Open Book – Jessica Simpson. A very interesting telling of her life. A lot of occasions that show her insecurity & “bad” side, including family issues, sexual behavior, and alcohol abuse. It also includes many “famous” names you will recognize. *****
Countdown 1945 – Chris Wallace/Mitch Weiss. Details of the events & people leading up to the development of the atomic bomb. Also the events happening in politics with Truman, Stalin, & Churchill/Atlee. Vivid descriptions of the aftereffects of the 2 bombs. The Epilog follows the life/career of all the people involved in developing & delivering the 2 bombs. ***
Hollywood Park – Mikel Jolett. Born in a commune (Synanon) he was taken from his parents at 6 months old. Synanon turned into a cult & he escaped at 4 years old. His family was a mess, with almost all of the male relatives spending some time in jail. He was on that same track until high school when he changed & got a scholarship to Stanford. Several years after graduation, learned to play music & sing. He is now the front man for the indie band “The Airborne Toxic Event.” Well written book, very depressing until the end. **
Killing Crazy Horse – Bill O’Reilly/Martin Dugard. An excellent history of the American Indian wars. Many vivid descriptions of the battles, living conditions, of several different tribes. These “killing” books are well written & full of information you probably haven’t heard of before. ****
Songteller – Dolly Parton/Robert K. Obermann. A “must have” for Dolly Parton fans. 175 lyrics of her songs + a story with each one about when & why she wrote it. This is a large 9X12 coffee table-style book with heavy paper pages, too heavy to hold & read. I sat at my desk to read it. *****
In Deep – David Rohde. Author is an anti-Trump guy. While insisting there isn’t a deep state, he gives many examples of government employees in the FBI, CIA, & State departments doing things to discredit Trump. **
Follow The Money – Dan Bongino. He reviews all of the nefarious deeds in the state department, including the FBI, congress, Comey, Brennen, Schiff, McCabe, Strzok, Clapper, Somma, Yates & others. The Christopher Steele dossier, John McCain, The Covid virus, Hunter Biden, & several corrupt activities involving large amounts of money are reviewed, as well. *****
Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey/Angela Davis. This is her autobiography with a lot of “poor me” episodes. It has a lot of interesting stories about show business & her sad life as a child. Also, interesting stories involving many big names in show business & the music industry. ****
The Answer is – Alex Trebek.A very good autobiography & an easy read. Short chapters with human interest stories. *****
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels will return to the field in May for the first time in 18 months.
The 2021 season will consist of 120 games, including 60 home games at Hammond Stadium at CenturyLink Sports Complex. The Mussels’ home opener is scheduled for May 11 against the Clearwater Threshers.
After significant restructuring throughout professional baseball, the Mighty Mussels, formerly Fort Myers Miracle, will now compete in the Low-A Southeast region. The new league consists of 10 teams, all of which are previous members of the Florida State League.
Call 239-768-4210 or follow the Mighty Mussels on social media for season tickets on sale now, and other ticket packages including single-game tickets on sale starting in April.
Registration starts at 7 a.m. this coming Monday, Feb. 22, for Lee County Parks & Recreation Summer Camp, which is expected to fill quickly with limited capacity.
All Lee County Parks & Recreation summer camp programs will be following CDC guidelines. Each camp will operate under a ratio of nine campers to one staff member for each group. Campers will remain on-site for the duration of each day.
Summer camp runs for five weeks from June 28 through July 30. Camp is offered on a weekly basis. The price for each week is $75 per participant.
Blaze of Light – Marcus Brotherton. This is the story of Gary Beikirch, a green beret Medic awarded the medal of honor. The 1st 20% is about action in Viet Nam. The last 80% is about his traumatic recovery from his extensive injuries & fighting PTSD for years while trying to adjust to civilian life. Then his religious conversion to a successful life after that. **
Plague of Corruption – Dr. Judy Mikovits & Kent Heckenlively JD. Medical scientists write about the dangers of using animal products in vaccines. This is deep science with medical terminology that will put you to sleep. However, it is a very interesting read into the scientific community & $$$ causing corruption. ****
Home Work – Julie Andrews, with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton. A pretty good memoir of her life in show business. Interesting stories about “mixed families” as both she & her husband were divorced with previous children & both of their parents were divorced. Because of their careers, they had 4 different residences at the same time in 3 different countries. They also adopted 2 Vietnamese children. ***
Who is Alex Trebeck – Lisa Rogak. A good biography about Alex Trebeck & the history of Jeopardy. ****
Laughter Yoga – Madan Kataria M.D. A doctor from India, retired but still active in Yoga Laughter. He has researched the effects of laughter & started Yoga laughter meetings throughout the world . This book gives many details of of practicing it with pictures. He makes many claims about the positive effects of practicing laughter. ****
Calling Bullshit – Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin West. They take on this data driven world & show many different ways data is manipulated in % (of what?) graphs (based on what?), false medical reports, etc.***
House in The Mountains – Caroline Moorehead. The story of women in the Italian resistance from 1943 to the end of WW2. This is detailed Italian history of the gruesome battles during the last 3 years of WW2 in Italy & the personal stories of those in the resistance. ****
The First Time – Colton Underwood. A memoir of his experiences on reality TV shows “The Bachelor”, “Bachelor in Paradise”& “The Bachelorette.” He also covers his life as a child, his family, his brief stint as a pro football player. Women will love this book. **
My Wife Said You May Want To Marry Me – Jason B. Rosenthal. Author’s wife, Amy, wrote an essay published in The New York Times with this header as she was dying from ovarian cancer. This book is a memoir about before, during & after death. Can be a “tear jerker” at times. **
Cheaters Always Win – J.M. Fenster. Many examples of cheating in games, politics, business, finance, marriages, and many others. **
The House of Kennedy – James Patterson. A good history of the Kennedy’s through 2019. He touches on the bad things in their history along with the positive things. There are a lot of details that you will not have heard or read about before. ****
Revolution – K.T. McFarland. Author held national security posts in the Nixon, Ford, & Reagan administrations before serving in the Trump administration. She writes about what happens inside the political world in her specialty of foreign affairs. Interesting stories about names you will know – Kissinger, along with many others. ****
Shatner – Michael Seth Starr. Biography of William Shatner. Star Trek was his most famous show, but he did many other things, TV, Movies, and Stage. **
You Are Worth It – Kyle Carpenter. Carpenter was awarded the Medal of Honor for throwing himself on top of a grenade in Afghanistan. Most of this book is about the extensive time & treatment he spent recovering from his wounds. ***
Hunting The Unabomber – Lis Wiehl/Lisa Pulitzer. An in-depth look at how the FBI, postal service, and ATF investigated this case for 17 years. You will be amazed at the details of this operation from coast to coast and the many people and $$$ involved. ****
The American Story – David M. Rubenstien. A great synopsis of American History. He interviews authors who have written biographies of 12 presidents, Founding fathers & mothers, Charles Lindberg, Martin Luther King Jr., and chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. *****
Creative Care – Anne Basting. A revolutionary approach to elder care, especially dementia & Alzheimer’s. She gives many case histories of new methods of treating elders in different settings, including nursing homes & private homes.
