“Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.”– George Orwell, 1984 Ben Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” It’s a sentiment this country has been at odds with since its inception, from the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, […]
Stick with Doris Kearns Goodwin
One of the issues with being a history nut (besides the fact that people tell you to get a better hobby, have you tried knitting?) is that you end up covering the same ground a lot. Normally that’s pretty interesting; I’ve read way too many books about the Roosevelts, but I’m able to glean something new from each new book. Unfortunately, sometimes you read a history book that’s decent, but it doesn’t really give you something new. Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and […]
An Attempt to Clear the Air about Scientology
Going Clear is about the enigma that is Scientology, a religion marketed to the wealthy and famous who can afford undergoing years of auditing sessions. It’s a secretive religion that unfolds information in stages, making the stranger tenets of Scientology more palatable after acclimating one’s mind to less shocking, but priming “truths.” As a newer religion (founded by L. Ron Hubbard in the mid 1950’s), Scientology has recent history to its detriment. And it is this with which Wright begins…the story of L. Ron Hubbard, […]
Long Time Listener, First Time Reader
As a loyal listener of “This American Life,” I’ve been listening to stories from David Sedaris for ages. I rarely find him shocking (do people find him shocking?), but actually, hilarious and delightful. I would go so far as to say that I find him to be a comfort, and a familiar. This is the first of his books that I’ve actually listened to with my eyes. His voice is immediate and steadily present for me, in the best possible way. A series of stories […]
A celebrity book that isn’t a memoir. With science! And research!
I can’t believe I’m only now finishing my first book of the year. It’s January 11th! What am I doing with my life??? Anyway, this was an excellent first book of the year. I can’t even tell you how refreshing it is to read a book written by a celebrity that isn’t a self-obsessed money grab that makes too much of too little (if any) substance. It’s also well-written. And entertaining. And informative. And helpful! Several years ago when Aziz Ansari was putting together some […]
Further Misadventures of an Idiot Girl
Laurie Notaro’s background is in journalism. Her first book, The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club, was a collection of columns originally written for an Arizona newspaper. Autobiography of a Fat Bride, her second book, continues in that same vein, with a collection of short essays. They focus mainly on meeting and marrying her husband, and their first few years of marriage. I can’t help but compare it to another one of her books, a later one, The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death, which I read and reviewed […]
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