A Funny Thing Happened to Me on My Way to the Grave by Jack Douglas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As I re-read the Jack Douglas library in order for the first time, I see how Douglas produced his first books as a collection of avant-garde views. Douglas starts here, writing about his life, coalescing his writing skills as a cohesive narrative. His next books hone these skills to some wonderfully funny and poignant books.

In this autobiography Douglas again presents what he claims happens and that which he wraps in humor. His writing is a bit clunky, but his anecdotes get better throughout.

There are many references to Hollywood celebrities, but not as many as might be found in even a lesser known celebrity biography. Douglas keeps the name dropping to a minimum.

Bottom line: I recommend this book: 6 out of 10 points.

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Cheyenne Challenge by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading a few Johnstone Clan clunkers, including one that came out around the time this book came out, it’s GREAT to read very good Johnstone Clan book.

The book is very well written with terrific narrative of surroundings and dialogue. Too many Johnstone Clan books will take Preacher or Smoke and have their dialogue entirely shift gears many times through out story making the reader have to wonder of the character’s sanity. This book is pretty consistent with all characters.

Also, often efforts to add character nuances fails miserably. This author of the Clan deftly includes details that click in well. There are also various levels occurring throughout the book better handled than in other Johnstone Clan books.

The story has been written many times, including in Johnstone Clan books. But this is the better of all stories I’ve read.

Bottom Line: I recommend this book. 8 out of 10 points.

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My Brother Was an Only Child by Jack Douglas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Never thought I’d repeat a review for a book. But my opinion of Douglas’ ‘Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver’ is the same as my opinion of ‘My Brother Was an Only Child’.

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I have been a Jack Douglas fan since I was in junior high school and first discovered his writings in the Orlando Public Library. It’s been a long while since I’ve really read Douglas. I recently came across most all of his library during my travels to add to the entire library I’ve had for decades. That and other happenings in my life trajectories has me delving back into the humor genre and I’m starting by re-reading Douglas.

After reading this book I can’t recall that I’ve read it before, but know I have. The reason I likely don’t remember reading this book is how shallow it is to the bulk of Douglas’ other books. The book seems a dumping ground for whatever Douglas scribbles at anyone time. Frankly, much of it comes across as being written during the cocktail hour.

Nearly the entire book are non-sequiturs a-plenty that leads to somebody killing someone else or themselves. It quickly gets predictable and less and less funny. For a short book there are a number of pages of just one line that really doesn’t lead to much.

Again, I love Douglas’s writings…just not this.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book. 4 of ten points.

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Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver by Jack Douglas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have been a Jack Douglas fan since I was in junior high school and first discovered his writings in the Orlando Public Library. It’s been a long while since I’ve really read Douglas. I recently came across most all of his library during my travels to add to the entire library I’ve had for decades. That and other happenings in my life trajectories has me delving back into the humor genre and I’m starting by re-reading Douglas.

After reading this book I can’t recall that I’ve read it before, but know I have. The reason I likely don’t remember reading this book is how shallow it is to the bulk of Douglas’ other books. The book seems a dumping ground for whatever Douglas scribbles at anyone time. Frankly, much of it comes across as being written during the cocktail hour.

Nearly the entire book are non-sequiturs a-plenty that leads to somebody killing someone else or themselves. It quickly gets predictable and less and less funny. For a short book there are a number of pages of just one line that really doesn’t lead to much.

Again, I love Douglas’s writings…just not this.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book. 4 of ten points.

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Was a guest speaker for, my friend, George Pieper’s cartooning class in The Villages. It was a particularly inquisitive class. I did my usual audience participation illustration involving a dog, golf and a watch.

I had to drive into Seminole County for some client business which fit nicely with a nearby symposium at the University of Central Florida. My pal Robert Bauerle joined me there.

The event featured two speakers of different political parties and still different views of issues both speaking about government. They are so different the cable channels don’t know what to do with them so they don’t put them on. 😀

I LOVE discussion of issues from all kinds of viewpoints. It’s why I enjoy getting together Wednesday mornings with two friends from the opposite political party as myself who also don’t agree with each other. We get to discuss ideas, viewpoints and learn from each other. I sure know I have!

The UCF symposium brought YouTube favorite Dave Rubin and Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute together. It was a terrific discussion and lots of great questions from an audience of mostly students.

If any of you know of symposiums like this in Central Florida, please let me know. If I can work it in, I’d love to attend more. It’s the working it in that is the tough part. 🙂

The toughest part of the event was the massive show of security and security wands. It helped s bunch of them are with the security group that handled an event I used to be really involved with, Spring Fiesta in the Park coming to Orlando’s Lake Eola Park this April 7th and 8th. I thanked them for their help each year and hope to see some of them when I visit my Fiesta friends next week.

