FDL Reads: From Cradle to Stage
From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars by Virginia Hanlon Grohl
Reviewed by Julie Nutt, Communications Specialist
Genre: Biography; Memoir
Suggested age: Adult, Young Adult
What is this book about? Virginia Hanlon Grohl has a had a front seat on the long, strange trip of alternative rock music, thanks to her amazingly-talented and famous son (Dave Grohl, drummer for Nirvana and front man of the Foo Fighters). Virginia describes the early days of following Dave through his musical journey, and wondering where all of the other parents were, backstage at the live shows. It was then that she decided to find some of the other mothers of musical icons to hear their stories of raising musically-gifted kids, then watching with love and support as their babies turned into full-fledged rock stars. Between vignettes about Virginia’s adventure with Dave, the book includes stories from the mothers of Michael Stipe (R.E.M.), Dr. Dre, Mike D (the Beastie Boys), Kelly Clarkson, and many more.
My review: I was crying tears of emotion before I even got through the foreword! Virginia went above and beyond emails and phone interviews, instead traveling the country to meet rock star moms one-on-one. Just two mothers sipping coffee and chatting about their kids, making the conversations more intimate and telling. While hearing about the early live of the mothers themselves, they reveal the ups and downs of their children’s experiences in the music industry; the emotional and physical toll of fame and touring; and the struggles of family life and childhood as their little ones were on the road to becoming huge stars. These struggles aren’t so far removed from the experiences of any parent who must watch a child take a bumpy, uncertain flight from the nest that may not have been what the parent expected. (Who knew that Adam Levine was self-conscious because of acne? Who knew that Dr. Dre didn’t want any part of the “thug-life”?)
Each musician’s story had a common theme: a difficult, different, gifted kid who may not have always fit in; strong-willed, stand-out, march-to-the-beat of their own drummers (i.e. Dave Grohl, pun intended). They were not bad kids – just bored with what traditional school had to offer. Virginia ends the book with three pieces of advice that parents everywhere will appreciate.
I think what Dave’s quote in the foreword says it all: “But beyond any biological information, there is love, something that defies all science and reason. And that, I am most fortunate to have been given. It’s maybe the most defining factor in anyone’s life. Surely an artist’s greatest muse. And there is no love like a mother’s love. It is life’s greatest song. We are all indebted to the women who have given us life. For without them, there would be no music.”
Three words that describe this book: heartfelt, honest, touching
Give this a try if you like: Dave Grohl’s memoir, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music; Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross; alternative and pop music
Rating: 5/5
#FDL: Artfolds Book Giveaway for Mother’s Day
Do you enjoy book art? Book folding is a great way to upcycle and transform an old book into a lovely piece of décor.
Enter the giveaway below to win a copy of The Magic of Mom, an ArtFolds book. An ArtFolds book is a hardcover book that is transformed into a unique paper sculpture merely by folding pages. Follow the folding instructions, and transform the book into a lovely paper sculpture of the word “Mom.”
Giveaway
Enter your name here for a chance to win the book in this post. One entry per person. Drawing to be held approximately 7 days after this post.
#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.
FDL Reads: The Art Thief
Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Adult Services Specialist
Genre: Nonfiction
Suggested Age: Teen, Adult
What is the book about? Stéphane Breitwieser was perhaps the most prolific art thief in history, though he did not steal for money. Born in 1971, Stéphane’s story of collecting started as a boy hunting for buried trinkets in the woods with his grandfather. When his parents divorced, his father took all of the family’s art pieces when he left. With this dramatic loss, Stéphane’s urge to collect shifted, landing on museum pieces of art. From 1995 to 2001 he amassed a collection of nearly 250 pieces; a collection estimated to be worth nearly two billion dollars! Instead of selling anything, he surrounded himself with art in a small, attic apartment above his mother’s house in Eastern France. This account details how he was able to steal so many pieces, how he eventually was caught, and what made him different than any art thief before or since.
My Review: I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of this title very much. The eaudiobook is available for free on the Libby app. It was an interesting and engaging story. The story almost seemed to flow like a work of fiction, possibly because it is written in the present tense. This definitely kept it from becoming a dry recounting of facts and dates. Make sure you read the author’s note too. I liked those extra details at the end.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Fascinating, Riveting, and Memorable
Give This a Try if You Like…Master Thieves by Stephen Kurkjian, Stealing Rembrandts by Anthony Amore, and Museum of the Missing by Simon Houpt
Rating: 5/5
FDL Reads: Bossypants
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Reviewed by: Dawn Dickey
Genre: Autobiography
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the book about?: All about comedian, actor, writer, and producer Tina Fey, in her own words.
My Review: I was looking for something funny to read, and Bossypants did not disappoint! I read some but mostly listened to the book, which was read aloud by Tina Fey herself. Her story was sometimes poignant but always humorous. Fey’s sharp wit shines through in her retelling of her adventures growing up and in her struggles in the workplace. I really like the fact that Fey opens up to us, the reader/listener, sharing wisdom she learned as a parent, a female in television and film, and as a boss in a very competitive field. I highly recommend this book, especially the audio version. You will laugh, you might groan – but you will enjoy the humor!
