Book Review: "Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations" by Alton Brown

“To me, food is best when it’s not fussed over. Cook it as simply as you can, make it taste as good as you can without overcomplicating matters, serve it on a fairly simple, tasteful plate (if it’s chipped, even better), toss on a bit of parsley, and let it go. Do not fuss. Do not wipe down the edge of the plate. Do not position the stack of fries just so. Do not manipulate the Brussels sprout leaves with tweezers. We are humans, and wonderfully, imperfectly so. If it turns out that fussing is simply part of your DNA, do your imperfect best to not let it show, as it scares the rest of us.“

If there’s a chef who writes a book (not a cookbook), chances are I will read it. I’m fascinated by the paths that people followed into the culinary world, especially those who have some longevity, given people’s constantly changing tastes.

I used to be addicted to Food Network. On the weekends in particular, I’d watch a ton of cooking shows. And as much as I loved new recipes and techniques, I also loved understanding the science behind cooking, which is what drew me to Alton Brown and his show Good Eats.

Brown is a quirky personality but he is an absolute fount of culinary knowledge. His show not only taught ways to cook better but also helped viewers understand where their problems might lie. His humor was always on full display.

This book isn’t quite a memoir; it’s more a collection of essays, the majority of which center around food and how it became part of his life. From his early days of consuming every type of sugared cereal to reflections on his perfect martini, Brown provides insightful, fun, and thought-provoking commentary. He also talks plenty about Good Eats and his participation on Iron Chef America.

I thought this was a great book, as it was right up my alley. Even if you’re not familiar with Brown, if you’re a fan of food and cooking, there will definitely be something in here to enjoy!

Book Review: "We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay" by Gary Janetti

Do you enjoy traveling? Not just being in new places, but do you like the actual process of travel? Gary Janetti’s new book is a funny and thought-provoking look at some of the high and low points of travel, and it seriously made me laugh out loud more than a few times.

“To me, a vacation is doing exactly what I would do at home, only with better weather and room service. I don’t want a list of activities designed to push me beyond any mental or physical limits I may have. I like my mental and physical limits where they are.”

Gary Janetti is a television writer and producer, and seriously, one of the funniest people I’ve ever read. His first collection of essays, Do You Mind If I Cancel? (Things That Still Annoy Me), had me laughing so hard I cried. He’s a bit crankier and more particular than I am, but we’re definitely on similar wavelengths!

In this book, he shares his philosophies on packing (don’t check a bag), eating alone in a restaurant if you’re traveling by yourself, and staying in a hotel rather than with family or friends. He also shares some hysterically funny anecdotes of cruises he has taken with family; trips to Mykonos, where he met his husband; an experience with a pop-up version of Noma, once the highest-rated restaurant ever, and other travel highlights.

What made this book work for me was that it never felt too outrageous to be true, and some of his thoughts definitely mirrored my own. It's a bit less zany than David Sedaris, but I laughed like I usually do when I read his books. This was a tremendously enjoyable read, with moments of poignancy which balanced the humor.

Book Review: "My Mother and Other Wild Animals: An Essay" by Andrew Sean Greer

I’m all about irony, so on Father’s Day, when I’m missing my dad, I decided to read this essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Andrew Sean Greer, about his mother.

“Not just in youth do we need new vistas, or new ways of looking at an old one: a tilted view, to baffle and amuse.”

As he plans to drive home to San Francisco from a month-long writer’s residency in Wichita, Kansas, Andrew gets a surprise from his mother: she wants to fly out to meet him and they can drive back together. His mother, a chemist, has always been a serious person, not prone to flights of fancy.

Andrew plans the perfect road trip home, designed to amuse his mostly unflappable mother. They travel through kitschy tourist attractions, and if there’s a unique place to stay, he books a reservation there. They stay in a wigwam-themed resort, a haunted Wild West hotel, and many others.

While Andrew has always thought of his mother as a serious person, she has made some waves in her own life—telling him that she is a lesbian shortly after he came out as a teenager, and ending her marriage to live her true life.

This was a moving essay, full of emotion, humor, and highlight-worthy sentences. I’m glad to have been a secret passenger on this road trip!

Book Review: "Bite by Bite" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

As you might have figured out from previous posts, I love food. I went to culinary school a number of years ago and worked as a personal chef for a while. I’m a bit of a foodie (although not to the extreme), and definitely love reading food writing and books where cooking factors into the plot.

All of this to say, when I saw Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s new book, Bite by Bite, sitting on a bookstore shelf, I picked it up immediately. In this book of short essays, she looks at how food can be linked to memories and how our senses can be awakened and enhanced by the foods we encounter.

