"Paperback Writer"

 I am not really a Paperback Writer, but I am a reader of Paperbacks, Softcovers, and Hardcovers. Here are the first five books I have read in 2025. I raised my goal from 36 books to 40 books after reading 39 in 2024. Here are Books 1 through 5...

Sense and Sensibility (#1)

Written by Jane Austen; published in 1811


This was the first novel written by Austen and the third I have read. The cover is not from the book I read since I have one book with all four Austen novels: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion (still need to read). It was an enjoyable read and it is interesting to read about England in the late 18th century. It also became the 75th book on my Bucket reading list. I give the book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent).

Dry (#2)

Written by Neal Shusterman and son Jarrod; published in 2018


I ended up buying this book on a recommendation by Stephen King on Goodreads. There are plenty of books by Neal, and it was his son Jarrod that helped him write this interesting tale on the water being shut off in southern California and the craziness that follows. I give the book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent). I also learned that since I like reading King, there is a great chance I will like reading what he recommends.

Revenge of the Tipping Point (#3)

Written by Malcolm Gladwell; published in 2024


This is the fourth non-fiction book I have read by Gladwell, having read The Tipping Point in 2000. This book was the 25th anniversary book of the original, with some changed facts and conclusions. The book includes Gladwell's analysis of cheetahs, Ivy League sports, Los Angeles in the 1990s, teen suicide, COVID-19, and the opioid crisis.

Interestingly, the first chapter has a chart from a comparison of Middlebury Vermont with Randolph New Hampshire in the late 1960s. I would have been part of the Middlebury data. You will have to read the book to see what conclusions were made from this data.

I give the book a 2.5 (Good to Great). Not sure if I believe all he writes...

The Fall of Hyperion (#4)

Written by Dan Simmons; published in 1990


I had read the first book in a series by Simmons named Hyperion. This was the follow-up book. I had to find out what happened to the characters in the first novel. Now I know and I see there are a few more books in this series. You have to have a little futuristic sci-fi every once in a while. I give this a 3.5 (Great to Excellent)

What Was Mine (#5)

Written by Ann Beattie; published in 1991


This is a book of short stories that I have owned from the early 1990s when I belonged to a Book-of-the-Month club. It has sat on my shelf for about 30 years and I finally decided to read it. It was a 2.5 (Good to Great). My problem was that most of the stories were about uninteresting people living boring lives. I think there was a lot more to the stories than what I got out of it. There was a few mentions of Vermont and even talked about Middlebury and Bristol Falls. It is not a very long book so I may give it a second read someday. Maybe in 30 more years...

About Title

"Paperback Writer" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, the song was released as the A-side of their eleventh single in May 1966. It topped singles charts in the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, West Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Norway. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the song was at number one for two non-consecutive weeks, being interrupted by Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".

"Paperback Writer" was largely written by Paul McCartney, who based the lyrics on a challenge made to him by his Aunt Lil. McCartney said in 1966: "Years ago, my Auntie Lil said to me, 'Why do you always write songs about love all the time? Can't you ever write about a horse or the summit conference or something interesting?' So, I thought, 'All right, Auntie Lil.'" According to Radio Luxembourg DJ Jimmy Savile's recollection, the inspiration for the song came backstage at a concert venue when McCartney, mindful of his aunt's request, saw Ringo Starr reading a book and declared his intention to write a song about a book.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Photo Memory - BJ with others

Image
As I continue to scan in all the photos I have collected over the years, I have continually modified the way I am trying to organize the photos. I have created groups by individuals, and of course central to that are photos of me. I have shared some of the single photos of me on Facebook, and I would like to share here a few of photos of me with others. The first photo is me, not even four months old, being held by my Grandmother, Helen Rheaume Shackett. I know the photo was taking at our Weybridge Street house in Middlebury by the banister behind us. The stairs are steep in the Provoncha house, and many a drunk fell down those stairs into the cactus my mom kept at the bottom. Tom moved the bathroom from the second floor to the first when he purchased the house, so now only those spending the night get to go up those stairs. BJ with Grandma Shackett The next photo is when I turned one in the summer of 1958. I lived at the Weybridge St house all my life through high sch...
Read more

"All You Need Is Love"

Image
Weddings! All you need is Love !  The other night I had a weird dream about attending a wedding. When I woke, I started thinking about the weddings I have attended in my life. I was not sure if I could remember them all. I know the list is long and I decided to al least get a record of the ones I have pictures from. Sometimes I was just an onlooker, and there were times I was lucky to be part of the wedding party. In actuality, I always participate in the wedding party! Here are some wedding photos from my archive. Family I did not attend this wedding. It was November 24 in 1946, my mom Stella united with my dad Harold at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Middlebury Vermont. Although I was not there in body, you could say my whole future depended upon this moment. My oldest sister Patsy got married out West and none of the family attended. Pat and Brent ended up moving to Hawaii where my niece Lori was born. Tom married Robin, but it was a very small gathering. Just after I graduated...
Read more

"The Long and Winding Road"

Image
 I met John Pitkethly back in February of 1980. Since then, it has been a Long and Winding Road , but John played an integral part in how my life turned out. He hired me as a Data Analyst I and I started ENSCO on March 17, 1980. And I retired 34 years later, as a Data Analyst II . Just kidding, I was allowed to flourish at ENSCO, and worked on many interesting projects with many unique scientists and software engineers. John's life: Work, Drinks, Golf, Drinks, Cruises, Drinks, Drinking, Drinks. (and Family throughout) This is what John looked like when I started work at ENSCO, the DCS Division, in Indian Harbour Beach at Shopper's World. John was 43... This is what I looked like when I started at ENSCO, I was 22. When I started, Norm Bush was our Division Manager. Eventually Norm would become the President of ENSCO and John would become Division Manager of the ARS (Applied Research and Systems) and then VP, moving our office to Suntree. In 1999, John decided to retire and new D...
Read more