bronteside
Oakville Public Library
bronteside's Completed Shelf
Filter your results by...
Format
bronteside's rating:
Added Sep 05, 2022
bronteside's rating:
Added Jul 20, 2022
Comment:
The Latecomer is long but addictive…
The Children:.spoiled,rich and brilliant.
Also cruel, spiteful and hateful.
Dig in and enjoy the ride.
bronteside's rating:
Added Jul 08, 2022
Comment:
If Never Simple were fiction..it would have strained credulity.
Liz Scheier was a captive in her mother’s sick and twisted orbit:
As was everyone else she pulled in.
There have been numerous memoirs similar to this mother/daughter tale.
How is it that so many of these damaged daughters not only survive to tell their story, but to tell it with such resilience and gifted prose?If Never Simple were fiction..it would have strained credulity.
Liz Scheier was a captive in her mother’s sick and twisted orbit:
As was everyone else she pulled in.
There have been numerous memoirs similar to this mother/daughter tale.
How is it…
bronteside's rating:
Added Jul 05, 2022
Comment:
Loved this book.
The characters-their credible personalities -
The plot -a modern dynasty that brings everyone together -
As individuals drift or fall apart.
bronteside's rating:
Added Jun 22, 2022
Comment:
Thought there’d never be another read like Shuggie Bain,,,until
Young Mungo.
Douglas Stuart is an original.
Poverty, bad parenting and bad luck wash over his characters .and then recede
With humour, affection and even hope.
bronteside's rating:
Added Jun 11, 2022
Comment:
Delia Ephron scored a fairy tale of grim and enchanting gifts.
Lucky in love twice: twice robbed by cancer ( husband, sister):
With an army of love, friendship and great medicine she
Got” a second chance at life” after her own terrifying diagnosis…
She is grateful ,she is lucky and she knows it.Delia Ephron scored a fairy tale of grim and enchanting gifts.
Lucky in love twice: twice robbed by cancer ( husband, sister):
With an army of love, friendship and great medicine she
Got” a second chance at life” after her own terrifying…
bronteside's rating:
Added Jun 05, 2022
Comment:
Jennifer Grey resisted pressure to ‘tweak’ her nose for years,but after surgery altered her looks, she lost her identity.
No-one recognized her. Not just a story about superficial celebrity
( there are more serious health issues to surmount) but a journey to live a life in search of what matters to most mortals.Jennifer Grey resisted pressure to ‘tweak’ her nose for years,but after surgery altered her looks, she lost her identity.
No-one recognized her. Not just a story about superficial celebrity
( there are more serious health issues to surmount) but a…
The Secret Life of Dorothy SoamesThe Secret Life of Dorothy Soames, BookA Memoir
by Cowan, JustineBook - 2021Book, 2021
bronteside's rating:
Added Jun 02, 2022
Comment:
Justine Cowan’s upbringing was one of privilege and wealth:
The Violin,equestrian meets, private schools: all the perks.
But beneath the surface, a verbally abusive mother with a secret past:a foundling in a notorious British institution driven by sadistic caregivers.
Both women are unalterably damaged in different ways: one incapable of insight..the other of forgiveness.
This is a memoir of nuance; for those on the sidelines :a debate-worthy read.Justine Cowan’s upbringing was one of privilege and wealth:
The Violin,equestrian meets, private schools: all the perks.
But beneath the surface, a verbally abusive mother with a secret past:a foundling in a notorious British institution driven by…
DilettanteDilettante, BookTrue Tales of Excess, Triumph, and Disaster
by Brown, DanaBook - 2021Book, 2021
bronteside's rating:
Added May 28, 2022
Comment:
Dana Brown is plucked out of Cinderella-obscurity and offered
Slices of glitter and glamour at Vanity Fair.
It’s a story of mentorship& luck ; excess on the gravy train of celebrity and expense accounts.
But not surprisingly ..the good times ended with the digital age
Overtaking not just VF but all print publications and Brown’s career.
Brown’s description of his Gen Z replacements is worth
The admission price alone.Dana Brown is plucked out of Cinderella-obscurity and offered
Slices of glitter and glamour at Vanity Fair.
It’s a story of mentorship& luck ; excess on the gravy train of celebrity and expense accounts.
But not surprisingly ..the good times…
bronteside's rating:
Added Apr 11, 2022
bronteside's rating:
Added Apr 10, 2022
Comment:
Amy Bloom’s journey is hard work, even in the country
That allows medical assistance in death.
There are medical, legal and emotional hurdles..bumps that would discourage even the most determined.
Bloom’s story is conversational , raw and touching.