“For what is home if not the first place where you learn what does and does not nourish you? The first place you learn to sit still and slow down when someone offers you a bite to eat?”

In this beautifully illustrated book, Nezhukumatathil touches on foods both familiar (e.g., apples, butter, maple syrup) and more “exotic” (e.g., rambutan, jackfruit, mangosteen). She talks about her introduction to these flavors and the memories they convey. She discusses how these foods and tastes intersect with her heritage and she also shares her hopeful perspectives and memories raising her children.

“I wanted to be there when my boys first grab the berries from my hand and nibble on them with such abandonment, such a love and hunger and thirst that their mouths end up looking like those goofy bloody bunny pictures.”

This is such a lovely book, one you can open and read from any point. It would make a terrific gift for almost anyone—and Nezhukumatathil has given us quite a gift as well.

Book Review: "I Finally Bought Some Jordans" by Michael Arceneaux

“No matter how bad things get, if I feel my hair is together, I believe more firmly that I can deal with what is thrown at me.”

Can I get an amen? I believe I’ve actually spoken these words (albeit less articulately) before, because I do feel better when my hair doesn’t look like an overgrown shrub.

As it was with his first essay collection, I Can’t Date Jesus, Michael Arceneaux imbues his writing with sly humor, wry observations, rich emotions, and thought-provoking ideas. There were definitely instances throughout this book when I felt truly seen, and identified with the feelings he was expressing.

Whether he’s talking about the realization that trolling celebrities on the internet sometimes comes back to bite him, his fear that no one would show up to his book signings, his working on his relationship with his parents during the pandemic, or finally feeling secure enough financially that he can splurge every now and again, Arceneaux is thought-provoking and at times either side-splittingly funny or poignant.

Sometimes an essay collection is a great change of pace for me, and I’ve found some great writers over the last few years. If you give this a chance, you may find yourself wiping away a tear one second, and laughing out loud the next. I don’t know about you, but that’s what makes reading fun.

Book Review: "Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes" by Anthony Veasna So

In 2021, Anthony Veasna So’s debut, Afterparties, was published to great acclaim. His stories about the children of Cambodian immigrants living in California dealt with issues of culture and sexuality, and were really fantastic. Sadly, however, So never got to see the response to his book; he died of an accidental drug overdose in December 2020. He was only 28.

In addition to his fiction, So wrote and published a number of essays. These were collected, along with a number of linked chapters of unpublished fiction, and recently released as Songs on Endless Repeat. The combination of essays and fiction really demonstrate the depth of his talent and the tragedy of his death.

So’s essays are funny, thought-provoking, fascinating, and emotional. He touches on what the film version of Crazy Rich Asians meant for the depiction of Asians in the movies, his love of and struggles with reading, and in the strongest essay in the book, he reflects on his grief following a close friend’s suicide. (The words are especially poignant in the light of So’s death.) The fiction is chapters from an unpublished novel called Straight Thru Cambotown,” in which three Cambodian-American cousins stand to inherit their late aunt’s loan shark business. It’s funny and insightful.

I had worried that this book would be a collection of writings that So never felt compelled to publish, but that’s not true. It's some really good stuff. With this book and Afterparties, at least his talent and his voice can live on.

Book Review: "Congratulations, The Best is Over!" by R. Eric Thomas

I don’t read many nonfiction or essay collections, but when I saw that R. Eric Thomas had written a follow-up to his fantastic Here for It, I definitely had to go out of my comfort zone again. And I’m pleased to report that Congratulations, The Best is Over! is equally amazing, the perfect combination of thought-provoking, emotional, and hysterical.

In the early essays in this collection, Thomas and his husband David are living in Philadelphia and both are happy. But when David finds a job as a pastor at a church just outside Baltimore, the couple decides to move. This is a significant decision for Thomas, as Baltimore was his hometown, a place he didn’t want to move back to “even to be buried.” (The things we do for love.)

Thomas writes about what it’s like to return to a place you never wanted to come back to, the hell of moving, and the struggles of making friends as adults (particularly as a mixed-race, same-sex couple). There are also hysterically funny essays about Thomas attending his 20th high school reunion only to find someone else’s picture on his nametag, going to get his eyebrows threaded and bringing some celebrities whose eyebrows he admired (including a Muppet), and even his experience at an urgent-care facility after cutting his arm.

