Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin

Summary:
Official Book Club Selection is Kathy Griffin unplugged, uncensored, and unafraid to dish about what really happens on the road, away from the cameras, and at the star party after the show. (It's also her big chance to score that coveted book club endorsement she's always wanted. Are you there, Oprah? It's me, Kathy.)

Kathy Griffin has won Emmys for her reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, been nominated for a Grammy, worked and walked every red carpet known to man, and rung in the New Year with Anderson Cooper. But the legions of fans who pack Kathy's sold-out comedy shows have heard only part of her remarkable story. Writing with her trademark wit, the feisty comic settles a few old scores, celebrates the friends and mentors who helped her claw her way to the top, and shares insider gossip about celebrity behavior–the good, the bad, and the very ugly. She recounts the crazy ups and downs of her own career and introduces us to some of the supertalented people she encountered before they got famous (or, in some cases, after fame went to their heads). Word to the wise: If you've ever crossed Kathy Griffin at some point in your life, check the index for your name.

Along the way, Kathy reveals intimate details about her life before and after she made the big time. She opens up about everything from growing up with a dysfunctional family in suburban Illinois to bombing as a young comedian in L.A., from her well-publicized plastic surgery disasters to her highly publicized divorce, and more. Only in this book will you learn how the dinner table is the best training ground for a career in stand-up, how speaking your mind can bite you on the ass and buy you a house, and which people in Kathy's life have taught her the most valuable lessons–both inside and outside the entertainment industry. And as if all that wasn't enough, there are also dozens of exclusive and somewhat embarrassing photos from Kathy's own collection–featuring the diva of the D List herself, with her old nose as well as her new one, plus celebrity friends, foes, frenemies, and hangers-on for you to gawk at.

Refreshingly candid, unflinchingly honest, and full of hilarious "Did she really say that?" moments, Official Book Club Selection will make you laugh until you cry, or just puke up a little bit. (From GoodReads)

Review:
Kathy Griffin is one of my favorite celebrities. I think she's hilarious and I absolutely love her reality TV show My Life on the D-List. She always gets put into crazy situations and comes up with the funniest things to say and do in response.

Her book is similar to the show. I recognized some of the stories and events because I had seen them on tv. But there was a lot of new information, particularly about her childhood and how she started out in show business. Some of the stuff is not pretty, especially about her oldest brother Kenny. But it's all super interesting and of course Kathy adds her humor to all the stories.

What I loved about Official Book Club Selection is that I could hear Kathy's voice throughout the entire narration. I'm sure she had a ghostwriter to help her, but I could tell that a lot of it was Kathy's writing too. I enjoyed getting all the celebrity gossip and on her relationships with certain actors. I never knew Kathy was close to Brooke Shields or Jerry Seinfeld. The only thing I didn't like was a whole chapter dedicated between her and Steve Wozniak. I flew through the whole book but that chapter ground the reading to a halt.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Kathy Griffin. She's really crude and brash so if that's not your cup of tea then don't read this book - you probably won't like it. But for people who know and like Kathy, make sure you pick up this book if you haven't already!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
FTC: bought

2009/Ballatine Books/348 pages.

An Atheist in the FOXhole: A Liberal's Eight Year Odyssey Inside the Heart of the Right-Wing Media by Joe Muto

Summary:
The "Fox Mole" - whose dispatches for Gawker made headlines in Businessweek, The Hollywood Reporter, and even on The New York Times website—delivers a funny, opinionated memoir of his eight years at the Fox News Channel working as an associate producer for Bill O'Reilly.

Imagine needing to hide your true beliefs just to keep a job you hated. Now imagine your job was producing the biggest show on the biggest cable news channel in America, and you’ll get a sense of what life was like for Joe Muto. As a self-professed bleeding-heart, godless liberal, Joe’s viewpoints clearly didn’t mesh with his employer—especially his direct supervisor, Bill O’Reilly.

So he did what any ambitious, career-driven person would do. He destroyed his career, spectacularly. He became Gawker’s so-called Fox Mole.

