59. The Phantom Tollbooth

59. The Phantom Tollbooth. Norton Juster. Illustrated by Jules Feiffer. 1961/2011. Random House. 272 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, children's fantasy, children's classic]

First sentence: There was once a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself--not just sometimes, but always.

Premise/plot: Milo, our hero, is about to have an "impossible" adventure. His day starts out very ordinary, however, by the end of the day Milo will be quite transformed!

It starts with a mysterious gift-box. It holds a tollbooth for him to construct, also included are instructions, rule books, and a map. He randomly chooses to go to Dictionopolis. But though that is his original destination, Milo finds that travels--magical or not--take some thought and intention.

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved this one! I first read it in September 2013. I'm only now rereading it, but, this should be one I read again and again more frequently.

The writing is AMAZING. It is clever, rich in meaning and symbolism. And it is oh so quotable! One of those rare books where you could almost open up the book to any page and find a gem worth quoting!

Loved the writing, loved the creativity, loved the characters!

Favorite quotes:

“Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens.”

“You may not see it now," said the Princess of Pure Reason, looking knowingly at Milo's puzzled face, "but whatever we learn has a purpose and whatever we do affects everything and everyone else, if even in the tiniest way. Why, when a housefly flaps his wings, a breeze goes round the world; when a speck of dust falls to the ground, the entire planet weighs a little more; and when you stamp your foot, the earth moves slightly off its course. Whenever you laugh, gladness spreads like the ripples in the pond; and whenever you're sad, no one anywhere can be really happy. And it's much the same thing with knowledge, for whenever you learn something new, the whole world becomes that much richer.”

“So many things are possible just as long as you don't know they're impossible.”

“Everybody is so terribly sensitive about the things they know best.”

“And remember, also," added the Princess of Sweet Rhyme, "that many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach. But someday you'll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.”

“In this box are all the words I know…Most of them you will never need, some you will use constantly, but with them you may ask all the questions which have never been answered and answer all the questions which have never been asked. All the great books of the past and all the ones yet to come are made with these words. With them there is no obstacle you cannot overcome. All you must learn to do is to use them well and in the right places.” 

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

58. Every Time a Bell Rings

58. Every Time a Bell Rings: The Legacy of It's a Wonderful Life, America's Most Beloved Holiday Film. Emily St. James and Lauren Theisen. 2026. 304 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, adult nonfiction, essays]

First sentence: Certain movies take on lives of their own.

Premise/plot: Emily St. James and Lauren Theisen have teamed up to write about the holiday movie, It's a Wonderful Life. What should YOU the reader expect?

Each chapter is essentially an essay tackling the film. The essays cover a wide range of topics. Some expected. Some unexpected. What do I mean by unexpected and expected? Obvious and NOT obvious. Points of view that are not traditional, obvious, deducible by reason or logic no matter how many times you view the film. They come from nowhere. The book avoids sticking with the traditional, obvious, literal meaning of the film. Not every essay goes where no person has gone before. Some are more obvious--for example, providing background on the ACTORS, on the DIRECTORS, on other films released the same year. Other essays examine specific elements of the film--Pottersville, for example.

Chapter One: You Are Now In Bedford Falls
Chapter Two: George Bailey's American Dream
Chapter Three: Frank Capra's Last Stand
Chapter  Four: 1946: A Movie Year Like No Other
Interlude
Chapter Five: Harry Bailey, American Hero
Chapter Six: Uncle Billy and the Safety Net
Chapter Seven: Peter Bailey's Son
Interlude
Chapter Eight: Nick, Martini, and Annie
Chapter Nine: The Many Wonderful Weirdos of Bedford Falls
Chapter Ten: Seneca Falls Eighty Years Later
Interlude
Chapter Eleven: Welcome to Pottersville
Chapter Twelve: Henry F. Potter's American Dream
Chapter Thirteen: The Strange Copyright Journey of It's a Wonderful Life
Interlude
Chapter Fourteen: Outside Bedford Falls
Chapter Fifteen: Clarence Odbody, Angel Second Class
Chapter Sixteen: Mary Bailey