In the second part of this collection, many of the essays are a bit more serious, dealing with the death of David’s father, living in a fairly conservative part of Maryland in the lead-up to the 2020 election, and getting more in touch with his history. But of course, Thomas does throw in some humor, as he recounts his and David’s efforts (mostly David’s) to create a paradise in their backyard, and his harassment at the hands of a bunch of gay frogs. (Seriously.)

Thomas is a fantastic writer. Even if you’ve not experienced the things he writes about, his accounts are so engrossing and enjoyable that I couldn’t tear myself away. I’ll absolutely be waiting for whatever he writes next.

“But between the best days of life and the worst days of life, between what you thought your life would be and what it is, between two people, there is a vivid and strange expanse in the middle. This is the middle.”

Book Review: "Is It Hot in Here? Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth?" by Zach Zimmerman

How can you resist a book with a title like this? Comedian and writer Zach Zimmerman provides fodder for laughs, tears, and even some a-ha moments in this memoir-esque collection of essays and anecdotes about making peace with yourself.

Zimmerman chronicles growing up in a religious home (and his need to escape), coming to terms with his sexuality, trying to find love amidst online dating disasters, and other situations, including his family’s reactions to the COVID pandemic.

Interspersed between these essays are lists with titles like “Seven New Sins–and Tortures Too.” (Among those sins are “suggesting a book club book you’ve already read” and included among the tortures is “You are given six delicious Cadbury Creme Eggs and told one is filled with mayonnaise. (They are all filled with mayonnaise.)”

Some of these essays made me laugh out loud, some made me roll my eyes at the absurdity of the events Zimmerman described, and some actually made me think.

But after a while, everything started to have the same sarcastic tone, and some of the content was a little too precious for me. Yet this surely was an enjoyable break from heavy fiction!

Book Review: "These Precious Days" by Ann Patchett

These Precious Days is a new collection of essays by Ann Patchett that make you think, make you feel, and may even make you cry.

Patchett is a total auto-buy author for me. I’ve read all of her fiction and even though I’m not a huge nonfiction fan, I devoured her memoir and her previous essay collection. So needless to say, when I heard she had a new book of essays coming out, I had to purchase it immediately.

There’s just something about the way Patchett writes that just draws me in. There’s a quiet beauty to her words, and her essays feel like stories in many ways. I was utterly captivated by characters I’ll never meet but I was fully invested in their lives.

These essays dealt with topics such as marriage, family, writing, friendship, people she admires, her love for knitting and Snoopy, and more. Each one is insightful and what I love so much about her writing is that she never belabors a point or uses 50 words when 10 will do.

My favorite essay in the collection is the title one, the longest in the collection by far. When Tom Hanks agrees to do the audiobook of The Dutch House, Patchett forges a connection with his assistant, Sooki, a connection that transcends schedules and logistics and blossoms into a life-changing friendship. This essay truly could’ve been a novel.

Even though I don’t follow a lot of Bookstagram trends, yay me for getting in another book for #NonfictionNovember just under the wire!

Book Review: "The Queer Bible" edited by Jack Guinness

The Queer Bible is such a terrific and inspiring concept!!

While this would have been perfect for Pride Month, I was still excited to get this book. It’s a collection of essays written by queer people about the queer people and cultural phenomena that inspired them, and each essay is illustrated by a queer or ally artist.

“The moment young people realize that they’re LGBTQIA they can instantly feel cut off from those around them. They feel separated from the very people they should feel closest to—their friends and families....This is the book I wish I’d read when I was growing up,” remarked Jack Guinness, the book’s editor, in his foreword.

This is such an enjoyable, rich resource. The essays are written about celebrities, actors, musicians, authors, and changemakers, as well as movies and television programs. I’ve heard of some but not all, and the authors of these essays are both familiar—Elton John and Gus Kenworthy, to name two—and people I had the chance to learn about as well.

I really found The Queer Bible fascinating. I mean, where can you read a book that talks about Adam Rippon, George Michael, James Baldwin, Pedro Almodóvar, Harvey Fierstein, Susan Sontag, Queer Eye, and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? This is definitely one of those books where you can open it at any page and find something really interesting to read about. And you'll never find yourself bored, because you'll just keep discovering something new.

Thanks to Dey Street Books and William Morrow Books for the complimentary copy in exchange for an unbiased review! This would make a really great gift.

Book Review: "¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons" by John Paul Brammer

¡Hola Papi! is a series of reflections and recollections from John Paul Brammer, an online advice columnist who could’ve used his own advice a time or two.

