A bookworm journalist blogs on literature and life
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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, [...]
{ 4 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 }
The inaugural edition of Narrative Nonfiction 5 features five books by authors that went in-depth covering “current” events in the United States. I put current in quotes because most of these books are more than 10 years old, which makes current a bit of a stretch. Still, I’m fairly confident many of these issues haven’t changed so much that the lessons of the story aren’t relevant today.
{ 25 comments }
One goal I set for myself this year is to do more with nonfiction on my blog. One way I’ve decided to do that is through a new semi-weekly feature: Narrative Nonfiction 5. Every few weeks or so, Narrative Nonfiction 5 will feature a list of five nonfiction books on a particular theme.
As the title suggests, I’m focusing specifically on narrative nonfiction. That term can encompass a lot of things, but for me it means nonfiction books that use techniques of fiction — plot, characters, dialogue, symbolism — to tell a good, true, story.
{ 19 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.
{ 29 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 }
Two Sentence Summary: As a grad student, Ventaktesh befriended J.T., a gang leader from the projects in Chicago. Over several years, the two formed a tense friendship that allowed Ventaktesh unprecedented access to the inner-workings of life in the area and the gang’s role in the community.
One Sentence Review: Ventaktesh’s methods and lack of awareness of the implications of his project can be frustrating, but the book provides an intimate look into a world most people would prefer to ignore.
{ 16 comments }
I’ve been on my Christmas Break for 14 days now, which means I should have read 1400 pages to be on track to meet my goal of reading 3000 pages in 30 days. As of Saturday night I was at 1327 pages. Just a little short, but nothing that can’t be made up.
{ 20 comments }
One of my goals for the end of the year is to have reviews written for all the books I read in 2009. I’m not quite there yet, but close. When I started listing the unfinished reviews I realized there were a bunch of books I read that I just didn’t have that much to say about. Rather than making them all their own posts, I just decided to group them together into one post. Enjoy!
{ 16 comments }
One Sentence Summary: Journalist Eric Weiner is unhappy so he decides to visit some of the world’s happiest places to see if where you live can really make or break your mood.
One Sentence Review: Weiner’s book is a little light and sometimes lacks detail, but overall it’s an amusing journey I’m glad I tagged along for.
{ 8 comments }
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