On Monday night I dashed through one of the quickest books I’ve ever read: Betty White’s latest memoir.
It took me about 40 minutes, cover to cover. That’s 258 pages. And no, I wasn’t speed-reading. The chapters are really short, there are lots of pictures and filler pages, and the margins are wide. It was also just an easy read. Nothing earth-shattering in any sense of the word: no real drama, no absorbing humor. I really like Betty White, and I thought her writer’s voice was pleasant. But I’m wondering if I should read some of her earlier memoirs; maybe she’d just run out of her A-material by the time she wrote this one.
I did particularly enjoy her warm references to her late husband and her intense gratitude for her inclusion in three hit television shows in which the cast felt like a family (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland). I’m pretty sure that the common denominator in all three shows, Betty herself, had much to do with their success both as shows and as wonderful workplaces, but her humility prevents any hint of that thought in her writing. If you love animals, you’ll also enjoy her many chapters about her animal friends and the charities she works with, as well as a cute anecdote about the stuffed animal room in her house.
So if you want a quick read, go for it!
Meanwhile, here are some books I’m looking forward to reading in the near future:
What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
Rescue by Anita Shreve
In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
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