Jerry Seinfeld writes his own material. He has saved, for decades, everything that he has felt was worth saving, in a big accordion folder. He went through it all, picked what he thought was the funniest stuff, and put it in this book. It’s absolutely hilarious. Page after page after page of his wry, observational humor that I’ve always liked.…
I’ve been reading one Lou Reed biography a year since I retired. This one has its good points, and definitely has its bad points. The book addresses Lou’s college years really well, with a lot of detail and interesting facts that I haven’t seen covered in other bios. He doesn’t portray Lou as the mean, nasty guy that he was…
Amsterdam is my favorite city. When I sold my veterinary practice and retired four years ago, I bought an apartment there, so I would have a place of my own to stay during my frequent visits. I had an especially great time there in August of 2019, first with my friend Robb who visited the first week of August during…
I’ve always been a little curious about the Amish, and I was hoping to find out some interesting details about their way of life. Also, the way the book is marketed, I was sort of hoping it was going to be like the book “Unorthodox”, where you’re drawn to and sympathize with the protagonist as he breaks away from a…
Written By Dr. Arnold Plotnick; Originally published on Catster. Disease processes occur in the mouth more than anywhere else in a cat’s body. Dental disease is very common, and if untreated, it can lead to bad breath, swollen and bleeding gums, difficulty eating, and oral pain. Cats are secretive by nature, and they often don’t reveal that they are experiencing…
Written By Dr. Arnold Plotnick; Originally published on Catster. Persistent coughing and labored breathing in humans have taken on heightened significance in the past year, as they are commonly reported symptoms of covid-19 infection. Not all coughing and wheezing in humans is of viral origin, however. Asthma in humans is a disease of the lower airways that can cause coughing,…
A really excellent memoir and coming of age story by a kid who immigrated to America in 1975 during the fall of Saigon, ending up in the small town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. As he struggles to fit in, he finds comfort and identity in music (particularly punk rock) and in literature, allowing him to navigate the feelings of isolation, the…
This is another book in Aperture’s Photography Workshop Series. The photographer featured in this book is Larry Fink. His black and white photos are definitely pretty interesting, but it’s his commentary that made the bigger impression on me, particularly his comments on perception and perspective. He quotes Lisette Model, a photographer whom he studied with, who once said to him,…
After being amazed by Baldwin’s “Giovanni’s Room” a few weeks back, I was anxious to explore additional novels by him. This semi-autobiographical book was his first major work, published in 1953. It’s a coming-of-age story that deals primarily with religion, although there’s a lot about race, classism, sex, and violence. The themes are heavy and the book, though not too…
Readers of my blog know that I have a personal and professional interest in rabies. As a practicing veterinarian, I’ve vaccinated thousands of cats and dogs against this deadly disease, and in my retirement, I’ve volunteered with the amazing organization Mission Rabies, joining teams of international veterinarians, technicians, and laypersons to help vaccinate dogs in vulnerable communities in Africa and…
This book is by a poet, Anne Boyer, who was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer at the age of 41. The book is composed of several short chapters, each chapter consisting of brief paragraphs, some connected to each other, some not. I found it a difficult book to read. The author gets into the brutal nitty-gritty…
The New York music scene in the late 70s and early 80s is a favorite topic of mine. CBGBs and Max’s were the primary music venues, but a number of smaller clubs that catered to the art scene as well as the music scene made their mark on New York, such as Club 57 and The Mudd Club. This book…
Although I was unfamiliar with the work of playwright David Adjmi, I grabbed this book because I found the uniformly good reviews enticing, especially since the author grew up in the same obscure Brooklyn neighborhood that I did. Adjmi paints a very colorful portrait of Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community. Always feeling like an outsider in his own community, family, and…