Tips for Tuesday - Books: The Missing Mother of Rose Cottage & 100 Years of Laughter: American Comedy in the Twentieth Century

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Books: The Missing Mother of Rose Cottage 

                                     & 

          100 Years of Laughter: American Comedy in the Twentieth Century

Today we are recommending The Missing Mother of Rose Cottage by Cathy Hayward. Joanne was always told that her mother died in childbirth, but when she is pregnant with her own child, she is given a box of her old baby clothes, and mixed in with them she finds a picture of herself as a baby in her mother's arms. She realizes she's been lied to and becomes determined to find out what really happened to her mother. 

There's not much of a mystery in this book as it becomes pretty clear fairly early on what is going on. Nevertheless, it is still both extremely engrossing and quite poignant. Joane's mother's journey is extremely heartbreaking, and having half the book written from her point of view only makes it more so. 

The book juxtaposes how women were treated during and after childbirth in the past with the way they are treated now. Although this is an extreme case, it makes you wonder what our own mothers and grandmothers (or perhaps great-grandmothers for some of us) went through. The book may be triggering for anyone who has suffered a pregnancy loss, had a particularly difficult birthing experience, and/or an extreme case of postpartum depression. Otherwise, we highly recommend this book as a reminder to be grateful to our mothers because even though things have definitely gotten better, that doesn't mean it's always easy.

Today, we recommend 100 Years of Laughter: American Comedy in the Twentieth Century by Gary Berman. This book traces the history of comedy in the United States decade by decade from the golden age of Vaudeville in the 1940s through the heydey of stand-up comics and sitcoms on television in the 1990s. Numerous performers are discussed along the way, as well as plenty of radio shows, movies, and TV shows. There are also special essays on things like the old pie-in-the-face routine, comedy teams, breaking the fourth wall in comedy, and more. If you are a fan of American comedy and you are interested in a comprehensive look at its history, you are definitely going to want to add this book to your collection. 

And that's our view. The Missing Mother of Rose Cottage was published last Wednesday, July 15. 100 Years of Laughter: American Comedy in the Twentieth Century will be published this Thursday, July 23. 

Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

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