempered baboons, black magic, and breakups – by Adam Fletcher
This is the 2nd book in his weird travel series, and just like the 1st, I really enjoyed it. He asks a lot of interesting questions to the locals and engages them in conversations about their particular country. I like his style of writing and am now reading his 3rd book in the series.
Love, Pamela – by Pamela Anderson
Unlike other memoirs of celebrities that I have read recently, I knew who Pamela Anderson was. She had a rough childhood but became well known for her body very quickly. She talked about her very fast rise to fame, her marriages (and her infamous sex tape with Tommy Lee), her kids, and her animal rights…
Niko and Dad VS Sweets
I try my best not to eat all the sweets in the house, because I know that Niko also likes them. But I always tell him, if I do eat them all, we can get more. Nina is smart, and she takes her stash upstairs. Sometimes, Niko will hide some in the pantry so I…