WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.
PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.
1. What are you currently reading? Who Let the Dog Out? by David Rosenfelt. Andy Carpenter is a lawyer by trade, but his passion is for rescuing dogs. So when a dog is kidnapped from his shelter, he jumps into action. Thanks to a chip in the collar, he finds the poor dog quickly, along with a dead body.
Andy Carpenter is my fictional boyfriend. He's smarter than he lets on, and a better man than he professes to be. He's a smart ass who can't resist a wise crack, even in court. He's a sports fan, and a millionaire many times over. I want him to marry me and take me away from all this.
So I really want to like this book. I've been on a roll, having just finished two five-star biographies. I hope this book keeps alive my happy streak of enjoying what I've read.
2. What did you recently finish reading? Competing with Idiots by Nick Davis. I loved this dual biography of Herman and Joseph Mankiewicz, written by Herman's grandson.
There's a lot about great movies. Really legendary classic films made by the brothers, including Citizen Kane, Pride of the Yankees, All About Eve, Duck Soup ... There's a lot of celebrity dish: Joe slept with Judy Garland, Linda Darnell, Elizabeth Taylor (maybe) and Herman hung around with Dorothy Parker, the Marx Brothers and George S. Kaufman.
There's a lot of family, too. These two over-achieving sons had a complex relationship with their public school teacher dad and spent their lives trying to measure up to what he expected of them. After 5 Oscars, you would think they would feel good about themselves but they didn't (couldn't). There's abuse masquerading as discipline, addictions (alcohol, gambling), bipolar disorder and suicide. There are competitions and estrangements and admiration and love. In short, the Mankiewicz's are just like any other family, except that their dramas played out on a grand stage instead of behind closed suburban doors.
Nick Davis tells his family's story with clear eyes and sensitive insights. Herman's grandson, he inserted himself into the story when needed but didn't do it too much. The stories about his mother's relationships with both her dad and Uncle Joe gave the book credibility and resonance.
3. What will you read next? I don't know.