Joe’s posts on Gawker garnered more than 2.5 million hits in one week. He released footage and information that Fox News never wanted exposed, including some extremely unflattering footage of Mitt Romney. The dragnet closed around him quickly—he was fired within thirty-six hours—so his best material never made it online. Unfortunate for his career as the Fox Mole, but a treasure trove for book readers.

An Atheist in the FOXhole has everything that liberals and Fox haters could desire: details about how Fox’s right-wing ideology is promoted throughout the channel; why specific angles and personalities are the only ones broadcasted; the bizarre stories Fox anchors actually believed (and passed on to the public); and tales of behind-the-scenes mayhem and mistakes, all part of reporting Fox’s version of the news. (from GoodReads)

Review:
I followed the Fox mole story on Gawker over a year ago and I've been waiting ever since for this book to be published. I always wondered what it would be like to work for an organization whose values are not your own - and now I get a firsthand account. I was surprised that much of the book isn't ideological, but rather stories on how a television empire is produced.

I firmly believe that anyone can enjoy An Atheist in a FOXhole, regardless of your political beliefs. The book is more about our intrepid storyteller's life mixed with anecdotes and explanations of how Fox works. I was fascinated by how a television channel is run and what makes Fox different. It's definitely a team effort and since TV is so fast-paced, the work is often done seconds before it's aired live. The most interesting thing was that Fox used videotapes for everything up until a few years ago. For an organization that makes so much money you'd think they would have top of the line equipment.

I still think it's so crazy that Joe Muto worked for Bill O'Reilly - whether you like him or not, The O'Reilly Factor is the number one cable news show. That's pretty cool that our author was one of the people who pitched ideas and stories to O'Reilly and directly influenced what was on his show each  night.

You can tell that Joe Muto has some writing experience, especially since he's able to weave together the narration of the past and "present day," which is when he was caught at the mole. Some of his writing is a little over-the-top but I was still surprised that he was able to remember so many stories and encounters while working at Fox.

Honestly, if you're interested in tv or film and want to know how the inside is run, you should definitely check out this book. It's so fascinating and you get a pretty great story on top of it.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from the library

2013/Dutton/323 pages

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Summary:
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

At the time of Frankl's death in 1997, Man's Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey for the Library of Congress that asked readers to name a "book that made a difference in your life" found Man's Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America. (from GoodReads)

Review:
I am required to read Man's Search for Meaning for my Counseling Psych class and I'm really glad I was forced to. A few months ago I read an NPR article on this book and the psychiatrist who wrote it, but never thought I would actually read this book. For those interested in the Holocaust and/or the meaning of life, then this is the book for you!

What's really nice about Man's Search for Meaning that it's very short and to the point. Most the book is Frankl's Holocaust memoirs and I thought that was the most interesting part. It just reinforced the horror I already feel when I think about that terrible time in human history. I was so impressed and frankly shocked at  how Frankl survived the concentration camps - and by how he kept his spirits up. He didn't get into it much in this book, but apparently he would counsel the other inmates and try to give them hope. What a hero.

Frankl's counseling theory, logotherapy, is very interesting and easy to understand, even for laypeople. Basically it's a form of therapy that encourages the client to find meaning in their life and in their suffering. It emphasizes the importance of attitude and the way in which you view a situation can change everything. In addition, he discusses the technique of "paradoxical intention" in which a client faces his or her fears in order to get rid of anxiety. A simple example would be if you have insomnia, you should try to stay awake, then you will fall asleep. If you try to sleep, then it will never happen. I'm sure everyone can relate to this!

Overall, I'm very pleased my professor assigned this book! As a psychology major, I find this to be extremely enlightening. I can relate a lot to Frankl's theory and it would definitely be something I could see myself using in my own life. For those interested in psych or the Holocaust or the human condition, I whole-heartedly recommend Man's Search for Meaning.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: bought.

1946/Washington Square Press/214 pages.

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose

Summary:
As a sophomore at Brown University, Kevin Roose didn't have much contact with the Religious Right. Raised in a secular home by staunchly liberal parents, he fit right in with Brown's sweatshop-protesting, fair-trade coffee-drinking, God-ambivalent student body. So when he had a chance encounter with a group of students from Liberty University, a conservative Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia, he found himself staring across a massive culture gap. But rather than brush the Liberty students off, Roose decided to do something much bolder: he became one of them.

