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Storytellers: Mitch Albom and Tanya Mosley

14 Oct

I could not get out of the car the other day, because I was listening to NPR’s Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air, interview Mitch Albom, the Detroit Free Press sportswriter and best-selling author. Both are from Motown. The interview was riveting because two dynamic storytellers were discussing Albom’s latest book Twice. The tagline says it all: “What if you got to do everything in your life again?”

The only caveat is that if one undoes love, one can never fall in love with that person again. The novel explores love, time travel, second acts and much more.

Mosely is deft at having Albom explain his segue from sports writing to novelist. It all began with his first book Tuesdays with Morrie. Albom also discusses his philanthropic work in Haiti where he runs an orphanage. The interview is personal and raw as he describes losing one child but now has another from the orphanage.

Albom strives to leave a legacy by hoping to make a difference when readers examine their lives after finishing one of his novels. Now, like a thriller novel, the interview takes an unexpected twist. I’m not going to spoil it here. Listen to it or read, and you will be moved. Click here.

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Beyond the Beach Read

21 Jul

So, it’s the middle of summer and you’ve read the rom-com and happy books. I really enjoy all the book choices from Jenna, Reese, Oprah and Good Morning America.

Now, it’s time for something thought provoking like The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick. Erlick introduces you to a place where mourning and grief can disappear by going to sleep. Ava, one of the characters, describes it best. “It’s a clinic where they put you to sleep for a month, and then hopefully your broken heart is all patched up in the end.” The book weaves science, mystical elements and emotional choices in a captivating tale. It’s perfect for your book club.

Speaking of book clubs. If you like historical fiction and mysteries. Our book club read Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime. We also read The Theater Kid by Jeffrey Seller. Seller is from my hometown in Michigan, and he reveals the cut-throat business of Broadway as well as how he became a famous producer.

There are so many new, well-written books to choose. Author Ann Patchett, owner of Parnassus books in Nashville, Tennessee, lists many. It’s a response to an opinion piece written by David Brooks in the New York Times who wrote that current literary fiction is neither relevant nor interesting. Patchett lists some current favorite authors: Louise Erdrich, Kiran Desai, Richard Powers, Barbara Kingsolver, Zadie Smith and Dave Eggers. You can find others on the Parnassus Facebook or Instagram page. Patchett introduces a book every Friday in her segment “It’s Friday, and if you haven’t read this book, it’s new to you.” Look for it on the Parnassus Facebook and Instagram page. Obviously, she and I disagree with Brooks.

For full disclosure, I channeled my magazine editor days and received a press copy of The Poppy Fields. Also, I’ve personally met the author and featured her in a previous post titled Do you Really Want to Know? about her debut novel The Measure. (You can put it in the search bar to read the story and see a photo of us.)

Happy Summer Reading! Let me know your favorite book these days. . .

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A.I. Infiltrates Book Clubs

17 Apr

At my book club a few weeks ago, the facilitator, Stuart Lockman, started the discussion off talking about artificial intelligence. Our chosen book was The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood. Lockman, an attorney, and my friend revealed he used artificial intelligence to generate book club questions and even pull out interesting quotes. But, his main goal of using A.I. was to demonstrate that it was an interesting concept, easy to use and would enhance the discussion. Since the group was mainly senior citizens, he said “Why wait for your grandchildren to tell you about A.I.?” We talked about ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI, all of which are free. Of course, we had a lively discussion about the book.

So, here’s a photo of Stuart Lockman, Deena Lockman (center) and myself. Then, I generated it in A.I.!

Well, we look younger!!

Will you try A.I. for your book club?

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A High Barr

14 Nov

Meet Lisa Barr. She’s an investigative reporter who morphed into a best-selling novelist. Her smile is as wide as the Grand Canyon, and her energy is infectious. And when she talks about her novels, she’s riveting. I was lucky to meet and hear Barr recently at the Celebrating Sisterhood event at the Mandel JCC Palm Beach Gardens in Florida. I was the co-chair of the event (left, below) along with my friend (right, below) Sandra Rosen.

