Aliverse

Nines Lives is a multivoiced biography of a dazzling, surreal, and imperiled city, told through the lives of nine unforgettable characters and bracketed by two epic storms: Hurricane Betsy, which transformed New Orleans in the 1960s, and Hurricane Katrina, which nearly destroyed it. Dan Baum brings this kaleidoscopic portrait to life, showing us what was lost in the storm and what remains to be saved.

Publisher Summary – Spiegel and Grau

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, I was riveted to the television. I’d always been a storm lover. The drama and intensity of a thunderstorm held my attention in a way no TV show ever could. Of course I wanted to see this storm. A hurricane was totally out of the realm of my experience. To me, it was simply a massive thunderstorm. In August of 2005, I learned what devastation meant when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

Just as with most historic news events, certain memories are forever engraved in my brain. Images of people laying on roofs, surrounded by impossibly high water, are my immediate recollection. The Superdome, home to the New Orleans Saints, was filled with displaced residents, and the roof was peeled off with horrifying ease. Hearing that the levee had broken was honestly impossible to comprehend to someone who didn’t live there. Even now, five years later, I see pictures and it isn’t real to me. The devastation, the rot and death and heart-breaking permanence does not translate over the media.

This is where Dan Baum‘s book, Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans, comes in. Going back to Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Baum introduces us to New Orleans and the ability of her people to bounce back and thrive.

Look at these two hurricane ‘after’ pictures. The first one is from Betsy, the second one from Katrina. Even after this kind of mind-numbing devastation, New Orleans has continued to bounce back.

Baum introduces us to nine unique individuals who are tied, in most cases, by nothing more than their love of New Orleans as their home and heritage.

There is no way for me to do justice to these rich characters. Each is unique in their own way, full of desires, dreams, fears, and loves. Let me introduce each of them, but please excuse my brevity. Dan Baum will take you into their lives. I simply want to give you a taste of the wonderful backbone to his story.

There’s Ronald Lewis, a man full of integrity and strength, who fights to hold on to New Orleans history. He reminds us that there is more to New Orleans than just the French Quarter. He takes you into the history of the Mardi Gras Indians and the Lower Ninth Ward. You can visit his museum called The House of Dance and Feathers.

Anthony Wells brings character and life, as well as respect and love, to the people who stayed with their houses longer than most thought was safe. He brings to light the grittier side of New Orleans culture, with humor and a light-hearted honesty.

Billy Grace comes to us from a different perspective. His hard-working background is intertwined with wealth and privilege. His ability to access some of the most exclusive groups of rich, white men in New Orleans, introduces us to the house of Rex and the social responsibility that goes along with it.

Frank Minyard has a love/hate relationship with his wealth, and works hard to avoid becoming one of the snobbish ‘uptown swells’ his mother so hated. Living a life of excess, he still manages to earn the respect of anyone reading, as he dedicates his life to helping those less fortunate than he had become.

Wilbert Rawlins and Belinda Carr work against their environment and history to reach success and happiness. With Wilbert’s love of the band, and the children he teaches, we get a real glimpse into how very important music is to New Orleans and its residents. Belinda’s ambition rivals that of most people you’ll meet, and her ability to overcome adversity in her life is inspiring.

Timothy Bruneau gives us a rare glimpse into the New Orleans police department. Rather than the corrupt impression often given in the media, we see determination and love of the job in Tim. Even a horribly life-altering accident isn’t enough to stop Tim’s need to work for justice.

My favorite two characters I’ve saved for last.

Joyce Montana was married to one of the most remarkable men in New Orleans history. Allison “Tootie” Montana was a history-maker, full of life, and one of the most hard-working, creative minds that ever lived. Enjoy this glimpse into his life in Nine Lives, and check out some of the following sites to get an even greater in-depth view:

He’s the Prettiest

Tootie’s Last Suit

Allison “Tootie” Montana

And last, but not least by any stretch, is JoAnn Guidos. Formerly John Guidos, JoAnn worked to overcome adversity and self-doubt by being her true self. Her love and commitment to New Orleans and the misfits who live there led her to open Kajun’s Pub.  It was one of the few businesses that remained open during and after Hurricane Katrina. JoAnn let anyone and everyone in to find shelter, company, and a much-needed drink. Her contribution to New Orleans life makes me want to thank her, hug her, and support her in whatever way I can. The best way I can think of doing that is to ask you to visit her restaurant. Enjoy the bar, patronize the businesses down there, and get to know the people. Love them for who they are and know they will do the same for you. That’s just part of New Orleans, and to me, JoAnn personifies that spirit of acceptance and joie de vivre.

