Promise Me, Dad ~ Joe Biden

Photo Rights: Hitha On The Go

In November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor fifteen months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. "Promise me, Dad," Beau had told his father. "Give me your word that no matter what happens, you’re going to be all right." Joe Biden gave him his word.

Promise Me, Dad chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s extraordinary life and career. Vice President Biden traveled more than a hundred thousand miles that year, across the world, dealing with crises in Ukraine, Central America, and Iraq. When a call came from New York, or Capitol Hill, or Kyiv, or Baghdad—“Joe, I need your help”—he responded. For twelve months, while Beau fought for and then lost his life, the vice president balanced the twin imperatives of living up to his responsibilities to his country and his responsibilities to his family. And never far away was the insistent and urgent question of whether he should seek the presidency in 2016.

The year brought real triumph and accomplishment, and wrenching pain. But even in the worst times, Biden was able to lean on the strength of his long, deep bonds with his family, on his faith, and on his deepening friendship with the man in the Oval Office, Barack Obama.

Writing with poignancy and immediacy, Joe Biden allows readers to feel the urgency of each moment, to experience the days when he felt unable to move forward as well as the days when he felt like he could not afford to stop.

This is a book written not just by the vice president, but by a father, grandfather, friend, and husband. Promise Me, Dad is a story of how family and friendships sustain us and how hope, purpose, and action can guide us through the pain of personal loss into the light of a new future.

Book Review:

I have been loving listening to audiobooks over the past couple of years. I go through different phases. Sometimes, they are all I want to listen to. I basically ignore music, podcasts, everything. However, the current phase that I am going through has been listening to memoirs by politicians. As you know, I listened to Hillary Clinton's newest memoir not that long ago, I have a review up on the blog for that as well. Therefore, when Joe Biden's newest one was on my recommendations page on audible, I decided to listen to it right away. 

If you want a memoir that is outlining Biden's political ideology and giving lots of details about why he made the political decisions that he did, and so on... this is not the book for you. Obviously, his political ideology comes up, but it is not the main focus of this memoir.  This story chronicles the year his son Beau dies from a rare brain cancer. This was the same year that Biden had to make a decision to or not to run for President 2016. Not only was he still doing his job as Vice President, dealing with the issues in the Ukraine and Iraq, etc; but he was also watching his son die, his grandchildren witness their father's demise, his children be the rocks for his son, and dealing with his own feelings because of that situation.

The story is heart-wrenching and inspiring at the same time. This man remained dedicated to his family but also even more committed to his country throughout the worst time of his life. He compartmentalized in the most extraordinary way possible. It's a talent, a necessary component of the life he leads, but a talent nonetheless. Needless to say, he inspired me. He made me believe in him as a person and as a politician in a way that I have never believed in another public figure before. He promised his son that he would be okay and although he will never be the same man he was when Beau was alive, he will be okay, possibly even better. 

Towards the end of the book, we learn why he chose not to run for President. We all knew some of the story from his announcement to not run, but he words it here in a way that he couldn't have at the time. He knew that he was unable to give his undivided attention to being President and all of the tasks that would come with that, he was still grieving. Although he remained a dedicated Vice President throughout the tragedy, he knew that he was unable to be President at this time. He gives me hope as he says these things, however. I believe that he will do amazing things for our country, as President one day or not. He still believes that our country has hope and that as a people we can do all of the things we need to in order to change the world. If he chooses to run for President in 2020, he has my vote. 

Favorite Quote:

"If the problem is fear than the answer is knowledge."

The Last Black Unicorn ~ Tiffany Haddish

From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself.

Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money—as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman—to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend.

None of that worked (and she’s still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy.

Tiffany can’t avoid being funny—it’s just who she is, whether she’s plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person’s mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name, she recounts with heart and humor how she came from nothing and nowhere to achieve her dreams by owning, sharing, and using her pain to heal others.

By turns hilarious, filthy, and brutally honest, The Last Black Unicorn shows the world who Tiffany Haddish really is—humble, grateful, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. And now, she’s ready to inspire others through the power of laughter.

Book Review:

I laughed every second of this audiobook! Even when Tiffany was discussing more serious issues she made them hilarious, but still managed to get the seriousness across. I loved how humble she remained throughout even though she had gained so much more "fame" whilst writing the novel. 

Prior to the movie Girls Trip, which is incredible and hilarious, Tiffany was a struggling comedian. She made a living doing what she loved but she was nowhere near "famous" or "rich;" however, she kept doing what she loved because that is all she ever did. Although the book is shorter than the others I have recently listened to, she chronicles her life from her poverty-stricken childhood to the adolescence she spent caring for her recovering yet belligerent mother, to her experiences with social services, her first experiences as an entertainer when she began  DJing bat mitzvahs, to finding her father and losing him, to very dramatic relationships, to pimping, to her first acting job, to meeting Will and Jada Smith during Girls Trip, and so on. She manages to give you the smallest of details and somehow make them seem to be more interesting than they really are. She picks on herself and also reminds the readers that if she could make it, so can they. 

