Tomato Stakes by Melanie Jo Moore

Tomato Stakes is a sequel to Letters to Young Chong.

Melanie has many more crazy stories to share with her readers in this one.

If you read Letters to Young Chong, you know of her interesting obsession with a Mexican man named Julio.

Much of this books details the ups and downs of their times together. Just like everything else in her life, it just can’t go as she planned and it cant be easy.

There is a lot of alcohol, a lot of karaoke, and a lot of tequila insanity.

Some people have lives that are meant for memoirs, and Melanie’s is one of them. I often found myself laughing out loud while reading part two of her memoir series. 

She has a very entertaining and engaging writing style that makes it easy for the reader to not put the book down. I often said “One more chapter. . ., “ and it would turn in to two or three chapters before I could put it down.

Read Letters to Young Chong first. If you enjoy it as much as I did, you have to read this one too.

It is really funny even though you may feel like yelling at her decisions from time to time.

I can't wait to see where she takes us next. 

4.5/5 Stars. Sometimes you just need to laugh at someone else. This is a perfect book to help you do that.

Memorable quote: "Remember our discussion on diagnosing insanity.   A key component I forgot to mention was that the insane will make sudden and rash decisions, even when they made a perfectly rational one SECONDS ago."

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Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk

If you are familiar with Chuck’s work, you know that it is very bizarre and out of the ordinary.

If you are not familiar, well – he is the author of Fight Club.

Stranger Than Fiction is his collection of non-fiction essays. Most of them are about other people, but there is a section at the end that is all about his experiences.

Throughout the book, he gives clues as to what influenced some of his novels. He gets his inspiration from talking to people and hearing their stories. It is interesting to see what exactly influenced books that I have read.

That being said, some of the stories seemed a bit longer than they needed to be and they got a little slow at times.

There were also some very interesting ones. The ones that entertained me the most came from his own experiences and also the story about him talking to Marilyn Manson.

3/5 stars. It was interesting, but it did get a little slow at times. I guess every story isn’t for everyone. 

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Letters To Young Chong by Melanie Jo Moore

Letters to Young Chong is a memoir written by Melanie Jo Moore that is built on her friendship (well… sometimes friends, sometimes cousins…. Sometimes sisters) with Melissa Moore (no actual relation).

It has a very good flow to it by working in chronological order. Some memoirs can try to get too much information into one book and jump all over the place while losing the reader in the process. I did not find this to be the case here, although maybe the incredibly crazy stories had some hand in that haha.

This book takes you through the beginning of Melanie and Melissa’s friendship that began during their early school years when they would constantly be confused for one another due to their similar names. Melanie held quite a grudge over Melissa for this, and wasn’t very fond of her for a long time.

I guess that could be how all great friendships began.. or maybe they are just a very unique pairing. I will go with a mixture of both.

They grew up in a rural area and did not have much to do. So, obviously, this translates to them causing havoc everywhere they went.

Then the book jumps a little to when they are older.

You thought there was a lot of alcohol, boys, and trouble when they were in high school.. just wait until you continue reading.

This book is pretty long, but the length is also a bit deceiving. It has a very quick pace to it, so the length is actually pretty irrelevant. I read over half of it in one sitting.

Although this memoir is packed with crazy and hilarious stories, it also follows some rough topics as well including bad relationships and losing people close to you.

The writing is very good. It flows nicely, and the way Melanie writes interactions and descriptions of the people in the book, you can really visualize them and feel as if you know them a little bit.

Overall, it is actually pretty addicting once you pick it up. It is hard to stop reading while you are in the middle of it.

I am excited for the sequel!

4.5/5 stars

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Incorrigibility by Rayme Michaels

I am going to call this Bro-Fiction. If that is not a genre, it is now.

I am going to call it that because it seems like a story a guy might share with his friends. It is pretty sexually explicit and full of dirty humor.

The definition of incorrigible and the top two definitions that match this book are:

Incapable or being corrected or reformed

and

Difficult or impossible to control or manage

Why does that match this book? The three main characters in this book do not change their point of view no matter what life throws their way – good or bad.

I feel as though the characters all represented three different sides to one man in a way. They were all completely different, but I feel that if you put them together, they would make up one complete man with their thoughts.

That being said, and even though it is a short story, I don’t feel as though there was any real character development.

It was interesting to read, but I couldn’t really get into it, and felt myself cringing from time to time from the content.

2/5 stars.

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Irv’s Odyssey: To the Light and Beyond by Irving H. Podolsky

If you didn’t read the first book in this series, read that first!

Irv's Odyssey: Lost in a Looking Glass

In To the Light and Beyond, our friend Irv is back, and his life is just as hectic as ever. However, he doesn’t have to deal with mentally ill children or work in the adult movie business this time.

Instead, he finds himself unemployed once again and he end up working in various restaurants…. As a bus boy.

Good ole Irv can never have very many things going in his favor. Although, he did make it to Europe, which was his goal in the first novel. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay and has to come back to Georgia.

I would say this installment takes the reader through Irv’s self-evaluation stage in his life. He is deciding what is best for him, and what is not so good… including the decision of whether to sleep with a married woman or not. It wouldn’t be an Irving H. Podolsky book without some sexual adventure.

I like how this book picked up right where the first one left off. It was a smooth transition, and it all felt very familiar being back in Irving’s world.

It wasn’t as long as the first one, but it was just as enjoyable.

I can’t even begin to imagine what the next one is going to bring!

4.5/5 stars. There were a couple slow patches, but the overall book was great. I suggest picking up the first one and then making your way to this one. It is quite the journey!

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Irv’s Odyssey: Lost in a Looking Glass by Irving H. Podolsky

Sometimes you encounter a book that is so full of craziness that you can’t really believe what you just read. This is one of those – in the best way possible.

Irv’s Odessey is a fictitious memoir told in first person.

If you are under 18 – this is not for you. If you do not like to read about the porn industry – this is not for you. If you like to laugh out loud while reading some disturbing and explicit books – this is DEFINITELY for you.

Now, this book is not erotic, just sexual humor, and Irving writes it wonderfully.

I was laughing out loud at many points in this book.

Through the whole journey you get to know Irving, his background, his desires in life, and also his drug habits.

When he cannot get a good film job after graduating college, he gets thrust into the porn industry, and no matter how hard he tries, it seems as though he can never escape it. That is, until he starts working with children that are just too much for him to handle.

Honestly, there is really no other way to describe this book without me telling you to just read it. It is a crazy ride and hilarious every step of the way.

5/5 Hilarious. Explicit… but hilarious. 

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Homo Saywhaticus by Lance Manion

Homo Saywhaticus is a collection of short stories and it fall under the genre of Adult Humor. Very adult…

The book sort of reads like a blog, which makes sense because Lance is a blogger. I don’t read many comedy or humor books, but I felt myself enjoying this one.

It can get very raunchy at times, and at other times you are not even sure what it even going on. But, I think that is the point. It is a book that doesn’t make you think a whole lot. It could be a break from reality if you are having a stressful day. Just pick it up and read one or two of the short stories, and they may make you laugh.

I found myself laughing out loud a few times, wincing a few times, and utterly confused at other times.

It was quite the journey, but a fun one.

4/5 Stars. 

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