Two Books (2025)

Being housebound these past 6 years has presented some problems I never expected to encounter. One of the most challenging has been how to keep myself supplied with fresh reading material. Sue has, as with most things, made it very easy for me. She simply brings home 6 books at a time for me to choose from, in addition to reserving which I specifically request on line from the 3 different County Libraries near where we live. (Cabarrus, Iredell and Mecklenburg) Those books come from Municipal and County Libraries as far away as Louisiana! 

In addition to that she buys me books from the Discontinued pile. Some branches simply give them away. All in all I read about 2/3 of them. And many of those are out of print. Some real gems, as with Desi Arnaz's autobiography titled "A Book." His friends were always asking him when he was going to write a book, and so he did. 😀 That one sells for about $80 on line in poor condition, and much, much more in new condition. 

Anyway, here are 2 new books (2025) which I never would have picked, and didn't intend on reading, but turned out to be real gems. 

The first, "Concrete Dreamland" by Patrick Dougher, is a wild ride by an independent artist who actually went to my high school, James Madison in Brooklyn, in the early 1980's. It deals with his struggle to find his place in life amid much hardship. But, he prevails. And that's not a spoiler because the story isn't in the end, it's in how he got there. 

The next book, by Barry Diller, is about the author's life as the son of very wealthy and detached parents. If you read the screen credits on many of the films you see you will know his name. He pioneered, actually invented, the TV miniseries in the late 1970's. And he also brought the TV series "Star Trek" to the big screen. His struggles were with himself, trying to find out which "hat" fit him. He eventually became the President of Paramount Pictures. And once again that is not a spoiler because, just as with the first book, the story is in how he got there. 

And, today, in addition to 6 new books, Sue brought home 2 shopping bags filled with memoirs from the discard pile, which will keep me occupied for a few months!