She calls herself a lucky wife; but it’s her husband
With the ultimate luck: having Amy Bloom shepherd
The man she loved -to a good death.Amy Bloom’s journey is hard work, even in the country
That allows medical assistance in death.
There are medical, legal and emotional hurdles..bumps that would discourage even the most determined.
Bloom’s story is conversational , raw and…
Sandy HookSandy Hook, BookAn American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth
by Williamson, ElizabethBook - 2022Book, 2022
bronteside's rating:
Added Apr 07, 2022
Comment:
This book will infuriate , inspire and motivate .
How individuals (Alex Jones et Al) not only posited that children murdered at Sandy Hook were actors, their deaths a hoax ..but went on to harass, dox and death-threat their parents.
Elizabeth Williamson has written clearly about the brutal journey
Inflicted on parents by sociopathic conspiracists whose deeds rival the shooter’s unspeakable act.This book will infuriate , inspire and motivate .
How individuals (Alex Jones et Al) not only posited that children murdered at Sandy Hook were actors, their deaths a hoax ..but went on to harass, dox and death-threat their parents.
Elizabeth…
I Belong HereI Belong Here, BookA Journey Along the Backbone of Britain
by Sethi, AnitaBook - 2021Book, 2021
bronteside's rating:
Added Mar 25, 2022
Comment:
Anita Sethi ‘s search to belong begins on a train ,where she is racially humiliated .
Her decision to then walk the limestone spine of Northern England’s Pennines is one that brings her closer to that belonging.
Sethi weaves the troubled history of her birthplace to chilling items from the news as she travels a famous pathway :discovering the tranquility of belonging through nature’s offerings.Anita Sethi ‘s search to belong begins on a train ,where she is racially humiliated .
Her decision to then walk the limestone spine of Northern England’s Pennines is one that brings her closer to that belonging.
Sethi weaves the troubled history of…
bronteside's rating:
Added Mar 16, 2022
Comment:
An exquisite goodbye from a writer who found comfort in
Shaping her death through words and allowing the rest of us
To read them.
I Came All This Way to Meet YouI Came All This Way to Meet You, BookWriting Myself Home
by Attenberg, JamiBook - 2022Book, 2022
bronteside's rating:
Added Mar 13, 2022
Comment:
..Jami Attenberg takes the wheel in this funny and self deprecating memoir: never once asking for a pass.
Sharing stories from her difficult career path to success, she shows how solitude is the beating heart of a writer’s life in a journey full of others’ company...Jami Attenberg takes the wheel in this funny and self deprecating memoir: never once asking for a pass.
Sharing stories from her difficult career path to success, she shows how solitude is the beating heart of a writer’s life in a journey full…
I Love You but I've Chosen DarknessI Love You but I've Chosen Darkness, BookA Novel
by Watkins, Claire VayeBook - 2021Book, 2021
bronteside's rating:
Added Mar 09, 2022
Comment:
The young writer is talented and smart but her own history is more engaging
Than the one she replicates in this memoir/novel.
Her central character is unlikable ( abandons her infant daughter) /hooks up with
Amoral partners and spends too much time romancing the past than prepping for the
Future. Losing first a father,then a mother to drugs and suicide surely played a role.
Introducing letters between her mother and a cousin was a structural error..almost
A premature book-ending move.The young writer is talented and smart but her own history is more engaging
Than the one she replicates in this memoir/novel.
Her central character is unlikable ( abandons her infant daughter) /hooks up with
Amoral partners and spends too much…
bronteside's rating:
Added Feb 23, 2022
Comment:
A young girl stands up for herself when no-one else does-
Until after she dies.
Her sadistic parents,unvetted by authorities and embalmed by Old
testament tropes are “denounced” in court.
But this isn’t a linear crime story about abused children, it’s about the rest of us, knowing
Her story, and doing better.
After all, we’re still here.
As Alison asks,”what else is there ?”A young girl stands up for herself when no-one else does-
Until after she dies.
Her sadistic parents,unvetted by authorities and embalmed by Old
testament tropes are “denounced” in court.
But this isn’t a linear crime story about abused children,…
Empire of PainEmpire of Pain, BookThe Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
by Keefe, Patrick RaddenBook - 2021Book, 2021
bronteside's rating:
Added Feb 17, 2022
Comment:
Patrick Radden Keefe has written a stunning timeline
On OxyContin and the stain it has left all over America.
A pharmaceutical killing machine oiled and reloaded by the
Sackler family-enabled by corrupt FDA types ,greedy physicians ,
pharmacists and ,oh those lawyers-this is indeed a portrait of wealth embracing evil.
