11/30/10

I finished reading "Dietrich: The Story of a Star" by Leslie Frewin. She had an amazing career in Germany and the United States as an actress, her career entertaining the Allies in World War II as part of the USO, and her career on the stage in Los Vegas and Europe singing. But what was really amazing was her growing up in Germany before and during World War One and leaving in Berlin in the twenties. Great read.

I am now reading "Goin' Back to Memphis: A Century of Blues, Rock 'n' Roll and Glorious Soul" by James Dickerson and this is the story of a hundred years of Memphis, Tennessee being the center of musical innovation for American popular music. And the city and music rise and fall. This will be part of an issue I am planning to call "Music in Kansas City and Memphis." Should be cool.

I found a book today that I am planning to be part of an issue that I am planning to title "New Orleans and Jazz." The book I got is "Jazz Masters of New Orleans" by Martin Williams. I'm looking forward to reading it.

10/29/10

I have finish typing up issue 245, the "Hamburger History" that I was a favorite issue to write up and to type up. A delightful history lesson on food fashions and how they become.

I am now reading a book that has been in my collection for some years which will be perfect to complete issue 219 "Vixens." This book is "Dietrich: The Story of a Star" by Leslie Frewin and it is a really fascinating read.

11/28/10

I've started typing up issue 245 and once that issue and issue 244 are put online I can start to write up new issues. This is so delightful.

I finished reading "Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways" by Richard Carlin that tells then story of Moses Asch who in 1940 in New York City opened his tiny studio. Asch created Folkways Records to document and record all the sounds of his time. He believed that all sounds were equal and he and the collaborators did that until his death in 1986. It was then that Folkways became part of the Smithsonian Institution's collections and today Smithsonian's Folkways continues to honor Moses

Asch's policy. A very good read about the history of an independent label which will be reviewed in an issue about independent labels.

11/26/10

I felt so rotten yesterday and didn't feel like typing up an issue. So instead I cut out bookmarks and book cards. Cut out around one hundred and fifty book cards. I also redesigned the Bookview book card after deciding that the 2007 version needed to be updated. I like the new design.

Since I knew I had dialysis Friday morning I decided to stay awake and began to read a biography which will be part of a second issue entitled "The Showmen." The biography I began to read and was totally captivated by is "The Kid of Coney Island: Fred Thompson and the Rise of American Amusements" by Woody Register. At the turn of the 20th century Fred Thompson's entrepreneurial dive made him into an entertainment mogul who helped to define the popular culture of his day. Thompson's start was as the creator and promoter of carnival shows and world's fair, including Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. At Coney Island he built Luna Park which would influence amusement parks from 1903 to today. He built the legendary and mammoth Hippodrome Theater in Manhattan which put on fabulous shows. And he kept reinventing fun for adults until his death in 1920. He had a short life but he packed a lot of living in it!

For this issue "The Showmen" #2 I am planning to read and review the Walt Disney biography "Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination" by Neal Gabler. It should be a good issue about American pop culture history.

I am now reading "Bessie (revised and expanded)" by Chris Albertson and is the biography of the legendary Bessie Smith, known as the "Empress of the Blues." The definitive biography that debunks many of the myths that circulated after her untimely death in 1937. This book will be received in issue 209 "The Blues Legends."

Since I did not start typing up a new issue, I started it tonight and finished it tonight. Issue 244 is all done and has been sent to my iBook for review and posting on the Bookview web page. I really do like typing up the issue on my iPad and then transferring them. Just so damn neat.

What I didn't know I'd be doing when I bought my MacClassic 2 back in 1990!

11/25/10

I have three books lined up for reading which is kind of fun to have to read. As I have read a little of each, I know that I won't have any problem diving right into th.

I am currently reading "February House: The Story of W. H. Auden, Carson McCuller, Jane and Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee, Under One Roof In Wartime Time America" by Sherill Tippins which is the story of these talented people living together in a brownstone in New York City and the happenings that took place. I am planning to make this book part of an issue I am planning to title "Literary Lives in New York" which will include the following: "Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties" by Marion Meade, "American Moderns: Bohemia New York and THe Creation of a New Century" by Christine Stansell. and "Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s" by Ann Douglas. This should be a very interesting issue.

The other books I plan to read are: ""The Kid of Coney Island: Fred Thompson and the Rise of American Amusement" by Woody Register and "Three Chords for Beauty's Sale: The Life of Artie Shaw" by Tom Nolan.

I finished reading "Remembering Song: Encounters with the New Orleans Jazz Tradition" by Frederick Turner in which the author takes a backward look at New Orleans jazz from Buddy Bolden's rise and fall to Jim Robinson's life and funeral to the conflict that New Orleans has with dealing with its jazz history. I am planning to do an history of New Orleans and jazz and this book will be part of that issue.

