Bogormen

Title: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing
Author: Matthew Perry
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~9hrs
Date read: June, 2024

“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

I had a hard time rating this book. It wasn't well-written - but it was captivating. It wasn't what I'd consider "a good book" - but it was riveting, fascinating and heartbreaking. I loved hearing about being part of "FRIENDS" and (especially) the shooting of "The Whole Nine Yards" (one of my all-time favourite movies), but had no idea just HOW tough Matthew's life had been.

I'd thought that Matthew Perry was one of the numerous famous guys who couldn't handle being famous, and turned to drinking and drugs because of it. This was very much NOT the case, and in fact, I think being famous (and being on "FRIENDS" especially) actually may have saved his life more than once. Yes, it meant that he had the money to get the drugs he craved, but it also meant that he had money for the rehab, and that his drug habit didn't mean he ended up on the streets. Addiction is a horrible, horrible thing, and my heart broke for Matthew more than once while reading his memoir. It ended up on an optimistic note - which was all the more heartbreaking because of what we now know would happen just one year later :-(

The book hits very differently being read after his death. The very first sentence is, “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.” - and all I could think was, "And you are! ;-( ;-( ;-("

At the end of the day, I'm glad I've read it - and I'm VERY glad that I chose the audiobook version of it. Hearing it in Matthew Perry's own voice definitely added something to it, and he did an excellent job of narrating it.

Title: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
Author: Chris Hadfield
Genre: Non-fiction, memoir
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 296
Date read: March 2024

Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. The secret to Col. Hadfield's success-and survival-is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst - and enjoy every moment of it.


Absolutely fascinating account of how Chris Hadfield got to be an astronaut with CSA at a time where such a feat was practically unheard of. It tells of his initial career as a jet pilot, his acceptance into CSA, his work with NASA, his initial tours into space to help build MIR and ISS, and finally his 6 months on ISS as part of the 34/35 expedition.

Accounts of space fascinate me to no end, and this was every bit as readable as Andy Weir's "The Martian" and "Project Hail Mary" and had the added bonus of actually being true! So while Chris Hadfield's writing did come across as slightly pretentious at times, I figure he's earned it, and just loved getting all the details of life on ISS - and actually especially everyday life. Those moments that end up becoming natural to an astronaut, but that are completely fantastic and exotic to anybody else.

Very readable - not dry at all! - and highly recommendable!

Title: Undervejs: Erindringer fra 1940-1972
Author: Dronning Margrethe fortæller til Tom Buk-Swienty
Genre: Memoir, non-fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 496
Date read: September, 2022

Hvem var den unge kvinde, som i sørgedragt en frysende kold dag i januar 1972 trådte ud på balkonen på Christiansborg Slot for at blive udråbt til Danmarks næste regent? Det spørgsmål har været omdrejningspunkt for 14 bevægende samtaler mellem Hendes Majestæt Dronning Margrethe og forfatteren Tom Buk-Swienty. Værket udgives i anledning af Dronningens 50-års regeringsjubilæum, men det er ikke regentperioden, der er værkets ærinde. Bogen handler om tiden, før Dronningen blev dronning.

Det er historien om at være barn af Besættelsen, om at vokse op i en familie, der kan føre anerne tilbage til Gorm den Gamle og samtidig er forbundet med Europas store kongehuse. En verden af barnepiger, kammerherrer, adjudanter, kabinetssekretærer, hofchefer og med tre slotte, et jagthus, Kongeskibet Danmark, en pigeskole i København og en kostskole i England som ramme om opvæksten.

Undervejs viser et sansende og videbegærligt ungt menneske, der går til livet med et åbent og nysgerrigt sind, som studerer på universiteter i København, Aarhus, London og Paris, og som forelsker sig i arkæologien og tager på udgravninger under eksotiske himmelstrøg. Før sin 25-års fødselsdag har den kommende dronning været på dannelsesrejser verden rundt og dele af rejsebrevene offentliggøres her for første gang. I bogen udfoldes også historien om den store kærlighed, der begynder, da Prinsessen møder den franske diplomat grev Henri de Monpezat i London.