After the event, Mr. Bauerle and I slid over to a nearby Steak ‘n Shake

to have our own discussion of what we heard at the event. 🙂

The Great Train Massacre by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A good tale from the Johnstone Clan. Territory covered before, but this may be the best that has covered it. The story is riddled with complications for all, except for the inevitable. The predictability of the Johnstone books is wearing on me was I close in on 100 read. The earliest Smoke books were very unpredictable and anyone could die in those. This book stays in the safe territory of all of it’s characters.

The characters in this volume do not stand out as much as others in the various series. The settings are very good at first and simplify as the book continues. This book is one that particularly felt as if it were created with a template.

Bottom line: I recommend the book. 5 out of 10 points.

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The Wind at My Back : The Life and Times of Pat O’Brien by Pat O’Brien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

St Patrick’s Day was in view and I thought I’d ready of a stalwart Paddy. Pat O’Brien was such a constant part of a long string of films with his fellow Irish in Hollywood, James Cagney, Frank McHugh, Allen Jenkins, etc, etc. Opening the recent book acquisition I settled in to a view of Hollywood from Paddy. But, that is not what i found.

O’Brien begins the book very strong laying out in great detail about birth, life in Wisconsin, war and all else leading to his career in show business. He steps that up with a fascinating view of his time on and off stage in theater. This is the strongest part of the book. Especially interesting is the parallel of career with Spencer Tracy.

In 1930 he found himself being bought off the stage and into Howard Hughes’ film, ‘The Front Page’. Thus began his film career. But here is where the book severely stumbles. After such great insights of life in the theater and his life, O’Brien then starts tacking together various vignettes of only some of his film work and his life. It’s an odd shift. Did he not want to write about his time in film? Was he behind in his deadline for the book and thought writing of his film time would be easier and then found he had to rush through it? Something else?

At a point in his career he found himself unable to get work. He writes in the book many times about his frustration never learning of his blacklisting, though he felt it had nothing to do with the more well-known communist black listing. As he writes, he was non-political. The passion of his writing of his frustration has me wonder if that is why he didn’t write much of his film work. Did the black listing make him feel his entire film career was wasted.

He writes of his favorite films he made. But the writing is with noted hesitation. There’s an entire chapter about Knute Rockne. But the writing leans more about the Catholic angle of the film than the actual making of the film.

Catholicism is the solid foundation that O’Brien built his life with. He writes of this in every way throughout his book. That might also explain his hesitancy of writing more about his film career. Did O’Brien feel it was God’s will to restrict his ability to make movies and thus he shouldn’t have pursued movies? This is somewhat supported by his writing that he returned to the stage to pay bills and there is obvious passion in his writing of his return to theater.

He also devotes significant space of his time, sometimes very dangerous, entertaining our military servicemen during World War II. He is clearly, and rightly, proud of his efforts. Exciting stories are presented in this chapter.

Though O’Brien is a noted member of the “Irish Mafia”, some members noted above, almost nothing is written of gatherings. What is well intertwined throughout the book is being a member of The Lambs Club in New York City. This he was proud to be a part of. I’m pretty certain he was part of other organizations. But those are not mentioned. The Lambs are.

This is otherwise a well written book, though not well laid out to tell O’Brien’s story. The book is clearly a view of what O’Brien was most proud of in his life.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 of 10 points.

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Just got back from 9 hours on the road with almost 5 hours of nonstop drawing. I’m pooped. Glad I stuck to studio- mostly paper- work on Friday!

It was a tough crowd that couldn’t shake the idea of the tourist trap caricatures and mostly didn’t open up to me. That just hasn’t been happening. I did what I could, though definitely not my best work.

Monday night is a return engagement with a group of parcel carriers and, I expect, better work from me!

The Apostle by Brad Thor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

‘The Apostle’ is a standard action novel of Brad Thor’s hero, Scot Harvath, but with an odd anchor attached.

The book starts very well with a nice set up for a potential novel of intrigue and solving a hostage issue involving a very interesting character with even more interesting ties to the President. All of that is quickly and then thoroughly squandered as still another repetitive tale of Harvath to the rescue. There was so much to play with that was earlier presented. Why Thor didn’t construct a better story is a stronger mystery than how Harvath will solve the kidnapping.

How the problem is solved involves still another team attached to Harvath that has a highly unbelievable rate of success in all ways to solve the problem. Again, if the earlier start of the book wasn’t to be used, why not, at least, make Harvath’s job more difficult and interesting.

The anchor in the book is a side story that is nearly entirely unrelated to the main plot of the book. Why Thor tacked it on is still another mystery hard to figure than how Harvath will end a story. Here’s the really odd part: The side story is more interesting than the main plot. Thor should have duped the whole Harvath plot and just focus on the side story..

Characters are OK and are either returning or rehashed older characters. Settings are particularly good throughout the book.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.

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