• Non-Fiction

    2012 Review Extravaganza: Pt. 7

    by  • 12/29/2012 • 3 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 4.5 Stars, A Authors, Audiobook, B Authors, Contemporary, Essays, F Titles, Fiction, Humor, J Titles, L Titles, Literary, M Authors, M Titles, Non-Fiction, O Titles, P Authors, P Titles, R Authors, S Titles, T Authors, True Crime, Young Adult • 66 Comments

    peoplewhoeat

    Short reviews of Jellicoe Road, The Sense of An Ending, The Future of Us, Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries, One Last Thing Before I Go, People Who Eat Darkness and Moranthology.

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    2012 Review Extravaganza: Part 1

    by  • 12/12/2012 • 3 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 4.5 Stars, A Authors, Audiobook, C Titles, Contemporary, Fiction, G Titles, H Authors, History, J Authors, K Authors, M Titles, Memoir, Mystery/Thriller, Non-Fiction, S Authors, S Titles, Science, W Titles • 52 Comments

    05_Flatbed_1 - JANUARY

    A collection of short book reviews, including: When Will There Be Good News; Started Early, Took My Dog; The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat; Girl In Translation; Curtains; and Game Change.

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    Packing for Mars, How I Killed Pluto, Assassination Vacation, Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Reviews

    by  • 05/01/2011 • 4 Stars, 4.5 Stars, Audiobook, B Authors, H Titles, History, Humor, I Titles, Non-Fiction, P Titles, R Authors, S Authors, Science, V Authors, W Titles • 80 Comments

    Reviews of Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

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    Review: The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood

    by  • 04/15/2010 • 3.5 Stars, Non-Fiction, S Authors, S Titles • 10 Comments

    The Survivors Club Ben SherwoodGrand Central Publishing, 2009ISBN: 978-0-446-69885-6373 pagesNon-fictionMy rating: 3.5 stars Book Overview The subtitle of the book, “The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life,” pretty much sums up what this book is about—learning about what it takes to survive and determining what type of survivor you might be. The...

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    Review: If the Church Were Christian by Philip Gulley

    by  • 03/15/2010 • 3.5 Stars, G Authors, I Titles, Non-Fiction, Spirituality • 20 Comments

    If the Church Were Christian Phillip GulleyHarperOne, 2010191 pagesGenre: Non-Fiction, SpiritualityMy rating: 3.5 stars Book Overview Philip Gulley is a long-time Quaker minister who has written several books on Christian faith, including If Grace Were True and If God Is Love. In other words, this book is written by someone who has been involved...

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    Review: Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman

    by  • 03/11/2010 • 4 Stars, B Titles, Memoir, Non-Fiction, W Authors • 22 Comments

    Bad MotherAyelet WaldmanDoubleday, 2009ISBN: 978-0385527934224 pagesGenre: Non-Fiction Memoir, Parenting, EssaysMy rating: 4 stars Overview For the All in the Family part of the Take Another Chance Challenge, I had to read two books by writers who were related to each other in some way. I chose Michael Chabon (the husband) and Ayelet Waldman (the...

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    Graphic Review: The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell

    by  • 02/22/2010 • 3.5 Stars, I Titles, Memoir, S Authors • 27 Comments

    The Impostor’s DaughterLaurie SandellLittle, Brown and Company, 2009ISBN: 978-0-316-03305-3246 pagesGenre: Memoir, Graphic NovelMy Rating: 3.5 stars The Basic Story The book is a memoir of the author’s struggles to understand her father, who lied about almost everything in his life and screwed a lot of friends and family members. As a result, the author...

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    Reviews: The Guinea Pig Diaries and I Was Told There’d Be Cake

    by  • 02/05/2010 • 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, C Authors, G Titles, I Titles, J Authors, Non-Fiction • 11 Comments

    The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life As An ExperimentA.J. JacobsSimon & Schuster, 2009ISBN: 978-1416599067256 pagesNon-Fiction, HumorMy Rating: 3.5 stars A.J. Jacobs has created his own little niche market: conducting experiments in his life and then writing about them. The first of these books, The Know-It-All, chronicled his experience reading every single page of the...

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    Mini Reviews: Bright Lights, Big Ass and No One You Know

    by  • 01/22/2010 • 3.5 Stars, 4 Stars, B Titles, Fiction, Humor, L Authors, Memoir, Mystery/Thriller, N Titles, Non-Fiction • 15 Comments

    Bright Lights, Big AssJen LancasterNew American Library, 2007Memoir, HumorISBN: 978-0-451-22125-4382 pages This is my second Jen Lancaster book, and I enjoyed it even more than the first one (Bitter Is the New Black). A rollicking memoir by a very funny but bitchy lady, Bright Lights, Big Ass is a bit more free-wheeling than her...

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    Review: The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose

    by  • 01/07/2010 • 4 Stars, Memoir, Non-Fiction, R Authors, U Titles • 20 Comments

    Title: The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest UniversityAuthor: Kevin RoosePublishing Info: Grand Central Publishing, 2009ISBN: 978-0446178426Pages: 336Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir In an effort to spice up my book reviews, I’ve been tinkering with different ways to review books. For this book, I thought it might be fun to review it by paying...

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    Marley & Me by John Grogan

    by  • 11/29/2009 • 3 Stars, G Authors, M Titles, Memoir • 0 Comments

    Hosted by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read and/or reviewed this week: Marley & Me by John Grogan 2 Words that describe the book: Dog love 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: 1. Setting: Early 1990s-2000s, Florida and Pennsylvania 2. Marley—a male Labrador retriever affectionately called “the world’s...