Under samtalerne har Tom Buk-Swienty leveret hundredvis af spørgsmål, som Dronningen har besvaret med blik for selv de mindste detaljer, altid boblende fortælleglæde, humor, selvironi, men også stor alvor, en gang imellem med tårer i øjnene og til tider med forbavsende bramfrihed.


Interessante vignetter fra Dronning Margrethes liv, hvor man lige så tydeligt kan høre hendes stemme. Tom Buk-Swienty har virkelig forstået at træde i baggrunden, og lade dronningens stemme tone igennem. Kapitlerne er korte, hvilket gør det nemt liiiige at tage et til, så jeg endte med at læse bogen meget hurtigere end jeg havde forventet - dens længde taget i betragtning.

Ligesom mange andre fik jeg ikke det store ud af rejsedagbørgerne, men de var heldigvis nemme at skimme. Jeg var til gengæld glad for de mange billeder og skitser rundt omkring.

Klart en bog jeg er glad for at have læst, og som har bekræftet mit tidligere indtryk af vores dronning som en kvinde med ben i næsen.

... og så er jeg altid glad for at finde en anden Tom Lehrer fan ;-)

Title: Over the Top
Author: Jonathan Van Ness
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 269
Date read: September, 2020

Who gave Jonathan Van Ness permission to be the radiant human he is today? No one, honey.

The truth is, it hasn’t always been gorgeous for this beacon of positivity and joy.

Before he stole our hearts as the grooming and self-care expert on Netflix’s hit show Queer Eye, Jonathan was growing up in a small Midwestern town that didn’t understand why he was so…over the top. From choreographed carpet figure skating routines to the unavoidable fact that he was Just. So. Gay., Jonathan was an easy target and endured years of judgement, ridicule and trauma—yet none of it crushed his uniquely effervescent spirit.

Over the Top uncovers the pain and passion it took to end up becoming the model of self-love and acceptance that Jonathan is today. In this revelatory, raw, and rambunctious memoir, Jonathan shares never-before-told secrets and reveals sides of himself that the public has never seen. JVN fans may think they know the man behind the stiletto heels, the crop tops, and the iconic sayings, but there’s much more to him than meets the Queer Eye.



Anybody's who's watched the new reboot of "Queer Eye" (and probably several who hasn't) knows who Jonathan Van Ness is, and the basic story of how he became the awesome person he is now. But the truth is (as always) that there's so much more to him than comes out in the show. He has been to hell and back, and the fact that he's still here to tell his story is nothing short of a miracle.

Jonathan's voice is so clear throughout the book that I didn't even need the audiobook version to clearly hear him read it aloud to me, and his joy and passion for life jumps out of every page - even when accounting the most horrible parts of his life.

I would have liked to read more about Queer Eye itself, and was sad not to see any photos included (would have loved to see pictures of baby Jonathan!), but this is definitely more a book of overcoming hardship and finding joy in life, rather than "how I became JVN of Queer Eye", so it makes sense that the focus was placed elsewhere. I have nothing but respect for him, and definitely understand some of his moods better now.

Title: Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come
Author: Jessica Pan
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 274
Date read: July, 2019

What would happen if a shy introvert lived like a gregarious extrovert for one year? If she knowingly and willingly put herself in perilous social situations that she’d normally avoid at all costs? Writer Jessica Pan intends to find out. With the help of various extrovert mentors, Jessica sets up a series of personal challenges (talk to strangers, perform stand-up comedy, host a dinner party, travel alone, make friends on the road, and much, much worse) to explore whether living like an extrovert can teach her lessons that might improve the quality of her life. Chronicling the author’s hilarious and painful year of misadventures, this book explores what happens when one introvert fights her natural tendencies, takes the plunge, and tries (and sometimes fails) to be a little bit braver.


When I read the blurb here, I immediately felt a kinship with Jessica Pan. As an introvert myself (although fortunately not a shy one) the truth of the title resonated deeply with me, and like Jessica, I too have declined invitations simply because I was peopled out, and would rather snuggle up on my couch with a book or my knitting.

