Reader of ‘The Roving I’ compares collection of columns to Mark Twain’s pithy humor, seriousness

My latest book, The Roving I, has drawn an endorsement that absolutely blows me away.

Mark Twain

Fiona Quinn of Chicago, after writing that my “collection of essays is brilliant,” has also written that I have “the rare capacity to connect with readers through humor and thoughtful analysis simultaneously. That is no small feat, and this collection can be compared to Mark Twain’s pithy humor, which camouflages the depth and seriousness of his subject matter.”

That amazing comparison, to my way of thinking, is as flattering as any might be.
 
Quinn, whom I thank profusely for her commendation, gives a specific example of why she’s come to her conclusion: “For example, writing about the death of a dear friend named David, the writer says: ‘On his deathbed, my psychologist/consultant pal, still boyishly good-looking despite being sixty-something, and still a pig-headed St. Louis Cardinals fanatic, revisited his spiritual feelings.’
 
“The author’s reference to David’s fanaticism about the Cardinals expresses more about the jokey, intimate nature of their friendship than any narrative could. And it also poignantly clarifies how much David’s absence will be felt.”
 
Quinn closes with a direct appeal for readers who especially enjoy good writing to buy The Roving I: “Every essay in this collection is spiced with jokes, puns, hilarious observations, deep compassion, and eternal truths. Get this book! It’s deeply satisfying on every level.”
 
Anyone who wants to follow her advice, or to check out my two previous books, can do so by clicking on my website, https://woodyweingarten.com.

East Coast readers join with West Coast readers in praising 'The Roving I' collection of columns

Readers on both coasts have applauded The Roving I, with praise that ranges from “warm, witty, thoughtful, and charming” to “insightful, entertaining, and informative." 

Arlene Miller of Tampa Florida, for example, says the book is “beautifully written with cleverness and empathy. The Roving I exhibits a wide array of very readable stories taken from real life — from celebrations to births to deaths to pets and everything in between. You will chuckle, you might cry, but you will definitely relate to these enjoyable bite-sized essays.”

 

Dan Pine of Albany, California, meanwhile, declares that “Woody Weingarten brings the sharpest of eyes and keenest of ears to this bracing collection of his newspaper columns. No subject, large or small, escapes his powers of observation and instinct for getting to the heart of the matter. Whether recounting the simple joys of grandparenting, a harrowing Holocaust survivor's tale, or cataloguing the best of eavesdropped conversations in the mall, he remains first and foremost a reporter of unflinching honesty and inerrant lyrical style.” 

 

Lance Woodruff of Philadelphia notes that I, Woody Weingarten, the book's author, raise his spirit when I write "of the varieties of human experience: A refugee from Cambodia’s Maoist Khymer Rouge, a school janitor, a bus driver, the homeless, and the hungry. The Roving I is ecumenical, sometimes as personal as his lifelong adoration of his wife — as well as his lifelong appreciation of other women who catch his eye.”

 

Michael Rosenthal of Fairfax, California, simultaneously flatters and humbles me by saying that my “columns are warm, witty, thoughtful, and charming, much like the man himself.”

 

Ann Israel of Hudson, New York, says, “Like my experience with The Squid Game, which I binge-watched in one weekend, I just binge-read all the columns in The Roving I and loved every single one. The author makes words — and his observations — come alive.”

 

And Gloria Dunn-Violin of Novato, California, writes that “Woody Weingarten uses his amazing writing talent to tell unique stories that are inciteful, entertaining, and informative.”

To learn more about this book, to buy it, or to check out my two earlier books, click on https://woodyweingarten.com.

Button, button, who's got the button? Read this for the answer, and learn about 3 readable books

‘Tis the season in which folks often focus on family and friends.
 

The Roving I, a mostly light-hearted book that was just released, does just that — focus on family and friends. But its 70 first-person columns also include some that feature serious stuff, and numerous humorous others that showcase overheard conversational tidbits and one-liners.
 
Sounds like a perfect holiday gift to me, and it’s not too late to order one (or two, or more). I have a vested interest, of course, since I cherry-picked the essays from an archive of many more that I, Woody Weingarten, wrote over more than a dozen years.
 
