gumption: relighting the torch of freedom with america's gutsiest troublemakers. nick offerman (308)

i learned of nick offerman's gumption:  relighting the torch of freedom with america's gutsiest troublemakers at bookcon.  i knew he had written another book but assumed it was autobiographical but discovered at his panel it was about americans he admired for their gumption.  i have to add that he brought out both john hodgman and paul rudd during his panel, and yes, rudd was a huge distraction for me.

to be completely honest, this work did not live up to my expectation.  i had expected profiles of some great americans, but what i really got was some interesting facts, offerman gushing about why he loved them, and then some random discussion on politics, life, social media, etc.  i mean the points he made were interesting, but after a while it just got too redundant.  although i love ron swanson, i don't feel that close to offerman, as say, amy poehler or aziz ansari, so all of his random jokes where more awkward than funny. or maybe i am being mean, i just didn't literally laugh out loud as i read, though i am sure there was an the expectation that i did.

that being said, i learned a lot, just wish i had learned more and plan on doing some further reading with the books he suggested for further reading. 

my absolute favorite profile was yoko ono, perhaps because she was the person that i was the most familiar. i loved how offerman started off with admitting how he was judgmental about her, believing in the music folklore that she had broke up the beatles, but thanks to his wife, megan mullally, he saw the light.  and can i just add way to go mullally for purchasing some yoko art, i would have purchased a piece if i could afford it.  anyway, it was lovely to read about how she and john met through her art.  something that i didn't know, but i recognized the pieces because i attended her one woman show at the moma this past may.  i knew of the apple that john was intrigued by and was frustrated when i couldn't climb the ladder to read the message on the ceiling like john did.  but yes, it is amazing that her message was one of positivity and not negativity.  i should add that the book closes with a photo of this piece.  i like offerman found it amazing how she still lived in the dakota.  i am also amazed by her continued activism for social progress.  i really want a poster that says "war on women is over (if you want it)" or maybe a shirt.  but yes i loved the chapter on yoko ono and will be doing some further reading on her.

i also plan on reading more about eleanor roosevelt.  i had no idea that she and franklin d. were distant cousins.  i also loved reading about how she stuck to her beliefs regardless of what her husband supported.  eleanor lobbied for a bill that made lynching illegal in the south, even though her husband was worried that he would lose southern support.  she was also against imprisoning the japanese americans in internment camps after pearl harbor.  again i would have loved to read more about her, but am glad that offerman pointed me in the right direction to read more about her.

maybe it's the feminist in me, but i also plan on reading more about carol burnett.  i used to watch reruns of the carol burnett show, as a kid.  my grandma turned me on to her.  i remember laughing though i don't remember any specific jokes.  i would really love to revisit her show.  it was extraordinary to learn of her humble beginnings and to see that she is a fellow bruin!

the other woman that sparked an interest in me and one that i had never heard of was laurie anderson.  her music and art sounds amazing.  also i loved that she ordered a grilled cheese and bourbon when she and offerman met up.  i did like her idea about reverse boot camp, i feel like we do need to help our servicemen and woman return back to civilian life.  i didn't put in a request for her work, but will later on down the road.

i loved the conan o'brien chapter.  who knew he was so intelligent? and i have to admit it made him really sexy.  it was great to read his thoughts especially about how we view these times, i agree that we romanticize the past and the world is really not as bad as we think it is.  also conan knows his stuff, i mean he is a harvard grad and a history major.  i mean i would love to read books about history from him or even just a book about his life.  why hasn't that happen yet?  also since sadly there are no books, about conan, his further reading section, included books that he mentioned in his chapter.  i think i will read his books just for fun!

i enjoyed reading about james madison, we really do owe a lot to him.  i had no idea how crucial he was to the creating of the constitution and the bill of rights.  also, love that he was a big reader.  (actually alot of people featured were big readers.)

speaking of big readers, the stories in theodore roosevelt's chapter was awesome.  i mean he got shot during a speech and continued on with his speech! talk about impressive!

the chapter on frederick law olmsted was really interested.  thanks to my friend ivan, i have learning about new york, and how it came to be, so loved learning about olmsted and the designing of central park.  it was great to know that olmsted wanted the park to be one everyone and not just the rich.  i also learned that the entrances are labeled different, next time i am in nyc, i'm looking for the strangers' entrance and the warriors' entrance.  another central park bucket list item for me is to eat at tavern on the green.  i also plan on going to prospect park, which is supposed to be he and his partner, valux's best work.  i have been to the brooklyn museum but never explored the park.