Lou Gehrig-The Lost Memoir – Alan G. Gaff. The first part is columns that Gehrig wrote for an Oakland newspaper, almost entirely about baseball. The 2nd part is a biography written by Gaff. Strictly for baseball history fans. **
American Crusade – Pete Hegseth. A conservative’s view of what is wrong with all of the “isms” and how to combat and change them. A bible for hard right conservatives. *
The Splendid & the Vile – Erik Larson. An excellent written history of Winston Churchill in 1940 & 1941. These were intense war years with Germany attacking England. Many stories about inside the politics & military actions. Also, many human interest stories about personalities, and the various sex affairs which make good reading. *****
Blitz – David Horowitz. Strong Trump advocate tears apart most of the anti Trump accusations. He reviews many accusations & then discredits them with actual facts & situations. **
Wisdom In Action – Mary Oviatt. This book is written by my cousin, Rita Ulbrich Oviatt, about her aunt. Both were raised about 2 miles from the farm I was raised on in Iowa with very similar conditions. Marie Ulbirch always wanted to serve the “poorest of the poor.” Marie Ulbrich was one of 4 Sisters (nuns) that started the medical Mission Sisters. They now have missions all over the world. ***
Arts & crafts, boats, cars, food, nature, and more.
Making weekend plans? Check out these 5 things to do this weekend inSWFL:
Fair Food Street Fest
Millennial Brewing Company is celebrating four years in business with a Fair Food Street Fest on Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. Eight local food vendors will serve favorite carnival foods, such as funnel cakes, fried Oreos, churros, walking tacos, Philly cheesesteaks, German-style pretzels, deep-fried mac and cheese, salchipapas, hotdogs and much more. Vegan options will include corn dogs, chicken and waffles, and sloppy joes, just to name a few. Live music will be featured on both nights of the festival — first by Jeff Lyons and then by Brian Jackson and the Po Boys Duo — from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event is the first of its kind since the COVID pandemic began. Therefore, Millennial Brewing will adhere to the latest CDC guidelines with highly sanitized facilities and by encouraging staff and patrons to wear masks at all times. As always, the festival will include free entry and parking as well as a family- and pet-friendly atmosphere.
The Naples Boat Show is the largest premier recreational show in the Naples-Marco Island area. On Land at the Naples Airport, and In-Water at the Naples City Dock, with complimentary shuttle service. The show, from 10 am – 5 pm through Sunday, will feature displays by marinas, boat dealers, and other marine related businesses. The Naples Boat Show is owned and managed by the Marine Industries Association of Collier County. Admission: General 1-Day $12, Kids 12 and under FREE with a paying adult. Parking: Complimentary onsite parking at the Naples Airport. *Face masks are required to attend this event*
FREE event and FREE parking at Ave Maria for the Arts & Crafts Festival! Sculptures, spectacular paintings, one-of-a-kind jewels, photography, ceramics, and much more. No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll be sure to find it among the various array of artists and crafters participating in the festival from 10 am – 4 pm on Saturdayand Sunday. *We will have LIVE music entertainment from 12 – 3 p.m. on Saturday and from 1 – 4 p.m. on Sunday. Saturday is the weekly Farmers Market also from 9 AM – 2 PM. For event information, call (239) 352-3903. For vendor information, call TNT Events at (352) 344-0657. Events will be adhering to CDC guidelines and social distancing procedures. All events are subject to change.
Come join us at our first Cars and Coffee of the new year. Bring your families and your finest automobile for a fun day on Sunday from 8 – 11 am at the Shops at Surfside. All cars /trucks/motorcycles are welcome! Register your car at the tent upon arrival and enjoy a complimentary coffee and raffle ticket. We will be raffling off prizes from our sponsors. Additional raffle tickets can be purchased at the ten, along with CCC&C t-shirts.
Calusa Nature Center‘s monthly Night Hike in the woods, Sunday night at 7 pm, is great for all ages! Discover Southwest Florida after dark on our pine loop trail. Keep your eyes and ears open for owls, bats, and more! Spaces are limited, go to CalusaNature.org to register! $15 per person / space is limited