Highlights, among other recollections in the collection, are an amusing tale about my pre-wife earning a slot in my Little Black Book, an upbeat story of a friend turning Parkinson’s Disease into an asset, an awesome family drama about a woman carrying her sister’s “miracle baby” inside her for five months, an inspirational adventure about a Cambodian slave-labor camp escapee becoming a successful U.S. entrepreneur, and a peek at legendary comic Robin Williams transforming himself into a talking vagina.
 
Button, button, who’s got the button? That’s a refrain from my childhood (not mentioned in the book), but it certainly resonates today. Chanukah’s not over yet, and Christmas is in the offing. So, check out my website — http://woodyweingarten.com — and push the appropriate buy-button to purchase The Roving I.
 

Or push one for Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy co-written by my 8-year-old granddaughter and aimed at 6- to 10-year-olds. Or Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner’s breast cancer, which details how my partner and I learned to cope, and which can benefit anyone who knows someone with any life-threatening disease.
 

It's easy to find what my website labels fantasy, facts, and florilegium (an opaque, unfamiliar word meaning collection). Just go to http://woodyweingarten.com  and select your favorite book outlet.

New book provides ‘wit, wisdom, self-exposure’ of Woody Weingarten, author of its 70 columns

The Roving I can be a holiday gift for you, your family, and your friends — and that purchase can also act as a present of sorts for me, its author, since it coincides with my 85th birthday.

Woody Weingarten enjoys his new hardcover.

The new anthology — available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook versions — delivers what its subtitle promises, to supply "the wit, wisdom, and self-exposure of Woody Weingarten." Inside are 70 of my favorite columns, including those about my wife earning a slot in my Little Black Book, a woman carrying her sister's "miracle baby" inside her for nine months, and Robin Williams transforming himself into a talking vagina.

Another good present — for your kids or grandkids — would be Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy co-written by my 8-year-old granddaughter and aimed at 6- to 10-year-olds.

A this gift book can benefit anyone who knows someone with a life-threatening disease, Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, which details how my wife and I learned to cope.

More information about all three can be found at my new website, woodyweingarten.com.

Master artist Joe Marciniak strikes again — with whimsical cover for new book, “The Roving I”

Joe Marciniak, master artist who designed cover and inside illustrations for "Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates,” has followed up with an incredibly lighthearted front cover for “The Roving I.”

Marciniak self-portrait

The cover features a walking cartoon body of the author, Woody Weingarten, replete with an à-propos pot belly — and uses a real photo for the head, replete with elongated, cartoonish nose. The whimsical illustration represents the tone of many of the 70 favorite columns the writer has selected for the anthology (which he, for fun, refers to as florilegium, a word he admits he’d never heard of until a few weeks ago).

BAIPA, the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association, voted Marciniak’s “Grampy” cover best in the 2021 children’s book category. The fantasy, not incidentally, was co-authored by Weingarten’s granddaughter, who was eight at the time it was written, 70 years different in age.

“The Roving I” contains scores of the writer’s memories — including his partner earning a slot in his Little Black Book, a woman carrying her sister’s “miracle baby” inside her for nine months, and Robin Williams transforming himself into a talking vagina.

Weingarten also wrote a third book, "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner’s breast cancer." Details of all three are available on his website, https://woodyweingarten.com.

Story of wizard and fairies 'in homestretch'

Children's fantasy by the author of 'Rollercoaster' and granddaughter is getting close to publication

Illustration by Joe Marciniak for 'Grampy…'

Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night, to borrow a phrase, can stop my writing. 

Nor can the coronavirus. 

Although Covid-19 has caused a major delay in the publication of "MysteryDates," which may not find its audience for another year or so, it won't be able to stop the public from seeing "Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates," a children's fantasy co-written by me, Woody Weingarten, and my granddaughter, Hannah Schifrin.

The collaborative effort — about a wizard, his fairy grandaughter and her fairy best friend will be published any month now, even though we're Sheltering in Place just north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pre-publication details, as they say, are rapidly being ironed out — and are entering the proverbial homestretch.

Also in the offing (a little further down the 2020 road) is "The Roving I," a compilation of columns I'd penned over an 11-year period.

For those who need to see that I can put one word after another, check out "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book that I aimed at male caregivers (and which I'm seriously thinking about updating).