Three Words That Describe This Book: Funny, authentic, sympathetic
Give This a Try if You Like… any of Tina Fey’s work such as 30 Rock or Sisters or Mean Girls or if you just like reading about television or film personalities
Rating: 5/5
#FDL: Science Fiction & Fantasy – April Giveaway
Not constrained by current scientific knowledge or imagination, science fiction and fantasy can offer an otherworldly escape from the day-to-day grind. Here are three new & upcoming titles in this genre.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Expected publication: 05/07/24
An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks the universal What happens if you put a disaffected millennial and a Victorian polar explorer in a house together?
In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machine,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But he adjusts quickly; he is, after all, an explorer by trade. Soon, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a seriously uncomfortable housemate dynamic, evolves into something much more. Over the course of an unprecedented year, Gore and the bridge fall haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences they never could have imagined.
Supported by a chaotic and charming cast of characters—including a 17th-century cinephile who can’t get enough of Tinder, a painfully shy World War I captain, and a former spy with an ever-changing series of cosmetic surgery alterations and a belligerent attitude to HR—the bridge will be forced to confront the past that shaped her choices, and the choices that will shape the future.
Welcome to Forever by Nathan Tavares
Expected Publication: 03/12/24
A sweeping, psychedelic romance of two men caught in a looping world of artificial realities, edited memories, secretive cabals and conspiracies to push humanity to the next step in its evolution. For fans of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Ubik, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Evangelion.
Fox is a memory editor – one of the best – gifted with the skill to create real life in the digital world. When he wakes up in Field of Reeds Center for Memory Reconstruction with no idea how he got there, the therapists tell him he was a victim in a terrorist bombing by Khadija Banks, the pioneer of memory editing technology turned revolutionary. A bombing which shredded the memory archives of all its victims, including his husband Gabe.
Thrust into reconstructions of his memories exploded from the fragments that survived the blast, Fox tries to rebuild his life, his marriage and himself. But he quickly realizes his world is changing, unreliable, and echoing around itself over and over. As he unearths endless cycles of meeting Gabe, falling in love and breaking up, Fox digs deep into his past, his time in the refugee nation of Aaru, and the exact nature of his relationship with Khadija. Because, in a world tearing itself apart to forget all its sadness, saving the man he loves might be the key to saving us all.
Expected publication: 05/28/24
The Devil knows your name, David Aristarkhov.
As a teen, David Aristarkhov was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his oppressive occultist father. Now, years after his father’s death and rapidly approaching his thirtieth birthday, he is content with the high-powered life he’s curated as a Boston attorney, moonlighting as a powerful medium for his secret society.
But with power comes a price, and the Devil has come to collect on an ancestral deal. David’s days are numbered, and death looms at his door.
Reluctantly, he reaches out to the only person he’s ever trusted, his ex-boyfriend and secret Society rival Rhys, for help. However, the only way to get to Rhys is through his wife, Moira. Thrust into each other’s care, emotions once buried deep resurface, and the trio race to figure out their feelings for one another before the Devil steals David away for good…
Annotations from the publishers
-Post by Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist
Giveaway
Enter your name here for a chance to win ARCs of the books mentioned in this post. One entry per person. Drawing to be held approximately 7 days after this post.
ARCs are “advanced reading copies.” These are free copies of a new books given by a publisher to librarians and other reviewers before the book is printed for mass distribution.
#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.
FDL Reads: The Bawk-Ness Monster
The Bawk-Ness Monster by Sara Goetter and Natalie Riess
Reviewed By: Alice Mitchell, Youth Services Manager
Genre: Fantasy (graphic novel)
Suggested Age: Kids (7-12)
What is This Book About? A year ago, the Bawk-ness Monster saved Penny from drowning. She desperately wants to thank “Bessie” now that she’s moving away and enlists the help of her friends K and Luc. They put Operation: Find Bessie into action by convincing Penny’s mom to have a last hurrah camping trip at Lake Bockamixon. Their plans are thwarted by an evil cryptid collector who wants to kidnap Bessie and sell her to the highest bidder. Suddenly the friends are roped into a rescue mission of epic proportions!
My Review: I laughed out loud multiple times during this cryptid caper. It’s always nice to see an inclusive cast of characters, especially since they all have their own personalities. Penny is immensely sweet, and K’s passion for cryptids is only matched by Luc’s needs to prepare for every possible situation. Put them together with a menagerie of cryptids, a protective mom, and a ridiculous villain, and you have a recipe for some of the best one-liners I’ve ever read. Who would have expected that Bigtaur would know how to drive a submarine and scuba?? I certainly didn’t. This graphic novel with cartoon-like illustrations is definitely worth a read.
Three Words that Describe this Book: hilarious, inclusive, adventure
Give This A Try if You Like… My Aunt is a Monster by Reimena Yee, Phoebe and her Unicorn by Dana Simpson, Investigators by John Patrick Green
Rating: 5/5