There is a book out "75 Years of DC Comics" by Paul Levitz which looks incredibly fascinating. But it cost over $100 which means I'll have to wait on getting it. But II do have three books which I have read about DC Comics which I am planning to review for the same issue and later maybe I can add "75 Years of DC Comics to it. I'll just have to be patient and wait for the book.

11/23/10

I finished reading to very good and very fascinating books about the history of American music, "Goin to Kansas City" by Nathan W. by Nathan W. Pearson which is an invaluable tool for understand why Kanas City was called the "Paris of the West" as he interviewed so many of the jazz musicians at the end of their lives. The Other book I finished reading was "Memphis Beat: The Lives and Times of America's Musical Crossroads" by Larry Nager who chronicles how Memphis became America's musical crossroads and became an important part of the many musical trends that have become part of American pop culture.

The book I am reading now is "Remembering Song: Encounters with the New Orleans Jazz Tradition (expanded edition) by Frederick Turner in which the author looks back at the formation of jazz in New Orleans. It looks to be a delightful read.

I am going to reviews all three books in the same issue and it should be a delightful issue.

I finished typing up issue 243 on my iPad tonight and have sent it to my iBook to be checked and then put on the Bookview web page. Tomorrow I'll begin typing up issue 244. Doing great!

11/22/10

I am now typing out the reviews I wrote for issue #243 and am having a delightful time doing it. After #243 I have two more issues to type up and I can then go to writing reviews for new issues. But I will be up-to-date with new reviews online that can be read by all. Very pleasing.

While typing up the issues I have been reading to books about the musical history of Memphis and Kansas City which I am planning to put together in the same issue. I love reading about the history of American music. It is a very fascinating subject!

The two books I am reading are: "Goin' to Kansas City" by Nathan W. Pearson, Jr. and published in 1987. Through interviews (with many of the legendary K. C. musicians still alive at that time) and narrative comments Pearson chronicles the rise and the decline of jazz in Kansas City. He chronicles the going on in the black section of K. C. where the clubs were and how the success of jazz in K. C. was due to the underworld. And through the various interviews he explains just what the "KC jazz style" is. A very good book about a time long gone and almost forgotten. And the other book I am reading is "Memphis Beat: The Lives and Times of America's Crossroads" by Larry Nager in which the author chronicles what a great cultural mixing board of music Memphis was. Where the black and white folk met and did musical for more than two centuries. From the plantation days, to the frontier days, to blues and country, to rock-and-roll and the legends that were made with the music. Both great reads about American music.

11/21/10

I feel good. And that is because using my iPad I typed up the three reviews that make up issue 246. I got done typing it up today and then sent it to my iBook to prepare it for the Bookview web page and I loaded it. I will now type up the other issues I wrote up and then I will began writing reviews again. All this does make me feel good!

11/20/10

So today I went up to KCMO to the Barnes & Noble on the Country Club Plaza to attend a book signing by David A. F. Sweet for his book "Lamar Hunt: The Gentle Giant Who Revolutionized Professional Sports." The legendary Lamar Hunt, using the Hunt fortune founded the American Football League (AFL) which later merged with the NFL and revitalized professional football. Hunt founded the Kansas City Chiefs. He also promoted professional soccer and pro tennis. I got the book and got it signed. This should be a good read.

And while at the B&N I put out twenty Bookview cards. I then went over the Toy and Miniature Museum and put out fifty Bookview cards. Did good today.

11/19/10

I started reading a biography of Cary Grant last night, "Cary Grant" by Richard Schickel, and I found it to be a very good read. And today I finished reading it. Richard Schickel is a very good biographer who I had the pleasure of meeting years ago.

I am now reading the latest biography of Jacques Cousteau that was published back in 2009. I have read two other biographies of Jacques Cousteau, one published back in the 1980s and the other published back in the 1990s. I am planning to review all three together and put in the same issue. The biography I am reading is "Jacques Costeau: The Sea King" by Brad Matsen.

I redesigned the Bookview card and printed up 100 of them which I am hoping to put out. I decided that after having the design for four years it needed to be updated. I see how I like it.

11/18/10

I finished reading "Chilies to Chocolate: Food the Americas Gave the World" edited by Nelson Foster & Linda S. Cordell and the essays in the book were a most compelling read. The essays cover the history of corn, New World beans, chilie peppers, chocolate, amaranth, vanilla, and quinoa.. A most enlightening read.

11/17/10

I designed a new Bookview bookmark master sheet that gives me on a 8x11 sheet two 4x6 cards and three bookmarks. And so today on three hundred sheets of white card stock paper I made 600 4x6 cards and 900 bookmarks. That should be enough for now. I also printed up Bookview bookmarks on the original master (10 a sheet) on three hundred sheets of white card stock for 3,000 bookmarks. All this should be enough for some time.

