Book Review: Breath to Bear by Paula Dombrowiak

In Paula Dombrowiak’s rock and roll novel Blood and Bone we were introduced to rock musician Jack O’Donnell. Haunted by his past, Jack was still tormented by the death of his bandmate, Mia Stone, a woman Jack regarded as his soulmate. Jack was trying to revive his tattered career and deal with a rather messy relationship with his ex-wife Amber and their daughter, Hayley, a budding musician herself.

And then there was music journalist Erin Langford. At the end of Blood and Bone, Jack and Erin had embarked on a relationship as she got to know more about him and help him with his memoir. But this professional relationship couldn’t help but grow into something quite more romantic. The chemistry between Erin and Jack was electric, and the sex white hot. But was their relationship just a memory of entangled bedsheets and limbs? Or was Erin a promise of love and happiness for Jack? Or would Jack screw things up and cast Erin aside like a used up condom?

Now Jack and Erin, and so many others introduced in Blood and Bone are back in Paula Dombrowiak’s latest installment Breath to Bear. And everyone has quite the story to tell in this crazy rock and roll ride.

As Breath to Bear begins, Jack’s memoir, which he wrote with Erin’s help, has been released. Writing this memoir was an act of laying bare, opening a vein, and bleeding all over the page. Jack is brutally honest about the life he has lived, and how it has lead him this point in time. There is no sugar-coating in Jack’s memoir. And now Jack is dealing with the aftermath of releasing such a blunt tale of his life that may freak out his fans, and ruffle the feathers of those closest to him.

Writing this memoir was cathartic, but Jack isn’t exactly in the best state of mind. As mentioned, he’s still tormented by the memory of Mia. His old band, Mogo, busted up ages ago, and Jack is trying to get his solo career started. If only, he wasn’t dealing with a vicious case of writer’s block. Will the musical muse ever visit him again? Sobriety continues to be a challenge for Jack. His ex, Amber, has announced she’s getting remarried, and his daughter, Hayley, now has a musical career of his own. Being all too aware of the missteps a young person can make in the world of music, Jack has his worries.

And then there is Erin, the woman who helped him string his past and his words into creating his best-selling memoir. When they met, Jack thought Erin was just another irritating journalist, and Erin thought Jack was just another has-been musician. But they connected so much writing the memoir, finding layers and layers beneath both of their surfaces, and yes, the electricity between them was smoking hot. But Erin didn’t want to be just another notch on Jack’s bedpost. And Jack was giving her the time to figure things out.

As mentioned, Jack is trying to finish an album he was originally going to do with Mia. And he’s waiting for the muse to help him writes songs and record them in the studio. His relationship with former bandmates is fractured, and the music business sees him as very damaged goods. And though Jack’s memoir is a huge best-seller, he feels like he exposed too much. But Jack feels it in his bones that he must get his revive his stalled career or else.

Erin was thrilled to get the chance to help Jack write his memoir. However, she didn’t expect to sleep with him and possible fall in love with him, too. Feeling like her journalistic integrity is a bit in tatters, Erin leaves her regular music magazine writing gig and goes freelance. She also hopes to figure out what she and Jack have.

Jack and Erin’s relationship is confusing at best. Jack is a parade of red flags. One of them is his obsession with Mia. How can Erin compete with Jack’s alleged soulmate even if she’s now a ghost? Erin tries to keep Jack at arms length (not always an easy thing to do) and focus on her career as a writer.

Jack tries to revitalize his splintered musical career, make amends with his former bandmates, come to terms with Amber’s impending nuptials, and encourage Haley on her music career. He also can’t stop thinking about Erin. Could he be falling in love with her? As for Erin, she decides to take a road trip, visit various towns, check out their music scenes, and write about them. While on her trip, she befriends a talented budding photographer, Sasha, and Sasha joins her on this road trip.

During this time, Erin acts as a mentor and big sister to Sasha. And it’s wonderful to see two women connect rather than seeing backstabbing and catty behavior. And Jack finds out Hayley has been assaulted by some sleazy toad in the music industry, and deals with this piece of shit in the way you’d expect Jack to act. But you can’t blame him for wanting to protect Hayley. The music business is treacherous.

As Breath to Bear reaches its conclusion, it looks like Jack might get his career back on track and Erin just might be the true blue love he’s been searching for, but it takes a lot of soul-searching to reach this point. Will Jack release an album that goes platinum? Will Erin’s writing career flourish now that she’s freelance? Will Jack and Erin end up at the Chapel of Love? Only time will tell.

