Martha and Shirley: Book coverage continued at community sites in 2024. For a list of books reviewed this year, see THIRD's "Book List." In addition, book coverage continued in the community newletters. If you're new to this, the books on the list didn't need to come out this year. They just needed to be read this year. Especially in the gina & krista round-robin, there are book discussions that revolve around classic novels. Early on, people might love, for example, Jane Austen's MANSFIELD PARK but not feel like they could vote for it as their favorite book of the year since this is 2024 and not 1814. There were no classic novels that made this year's list. In fact, only one novel made the list (a children's picture book also made the list) as this community continued to be interested in non-fiction. As always, our ballots were ranked choice voting -- something we hope the US government will implement for elections.
So here are the ten books you most enjoyed reading this year.
1) THE MEMOIR, PART 1 by Cher.
November 18th next year, Cher's THE MEMOIR, PART II is supposed to be released. For now, we have her second book THE MEMOIR, PART 1. Her second one right now? Yes, Cher's first book was THE FIRST TIME. Each chapter was a memory shared of the first time something happened. And it worked and made for a readable book. But this new one digs deeper and focuses on Cher's early life. Simple life? When has Cher's life ever been simple? When part of a singing duo? When a solo singer in the sixties? When she first became a fashion plate? When she became a huge TV star carrying shows like THE SONNY & CHER COMEDY HOUR, CHER and THE SONNY & CHER SHOW -- on prime time doing variety from 1971 to 1977? As Kat noted in her review "Cher: The Memoir, Part 1:"
That includes the story of her ancestors. That's a problem area for a lot of biographies. The ridiculous John Phillips, for example, wrote at length -- and in a plodding manner -- about his family going back generations. Fortunately, Cher's family was actually of interest.
As was Cher's life before she became Cher world wide star.
I especially enjoyed her recounting when her mother took her to an Elvis concert. Her mother was instrumental in sharpening Cher's singing because she herself was a singer, a very good singer, sang around the home all the time and, as Cher points out, wasn't like the average mother of the time, she actually was aware of the acts young people were into.
It's an exciting life, even before Cher is born. Her mother's childhood in Oklahoma and California, Her great grandmother Margaret. Cher's a survivor because she's got strength and that strength was both learned and passed down -- in tales and genes -- it's an incredible story. We can't wait until November when the follow up is published.
2) SAL MINEO: A BIOGRAPHY by Michael Gregg Michaud.
The late actor Sal Mineo is still remembered this day. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE had a trinity of film stars that remembered 74 years later: Natalie Wood, James Dean and Sal Mineo. Yes, they were great actors -- all were nominated for an Academy Award (James for GIANT, Natalie for REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS and LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER and Sal for REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and EXODUS) -- but they were also the first teenagers of film. The closest film had before that would be the singing kids Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and Deanna Durbin. Sal, Natalie and James had to play something more real -- moody, angry, misunderstood and alienated -- the typical teen. And the country embraced them because they performed so convincingly. And for the art that they created in their one film together, we wished they'd gone on to have charmed lives. But that didn't happen. Sal was stabbed to death. Prior to that, he got ripped off and he got attacked by people who should have done better by him. Dona concluded her review "SAL MINEO: A BIOGRAPHY (Dona)" with this:
Would Sal's career have been any different if he was born 30 years later? I have no idea. James Caan's homophobia kept Sal from being cast in THE GODFATHER. I would think that a real artist in this century wouldn't care about the whining and bitchiness of a James Caan and would cast an actor like Sal but who knows?
The book's a testament to real artist who threw himself into his career -- often at the expense of his life.
3 & 4 MY MAMA CASS by Owen Elliot-Kugell and CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' by Michelle Phillips.
This wasn't a tie. Owen's book had fifty more votes than Michelle's. But it makes sense to write about the two together. One of the great groups of the sixties also a had a great storyline. If you've suffered through A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, you -- like Stan and Rebecca -- get that a movie needs an actual storyline to hold your interest. In that's what The Mamas and the Papas had. Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot were the female singers, Denny Doherty and John Phillips were the male singers. And they had a unique look and a unique presence. John was controlling, to say the least, and thought he was going to order everyone around. Michelle, his young wife, might have been expected to put up with that but that's not her father raised her. And Cass wasn't going to be intimidated or pushed around by anyone. That's gave the group it's spark. And there was the soap opera aspect as well -- an aspect only Fleetwood Mac would match and possibly top. Most of this resulted in an overly long book entitled PAPA JOHN co-written by John Phillips during his heavy drug days (some would say after, they would be wrong -- read Mackenzie Phillips' HIGH ON ARRIVAL and grasp that reality). Phil Donahue, who passed away this year, was one of the few who did not buy into John Phillip's post-arrest reform nonsense.
