Pages

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Great heartfelt stories are waiting... @ your library

Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope by Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly

From the Publisher –

From one of the most admired and beloved couples in recent American history, an extraordinarily moving story of public service, risk-taking, romance — and the journey toward recovery. This book delivers hope and redemption in the face of the tragic shooting, and introduces two unforgettable heroes.


Shaq Uncut: My Story by Shaquille O'Neal

Kirkus Reviews –

Ubiquitous NBA superstar O'Neal offers an entertaining, if undeniably self-serving chronicle of his unique career.

The self-styled "Big Aristotle" is unquestionably one of the most dominant players ever to grace the hardwood; he's also one of the game's biggest characters. With an assist from veteran basketball writer MacMullan (co-author with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson:When the Game Was Ours, 2010), O'Neal details an impoverished childhood lacking in material things but filled with strong influences, ranging from his grandmother to his stepfather, "Sarge," a strict disciplinarian who helped curb the young O'Neal's occasionally wayward tendencies. After a storied college career at LSU, O'Neal moved on to a dominant run in the NBA, from his early career in Orlando to his title-laden days as a Los Angeles Laker to his role as sidekick to young superstar Dwayne Wade in Miami. Despite his gregarious nature and an ever-adoring public (as evidenced by his inexplicable success as a rapper), acrimonious departures from NBA cities became something of a recurring theme throughout O'Neal's career, circumstances he goes to great lengths to portray in a manner that casts him in the best possible light (PR-savvy veteran that he is, however, he places just enough blame on himself to bolster the veracity of his claims). Shameless self-promotion aside, the "Diesel" has a talent for entertaining, whether he's suggesting that a jibe from President Obama ruined Celtics' point guard Rajon Rondo's jump shot or ruminating on the complicated nature of his relationship with Kobe Bryant. Question his free-throw shooting ability or willingness to absorb his share of responsibility when things go wrong, but it's hard to question his charisma.

Symbolic of Shaq's career: consistently captivating, but you can't help but feel he left something on the table.


Then Again by Diane Keaton

Janet Maslin -

…a far-reaching, heartbreaking, absolutely lucid book about mothers, daughters, childhood, aging, mortality, joyfulness, love, work and the search for self-knowledge. Show business too…this book manages to present the full spectrum of women's experiences, from babyhood to adolescence, youthful insecurity…to liberating adulthood to slow, lingering death. Its power as a collage has been greatly enhanced by tight, punchy editing of the fragments that Ms. Keaton variously writes or excerpts. Some of its stories are universal and painful, yet this book is not mired in melancholy. Instead it's inspiring in its empathy, wisdom and self-knowledge.
—The New York Times


No comments:

Archive