Dombrowiak has written another richly detailed and gripping tale. Sure, she covers the usual tropes of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but Breath to Bear also covers family, friends, redemption, and renewal, issues so many of us faced even though the closest we’ve gotten to the music biz is our Spotify lists. Dombrowiak definitely knows her stuff when it comes to the world of rock and roll, and she builds characters that are complex and enthralling. Breath to Bear is a worthy successor to Blood and Bone.

Book Review: Small in Real Life-Stories by Kelly Sather

Warm, sunny weather, sandy beaches, and the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. These may be a few things you conjure up when you think of Southern California. But in Kelly Sather’s award-winning collection of stories, Small in Real Life, she tells tales that show a much more gritty reality of the Golden State. Some of the characters in Small in Real Life work in show business, and others are wannabes drawn to the promise of fame and fortune of Hollywood. And other characters are living lives far from those tired, yet true tropes of California. And all of them are an interesting narrative to tell.

Small in Real Life starts out strong with The Spaniard. Jenny is just about to turn sixteen when she gets sick at school. Nobody is able to reach her parents, so she is given bus fare and goes back home via the RTD. Yes, Los Angeles has public transportation. When Jenny gets home a strange man is there with her mother. Due to this man’s European accent, Jenny deems him The Spaniard. Why is this man in their house? Why is Jenny’s mother being so coy? Is The Spaniard and her mother having an affair? Jenny infers that they are, and she believes she can blackmail her mother into buying her a car for her upcoming 16th birthday, and if not, Jenny will tattle to her father about her mother’s dalliance with The Spaniard. But Jenny’s mother remains unfazed. Will this transgression be the end of Jenny’s parents’ marriage?

Betrayal is also a theme in Handbag Parade. Stephanie and Carol often meet at the home of their mutual friend, Gia. Gia is in the last throes of ALS; her tragic death is imminent. All three of them met early in their careers working low-level jobs at a Hollywood agency. Not one of them became an agent, but Gia found the most success of them all, and now she’s trapped in a frozen body. Stephanie begins to steal Gia’s collection of high end designer hand bags, and thusly, blames Gia’s nurse, Esme, for the thievery, putting Esme’s vocation on the line. Stephanie betrays a friend and bears false witness against an innocent woman. Handbag Parade show truly conveys how friendship can tragically lead to heartbreak and disloyalty.

In God’s Work an LA judge somehow ends up on a date with a failed actress turned make-up artist. The way this judge describes this woman you can tell he thinks she’s beneath him. He speaks disdainfully of her low-cut sweater and clumped up mascara. But is this an actual date or something quite else when the judge makes a startling confession, and somehow thinks him being a judge may be in her favor. But will it?

So many of the stories that make up Small In Real Life are gripping portraying people from all walks of life going through their day to day activities in the Golden State. Some get close to the glittering images Hollywood promises, but never quite grab that brass ring. Others are in the gallows. And then there are those who revel in the underbelly.

Small In Real Life made me think of the Hollywood sign. It looms over the land in large capital letters. It seems to promise fame and fortune and glamour. But closer and you’ll probably see decay, graffiti, and litter strewn about showing the true messiness and disappointment of real life.

Book Review: Leslie F*cking Jones-A Memoir by Leslie Jones

With her star-making turn as a cast member of the iconic late night television comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live,” and her recent hilarious stint as a guest host of “The Daily Show,” Leslie Jones a comedic force of nature. It seems like she came out of nowhere, and was an overnight success. But this overnight success of Ms. Jones was decades in the making. And Jones discusses everything from her childhood, to getting into comedy as a college student, to her success today in her honest and funny memoir, Leslie “F*cking Jones.

After a brief foreward by Jones’ fellow stand up comic and friend, Chris Rock. Jones gets down to business by first going down memory lane, and talking about her childhood. Leslies Jones was born Annette Leslie Jones in 1967. It wasn’t long before she abandoned her given first name and decided to go by her middle name, Leslie. She was a military brat, who along with her parents, and her younger brother, moved around the country.

Growing up wasn’t exactly a day in the park for the young Jones. She was picked on for being black, tall, and often, the new kid in town. She often dealt with abuse at home. She recalls kicking a puppy outside of a trailer when she was a little girl, and in hindsight, Jones believes this vicious act (which now horrifies her) was in reaction to feeling powerless. She had to dominate something, so she dominated this puppy in a brutal way.

