A bookworm journalist blogs on literature and life
One Sentence Summary: Competitive bird watching is a real thing, and 1998 was a banner year for one of the sports’ oddest competitions.
One Sentence Review: The Big Year is an entertaining and well-paced look at an obscure hobby and the people who love it.
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About three months ago, Boyfriend and I were invited to join a wine tasting group here in Madison called WASTED – it’s an acronym for something, but no one can see to remember what!
We’re heading off to another WASTED meeting this afternoon, which made today seem like the perfect time to review a narrative nonfiction book I just recently finished about the history of wine in the United States, The Wild Vine by Todd Kliman.
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One Sentence Summary: At 14-years-old, Finny Short runs away, and the boy she meets while on the lam changes her life for the better.
One Sentence Review: Finny was the perfect light but impactful read that I wanted while on vacation at the lake.
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This is the wrap up post for the first edition of BookClubSandwich, an online book club for foodies and wannabes. Andi (Estella’s Revenge) hosted the discussion on Michael Perry’s book Coop at her blog starting last Monday, and it looks like we had quite a few people participating which is awesome.
I, unfortunately, didn’t get to chat as much as I wanted to because of The Move and the fact that we didn’t get our internet hooked up until Sunday. It’s hard to blog without the web.
But, I loved Coop! And I loved all the things people had to say about the book. Here are some of the things I wish I’d been able to write/say, with some of my commentary sprinkled in (links go to reviews of Coop).
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This is a little bit of a nontraditional Narrative Nonfiction 5 list, since I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call most of these books “narrative nonfiction.” They’re more classic nonfiction, even though the bits I’ve read of each do have a conversational style that I really appreciate.
The books on this list are all responses to the fact that technology is changing us as individuals and a society – some think for the better, and some think for the worse. Ever since I started my new job (working for a engineering trade magazine), it seems I can’t get enough of this discussion, and wanted to share some of the books I’m most excited about reading with you.
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One Sentence Summary: Unable to afford school, 14-year-old Malawian William Kamkwamba pursued his education at his village library where his life was changed by a book called Using Energy.
One Sentence Review: William’s memoir was the perfect combination for me – compelling story, strong narrative voice, and connections to real life.
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I am not the world’s most impressive chef, but I’ve always wanted to be a good cook. I’ve debated signing up for cooking classes, but end up skipping it because of expenses or time.
As a cook I like to have recipes, but tend to not follow them exactly. It drives my boyfriend crazy when I don’t measure – too lazy to wash all the measuring utensils – or just guess on how long something should cook. This works out for me about half the time, and the other half I get something weird that doesn’t quite seem right.
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This is just a quick post to let you know that I’ll be unplugged for the next week or so. I’m moving this weekend, as I mentioned in my Sunday Salon post, and getting ready has been more work than I anticipated. I’ll also be without internet at home from Saturday until the middle of next week.
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Monday Tally is a weekly link round-up of some of my favorite posts discovered over the week. If you have suggestions for Monday Tally, please e-mail sophisticated [dot] dorkiness [at] gmail [dot] com. Enjoy!
Top Picks
If you only have a minute, here are my top picks for this week.
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