A Guest Post from Our Very Own Melissa Maglio

You all know what I think of Melissa Maglio.  She is the Los Gatos Library Tuesday Evening Book Club maven (she does an amazing job) and a librarian extraordinaire.  I am very pleased to present Melissa's guest post to all of you: 

I try to keep an open mind as a librarian, and therefore I decided to read Holly Madison’s best-selling biography, Down the Rabbit Hole.  For those that don’t know her, she is a former playboy bunny and former star of a realty show called “The Girl’s Next Door.”  Two things I am not into.   Her book was definitely no Wright Brother’s, which is a great biography written by David McCullough that people should put on their reading lists if they want to be inspired, but it was interesting to learn about a life that I surely would never choose to lead.  Putting all judgment aside, I think there is a lot of positives and negatives to be said about those who pursue a life of fame and fortune, and are not shy in front of a camera.  Not shy in the least!!!  Would I choose to become a playboy bunny?  Probably not, and it’s not because plastic surgery is so expensive.  Do I partake in the voyeurism that is reality TV watching? Not really, except that I must admit I was enjoying Naked and Afraid on the Discovery Channel for a while, but honestly, why are we to care so darn much about another person’s drama?  Don’t we have our own most of the time?  So, if you just want to feel better and more grounded about how good your life actually is, then you’ll want to read Holly’s book.  Anything remotely dramatic in your life will seem like nothing once you hear about the life she has led so far.(Turns out she’s the same age as me) 

Final thoughts for now:  I was surprised how PG-13 the book was and I only found myself rolling my eyes a few times.  If you’re older and have interest in the cultural icon that Hugh Hefner was, and kind of still is, then you may be interested in Holly’s book.  Shucks, I’m actually diving into her second book called,The Vegas Diaries.   I still haven’t made up my mind as to whether I like this woman or not.  I ask myself, If I had any daughters, would I let them know about Holly Madison?  I’m not sure because there is such a thin line between employing our feminine power and just exploiting ourselves for personal gain.  As I finish up her second book, which also has made the New York Times Best-Seller list, I will continue to work on turning off the judgmental part my brain which is constantly screaming, “Holly, your pettiness and shallowness is showing.”

Any comments you make I will pass on to Melissa.