Do you ever feel like a book speaks to you? Sometimes I completely identify with a character or situation in a book (like one of my last reads, Pumpkin). But rarely have I felt so seen by a book like I did with ¡Hola Papi! and, truthfully, I didn’t expect this in the least.

In this terrific book, Brammer shares what it was like to grow up biracial in Oklahoma. It was not a good place to struggle with your sexuality, and of course, deal with the related struggles with self-confidence and loving yourself. Far too many times these struggles took their toll on his mental health.

Brammer shares the problems he faced and the discoveries he made about life and himself, and presents them as answers to some of life’s questions, like how to let go of the past, how to forgive those who wronged you, how to find yourself worthy of love and happiness, and what to do when your high-school bully hits you up on Grindr. (Substitute “summer camp” for “high school” and I’m so there!)

I found this book funny, insightful, emotional, and so on point in so many ways. Even though on the surface Brammer and I couldn’t be more different, it’s amazing how much of what he had to say truly resonated and moved me.

I don’t read a lot of nonfiction but this is definitely one I’ll really remember.

Book Review: "The Long Road Home" by Braden Hofeling

Braden Hofeling's The Long Road Home is a beautifully written and heartfelt collection of poems, prose, and personal essays.

So, what’s your feeling on poetry? Do you read any? Do you read it occasionally or are you a big fan? Is it a genre that you know you’d like to read more of but there never seems to be enough time?

I definitely fall into that latter category. When i read poetry I often marvel at how much it touches and/or moves me, but it’s not a genre I gravitate toward frequently. But when my friend Braden Hofeling asked if I’d be interested in reading his new collection, I jumped at the chance.

This is a fairly short book, and many of his poems are very brief, so there are a good number of them. I can’t tell you how often I marveled at his use of language, emotion, and imagery to draw the reader in. There were so many poems that made me say, “YES!”

These are poems about love, relationships, family, dreams, nature, fears—and they are punctuated with beautiful artwork from Madison Bird.

There were too many poems to choose a favorite from, so here’s a brief one I really enjoyed, called “Slippery”:

When I tell you I’m falling
I don’t mean in love
I mean I’m slipping through your fingers

If you enjoy poetry or are curious about it, The Long Road Home is a beautiful collection to try. Braden Hofeling provided me with a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

Book Review: "Intimations: Six Essays" by Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith's new collection of essays, Intimations, may be short, but it packs such a punch.

“Talking to yourself can be useful. And writing means being overheard.”

This is another book I read because, as I like to call it, "Bookstagram Made Me Do It" — my second this week, in fact! I have three friends to thank for this one.

Intimations is a 100+-page collection of short essays by Smith. I’m a fan of her fiction and don’t normally read essays very often, but I was fascinated by her take on our world as it has been affected by COVID-19.

Her essays fascinated me, serving as a source of amusement and inspiration as much as they made me think. She talks about the compelling need to always be doing something that has been exacerbated even more since the pandemic. She talks about anger, privilege, race, relationships, economics, psychology. She even touches on why so many writers love addressing the question of why they choose to write.

But it is the essay that serves as the postscript, “Contempt as a Virus,” that was the most impactful for me. In it she equates COVID with the plague of racism, particularly following the murder of George Floyd. In just a few pages she communicates so powerfully.

“Has America metabolized contempt? Has it lived with the virus so long that it no longer fears it? Is there a strong enough desire for a different America within America?”

If you’re looking for a thought-provoking piece, this is a book for you. Smith is donating all the royalties to charity, so you’re doing a good deed, too, in purchasing this.

Book Review: "Things My Son Needs to Know About the World" by Fredrik Backman

Over the last few years, Fredrik Backman has been one of my favorite authors, with Beartown, Us Against You, A Man Called Ove and And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer capturing my heart and winding up on my year-end lists of the best books I've read. So when I had the chance to get my hands on his new collection of essays, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, I jumped on it, despite not having a child.

Once again, Backman's writing is imbued with tremendous heart, emotion, and utter charm. While he's certainly proven his ability to make his fiction utterly compelling from the very first page, this book proves his talent isn't exclusive to fiction, but you can see why his writing has made fans of so many of us.

In Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, Backman gives advice to his young son, about everything from love to finding the right friends to surviving a trip to IKEA. The essays are punctuated with humorous anecdotes of Backman's interactions with his wife, episodes where his parenting skills (and even his thinking skills) are called into question, and declarations of love for his wife and child.

"We want you to be better than us. Because if our kids don't grow up to be better than us, then what's the point of all this? We want you to be kinder, smarter, more humble, more generous, and more selfless than we are. We want to give you the very best circumstances we can possibly provide. So we follow sleeping methods and go to seminars and buy ergonomic bathtubs and push car seat salesmen up against the wall and shout 'the safest! I want THE SAFEST doyouhearme?!'"