Nine Lives will make you feel a full range of emotions, from start to finish. Dan Baum treats us to an inside look at the politics, culture, and racial tensions that make up New Orleans life and history. Most importantly, you will see that the people of New Orleans do not need our pity. They do not need part-time do-gooders, building a house and then leaving. They need our business. They need their culture and their people. They need music, food, and life. But never our pity.

Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans is a book well worth your time. It was well thought out, well written, and it interweaves the lives of nine unique individuals. The delicate web of lives touch each other in some ways and never intersect in others.

If I had to find any fault in this book it would be in the ending. I was disappointed not to have some loose ends tied up. But in the end, isn’t that what life is?

4.5 out of 5 stars

This book was given to me by The WETA Book Studio in a book giveaway. There was no expectation of any review of any sort, positive or negative. As always, my opinion is my own and is given freely. Please review my disclosure  statement for more information.

First, let me just say that so far I love book-blogging.  As a writer and lover of books, it never occurred to me that there could be an audience for the subject of my love. I have stacks of books all over my house and at least a quarter of my basement is full of them. My love of books has intertwined with my love of writing and I could not be happier.

That said…

I’m still new to the book-blogging scene. I feel like I’m still trying to prove myself so publishers, authors, and publicists will actually volunteer to send me ARCs and galleys. I am learning the back-end of things so I can tweak my blog whenever I want, and I took all the advice out there and started off owning my domain. I’m getting myself out there on Twitter and Facebook, all the while trying to avoid being obnoxious about asking people to visit my blog. I have also joined up with multiple book-loving sites and communities (Library Thing, GoodReads, etc.) to talk to others who share my interests. Unfortunately, I seem to have taken a wrong turn at some point.

I won’t mention it by name just yet, since I’m actively requesting input here. I found this site that allows you to sign up to review books that they send you for free. That sounded good. No different than getting ARCs/galleys from an author or publisher. On the surface, and even slightly below, this site seemed completely on the up and up. The more I looked at the book titles, though, I realized that it’s a Christian book site.

Let me stop right here and say there is nothing wrong with having that site. I understand it, and good for them. That said, I’m agnostic. I also have no desire to review Christian books. It just isn’t my ‘thing’. If I’m reading a book about spirituality or religion, it’s just not something I ever plan to blog about. By the time I figured out what the site was all about, I’d already chosen a book to review and it was on its way to me.

Now, the upside of it is that I can quit at any time. (Sounds like a Time-Life subscription, doesn’t it?) There is no obligation to continue choosing books.

The downside is, I now have a book that I have to review and I don’t want to review it now. Make no mistake, I’ll do the review. I will be as open-minded and fair as possible. Also, there is every possibility that I’ll love the book. I chose it on a whim.  It struck me as a ‘girl-power’ type book. Having an 18-month-old daughter, I was intrigued. I want her to know she’s a rock-star, so I was happy to read a book that might help me raise her to know it.

What would you other book-bloggers do? Would you read it, review it, and let it go? (so far, that’s my plan) Or would you post about feeling duped? (naming names) Would it even bother you? Do you ever get a surprise in a book that you thought would be one thing but ended up being quite the opposite?

I know how to give a fair review, even if the content isn’t my thing. Still, I feel a bit uncomfortable now and I really think this site should be way more forthcoming about their purpose.

I would really appreciate comments! Or you can email me at aliverseblog (at) gmail (dot) com

New York City, 1945. Marjorie Jacobson and her best friend, Marty Garrett, arrive fresh from the Kappa house at the University of Iowa hoping to find summer positions as shopgirls. Turned away from the top department stores, they miraculously find jobs as pages at Tiffany & Co., becoming the first women to ever work on the sales floor, a diamond-filled day job replete with Tiffany-blue shirtwaist dresses from Bonwit Teller’s—and the envy of all their friends.

