Cheap Motels of my Youth--poems by George Bilgere

 Publisher: Rattle (January 1, 2024

Language: English

Paperback: 40 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1931307567

5 Stars

 

 

This book was a gift. The giver has my undying love! From the first poem, “Nine” which begins, “I am standing by the pop machine / at the gas station, drinking a root beer.” I was pulled in. I was nine, once, and loved root beer. I relate to this kid who brought back happy childhood memories.

 

His poem, “Daddy” really grabbed me. It begins, “Pallas Athena took my poetry course / one summer a few years back,” gave me chuckles. As a veteran of the Women’s Army Corps, I was somewhat familiar with Pallas Athena, and the mental image of her taking a poetry course under an alias, well it was a chuckle out loud moment.

 

“Insult to Injury” has one of my favorite lines ever, “…Holding a pistol / is like shaking hands / with death.” His description farther down the poem of shooting a book brought another laugh out loud.

 

This book holds many insights into how Bilgere saw his youth into adulthood, which he brings full circle with the last poem, “Salad.” It begins describing his parents in their back yard before he was born and ends with him repeating the scene in his own life.

 

These poems are accessible. No deep, hidden meaning (at least I didn’t see any), the language is understandable, the poems are easy to read, and I dare say, most if not all readers will find poems they connect with, that will bring long lost and possibly forgotten happy childhood memories in their lives, to the fore.

Talking Smack to The Dead --by Walt Peterson

 Nonfiction / poetry / prose

Cyberwit.net

2022

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8182539048

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8182539044

91 Pages

Paperback $15.00

42 pieces

5 Stars

 

I’m not sure when I’ve enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed this one. Mr. Peterson mixed his delightful poetry with his equally enjoyable short fiction. Reading it was like layering calorie-free chocolate, peanut butter, and pretzels a few times, chilling, and eating for fun. The book is divided into five parts, starting off with Part Of What We Pay Is For The Car… The lead poem, Two-Lane Blacktop, begins with, “What I need to know, country boy / —are you in or are you out?” If that first line in the book doesn’t tell you the good ol’ boys are getting together, nothing’ will. With this poem, our engines are started, and at the drop of her arm, the race is on. The diesel fumes get a tad thick now and then, suggest you read in a well-ventilated room. 

 

There is a great deal of humor in these pieces, and knowledge. I believe I read somewhere that these are working men’s poetry. And they are. There is music in every poem, in every story. In Appalachian Suite, “Music … is winter rain hissing from eighteen wheels / on the interstate.” I could not only hear that symphony, I could just about smell it!

 

Peterson is a natural teacher, and a paid one. So, of course, there must be a test. They do love their tests, don’t they? And in the section titled, Someday Your Life Will Pass Before You, is “Interactive Memory Blitz”. This piece of prose is also a test. Go ahead, take it. I don’t think there are any wrong answers. Oh, and there are also directions on how to cook an opossum on the road.

 

The last piece in this section is “The Chicken, The Road, The Widow. Fair warning don’t be eating or drinking while reading this, or you stand a good chance of snorting said food or drink when you start laughing. This story alone is worth the price of admission, several times over.

 

He does have some serious pieces, and “Shanksville, Flight 93” is one of them. “And the wind bears no witness / for me.” It is serious, but neither maudlin nor preachy. It will make you pause, stop, and perchance think.

 

The last section, Belt In, Shut Up, Hang On, brought back some great memories, starting with “Clark’s Lotus Grabbing Air, “…Jimmy Clark’s Lotus grabbing air / over the jump at Nurburgring.” I saw him race his last race at der Hockenheimring. And who among us hasn’t read and enjoyed Mark Twain’s short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”? Peterson’s title, “The Completely Unheralded Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is almost as long as the laugh-out-loud poem. 

 

Red Solo Cup introduces us to Sweet Pea and Granddaddy in West Virginian Appalachians. It is a coming-of-age story of a young girl who must drive her Grandaddy through the mountains on narrow, twisty roads, chased by bigger trucks and less patient drivers. She’s scared, but her Granddaddy needs to see the doctor. She’s also a mountain girl. ‘Nuff said.

 

This book is a way of looking at the lemon’s life tosses us now and then, and instead of tasting only sour, he shows us how easy it is to celebrate life with humor. Some a tad dark, but all the humor is funny. I laughed out loud several times while reading. Even if you’re sure you wouldn’t like the poetry, that’s okay. Buy the book and just read the stories. But remember there is poetry and when that odd mood sits on your shoulders, try a poem or two. Poets are patient. Many are starving, so support your local poet, buy this book.

