I listened to this book on audio (narrated by the author) and loved it. Bill Bryson gives us a look at what is truly known about William Shakespeare with his typical wit and straightforward delivery.
According to Bryson, there’s little to go on in the way of hard facts about Shakespeare (the reason the book [...]
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Posted in Adventure, Bluesocks' Picks, Books, Characters, Coming of Age, Literary fiction, Neil's Picks, Quick read, Sense of place, Sports, Subculture on June 16, 2008 | No Comments »
It’s a sign of a good book when an author can take subject matter that is completely alien and render it in a way that immerses you, fascinates you, moves you. The Australian Tim Winton did that for me with Breath, a coming-of-age tale about surfing and other extreme adventures.
In Breath, two boys in their early teens [...]
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I catalog children’s books and flip through each to get an idea of what I’m cataloging. This book really caught my eye, and I read a bit of it on my lunch break. I was, in turns, laughing and frightened as I read Kate Evan’s funny and frightening book about climate change. I checked [...]
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There’s probably a reason why screwball comedy has more history as a film genre than it does as a subset of fiction. All that witty repartee is more fun to hear than it is to read, and the behavioral hijinks that work on the screen can come off as just a little too precious on [...]
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When I first heard about this book on a library listserv, I thought it was a very interesting concept. The author decides to live one year without purchasing products that are made in China. Her family, a husband and two young children, are not nearly as happy about this, but they begrudgingly participate. The premise [...]
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Connie Willis is known for her clever, creative science fiction writing that deftly blends issues of importance with dry humor and intriguing characters. Willis’s work ranges from the somewhat dark and dystopian vision in The Doomsday Book to the much lighter, more hopeful, and certainly funnier To Say Nothing of the Dog. Her 1996 novel, [...]
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There are two ‘first lines’ that will always capture my attention: “In a bunker deep beneath Wolf’s Lair…” and “Do not attempt to undertake any of the activities described in this book yourself!”
That’s exactly the way The Worst-Case Scenario Handbook begins. The requisite next line - “The publishers, authors and experts disclaim any liability” [...]
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Our economy stinks right now. You will have noticed this, provided that you do not live in a cave. To improve your personal finances, you may wish to consider getting a better job (see yesterday’s post for some advice in that regard), or you may wish to ask for a raise (hellllllloooooooooooo, library administrators!).
But those [...]
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Sometime last year I discovered skirt! books, an imprint dedicated to Women’s Nonfiction, and so far I’ve liked everything they’ve published (see also, for instance, Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips).
Which means that, yes, I have become a total library dweeb. You know it’s bad when you develop a fondness for particular publisher imprints.
skirt! Rules for the [...]
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Posted in Books, Fast-paced, Graphic novel, Historical Nonfiction, Islam, Jessica's Picks, Memoir, Nonfiction, Quick read, Setting, Women's Nonfiction, Young Adult on April 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Common knowledge suggests that men tend to read nonfiction and that women tend to read fiction. Is this really true? Beats me– but I know this much for sure: There are a lot of women who like to read nonfiction. Some nonfiction titles have appeal that transcends sex or gender (think John Grisham’s book The [...]
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