Looking back on that magical time in her life, Marjorie takes us back to when she and Marty rubbed elbows with the rich and famous, pinched pennies to eat at the Automat, experienced nightlife at La Martinique, and danced away their weekends with dashing midshipmen. Between being dazzled by Judy Garland’s honeymoon visit to Tiffany, celebrating VJ Day in Times Square, and mingling with Café society, she fell in love, learned unforgettable lessons, made important decisions that would change her future, and created the remarkable memories she now shares with all of us.

http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Summer-Tiffany-Marjorie-Hart/?isbn=9780061189531

When I first heard about “Summer at Tiffany”, I was intrigued. I’ve only recently started reading memoirs, and this one looked like a perfect way to kick-off my summer reading list. As it turns out, the book was everything I hoped it would be and more!

Just looking at the cover of the book, I was transported to New York City in the 1940′s. Maybe it’s a misconception or an overly romanticized way for me to look at things, but it really did seem like a different city then. It seemed cleaner, fresher, and infinitely more personal. Don’t get me wrong, I love New York.  Manhattan is a place where you can’t help but feel alive.  But the Manhattan of the 1940′s seemed to really be a special place in time. That is exactly the Manhattan Marjorie Hart tells about in this book.

Marjorie was a small-town girl, going to college in her home state of Iowa.  In the summer of 1945, she went to New York to experience city life, see the sights, and enjoy all New York had to offer.  With her best friend Marty at her side, she braved the crowds, visited the tourist attractions, and dined out in fine restaurants, trying her best to fit in and come across more worldly than she knew she was. Marjorie desperately wanted to be a good sales-floor page (the job she and Marty both got at Tiffany that summer.) Part of the job meant knowing all the salesmen’s names. Always trying to go above and beyond, Marjorie asked the elevator operator what one of the men’s names was. “Hoydman!” he told her. However, when Marjorie rushed a purchase to him, saying “Here’s the package Mr. Hoydman.”, the man became curt and stiff. Appalled at his reaction, Marjorie could only groan inwardly as he explained that his name was “Herdman”, not “Hoydman”, as the elevator operator had told her. In a letter home, she wrote:

“P.S. Remember that radio program that’s so funny — the way they say “goils” for girls? Guess what — some people really do talk like that!”

This is exactly what endeared me to her. How can you not love somebody who pokes fun at their own naivete?

I felt the giddiness unique to the time when you’re in your early twenties and finally starting to make your way as an adult in the world. You still have that child-like sense of wonder, yet the responsibilities and desires of adulthood are finally starting to become a part of your life. Marjorie’s story highlights all of that.

Not just a trip down memory lane, “Summer at Tiffany” acquainted me with places I have never seen, such as the Automat, Toffenetti’s, and the Hotel Astor. It made me want to visit Jones beach, even though I’m sure it’s quite different now than it was in the 40s.

Marjorie Hart had the unique experience of being able to observe the rich and famous without the red carpet and clamoring paparazzi. Her account of the time Judy Garland visited Tiffany made me wish I could have met her too, if for no other reason than to hear her laugh and charm everyone she met.

The world changed that summer.  Marjorie and Marty experienced it all, up close and live. They both wept when the plane crashed into the Empire State Building, terrifying everyone around. And they celebrated in the street at Times Square when the Japanese surrendered.

This memoir is sweet and timeless, and it reminded me to take full advantage of every single minute of my life.  That is certainly what Marjorie Hart did that summer. From the Author’s Notes at the end of the book (I bought the trade paperback.) I can tell that’s what she has done her entire life.

There was something special and unique about America during WWII.  Marjorie Hart brought some of that to life in “Summer at Tiffany”.  I definitely recommend this summery, heart-warming memoir.

5 out of 5

I’d heard things about “Summer at Tiffany” by Marjorie Hart.  My plate being totally full right now, though, I just never gave it more than a moment’s thought.  Isn’t it funny, then, that the book has made it to the top of my wish list? 

Today, as I was checking out morning’s Twitter finds (this is where I tend to get updates on the best books, book blogs, events, etc… Book lovers seem to love Twitter almost as much as they love books.) I was taken to a ‘giveaway’ for “Summer at Tiffany”.  The question to answer was ‘what was your best summer?’  Being my absolute favorite season, this question gave me pause.  It made me thoughtful enough that I think it deserves its own blog post. 

Each summer seems the best to me, as I feel I’m reborn again each time the season begins.  I’m a summer-baby, so I assume that’s why I have such an affinity for it. 

Summers from childhood were wonderful. Swimming at the pool so often that I had a lingering scent of chlorine about me all the time…eating nectarines so sweet the juice dripped down my chin…going from carnival to carnival and never once caring how many calories were in a funnel cake…

Summers from my teen years were full of romance and drama, with a delicious faux-boredom thrown in.  How could we ever be bored with all the entertainment available to us? But it fit in with the angst of the age, being bored.