i did enjoy micheal pollen's chapter, i would like to read his work, the omnivore's dilemma but am worried they may change my diet.  but i love my food! i will check out the rest of his works, i just don't read much non-fiction, but will add him to my to-be read list.

i sadly wasn't familiar with the writers mentioned, though i did recall coming across george saunder's congratulations by the way on california bookstore day, but didn't buy it.  however, i think i will given it read.

last but not least, i enjoyed read about george nakashima, a furniture maker.  his story was incredible because he was in an internment camp during world war II, after which, he started marking furniture and became successful.

the individuals that offerman wrote about were interested, again i would have liked to see more about them, versus offerman's opinion of them or thoughts he inspired by him.  if you like offerman, check it out, but just know that you there will much left to be desired, so hit up that further reading list.

further reading (for my personal reference):
 the autobiography of eleanor roosevelt eleanor roosvelt
days that i'll remmber: spending time with john lennon and yoko ono joanthan clott
all we are saying: the last major interview with john lennon and yoko ono david sheff
one more time carol burnett
this time together carol burnett
stories from the nerve bible:  a twenty-year retrospective laurie anderson
king lear shakespeare
the beatles:  the biography bob spitz
the soul of a tree george nakashima
congratulations, by the way geroge saunders
a clearing in the distance witold rybczynski
and michael pollan's works

modern romance. aziz ansari. (290)

before i start about the book, i have to begin with my love for aziz ansari.  so it all started with the movie, funny people, randy had be dying, he was like the highlight of the movie.  then, i started watching parks and recreation, and when tom created a tent that looked like something out of harry potter, and made sure to keep up with top chef, i was like, we could so be bffs.  and then, he was on lcd soundsystem's last concert dvd, and i was like we really need to be friends.  so now i am like his biggest fan, because, he is hilarious, eats well, and his friends with james murphy!  when i heard that he had a book deal, i was super excited, though i wish it were a memoir, a sociology book on love impressed me.  i have to add that i did see his modern romance tour with my sister and glad i did, because it goes hand and hand with this book.

and before i start on the book, i have to add that i saw aziz at bookcon and he was the best panel of the day.  even better than the much anticipated mindy kaling and bj novak panel (sorry guys).  the stories behind and in his book were hilarious, but the best was the q&a.  so i just googled and it's online and i am going to post it here.  please watch:

so i was dying, absolutely dying during his q&a, when he told the first girl that he didn't care where she was from.  and he called out that other fan for the stupid swagalicous question and last but not least the last question.  so enjoyable and we also got conversation hearts that were printed with quotes from the book.  so freakin' cool.

so the book was hilarious and being a single lady, surprisingly very helpful.  the book offers a lot of helpful advice finding love in this modern world.  here is what i learned:

-i need to start having friends set me up on dates.  back in the day, people married people that lived in their neighborhood since that is what their life was restricted to.  now people move away for school, work, etc. and just like aziz shared, i wouldn't want to marry a bozo from delano (no offense, people from delano), but i guess to get that quality neighborhood kind vibe, being set up by friends would be my best bet.  so friend start setting me up!

-how to do online dating right!  so i have been on okcupid and pretty much i just check out people, i don't really contact anyone, but i will start.  and start going on actual dates.  they share that people spend too much time getting to know each other online versus going on actual dates and face time (actual face time and not facetime) is what helps us determine if we are a match with someone or not.  also there was a hilarious segment on optimal profile photos.

-it was interesting to read about all the subtext there is to texting now.  how like pauses cause us to stress out when sometimes, people are just busy.  i will say that i am glad i was part of the generation that actually used to talk to people on the phone (though i rarely do that now), but i mean these kids today only text.  i was shocked to read how many were comfortable breaking up with someone via text.

-also texting and emails does allow us to have a paper trail of our love lives, which is sweet if we are together.  i have to admit to spending nights reading old emails from people i thought i loved and being heartbroken about how happy we once were and angry about how shitty things became.