These lessons are beautifully universal and have so much meaning. There's also a tremendous amount of humor in the book, humor derived from situations Backman has experienced, like getting a sofa for your first apartment. ("...buy your first sofa secondhand. Not from IKEA. Buy one of those brown leather monstrosities as big as the Death Star...Buy the sofa you want, not the sofa you need...Because sooner or later you'll fall in love. And from then on, every sofa you own will be one long compromise.") He provides advice to live by, all saturated in the immense love he has for his son.

I don't have children, but I found this book tremendously appealing anyway. While some of the essays are more traditionally male-centric, there is a lot of the book that would apply to daughters as well. Some chapters are funnier than others, there's a lot of talk about poop and other messes, and sometimes the essays meander a bit before circling back to the core point, but I enjoyed this.

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World will make a sweet Father's Day gift, particularly for a reasonably new father, although "older" fathers will probably enjoy this, too. I think more than one guy will wipe away a tear—perhaps only in private. I'm looking forward to Backman's next novel (perhaps another Beartown book?), but this is enough to tide me over until then.

NetGalley and Atria Books provided me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

This book will be published May 7, 2019.

Book Review: "Kitchen Yarns: Notes on Life, Love, and Food" by Ann Hood

"First we eat, then we do everything else."
—M.F.K. Fisher

Like music, food often has such an indelible role in our memories. Many of us can remember where and when (and in some cases, with whom) we first tried certain foods, and some of us can even remember the meals or dishes we'd consider best-ever (or even worst-ever). Some turn to food for comfort, for celebration, for companionship, while some even have a complicated relationship with food. But no matter what, we can't deny the place food has in our lives beyond simple nourishment.

In her new book, Kitchen Yarns: Notes on Life, Love, and Food, Ann Hood reflects upon the connection between certain dishes and specific memories or times in her life. There are the pleasant memories of family, her first job as a flight attendant for TWA, dishes associated with her children. Then there are those dishes which remind her of times she was struggling, with grief, loneliness, despair, anger. And then there are the nostalgic recipes, which came from cookbooks that are heavily stained or have fallen apart through years of use. Each essay marks a particular time or memory, and each is accompanied by at least one recipe.

"When I write an essay about food, I am really uncovering something deeper in my life—loss, family, confusion, growing up, growing away from what I knew, returning, grief, joy, and, yes, love."

There's the never-fail Chicken Marbella recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook, which only failed her one time, when she was falling in love. There are the potato recipes enjoyed by two of her children, and the baked potato recipe from her new husband, the one which made her actually enjoy baked potatoes. Whether it's the blueberry muffins which remind her of the department store where she worked as a teenage model, or the various dishes her Italian grandmother and her mother afterward filled the days and nights of her childhood with, this book captures the warmth, the feeling of connection cooking brings. You know, this is why everyone winds up in the kitchen during a dinner party!

This book hit so many special notes for me. I love to cook and love to read recipes, but despite my struggles with liking food far too much (especially those dastardly carbohydrates), food has such a special place in my memories. I remember the dishes taught to me by my mother and grandmothers, those I learned in culinary school, those I tried to recreate after being wowed by a certain dish in a restaurant, and the foods I turned to during difficult times. There's a reason that when families in the Jewish religion mourn so much food is served—food truly can bring comfort, albeit temporary, as well as fellowship.

"That even in grief, we must take tentative steps back into the world. That even in grief, we must eat. And that when we share that food with others, we are reclaiming those broken bits of our lives, holding them out as if to say, I am still here. Comfort me. As if with each bite, we remember how it is to live."

I have been a big fan of Hood's storytelling (I loved The Obituary Writer and Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine), but her writing in this book just dazzled me. I could see the ripe tomatoes in the tomato pies, taste the richness of the cassoulet, hear the crunch of her father's Indiana fried chicken. Needless to say, my stomach growled the entire day as I read this, and I cannot wait to try so many of the recipes she included in the book.

Kitchen Yarns will whet your appetite and wet your eyes from time to time. I think this is the perfect book to give as a gift to those with whom you've shared recipes, meals, and memories related to food.

Hopefully you'll be inspired to dig out recipes of your own that remind you of certain moments, and you'll think of food as more than simply a means to an end, but a way of expressing love, support, happiness, or helping you through life's difficult times. Ann Hood has given us a real gift with this book.

