My sister, Jenny, and I are spending the summer revisiting the Harry Potter series, some of the most read and most anticipated books of our childhood. You can catch up with our thoughts on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (we read the British version) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, or just jump right in [...]
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In One Hundred Names for Love, author Diane Ackerman writes about the five years after Paul’s stroke — his daily struggles to make himself known, the challenges an illness that takes away language does to a relationship built on words, and the process of designing a new life in the wake of a condition that all but destroys what used to be.
When I first heard that there was going to be a documentary made about what it is like to work at the New York Times, I may have squealed. Loudly and repeatedly. Just maybe.
Although I’ve never wanted to work at the Times, that newspaper — for better or for worse — is the standard of journalism in the United States. During my first visit to New York for the Book Blogger Convention in 2010, I was one of those total dorks that took a photo in front of the New York Times building (well, Care took the photo, I just posed like a total fan girl).
Both Care (Care’s Online Book Club) and Jeanne (Necromancy Never Pays) said The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down was a book they wanted to read because I’ve been so enthusiastic about it. Enthusiastic is probably a nice way of putting it — it’s a narrative nonfiction book that I’m a little bit evangelical about.
See, nonfiction can be very topic focused, which means a particular book could be well-written and interesting and engaging, but not work for someone because the topic is so far off their radar. I’m a reader that loves learning about a huge variety of things, but not everyone is like that.
Title: The Wordy Shipmates Author: Sarah Vowell Genre/Format: Nonfiction/Audiobook Year: 2008 Acquired: Library [rating:3.5/5] Summary: A bunch of important Puritans came to America in 1630 to start the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Things weren’t all fine and dandy, however. The Puritans of this colony didn’t get along very well with the previous colonists, the Puritans of [...]
Hooray! Today is my one year blogoversary! I wrote my Welcome Post for this blog on May 10, 2008, about a week before my college graduation, which doesn’t seem like it was a full year ago. In one year, I’ve written 254 posts. I’ve read 77 books, but not written quite that many reviews. I’ve [...]
The 2009 Blog Improvement Project is starting one week from now, and I am really looking forward to it. If I counted correctly, there are currently 89 people signed up for the project, which is way more than I expected when I first proposed it! That said, I have to admit I’m a little nervous; [...]
I got really into Scrabble last year after I installed the Facebook application Scrabulous. Because I’m an English major, everyone assumes I’m better at Scrabble than I actually am; in truth, I pretty much suck at the game. Why? I simply don’t have the dedication. It takes a weird sort of passion to be really [...]
At the end of last year, I read two books – one nonfiction, one a memoir – that helped me organize some of goals and plans for this year via my One Little Word, whole. They’re both books about what it means for women to live life without a template to follow, and finding new [...]
Around Here | I’m off work today for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which still feels weird to me after never getting extra holidays while working in newspapers. But, I’m not complaining! I’ve got brunch with a friend, a few errands to run, and some writing to do… but I’m still hopeful I can find [...]