More than 235 women attended the event. Barr gave the back story about her journalism career working for The Jerusalem Post, Moment magazine and Today’s Chicago Woman. One interesting note is that she happened to be on vacation in Washington D.C., while working at the Jerusalem Post. She was one of the few reporters who witnessed the handshake between Arafat and Rabin, orchestrated by President Bill Clinton. Unfortunately, peace was not attained and fast-forward to a world of rising anti-Semitism.

Barr personally is encountering anti-Semitism because as a Jewish author some publishing houses and literary events joined the cancel culture. See the recent article in The Hill.

Her grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor, inspired her latest novel The Goddess of Warsaw. The protagonist is a fierce, dynamic woman who is determined to survive the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. She becomes a Hollywood starlit with many secrets. Barr unravels the plot in a captivating, compelling narrative.

Read this five-star novel!

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Rally Around

15 Sep

Tom Hanks said the iconic line “There’s no crying in baseball,” in the movie A League of Their Own.” But, I will tell you that I shed a tear in the endearing newly-released movie Rally Caps.

The movie stars award-winning actor Judd Hirsch as the grandfather of a tween baseball player who attends overnight camp, while his mom is actor Amy Smart. The young baseball player goes to camp after a traumatic experience and befriends a camper with a Cochlear implant. Here’s a short recap here from the American Cochlear Implant Alliance.

A surprising element in the movie is the role of Curtis Pride. Curtis Pride is a former professional baseball who is deaf. His son played the role of the child with a Cochlear implant and his daughter is in the movie as well. Both children have hearing loss.

The movie is directed by Lee Cipolla. I’m photographed below with my grandson and Cipolla.

 Rally Caps is based on the book written by Jodi Michelle Cutler and Stephen J. Cutler, based on a real life experience. Jodi’s son has a profound hearing loss and a Cochlear implant.

I attended a screening with the some of the actors including Judd Hirsch. Judd Hirsch (below) is in the middle flanked by director Lee Cipolla and actor Colten, Pride’s son.

Rally Caps is streaming on Amazon and Apple. The movie is a must see for baseball lovers and families.

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Summer Reading 2024

21 Jun

It’s that time of year again, when you can curl up with a good book in the hammock, on the beach or on your sofa. I’ve curated a treasure trove of sites where you can visit and choose the perfect book for your mood.

So, let’s start with the popular “celebrity” sites. Oh yeah, O is for Oprah. So, click here for her complete list. Her 106th pick is Familiaris by David Wroblewski.

Reese Witherspoon has been recommending books since 2017. Click here for Reese’s list. I’ve personally read many of her choices. Most recently, I read First Lie Wins, Anita de Monte Laughs Last, Tom Lake, and Yellowface. I’ve enjoyed them all.

Next up is GMA Book Club featured on Good Morning America. My personal book club will be reading The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, and I heard it’s terrific. Click here for GMA picks.

Read with Jenna is another popular book club. Click here for Jenna’s choices. She is always so animated when she talks about books on NBC.

If you are on Facebook, there are many reading groups where you can find interesting books . Here are some Facebook groups: Friends and Fiction, Renee’s Reading Club and The Girlfriend Book Club.

I also check out the The Good Book Fairy and listen to The Bookcase Podcast with Charlie and Kate Gibson.

If you haven’t heard of Zibby. Let me introduce you to her. Just click here. She’s latest force in the book world. She’s an author, a podcaster, a book publisher and an owner of a book store. Here’s a photo of me and Zibby (right) at a book talk in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl.

For book reviews, my go-to-person is Maureen Corrigan on NPR. When I listen to her reviews, the books become alive.

But summer reading would not be complete without mentioning the podcast Books, Beach & Beyond with bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand and Tim Ehrenberg of Tim Talks Books. Hilderbrand is the epitome of summer reading with her books set in Nantucket, and her author interviews with Ehrenberg are just as captivating.

Happy Summer Reading!