Sweeney --by Robert Julyan

Fiction / modern New Mexico

299 pages / 833 KB

5 Stars

This book was published by the University of New Mexico Press, and while I couldn't find it in the usual places, I did find it in AbeBooks.com, ISBN 10: 082635033X ISBN 13: 9780826350336–if you look in the usual places by author, not title, you'll probably find it. 

When I finally found my local library (about as easy to get to for me as falling off a log!) I asked the librarian for some ideas on local history. This is one of the books recommended, although it is fiction. Librarians are very special people. This book is marvelous!

It is the story of a fictional town, Sweeney, on the high plains of New Mexico, which like many other small towns, is dying. They young people are leaving as soon as they can for the life of the big cities, businesses have closed, people have moved. The die-hards want to bring the town back to life—or die trying. It is a marvelous story about the handful of people who set about performing CPR for this fun town. And I, for one, am glad it's fiction, or I would feel very badly that I moved to Albuquerque instead of Sweeney. (I love Albuquerque, and even finally learned to spell the name, but oh, I really love Sweeney. I think it's the New Mexican version of Camelot.)

In this well-told tale, you will meet Druids, nudists, a naked bull rider named Bare-assed Bob, Indians both real and not, and a whole bunch of the crazy citizens who make up the town. I laughed out loud on several occasions. It kind of reminded me of the movie, M*A*S*H, and the line about the only way to remain sane was to go insane. Well, "Crazy ideas are the only kind that work..." in Sweeney.

For a great fun read, find a copy of this book. I'm looking forward to reading more of his books.

Humor Me (Life Without a Field Guide Book 2) --by Lill Hawkins

Essay / Humor

119 pages / 2155 KB

5 Stars

After reading Funny You Should Ask, also by Lill Hawkins, I enjoyed it so much, I bought her next book, Humor Me. It's more of the same – short essays about the weirdness that surrounds her, from her dearly beloved, aka Geekdaddy, to Son and Daughter, aka Son and Daughter, and their adventures living in the backwoods of Maine.

I did manage to parse out the essays into a 2-sit read, but it wasn't easy. Her essays are short, and chocked full of humor. She makes Maine sound almost like a place I want to visit. Visit, not settle in.

Read the short excerpt at Amazon about Maine's seasons (I always thought they were Cold and Colder, but she actually talks about Summer and Autumn, snowfall and grilling.

Well worth the time and the cost. Buy it, read it, review it!

Funny You Should Ask (Life Without a Field Guide Book 1) --by Lill Hawkins

Nonfiction / Essays

128 pages / 2868 KB

Footnotes/Endnotes: None

Illustrations: None

Suitable for eReaders: Yes

5 Stars

I was asked to read this, and write an honest review. The book was free.

WARNING: This is a one-sit book. It brought to mind The Adventures of Stout Mama by Sibyl James, and Revenge of the Paste Eaters and Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs by Cheryl Peck.

A collection of short and humorous essays by a woman who holds a love-hate relationship with Maine (she loves the people, the weather can be iffy depending on the date), who home-schooled her children as a secularist (they are now in college, so she obviously did a good job), who lives with a husband as afraid of spiders as I am (she thinks they are nice and moves them to safe places away from him), and writes about some of the laugh-out-loud people and or experiences she and her family have had.

The title comes from the fact she home-schooled her children and often took Son and Daughter out during the day, and was forever being pelted with questions about why weren't they in school?

For a good time, don't call—buy this book! If you're thinking of home-schooling your kids, use this book as a primer on how to do it to get the best possible results. There are two more books out by Lill Hawkins in this series, which are now downloaded to my Kindle, so excuse me for cutting this short. I need a few more laughs today!

Abducticon --Alma Alexander

Abducticon —by Alma Alexander

Fiction / Science Fiction

199 Pages / 573 KB

5 Stars

No, that is NOT a typo in the title.

If you've ever been to a Science Fiction/Fantasy convention, 'con' to most people, you will love this book. If you've ever been involved in a con, either in setting one up, working one, or as a guest, you will recognize every single person Ms. Alexander writes abut. Perhaps not every single episode that happens, as, well, the entire con and the hotel, complete with mundane guests, is hijacked by time-traveling androids and taken for a ride around the moon.

