non fiction – Page 25 – Cannonball Read 17

“In heroin addicts, I had seen the debasement that comes from the loss of free will and enslavement to what amounts to an idea: permanent pleasure, numbness, and the avoidance of pain. But man’s decay has always begun as soon as he has it all, and is free of friction, pain, and the deprivation that temper his behavior.”

Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones

December 10, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

This was extremely informative, and I should have read it sooner. More info and developments have come out about the opioid epidemic since this book was published in 2015, but this book itself won’t ever really be dated, because what he did here was to investigate its origins. No matter what happens down the road, this will always be how it started. (I’ve heard that Empire of Pain is a good follow up, but I don’t know if I have the emotional fortitude to tackle […]

I will defend Dana Scully with my last breath.

90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality by Allison Yarrow

December 8, 2021 by narfna 4 Comments

This was a secondary optional pick for one of my IRL book clubs (I’m in two now and it is great; the next person I see making fun of book clubs gets a virtual punch in their sensitive bits—book clubs are friendship, books, and food, fuck you) and I’m glad I read it, although it was a far from a perfect read. When it was on, I really enjoyed it. When it was off, steam came out of my ears. The perspective this book takes […]

What is work really and why are we still doing so much of it?

Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time by James Suzman

November 24, 2021 by kniki Leave a Comment

Isn’t it weird that some people pay heaps of money to do ‘leisure’ activities that other people ‘have to do’ as their work? Sewing, fishing, hunting, cooking classes, etc, can be classed completely differently depending on whether or not you’re relying on them to provide you the necessities of life. Is eating work? How about getting sunlight onto our skin? We need these to survive so they probably are work; but this is a totally different way of looking at it. Other concepts turned on […]

“And so I was crushed,” Mimi said. “Because I thought I was such a good mother. I baked a cake and a pie every night. Or at least had Jell-O with whipped cream.” #CBRBINGO – Book Club

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

October 31, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

This was an intense read, but very engaging. If you are interested in reading about mental health, and the history of mental health, this is a must-read. The author, Robert Kolker, was introduced to two sisters, Margaret and Lindsay (formerly Mary) Galvin, who wanted someone to document and tell the story of their family in an unbiased and informative way. The Galvins were a family of fourteen: twelve children (ten boys and two girls) and two parents, Mimi and Don. The oldest child, Donald, was […]

Sports are Fantastic Fun, and so are these books!

Sports are Fantastic Fun by Ole Könnecke

The Magic Tree House: Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne

Ancient Greece and the Olympics: A Nonfiction Companion to Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne

October 31, 2021 by crystalclear Leave a Comment

Sports are Fantastic Fun Ole Könnecke No gonna lie, I just went to the juvenile nonfiction section of my library and found the sports section to find something for the Sports Ball Bingo square. I’m not all that into sports, and there were other squares that interested me more. But I found some interesting picks! Sports are Fantastic Fun reads like one of the videos from the 1950’s that they would have featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000. But it’s paired with fun, whimsical […]

The eyes of a doe and the balls of a samurai.

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

October 27, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I see why this book is so much lower rated than her other two memoirs. It’s kind of scattered, and half of it is devoted to her affair with Harrison Ford, which isn’t told in a juicy manner but in a self-reflecting one, and the diaries that detailed her experience of that affair. I get why she wanted to tell this story herself; she wanted to control the narrative. It’s just . . . not super fun to read about. My favorite parts of this […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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