The chapters--or essays--vary in topic and subject. Some were informative. Some were speculative. Some were just weird and weirder. The book was--for better or worse--surprisingly or unsurprisingly VERY political. Again, for better or worse, it tried to take today's issues and make It's a Wonderful Life have some comment one way or the other. To be fair, it also tackled some of yesterday's issues--of the 1930s and 1940s--and tried to make It's a Wonderful Life have strong opinions one way or the other. For example, IS the film pushing communism? For all that is being addressed in the book, the book doesn't particularly tackle morality, faith, and spirituality--at least not well for being so front and center in the movie itself.

Some essays try a little too hard. George Bailey is too white and a white male at that. Mary Bailey is not feminist enough. Their traditional family life is too oppressive.

My thoughts: It's a Wonderful Life is a wonderful, wonderful movie. It is timeless and universal. It is spiritual and philosophical. It tackles the harder questions of life. WHO AM I? WHY WAS I BORN? DOES MY LIFE MATTER? DOES MY LIFE HAVE MEANING? WHY AM I HERE? It asks not only what kind of person am I when life is easy and going my way but WHAT KIND OF PERSON AM I WHEN THINGS ARE DIFFICULT AND ANYTHING BUT WONDERFUL. These kinds of questions can be answered by many different faiths, but are often associated--or would have been associated in 1946--with Christianity. In fact, the film opens with not a couple of people praying but the whole town coming together to pray. Which indicates a COMMUNITY with shared values if not specific faiths (or denominations) AND compassion and empathy. When they heard that George Bailey was in trouble, they didn't just say, "Oh, that's too bad." Or "I'll add him to the prayer list at church." Or the equivalent of a prayer emoji. They stopped what they were doing and prayed. There was genuine concern and worry. And they were directing that to God. The movie doesn't go into defining God--or limiting him to one denomination. And their faith wasn't limited just to their prayers.

If the book had fewer essays I might have liked it more. I appreciated the historical chapters best--the ones that focused on the director, the actors, the short story the movie was based on, etc. I liked the politicized chapters least of all. The ones that tried to pull all the "hot" issues of the past four to eight years and make the movie say something about the current times.




© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #33

This week I read eleven books!

50. The Knife of Never Letting Go. (Chaos Walking #1) Patrick Ness. 2008. 512 pages. [Source: Library]
51. Rash. Pete Hautman. 2006. 256 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, YA dystopia, YA fiction, YA futuristic; YA Sports]
52. Prey. Michael Crichton. 2002. 507 pages. [Source: Library] [audio book, 5 stars, adult science fiction, adult thriller]
53. The Best Bear in All the World. Paul Bright, Brian Sibley, Jeanne Willis, Kate Saunders. 2016. 115 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, audio book, Winnie the Pooh sequel]
54. The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins. Melanie Dickerson. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, clean romance, historical romance, Jane Eyre wannabe]
55. The Future of Us. Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. 2011. 356 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, YA fiction, YA science fiction, coming of age]
56. Paperboy. Vince Vawter. 2013. Random House. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, MG fiction, coming of age, MG historical, based on true story]
57. This is Christmas: Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits. 2023. 224 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, Christmas, music appreciation]
61. Pizza and Taco #11: Pizza and Taco: Scariest Sleepover Ever. Stephen Shaskan. 2026. 72 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, graphic novel, early chapter book]
62. One Mad Cat and the Missing Book. Vicky Fang. 2026. 64 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, early reader, early chapter book, animal fantasy]
6. New American Standard Bible 1995, New Inductive Study Bible. GOD. 1995. 2296 pages. [Source: Bought] [Bible, bible review, 5 stars]

