"Wishful Drinking" by Carrie Fisher

There is only one problem with Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher: I wish the book were longer. That's not a serious problem. There are still more of her books that I can read or reread. This book was adapted from a one-woman show. I wish that I had been able to see the show. I find myself laughing out loud frequently when I read her writing. When writing about the father of her daughter she said, "When I met him, he had hair. Actually, I do that, too - I make them bald, I turn them gay, my work is done!" Too bad I couldn't have got her to use that magic on some men I know. Oh well, there would have been no guarantee that they would have been interested in me sexually. I have enjoyed her films that I have seen, but I love her writing. She had a wonderful sense of humor.

About some recently read books

I finished rereading The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein yesterday. The timing was right, because February 3 is Gertrude Stein's birthday. This was her first book to be a bestseller. It is entertaining book, and it is interesting to read about her role in the early days of artists like Picasso and Matisse. She was very good at discerning which artists would make a lasting impression in the art world.

I read Collected Stories of Djuna Barnes recently. I had read some of herstories previously. It is easy to see her influence on the fiction of Anais Nin. It is sad that her writing is not better known today. She wrote in a very original style. The characters in her stories often had unusual names, but that adds to the unique character of her writing. The writing in her stories and other writings were written in a wide range of styles. I would recommend reading at least a few of her books.

I also read collections of lyrics of Lou Reed and Patti Smith: Collected Lyrics 1970-2015 by Patti Smith and Between Thought and Expression: Selected Lyric of Lou Reed. The fact that both of these singer/songwriters have backgrounds in poetry is easy to see. I have been a fan of both of them for quite a few years. I prefer hearing their recordings of their songs, but I also enjoy reading their lyrics.

"IMAGI E ME G NE" by Adam Haslett

The main theme of Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett is a family dealing with Mental Illness. It is well written, but there are some things that happen seem to be contrived. The characters are likable. One of the main characters is gay, but that is a side issue. I would be interested in reading the author's other books, a novel and a collection of short stories. I do like the way that the title appears on the front cover of the book. The novel starts out strongly, but it seems to get lost somewhere along the way. There are novels that deal with the same themes more strongly.

Philip Sparrow Tells All: Lost Essays by Samuel Steward

I first heard about Samuel Steward because of his friendship and correspondence with Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas. I had read about the essays that he wrote for the Illinois Dental Journal long before they were collected in Philip Sparrow Tells All: Lost Essays by Samuel Steward. Before reading this book I had read his memoirs, Chapters from an Autobiography, the mysteries he wrote with Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas appearing as characters and some collections of his gay erotica that he wrote using the pseudonym Phil Andros. These essays are interesting but not his best writing. I would be interested in reading his older writings, especially his novel Angels on the Bough.  I would also be interested in his book on tattoos. I am not saying that there are problems with these essays. He did sneak some references to gay sadomasochism into these essays. He definitely lead an interesting life, and his sex life makes mine look boring.

"Uncommon Type: Some Stories" by Tom Hanks

I was a little surprised when I saw Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks. I was not too surprised, because it is not unusual for actors to write fiction. I was somewhat surprised by the quality of the writing. The stories are well written, but there is something missing. This may be due to changes made by the people at Penguin Random House whom Tom Hanks thanked for improving the stories and making them presentable. I wonder what they were like before the changes were made, There were elements that made the books suitable for a literature class but not for casual reading. I did enjoy the book, and I may have enjoyed them more if I had not read all of them together. Some of the stories did seem a bit too self conscious. His writing might be improved if he would loosen up a bit.

"Running with Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs

I was reluctant to read Running with Scissors by Augesten Burroughs, because of the quote on the cover that said, "Reads like David Sedaris writing The Hotel New Hampshire. I am not fond of the writing of David Sedaris. I did enjoy much of Running with Scissors though. I can identify with parts of the book. The author had a sexual awakening at a young age, and I remember when I was that age I could have someone with whom I could have sexual fun. I had to wait until a later age though. There are parts of the books that I found a bit disturbing. I am glad that my upbringing was a bit uninteresting compared to his. I am not sure if I want to read the other books by the same author. There is a sequel, Dry. I might read it if I happen to find it somewhere, but I will not put much effort into finding it.

"Everybody's Autobiography" by Gertrude Stein and "What Is Remembered" by Alice B. Toklas

Everybody's Autobiography is the second volume of memoirs by Gertrude Stein. The first is The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. I do not agree with some things that she wrote about some writers and artists. Some of her statements seem to have been written more for effect than to express a real views.Her writing is entertaining though. I wonder if she really thought that she was the most important writer of her time as she stated in this book. This book centers around a lecture tour throughout the USA. It is interesting to read about things that are mostly forgotten today, like nut stores or what she called "ten cent stores." He wrote about something she referred to as a camel pen, a pen into which one put water in order to write with ink. She did not give details about how this happened, but there must have been some form of powder or concentrated ink in the pen. She would have been an interesting person to meet. Of course she did not speak in the same way that she wrote. Some people seemed to be surprised by this for some reason. She did know a lot of interesting authors and artists. I am going to reread The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas soon.

What Is Remembered is a book of memoirs by Alice B. Toklas. She and Gertrude Stein were together for about forty years. While Gertrude Stein was alive she seemed to stay mainly in the background typing Stein's manuscripts and later publishing her works that were refused by publishers. She was not without influence concerning who was allowed to remain close to them. She published this book and two cookbooks after Gertrude Stein's death. She was not happy at all with one of the cookbooks. A book of her letters to various people was published after her death. This book shows some of the influence of Gertrude Stein, but Alice Toklas wit and wonderful way with words shine through. In reading these two books it is interesting to see their views of the American lecture tour.

Both of these books are entertaining books, and I may reread both of them again sometime.