If you are looking for a hilarious memoir to get you out of your reading slump, this is the book for you.

Pages: 288                                                                                                                           Rate: 5/5

Favorite Quote:

“You kill them with your success. Then they’ll have to kiss your motherfucking feet.”

Our Revolution: A Future To Believe In ~ Bernie Sanders

Throughout the Presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders galvanized voters with his progressive platform and vision for America. In the book, Sanders shares experiences from the campaign trail and outlines his ideas for continuing a political revolution to fight for a progressive economic, environmental, racial and social justice agenda that creates jobs, raises wages, protects the environment and provides health care for all.

Book Review:

I decided to pick up this audiobook knowing that I would agree with much of what was being said politically. During the 2016 Presidential Campaign, I was an avid supporter of Bernie. I agreed with the majority of his policies. I believe that he truly cares about the growth of the middle class and not the protection of the 1%. I also knew that he would make it his mission to protect the planet, lower the United States's carbon footprint, etc; all things that I believe to be important. However, what I did not pay much attention to during the campaign was how he developed these ideas. How these important issues became his values. 

I was pleased that he was narrating the book himself. For me, that always makes the audiobook much more interesting. It doesn't sound as though someone is just reading off of the page. You can actually sense the emotion of what he is saying. I was also pleased that Mark Ruffalo would be doing some of the reading himself. Ruffalo is another avid supporter of Bernie and of his ideas, so I knew that he would also be able to portray the emotion of the words. Both of their voices were really soothing and passionate. 

Learning more about Bernie's childhood was important. It developed his family values and demonstrated how he developed his ideas. It was also really interesting to learn about his early political career as that is something that I also did not pay much attention to during the campaign. I feel that those parts of his life really helped me understand his ideas and why he had such values that he was passionate about during the campaign. I won't be specific because I feel that that takes away much of the value of listening to or physically reading the book, which I avidly recommend. 

Pages: 464                                                                                                                                             Rate:5/5

Favorite Quote:

“This campaign was never just about electing a president of the United States—as enormously important as that was. This campaign was about transforming America. It was about the understanding that real change never takes place from the top on down. It always takes place from the bottom on up. It takes place when ordinary people, by the millions, are prepared to stand up and fight for justice."

Yes, Please ~ Amy Poehler

Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous, Yes Please is full of words to live by.

Book Review:

So, for those of you who do not know, I have been trying, for about a year now, to get into listening to audiobooks. I have tried multiple different genres, readers, authors, concepts, etcetera, but was never able to find what I liked. Recently, I tried giving audiobooks another shot by listening to comedian Amy Poehler's audiobook. I figured that if I was going to like any audiobook it  would be by a comedian and most likely a memoir. I've discovered, whilst reading memoirs, that I don't have to absorb every word that is written and I don't have to comprehend every little detail either. Whereas with other books, I do. And when I listen, there are many times where I catch myself zoning out. Therefore, I can't listen to any books where I need to pay attention to everything.  

Amy Poehler is hilarious, hands down! I'm not one to watch much stand-up comedy or any form of comedy for that matter, but any time that I do, it's Amy Poehler and other Saturday Night Live comedians. I loved that it was read by Amy Poehler because I think that it made it so much funnier and passionate. I kind of liked how there wasn't a necessary flow related to time. She didn't start by retelling the details of her birth and end with the last major event in her life. She kind of jumped around with different parts of her life that impacted the subject matter that she was talking about. I was especially fond of how she didn't hide the hard stuff from her readers either. She made a point to tell us all of the truth and not just the pretty, gift-wrapped aspects of her life.  

I found it so funny when other people's commentary was put in, Seth Myers, her mom and dad, etcetera. It seemed like I was sitting with them, having a cup of coffee, and listening to them tell me stories about before I knew them. It was incredible! 

Time: 7 hours 33 minutes                                                                                              Rate: 5/5

Favorite Quote:

“Saying “yes” doesn’t mean I don’t know how to say no, and saying “please” doesn’t mean I am waiting for permission.”  - People are always telling me that I do not know how to say "no," and if I am being honest, I've said it myself too. But I have come to the realization that I do know how, but for me, I would prefer to say "yes." It is so much easier. And saying "please" is just me being polite not me being submissive!

July 2016 TBR

I've started both of the books on this list, so hopefully, I will finish both of them.

The Secret Circle book 2 - fantasy

Yes Please - memoir