Some years ago I read the book "Copies In Seconds" by and quite frankly I am still amazed at the photocopying technology. It really has been invaluable to me.

My reading has gone well today as I finished reading two books. I finished reading "Black Magic: A Pictorial History of the Negro in American Entertainment" by Langston Hughes & Milton and it was a very good read that covered a lot of ground from plantation entertainment in the southern United States to the 1960s and the entertainment provided by blacks. A very well researched and written book. The other book I finished reading was "The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World" by Larry Zimmerman in which the author chronicles the conditions that the Europeans lived under and how this led to the dramatic impact that the potato had. Quite a read.

I am now reading "Chilies to Chocolate: Food the Americas Gave the World" edited by Nelson Foster & Linda S. Cordell that contains essays about the history of certain New World foods and their impact on the peoples of the Old World. Each essay, by a different author, is quite fascinating.

11/16/10

Thanks to Marion Meade and her excellent biography "Lonelyhearts: The Screwball World of Nathanel West and Eileen McKenney" I became fascinated with Nathanel West and began to look for a biography of West. I found one, "Nathanel West: The Art of His Life" by Jay Martin, ordered it and it came today. I am looking forward to reading and reviewing it.

11/15/10

You cannot imagine my delight when I found the book "Black Magic: A Pictorial History of the Negro in American Entertainment" by Langston Hughes & Milton Meltzer published back in the sixties this book chronicles the history of African-American entertainers beginning with the slave musicians to minstrels to T. O. B. A. to jazz to Broadway to movies and television to music of the sixties. Just a fascinating read that I am truly enjoying. This book will be reviewed with others about African-American history. A true treasure!

11/14/10

I had a good and productive day today. Most delightful.

I mailed off the four sets of bookmarks to conventions. They'll go out tomorrow but I just wanted to get the 400 bookmarks on their way.

I finally got over to KU's Watson Library where I put out 100 bookmarks. Took me long enough!

I then went over to Half Price Books and got three books related to my fascination and passion for food history. The books I got are: "The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World" by Larry Zimmerman in which the author describes the origins of the potato in the Andes and how it came to the Old World and how in four centuries has become a dominate crop worldwide and has changed society in economics and culture. It is a very good read. The other book is "A Moveable Feast: Ten Millennia of Food Globalization" by Kenneth F. Kiple in which the author chronicles how humanity went from being hunter-gathers and established agriculture and the domestication of animals which changed everything and how we are continuing this change for good or ill. It looks to be an interesting read. The other food history book I got is "Chilies to Chocolate: Food the Americas Gave the World" edited by Nelson Foster & Linda S. Cordell that focuses on certain plants cultivated by indigenous peoples of the Americas that went to the Europe and had a dramatic impact on the lives of the peoples of the Old World.

I do love food history to read about! And I am looking forward to reviewing these and sharing the books with others.

11/13/10

I had a rough night last night. Don't know why, just felt bad. And so I stayed up and cut bookmarks and stuffed envelopes. What I did was finally prepare the last four envelopes which will be sent to conventions. Each convention will receive 100 bookmarks. With all the illnesses f have had lately I am really surprised that I finally got it all done. But I am very glad that I did!

I finished reading a most fascinating book about food history. Something I really do like to read about. The book is "Apples: The Story of the Fruit of Temptation" by Frank Browning and is the story of the origins of the fruit where bit originated, how it has become commercially grown and limited in varieties, the return of ciders, and the work of the apple germ-plasm repository in Geneva, New York. A very good read.

11/11/10

What a day today was! For Veteran's Day I went up to the Liberty Memorial in KCMO to hear a lecture about General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing. It was a good lecture. And while at the Liberty Memorial I had the chance to put out bookmarks and I did. In the gift shop I put out fifty bookmarks and at the ticket/information desk I put out fifty bookmarks.

After that I drove over to the Penn Valley Community College campus and in their library I went and put out one hundred bookmarks. Next came a trip over to the Waldo Branch of the KCMO library system where I put out fifty bookmarks.

To end the KCMO trip I went over to Half Price Books in Westport and got a delightful book. The book I got is yet another book about food history. And of all the areas of history that fascinate me, the history of food is truly the most fascinating. The book I got is "Apples: The Story of the Fruit of Temptation" by Frank Browning and is the story of the origins of the fruit where bit originated, how it has become commercially grown and limited in varieties, the return of ciders, and the work of the apple germ-plasm repository in Geneva, New York

11/9/10

I was very excited tonight as I went over to KU's Student Union's Alderson Auditorium for a very special event in regard to science fiction. This was the showing of the documentary "Charles Beaumont : The Short Life of "Twilight Zone's Magic Man" made in 2010. The late Charles Beaumont wrote more scripts for The Twilight Zone than any other writer and many of those episodes have held up very well and are still very good to watch. He also wrote fiction and science fiction. For the showing of this documentary was the documentary producer Jason V. Brock and the writer William F. Nolan!