But Jones did have something going for her. She excelled at basketball (it helps she’s six feet tall). This got her a college scholarship, but basketball and getting involved with a much older man was more important than going to class and acing her exams. However, it was in college, where Jones discovered comedy. She always had the ability to make people laugh, and being on stage was electrifying. It was from that moment, Jones knew she wanted to make comedy her career.

Of course, this comedy career didn’t exactly take off right away, and Jones dealt with a lot of struggles. She had to hold a regular job (not exactly easy or fun) while trying to get comedy gigs. Audiences could be welcoming or they could be brutal. She dealt with a lot of crooked managers, and didn’t always get paid properly for her performances. There is also a lot of animosity from some comics, but Jones also came close to some of them who showed her a lot of support and encouraged her to keep developing her comedy style and performance.

Jones also had to deal with family strife. Her parents had a less than happy marriage, and both suffered from severe health issues. Her mother was in a hospital from the time, Jones was a teenager. And both of them died when Jones was a barely an adult. It must have shaken Jones to lose parents when she was still so young. And her younger brother got seriously messed up and was dealing drugs. This lifestyle caught up to him and he died in 2009. Jones also dealt with shitty jobs, money woes, bad roommates, and even worse boyfriends. She also had a run in with the law.

It seemed to take forever, but Jones finally grabbed the gold ring of comedic success when she was hired by Saturday Night Live. She first started out as a writer, but was later made a cast member. She was funny and loud, and brought a new voice to the show. She also was cast in the all-female remake of Ghostbusters, and she is brutally honest about the horrific sexism the cast faced, and all the racism that was thrown at her.

Leslie F*cking Jones is raw and deeply candid. Jones never shies away from the rough stuff of growing up, being a black woman in comedy, and the ups and downs of her career. She’s made a name for herself in a business that is extremely tough. And love how much she appreciates all the people who have helped her along the way, and the friendships she still holds dear (her and Kate McKinnon are total besties.

Whether you’re a fan of Leslie Jones, or just want to know what it’s like to be a woman of color in comedy and show business, you can’t go wrong with reading Leslie F*cking Jones.

Book Review: Still Laughing-A Life in Comedy (From the Creator of “Laugh-In”) by George Schlatter as told to Jon Macks

The the iconic television show “Laugh-In” was a bit before my time, I knew the show was a classic and quite ground breaking. If it wasn’t for “Laugh-In” we might not have sketch comedy shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” “In Living Color,” and “Kids in the Hall.” “Laugh In” was created by George Schlatter. And now a youthful 93, Schlatter shares his story about “Laugh-In” and so much more in his memoir Still Laughing: A Life in Comedy from the Creator of “Laugh-In” as told to Jon Macks.

Before “Laugh-In” Schlatter started his show business career in one of the most Hollywood clichéd ways. He started out working in the mailroom at MCA in 1948. Sure, it was pretty low level, but not exactly boring, and Schlatter was able to work his way up. In fact, one of Schlatter’s first brushes with fame was when he met Frank Sinatra over a contract. What did old blue eyes say to the then very young Schlatter? “I have ties older than you.” Despite the age difference, Schlatter and Sinatra forged a strong friendship and worked on other show biz endeavors. In fact, Schlatter was asked to give an eulogy at Sinatra’s funeral.

Schlatter can also be credited with creating the Las Vegas lounge act and recalls working with some pretty unsavory mob characters while managing nightclubs and casinos. Through his work in Las Vegas, Schlatter was able to morph into working for television shows working with the greats like Lucille Ball and Judy Garland. Doing this work, producing shows and massaging the egos of the talent was a great education for Schlatter.

But of course, it is the “Laugh-In” that is one of Schlatter’s greatest achievements. It was 1967 when Schlatter came up with the idea of a comedy sketch show that was inspired by the hippie counter culture of the late sixties. Back then, sit-ins, be-ins, and love-ins were very popular, thus the name “Laugh-In.” “Laugh-In” manifested the social issues, politics, and sexual revolutions of that time, and gave all those things a comic twist.

“Laugh-In” became a huge hit. If the internet had existed back then people would have discussed it on social media and would have created blogs and fan pages about the show. “Laugh-In” launched the careers of mega watt stars like Lily Tomlin and Goldie Hawn (who provide the foreward and the afterword respectively in the book). The “Laugh-In” cast was a rag tag bunch of talented and funny people who made TV watchers across America laugh themselves silly. “Laugh-In” gave us such quotable lines like “Sock it to me!” Even President Richard Nixon spoke that famous line. Back then, having a politician on an entertaining TV show was quite revolutionary. Now it it seems to be mandatory that a Presidential candidate, whether a Democrat of a Republican, show up on a show like “Saturday Night Live.”