Nonsense is all John Phillips ever had to offer when he was co-writing a book or speaking -- listen to A GATHERING OF FLOWERS if you don't already grasp that. By the way, hats off to THIRD. Yes, from the start of THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW, they have called out CRAPAPEDIA. It took repeatedly calling out the nonsense of putting a Diana Ross studio album down as a compilation album. They had to hit hard and repeatedly to get the discography right as well. "CRAP CRAP It's CRAPAPEDIA" last April finally got WIKIEPEDIA to note the only real live album the group ever put out. For years, WIKIPEDIA ignored it, was unaware of it, and despite listing every piece of crap recorded after Michelle and Cass were no longer in the group, it failed to note their Monterey Pop album.
This year, Ty reviewed a book that provided sketches of various female singers "SILENT SISTERS: PROFILES OF THE SHORT LIVES OF KAREN CARPENTER, PATSY CLINE, CASS ELLIOT, RUBY ELZY, JANIS JOPLIN AND SELENA ." After a book review goes up, Ava and C.I. discuss the book with the reviewer. From "Book Talk (Ty, Ava and C.I.):"
Ty: True crime interest benefited Selena, I'm sure. I don't want to talk about Cass too much because -- let me start with this. Kat's "Thom Donovan and AMERICAN SONGWRITER need to learn what facts are." went up this month. Kat's right -- and the book [he read and reviewed] gets this right -- Cass auditioned for I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE. The role went to Barbra Streisand. For some stupid reason, AMERICAN SONGWRITER reported this month that Cass auditioned for FUNNY GIRL. It's nice reading about Cass but I'm looking forward to May when Owen Elliot-Kugell's MY MAMA, CASS: A MEMOIR comes out. So that's one reason I don't want to talk about the Cass section. The other is "Harold" and a feature that you want to write about. Every week, we get together and ideas are pitched. Ava and C.I. long ago dubbed WIKIPEDIA "Crapapedia" because it can't get facts right. At The Mamas and the Papas entry, as Ava and C.I. have long pointed out, the original group has an album that's not noted even in the discography. In the sketch on Cass, the author notes "Harvey." That's what Denny dubbed the sound of the four of them singing together, saying it took on a fifth voice. I think it's time to do the Mamas and the Papas piece and Harvey fits into that. I enjoyed the Cass sketch, the Patsy Cline sketch and the Janis Joplin sketch and would recommend the book based on those. Otherwise? I'd say take a pass.
And that's why we need books like MY MAMA CASS -- Owen's journey of discovery of her mother and of herself is riveting. But it's also needed because there are so many lies out there. Cass was a real person whose art touched millions and continues to do so. She and her legacy are entitled to something a little more than the idiots at CRAPAPEDIA and crap ass AMERICAN SONGWRITER want to deliver. From Kat's review of "MY MAMA, CASS:"
Owen's new book -- MY MAMA, CASS -- is a highly moving attempt by the author to learn more about her mother. She shares her memories and what she learned from family members and people who knew Cass.
She sees her mother as part of a long line of strong women on the maternal side of her family. And that may be why Cass reacted so strongly to "the Mamas." The band was trying to come up with a name and John Phillips was pushing "The Magic Circle" when, on TV, a Hell's Angel says that they call their women "Mamas" and Cass shouts that they're the Mamas with Michelle agreeing with her. In other books, it's noted that John then tries to make it The Papas and the Mamas and Cass makes it clear that it's the other way around.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN's is everything a book should be when it's non-fiction. The only real surprise is that the author is Michelle Phillips. We don't say that rudely. Michelle's co-written many great songs. But we say that because she's writing about herself and she's not making it sweet and pretty. She owns her actions and then some. That makes for a brave book. (Unlike her ex-husband, now deceased, who seemed to think on every page of PAPA JOHN that drugs excused any action and allowed him to minimize them as well.) Marcia's wife read it and passed it on. From Marcia's "California Dreamin': The True Story of the Mamas and the Papas:"
Lest we be accused of being book teases, let's note this from "Book Talk (Marcia, Ava and C.I.):"
5) THE COST OF KNOWING by Brittney Morris.
