Memphis Reads

Nonfiction/Memoir

Andrea Bledsoe reviews LOOK ME IN THE EYE: MY LIFE WITH ASPERGER'S by John Elder Robison (Crown Publishers, 2007)

Recently, I have begun reading a lot more nonfiction, or memoirs to be exact. Earlier this month, I finished reading all of Augusten Burroughs’ books, which I will review at a later time. I noticed in two of the books that he mentions a brother who has a form of autism. After a little bit of research, I found out his brother is another bestselling author, John Elder Robison.

And here we are now.

John Elder did not have an easy childhood in the 1960s. It’s hard enough for children to make friends when they are considered "normal," but when teachers, psychologists, or any other authority has deemed the child to have some "abnormality," it’s that much harder, I’m sure. John Elder struggled to make friends in kindergarten, but, when the kids rejected him, he immediately withdrew socially and had a better time with his toys and other inanimate objects.

For every sad memory John recalls, there are laugh-out-loud funny moments, too. When John was eight, his mother gave birth to another son. His recollections of the tricks and pranks he pulled on Christopher (who later changed to his name to Augusten) are just hilarious. Although John was brilliant, his grades did not reflect this, so he dropped out at sixteen. He started touring with rock and roll bands as the sound technician. He met the members of KISS in the late 1970s and even designed the smoking guitar Ace Frehley is famous for playing. Growing disinterested in the rock scene, John later became an engineer for Milton Bradley, which enabled him to play more practical jokes on people. Eventually, John's lack of emotion, antisocial personality, and robot-like behavior were diagnosed as Asperger’s Syndrome. This diagnosis enabled him to understand himself better.

John Elder Robison is a brilliant storyteller who deserves compassion for his struggles with Asperger's, but, at the same time, he will have his readers laughing out loud at his pranks.


Andrea Bledsoe, Poplar-White Station Library

Labels: Memoir, Reviews by Andrea King

Because of the economic downturn, many people are looking for ways to be more frugal. Here are some titles that offer useful suggestions on how to spend less and save more.

Don't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew, and Reuse to Make Things Last by Lori Baird (Rodale, 2007)

Offers money-saving tips on how to extend the life of everything from appliances, furniture, and outdoor equipment to clothing and cosmetics.


Check out other books about reusing and recycling


It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh (Free Press, 2007)

This book promises help for those of us who are sometimes tempted to "buy a new one" instead of organizing all of the clutter to find that item that seems so essential at the moment. Peter Walsh is the organizational guru from TLC's "Clean Sweep."

Check out other books about home organization


Yankee Magazine's Living Well on a Shoestring: 1,501 Ingenious Ways to Spend Less for What You Need and Have More for What You Want (Yankee Books, 2000)

Offers general advice on frugality including budgets, repairs and smart shopping.

Check out other books about household saving strategies



Doris, Raleigh Branch Library

Agatha Christie Recordings Discovered

From BBC News:

"A collection of previously unheard recordings of crime writer Agatha Christie talking about her life and work has surfaced in Devon after lying undiscovered for 40 years.

The reels of tape, over 13 hours long, were discovered by the author's grandson in a cardboard box during a spring clean-out at Christie's former home in Torquay.

They date back to the 1960s and are working notes for her autobiography which was published posthumously in 1977."

Read full article

UPDATE: "Extracts from the recordings made by Agatha Christie were published on telegraph.co.uk by her Estate for 24 hours only and are no longer available" (telegraph.co.uk).

Labels: News and Notes

Nonfiction/Memoir

Andrea Bledsoe reviews STOLEN INNOCENCE: My Story of Growing up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs by Elissa Wall (Harper Collins, 2008)

This is the true and devastating tale of Elissa Wall, one of the key witnesses in the trial of the State of Utah versus Warren Jeffs. Recalling her early years growing up in a First Latter Day Saints (FLDS) household, Elissa shares how she was exposed to polygamy firsthand through her own father and his three wives. It was the norm in this environment for men to have multiple wives and for the husbands to sire many children with these women.

Elissa tells her story of how Warren Jeffs rose from the Devotional teacher and principal of the FLDS school, Alta Academy, to the chosen prophet of the congregation after his father Rulon became ill. In this position of power, Jeffs was the person who told the young women’s fathers who their daughters would marry. To Jeffs, it did not matter if the girls were very young teenagers or even related to their future husbands.

In Elissa’s case, Jeffs expected her to marry her first cousin, Alan, when she was only 14-years-old. Because students at Alta Academy were taught that members of the opposite sex were evil and were “snakes,” the young married population did not know how to cope with marital relations of any kind. Fourteen year-old Elissa and nineteen year-old Alan were no exception to these conflicting feelings. Many a time, Elissa pleaded with Warren to “release” her from her marriage to Alan because divorce does not exist in the FLDS community. Finally, after 3 years of begging Jeffs, Elissa escapes from Alan and becomes pregnant by another man. When Jeffs views her pregnancy as an adulterous act, the young couple is released from marriage.

Elissa’s life hasn’t been easy. From being one of many siblings, to getting married very young, having 4 miscarriages when she was under 18, and facing life on the outside, away from the FLDS, Elissa has struggled. I learned a lot from this very sad book.


Andrea Bledsoe, Poplar-White Station Library

Labels: Memoir, Nonfiction, Reviews by Andrea King

"BOOK TALK" is an informal, radio interview show featuring authors discussing their work. The show is produced at the studios of WYPL and can be heard Saturdays at 6 p.m. on FM 89.3.

The public is invited to attend live tapings. All interviews last approximately 30 minutes.

Haven Kimmel
Monday, September 8, 11:00 a.m.

Carol Goodman
Wednesday, September 10, 3:00 p.m.

Porter Shreve
Thursday, September 11, 2:00 p.m.

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Friday, September 12, 2008, 3:00 p.m.


"Book Talk" is taped in the WYPL radio studios, located in the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 3030 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38111. For more information, please call (901) 415-2752.

Labels: Book Talk, WYPL