-speaking of breaking up, honesty is the best policy.  i loved the experiment he did while on tour, having people raise their hand if they ever lied about the reason they wanted to break up with someone and then asking if they would want honesty or to be lied to if someone broke up with them.  i was one of those contradicting audience members!

-it was also interesting to read about how what we want in a partner has changed.  i mean we are all looking for this elusive soulmate, but it seemed like back in the day people got married and grew to love each other.  we need to lower our standards! lol jk

- also we do have an infinite number of options so that makes choosing a partner, difficult as well.

-tokyo is freaking amazing.  i really want to stay at the jurassic park hotel, see ladies sitting on large robots and of course get good ramen. it was also interesting to learn about the herbivore men phenomena, it reminded me of fight club, this idea of generation of emasculated men raised by their mothers.  also that whole weird thing lubing up and rubbing yourself on someone sounded fun if you were in a relationship but sad if you do it cos you are single.

-the whole argentine part was crazy to read but i got it.  when i was in buenos aires, my friends and i were always shocked by the number of being making out at dinner.  also sadly i never got catcalled there.  

-i loved the girl who photoshopped beyonce into her photos with her ex.  reminded me of that satc quote to destroy all pictures where he looks good and you look happy.

-i also loved how aziz shared about his actual gf now. i knew she was a chef, i missed her pop-up in la at son of gun.  i had no idea that she worked for momofuku milkbar and loved that they bonded over cookies.

-i laughed outloud every time aziz made fun of alfredo, the doughnut lover.

of course, i also saw why aziz and i should be friends.  as i posted on insta this: 

why aziz ansari and i should be friends:  a mutual love of taxidermy, a strong desire to always eat the best tacos life has to offer, and of course, a need for delicious ramen in our lives

seriously, how are we not friends yet?

anyway, if you are single or love aziz, pick up this book.  it will make you laugh out loud and hopefully help you find modern love.  

i was told there'd be cake. sloane crosley. (280)

i decided to reread i was told there'd be cake because sloane crosley was at bookcon.  unfortunately, i didn't see her. i also didn't finish the book before i left.  i had about a chapter left and thought i could download the ebook from the library, however, they didn't have the ebook so i didn't finish before bookcon.  i did when i came back.

to start, i have to say that on my first reading, i absolutely love love loved this collection of essays.  i felt like sloane was writing about my life, so many times, i was like OMG that is me, especially the you ponies! i also had/have a bunch of toy ponies because my best friend and i used to carry one around like the amelie gnome. so right of the back, i was like i love this book.

other than that, i didn't remember too much.

i have to say i enjoyed my rereading.  crosley is hilarious and this book had me laughing.

"the pony problem" was as enjoyable as my first read and i really think she messed up by getting rid of her ponies!

i enjoyed reading about crosley's experince as a jew at christian camp in "christmas in july". and loved that she played mary! i also would have loved to have told off darien.

"the ursula cookie" made cringe when she got caught in her lie by her boss.  it was also interesting to head her day after 9/11 story though then she didn't realized that it would be a day after 9/11 story.

any and every 90's kid has to love the oregon trail essay, "bring-your-machete-to-work day", i did!  i wish someone would make it an iphone app.  like the og version.

having a unique name myself, i didn't get why she was so bent out of shape with her own name in "bastard out of westchester".  however, i did get the how the story behind her name was not true.  the verdict on my name is still out, not sure if steve garvey (of dodgers game) has a daughter named krisha.  just googled and he did!

"the kindness of stranger", which crosley discussed her luck with always getting her wallet back when she lost it, reminded me of me and my phone.  i have lost my phone at least 3 times in my life and it had always been returned to me.  then, one day in nyc, i came across a phone and tried to return it, then bragged about my lost phone luck, only to lose my phone an hour later.  it was not returned to me.  eff my life.

"one-night bounce" proved that me and crosley would totally be friends.  her desire to have a one night stand would be something we would both obsess over.  and yes, i have had a one-night stands, fun from what i can remember.

"sign language for infidels" made me want to volunteer at a natural history museum.  i googled the atlas moth, and it does look like a snake!!

"you on a stick" makes me want to never be a bridesmaid and an amazing not demanding bride. 

"smell this" was gross.  who does that?!?!

"lay like broccoli" reminded me how mean i am to vegan and vegetarians, but obvi not as mean as they are to each other.