Book Review: "My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un)Popular Culture" by Guy Branum

"We talk about nature and nurture when analyzing a person's character. We see two ways that an identity is formed. One is biological, the mean of parents' traits passed down genetically. The other is environmental: How did the world around this person guide and encourage him? The problem is that by either of these methods, I shouldn't be me. I should be shorter and dumber and not at all concerned with what pairs well with star anise syrup in a cocktail." (BTW, it's notes of orange.)

At a young age, Guy Branum already knew he was different. Growing up in Yuba City, a farming town in Northern California, he was much larger (both taller and fatter) than his peers. Big boys were supposed to be fighters, but Guy didn't have it in him to fight. What he wanted to do was sit inside, read, and learn, find answers to the endless number of questions he had, about nearly everything in the world. But that met with disapproval from his parents, especially his father, who wanted his son to act "normal."

As Guy grew older, as he grew bigger and fatter, he indulged his father's wish and played high school football for four years. But he never had any passion for it. And as he realized he was gay, he knew that was another reason society would look down on him. What he wanted more than anything was to get out of Yuba City, go someplace more exciting, and be free of the expectations of those around him. And while he felt bad about himself, and tried to hide himself and who he really was in plain sight for so long, at some point he realized that he was worthy of love and success and praise, no matter what others might say or think.

"I'm not supposed to like myself, and I'm certainly not supposed to think that I should matter. The world has spent a lot of time telling me that, and in the past thirty or so years, I often listened, because we all listen. The world is mostly full of fine facts and good lessons, but some of those facts and lessons were built to keep you down. And I got kept down for decades. Then I remembered that I was a goddess. I may not always feel like it, but I have powers."

In My Life as a Goddess, a memoir/collection of essays, Branum shares his long journey to self-discovery, from his difficult relationship with his father to the love of movies he shared with his mother; his discovery of his sense of humor and his writing ability while attending Berkeley—which led to an interesting run-in with the Secret Service; what he believes to be society's struggles with both fat and gay people; finally feeling free enough to go to gay clubs; and the rise of his career as a stand-up comedian, comedy writer, and occasional actor.

Parts of this book were literally laugh-out-loud funny. (I got more than my share of odd looks when I read this book in public, and the one time I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe I realized I needed just to read it at home.) Branum's love of pop culture, television sitcoms, movies, and music felt so familiar to me. More than a few times I thought he and I could be great friends, or we'd try to out-funny each other, and he'd probably win, so I'd feel bitter.

But this is more than a comic memoir. My Life as a Goddess has real emotional heft to it as well, and I found myself nodding and even tearing up at times as I recognized situations which occurred in my own life. Branum is tremendously insightful but he doesn't feel sorry for himself; he recounts his life in a very matter-of-fact way. You may think that the difficulty of his journey helped turn him into the immensely funny man he has become, and certainly you see that with a lot of LGBT people, whose creativity was burnished amidst poor treatment.

Branum's childhood and his growth into adulthood was a difficult journey, but thankfully he has risen above it, and more thankfully for us, he is willing to share himself with us. At times he rambles a bit on unrelated topics (and he even recognizes it as he is doing it), but then his heart and his sense of humor shine through, and you realize this book, and this man, are truly special.

Book Review: "I Can't Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I've Put My Faith in Beyoncé" by Michael Arceneaux

"It's often said that knowing who you are, or at the very least possessing a sneaking suspicion of such early in life, is a blessing. The people who share this sentiment need to write it on a piece of paper, ball it up, and then proceed to pour barbecue sauce all over it as they eat it. Early self-awareness is a blessing only if who you are comes with a support system and an education. If you don't have those, it's easy to find yourself feeling stuck and sullen. I learned a certain part of my identity very early, but it was met with a near-instant confirmation of how unwelcome that part of my identity was to those surrounding me."

At turns poignant, sharply insightful, and utterly hilarious, I Can't Date Jesus is Michael Arceneaux's collection of essays about what it's like to be a young black man growing up knowing you're gay but trying to do everything to hide it from your ultra-religious mother, your homophobic father, and a society that embraces masculinity and toughness. It's a book about self-acceptance, self-worth, and the need to live your life on your own terms, no matter what others may think or expect.

Arceneaux approaches each aspect of his life with humor and sensitivity, and a healthy dose of self-deprecation. From being recruited for the priesthood at a time when he wasn't willing to accept who he was to numerous attempts to date (or even just hook up), from coming out to friends, family, and his mother, to his struggles with self-esteem (especially his hair), he doesn't play it all for laughs, but he's not afraid to tell it like it is—even his encounters which left him attacked by fire ants and maybe even fleas.

"The pattern that required my real attention was my turning to sexually confused men for sexual exploration. It was like my turning to someone who can't figure out 'there,' 'they're,' and 'their' to edit your essay."

The book delves deeper than simply exploring a man's journey to find himself and his place in the world. It's also a look at our current political situation, as well as a paean to his ultimate savior, Beyoncé. With each essay he makes you laugh, but he also makes you feel and he makes you think about things a little bit differently than you might have when you started reading.

There were times when this book absolutely clicked for me, times when I thought, "Yep, that happened to me," or felt the same embarrassment or emotions that Arceneaux recounted. At other times I couldn't quite identify, since while I faced my share of bullying and disapproval related to my sexuality when I was growing up and moving into adulthood, those feelings weren't also couched in the expectations of an entire race or the devotion of religion.

Arceneaux's voice is so vivid in this book; it almost felt like he was reading the essays to me at times. (I'd imagine if he reads his own audiobook it would be quite fun to listen to.) While he has faced many challenges in his life, in part, they made him the insightful, emotionally astute, and funny-as-hell person he is today, and I'm thankful he was willing to share his story with us.

Book Review: "Scrappy Little Nobody" by Anna Kendrick

So, I kinda have a thing for Anna Kendrick. I've been (healthily) obsessed with her since 2003, when she appeared in an indie movie called Camp, which was about kids attending a performing arts summer camp in upstate New York.

Anna played a young girl named Fritzi, who had an obsession with a girl named Jill, who starred in most of the plays that summer. But Jill mistreated Fritzi, so in the end, Fritzi got her revenge, as you'll see in the clip below. And fandom was born. (For those offended by strong language, the f-word appears once. Anna shows up about 25 seconds into the clip.)



Not only do I think she's an exceptionally talented singer and performer (I've worn out tracks from Into the Woods and The Last Five Years because I play them so much), but every time I see her on a talk show or make another appearance, I'm convinced that if we had anything in common (other than my admiration), we'd be super-close friends. We're both reasonably foul-mouthed, although not in a mean way (I hide it well when I have to) and totally sarcastic (again, not in a mean way), and neither of us suffers fools gladly. Seems like enough to build a friendship on, don't you think?

My instincts about her were definitely reinforced in Scrappy Little Nobody, her new collection of autobiographical essays which spanned from her childhood to the current time, tracing her anxieties, successes, fears, hang-ups, obsessions, and her sexual history. (Kind of.) This isn't a tell-all book in any way (although she has some nice things to say about a few celebrities, like Zac Efron), but rather a first-hand look at the growth of a star, from her earliest (disastrous) beginnings as a child in dance class to success, including Tony and Oscar nominations.

"I'd thought of myself as fearful and shrinking in childhood, but I was often single-minded and pugnacious. From age three onward I have been practical and skeptical and occasionally more courageous than I have any right to be."

At times uproariously funny (I seriously laughed out loud more than a few times) and incredibly self-aware, this is a tremendously entertaining book, but Kendrick isn't afraid to take herself down more than a few notches as often as she deems it necessary. Referring to her performing a local production of Annie when she was younger, she said:

"To this day, seeing a tattered brown cardigan or a pair of thin-soled lace-up boots makes my heart sing. In a costume context, not, like, on a person. I'm not some out-of-touch monster who sees real-world poverty and longs for the days of her musical-theater beginnings."

And of losing the Tony Award:

"I lost a Tony Award to Broadway legend Audra McDonald when I was twelve, so I've been a bitter bitch since before my first period...I also feel that if I had won and made a televised speech at age twelve, the delayed embarrassment would have been so severe, I'd currently be a Howard Hughes-style shut-in, but without the money for the mansion or the planes or the legion of servants to take away bottles of my urine."

This is frank and funny, and Kendrick doesn't mince words, and she says what's on her mind, so if candid conversation about her sex life and liberal use of curses bothers you, you might want to steer clear of this. But if not, this is the rare portrait of a talented star who takes herself less seriously than nearly anyone. It's refreshing and a hell of a lot of fun. (And I still think we could be friends once we stopped trying to one-up each other.)

Book Review: "Treehab: Tales from My Natural, Wild Life" by Bob Smith

Bob Smith is a tremendously funny comedian—in fact, he was the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show and have his own episode of HBO Comedy Half-Hour. He's also a writer, of both novels and essays. (I really enjoyed Remembrance of Things I Forgot, a twist on a time-travel novel, which I read a number of years ago.)