Liberty University is the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's proudest accomplishment - a 10,000-student conservative Christian training ground. At Liberty, students (who call themselves "Champions for Christ") take classes like Introduction to Youth Ministry and Evangelism 101. They hear from guest speakers like Mike Huckabee and Karl Rove, they pray before every class, and they follow a 46-page code of conduct called "The Liberty Way" that prohibits drinking, smoking, R-rated movies, contact with the opposite sex, and witchcraft. Armed with an open mind and a reporter's notebook, Roose dives into life at Bible Boot Camp with the goal of connecting with his evangelical peers by experiencing their world first-hand.

Roose's semester at Liberty takes him to church, class, and choir practice at Rev. Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church. He visits a support group for recovering masturbation addicts, goes to an evangelical hip-hop concert, and participates in a spring break mission trip to Daytona Beach, where he learns how to convert bar-hopping co-eds to Christianity. Roose struggles with his own faith throughout, and in a twist that could only have been engineered by a higher power, he conducts what would turn out to be the last in-depth interview of Rev. Falwell's life. Hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking, Kevin Roose's embedded report from the front lines of the culture war will inspire and entertain believers and non-believers alike. (from GoodReads)

Review:
When I first stumbled upon this book on Amazon, I was extremely intrigued. Just by reading the synopsis, I felt a connection with the author right away. We're both sophomores in college and we were raised very similarly and have similar beliefs. Since I'm not very religious, religion fascinates me so I knew I would like The Unlikely Disciple.

I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but The Unlikely Disciple read just like a fictional story or novel. I could not put this book down. It was extremely engaging and I wanted to know what happened next. I also thought it was very thought-provoking and I loved that Kevin was able to remain open-minded and respectful of religion during his entire semester at Liberty. I hope that I could be as open-minded as he was if I was ever put in a different culture, so to speak.

I liked that Kevin tried to bridge the gap between the two cultures of Evangelical Christians and non-Evangelical Christians. He was able to show that you can still get along with and still like people that have different beliefs and opinion. A lot of the people met at Liberty were extremely nice and friendly, a lot friendlier than the people at my school it seems.

Kevin was able to go to Liberty without sacrificing his own beliefs as well. He didn't like the overt homophobia that could be found there and never justified other people's prejudiced opinions. Liberty seems like a nice university, but I could never go to a school where everyone is expected to believe the same things and classes are taught with one set of beliefts in mind.

Overall, The Unlikely Disciple was interesting, funny, thought-provoking, introspective, and engaging. I would suggest that everyone read it because it really is a great book.

Rating: 10 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library.

2009/Grand Central Publishing/324 pages.

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

Sports columnist Mitch Albom has found success and popularity in his occupation, but emotionally and spiritually he is bankrupt. While watching television one night, he comes across an episode of the news show Nightline and learns that his former professor Morrie Schwartz is battling ALS. At first, Mitch is reluctant to pay his former mentor a visit, since, at his graduation ceremony, Mitch promised to remain in contact with Morrie but failed to make good on that promise. Mitch eventually overcomes his uneasiness and, to his surprise, finds a very warm welcome from Morrie. The two begin to discuss the issues of happiness, life, and death, and they soon begin to meet on a weekly basis as Mitch reassumes the role of Morrie's student.
(Taken from Fandango)

This book is so sad. And I'll admit it: I cried. But it's still a really good book and one that I think everyone should read. Seriously, though, I think Tuesdays With Morrie changed my life. It's all about learning what's important in life, which not your job or making a lot of money, contrary to popular belief. Morrie preaches that it's about finding a purpose and being with your family and learning to love people. When reading about Morrie, I wanted to meet him. He seemed so sweet and nice and wise, which made the story even more sad. I feel like he holds this key to happiness and everything he says is so simple, but no one follows it. Everyone is concerned about themselves and making money, and don't take time to appreciate the little things. In short, if you want a life-changing story, I definitely recommend reading Tuesdays With Morrie.

7 out of 10.