"fever faker" was whatever.

all in all, a delightful reread.  i regret not seeing her at bookcon and look forward go her new novel!  i also need to read her other book!

me and earl and the dying girl. jesse andrews. (277)

i picked up me, and earl, and the dying girl, because there will be a panel about the movie based on it at bookcon.  but unlike the other ya novels that i have read for bookcon, i absolutely adored this one.  and if you are going to watch a movie based on a ya novel this summer, make it this one!  screw paper towns!  team me, and earl, and the dying girl!  i have to add that the movie did really well at sundance and nick offerman is in it!

so the novel.  i feel like i have read something with a similar premise or maybe saw a movie (?), but basically this novel is an admission letter by greg gaines (the me in the title) to explain why his grades went south his senior year of high school.  i love that novel ended with greg saying that he would not turn this book into a novel, but maybe that was jesse andrews way of saying that he wanted it to become a movie.  lol

i don't know what to write, other than you need to read it.  its a ya novel, so it shouldn't take you long.  and its sweet without being sappy.  i also loved the realness of the characters.  earl grew up in a troubled home with gangster brothers.  greg is a bit of a dick.  these kids are not goody two shoes but regular teens.  i also admired how it was very realistic with its dealing of leukemia.  i, for one, appreciated "the moron's guide to leukemia", because you always read about it, but never really know what it is.  also i loved that greg didn't know how to comfort rachel (the dying girl) except to make her laugh, because most of the times we don't know what to do in those situation.  it was nice to see greg struggle with that instead of always saying the right thing.  i know i for one am always lost for the right words though my heart is filled with good intentions.  greg struggling to comfort rachel was refreshing, he's a teenage boy, what does he know about death?

though i will add that i was shocked how abruptly rachel died, but i guess that is how it is.  also her death wasn't stretched out but the again, this was greg's story, not hers.  and like novel warned us, this wasn't like other books that deal with cancer and teens.

and of course, i loved their movies!  i did have to look up most of them online. i have to admit that i have no desire to see aguirre, the warth of god that did not look interesting to me, but to each his own.  this part of the novel reminded me of michel gondry's  be kind rewind.  as i read about their remakes, i had visions of mos def and jack black remaking movies. 

i also loved the different forms of writing that andrews used, ie the stage directions and dialogue, the bullet points in that one chapter.

i really enjoyed this book and wish that it was around in high school.  and out of all the ya novels i read for bookcon, i have to say this may have been the best.

paper towns. john green. (276)

i decided to read paper towns, because there is a panel discussion about it at bookcon.  i think it conflicts with a panel i actually want to see, but decided to read it, just in case i catch the panel.  i should also add that i think the panel is for the film based on the book.

so i read, watched, and loved the fault in our stars, however, the same can not be said for paper towns.  to be completely honest, they shouldn't have turned it into a movie.  the storyline is not that interesting and the characters are not as likable.  plus i just watched the trailer and it looks horrible.  maybe its because i know the ending, but it seems like a lot of hype for a lame ending.  

and i need to read the rest of his books, but if the rest of his books are like paper towns, it might be safe to say that green is a one hit wonder.

paper towns is like the poor man's the virgin suicides.  the obsessive neighbor, untoucable free spirited girl, but no interesting chronicles of her life and definitely none of the deep and insightful coming of age knowlege.

the novel is told from the point of view of q .  he has spent his life, all 17 years of it (i think), admiring and loving his neighbor margo roth spiegelman from afar.  they used to be best friend, their defining moment of friendship was when they found a dead body at age 9.  margo became a popular party girl while q became a nerd that hung out with band kids.  i am not hating, q and i would have ran in the same circles, if we went to high school together.  i liked his friend radar especially due to its obsession with updating a wikipedia-esque website, but ben was annoying and i would have hated him in real life.

any hoot, margo discovered her boyfriend was cheating on her and goes on this crazy revenge spree and enlisted the help of q.  margo gave q a talk about paper towns and how people are fake and not as the appear. the next day she disappeared.

q was worried that she committed suicide (i have to admit by the end i wish that she had.) he believed that she left him clues to find her.  it started with a woody guthrie picture (quick sidenote as i was reading about guthrie's poster and his guitar that read "this machine kills facists." i was like where have i read that? and i remember that steve martin's memoir mentioned it as well.) and leads him to developments that were never completed.

q did a lot of bad searching for margo, seriously how did he not realize that those holes in the wall were left by marks on a map?!?! he spent a lot of time overanalyzing leaves of grass, i love whitman but green was trying to hard there.  q discovered he is capable

of being adventurous, realized he put margo on a pedestal.  oh and he missed out on alot of partying before graduation.

in the end, he learned (and i did as well, maybe the only great thing to happen from reading this) that a paper town was a fake town that map makers made up and placed on maps to discover copyright infringement.  and on a paper town near nyc, there was a post about the population being one until some date.  which turned out to be the day after graduation, but since it took 22 hours to drove, q missed his graduation.

q and his friends (btw another big critique is that it lacey and ben as a couple happened really quickly!) go on a road trip.  and though fun, they were really geeky about it, i mean really would teens be that good about planning to the minute?

anyway, they found margo.  she didn't commit suicide but she was a bitch.  she and q resolved life, realizing that they both cared for these ideas of each other but not that actual person.  it was supposed to be deep but i felt like green was trying to hard.

in the end, i was disappointed by the ending, because after all of q's effort, margo was still a beezy.  and i know they talked it out but still it seemed like a big waste of time.  though i guess q did grow as a person.

all in all, this book was lame.

fangirl. rainbow rowell. (275)

i remembering judging fangirl, which i first read as fanggirl, by it's cover. the color and the cute illustration made me think i should read. however, the fan in fangirl reminded me of fan fiction (and it suppose to do just that!), and i was like i'm not going to read fan fiction book.

what changed my mind is that rainbow rowell will be at bookcon and discussing fangirl, so i decided to read it.

i was surprised by how much i actually enjoyed this, even though it was cheesy at times!

cather is the fangirl at the center of this story, and all of the ups and downs of her first year of college.  the first challenge for cather was finding her own identity sans her twin sister, wren.  (yes, their mom took catherine and made it into two names, i have to admit i like cather like willa).  wren was the hotter and more assertive twin and due to this became the party animal.  there was some alcohol issues that arose and the sisters grew apart but wren gets her shit together and they make up in the end.  i have to add that reading about cather's first year and how she judged her sister made me realize what a mess i was my college years but hey i got good grasses and always made it to class.  i found a good balance between my partying and studying!

cather also had to deal with family stuff.  their dad was crazy, i mean i read about his idea for a firemen's pole and was like what the heck is wrong with him.  and of course there was an issue.  but that got resolved.  also the girls' mother left when they were young and had to work through all that.  i understood cather's hatred of her mother, i never hated my dad but i did want nothing to do with him when he started to reach out to me.

of course, there are boys!! i for once knew that nick was going to be a cheat! i mean there was foreshadowing but i still want to feel smart about it.

cather's boyfriend, levi, was so sweet but i mean do college boys like him exist?!?! maybe i just went after the wrong type of guy. lol. i will say the whole roommate's ex things was weird and i would have never done that in college.  it was also funny to read about cather dealing with her sexual desires and just wanting to touch him.  i was not that innocent in college and moved at a way quicker pace then her. god! i was such a floozy in comparison. lol. also their whole getting off on the fan fiction was even too nerdy for me!  but i mean 50 shades of grey is prove that people get off on it!

so the fan fiction!  cather wrote fan fiction based on a wizard named simon snow which is of course based on harry potter.  harry potter is named dropped as to kind of make it seem like it's not based on him but ya know.  simon's archenemy is a vampire, baz, and in her fan fiction, cather makes them gay! cather has a huge fan base, but her fan fiction affects her writing in college, but she gets all of that sort out in the end as well.  people's judgey-ness about fan fiction was addressed, but i still don't see it as a legit form of writing.  i mean people love it, but its not for me.

and before i close loved the idea of emergency kanye dance party!

oh and one last thing!  i had no idea that kansas had such a big mexican population.  i was surprised to read all about cather's hs boyfriend being mexican and his mom making delicious tres leche cake.  also wren's college boyfriend was Mexican, though i have never heard of an alejadrano, going by jandro.  and i was even more surprised by all the taco trucks, cather and her dad ate at! 

okay this is the last thing.  i really need to read outsiders, cather and levi made out after she read it to him.

all in all, a sweet story.  a great book for first years! reminded how roommate meals were a great bonding experience.  a bit cheesy but a good read for young adults!