My literary walk of shame, i.e., the list of books I should have read a long time ago, seems to involve a lot of youth lit. I’ve never read any Nancy Drew books despite the fact that we had a stack of them in the closet when I was a kid. I didn’t read Little Women until I was 40. I just read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn last month. And now, at long last, I have read Madeleine L’Engle’s classic time travel novel A […]
A hilarious book about two people working as a Times Square concierge and the ridiculous conversations they have
Ever worked in the service industry? If the answer is yes, then you are probably aware of the magnitude of stupidity and rudeness that the general population possess. It doesn’t matter if you have waited tables, worked in retail, dealt with customer service phone calls, worked in a hotel – there is something about being in these “How may I help you?” positions that somehow elicit some of the worst behavior from people who are typically nice in their everyday lives. In my six years […]
A quick, creepy read that was just a bit sobering for me
Another day, another Mitchell! I bought Slade House not long after I finished The Bone Clocks because I didn’t want to stop living in Mitchell’s world. It ended up being the perfect accompaniment to Bone Clocks, almost like a side note into the world of Atemporals, souls who are able to live on for centuries in different bodies. Described as a “haunted house” book, Mitchell exercises his horror writing skills in describing Slade House, which is hidden behind a small black iron door down a narrow, winding alley. Nathan Bishop, […]
A “mid-life crisis novel” for David Mitchell
I have been really terrible about writing book reviews, but I have at least renewed my drive to read more. Mitchell is one of the easiest authors for me to jump into, and The Bone Clocks — which has sat on my shelf unread for over a year now — was a pretty easy read for me. I’ll try to put up the reviews for all the other books I have read before and after this one (I have about four others!) On to the review! […]
Come to my Cocktail/Garden Party y’all!
I come from a long line of German farmers who emigrated to Missouri. As such I feel strongly compelled to grow things in the dirt and turn those growing things into tasty consumables. Conversely, I love drinking and spouting nuggets of alcoholic wisdom. The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart was right up my alley. She guides us through many of the plants, and parts of plants that make up our favorite cocktails. As I read this book I was simultaneously planning a backyard garden […]
When Graphic Novels Meet Modern History
At the beginning of CBR8, I reviewed two graphic novels that deal with contemporary history: Marzi, about Poland under martial law and the Solidarity movement, and War Brothers about civil war and child soldiers in Uganda. Both were excellent and demonstrated for me that the graphic novel is a great way to introduce readers to events that might have either passed notice or seemed too far away to really matter. In particular, I think the graphic novel lends itself to drawing in young readers, educating […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- …
- 99
- Next Page »