Scattershot

Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton & Me by Bernie Taupin (2023)  400 pages

Bernie Taupin grew up in a rural area in northern England, but found his way to London where he met Reg Dwight (later known as Elton John) at age 17. Eventually, after their music takes off, they live in Los Angeles, but also spend time in New York City, Paris, and the Caribbean. I love the way Taupin describes the cities in the 1970s and indicates how so much has changed ‒ he remembers the restaurants and bars and music venues, along with the people who owned them, who played music there, and those who frequented them. 

His knowledge of music keeps one Googling the names of old time musicians from the blues, country western, and pop, and the songs that they wrote and/or sang. Taupin shows reverence for those whose music helped define the various genres, and he is thrilled when he has a chance to meet some of those great old musicians. Taupin is also a voracious reader and collector of books, and describes a chance meeting with one of his most-beloved authors. He is also floored by Frank Sinatra when he meets him, finding himself unexpectedly in awe of the man.

So many names, people ‒ besides Elton John ‒ that Taupin counted as his close friends: Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, Robin Williams, John Lennon, to name a few. So many stories about the songs that he and Elton wrote. There are also a few digs at musicians that Taupin didn't like, but it's rare.

Drugs and alcohol are prevalent throughout, and Taupin touches on how he and Elton (and others) were affected by their use of these substances. 

Taupin's experiences put him into contact with countless musicians, actors, authors, and artists. This book would be even better with an index. However, an index for the density of people and places mentioned would probably double the length the book!

Full Speed to a Crash Landing

Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis, 181 pages

Ada Lamarr was in the middle of scavenging metal from the crash of a giant spaceship when the airlock of her small ship blew up and left her with swiftly dwindling oxygen and the hopes that a nearby ship would respond to her increasingly urgent distress call. When a ship finally does grab her at nearly the last second, Ada learns that they're here to rescue a couple of irreplaceable items from the same wreckage. But while Ada's more than happy to help rescue the items from the volatile planet, she also has ulterior motives, ones that she must conceal from the sexy mission commander of the rescue ship.

This novella is a fun space heist, with excellent characters, fun twists, and a solid enough background that it's not confusing, though without weighing down the plot. It also ends on a cliffhanger, so the second book in this trilogy better get published soon. Cuz you know I'm going to read the heck out of it!

Goliath

Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi, 327 pages

It's just 30-40 years in the future, and after centuries of ecological, economical, and racial disparity in policies and action, the rich white folks of the U.S. have left behind the dregs of the country to live in a space station colony. This book, however, is mainly about those who are left — mainly poor people of color, struggling every day with toxic air and depleting resources. Yes, there are a few people returning from the space colony as journalists and first-wave gentrifiers, but the bulk of this book is about the everyday people who are struggling to survive in New Haven, Connecticut.

This was not an easy book to read on many levels — there's not much of a storyline, and it's hard to tell who's speaking and when each passage is taking place, while the struggles of the left-behind people juxtaposed with the cringey journalists and Earth returnees make the events of the books uncomfortable. But I'm pretty sure this book isn't supposed to be an easy read. It's meant to be read and ruminated on and discussed, and I came out of our Orcs & Aliens discussion last night with a much greater appreciation for the book than I had going into the chat. Read this if you're ready for some deep introspection about race, class, and political and ecological policies in the U.S.

An Unfinished Love Story

 

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin 480 pp.

This book was fascinating to me since, while I remembered the major events of the 1960s, I was a child during that time (the assassination of JFK happened when I was in kindergarten). I have read other books by Doris Kearns Goodwin but was not familiar with her husband, Richard Goodwin, a man who was so instrumental in the world of Democratic politics in the 1960s. When her husband reached his 80s the two of them began go through his stored files of his work and memorabilia of his days in Washington as a  clerk for Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter. Then as counsel for the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce where he investigated the television quiz show scandals of the 1950s. (Goodwin was portrayed by actor Rob Morrow in the 1994 film "Quiz Show.") After that he became one of the speechwriters and advisors for Senator John Kennedy during his campaign for the Presidency. Kennedy appointed him Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs where he tried to discourage Kennedy from ordering the Bay of Pigs operation. Goodwin aided the First Lady in many tasks most notably in the relocating of Egyptian temples that would have been flooded by the Aswan Dam project. He was also instrumental in the planning of the dinner for Nobel Prize winners (Dinner in Camelot) and finally arranging for the eternal flame Jackie Kennedy requested for her husband's grave. Following Kennedy's death Goodwin became Secretary General of the Peace Corp until he accepted a job with President Lyndon Johnson where he was credited with writing some of LBJ's most important and effective speeches before resigning because of differences over the Vietnam War. After some work in academia, Goodwin, ever against the war in Vietnam, joined Eugene McCarthy's campaign for President leaving when his friend Bobby Kennedy decided to run after LBJ announced he would not seek re-election. Upon Kennedy's assassination in Los Angeles, Goodwin went back to the McCarthy campaign. Following those years he taught and wrote, producing articles, books, and a play. He married Doris Kearns, who had worked with LBJ on his memoir, in 1975 and they were married until his death in 2018. I learned so much from this book. I never knew that LBJ pushed the Fair Housing Bill through Congress on the heels of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination or how much friction existed between LBJ and Bobby Kennedy. And I didn't know anything about the man, Richard (Dick) Goodwin. I listened to the audiobook, read by the author.

