Tag: Auto Biography

Review: Remember the Sweet Things One List, Two Lives and 20 Years of Marriage by Ellen Greene.

Posted February 12, 2009 by Rowena in Reviews | 11 Comments


Grade: 4.5 out of 5

For twenty years, Ellen Greene kept a running list of the thoughtful, funny, touching things that her husband, Marsh, said and did. She wrote them down secretly, then shared those thoughts with him every Valentine’s Day when he would find pages from her “Sweet Things List” tucked inside a card.

Married and divorced at a young age, Greene raised two small children alone. After another failed relationship in her late thirties, she swore she’d never again subject herself or her kids to men who treated them poorly. Then she met Marsh Greene.

In this beautiful tribute to a man and a marriage, Greene intersperses selections from her “Sweet Things List” with recollections from their years together. Written with grace and candor, Remember the Sweet Things captures the kindness, sharing, humor, and affection that defined the Greenes’ marriage, and encourages us to acknowledge the goodness in our own lives and relationships.

I sat down to read this book and finished it all in one night. It reminded me of my grandmother and how when we were younger, my younger brother Pete and I would sit around the kitchen table and listen to her stories of the islands. Now, my grandmother wasn’t exactly colorful with her words but for us, it was still pretty damn cool to listen to Grandma wax on about how she was in her younger years and how she met Grandpa and all of the cool things that they used to get into.

It was pretty cool to read through this book and to see the kinds of relationships that Ellen had before she met Marsh. To see the woman that Ellen was before she met Marsh, the kind of woman that Ellen wanted to be, the kind of Mom that Ellen wanted to be and then to see the confidence that being with Marsh brought her was very poignant and just kind of got you right in your heart. I loved reading about how they met, how they grew from boss and employee to friends and then to everything else. Their courtship was so cute and then the marriage proposal, all of it was just so good.

This book is about a real life happy ending, the ups and the downs that come with it and the strength and beauty of being in love. Marsh was a really great person to read about and Ellen was so lucky to have him. After I read the book, I was in tears because this was such a great tribute to a wonderful husband, from a wife who was thankful to have had him in her life. The way that Marsh made Ellen want to be a better person, the way that he loved her was sweeter than anything I could ever hope for.

I really enjoyed reading this book and am so glad that I gave it a shot. It’s not a fictional romance but it’s romance…at it’s best. I’m thinking that this would be the perfect book for anyone who wants to read about a couple who loved each other and about a wife who loved her husband so much that she kept a list going of the sweet things that he did for her. Whether it was helping her son with his Math homework and then telling him that it was his pleasure to help him or wrapping her handlebars on her bike to fix her grip, if she thought it was sweet, it went onto her list. This one of those books that will make you appreciate the little things in your relationships and make you celebrate them. This is a real gem of a book and I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something sweet…if you’re that person then leave a comment on this review and I’ll choose a random commenter to win a free copy of this book.

This book is available from Harper Luxe. You can buy it here.


Tagged: , , , , , ,

Review: sTORI Telling by Tori Spelling

Posted April 1, 2008 by Casee in Reviews | 7 Comments

Review: sTORI Telling by Tori SpellingReviewer: Casee
STORI Telling by Tori Spelling, Hilary Liftin

Publication Date: February 24th 2009
Pages: 288
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars

The star of Beverly Hills 90210 offers a hilarious, insightful memoir about growing up on America’s favorite teen drama and her life after the show.

She was television's most famous virgin -- and, as Aaron Spelling's daughter, arguably its most famous case of nepotism. Portraying Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210, Tori Spelling became one of the most recognizable young actresses of her generation, with a not-so-private personal life every bit as fascinating as her character's exploits. Yet years later the name Tori Spelling too often closed -- and sometimes slammed -- the same doors it had opened.

sTORI telling is Tori's chance to finally tell her side of the tabloid-worthy life she's led, and she talks about it all: her decadent childhood birthday parties, her nose job, her fairy-tale wedding to the wrong man, her so-called feud with her mother. Tori has already revealed her flair for brilliant, self-effacing satire on her VH1 show So NoTORIous and Oxygen's Tori & Dean: Inn Love, but her memoir goes deeper, into the real life behind the rumors: her complicated relationship with her parents; her struggles as an actress after 90210; her accident-prone love life; and, ultimately, her quest to define herself on her own terms.

From her over-the-top first wedding to finding new love to her much-publicized -- and misunderstood -- "disinheritance," sTORI telling is a juicy, eye-opening, enthralling look at what it really means to be Tori Spelling.

I was (and still am) a huuuuuge 90210 fangirl. I’ve seen every single episode at least twice. I used to dvr reruns on SoapNet. Then I started watching Tori & Dean: Inn Love. As a celebrity gossip junky, I was fascinated by the Tori Spelling that appeared in the reality show vs. the Tori Spelling that was in celebrity magazines. So when she came out with this book, I just had to read it. Right?

This is not a romance novel. So why am I reviewing it here? Well, because it’s a book, of course.

I really liked this book. Even though my husband and my MIL’s bf made fun of me the whole time I was reading it. They really were amused when I would say “You’re wrong about her. She’s just misunderstood.” g

Tori basically writes about her life from childhood. She takes the reader through what it was like growing up with a dad that created more than his fair share of hugely successful and wildly popular t.v. shows. Any child or teenager that might have wished they grew up like Tori Spelling will change their mind by the end of this book. She makes it perfectly clear that while money definitely paves the way, it does not bring happiness. She’s also the epitome of “You want what you can’t have.”. All she wanted to do was be normal. Well Tori, I wanted a BMW for my 16th birthday. After reading this book, I’m glad I didn’t get one. LOL. I think what I enjoyed most while reading this book was her ability to laugh at herself.

She also addressed the extremely hot topic of meeting her current husband while they were both married. While she expresses remorse for how their relationship came about and the people it hurt, she never apologizes for what she’s found with her husband. It’s funny, while reading this part, I was asking myself what would have happened if this was in a romance novel. Two people that are unhappy in their marriages meet and fall in love. They end up being together. A reader would think that’s romantic, right? I guess the fact that these are real people that got hurt really make the difference. Not a lot of people find what her and her husband have. It’s just sad the way it came about.

Now her relationship with her mother is really fucked up. All I can say is that I love you, mom. Yes, you’re a control freak. But Candy Spelling is 100x worse than you. So whenever I tell you butt out, just say “Candy Spelling”.

So if you’re interesting on reading more about the “real” Donna Martin, pick this book up. It’s extremely entertaining!

5 out of 5.

five-stars


Tagged: , , , , ,