So her challenge of saying yes to everything for a change is one that at the same time appealed to me and terrified me. Yes to improv? Absolutely, sign me up! I LOVE that stuff! Yes to stand-up comedy? Meh... would require somebody else to write my material, but otherwise, ok (I don't have a funny bone in my body, but love being on stage). Yes to friend-dates? Sure... it's a one-on-one situation, it could work. Yes to a solo vacation where I'm not allowed to buy guidebooks but have to rely on asking locals for advice? Meep! Yes to networking events and - gasp - talking to strangers on the bus? Noooooooo!!!!

I was a bit hesitant at first, because it seemed like this could very easily just be one cringe-worthy experience after the other, and some of the first forays into the world of extroverting did indeed end up that way, but as the year progressed and Jessica found more and more mentors to help her through - and made more and more friends along the way! - it became both a pleasant and a motivating read. I don't know that I'll go out and sign up for the friendship version of tinder anytime soon, but it's quite refreshing to know that while people might not wave - everybody waves back.

Title: Drinking at the Movies
Author: Julia Wertz
Genre: Graphic memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 220
Date read: April 2019, April 2025

In her first full-length graphic memoir, Julia Wertz (creator of the cult-hit comic The Fart Party) documents the year she left San Francisco for the unfamiliar streets of New York. Don’t worry—this isn’t the typical redemptive coming-of-age tale of a young woman and her glorious triumph over tragedy or any such nonsense. It’s simply a hilarious—occasionally poignant—book filled with interesting art, absurd humor and plenty of amusing self-deprecation. Box by box, Wertz chronicles four sketchy apartments, seven terrible jobs, family drama, traveling fiascos, and too many whiskey bottles to count.


Julia's experiences moving from San Francisco to NYC, trying to "make it there" with all the shitty jobs and apartments that comes along with such a move. Obviously dark at times, but Julia manages to write it with humour and charm so that it never comes across as bleak or depressing. I laughed out loud more than once, and definitely want to check out more of her work now.

Title: Waiter to the Rich and Shameless: Confessions of a Five-Star Beverly Hills Server
Author: Paul Hartford
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 258
Date read: March 2018

A down-and-out musician chops off his hair to become a server at the top of the Hollywood food chain, discovering a cloistered world of money, fame, bad behavior and intrigue.

Waiter to the Rich and Shameless is not just a peek into the secretive inner workings of a legendary 5-star restaurant; it is not just a celebrity tell-all or a scathing corporate analysis. It is a top-tier waiter's personal coming-of-age story, an intimate look into the complicated challenges of serving in the country's most elite, Hollywood-centric dining room while fighting to maintain a sense of self and purpose.

Of the many millions of food service workers around the globe, only a tiny number ever ascend to a top-level position at a world-renowned restaurant catering to iconic celebrities, moguls and politicians. As one of those select few, Paul ("Pauli") Hartford is the first waiter to open the door into a cloistered, coveted world of money, fame, bad behavior and intrigue. He peels back the veneer of civility and culture at the nation's most preeminent celebrity hangout, the Cricket Room, in Beverly Hills, California. He exposes the epic human foibles of its elite clientele, the dining room's corrupt corporate culture, its clandestine culinary practices, and the heartbreaking struggles of its beleaguered waitstaff.

This keenly-observed story also traverses Pauli's ten-year evolution from a jaded, party-hungry rock musician who moonlights as a bartender, into a snobbish and pretentious waiter, and finally into a polished and sophisticated server who takes his job so seriously that it drives him to the brink of illness. Pauli finds himself at first seduced by his famous guests' glamour and self-indulgence, then accustomed to it, and finally appalled by it.


Fun read which obviously included a T½ON of name-dropping. It got a bit tabloid'ish at times as Pauli exposed his customers, but with a title like that, I knew that before going into the book. And fortunately he spent just as much page-time on "exposing" people who treated the waiters (and each other) well as on those who didn't.

