Kate’s 2¢: “Roctogenarians: late in life debuts, comebacks, and triumphs” by  Mo Rocca

“Roctogenarians: late in life debuts, comebacks, and triumphs” by  Mo Rocca

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Jonathan D. Greenberg and  Mo Rocca did a good job of narrating this book that was one of seven on a cartridge sent by NLS. It was fun to learn of the ‘come back’ kids of all ages. They triumphed over age, prejudices, and their own perceived limitations.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maurice Alberto “Mo” Rocca (born January 28, 1969) is an American humorist, journalist, and actor. He is a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, the host and creator of My Grandmother’s Ravioli on the Cooking Channel, and also the host of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation on CBS. He was the moderator of the National Geographic Society’s National Geographic Bee from 2016 until its final competition in 2019, as the 2020 and 2021 competitions were cancelled and the competition was ended in 2021. He is also the host of the podcast Mobituaries with Mo Rocca from CBS News. He is a regular panelist on the radio quiz show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

Mo Rocca got his start in television behind the scenes, writing and producing several children’s TV shows. His first work in front of the camera came as a correspondent for news satire show The Daily Show from 1998 to 2003. He played a similar role as a satirical correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 2004 to 2008, and later moved on to more serious (but still light-hearted) roles with CBS News for which he continues to work. He has also acted in theater, film, and on television in small roles from time to time, and has written two books.

Early life and education[edit]

Rocca was born in Washington, D.C. His mother immigrated there from Bogotá, Colombia, in 1956 at age 28, and his father was a third generation Italian-American from Leominster, Massachusetts.[1] He attended Georgetown Preparatory School, a Jesuit boys’ school in North Bethesda, Maryland, graduating with the Class of 1987. He graduated from Harvard University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature.[2] He served as president of Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals, performing in four of the company’s notorious burlesques and co-authoring one (Suede Expectations).[3] While at Harvard, he also played Seymour in a production of Little Shop of Horrors which co-starred future Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.[4]

Career[edit]

Film[edit]

Rocca appeared in the 2005 film Bewitched and, in 2007, in the independent science-fiction family comedy I’ll Believe You with fellow Daily Show alumnus Ed Helms. In 2012, Rocca was the narrator of the documentary Electoral Dysfunction, a movie which satirically analyzes the American voting system and which aired on PBS in 2012 and 2016.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

DB122942

Rocca, Mo Reading time: 11 hours, 38 minutes.

Jonathan D. Greenberg; Mo Rocca

Biography

Health and Medicine

Social Sciences

Bestsellers

“Eighty has been the new sixty for about twenty years now. In fact, there have always been late-in-life achievers, those who declined to go into decline just because they were eligible for social security. Journalist, humorist, and history buff Mo Rocca and coauthor Jonathan Greenberg introduce us to the people past and present who peaked when they could have been puttering–breaking out as writers, selling out concert halls, attempting to set land-speed records–and in the case of one ninety-year-old tortoise, becoming a first-time father … In the vein of Mobituaries, Roctogenarians is a collection of entertaining and unexpected profiles of these unretired titans–some long gone (a cancer-stricken Henri Matisse, who began work on his celebrated cut-outs when he could no longer paint), some [until recently] still living (the original EGOT, Rita Moreno). The amazing cast of characters also includes Mary Church Terrell, who at eighty-six helped lead sit-ins at segregated Washington, DC, lunch counters in the 1950s, and John Goodenough, who was more than good enough to score a Nobel Prize at ninety-seven for inventing the lithium-ion battery. Then there’s Peter Mark Roget, who began working on his thesaurus in his twenties but completed it at ninety years old”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.