Century of Viewing #33

1920s

• 1921 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Silent movie. Starring Rudolph Valentino--well this was his first "big" role. The film is set during the first world war. One grandson fights for the French, three grandsons fight for the German. There's family squabbles before and during the war. There's the tango. There's wild and worldly affairs.
• 1925 Stage Struck. Gloria Swanson stars in this silent film about a waitress (Jenny) who is in love with a pancake flipper (Orme). Orme only has eyes for actresses. His bedroom wall is covered floor to ceiling with pictures of actresses in various poses. (He doesn't sound like a catch to me.) She is 1000000% committed and all he does is laugh and provoke. She's determined to be an actress so he'll notice her and smile--not just laugh. A showboat comes to town with actresses....and he becomes smitten with an actress. The showboat owner who for whatever reason is in love with a drum (yes) gives her a role in the show but tells her to keep it private. Turns out it isn't a role in the show so much as an opportunity to box with another actress. The crowd seems to enjoy the spectacle of two women trying to knock each other out. Orme is weirded out. After that FLOPS literally, she jumps into the river. Orme jumps in afterwards....and confesses his love....saying I could never marry an actress. The actress he'd been seeing was like AS IF I'D MARRY YOU. The two become engaged--possibly married--and somehow have their own restaurant/pancake house. The beginning and end sequences are shot in technicolor. Most of it is in black-and-white.

1930s

• 1931 The Front Page. I was familiar mostly with the story because it was remade as HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) (Which I love) and THE FRONT PAGE (1974) with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and SWITCHING CHANNELS (1988). One reporter is ready to quit journalism and move on with his life....and his fellow reporter (with whom there's always bickering) doesn't want to let go. It is a dark comedy. I didn't love this one. BUT I also wasn't in the mood to love it. Each adaptation offers a little something different. The 1974 one was FULL of profanity for example. His Girl Friday added a LOT of romance. Switching Channels I don't remember in too much detail--it probably had both profanity and romance.

• 1933 Top Speed. I watched this early romantic comedy/musical because of Joe E. Brown. HE'S great fun -- silly, over-the-top but fun. I thought the dialogue was good fun. The story is simple enough. Two guys pretend to be richer than they are to get rich ladies. There's a boat race. There's a little singing. Apparently there were a LOT of musical numbers recorded and then cut from the movie. It is fairly obvious to see when scenes are cut. BUT if your expectations aren't super high, this movie from early talkie days satisfies.

1950s

• 1958 House on Haunted Hill. This is a classic with eight bajillion screams in it. It was good. Or good enough. I don't know that it's so awesome that I'd watch it again-again. But essentially a rich couple rents out a haunted house or "haunted house" and invite strangers to spend the night. If they make it through the night....they'll be rewarded.

1970s

• 1972 What's Up Doc? I restarted this one so many times because my brain thought it a little too chaotic. However I persevered and it was SO, SO, SO worth it. This isn't quite slapstick, but, it's also not not slapstick. The plot, the stories, the characters I could easily see being done in earlier decades like the 20s and 30s! Some of the gags definitely felt like a tribute to comic greats like Buster Keaton.
• 1975 The Sunshine Boys. Is it comedy? Is it dark comedy? It is FUNNY. A vaudeville reunites for a television special...or are supposed to. If they can make it through rehearsals without going to war with each other. There's hard feelings but also brotherhood. But mostly there are GRUMPY OLD MEN.
• 1977 World's Greatest Lover. This is a parody/spoof of 1920s films. A movie studio is looking to find the next Valentino....and mischief results. Extremely very slapstick. Definitely not clean. So basic premise--a man's marriage is threatened by his wife's love of Valentino movies...especially when the two go to Hollywood for a contest.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

57. This is Christmas

57. This is Christmas: Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits. 2023. 224 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, Christmas, music appreciation]

First sentence: When you think of Christmas music, what comes to mind?

Premise/plot: This is Christmas: Song by Song is a nonfiction book bordering on a novelty book. Is this a good match for you? Maybe. Maybe not. With the right expectations you might find yourself lightly entertained. OR if you have an incredibly short attention span and are looking for a light, fluffy, unsubstantial read. OR if you are vaguely curious and want a light, shallow answer to satisfy your curiosity.