There were fewer details on his actually workings and doings as a waiter than I had expected, and more details about his partying with Jens (and wedding/honeymoon - but honestly, I enjoyed those), which made for a weird slant and made me wonder if he'd fully decided what kind of book he wanted to write, before he set out on writing it. But at the end of the day it was an entertaining read... although not a likely reread.

Title: Hva' så nu?
Author: Geo
Genre: memoir
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 192 pages
Date read: November 2017

I 2012 blev Geo erklæret rask. Det var anden gang, han fik at vide, kræften var væk. Først var det testiklerne. Dernæst lungerne. Han går stadig til kontrol, og i denne bog fortæller han om, hvordan det har ændret ham at gennemgå et sygdomsforløb og kæmpe mod en potentielt dødelige sygdom.

Han er gået fra at være semi-træmand til semi-kvinde. Fra at ville gøre alt for sin datter til at tænke: men vil min kone og jeg gøre alt for hinanden. Og fra at være sådan set meget tilfreds med livet til at insistere på at være ovenud lykkelig.


Helt lige så god som den første bog, men hvor "Ikk' for sjov" fokuserer på Geos sygdomsforløb, så fokuserer denne bog på hvad der sker efterfølgende - hvordan vender man tilbage til hverdagen når man lige har brugt 1-2 år på at kæmpe for livet.

Lige som den første bog er "Hva' så nu?" hudløst ærlig. Jeg har fået så meget mere respekt for Geo efter at have læst hans to bøger, og er taknemmelig over, at han lader læseren komme så tæt ind på livet af ham. Derudover synes jeg også at det er to meget vigtige bøger, som jeg ville anbefale til alle som har fået kræft tæt ind på livet - uanset om det er som patient eller pårørende.

Title: The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hourse, Four Patients' Lives
Author: Theresa Brown
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~9hours
Date read: July, 2017

n the span of 12 hours, lives can be lost, life-altering medical treatment decisions made, and dreams fulfilled or irrevocably stolen.

Every day Theresa Brown holds patients' lives in her hands. On this day there are four: Mr. Hampton, a patient with lymphoma to whom Brown is charged with administering a powerful drug that could cure him - or kill him; Sheila, who may have been dangerously misdiagnosed; Candace, a returning patient who arrives (perhaps advisedly) with her own disinfectant wipes, cleansing rituals, and demands; and Dorothy, who, after six weeks in the hospital, may finally go home. Prioritizing and ministering to their needs takes the kind of skill, sensitivity, and, yes, humor that enable a nurse to be a patient's most ardent advocate in a medical system marked by heartbreaking dysfunction as well as miraculous success.


From Sue Barton to Scrubs, I've always been fascinated by life at a hospital, so when I heard of this book, I knew that I had to read it. And fortunately it didn't disappoint. After having watched so many episodes of Scrubs, it was interesting to follow a real nurse during a shift (and actually also served to explain some things I'd been wondering about), and though I was slightly sad that I got to know all these patients, but was never told what happened to them, I still think following a day in the life of a nurse was a really good way to write the book, as it gave the reader insight into not just the highlights of a nurse's job, but also all the small extra tasks they have to do, in order to keep the ward running smoothly.

Title: Something New
Author: Lucy Knisley
Genre: Graphic memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 292 pages
Date read: June, 2017

A funny and whip-smart new book about the institution of marriage in America told through the lens of her recent engagement and wedding…. The graphic novel tackles the all-too-common wedding issues that go along with being a modern woman: feminism, expectations, getting knocked over the head with gender stereotypes, family drama, and overall wedding chaos and confusion.


My sister is all kinds of awesome and got me this as a "just because" present :-D

It totally lived up to my expectations, and I found myself choking up on more than one occasion. I'm really glad my wedding was a lot simpler though! I don't blame Lucy for getting stressed out by all the things she had to get sorted.

A very feel-good memoir that will have a lot of good advice for a bride-to-be and which can't help but make those already married think back fondly on their own wedding :-)