"I pick up the ice cream scoop and the vision begins." That's how the novel opens. Want to see the future? Really? For teenager Alex Rufus, it's a curse. Especially when a premonition revolves around his younger brother's death. This is a page turner that grips you. Beth noted in the book discussion for the gina & krista round-robin that she hadn't been able to put a book down like this since John Grisham's THE PELICAN BRIEF. And it is a book you will not want to put down until the very last page. This is the kind of book that builds careers because Brittney Morris has written a book so great that you're going to love it for years to come and eagerly follow each new book.
6) CONTAINER GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS: A GUIDE TO GROWING YOUR OWN VEGETABLES, FRUITS, HERBS AND EDIBLE FLOWERS by Tammy Wylie.
Mike's "Container Gardening (book review), Idiot of the Week, and Kylie Minogue performed at the Brit Awards" kicked off interest in the community for this book. When he and his daughter were watching TV, they came across a garden show and that gave him the idea that this could Look for a fun project he could do with his daughter that they could both learn from, he flipped through a number of non-fiction books and this is the one that really landed with them. They both learned a great deal and had a lot of fun. And the book inspired other community members to start growing some plants on their balconies, patios, porches and window seals. Keesha noted that reading the book and using it for just three small plants (parsley, beans and jalapenos) on her balcony made her feel more connected to the world around her.
7) HELP! MY APARTMENT HAS A KITCHEN by Kevin Mills and Nancy Mills.
As Trina noted in "Help! My Apartment Has A Kitchen," this is the perfect starter cookbook and one she highly recommends and frequently gifts. Lloyd and Polly were among the non-cooking members of the community who began cooking after Trina's review went up. And, news or old cooks, the recipes had enough variety that there was something for every reader.
8) HOLLYWOOD LESBIANS: FROM GARBO TO FOSTER by Boze Hadleigh.
Marcia and Rebecca made this their summer read: "Boze Hadleigh's Hollywood Lesbians: from Garbo to Foster" and "'hollywood lesbians: from garbo to foster' by boze hadleigh." Every summer, the two of them read the same book and then write about it. Sometimes they do it with one being pro and the other being con. Sometimes they divide up the focus. This book takes a look at the long history of the closet when it comes to Hollywood. Filled with fascinating facts and must-read interviews, this is a great book. Our favorite part? Probably when Jodie Foster has a freak out that her lover Kelly McGillis is also having an affair with Whitney Houston and Jodie punched Kelly bringing a halt to filming of THE ACCUSED. Or when Russell Crowe outed Jodie after their supposed romance.
Or when Melissa Etheridge talked about winning the Academy Award in 2007 for writing "I Need To Wake Up" -- how she spoke to journalist Lawrence Ferber -- and stated, "I was wondering if anyone noticed the subtle irony of my receiving my Oscar from John Travolta and Queen Latifah. And you know who I saw backstage after I won? Jodie Foster. I was like, 'What is the universe telling me?' And you know they're all looking at me like 'Congratulations, loud mouth'."
9) WHAT THE CHICKEN KNOWS by Sy Montgomery.
"You only think you know chickens until you pick up this book," Ava and C.I. wrote in their review for POLLY'S BREW. And, as many of us went on to discover, we really knew very little. In a very brief book, Montgomery packs a lot of facts and details that teach us not only about chickens but also about ourselves.
10) THE LESSONS OF MAMA TEMBO words by Jimmy Dirsdom, illustrations by Sam Burk.
In "THE LESSONS OF MAMA TEMBO (Dona)," Dona praised this children's picture book about an elephant and her child. And it touched a common chord with community members.
Mama Tembo is walking through the forest with baby Finn when she stops and looks longingly across the vast farmland.
Finn asks, "Mama Tembo, what are you looking at?"
"Oh, Finn, it's not what I see now but what I no longer see," replies Mama Tembo.
Finn looks at Mama Tembo with concern, "Is your eyesight failing you?"
"No, Finn, I see very well," reassures Mama Tembo as she playfully pats him on the head.
Still curious, Finn asks, "What do you no longer see when you look at the farmland?"
Mama Tembo looks at Finn. "I no longer see the beautiful forest that once stood in the farmland, nor the forest that stood where the city now stands."
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Martha and Shirley have also done the year in books for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005.
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2024 end of the year pieces: Rebecca's "sexiest men of 2024," Ann's "2024 in film (Ann and Stan)" and Stan's "2024 in film (Ann & Stan)," Mike's "Idiot of the Year," Ruth's "Ruth's Media Report 2024." "2024 in books (Martha & Shirley)," Kat's "Kat's Korner: 2024 in music" and our "2024: The Year of Betrayal From Inside The Left."