The Ministry of Time

 

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, 352 pages

If Candace Bushnell wrote a romance book about time travel, it would look something like this. I don't say this often, but I really hated this book. I won't spoil any endings here, but I found the writing lazy, the plot disjointed and ludicrous--it's generally just overmarketed as some kind of unique time travel/spy novel when it's really nothing of the sort--it's just a relationship book. Nothing happens for about 200 pages and then all of a sudden you realize you're in some kind of romance novel that still takes forever to wrap up. And then, after all that time, there's a threshold the author crosses and everything happens all at once in about the last third of the book--all the plot and characters and exposition go tumbling downhill to it's inevitable and boring conclusion.

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton, 361 pages

Beth is a young but distinguished ornithologist, splitting her time between teaching at Oxford and tracking down dangerous and rare magical birds. She's about to grab just such a specimen when the dashing (and annoying) Devon Lockley literally swoops in and nabs the bird right from under her fingers. But when a competition to become Birder of the Year (and gain tenure) through capturing a particularly elusive bird is announced, Beth and Lockley find themselves forming the most unlikely of teams... and discover that they don't dislike each other as much as they thought.

This book is just as silly as that previous paragraph implies, and while it's not going to win any awards, it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. I actually think this would be better served as a campy B movie, perfect for a rainy afternoon — it just has that vibe — though I'm not sure the Victorian era in which it's set would translate well to film. Oh well, just read it and giggle.

Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd by Mark Blake 418 pp.

This book was a slow starter, slow enough that I almost gave up on it. Part of that was due to the audiobook narrator sounding like a BBC new presenter - dry and factual. That being said, this is a very detailed explanation of the creation, dissention, and reformation of the super group that is Pink Floyd. Formed by a bunch of Cambridge lads, the band went through various incarnations before they created the phenomenon that is "Dark Side of the Moon." Along the way there was a lot of drug abuse, the mental decline of Syd Barrett, and the legal fights between Roger Waters and David Gilmour. In spite of Waters trying to block them every step of the way, the Gilmour-led Pink Floyd went on to produce some great albums and massive tours. This is a fairly balanced account of the band but does make Roger Waters out to be a jerk, which may or may not actually be the truth.

Here We Go Again

Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun, 356 pages

When they were kids, Logan and Rosemary were inseparable best friends, despite their polar-opposite personalities. But at 14, something happened that drove them apart and turned them into nemeses. Now, the two women are in their 30s and both teaching English at their small-town high school, still holding a grudge that's nearly 20 years old. The only thing that could possibly bring them together is Joe, their high school English teacher and mentor who is dying of cancer. So when Joe requests that Logan and Rosemary take him on a cross-country road trip to Maine so he can die in a place he once loved, they grudgingly agree, half-convinced that they'll kill each other somewhere along the way.

This romance novel has way too many tropes for it to work — enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance, "but there was only one bed," straight-laced/chaotic pairing...and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head — yet somehow Cochrun is able to tie them all together beautifully in a hilarious, touching novel featuring characters with very real flaws and fears. I laughed, I cried, I loved it. I think it's her best yet, and that's saying something.

The Witchstone

The Witchstone by Harry H. Neff, 462 pages

For four centuries, the Drakefords have been caught under a horrific curse that slowly turns them into monsters. They've given up hope of ever breaking the curse when lazy demon Laszlo, their curse's official Keeper, pops up at their remote home with a plan to break the curse in six short days. Of course he has ulterior motives (he's a demon after all), but Maggie Drakeford — a teenager who is just starting to show signs of the curse-caused transformation — is willing to do whatever she can to save her already-monstrous father, herself, and her younger brother, Lump (actually George, but hey, it's what he calls himself). A whirlwind trip around the world in search of magical items guarded by horrid creatures ensues, as does an unlikely friendship between Laszlo and Maggie.

I loved this book, which somehow has both Percy Jackson and The Guncle vibes (but also with demons). The characters are fantastic, particularly Laszlo's shark-headed buddy Clarence and the aforementioned Lump, and the twists kept me guessing until the very end. (Also, a shoutout to that fantastic cover!) Highly recommended to fans of urban fantasy, lazy antiheros, and bumpkins with gumption. 

July totals

After attempting to read outside
for 10 minutes, this was all that was
left of an unnamed UCPL staffer.

Byron: 1 book, 475 pages

Jan: 6 books, 2126 pages

John: 3 books, 957 pages

Kara: 10 books, 3459 pages

Karen: 7 books, 2356 pages

Kevin: 1 book, 460 pages

Regan: 10 books, 2554 pages

Total: 38 books, 12,387 pages