I read All Over But the Shoutin’ on the recommendation of another Cannonballer, and agree wholeheartedly with his/her review: the beginning of the book fascinated me, and Rick Bragg is kind of a dick. “One: Don’t kill yourself. Two: Don’t kill each other. Three: Try hard not to kill nobody else, but if you have to, better if it ain’t fam’ly.” Like many other memoirs I’ve read, Rick Bragg was raised by a hard working saint of a mother while his asshole father flitted in and […]
Treating People as Jesus Would Isn’t Easy
I got behind on several of my book club’s selections and this is one of them that I’m catching up on. Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber was highly discussed and recommended by my fellow book clubbers and I’m happy that I can now share in their enthusiasm, having just finished it last night. The buzz around the book and the author is that Ms. Bolz-Weber isn’t your typical ELCA pastor. She’s tattoed, swears, and drops truth bombs like no other. While I haven’t met her, […]
Humorous and Heartfelt Autobiography
My wife and I have started this tradition of choosing an audio book to listen to on car trips. It’s a nice change from just listening to music, plus it helps us up our Cannonball Read counts (we are a competitive pair). For me, I prefer to read a book rather than to listen to one. Listening to more podcasts recently, has made me develop more of my auditory literacy so I’m trying to see if I can’t also develop a liking for audio books. […]
“It’s hard to know what’s in a person’s heart when she never says good-bye.”
I don’t know that I would have ever picked up Kate Mulgrew’s poignant and beautifully written memoir if it hadn’t been for narfna’s lovely review from late last year. Sure, I had put it on my 500 book deep to read list over on Goodreads (side note: I may have an electronic hoarding problem – send help!), but it like many other “oh that looks interesting” books would have slipped past my immediate attention. You see, I didn’t know who Captain Janeway was. My only […]
Don’t Take Your Education For Granted
I’m already in the phase of the year where I think ahead to what I want to teach next year. I’m not happy with my Sophomore curriculum, so I’m looking for some updated works that can fill some gaps. I’m interested in some non-fiction particularly involving young people. I Am Malala fits this bill, plus it stresses the importance of education and involves somewhat current events. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. I had heard that it was a good book but […]
Please don’t make me defend a Nazi sympathizer
In Dietrich & Riefenstahl, Karin Wieland compares the lives of two famous German movie personalities. On the surface, Marlin Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl seem very similar. Born a year apart, both harbored big dreams. Both defied their parents, studied dance and worked as actors. Both took lovers and refused to live their lives the way others demanded. But when Hitler ascended to power, the two women reacted very differently. Dietrich became an American citizen and entertained Allied troops during the war, and Riefenstahl supported Hitler, […]
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