The denouement is how a family that purported to do no wrong
(Blame the victim) managed to suck the money out of Purdue before bankruptcy;
Finally Stripped of their signatures on major cultural and educational
Institutions ,shamed and shunned .,it is truly unbelievable
How little self awareness this family retains.Patrick Radden Keefe has written a stunning timeline
On OxyContin and the stain it has left all over America.
A pharmaceutical killing machine oiled and reloaded by the
Sackler family-enabled by corrupt FDA types ,greedy physicians ,
pharmacists…
bronteside's rating:
Added Jan 29, 2022
Comment:
First dive into this writer’s prolific collection.
In a sisters versus father/son timeline-revenge is the trophy.
Thriller plots are often repetitive , but what saves this one ,
Is the dialogue.
It’s taut , it’s original ..it’s good.
The irony of the writer’s surname is delicious.First dive into this writer’s prolific collection.
In a sisters versus father/son timeline-revenge is the trophy.
Thriller plots are often repetitive , but what saves this one ,
Is the dialogue.
It’s taut , it’s original ..it’s good.
The irony of…
bronteside's rating:
Added Jan 11, 2022
bronteside's rating:
Added Jan 07, 2022
Comment:
There is a real draw to works like The Salt Path.
Raynor Winn goes for a “walk” to stare down Loss;
Her rural home and her husband’s health.
Cheryl Strayed did it years ago with Wild”…first her young mother then
Her marriage.
Suleika Jaouad does it on wheels in Between Two kingdoms to thwart cancer.
And then there are the movies:Frances McDormand in Nomadland andRobin Wright in Land.
All women , orphans or widows or soon -to-be…
No reader can be unmoved by these stories …and not relate.There is a real draw to works like The Salt Path.
Raynor Winn goes for a “walk” to stare down Loss;
Her rural home and her husband’s health.
Cheryl Strayed did it years ago with Wild”…first her young mother then
Her marriage.
Suleika Jaouad does it…
On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 YearsOn the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years, BookAn Investigation
by Dewar, ElaineBook - 2021Book, 2021
bronteside's rating:
Added Jan 07, 2022
Comment:
While the pandemic still rages this book invites ..no demands answers to its origins.
It is dense but readable and introduces us to phrases like gain-of-function ,Bsl-4 labs; to real-life players who skirt behind Frankenstein -like behaviours but remain unaccountable. How does the unschooled layman
School herself without falling down the conspiracy rabbit hole of nutty conspiracy theories ?
She reads this book.While the pandemic still rages this book invites ..no demands answers to its origins.
It is dense but readable and introduces us to phrases like gain-of-function ,Bsl-4 labs; to real-life players who skirt behind Frankenstein -like behaviours but…
Little SisterLittle Sister, BookMy Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood
by Wood, LanaBook - 2021Book, 2021
bronteside's rating:
Added Dec 06, 2021
Comment:
Natalie Wood’s suspicious death ,40 years on, triggers
Attention ,even if the currency is sometimes repetitive.
Like Jon Benet Ramsey, Madeleine Mcann, the Shermans(Barry And Honey) ;the Hollywood actress has a draw because there are no final answers…
Her sister,whose own life has its own darkness,
Reveals little that is newsworthy in this slim read.but chunks of
Details about celebrity vacuity and evil. Who knew Kirk Douglas was a predator..aided by a stage mother who was probably mentally ill?
If anything the systemic flaws in the criminal investigation
Of Wood’s death and the obsequiousness of law enforcement either allowed Wood’s husband an easy pass, or tied him forever to the lengthier punishment of suspicion.Natalie Wood’s suspicious death ,40 years on, triggers
Attention ,even if the currency is sometimes repetitive.
Like Jon Benet Ramsey, Madeleine Mcann, the Shermans(Barry And Honey) ;the Hollywood actress has a draw because there are no final…
bronteside's rating:
Added Dec 04, 2021
Comment:
Spin this literary wheel and go past adultery, murder and the
Love matches at both ends of the moral spectrum.
Strong ,flawed and resolute characters chase after one another in a crime spree
That infuriates everyone, including the reader.
bronteside's rating:
Added Nov 23, 2021
Comment:
It’s the seventies, in the suburbs where sex,drugs and Christian rock and roll co-exist with perfect weekly church attendance.
The Hildebrandts:a randy preacher , his tinderbox of a wife and four children spend a lot of time looking for love,God,
And chemical highs while mostly avoiding each other.
In the end , the dispensation of forgiveness rivals grudges
While the individuals either confront the past or erase it.
It’s not ‘The Corrections’…but close.It’s the seventies, in the suburbs where sex,drugs and Christian rock and roll co-exist with perfect weekly church attendance.
The Hildebrandts:a randy preacher , his tinderbox of a wife and four children spend a lot of time looking for…
Comment: