CANNONBALL! I am actually in the middle of two other books, both of which would have been a fine way to reach the milestone of my third cannonball read. But I picked this up at the library before a camping trip this weekend and didn’t want to put it down. So it seems to be a fitting choice for review #52. Author Kimberly Rae Miller was raised by two loving parents, one of whom is a hoarder, and the other who has, at times, been […]
Sex, Drugs, and…Big Band Music?
I always like to do a little research on the authors before I start writing my reviews. In this case, it actually helped make a lot od sense: Petersen is a professor and part-time writer for sites like Buzzfeed and The Hairpin, which is probably why her book reads a little like a dissertation and a little like an article you’d find in Slate. I’m not going so far as to say that’s a bad thing, but for a topic with such promise of dirt […]
Cannonball: a Family Affair
I heard about Mary Anna King’s Bastards through an article on Uproxx a few months ago and clearly so did a few other people because after her book came out in late June there was a wait list at the local library. Bastards is not a completely accurate title- Mary and her siblings were born to parents who were married (although at some points separated) but financial circumstances made keeping them all together impossible. Before Mary was two her grandfather & his wife came to […]
Pretty sure this book was at least 50% bullshit
A friend of mine lent me this book, insisting that it was a fantastic true story about this World War II hero who routinely snuck out of a POW camp over a period of almost five years. She was about half right — it’s a fantastic story, but I (and quite a few people who’ve actually done the research) have trouble believing it’s all that true… Young British soldier Joseph Horace Greasley (called “Jim” throughout the novel by his friends) spent about five years of World […]
Helter Skelter
Vincent Bugliosi’s Parkland was one of the better non-fiction books I read this year and I instantly wanted to seek out Helter Skelter. As the prosecuting attorney against Manson, Bugliosi was infinitely qualified to write this book; it is both well researched and full of personal memories. Our book begins with the discovery of Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring and Voytek Frykowski along with Steven Parent at 10050 Cielo Drive followed by the murders of Rosemary and Leno LaBianca the following day. Following a […]
Worth it for the pictures alone
I read Steve Martin’s Shopgirl last year and didn’t really like it — the writing was good but I hated the plot and the characters. But I thought I would give his non-fiction a chance, and I’m glad I did. Born Standing Up tells of Martin’s (slow, painful) rise to fame as a stand up comedian, from his start doing magic shows as a teen and working at Disneyland, to sold out arenas every day of the week. “I have heard it said that a complicated childhood can lead […]
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