So, Anyway...

So, Anyway... by John Cleese  392 pp.

This memoir by Monty Python alum, John Cleese is mainly about his unexpected evolution into the world of acting. He does touch briefly upon his childhood, growing up in a fairly traditional, middle class, British home and his personal life. More time is spent on his education, attending public (what we call private) school and later Cambridge where he began his acting career. Of course, there is lots of humor in the writing both in his style and in the anecdotes about working with the Pythons (Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Cleese's ex-wife Connie Booth), David Frost, Marty Feldman, and others. He often describes real life situations which were later twisted into some of the zanier Python sketches. It is not unusual to be reading along as he tells about fairly ordinary experiences when a sudden turn of phrase leaves you laughing out loud. Fans of "Monty Python's Flying Circus", "Fawlty Towers", and "A Fish Called Wanda" will enjoy this one.

Yes, My Accent is Real

Yes, My Accent is Real: and some other things I haven't told you by Kunal Nayyar  245 pp.

Kunal Nayyar is best known as the character "Raj" on the television show "Big Bank Theory". In a series of anecdotes, Nayyar chronicles his life from his childhood in New Delhi, India through his college education in the U.S. (University of Portland and Temple University), early acting jobs, landing on "Big Bang" and his marriage to an Indian model. While many of the episodes are amusing, he also touches on more serious topics, and occasionally waxes philosophical. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author.

The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky

The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler, 230 pages

Auggie Jones lives with her Grandpa Gus in Willow Grove, MO.  He’s a junk hauler and Auggie loves spending summertime riding with him to the local junkyard.  But as summer ends, things in Willow Grove change.  Auggie’s neighborhood school has been closed so she must go to a different school – Dickerson Elementary.  But Auggie and her friends are different from the students at Dickerson.  And Victoria, a long-time Dickerson student, makes sure they don’t forget it.

Victoria has it out for Auggie.  First, she steals Auggie’s best friend.  Then she announces her position as a junior member of the House Beautification Committee.  Victoria has her sights set on Auggie’s rundown neighborhood.  If Auggie can’t clean up her neighborhood, it will be torn down.  Auggie gets inventive and begins turning junkyard scraps into decorations to make her house beautiful – but the people on the City Council don’t always see things the way Auggie does.  To find out if Auggie is able to turn trash into treasure and save her neighborhood, read The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky.

Written by a Missouri author, this 16-17 Mark Twain Readers Award nominee shows younger readers the beauty to be found in unlikely objects, and that all communities – classy or shabby – have their own points of pride.

A Million Ways Home

A Million Ways Home by Dianna Dorisi Winget, 242 pages

12-year-old Poppy Parker has lived with Grandma Beth all her life – until 11 days ago, when Grandma Beth suffered a stroke.  Now Poppy has to live in a children’s home while Grandma Beth gets better.  While on her way to visit Grandma Beth, Poppy witnesses a horrible crime – in fact, she’s the only witness.  To ensure her safety during the investigation, Poppy will stay with a police officer's family.

Poppy’s temporary home is much better than the children’s home, and she even gets to volunteer at an animal shelter where she takes an interest in a problem-dog with an uncertain future.  But Poppy won’t stay here forever – only until Grandma Beth gets better, or the suspect of the investigation is caught.  What Poppy wants most is for Grandma Beth to get better so they can be together again – but instead she seems to be getting worse.  Will things go back to the way they were for Poppy and Grandma Beth?  Find out by reading A Million Ways Home.

A 16-17 MT Readers Award nominee, and a touching read.  Readers  experience how the main character faces difficult changes – with both grace and impulse.

Home: How Habitat Made Us Human / John S. Allen, 292 pp.

A look at home from the perspectives of neurology, psychology, anthropology,  and economics.  Allen, a neuroanthropologist, argues that evolution has made us home-makers, and sees our relationship to home as distinctly human.  A nice, not overly-academic read; you won't find big revelations here, but you might discover familiar ideas expressed in new ways.  His discussion of homelessness among the mentally ill, for example, says, "...schizophrenia...lead(s) to difficulties maintaining relationships, and home is about the relationship of a person with a place."  Thoughtful.

Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, 352 pages

In the not-too-distant future, the real world has become a vast wasteland as most of the population spends its time logged into OASIS, a fully functioning simulated world, where people can buy, sell, learn, meet up, and go on various adventures through their avatars. The story begins on the day that James Halliday, the creator of OASIS, dies without heirs, leaving his entire fortune to the first person who is able to find the Easter egg he has hidden in OASIS. Ready Player One is the story of that quest, and of one poor kid from Oklahoma who incredibly becomes a front-runner in the race.

This book is a lot of fun. It's packed with geeky references to the 1980s, everything from movies to music to classic arcade games to D&D to books and more. This should be required reading for anyone who considers him- or herself a geek. Awesome book.

American Housewife

American Housewife by Helen Ellis, 188 pages

In this collection of short stories, Ellis offers up some sharp humor about the travails of the upper-middle-class housewife. Particularly fun are "How to Be A Patron of the Arts," about a woman who slowly gives up her writing ambitions; "Dumpster Diving with the Stars," about a reality show; and "The Wainscoting War," a wicked back-and-forth between two combative apartment neighbors. It's quick, it's hilarious, and well worth the read.

All the Birds in the Sky

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, 316 pages

Patricia and Laurence were two oddball kids, both were bullied by their peers in junior high, despite (or perhaps because of) their extraordinary talents: Patricia is a witch who was trying to find herself, while Laurence is a tech genius. While they lose track of each other for a while, their lives keep intertwining as adults in a delicate dance between natural and technological forces. Anders has created a wonderful thought-provoking tale that offers up several questions about the nature of humanity, nature, and technology, and how a balance might be struck among the three. A beautiful book.

The dust that falls from dreams, by Louis de Bernieres

There have been countless books, both fiction and non-fiction, written about World War I.  This is yet another novel with that defining conflict as its background and theme.  A well-to-do British couple have four young daughters who are growing up in a beautiful area not far from London.  On either side of their home, the neighboring families have sons, three on one side, immigrants from Baltimore, and two on the other side – originally a family of four sons, but two have died in the Boer War.  Their stories are interwoven as the Great War breaks out and changes everything.  The novel is well-written and engaging, but not distinguished enough from many other similar books – some excellent, like Kate Atkinson’s two latest titles – to leave much of an original trace in my memory just weeks after reading it.  Perhaps I’ve been watching too much Downton Abbey as well.  But I did enjoy the story while I was involved in it and liked the origin of its title.  “The dust that falls from dreams,” is how one character describes dancing motes in the morning sunshine.  511 pp.

My name is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Stout

Like her well-known Olive Kitteredge, this is a quiet, short book with no wasted words that packs a wallop.  The narrator, Lucy, is in the hospital for weeks after developing a bad infection following a routine appendectomy.  Her mother, who she hasn’t seen in many years, makes the trip from the small northern Illinois town where Lucy grew up to visit her in the hospital in New York City.  Through short chapters and broken reminiscences the two share during this visit, we gradually learn Lucy’s background (dirt poor and from a troubled family); about where she grew up and the people who influenced her; and her adult life.  A book that rewards re-reading.  Maybe Frances McDormand will take this on too….. it would be a great mini-series.  190 pp.