One of the unexpected joys I’ve discovered since I’ve started listening to audiobooks is the self-narrated biography or memoir. There is just something about hearing the voice of the subject that really enhances the experience. This is especially so for biographies written by entertainers and performers, who naturally make excellent narrators. So far, I have enjoyed biographies read and written by Alexei Sayle, Eddie Izzard, Magda Szubanski and David Attenborough. But there is only one so far that I would say HAS to be […]
The awkwardness of middle school and dental drama
My previous review was for Sisters a biographical graphic novel about the relationship between the author, Raina Telgemeier, and her younger sister Amara. Before she wrote Sisters, Raina chronicled the difficult and awkward time of middle school through the transition to high school in Smile. Poor Raina, at a time when you can feel your most self conscious she had an extra complication of braces and dental work on a level I had never heard of before. At eleven years old an unfortunate accident knocked out one of Raina’s top […]
Keep Going
Hillary Clinton’s memoir covering the historic 2016 US presidential elections is, of course, as uniquely polarizing as her person is. The book, as it has been said by many others, will change no one’s mind. And, while it’s impossible to know any intentions beyond those stated, changing minds seemed to no longer be on the agenda. Instead, the memoir serves the intended purpose(s) of a memoir: an account of her personal experiences and what she took away from them. The beginning dragged for me. There […]
Not Just Another Pretty Face.
Full disclosure:I was given a free copy of this book to read and review. There was no implication that the review must be favorable. Could there be a better way to present Marilyn Monroe, a woman who loved to be photographed, than in a graphic novel packed with beautiful images of this beautiful woman? Using a visually arresting collage style, Elizabeth Periale brings a fresh eye and voice to the oft-told tragic story of America’s Bombshell. Having only a passing familiarity with Monroe’s life, the […]
A disappointing history of Nancy Drew, my childhood hero.
So aside from this gorgeous Scandinavian fairytale book I used to repeatedly check out from the library as a child*, the Nancy Drew books make up the entirety of my first real literary memories. When you have a bookworm for a child, know that that child will scour your entire house for any book it can find**, and will then proceed to read any and all books indiscriminately. This works out well for the child, generally, but you should know it’s going to happen. That’s […]
Think 45 is bad? It could be worse…
One of Penguin’s Little Black Classics range, I picked this up for less than a quid during a recent odyssey to an amazing bookstore (I tend to make pilgrimages to book stores in the way someone else might visit cathedrals or other holy sites). I may have lost 3 hours and a decent amount of money, but I did walk out with two bulging bags of treats. The Little Black Classic range is great for this kind of shopping, enabling you to walk away with […]
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