Wouldn't that be a con to end all cons? And the reactions from the gamers? Absolutely priceless! Everything you could possibly want in a con is in this book, up to and including the replicators.

If you like cons, you will absitively posolutely LOVE this book. This is truly one of the funniest SF books I've read in years. Job well done, Alma Alexander!

Buy this book. Read this book. Review this book. 

Like the Moon

Like the Moon –by Mary Lewis Foote

Fiction / Humor

148 pages / 516 KB

5 Stars

I keep track of the books I read, and this is the 40th book I've read so far this year (2014) and also the 41st. Yes, I read it twice, and it truly was better the second time through as I knew what was going to happen.

Ms. Foote accomplished quite a feat in that she successful wrote in dialect, and carried it off beautifully. I've lived in the South, and traveled through the Carolinas many times, and the dialect brought back many fond memories. And while Hart County may be fictional, I swear I've been there.

Humor is difficult to write, and often seems forced. This story is a delight filled with chuckles, outright laughter, and a few sad and thoughtful places. The people are real, and are treated with respect. This is not put-down humor, but build-up humor.

As the book description says, it invites you to pull up a rocking chair and set a spell with some delightful people and listen to their stories. The story takes place in fictional Hart Country, North Carolina and is told by Lulu Quillen in her own inimitable style. The story centers around Willis Bone, Lulu and Red's neighbor, and his death and how his wife, Mattie Mae and their daughter Cherryldine, and his father, Old Man Bone settle the "estate" and keep on living.

While these people may live a hardscrabble life, their lives are filled with love and humor, collard greens and ham hocks, coon dogs, and Beethoven. Yes, Beethoven. The composer, not a kitchen hound (his name is Curtis). If you're a Yankee, it may take you a page or two to get into the dialect, but just relax, enjoy the ride, and get ready to smile and laugh out loud. 

This is the kind of book that, when you reach the end of it, you will feel better for having read it. And jolly well may be ready to start over again. I did.

Sex, Drugs, and, uh, Witchcraft

Witch Hill –by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Fiction / Horror? (could be Humor?)

188 Pages

2 Stars

There is something about Bradley's writing that usually sets my psychic teeth on edge, and so I haven't read many of her books, and few of those I started did I finish. Still, she has a solid reputation in the SF/F genre, and when I found this book on a recent trip, I figured I'd give her another try.

This time, I finished it, and over all, it was an okay read. But only an okay read. Whatever about her Darkover novels or Mists of Avalon that rang a discordant note in my psyche was not in Witch Hill. Alas, there wasn't a lot of anything else, either. I don't think it measured up to her capabilities or her normal writing.

There is a lot of sex in this book, germane to the story. While sex doesn't bother me, unless it's totally gratuitous and or sadistic, I'm not sure it added all that much. It felt like it was added at the last minute, without much, shall we say, fleshing out?

I found the book "jerky" – lacking smooth segues between scenes, sometimes no segues, smooth or otherwise. It read more like a rough draft than a polished novel. Thinking it may have been published posthumously, I checked – the book was published in 1990 and she died in 1999; however, Wikipedia says she suffered declining health for years, so that perchance played a part.

Sara Latimer is one of a long line of Sara Latimers, all Witches (not Wiccans, please do not confuse the two) who died violent deaths; however, she knows nothing of her father's side of the family. Her brother was killed in a military accident, her mother died on hearing the news, and her father died on the way home from the double funeral. While going through mail and bills, she discovers the ancestral home she knew nothing about in Backwoods New England exists, and someone wants to buy it. She, needing money, as well as a place to recoup the onslaught of sudden deaths, ventures forth to see first hand what she owns, and if she really wants to sell it or keep it.

Now, I know and understand all of us grieve differently; however, having lost my parents and other friends and family, some close together, others not so much, I found our heroine to be somewhat unbelievable. Another strike against the book. However, it IS a novel of drugs, sex, and, uh, witchcraft.

Arriving at the manse, she discovers she looks exactly like previous the Saras whose portraits hang on the walls. Many of the locals are sure she is the Witch, reincarnated. Some even fear her, like they feared her departed Aunt Sara who died 7 years prior and whom she not only did not know, but did not know of.

She meets the young Dr. Standish, and (of course) it's love at first sight for both of them. The only problem is the Coven wants her back--with her Aunt's memories and power. Oh, dear.

Hard times ahead as Sara must decide what she wants—the power of the Coven, or the love of a man. She can't have both. (Remember, this is fiction, and not about Wiccans!)