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Book Review: Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D.
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookwork
“Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man” by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D.
c.2020, Simon and Schuster
$28.00 / $37.00 Canada 227 pagesYou hadn’t seen that container in ages.
You really can’t remember when you put it on the shelf. Sometime this year, six years ago, when you moved last? What’s in it must be worth something, though, or you wouldn’t’ve saved it. Now, as in the new book “Too Much and Never Enough” by Mary L. Trump, PhD, digging may yield answers.
No one has to explain to you who Donald Trump is but, for anyone who’s been completely out of the loop, Mary Trump is Donald’s niece (she uses his first name, always, and to avoid confusion, so will we). Trump has a PhD in psychology, worked at Manhattan Psychiatric Center while in school, was once a therapist, and taught graduate psychology. The point is, she’s got chops and it shows, especially when this book – a look at her family and, specifically, her Uncle Donald – reads like something from the True Medicine genre. Indeed, medically-based passages are nearly emotionless in their clinicality.
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Book Review: 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life, by Elizabeth White
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm
55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life, by Elizabeth White
c.2020 in paperback, Simon & Schuster
$17.00 / $23.00 Canada 272 pagesYour last regular paycheck has come and gone.
That was awhile ago, back before you were downsized / laid off / reassigned right out of a job and you’re not sure what to do. Your savings are nearly gone, your retirement funds are next, and you’re too young to get Social Security. In 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal” by Elizabeth White, you’ll see how to make this new life work.
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Book Review: Confessions of a Gay Priest, by Tom Rastrelli
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm
“Confessions of a Gay Priest” is a hard, hard book to read – it’ll make you squirm, it’ll make your eyebrows raise, you’ll want to toss it on the street and let semis run it over and yet, it’s stay-up-all-night compelling.
“Confessions of a Gay Priest” by Tom Rastrelli
c.2020, University of Iowa Press $19.95 / higher in Canada 328 pagesYou spent days examining your life.
Sins: that’s what you were looking for How had you displeased God? How many lies, covets, dishonors? What have you done since – oh, when was your last confession, anyhow? They say the sacrament is good for your soul, and in “Confessions of a Gay Priest” by Tom Rastrelli, there’s a lot to tell.
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Book Review: Half Broke: A Memoir, by Ginger Gaffney
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm“Half Broke: A Memoir” by Ginger Gaffney
c.2020, Norton $25.95 / $34.95 Canada 272 pagesThe last time you went riding, the weather was perfect.
Did you notice that? Or were you thinking about something, some niggling issue, a thorny problem that needed to be solved from the back of a saddle? They say that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man. In “Half Broke” by Ginger Gaffney, the same goes for the inside of a woman.
She knew she wasn’t going to get paid for the job.
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Book Review: Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs, A Memoir, by Jennifer Finney Boylan
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
“Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs, A Memoir” by Jennifer Finney Boylan
c.2020, Celadon Books $26.99 / $36.50 Canada 272 pages
Pre-order available, releasing April 21Can you name them in chronological order?
The first one might be hard: you were small when you loved that dog. Later ones recall easier and, naturally, you remember the first pup that was all yours. Think: the names come one after another because there was always a dog and in “Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs” by Jennifer Finney Boylan, there was always love.
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Book Review: Beheld, by TaraShea Nesbit
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm
“Beheld: A Novel” by TaraShea Nesbit
c.2020, Bloomsbury $26.00 / $34.99 Canada
275 pagesEither you are a Have… or you are a Have Not.
If you Have, you feel secure, knowing that what you need is close. If you are in the latter category, you may want for much and own very little. It’s not fair, it’s not equitable, and in the new book “Beheld” by TaraShea Nesbit, it gets worse.
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Book Review: Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health, edited by Adrian Shanker, foreword by Rachel L. Levine, MD, afterword by Kate Kendell
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez“Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health,” edited by Adrian Shanker, foreword by Rachel L. Levine, MD, afterword by Kate Kendell
c.2020, PM Press $20.00 / higher in Canada 208 pagesYou woke up this morning feeling pretty good.
That was quite a relief: in these frightening, uncertain times, every day of wellness is a bonus – especially when you consider that healthcare for a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer patient can be different than what straight people require. Too bad healthcare providers don’t always know that. But read “Bodies and Barriers,” edited by Adrian Shanker, and you’ll feel more empowered to tell them.
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Book Review: Under the Rainbow, by Celia Laskey
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez“Under the Rainbow” by Celia Laskey
c.2020, Riverhead Books
$27.00 / higher in Canada 288 pagesIt’s worth a try.
You never know what’s going to happen when a new endeavor begins. You only know what it’ll cost: time, money, effort, and a lot of patience for a great unknown. This experiment could end well, or it could end very badly but either way, as in the new novel “Under the Rainbow” by Celia Laskey, it’s worth a try.
It was a scientific fact: Big Burr, Kansas, was the most homophobic place in the U.S.
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Book Review: Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, by Zora Neale Hurston
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm
c.2020, Amistad $25.99 / $31.99 Canada 304 pages
Everybody has that place.
You know, that place where everyone knows you, they know what you want, and they get it for you before your coat’s half off. It’s where you can catch up on gossip and good news, where you take shelter and get sympathy. In “Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick” by Zora Neale Hurston, you also get a front seat.
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Book Review: Chronicles of a Radical Hag (with Recipes), by Lorna Landvik
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez“Chronicles of a Radical Hag (with Recipes)” by Lorna Landvik
c.2019, University of Minnesota Press
$25.95 / higher in Canada 306 pagesThey say you can’t take it with you.
The money you’ve amassed, the property you own, jewelry, art, and fancy cars won’t mean a thing once you’re dead and gone. No, you can’t take it with you, but in the new novel “Chronicles of a Radical Hag (with Recipes)” by Lorna Landvik, what’s been left behind?
If you asked Haze Evans how old she felt, she’d probably never say the truth (81), but not because of vanity. No, despite creaky knees and her status as the oldest employee at the Granite Creek Gazette, she preferred to focus on staying active, curious, and productive by writing a feature column several days a week.
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Book Review: When Brooklyn Was Queer, by Hugh Ryan
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez“When Brooklyn Was Queer” by Hugh Ryan
c.2019, St. Martin’s Press
$29.99 / $38.99 Canada 308 pagesYour city sure has changed.
Landmarks were destroyed, the skyline is different, and streets are shifted in a way that feels same-not-same. It’s like having dinner with a relative you met once, when you were nine: as in “When Brooklyn Was Queer” by Hugh Ryan, everything and nothing is familiar.
Once upon a time, Brooklyn was little more than farms and fields.
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Book Review: Tin Man: A Novel, by Sarah Winman
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm SezTin Man: A Novel, by Sarah Winman
c.2018, Putnam
$23.00 hardcover / $22.95 paperback CanadaThe picture reminds you of a thousand things.
You recall the day it was taken: the smell of the air, the background sounds, food and drink, laughter and the sense that this was forever. You’ve seen that photo many times throughout the years, but it never fails to remind you of the best of times. Or, as in the new book “Tin Man” by Sarah Winman, it may represent the worst.
![](<em><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-29949" src="https://markmcnease.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/head-shot-11-06-laying-2-2-199x300.jpg" alt="" width="128" height="193" />The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has been reading since she was 3 years old and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 13,000 books.</em>)