Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence was probably one of the funniest, most painfully awkward childhood memoirs that I’ve ever read. Thank god for Paul Feig’s horrible experiences, though, because it’s easy to see how everything he went through in school shaped him as the incredibly funny and talented man that we enjoy today. Hell, it’s obvious that half of Freaks and Geeks (the really painful nerdy parts) were lifted directly from his memories. “I was afraid of anyone in a costume. A trip to see Santa might as […]
It’s not what you think
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II (2012) by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander is a New York Times and international best seller. It also has five stars on Amazon. However, it’s not a book I would have chosen to read on my own. Although World War II is the neverending source of remarkable stories, the constant death and destruction is hard to take in. So, I only read about war once in […]
Recipes to Substitute for Central Heating
What a charming book this was! I don’t even remember how I came about to have this in my collection. To be sure, I am rather French-obsessed. The usual books and films and music (when I got into Black Metal I searched out all the French ones) and food are just a jumping off point. I really enjoy trying to discern what is so attractive to me about the people and the culture, other than a vague heritage. This book had all that and more. […]
There is almost no truth better not known
This book, written by an editor who formerly worked for publishing houses and Vanity Fair, begins as the account of George returning to the small town of Paris, Missouri to care for his aging mother, Betty. At ninety, she is exhibiting signs of dementia, and is failing physically. George is determined to care for her in her home, the one her husband (George’s father, Big George) built for them when they moved from Madison. The wisdom of such a decision is questioned every day, not just by […]
I don’t do family drama. And guess what The Glass Castle is all about?
My book club is made up of a lot of non-fiction readers, so I’ve been reading more nonfiction than I normally do. Some books have been good, some not-so-great, but I’ve decided that memoir is overall not my genre. The Glass Castle, while one of the most startling nonfiction accounts I’ve ever read, was a tough book to read for lots of reasons. First, the story: Jeannette Walls grows up in an unconventional family. Her father is a megalomaniac and an alcoholic. Her mother is […]
Be grateful you get to enjoy 21st century medicine, people
So I’d actually heard of Dr. Mütter before reading this book, primarily because of his museum in Philadelphia, which he had commissioned before his death and to which he left his collection of “medical oddities”. The museum has been added to over time, and I believe I first heard of it because my friend Cat told me it had the world’s largest collection of penises. That may or may not be correct, but it does boast over 3,000 “wet specimens”, a multitude of skulls, medical instruments, removed tumors, […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 475
- 476
- 477
- 478
- 479
- …
- 515
- Next Page »