Summers as an adult take on a less exciting role, as I still work and rarely have time off.  But there is still always the promise of hot wind in my face and hair as I drive home from work. Music turned up and a feeling of flying and freedom when the only responsibility I have is to get myself home.

All summers are wonderful. Each one is its own lifetime and stays that way, encapsulated forever.

This summer ties in with last summer in a special way.  This summer marks the end of my year alone…deployment style. Last summer was the first one I spent without my husband and with just the kids. It was scary and busy and liberating at the same time. I was on unsure footing, hoping I could keep things together just enough to avoid a meltdown. This summer, I have come full circle. I no longer want to just ‘hold it together’. I am more confident as a parent, and more confident as an adult. I have broken out of my comfort zone in many ways over the past year, and this summer I feel like the world is mine for the discovering.

The end of this coming summer will bring the end of this deployment. I will no longer be doing all the parenting alone. I won’t be the only person in my house to take care of things. I will also be a different person. Stronger, more capable, and confident in myself and my abilities, in a way I’ve never been before.

For Sookie Stackhouse, the day to day activities of the vampire and were communities in and around Bon Temps, Louisiana, are of vital interest, She’s blood-bound to the leader of the vamps, a friend to the local were pack, works for a man who is shifter, and has a brother who is a were-panther…

But for most of the humans in Bon Temps, the vamps are mysterious seductive creatures-and they don’t even know about the weres.

Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world.

At first it seems to go well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found in the parking lot of the bar where Sookie works. The victim is someone she knows, so she feels compelled to discover who-human or otherwise-did the deed.

But what she doesn’t realize is that there is a far greater danger than the killer threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings–older, more powerful and far more secretive than vampires or werewolves– is preparing for war. And Sookie will find herself an all-too human pawn in their battle…

- Synopsis via Barnes and Noble

Let me just jump right into it. After several days of trying to find the right words, I’m just going to have at it.

I was disappointed in the ninth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlain Harris. I settled down to read the book I had waited over a year to read. I sped through “Dead and Gone”, hoping against hope that it would get to the point already. It never got there.

To me, this book was without purpose. It seemed thrown together with some vague story ideas and old characters with their usual behavior and issues. As far as I was concerned, there was no character development at all in this book. While I could have excused this if the story had been phenomenal, it was not.

The quick-witted charm I have come to love in Charlaine Harris’s characters came to a halt in this book. The plot and storyline were almost non-existent. I’d be concerned about giving away spoilers, but honestly there is no way to spoil this book. Nothing surprising happens, really. By this point in the series I’ve learned that even favorite characters can die. (Sort of reminds me of a Joss Whedon series in that respect.) So when a few characters I liked got killed, my only reaction was ‘meh’.

The weres finally come out, which we knew was going to happen from the previous book. People are trying to attack Sookie, no surprise there. Bill still loves Sookie but does nothing about it except hang around in a creepy manner. Eric loves Sookie and wants her to belong to him. Again, no news there.

There is never any closure in regards to Eric and Sookie and their previous love affair. Even though you are led to believe there will be a serious discussion between the two about their time together, the conversation never happens. Are we supposed to believe that this long-anticipated conversation is what Eric and Sookie experience in bed one night? If so, I’m even more disappointed than I initially thought.

I was also left wondering why certain characters even made appearances in this book. I feel that ‘Bubba’ has worn out his welcome in the series, unless he is going to actually DO something. Bill was hardly necessary until the very end, and even then he seemed superfluous. Sam seems to act out of character, and even a little hypocritical, as he pouts about her relationship with Eric.

Why the consistent, yet unnecessary, inclusion of Sookie’s state of Christianity? Since when has that been a big deal in these books? The inclusion of it seemed a carelessly thrown-in ‘extra’.

At the heart of it all, the book was just compelling enough to make me want to read the next book. The real pull for me, though, is to find out if the relationship between Sookie and Eric ever actually goes somewhere.

I hope when the tenth book, “Dead in the Family” comes out in paperback, the series will get back on track and return with some of the fun and excitement we have all come to love. Or, barring that, at least give us some more excitement with Eric and Sookie.

Wait for the paperback, and enjoy the book for the light-hearted distraction it is.

3 out of 5