The Measure of a Man

When I get a chance I'd love to read this...

The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography
by Sidney Poitier (Paperback)

Recommended by Oprah's Book Club

About the Author:
Born in Miami 1927 and raised in the Bahamas, Poitier began acting after the war, and soon made his debut in Hollywood with No Way Out. He became the first black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1968 he was knighted by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and is the recipient of four honorary doctorate degrees, the last from New York University. He has starred in over forty films, directed nine, and written four. He has received three Golden Globe Awards; an American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award; the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, among many other awards and honors. In April 1997 Poitier was named the Ambassador to Japan from the Bahamas. Sir Poitier is currently president and CEO of Verdon Cedric Productions. He is married, has six daughters, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

The book description can be read at the link above.

I recommend this book already - the book description alone inspired me. I have no doubts Sidney Poitier is a very special man.

Fantasy-Tainted Thriller: Secret of horror novelist's lineage is broken as book wins acclaim

Whois? Joe Hill

Hill, 34, took on his secret identity to test his writing skills and marketability without having to trade on the family name...


Meet Stephen King's son...

For the last ten years, Joe Hill has been writing short stories and wrote an unpublished novel under his pen name. Now he brings us a fantasy-tainted thriller that Warner Bros. has already bought the film rights to six-months before Heart Shaped Box hit the market!

Facts:

The moniker he chose did not come out of the blue. He is legally Joseph Hillstrom King, named for the labour organizer whose 1915 execution for murder in Utah inspired the song, "Joe Hill," an anthem of the labour movement. His parents, who came of age during the 1960s, "were both pretty feisty liberals and looked at Joe Hill as a heroic figure," he said.

"Heart-Shaped Box," a title drawn from a song by the rock group Nirvana, is a fast-paced tale of another man with dual identities. Judas Coyne, born Justin Cowzynski, is an over-the-hill heavy metal rocker with a strange hobby: amassing ghoulish artifacts. The choice of title was pure serendipity. Hill's initial idea, "Private Collection," went by the wayside when the 1993 Nirvana song popped up on iTunes as the author was getting ready to write the episode in which UPS delivers the haunted suit to Coyne. It was then that Hill decided to package the suit in a heart-shaped box.

As excitement percolated about "Heart-Shaped Box," so, too, did lingering questions about its author. Inklings about Hill's family background started appearing in online message boards in 2005 when his collection of short stories, "20th Century Ghosts," was published in Britain.

Still, his pen name had a good ride. The editor of "Heart-Shaped Box" was unaware of the King connection and Hill's agent remained in the dark for eight years before the author spilled the beans two years ago.

More Info:
Mar 17, 12:27 PM EST
By Jerry Harkavy
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) - Joe Hill knew it was only a matter of time before one of the publishing industry's hottest little secrets became common knowledge. He just wished he could have kept it under wraps a bit longer... read more

Related Site:
Joe Hill Official Website

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Better Single Than Sorry

"Jen Schefft won 2003's The Bachelor and starred in 2004's The Bachelorette. She walked away from one engagement and turned down two proposals and has never looked back. She now works in public relations and lives in Chicago."

Here's what I love and relate to about single woman and author Jen Schefft and her new book Better Single Than Sorry: A No-Regrets Guide to Loving Yourself and Never Settling...

Soon I will be reading the pages to see how happy Jen Schefft really is. Why? I am a woman content and happy in being single and in who I am.

However, within the text of Harper Collin's book description it starts like this:

"Let's be honest. No woman really wants to be alone for the rest of her life."

Already I've noticed that doesn't stack up with her claim of being content and happy in who she is and life and my "reason" for buying the book...

• How can a woman say she's happy and content if she can also say she doesn't want to be alone the rest of her life?
• Quite simply: She can't. Period.

So far I am the only girl from my childhood and woman I know that doesn't desire the "fairy tale" story, no dreams to get married, none of that. I know people have a difficult time understanding it, but those who know me know I'm happy and confident with that and always have been.

I've never believed in marriage. Even when I was a little girl. I have bigger things I want to accomplish in my life. It's that simple. For me. How can marriage possibly be real or genuine if it's not an eternal commitment? I'm real. Marriage isn't. Why waste my time? And that's how I honestly see it.

However, I have no doubt Jen Schefft is being true to herself when she says she's not willing to settle--obviously--she walked away from one engagement and turned down two proposals. Congratulations Jen! I sincerely mean that.

Photo: Rockit Ranch Productions, Megan Teela

• So can we say Jen Schefft's book is fact or fiction?

That's what I'm going to find out and as I mentioned my reason for purchasing this book. I'll be back here to write a book review (and report) on Better Single Than Sorry...

• What are your thoughts? Have you read it?

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