Schlatter gives us all the details on everything creating and producing “Laugh-In.” He describes auditioning the potential cast members to how he got a bare nipple past the censors. And “Laugh-In” was actual called “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” Why? Well, back then Dan Rowan and Dick Martin were huge comedy stars and having celebrity names attached to the show would grab more viewers. It worked. And Schlatter spills some tea. Rowan and Martin hated each other.

“Laugh-In” wasn’t Schlatter’s only television baby. He also created the show “Real People.” “Real People” was probably one of the first reality TV shows. But instead of featuring bachelors and bachelorettes or real housewives ripping out each other’s hair extensions, “Real People” featured people who actually contributed to society like the Tuskegee Airman. I loved watching “Real People” as a kid, and by reading Still Laughing, I found out host Sarah Purcell wasn’t quite as prim as she appeared. As for another host, Byron Allen, whatever happened to him? I kid, I kid.

One continuous character in Schlatter’s life is is devoted and gorgeous wife, Jolene. Where many men in Hollywood are on their third, fourth, or fifth marriage, George and Jolene remain a true blue couple. I adored reading about their love story.

Still Laughing was a tremendous read. I loved all the name dropping and the inside of scoop of show business, working with celebrities, and creating iconic television shows. I’m so glad we still have a George Schlatter in our midst. His stories, and the stories of other old school TV greats who are still with us (Carol Burnett, Norman Lear, Dick Van Dyke) are so important. Still Laughing is an enlightening and fascinating read for anyone with memories of shows like “Laugh-In” or anyone interested in pop culture history.

Book Review: The Last Days of Video by Jeremy Hawkins

Back in the day, long before streaming, the only way you could see a movie you actually had to watch in at a movie theater or hope you could catch a rerun on the TV. That all changed when video cassettes came out in the 1980s. Finally, you could go some place and check out one of your favorites or you had chance to find a new cinematic treasure. Sure, we checked out movies from chains like Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, but many of us have fond memories of going to our local independent video stores where you could rent out everything from monster hit movies to indie gems to the classics, and so much more. The staff of these treasured places were true film buffs and very knowledgeable about various genres. They were committed to the craft of film and shared that commitment with other film buffs.

Nowadays, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and the indie places are misty memories. Though you can stream movies via various services, maybe find a Redbox at your local grocery store, or maybe check out videos/DVDs from your local library. But being able to peruse the shelves of your favorite video store was truly a glorious thing.

Author Jeremy Hawkins takes us down memory lane in a time where video stores were waning, Netflix was sending out videos through the mail, and streaming was in its infancy in his funny and heartbreaking novel The Last Days of Video.

Wax Waring is the proprietor of the indie video store Star Video in the fictional college town of Appleton, North Carolina. For the longest time, Star Video is where the denizens of Appleton rented their tapes and then DVDs. Now its the year of our Lord 2007, and there is a threat on the horizon. A Blockbuster is opening up not far from Star Video, and Wax and his employees are not happy about this development.

Wax is a hot damn mess to begin with. He’s misanthropic, incorrigible, and a little too fond of getting drunk. But being a huge movie buff since he was a kid, Star Video should be Wax’s passion. Wax has dealt with a lot of obstacles in his way, and a Blockbuster is just another obstacle, a huge corporate behemoth that threatens Star Video and Wax’s way of life. What can Wax do to make Star Video survive this horrible onslaught?

Along for the ride are two of Wax’s employees at Star Video, Alaura and Jeff. Alaura is a rapidly aging manic pixie girl crossed with a goth. She has a penchant for getting involved with Mr. Wrongs and different types of religion looking for a sense of belonging (which also inspire her tattoo collection). But she does have enough sense to keep Star Video running as smoothly as possible (not always easy with Wax’s outbursts and frequent drinking and hangovers). Jeff is new to both Star Video and Appleton. He’s a student at Appleton University, a film buff begrudgingly studying business, but wanting to know more about different kinds of movies, and is developing a mad crush on Alaura, an older women.

The threat of Blockbuster behooves Wax, Alaura, and Jeff to save Star Video. There are also other situations that threaten their beloved video store, including a faith based video distribution company that isn’t thrilled about some of the videos Star Video rents out (porn and R-rated movies), and a weird life training cult that nearly sucks in Alaura. And then there is Netflix mailing out DVDs and the advent of streaming.

