Stuff...

So, there is a huge hole in my reading list between the Oscar Wilde book, finished in January, and the Cecil book, finished in June. I read some books in the interim but nothing especially memorable. There was a book about the Shakespeare Riots in New York that was very good and really illuminated the individuals who instigated the violence. Also, I remember the author's biographical blurb listed his A-levels. I thought that was absolutely ridiculous. Possibly the most pathetic and pretentious thing I've ever seen in an author bio.

Anyway, The Cecils (a biography of the father and son who advised Elizabeth I) was a huge disappointment. Of course, I was reading for information on the Cook sisters (one of whom was the wife of William and mother of Robert Cecil) so I wanted the book to be something it wasn't.

I also skimmed a Bette Davis biography. The best thing about it is throughout the book there are sections of red text, which are Davis' reactions, corrections, and expansions on what the biographer has written. Awesome! She was very Bette Davis, but also much nicer and more reflective than I expected.

Please Kill Me always seemed cool and funny when I read excerpts, but taken as a whole it is depressing stories about people I never heard of. The nostalgia is the most disheartening part.