Tag: nonfiction

Book Talk: EXODUS, by Deborah Feldman
April 17, 2014 reading

Book Talk: EXODUS, by Deborah Feldman

Exodus: A Memoir Deborah Feldman Blue Rider Press (2014), Hardcover (March 25, 2014), ISBN 0399162771 / 9780399162770 Memoir, 304 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (4/8/2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. In her 2012 memoir, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, Deborah Feldman chronicled her upbringing in the […]

Book Talk: THE PERFECT SCORE PROJECT, by Debbie Stier
March 11, 2014 reading

Book Talk: THE PERFECT SCORE PROJECT, by Debbie Stier

The Perfect Score Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT Debbie Stier (Twitter) (Facebook) Harmony (February 25, 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 0307956679 / 9780307956675) Nonfiction: memoir/self-help/education, 304 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (March 4, 2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. The Perfect Score Project chronicles Debbie Stier’s year of exploring […]

Book Talk: THE RACE UNDERGROUND, by Doug Most
March 4, 2014 reading

Book Talk: THE RACE UNDERGROUND, by Doug Most

The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry That Built America’s First Subway Doug Most (Facebook) (Twitter) St. Martin’s Press (February 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 0312591322 / 9780312591328) Nonfiction: history, 416 pages A version of this post was previously published as a Starred Review in Shelf Awareness for Readers (February 18, 2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. As […]

(Audio)Book Talk: GOING CLEAR, by Lawrence Wright
February 11, 2014 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: GOING CLEAR, by Lawrence Wright

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief Lawrence Wright Audiobook read by Morton Sellers Vintage (November 2013), Paperback (ISBN 0385393040 / 9780385393041) Nonfiction, 560 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Random House Audio, January 2013, ISBN 9780385393058; Audible ASIN B00AYLFLCM) I’ve spent about 40% of my life in places where the Church of Scientology’s presence is hard to ignore: the obvious one is here in Los Angeles, and the other one is Tampa Bay. (The […]

(Audio)Book Talk: ONE SUMMER, by Bill Bryson
January 14, 2014 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: ONE SUMMER, by Bill Bryson

One Summer: America, 1927 Bill Bryson (Facebook) Audiobook read by the author Doubleday (October 2013), hardcover (ISBN 0767919408 / 9780767919401) Nonfiction: History, 528 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Random House Audio, October 2013, ISBN 9780739315309; Audible ASIN B00EF9PJU8) It’s hard for those of us who came in late to grasp this fully, but the pace of change may never have been faster than it was in the 1900s in the United States. As a child of the […]

Book Talk: I WANT MY MTV, by Rob Tannenbaum and Craig Marks
December 12, 2013 reading

Book Talk: I WANT MY MTV, by Rob Tannenbaum and Craig Marks

I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution Rob Tannenbaum and Craig Marks Penguin Plume (2012), trade paper (ISBN 0452298563 / 9780452298569) Nonfiction: pop culture (oral history), 592 pages Source: Purchased ebook (iBooks ISBN 9781101562415) Reason for reading: Personal The popular music of my lifetime is divided, in my mind, between “before MTV” and “after MTV.” I first saw Music Television in the fall of 1982–my boyfriend’s family had cable–and was […]

Book Talk: SOME NERVE, by Patty Chang Anker
December 5, 2013 reading

Book Talk: SOME NERVE, by Patty Chang Anker

Some Nerve: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave Patty Chang Anker (Twitter) (Facebook) (blog) Riverhead (October 2013), hardcover (ISBN 1594486050 / 9781594486050) Nonfiction (memoir/self-help), 368 pages Source: ARC from publisher Reason for reading: Personal I don’t usually quote more than the opening passage when I write about books here, but Patty Chang Anker captured something that smacked me in the face on page 161 (ARC) of Some Nerve: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave (emphasis added): “The […]

(Audio)Book Talk: ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, by Piper Kerman
December 3, 2013 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, by Piper Kerman

Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison Piper Kerman (Twitter) (Facebook) Audiobook read by Cassandra Campbell Speigel & Grau (2011), trade paper (ISBN 1452657661 / 9780385523394) Nonfiction: memoir, 352 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Tantor Audio, 2012) ISBN 9781452657660 / Audible ASIN B008AF2JDS) Reason for reading: Personal Orange Is the New Black is a book that’s been on my radar for a while, but I really hadn’t found a compelling reason to […]

(Audio)Book Talk: COLUMBINE, by Dave Cullen
November 12, 2013 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: COLUMBINE, by Dave Cullen

Columbine Dave Cullen Audiobook read by Don Leslie Grand Central Publishing (2010), trade paper (ISBN 0446546925 / 9780446546928) Nonfiction (current affairs), 464 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Blackstone Audio (2009), ISBN 9781433290466; Audible ASIN B0025ZAMU6) Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines: “He told them he loved them. Each and every one of them. He spoke without notes but chose his words carefully. Frank DeAngelis waited out the pom-pom routines, the academic awards, and the student-made videos. […]

Book Talk: MENNONITE MEETS MR. RIGHT, by Rhoda Janzen
November 5, 2013 reading

Book Talk: MENNONITE MEETS MR. RIGHT, by Rhoda Janzen

Mennonite Meets Mr. Right: A Memoir of Faith, Hope, and Love Rhoda Janzen Grand Central Publishing (October 2013), trade paper (ISBN 1455502871 / 9781455502875) Nonfiction (memoir/spirituality), 272 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (November 1, 2013). Shelf Awareness provided a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. Rhoda Janzen’s popular 2009 memoir, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, […]

(Audio)Book Talk: FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL, by Sheri Fink
October 29, 2013 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL, by Sheri Fink

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital Sheri Fink (Twitter) (Facebook) Audiobook read by Kirsten Potter Crown (September 2013), Hardcover (ISBN 0307718964 / 9780307718969) Nonfiction (social science/health), 576 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Random House Audio (September 2013) ISBN 978-0-8041-2810-0; Audible ASIN B00EF870X8) Reason for reading: Personal interest From the Prologue: “For certain New Orleanians, Memorial Medical Center was the place you went to ride out each hurricane that the loop current […]

Book Talk: SAFFRON CROSS, by J. Dana Trent
October 22, 2013 reading

Book Talk: SAFFRON CROSS, by J. Dana Trent

Saffron Cross: The Unlikely Story of How a Christian Minister Married a Hindu Monk J. Dana Trent (Facebook) (Twitter) Fresh Air Books (2013), trade paper (ISBN 1935205161 / 9781935205166) Nonfiction: memoir/spirituality, 144 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (October 18, 2013). Shelf Awareness provided a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review and compensation for the review they received and published. She was nurtured by one small-town Baptist […]