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Thursday, January 1, 2015

Once upon a time "Cleese" was "Cheese"

I interrupt the leisurely flow of my first morning in 2015 to bring you a bit of a book review. (I haven't read much yet.)

My husband received, from one of his many daughters, "So, Anyway...", the autobiography of British actor John Cleese of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame.
Said husband seldom reads books, perhaps one a year at most, perhaps one every second year. He doesn't plan to read this one until lolling at Lava Hot Springs for a week during our next road trip.
I, therefore, being out of new reading material myself, and the library being closed due to New Year's Day, am reading Cleese's autobiography.
I'm reading it despite never being a Monty Python fan, and also despite taking years to become willing to watch Fawlty Towers. (I was a few paragraphs into this writing before realizing I didn't know how to spell Fawlty.)
But enough about me, and back to the book: I got all the way to page 11 before I found a typo, so that's a good sign, and I've now finished the first chapter without finding another. However, the real news is that I'm enjoying it because the man can really write.
I recently re-read a number of book reviews by Dorothy Parker. If you haven't read any of those, please do. She could write better than I can, and, I daresay, better than John Cleese, and she did so in the 1920s.

But I digress. I have a long list of things to do in order to ready myself and my house for the new year, but I suspect I'll be more inclined to read the Cleese book than to clean the stove or sort all my old clothes.
Yes, I know the book hasn't received rave reviews, but it is an autobiography of the man, not of the Monty Python group, nor of the Fawlty Towers show, but of the man as he sees himself from the inside. (And, dear reader, please count how many times I used the word 'of' in the previous sentence, because I don't know how many.)
* * *
I am linking this, although it is not a poem, to Susie Clevenger's challenge for the first day of the New Year, in which she asks us to choose one of the quotations she has provided for the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.

"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the years."   Henry Moore



18 comments:

Susie Clevenger said...

It's not a poem, but I will not dispute your muse. It seems a perfectly delightful way to begin a new year, "one day at a time." :)

Jenn Jilks said...

I loathe a badly edited book, Kay!
This is sad. It's so hard to get a publisher, you'd think they'd work hard for this famous person!
sigh.
Happy New year!

Joyful said...

Hello dear Kay.

I am hope this first day of 2015 finds you happy and well and looking forward to the delights of the New Year.

I'm so glad you found a book that you can enjoy despite being out of your carefully selected books and the library being closed. It will be some time before I ever run out of books myself,lol. This, despite my promise not to buy new books (I now buy 2nd hand).

Give Lindy a hug for me and enjoy the rest of today. My prayer and hope is that you will have the many blessings that 2015 can bring. Big hugs...xx Joyful (Penny)

brudberg said...

I think that reading a book instead of the chores that are waiting is not wasted time. Sometimes reading the only thing that is handy is a great way of finding stuff you would not normally read.

Happy New year.

Anonymous said...

Makes me at least want to checkout Goodreads. Maybe I won't buy it but if the library gets it I can check it out. Thanks for writing about it. : )

Hannah said...

So nice to see you, Kay!! :) Happy New Year to you!

Anonymous said...

Hey Kay well, I should look into it because I was a huge Monty Python fan, liked Fawlty Towers, and love Cleese. Even today, my family and I make frequent references to the jokes, often those featuring Cleese. He is terrific.

Thanks for the review! Hope all is well and a very happy new year to you. K.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
It is always good to 'unwrap' something and find you like it more than anticipated. Reading beats cleaning any day of the year...&*> Happy New One to you! YAM xx

Maude Lynn said...

Dorothy Parker's reviews are better reading than most books!

Happy New Year, Kay!

Marian said...

See, now I am curious about this book (despite the typo, which is infuriating) and might have to go find it myself. Your work is done for this day!
Happy New Year, Kay! xo

Red said...

I recently heard a lengthy interview with him. He was active in many areas.

Powell River Books said...

It's hard to imagine not reading several books a week, unless I'm extremely busy (like a looming deadline with my grant writing). One thing we love about the cabin is having more time to read (and for Wayne, to write). - Margy

Kerry O'Connor said...

I've always been a fan of John Cleese's brand of humour. I think the man is genius.

All the best for a very happy 2015, kay.

Other Mary said...

I think reading this book is an excellent resolution! Happy New Year Kay!

Susan said...

It is a happy day when you share yourself with us for a min ute or two and more. Happy 2015, Kay.

Magaly Guerrero said...

Your while-still-reading-book-review has done well to camouflaged itself as a poetic piece. Your prose flows like poetry--love the bit about typos and spelling (or not).

P.S. I will never be able to eat another apple (by the way, I always eat one before bed) without thinking of you, your husband and your dog. ;-)

Kay said...

This sounds like a very entertaining book. However, I'm so behind on everything that I still need to clean the house before I do anything else.

Gattina said...

Happy New Year, Kay, long time I haven't heard from you !
Ever since I have a Kindle tablet I only read ebooks, fortunately there is a big choice !