Kate’s 2¢: “The cautious traveller’s guide to the Wastelands: by Sarah Brooks  

“The cautious traveller’s guide to the Wastelands: by Sarah Brooks  

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Katie Leung did a good job of narrating this fantasmagoric tale. I especially liked the ending drama and conclusion.  

snippet from the web

Sarah Brooks won the Lucy Cavendish Prize in 2019. She works in East Asian Studies at the University of Leeds where she also helps run the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing. She has a PhD on monsters in classical Chinese ghost stories. She is also co-editor of Samovar, a bilingual online magazine.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The cautious traveller’s guide to the Wastelands DB122318

Brooks, Sarah Reading time: 9 hours, 17 minutes.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith; Katie Leung

Historical Fiction

Fantasy Fiction

Animals and Wildlife

“For fans of Piranesi and The Midnight Library, a stunning historical fantasy novel set on a grand express train, about a group of passengers on a dangerous journey across a magical landscape. It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket. There is only one way to travel across the Wastelands: on the Trans-Siberian Express, a train as famous for its luxury as for its danger. The train is never short of passengers, eager to catch sight of Wastelands creatures more miraculous and terrifying than anything they could imagine. But on the train’s last journey, something went horribly wrong, though no one seems to remember what exactly happened. Not even Zhang Weiwei, who has spent her life onboard and thought she knew all of the train’s secrets. Now, the train is about to embark again, with a new set of passengers. Among them are Marya Petrovna, a grieving woman with a borrowed name; Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist looking for redemption; and Elena, a beguiling stowaway with a powerful connection to the Wastelands itself. Weiwei knows she should report Elena, but she can’t help but be drawn to her. As the girls begin a forbidden friendship, there are warning signs that the rules of the Wastelands are changing, and the train might once again be imperiled. Can the passengers trust each other, as the wildness outside threatens to consume them all?”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Download The cautious traveller’s guide to the Wastelands DB122318

Kate’s 2¢: “How to win friends and influence fungi: collected quirks of science, tech, engineering, and math from Nerd Nite” by Matt Wasowski and Chris Balakrishnan

“How to win friends and influence fungi: collected quirks of science, tech, engineering, and math from Nerd Nite” by Matt Wasowski and Chris Balakrishnan

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   This book was one of seven on a cartridge sent by NLS.  Shahjehan Khan; Torian Brackett; Maggie Thompson; Isabel Pask did a great job of narrating this fun read. You won’t be bored.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

How to win friends and influence fungi: collected quirks of science, tech, engineering, and math from Nerd Nite DB119676

Reading time: 9 hours, 32 minutes.

Shahjehan Khan; Torian Brackett; Maggie Thompson; Isabel Pask

Science and Technology

Humor

“In the vein of acclaimed popular-science bestsellers such as Atlas Obscura, Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry, The Way Things Work, What If?, and Undeniable, the co-founders of the global science organization Nerd Nite bring readers a collection of wacky, yet fascinating STEM topics. For 20 years, Nerd Nite has delivered to live audiences around the world, the most interesting, fun, and informative presentations about science, history, the arts, pop culture, you name it. There hasn’t been a rabbit hole that their army of presenters hasn’t been afraid to explore. Finally, after countless requests to bring Nerd Nite to more fans across the globe, co-founders and college pals Matt Wasowski and Chris Balakrishnan are bringing readers the quirky and accessible science content that they crave in book form, focused on STEM and paired with detailed illustrations that make the content pop. The resulting range of topics is quirky and vast, from kinky, spring-loaded spiders to the Webb telescope’s influence on movie special effects. Hilariously named after Dale Carnegie’s iconic book, How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi features narratives, bursts, and infographics on all things STEM from scientists around the world. Chapters are sure to make you laugh-out-loud, with titles such as “The Science of the Hangover,” “What Birds Can Teach Us About the Impending Zombie Apocalypse,” and “Lessons from the Oregon Trail.” With fascinating details, facts, and illustrations, combined with Chris and Matt’s incredible connections to organizations such as the Discovery Network and the Smithsonian Institution, How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi is sure to reach joyful STEM enthusiasts of all ages around the world. About Nerd Nite: Started in 2003, Nerd Nite is a monthly event held in 100+ cities worldwide during which folks give 20-minute fun-yet-informative presentations across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along!”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.