About 10 years ago, Bob was diagnosed with ALS. While he can no longer speak, or walk, he is determined not to wallow in his disease or allow it to hamper his enjoyment of his life. Treehab—named for a retreat cabin in rural Ontario—isn't, as I expected, a book about how he finds the courage to fight every day, or a tribute to his incredible support system. Those elements certainly do have their part in the book, but it's more a story about his lifelong interest and enjoyment in nature and the outdoors, particularly the Alaskan wilderness, and how he has derived peace, satisfaction, and enjoyment from his time spent with nature.

"It took a life-threatening illness to make me see that the reason most of us love the natural world is because it's a visual and vocal echo that we're alive."

Much of the chapters in this book focus on the sheer joy he feels when he and his friends are hiking, seeing the amazing array of birds that inhabit the places he has visited, and realizing that we are tremendously lucky to be witnessing the beauty of the natural world. He has a particular fondness for Alaska and the people (not to mention the men) he has met on his many visits. But even now, as he struggles to fight ALS, his time in nature provides comfort, centering, and security.

Treehab is also a book about friendship, as Bob recounts the relationships he has with his "Nature Boys," his closest group of friends who have helped him through many of the ups and downs in his life, and share his zeal for the outdoors. And it's also a book about fatherhood, since he fathered two children with friends of his, and his desire to instill in his children the importance of being good people, as well as loving and caring for the world around them.

"I definitely want to teach Maddie and Xander that being angry about other people's selfishness and lack of compassion is actually a virtue...I'm afraid I'll die before they are old enough to know—or even remember—me, and I'm immodest enough to think that people who don't know me are missing out on something terrific."

I really expected this book to be a maudlin read, given the seriousness of ALS. Bob had a very deft sense of when the tone was getting too somber, and quickly lightened things with some humor. But for the most part, this is a book that dazzles you with the imagery he recounts of beautiful, colorful birds, picturesque sunrises and sunsets, and the breathtaking beauty of Alaska. He also isn't above being self-deprecating, especially if he thinks he can get a laugh out of the readers.

While you know where Bob's story will ultimately end someday, and that adds a bit of a pall to the book, this book didn't leave me feeling sad. I felt inspired to appreciate the natural world around me a little bit more, and realize how lucky I am to have the love and support of my family and friends. But more than that, I felt thankful that Bob was willing to share his life's struggles and his life's joys with us. Both moved me, made me think, and will stick in my mind.

Book Review: "The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories" by Marina Keegan

I randomly stumbled upon this book, and I'm so glad I did.

Marina Keegan was an aspiring writer who graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She was a talented go-getter with a bright future ahead of her, one which included a job at the New Yorker and a play in production. Five days after her graduation, she was killed in a car accident while on her way to visit family.

An essay called "The Opposite of Loneliness," which she wrote for the Yale Daily News, recounted the excitement she felt about graduating from college and heading into her future, yet it was also tinged with the melancholy of the simpler college days, when minor problems seemed so insurmountable. After her death, the essay went viral, and it led to the publication of this book by the same name, a collection of short stories and essays she wrote.

After reading this book, I can say unequivocally that Marina Keegan was an exceptionally talented writer, one whose fiction was imbued with sensitivity and rich characters, and whose essays were insightful, sometimes humorous and sometimes quirky. The essays in which she referred to the thoughts and fears she had about her own future were particularly poignant, because she had no idea just how short her future would sadly be. It's difficult, of course, to separate the emotional weight of her work from the tragedy of her death, but I still believe this pieces would be powerful had she not died.

I particularly enjoyed a number of her short stories, particularly "Cold Pastoral," in which a college student deals with the death of a fellow student she was dating, but isn't really sure what their relationship meant to her; "Winter Break," which told of the difficulties a college student has reconciling her own romantic relationship with the difficulties her parents are having; "Reading Aloud," in which an aging woman reads to a younger blind man and finds unusual emotional catharsis; the perils of returning to your hometown after your life hasn't gone the way you planned, in "Hail, Full of Grace"; and "Challenger Deep," the story of the crew on a doomed submarine.

Of her essays, the ones I enjoyed the most were "Stability in Motion," in which Keegan recounted her relationship with her first car, a gift from her grandmother, and "Against the Grain," which told of her challenges living with Celiac disease, and her mother's fiercely protective nature where those issues were concerned.

Keegan's writing is layered, at times both poetic and humorous, and quite beautiful. The literary world lost a star it never got the chance to have, but luckily her work was left behind for us to savor, and wonder what might have been.