A bookworm journalist blogs on literature and life
From the category archives:
Title: Hunger: An Unnatural History
Author: Sharman Apt Russell
Genre: Nonfiction
Year: 2005
Acquired: Library (upon @BibioEva’s Twitter suggestion)
Rating:
One Sentence Summary: Hunger: An Unnatural History is an overview of the science, sociology, and moral implications of hunger and it’s impact across the globe.
One Sentence Review: This book covers a little too much territory for my tastes, [...]
{ 10 comments }
One Sentence Summary: Memoir: A History is exactly what the title implies — an overview of how memoirs have evolved from the early days of spiritual autobiography to the current trends of celebrity memoir and contested truth.
One Sentence Review: This book is a must read for anyone interested in reading memoirs or enjoys talking about truth and writing and how we’ve gotten to the type of memoirs we can read today.
{ 16 comments }
One Sentence Summary: In this memoir, Lamott explores moments that test faith and explore her own quirky relationship with God.
One Sentence Review: If you can enjoy Lamott’s neurotic but open personality, Traveling Mercies is a joy to read.
{ 14 comments }
One Sentence Summary: In 1920s New York, two forensic scientists started a cat and mouse game with criminals to detect and prove the use of poison for murder.
One Sentence Review: Blum’s book combines murder, mystery, and easy-to-understand chemistry into an easy to read package.
{ 12 comments }
One Sentence Summary: Near the end of WWII, 36 young men volunteered to starve themselves as part of an experiment to understand the basics of human nutrition needs.
One Sentence Review: The book is at it’s strongest when focusing on the experiment and the experiences of the subjects, but loses some momentum when it tries to step out and address too many large issues.
{ 30 comments }
Two Sentence Summary: Ten days after the end of WWII, Laura Chase drove her car off a bridge. Fifty years later, her older sister, Iris, tries to explain their lives and how the tragedy unfolded.
Two Sentence Review: I cannot think of a reason not to read this book. The Blind Assassin was awesome.
{ 30 comments }
Summary: As ambassador to Romania shortly after the end of Communist rule, Jim Rosapepe worked hard to help the country shed the image of an old, dark, haunted place and bring Romania into the 20th century and all that implies. His wife, Sheila, used her skills as a journalist to work with the Romanian people to make the transition possible. In this book, Sheila and Jim chronicle their time in Romania by taking the reader through each of Romania’s eight regions and the changes that have helped shape the country.
{ 9 comments }
I read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle back-to-back earlier this year as part of my semester-long class on food writing. While both look at what we eat, they approach the issue from very different directions. Pollan’s book is a more academic look at the structures and politics that make up the food system, while Kingsolver’s memoir applies some suggested reforms to her family’s food choices for a year.
{ 22 comments }
One Sentence Summary: Still learning to use her psychic powers, Claire Voyant finds herself wrapped up in secret societies and good deeds while still working to survive high school and figure out the problems with her problematic crush.
One Sentence Review: Mechling’s second book about Claire improves on the problems with the first, creating a readable story with convincing high school drama and even more time with a cast of excellent background characters.
{ 16 comments }
Sentence Summary: Since she was a little girl, Claire Voyante has had dreams that have connections to her real life. Will Claire learn to use these dreams in time to help protect a new friend while trying to find her place in a totally new school?
One Sentence Review: Claire is a sweet narrator you can’t help but root for and want to know more about, even though the plot sometimes feels confused and the minor characters sometimes slip into the background.
{ 15 comments }
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