So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

This is the memoir of the actor, Emmett James. As a young boy, growing up in a lower class London neighbourhood he recalled his earliest experiences with the cinema. He use to go with his mother and older brother. He usually fell asleep but mange to wake up for the best parts. He enjoyed these family outings, in fact, they are his fondest memories from his childhood. He really liked to observe how his mother and brother watched movies.

The chapters each start with a film that James had seen but the writing within each chapter had very little to do with the mentioned film. This memoir is much more the memoir of Emmett James, actor, rather than his connection to film. He talked about his rough childhood and how he got into acting.

From the description of the book, I expected this to be about how he related to the films he saw and what impact they had on him. This was not the case and I was therefore disappointed. James writing was okay and there were a few laugh out loud moments but there were some boring parts as well. In a book of only 192 pages I really didn't expect to be bored at all.

At this point in his life, James is not a big star. His biggest part was one of the crew members in James Cameron’s “Titanic”. So far, that seems like the high point of his career. My point is that I don't quite get why James chose to write a memoir this point in his life. Perhaps he would have had more to tell with more life experience. 

As I said above, there were some funny moments . I especially enjoyed the 'Star Wars' chapter. James shared the impact the movie and marketing of the movie had on him. He wanted a Star Wars toy for Christmas and asked Santa for it.

2.5/5

Thanks to Lisa Roe Online Publicist for the signed copy of this book.

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Norman Ollestad grew up on the beaches of Topanga Beach in California. His father, also Norman, or Senior Ollestad, taught him how to surf and ski at a very young age and expected him to excel in both. Much to Norman's horror, his father would take him off trail downhill skiing the were quite dangerous. No matter how many time he pleaded with his father not to take him on the treacherous hills and the largest waves, his father made him do it. Norman didn't have much choice and he did like making his father proud.

The memoir is told in alternating chapters, one chapter about his life growing up in a broken family and his adventures with his dad and then a chapter about the horrific plane crash he was in with his father and his father's girl friend Sandra.

Norman's parents divorced when he was quite young and he lived with his mom and her boyfriend, Nick. Nick was an alcoholic and was physically and mentally abusive to both Norman and his mother. His mother usually chose Nick over the well being of her son, despite his abuse.

Norman really wanted to be a "normal" kid, with normal parents. He didn't get to play with other kids very often because his father brought him all over to either practice or compete in sports. He was glad to be away from Nick during those times but also terrified of what hill or wave his father would make him concur next.

This book read very much like a novel. Norman Ollestad has a great talent for writing and I had trouble putting this book down. I do question how true some of his memories are. Many sounded exaggerated to me. I'm not convinced that Ollestad did this intentionally but maybe his memories of the events were bigger than the actual events. After all, he was only 11 years old when he was in the plane crash.

If you like memoirs or even adventure fiction, you are sure to enjoy this compelling book!

4.5/5

Also reviewed at:

At Home With Books
Bookfoolery and Babble
A Bookworm's World
Thoughts of Joy

3.5/5