The Book of Brad - Monica Elizabeth Bauer

Sub-title: A comic novel about finding family

This book was a happy serendipity!  I attended the Tucson Festival of the Book and saw this book at one of the stalls.  My brother is a "Brad" and I wanted a picture of the cover.  To my delight, the author, Monica, shared that she was an adoptee who had found out she had over 50% Jewish heritage.  She had met her biological family and embraced her new found relatives.  Monica is a playwright and chose to write a book about her discovery.  But this is a different genetic genealogy story!  

Monica created a rabbi named Brad.  He's a very progressive rabbi to the Hollywood stars whose written a bestseller "The Book of Brad" to share his philosophy.  We're introduced to him just before his untimely demise while at the same time meeting his previously unknown biological daughter.  The book shares chapters from Brad's book as his daughter attempts to connect with her newly found biological family, thanks to her DNA test.  

At its heart, it's a story of the family we know, the family we find, and the family we chose. However, it's a first on the topic of DNA discoveries that tells the story in a snarky, tongue-in-cheek style that had me laughing out loud.  It was a treat to find a familiar topic with a refreshingly new twist!

You can get your own copy here: The Book of Brad: A comic novel about finding family

Published: 2023  Read: March 2024 Genre: Fiction

A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore

I've read other books by this author and enjoy his sharp witted dialogue and quirky characters.  In this novel, the hero, a Beta-Male named Charles Asher, is given the job of Death Merchant, responsible for collecting the souls of the recently departed.  The absurd and zany adventures was a great escape for a few nights of reading.  There's a sub-text of how we deal with the loss of loved ones and our fear of death.  

Quotes:

"[Talking about his Mom dying with his sister] You're doing the same thing, trying to reconcile all the moms that Mom ever was - the one you wanted, the one she was when you needed her and she was there, the one she was when she didn't understand.  Most of us don't live our lives with one, integrated self that meets the world, we're a whole bunch of selves.  When someone dies, they all integrate into the soul - the essence of who we are, beyond the different face we wear throughout our lives."

"I've seen it again and again, said Charlie, more with men than women...a wife or husband dies, and it's like the survivor is roped to him like a mountain climber who's fallen into a crevasse.  If the survivor can't let go--cut them loose, I guess--the dead will drag them right into the grave."

Published: 2006  Read: December 2022  Genre: Fiction 

 

Born a Crime - Trevor Noah

Subtitle: Stories from a South African Childhood

Read this on my Kindle Voyage I bought a couple of years ago and hadn't tried out.  With the upgraded software I liked the reading experience, though I need a better case.

The book was for one of my book clubs and I really enjoyed it.  It started sort of amateurish but got better a few chapters in.  I knew nothing of Trevor before reading his story and came away thoroughly impressed.  I watched his stand up comedy routine on Netflix.  Really thoughtful, intelligent and funny guy.

I bookmarked a bunch of quotes and Kindle is supposed to email them to me and I haven't figured that out so I'll add them when I do.

Published: 2018  Read: March 2019  Genre: Autobiography

There's A (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going To Hell - Laurie Notaro

I love this girl.  She is so darn funny and smart and a great writer.  This was her first fiction novel, according to the cover; she'd done several Idiot Girl books before this one.  It's obviously based on her move to Oregon.  Maye, moves with her husband, Charlie, to a small town in Washington where she can't seem to make a single friend.  She decides to run for Sewer Pipe Queen and enlists a prior stellar winner, Ruby, to be her coach.  All the usual Lori craziness ensues.  Fun read.

Published:  2007  Read: June 2018  Genre: Fiction