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A CUBAN JOURNEY

11 May

Author Aaron Hamburger transports the reader on an immigrant’s journey from Russia to Cuba to Detroit in his novel Hotel Cuba. It’s a personal story because it relates the travels of his grandmother from the village of David-Horodok in Belarus to Cuba and then onto Detroit.

It’s personal for me as well. My family is also from the village of David-Horodok, and I wrote an article in The Detroit Jewish News where there is a memorial to those who perished in World War II due to the Nazis. I, like the author, grew up in Detroit.

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Hamburger about his book Hotel Cuba on a Zoom call with Descendants of David-Horodok. He relates a fascinating story of how the book came about. He met with Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Detroit to talk about immigration, and she suggested he write a book about his grandmother’s plight. Through family interviews, recordings, research and trips to Havana, Hamburger weaves a rich tale of two sisters travelling to unknown countries.

The book is as inviting as the cover.

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Fire Island Read and More

29 Mar

If you’re heading to Fire Island or you just want a beach read, On Fire Island by Jane Rosen is the prefect choice. I had the opportunity to meet authors Jane Rosen and Zibby Owens, author of Blank, at the recent Bagel and Book event at the JCC in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

What’s unique about On Fire Island is that the narrator is dead. As the narrator observes her spouse, family and friends from the afterlife, Rosen weaves in a story of community, overcoming mourning and humor. Yes, there are losses and grief, but the hilarious scenes, and the poignant prose make it enjoyable, fast-paced and uplifting.

In the photo below, I’m with Jane Rosen (right) and Zibby Owens in the middle. Owens is the author of Blank, about writer who has writer’s block and the twists and turns in her hectic life. Amazon describes the book as “a hilarious debut novel about family, friendship, success, and exhilarating self-(re)discovery.” Owens is an author, book publisher, podcaster and so much more. At a later date, I will devout an entire blog to post to her.

At the event I ran into some attendees with Detroit roots. What a pleasure to speak with the mother-daughter duo of Linda Warner (left) and her daughter Amanda Warner. Amanda met Zibby virtually through her podcasts.

Both novels On Fire Island and Blank are worth reading.

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Making An Impact

12 Mar

I recently attended an event for Impact Palm Beaches. It’s group of dynamic, philanthropic women devoted to creating change through strategic grant making. The luncheon, held at the Kravis Center for Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, featured author Diane Bergner.

Eileen Berman, a Palm Beach philanthropist and former financial advisor for UBS, interviewed Bergner about her former role as the vice president of philanthropy at the Kravis Center, and they discussed her book the Royal Coconut Beach Lunch Club. Bergner shared her philanthropy acumen. She also highlighted her debut novel where the protagonist is a fund raiser for a performing arts center. Many in the audience wanted to know if her novel was based on real people. Bergner will leave it to the readers of the Royal Coconut Beach Lunch Club to decide. Bergner also confesses “Fiction is a work of art where the imagination can go wild.”

President Lisa LaFrance of Impact Palm Beaches addressed the group, which is based on Impact100 founded by Wendy Steele. Members donate $1,000 annually and for every 100 women, the group gives a $100,000 donation to a local nonprofit.

Diane Bergner (left) is interviewed by Eileen Berman.

Diane Bergner flanks Karen Ruben, author of Ruff Riders, and myself at the Impact Palm Beaches event.

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What If?

21 Nov

What if you could take the road not travelled? What if you could follow your dream? Meet Alisha Fernandez Miranda (right) who chronicled her journey in the memoir My What if Year. She became an intern at age 40. She pens an upbeat, fun, life-changing adventure. She literarily takes a break from motherhood and her job to become an intern on Broadway. She also worked in fitness, art and the hotel world. Her book is inspiring. I had the opportunity to meet the author at the recent Celebrating Sisterhood Luncheon in North Palm Beach, Florida.

When I returned home from the luncheon I turned on my Linkedin app to read about someone who also followed her dream. A Detroit cardiologist I know took a three-month sabbatical and trekked to 12,000 feet in the Himalayas.

What is your What If?

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