Book Nerds Across America: Biography

Showing posts with label Biography. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

BOOK REVIEW: BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS BY INA GARTEN

GOODREADS SUMMARY:

Here, for the first time, Ina Garten presents an intimate, entertaining, and inspiring account of her remarkable journey. Ina’s gift is to make everything look easy, yet all her accomplishments have been the result of hard work, audacious choices, and exquisite attention to detail. In her unmistakable voice (no one tells a story like Ina), she brings her past and her process to life in a high-spirited and no-holds-barred memoir that chronicles decades of personal challenges, adventures (and misadventures) and unexpected career twists, all delivered with her signature combination of playfulness and purpose.

From a difficult childhood to meeting the love of her life, Jeffrey, and marrying him while still in college, from a boring bureaucratic job in Washington, D.C., to answering an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons, from the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and celebrated television host, Ina has blazed her own trail and, in the meantime, taught millions of people how to cook and entertain.

TEES THOUGHTS

I won't lie, I enjoy watching Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa is my go-to when I can't find anything else to watch or if I don't need to pay much attention to the show, I have seen them all several times.

Sure Ina is on a level of pretentiousness that I will never reach, but boy can that lady cook and serve cocktails to her name-drop-worthy friends.

I can't say that this book was extremely insightful, or exciting, but it was a bit interesting to hear how she started her business, bought her lifelong dream apartment in Paris, and her house in the Hamptons.

I am not sure luck had much to do with her success as the title might suggest, she had a privileged upbringing from the git-go...so...you know...

She was open about her and Jefferies separation, something I knew nothing about, and that she had no desire to have children because of her difficult childhood. I did like how she validated women not wanting children, and that without them you can live a fulfilled life. That needs to be heard by many.

For the most part it was what I expected from Garten, a pretentious read from a pretentious person, for me her cookbooks offer me more substance and entertainment.

I borrowed this on Audio from my local library and like a lot of celebrity memiors, it was read by the author, and I always enjoy that much better than the book being read by someone else. That is what it was, a celebrity memior, fun to read but nothing really sticks to your ribs !

Friday, March 17, 2023

Book Review: Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict & Armen Keteyian

Jacque's Review:

This was another one of my son Preston's book selections. He had to read a biography/memoir for his English class. Who else would he select but the greatest of all time in the sport he intends to turn into a lifelong career. He was well aware of Tiger's athletic accomplishments and had heard of some of his scandals, but this book was eye opening for him.

The book starts out with a look at what it was like for a young Tiger Woods. He was smart and did well in school, but he did not have the freedom or opportunity to be a kid. He wanted to play soccer and participate in other school activities, but his father was laser focused on his golf game. From the age of four, his dad was already showing off Tiger's skills and trying to cash in on his son's talent. They did not have the money to join a country club and pay for top notch coaching, but he put in the time and worked harder than anybody else. He was driven and set a goal for himself to be the youngest player to achieve every milestone within the game. He became the youngest winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur, the U.S. Amateur, the Masters, and the youngest to complete the Grand Slam.

We can see what it took for him to reach the pinnacle of success, but we also see the downsides of his fame. He had no privacy and could no longer live a "normal" life. Even people like Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth can still live normal lives. For example, on the Netflix series Full Swing we follow Justin Thomas into a drug store when he was under the weather at a tournament. Even with a camera following him, nobody bothered him while he was shopping. Doing something like that was out of the question for Tiger. He was so recognizable and had reached a level of celebrity far beyond the golfing world, that it was next to impossible for him to do anything without drawing a crowd and needing security.

His extreme wealth, connections, and lack of a good role model led Tiger to make some poor decisions. His actions off the golf course destroyed his family and jeopardized everything he worked for his entire life. This book does not hold back when it comes to any of his personal struggles and was very enlightening for Preston. As a student athlete, we place our idols on a pedestal and aspire to be them. In this case, Preston can see that he is human. While he had endless amounts of talents and is undisputedly the greatest of all time, he made mistakes along the way. Hopefully, he has learned from them and is a better person because of it. That is all you can hope for.

Overall, this was an excellent biography. I felt like it portrayed a very realistic picture of who Tiger is without trying to sugar coat or sensationalize things. It presented the information gathered, good or bad, and let the reader decide how they wanted to process that knowledge. The authors didn't pass judgement and I don't think the reader should either. You never know what someone is going through unless you are in their shoes. While I do not condone some of his actions, I think we can all benefit from his work ethic and dedication.

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Book Review: Elizabeth & Margaret the Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters by Andrew Morton

GOODREADS SUMMARY:

This biography from a New York Times bestselling author follows Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret as they navigate life in the royal spotlight. They were the closest of sisters and the best of friends. But when, in a quixotic twist of fate, their uncle Edward Vlll abdicated the throne, the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Forevermore Margaret would have to curtsey to the sister she called 'Lillibet.' And bow to her wishes. Margaret's struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system—and her fraught relationship with its expectations—was often a source of tension.. This book explores their relationship over the years.

TEE'S REVIEW

One of the very first biographies I ever read was Andrew Morton's biography on Diana, Princess of Wales. At the time it was one of the most read books at the library, and after weeks of waiting, I finally went out and bought my own copy. I think I read it in a day. He gave us all a look into the Royal Family with that book and now he is back with yet another book on the famous family, this time with Elizabeth and Margaret.

Though written with respect to the Queen and family, he gave us a thorough history Of Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret, beginning with their childhood and continuing until Margaret's death in 2002.

He shows us how the decision of their Uncle David who became Edward VIII gave up his title and throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, altered Elizabeth, and Margaret's future greatly. It thrust the girls and their parents into a limelight none really wanted when their father then became King. This put Elizabeth next in line for the throne ( even though I am pretty sure she was anyway, because David was in his 40s and still not married when he took the throne ). This also made Margaret pretty much just the heir's sister, later the Queen's sister, and caused her a bit of jealousy. You will follow them through disagreements, love affairs, marriages, family deaths, and childbirth, and of course how they dealt with each other, Margaret a loyal servant to her sister and the crown until the day she died, and Elizabeth the loving sister to Margaret.

The two sisters differed greatly in personality and temperament, Elizabeth was shy and obedient, while Margaret was the life of the party, an attention seeker, very outgoing. He writes about Elizabeth and Margaret as sisters , and as individuals, giving us an insight into their relationship with each other, with lovers, and with family. He does spend a bit more time with Margaret which I enjoyed, as there are already so many biographies on just the Queen.

If you are a fan of the Netflix series The Crown, or just want a deeper look into the lives of these two women, or the Royal Family in general then you need to pick up Elizabeth and Margaret, you won't be disappointed.

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