Book Talk: LUKE SKYWALKER CAN’T READ, by Ryan Britt

Book Talk: LUKE SKYWALKER CAN’T READ, by Ryan Britt

Luke Skywalker Can’t Read: And Other Geeky Truths Ryan Britt Plume (November 2015), trade paper (ISBN 0147517575 / 9780147517579) Nonfiction: pop culture/essays, 224 pages Source: publisher This post contains affiliate links to Indiebound.   Just in time for the release of the seventh Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, Ryan Britt discusses this and other cornerstones of over fifty years of nerd culture in a collection of smart and occasionally snarky essays, Luke Skywalker Can’t […]

Book Talk: CHARMED PARTICLES by Chrissy Kolaya (via Shelf Awareness)

Book Talk: CHARMED PARTICLES by Chrissy Kolaya (via Shelf Awareness)

Charmed Particles: A Novel Chrissy Kolaya (Twitter)  Dzanc Books (November 2015), trade paper (ISBN 1938103173 / 9781938103179) Fiction, 224 pages   A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (December 15, 2015). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. This post contains affiliate links to Indiebound.       In Charmed Particles, first-time novelist Chrissy […]

(Audio)Book Talk: THE REAL DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU SHORTLY by Matt McCarthy

(Audio)Book Talk: THE REAL DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU SHORTLY by Matt McCarthy

The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician’s First Year Matt McCarthy (Twitter) Audiobook read by the author Crown (April 2015), hardcover (ISBN 9780804138659) Nonfiction: memoir, 336 pages Audiobook: Random House Audio (2015), ISBN 9781101889251 Source: Los Angeles Public Library, via Overdrive   This post contains affiliate links to Indiebound.   I was never inclined to pursue a medical career, but I find hospitals fascinating places, and medical memoirs have become one of my […]

(Audio)Book Talk: I AM MALALA by Malala Yousafzai, read by Archie Panjabi

(Audio)Book Talk: I AM MALALA by Malala Yousafzai, read by Archie Panjabi

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban Malala Yousafzai, with Christina Lamb Audiobook read by Archie Panjabi Back Bay Books (2015), trade paper (ISBN 0316322423 / 9780316322423) Nonfiction: autobiography, 368 pages Source: purchased audiobook (Hachette Audio, 2013, ISBN 9781478979791) This post contains affiliate links to Indiebound. I spent a week last month reading the autobiography of a sixteen-year-old. The idea of a sixteen-year-old publishing an autobiography […]

Book Talk: LOVE HER, LOVE HER NOT: THE HILLARY PARADOX, edited by Joanne C. Bamberger

Book Talk: LOVE HER, LOVE HER NOT: THE HILLARY PARADOX, edited by Joanne C. Bamberger

Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox edited by Joanne Cronrath Bamberger (Twitter) She Writes Press (November 2015), trade paper (ISBN 1631528068 / 9781631528064) Nonfiction: politics/essays, 226 pages   A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (November 24, 2015). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. This post contains affiliate links to Indiebound. […]

(Audio)book Talk: YOU’RE NEVER WEIRD ON THE INTERNET (ALMOST) by Felicia Day, read by the author

(Audio)book Talk: YOU’RE NEVER WEIRD ON THE INTERNET (ALMOST) by Felicia Day, read by the author

  You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir Felicia Day (book website) (Twitter) (Facebook) Audiobook read by the author Touchstone Books (August 2015), hardcover (ISBN 1476785651 / 9781476785653) Nonfiction: memoir, 272 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Simon & Schuster Audio, August 2015, ISBN 9781442386822)   This review contains links to indiebound.org   In the introduction to her memoir You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), Felicia Day describes herself as “Comic-Con famous.” In the nerdy, Comic-Con-adjacent circles I hover […]

(Audio)Book Talk: CAREER OF EVIL by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling), read by Robert Glenister

(Audio)Book Talk: CAREER OF EVIL by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling), read by Robert Glenister

Career of Evil (A Cormoran Strike Novel) Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) Audiobook read by Robert Glenister Mulholland Books (October 2015), hardcover (ISBN 0316349933 / 9780316349932) Fiction (mystery/crime), 512 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Hachette Audio, October 2015, 9781478962670, Audible ASIN B014JXQMEG)   This review contains affiliate links to Indiebound.org.         A few weeks ago, not long after I’d found myself idly wondering when J.K. Rowling’s crime-writing alter ego, Robert Galbraith, would have a new book […]

Something in Common: Fiction/Nonfiction Book Pairing

Something in Common: Fiction/Nonfiction Book Pairing

Book Pairing: Match a fiction book with a nonfiction book that you would recommend.  This week’s Nonfiction November topic offers an interesting challenge, and I’m really curious to see what other participants will be recommending! I struggled with it, truthfully, until I decided to bend the rules a little. I have two different pairings to suggest today, and neither is a proper “pairing”–each includes a topical nonfiction work and two related novels, so it’s probably more […]

True Reflections: My Year in Nonfiction

True Reflections: My Year in Nonfiction

Nonfiction November is officially underway! Kim kicks it off at Sophisticated Dorkiness with this week’s topic of conversation: Your Year in Nonfiction: Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions – What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven’t read enough of yet? What are you hoping to get out […]

(Audio)Book Talk: NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman, read by the author

(Audio)Book Talk: NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman, read by the author

Neverwhere: The Author’s Preferred Text Neil Gaiman (Twitter) Audiobook read by the author William Morrow (2015), hardcover reprint (ISBN 0062371053 / 9780062371058) Fiction: fantasy, 336 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Harper Audio, 2007, ISBN 9780061549113, Audible ASIN B000XSAXXS) for the Neverwhere Readalong (#NeverwhereRAL), October 2015   This post contains affiliate links to Indiebound.   —————————————————————————————————–     My official line is that I rarely read “genre” fiction. I’ve recently realized that my only real support for […]

(E)Book Talk: LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE by Jessica Knoll

(E)Book Talk: LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE by Jessica Knoll

Luckiest Girl Alive: A Novel Jessica Knoll (Twitter) (Facebook) Simon & Schuster (May 2015), hardcover (ISBN 9781476789637) Fiction: 350 pages Source: Purchased ebook (iBooks, ISBN 9781476789651) This post contains affiliate links to IndieBound. The discussion contains potential spoilers for the novel Luckiest Girl Alive. High-school humiliation, shocking tragedy, personal reinvention, the conviction that the “right” old-money marriage will change your life; we’re all pretty well acquainted with the plot points of Jessica Knoll’s first novel, […]

Book Talk: PRESCHOOLED by Anna Lefler

Book Talk: PRESCHOOLED by Anna Lefler

Preschooled: A Novel Anna Lefler (Twitter) (Facebook) Full Fathom Five Digital (2015), trade paper (ISBN 1633700712 / 9781633700710) Fiction, 336 pages Source: ARC provided by the author I have known Anna Lefler since 2008, when we met as contributors to the Los Angeles Moms Blog, and consider her a friend. I was happy to be offered an advance copy of her first published novel, and while I admit to being predisposed in its favor, I […]