Good Omens

So I know I’m my last post I said I would be doing a two part post about H.H. Holmes, however after I finished the first book I went to the book store and I purchased a book and started reading it right away and here we are.

So besides reading I love watching streaming shows seldomly do I watch cable tv. A few months back someone suggested Good Omens and I have to admit I loved it! Imagine my excitement when I found out it was based on a book! So for those who don’t know Good Omens is written by the authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Neil Gaiman might be a name some of you recognize he wrote such books as Coraline, and The Sandman series both of which where adapted one into a movie and the other a series on Netflix (I highly recommend both).

Michael Sheen as Aziraphale and David Tennant as Crowley

The book is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the coming of the End Times. There are attempts by the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley to sabotage the coming of the end times, having grown accustomed to their comfortable surroundings in England. At its core, Good Omens strikes a masterful balance between comedic moments and insightful commentary on human nature. It sends a message that people are not wholly one thing or another – that they’re often somewhere in the middle. It’s that diversity that makes humanity so strange and wonderful.

I absolutely adore this book. I grew up Catholic, even though I no longer attend church I appreciate the symbolism in the book and love the humor of the story it doesn’t make fun of religion like others have in the past (ie Book of Mormon) but it explains that the original sin, and the influence of evil on the actions of man in the most simplified way: the disobedience of the will of God. These are themes that come into play in Good Omens as well.

All in all I would recommend both show and book when it comes to Good Omens which fyi doesn’t happen often.

Paris Hilton

When you think of the 2000’s what comes to mind? Flip phones, von Dutch trucker hats, and at least for me Paris Hilton. She was the it girl of the time. She was everywhere in the 2000’s so of course when she came out with her second book (her first being confessions of an heiress in 2004) I had to get it and lucky for me I had a credit to use on audible.

So to start off the book Paris first starts the book with a history lesson in the Hilton family, for those who aren’t familiar Conrad Hilton was an American businessman who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, but became disillusioned with the “inside deals” of politics. In 1919, he purchased his first hotel, the Mobley Hotelin Cisco, Texas, for $40,000, and subsequently capitalized on the oil boom. The rooms were rented out in eight-hour shifts. He continued to buy and sell hotels, and eventually established the world’s first international hotel chain. When he died in 1979, he left the bulk of his estate to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

After that little history lesson Paris talks about her childhood she is the oldest of Kathy and Richard Hilton, she talks about her grandmother and how once she started to cause trouble she was sent to her grandmothers in California. She talks about feeling isolated from her family because of living with her grandmother at the time. She also discusses how she was kicked out of multiple schools for her crazy behavior and how a teacher groomed her and she almost ran away with him. She talks at length about the alternative school her parents sent her to where during the night two men kidnapped her and took her to Utah and she spent her teen years there, she describes being stripped searched and abused physically and mentally at this program. Paris details her many attempts at running away from the program and how she could never trust her family because they would always send her back no matter how much pleading she did.

After she finally left the treatment programs she discusses the simple life a short lived reality tv show with best friend Nichole Ritchie. She talks about how she believes had the sex tape never been released at the same time the show would have been more successful. And yes she talks about the sex tape that was released as a result of a jilted lover.

Personally I loved this book immensely happy that Paris was able to pull out of her wild girl party years and become a successful brand and have the life she wanted she has two beautiful children and a happy marriage and in the end isn’t that what everyone wants?

Counting the Cost

If I admit to having one guilty pleasure it’s that of reality tv, My mom and I call Sunday’s “train wreck Sunday” because we watch 90 day fiancé and sister wives. When I had COVID three years ago we even FaceTimed on Sunday’s when I was in the hospital to watch 90 day and Sister Wives. One of my lesser known loved reality tv shows was 19 kids and counting, I remember even watching the documentary series that started the whole phenomenon. So when I found out that the daughter Jill wrote a book I knew I had to read/listen to it. And now finally MONTHS later I finally got to listen to it.

Let me start off by saying I have no nor do I intend to read any of the previous books released by the parents during the high points of the families fame. Also full disclosure I was raised Catholic but am not a currently practicing Catholic, I went to church for the first time in god knows how long over Christmas for my grandmothers funeral.

That being said I was ready for whatever Jill had to say and boy did she have a lot to say! She didn’t hold back in this book, if you watched the documentary on Amazon prime you got the gist of the book but the even bigger theme of this book that wasn’t in the documentary was the thousands of dollars that the father Jim bob stole from his kids his own flesh and blood. Jill didn’t hold back in saying he’s essentially a douche bag ( my words not hers but still) and when discussing her brother Josh and his issues she literally calls him a monster.

Over all I loved the book it was an easy read in the sense it was only 9 chapters but it was hard to listen to knowing it was her own father who put her and her siblings through all of this, and their mother sat obediently by his side while he did it.

The Big Bang theory

So by far my absolute favorite tv show of all time is The Big Bang Theory. I own every season of the show on dvd. It all started when I would catch reruns on TBS waiting for my mom to get home from work and I became obsessed pretty quick. For Christmas I got The Big Bang Theory: The definitive, inside story of the epic hit series by Jessica Radloff.

This book is a must for any Big Bang Theory fan it has interviews conducted by everyone involved with the show not just the actors but producers, writers, guest stars and so many more!

Originally Kevin Sussman (Stewart) tried out for Leonard as did Macaulay Culkin. Johnny Galecki turned down the roll five times. Marisa Tomei was considered from the roll of Katie, the name would eventually be changed to Penny. The theme song was “She blinded me with science” before the bare naked ladies agreed to do it.

Over all this book is amazing tons of behind the scenes photos and info I never heard about anywhere! I definitely recommend this book for any fan of the show.

Side note: sorry this is such a blog a lot has happened in my personal life recently and it’s been hard to focus and get any real reading done.