Books I've Read Lately

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

This was an audiobook that I recently listened to.  It takes place in the antebellum American south.  The two main characters, Belle and Lavina swap back in forth between the story.  Each being told from their point of view, by two different narrators. 

Lavenia lost her entire family but her brother Cardigan on the boat over from Ireland.  She became an indentured servant to the Pikes as a child.  Belle who was already a kitchen slave was put in charge of her raring.

Without giving too much away, we are taken through the dynamic of the three types of stations in this house.  The wealthy plantation owners, who had everything, the slaves who had nothing and Lavinia who teetered between worlds, as she was not treated as a slave, but not quite treated as an equal.

There is a lot of tragedy in this book.  I have noticed people either love it or hate it.  I loved this book, it is now one of my favorite books. 

I am not sure how it reads, but it is very good listening.

Sal Mineo: A Biography by Michael Gregg Michaud

Who remembers Sal Mineo?  The cutie friend from the movie “Rebel Without A Cause”.  Of course you do.  There are not many biographies about Mr. Mineo, but I found this one and thought I’d give it a read.

It takes us from his childhood on the streets of The Bronx to his death in a California parking lot.  I learned a lot about Sal.  I knew he was a homosexual, however, this gave more of an inner working of his mind and how he viewed sex. 

One thing I didn’t know was that he was really into producing and actually produced and acted in a stage play that was very racy for the day.

There were other very interesting tidbits in this book, that really brought Sal to life.  If you have or have had an interest in a wonderful actor from the past, this book is something you should check out.