Wax, Alaura, and Jeff conspire different ways to save Star Video. One includes an old high school chum of Alaura’s a once rising star film director who sadly has released a couple of flops and is now seeing the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock.

Will Star Video survive or will it end up in the dustbin of cinematic and retail history? I absolutely loved The Last Days of Video. The characters are fully-sketched, and despite being total screw ups, you can’t help but root for Wax, Alaura, Jeff, and Star Video. This book made me nostalgic for one of my favorite independent places to rent videos, Video Adventures (RIP) on Milwaukee’s lower east side. Whether you remember the last days of video or just think of those days as ancient history, The Last Days of Video is a great read.

Book Review: NSFW by Isabel Kaplan

When I came across Isabel Kaplan’s novel, NSFW, I asked myself, “Can I possibly read another book about a Millennial working in a ‘glamorous’ industry?” Well, after reading NSFW, I most certainly can!

As NSFW begins, our unnamed narrator (who I will call MC for Main Character) has just graduated from Harvard and has moved back to Los Angeles. Through nepotism and her mother’s connections to the head of development, Robert Braun, MC gets a low level assistant job at the fictional network XBC. It’s the the early 2010s. Network television still has some currency and streaming services are in their infancy. MC knows her new position is just a start but she hopes with her hard work and determination she’ll climb the corporate ladder to success.

MC is ambitious and smart, and is willing to put in the hard work to get ahead (as long as she can keep her dignity).We get to seen the inner sanctum of a TV network, from program pitches to getting a program on the air. But we also learn of the less than ideal machinations that permeate a great deal of work places. NSFW isn’t just about one young woman trying to make it in show business and the corporate world. It’s also about the patriarchal structures that still affect our world in the modern day. Sexual harassment, rape, and sleazy innuendo remarks abound at XBC. MC tries to stay above the fray, but gets sucked in without her consent. It isn’t long before MC hears about the rape allegations of a huge star of one of the biggest hits on XBC, and how it was nearly covered up by the network.

MC also goes through several changes to keep up with living in Los Angeles and working in the industry, you can never be too hot or too thin. And MC goes through great lengths to look good-manicures, coloring her hair, and making sure she never packs on the pounds. She also tries to do the proper networking and meeting the right people so she can climb up that corporate ladder. Outside of work MC starts dating a sweet, supportive guy, but seems uncomfortable in a relationship. She also has a roommate who swears by the power of crystals and is in a “throuple” with a couple. This is LA were talking about. I can’t imagine a throuple in Boise, Idaho, but who knows?

And then there is MC’s relationship with her mother. MC’s mother is a powerful attorney and an advocate for victims of rape and sexual assault. MC’s parents divorced years ago, and MC’s mother is still bitter about it. She often spills her guts to MC almost making her a unpaid therapist. MC’s mothers manipulations and martyrdom is incredibly obnoxious and made me quite uncomfortable while reading NSFW. MC also smokes pot with her mother. Hmm, when my mom and I get together, we play Scrabble. Is this the difference between Silent Generation moms with Gen X daughters and Baby Boomer moms with Millennial daughters? I wonder.

When Robert Braun at XBC is accused of some very sleazy behavior, NSFW goes into a weird twist. Instead of supporting Braun’s accusers, MC’s mother instead supports her longtime friends. MC is completely appalled, especially consider she knows someone at XBC who has been sexually harassed by Braun, and she herself, was assaulted by a co-worker. How could her mother betray women by supporting a completely disgusting man like Robert Braun?

In the course of her time at XBC, MC learns so much about what it’s like to be a woman in the workplace, and despite all the work people have done to make rape and sexual harassment seriously, we still have such a long way too go. Remember NSFW takes place in the early 2010s. There was no MeToo movement, Bill Cosby was still a favorite TV dad, Harvey Weinstein was known for Oscar winning movies, and a President who bragged about grabbing pussy had not yet sullied the White House. Even in 2023, we are dealing with these issues.

NSFW is not a light hearted chick lit read about a young women, fresh-faced, just starting out in the big city in a glamorous industry. NSFW is a very exacting look at world that isn’t so positive for women, fraught family relationships, and the difficulty of finding your place and your purpose. NSFW is also quite triggering and portrays a lot of truly upsetting things. There were passages where I actually gasped out loud when I read about what MC and her coworkers went through. But I do think NSFW is an important and very well-written novel, and I’m hoping Isabel Kaplan has a sequel up her sleeve. I really want to know what MC is up to in 2023.