Back in the seventies when I was into reading science fiction William F. Nolan was one of the writer's that I delighted in reading. And for Bookview I reviewed two of his non-fiction biographies. For me, at least, I was very excited by this event.

And so I assumed that there would be others there too for this event and so happily I put out fifty bookmarks. A very small number of people showed up for this event and none of my bookmarks were taken. I was sad by the lack of audience for this unique event, but I had a wonderful time. I finally got to meet William F. Nolan. I never thought that I would have the chance to meet this writer. That was very special. And as for the bookmarks, I'll put them out some place else. A lot missed a wonderful event with remembrances, Q&A, a book signing, one-on-one chance to talk to Nolan and Brock, and the watching of very good documentary.

11/7/10

I finished reading is: "Gangsters & Gold Diggers: Old New York, The Jazz Age, and the Birth of Broadway" by Jerome Charyn which was a very good read that explained how the unique time called the Roaring Twenties came to be in NYC.

11/5/10

Way back in 1976 I got and read a book in paperback format entitled "Lucy & Ricky&Fred&Ethel: The Story of 'I Love Lucy' " by Bart Andrews which chronicled the history of the show and it's impact on society. It was a nice read. So imagine my surprise when, today, on the clearance shelves at Half Price Books I saw a hardcover edition of that book. Needless to say I bought it and proceeded to read it again. It was still a fun read! I am now planning to review the book and make it part of an issue about the history of television. It should make for a good issue.

I finished reading a good book today. This book was "Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson" by Alan Pell Crawford which is the story of Jefferson's dream of Monticello and his impractical dreams that followed the building of the house and it's fate after his death. A sad but compelling story.

I finally got around to ordering a new ink cartridge for my printer. I will soon be able to complete the printing of bookmarks on the card stock paper I have. I am really delighted in having the bookmarks to pro note my web site. They are very effective.

11/4/10

I'm feeling much better today. I finally seem to be recovering from my bout of illness that put me into the hospital and having surgery. Can't bounce back like I used too.

Felt well enough to put together three sets of bookmarks for November conventions that I sent out today.

Coming to the KCMO library Monday is the novelist Joyce Carol Oates. Although I don't know I'll be attending, I found a biography about her that was published back in the 1990s and I bought it. So I am now reading "Invisible Writer: A Biography of Joyce Carol Oates and it is an interesting read so far. I'll decide later if I want to attend her talk and signing.

11/3/10

I have always been fascinated by Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain. His life was one of struggle and triumphs and that all started from his birth in Florida, Missouri. Samuel Clemens should not had survived his birth, but amazingly he did. And then came the Clemens family moved to Hannibal, Missouri which was probably the most important event in the boy's life. And then came the death of his father, his becoming a printer's devil at the local newspaper, his time as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi, and then his travels to Nevada which led to the career that would make him the legend not only in his time but also in our time. Writer and lecturer. And l so failed businessman.

I have already put together two Mark Twain issues and now I am planning to put together a third Mark Twain issue. For this issue I am going to review two books about the beginnings of his literary career when he went from being "Samuel Clemens" and became "Mark Twain." The other two books i am planning to review are about the last years of the life of Mark Twain. I have already read the two biographies of the star of his literary career and now I have the two boos which chronicle the last years of his life.

Those books I got today and they are: "Mark Twain: Man in White: The Grand Adventure of His Final Years" Michael and "Dangerous Intimacy: The Untold Story of Mark Twain's Final Years" by Karen Lystra both which should be fascinating reads.

11/2/10

Due to the cost I had been thinking of discontinuing the mailing out of bookmarks sets to libraries throughout the United States. But after much thought I realized that that would be a mistake. So beginning next year instead of sending out thirty sets a month I will just be sending out twenty sets a month. Sending out bookmarks to libraries I'll never have a chance to actually visit is an efficient way to bring attention to my web site.

On a lighter note I found a book in my collection that I had forgotten I had that I am so delighted to have found as it fits the issue I want to put together perfectly. The book I found is: "Gangsters & Gold Diggers: Old New York, The Jazz Age, and the Birth of Broadway" by Jerome Charyn which will go with the other books I have about New York City in the 1920s. It should be a good issue.

11/1/10

I got released from the hospital today with my right arm in a sling. Still feel like crap although my color is much better. Now all I need to be is pain free! It does feel good to be out of the hospital having been treated for my health problems.

I'm still reading "The Last Titan: A Life of Theodore Dressier" by Jerome Loving and it is going slowly. I think mostly because of the way I'm feeling.

(c) copyrighr 2010 by William Tienken