If you don’t know who Leon Russell is, let me first say he was (in my book) the best piano player. Second, he was a studio musician, and his crew of musicians was called The Wrecking Crew. There is an awesome documentary about them on Amazon Prime. Third, he was the bandleader for Joe Cocker…
Ma’s Diner – by David Wilson
Just like his 1st book in this series, Two Seasons, which I enjoyed, I also really enjoyed this one. It’s the same fun cast of characters, and most of the action takes place in or near Ma’s Diner. On a side note, I want to eat at Ma’s Diner, as the food she serves sounds…
Easter Eggstravaganza
Even though we don’t believe in the religious aspects of the holidays, Niko enjoys them because he either gets gifts or food! On Saturday, our neighborhood, had their annual Easter Eggstravaganza, and Niko was excited because he may see some of his classmates from school. Nina and I even brought him a bucket to gather…
Two Seasons – by David Wilson
I have already read one book by David Wilson, called Peanut Butter Memoirs. It’s primarily about his years as a law enforcement office in Maine. Well, he also has two other books about a fictional town with a bunch of interesting fictional characters. I really enjoyed his style of writing (as it kind of remined…
Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D’ – by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
In addition to autobiographies/biographies of musicians, athletes, and celebrities, I also like the occasional memoir of somebody who has worked in the restaurant industry; most though, have been chefs. So, when I saw this book about a Maître D’, I was interested in learning more about him. Because of all the cruises I have been…
My Parents
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…
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…