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    Review: Lit by Mary Karr

    by  • 11/24/2009 • 3.5 Stars, K Authors, L Titles, Memoir • 10 Comments

    Title: Lit Author: Mary KarrPublishing Info: Harper Collins, 2009Number of Pages: 386Book Category: Memoir Book Overview Lit is Mary Karr’s third memoir. Her first, The Liar’s Club, chronicled her toxic childhood in Texas and her volatile relationship with her artistic, raging, alcoholic mother and sad, distant, drunken father. Her second memoir, Cherry, covered her...

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    Review: The Handy Answer Book for Kids (And Parents): 2nd Edition by Gina Misiroglu

    by  • 11/02/2009 • 3 Stars, H Titles, M Authors, Non-Fiction • 12 Comments

    Title: The Handy Answer Book for Kids (And Parents): Second Edition Author: Gina MisirogluISBN: 978-1-57859-219-7Publishing Info: Visible Ink Press, October 2009Number of Pages: 292Book Category: Non-Fiction, Parenting Book Overview Kids ask a lot of questions, and sometimes adults don’t know all the answers. (Shocking, I know!) So this book provides answers to 800 questions...

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    Review: Creating A Charmed Life by Victoria Moran

    by  • 10/27/2009 • 4 Stars, C Titles, M Authors, Spirituality • 5 Comments

    Title: Creating A Charmed Life Author: Victoria MoranISBN: 978-0-06-251580-3Publishing Info: HarperOne, 1999Number of Pages: 214Book Category: Spirituality Book Overview This compact book is filled with practical and sensible advice for women (and men!) who would like to create a charmed life, which the author characterizes as unhurried, effortless and filled with grace and poise....

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    Review: Silverstein & Me by Marv Gold

    by  • 10/21/2009 • 3 Stars, G Authors, Memoir, S Titles • 17 Comments

    Title: Silverstein & Me Author: Marv GoldISBN: 978-1-59709-151-0Publishing Info: Red Hen Press, 2009Number of Pages: 190Book Category: Memoir Book Overview Shel Silverstein was many things—a children’s author, a Playboy cartoonist, a songwriter, and a playwright. (He is the author of one of my all-time favorite books, The Giving Tree.) One thing he was not:...

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    Review: Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kaylie Jones

    by  • 09/20/2009 • 3.5 Stars, J Authors, L Titles, Memoir • 16 Comments

    Title: Lies My Mother Never Told Me Author: Kaylie JonesISBN: 978-0-06-177870-4Publishing Info: William Morrow, September 2009Number of Pages: 370Book Category: Memoir Book Overview To say Kaylie Jones grew up in an interesting household is an understatement. Her father was James Jones—the acclaimed novelist renowned for his WWII books, including From Here To Eternity and...

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    Review: The Lost City of Z by David Grann

    by  • 07/13/2009 • 4 Stars, G Authors, L Titles, Non-Fiction • 16 Comments

    Title: The Lost City of Z Author: David GrannISBN: 978-0-385-51353-1Publishing Info: Doubleday, February 2009Book Specs: 299 pagesBook Category: Non-Fiction Book Overview The Lost City of Z combines true-life adventure, history, biography and travel narrative in one book. The book chronicles journalist David Grann’s investigation into the mystery of what happened to British explorer Percy...

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    Review: Do-Over! by Robin Hemley

    by  • 06/08/2009 • 3.5 Stars, D Titles, H Authors, Memoir • 9 Comments

    Title: Do-Over!Author: Robin HemleyISBN: 978-0-316-02060-2Publishing Info: Little Brown & Company, May 2009Book Specs: 319 pagesBook Category: Memoir Book Overview The subtitle of this book pretty much says it all: “In Which a 48-Year-Old Father of Three Returns to Kindergarten, Summer Camp, the Prom and Other Embarrassments.” The book chronicles the author’s “do-overs” in ten...

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    Review: Family Man by Calvin Trillin

    by  • 05/06/2009 • 3.5 Stars, F Titles, Memoir, T Authors • 6 Comments

    Title: Family ManAuthor: Calvin TrillinISBN: 0-374-15324-8Published By: Farrer, Straus and Giroux, 1998Book Specs: 184 pagesBook Category: Humor, Family RelationshipsThis book is a collection of 16 essays by Calvin Trillin on the joys and travails of life with children. He has two daughters — Abigail and Sarah — and raised them with his wife Alice...

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    Musing Monday: Reading Non-Fiction

    by  • 04/27/2009 • Book Talk, Non-Fiction • 13 Comments

    Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading non-fiction… Do you read non-fiction regularly? Do you read it in a different way or place than you read fiction? (question courtesy of Diane) I’m always surprised when people tell me they don’t like to read non-fiction because there are so many amazing non-fiction books out there!...

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    Holidays On Ice, Wallflower At The Orgy, The Sister, Obedience, Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy Mini Reviews

    by  • 04/15/2009 • 3 Stars, A Authors, E Authors, Fiction, H Titles, L Authors, M Titles, Memoir, Non-Fiction, O Titles, S Authors, S Titles, W Titles • 20 Comments

    A collection of short reviews for Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris, Wallflower At the Orgy by Nora Ephron, The Sister by Poppy Adams, Obedience by Will Lavender, and Memoirs of A Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux.

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