Christy Brown: The Life that Inspired My Left Foot.

Synopsis from B&N.com: Christy Brown was severely disabled from birth with cerebral palsy and unable to use any part of his body other than his left foot. Doctors said that he was a mental defective and would never be able to lead a normal life; Christy proved them wrong. Written with the help of his surviving family members and artists who knew him well, this first authorized biography tells the astonishing story of Christy's struggle with his disability and his development as an artist, author, and poet, beginning with his mother teaching him to read and write using chalk on the worn floor of their small family home. Christy's memoir My Left Foot was published in 1954 and later made into an Academy Award–winning film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, while his bestselling novel Down All the Days was described by The Irish Times as "the most important novel since Ulysses." Using previously unpublished letters and poems, this book marks Christy Brown's importance as a writer and celebrates his will to succeed.

This was...a wonderfully eye-opening book. I am so glad I read it. Last year I became very interested in Christy Brown as an artist, but I never really, really realized just what an amazing artist and person he was. I am astounded at what he accomplished with his left foot. I cannot even begin to describe well enough of how much more I simply adore this man for his perseverance and the beauty of his life.

It was interesting to know the extra details, and the people that were in Christy's life. I think Ms. Hambleton did a wonderful job with this book. Very detailed, and well, personal. I felt I got a real look into Christy's life, I especially enjoyed his letters - they displayed such an articulate mind. Not that I think someone who can only control their left foot should be an idiot, but the fact that he hadn't any proper schooling is what gets me for that fabulous mind he had.

I fear I am going to begin rambling, so I will cut this review short, it is a lovely book on Christy Brown, and this, along with his auto-biography My Left Foot, is a wonderful start if you are interested in learning more about him. I also recommend trying out his poetry. I found it very refreshing when I read it last year, he was very talented.

Me of Little Faith.

This was an interesting read, though I'm afraid I haven't much to say about it. Typical Lewis Black humor and story-telling, which I positively love. Entertaining, to say the least.

My Left Foot.

I found Christy Brown's auto-biography, My Left Foot, to be particularly interesting at this point in my interest for him. Though I wouldn't exactly say it was completely touching, it did have it's moments.

Quite different from the movie, and more enjoyable in my opinion. They are conflicting in many ways, which I did not like at all. Frankly the book makes the movie look like crap. I don't know just how many differences in the movie are true or not, but I intend to try to find out. Especially with the help of another new-ish book that has come out about his life, by Georgina Louise Hambleton. Which I found right here: on Amazon. I hope to order it for my birthday in a couple of weeks so I can find out what her book about him has to say. She says she has interviews and such from his family, and friends as well if I remember correctly. (Family is a definite.) So I hope it will be interesting, and from reviews and such that I've read on it already, I have no doubt it very well will be. Perhaps it will help show how things really were for him and his wife and in other events in his life, as I believe the movie did not. I think they sort of veiled things so it will look happy and sweet - which it did come across as, but that doesn't make it okay because I'm not so sure anymore that the film makers were very truthful, no matter how small or big those parts were.

I'm still (slowly) reading Down All the Days, and I'm also reading another of his poetry books, which I am absolutely loving; Background Music: Poems. I am so glad I got his poetry books (though some of the poetry repeats in the different collections of them, ah well), I am very picky about poetry and his just sweeps me away. So it's been good to find another poet I like, when I have so very few favorites of something I positively live for.

amazed myself: Nothing's Sacred.

Last night I read Lewis Black's book: Nothing's Sacred, in pretty much one sitting. Getting up to stretch and move around every now and then of course. I found it very intriguing, and about half and half on his life and political views. But, considering where he's been, how can he not help but be political?

I found it a very satisfying read. And the pictures that he included were very much nice to see, for some reason especially his baby picture, very amusing.