RECENT READING
VEGAS SHOWGIRL
All the Beautiful Girls by Elizabeth J. Church 
This is Church’s second novel, and while I enjoyed it a lot, I think The Atomic Weight of Love is better. It is the story of Lily Decker aka Ruby Wilde, from Kansas, who becomes a Las Vegas showgirl in the 1960’s. Lily’s parents died, and she has been taken in by a strict aunt and an uncle who abuses her. Desperate to escape and desiring only to dance, she heads west and begins a tortuous physical and mental journey to stardom, addiction, and ultimately, happiness. Church graphically conveys the demands of working in a casino and the unreality of that “glamorous” world. She brings in real world events and shows how the political changes of the 60’s impacted women. Lily is a likable character, and her male friend The Aviator, an enigma and almost too good to be true. The novel would have benefited from being tightened up, but it remains a compelling story. (~JWFarrington)
POLITICAL FARE
Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
It took me several months to read this account of the early days of the Trump administration, mostly because I dipped into and out of it, and partly because Woodward is no stylist. Much of what’s here in how that man deals with people and situations has been reported. What Woodward provides is the fine structure with the lengths to which his staff, aides and even Cabinet secretaries went to prevent him from disastrous mistakes. Recommended for political junkies with strong stomachs. (~JWFarrington)
Becoming by Michelle Obama 
For a complete change of pace from Woodward, Mrs. Obama’s memoir is refreshing for its overall upbeat tone, its intimacy, and its extreme candor. I had the pleasure of meeting her and briefly chatting one-on-one when the Obama campaign did an event in San Francisco at our museum; she was incredibly warm, gracious, and real.
What is probably most compelling in the book is her account of her upbringing in a loving family stretched for resources and her gritty determination, as a black girl and then woman, to excel and to prove herself—over and over again. The story of her relationship and then marriage to Barack is replete with tenderness and admiration mixed in with her occasional frustration with his completely different (from hers) approach to life. She comes through as a generous and caring friend and an individual of substance who resolutely found her voice as First Lady. My only criticism is that at a few points, it could have been more tightly edited. Highly recommended! (~JWFarrington)
BIG SCREEN
This is not a perfect film, but it is one well worth seeing. Based on a memoir of the same name by Garrard Conley, published in 2016, it recounts a young man’s experience in an anti-gay conversion therapy program. Jared (as expertly portrayed by Lucas Hedges) is a product of Arkansas and the son of a car salesman and preacher, when he is sent to a conversion program by his parents. How he and others are treated, verbal abuse mixed in with a tainted take on Christian love, is chilling and unsettling to say the least.
Russell Crowe as Jared’s father, Nicole Kidman as his mother, and Joel Edgerton, head of the facility and the film’s screenwriter and director, are all excellent and believable. The beginning of the film is sketchy on how Jared ended up being sent away—only later are some details fleshed out. I also found some of the Southern accents so thick that I didn’t catch every word. Nonetheless, I recommend it. (~JWFarrington)
Note: Header photo, Florida sunrise, by JWFarrington. Other images from the Internet.