The book offers the story (or "story") of 100 holiday hits. Perhaps the clue is in the word HOLIDAY HITS. This isn't a book about the songs themselves. Not really. Which is perhaps fair enough. After all, look at ANY Christmas album and there's a good chance 75 to 90% of the songs are covers of Christmas classics. Whether it's a traditional Christmas hymn/carol--think Silent Night, O Holy Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, or a traditional Christmas song--think Sleigh Ride, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells--they've been covered thousands of times if not tens of thousands of times. This book has selected particular covers when it comes to some of these. So it isn't the history of the SONG but trivial, light stories of one particular cover that you may or may not have ever heard of...or liked...or wanted to hear again. There are a handful of songs that are highlighted by their original artist. This is for better or worse. IF you've heard of the song and liked it--and it's been part of your Christmases long, long ago--then it's interesting enough. If you've never heard the song, never heard the artist, then it's just dull and meaningless. Often I found myself wishing that the artist chosen to be highlighted was different.

Essentially everything about this book is subjective.

My thoughts: I think this one--which is arranged chronologically by the particular song (song cover) being released--has the potential to frustrate readers of all ages. For example, I was annoyed by all this "new" music that I'd never heard of and don't care to hear. I can easily, easily, easily imagine a younger reader being annoyed by all the "old" and "ancient" music that he/she had never heard of and don't care to hear. The book covers so many styles and genres that if there was a playlist with these particular versions of songs would be extremely disjointed and not much "fun" for any listener.

I would have personally loved if the book was the HISTORY of Christmas music. WHO introduced the song to the world first? OR which artist(s) made it a HIT in the first year or two of being written. WHICH artist(s) have made it his/her own. WHAT makes a particular rendition resonate with listeners? Even if it meant covering certain songs two or three times.

I also felt that this isn't the 100 "greatest" Christmas songs. Many of the songs were 'original' songs that may or may not be timeless and still played today. No one can denied that Last Christmas is played incessantly every Christmas. BUT some of these songs are VERY taste-specific.


© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

56. Paperboy

56. Paperboy. Vince Vawter. 2013. Random House. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, MG fiction, coming of age, MG historical, based on true story]

First sentence: I'm talking about the stabbing for a good reason. I can't talk. Without stuttering.

Premise/plot: Paperboy is set in Memphis, Tennessee, in July of 1959. The narrator is a young boy (11, I think?) who stutters. He doesn't want stuttering to define him. He doesn't think that's fair. He is good at many, many things, like baseball. He is GREAT at baseball. He is good at typing, at writing. He loves words. But his stutter keeps him from loving speaking words aloud. It keeps him nervous and awkward around new people or strangers, people he feels will judge him based on his stutter alone, who will assume that his inability to speak clearly means he's unable to THINK clearly too.

So. The month of July will prove challenging to him for he has agreed to take over his best friend's paper route. Oh, he's not worried about the delivering part. He knows he's got that handled. He's worried about Fridays, about the day when he'll have to go to the door and TALK to people and ask for the money owed. You might think, in some ways, that it would be the first week that would be the most difficult, and that, all other weeks would just be easy after that initial effort. That is only partly true. He does make a friend, a wonderful friend. And he does learn a few life lessons that help him grow up a bit and cope a bit. And, I suppose, you could say that his perspective expands a bit in that he sees that the world is full of people who have problems, who have issues; that every person is dealing with something, struggling with something.

My thoughts: Paperboy had me at hello. I loved, loved, loved, loved, REALLY LOVED this one. Yes, I'm going to gush about how wonderful and just-right this one is. I think I loved the narrator best. The book is in his own words, he's recounting these events. There is something in the narrator's life, a secret that he discovers one day, and it could potentially be big and disturbing--just as there are other events in the novel that could be BIG AND DISTURBING. But this one thing that he wrestles with on his own, quietly meditating on it perhaps, was handled so tenderly and lovingly that it just worked for me. It made a novel that I already LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that much more wow-worthy.

I also loved other characters in this novel. Characters that might have seemed minor, but, were anything but. Characters like Mam, Rat (Art), Mr. Spiro, and, to a certain extent his Dad.

I first read this one in November 2013. I reread it in August 2026.



© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews