I Read a Lot of Books

So much about this book was truly wonderful, but the organization left a lot to be desired. Perhaps the scope of the entire project was just too large and the book would have been better served if Johnson had narrowed the scope, but more on that later. Read More »

At first, and in the middle, and also at the end, many things about this book just bothered me. I didn’t like the style in which it was written. Read More »

I love a good true crime book as much (or more) than the next gal. I also enjoy reading about Victorian England. In theory this is the sort of book I love, but the execution did nothing for me, and Ruddick’s “investigation” left a lot to be desired. Death at the Priory seeks to illuminate the 1875 poisoning of Charles Bravo. Read More »

According to the foreword on this book, I am the target audience. I like (not love) poetry and I am only familiar with W.H. Auden in a superficial way. I am a self proclaimed fan of all things Alexander McCall Smith, but unfortunately, his own love of Auden’s work does not translate well. It is the classic non fiction mistake. When the author is too close to his subject, it makes it challenging to remain unbiased and write something with a wide appeal for all. Read More »

I’ve talked about my youngest brother before. He is the type who would leave really horrible books hidden in your bookshelf. He is also the type to unload his old books on you. He is ALSO the type who is studying environmental law in law school. I generally have a queue of books that I am scheduled to read, but my little brother is a perpetual queue skipper. He came over with a book he’d read for one of his classes and wanted someone to discuss it with. As he knows I will read almost anything, I was an obvious choice. Read More »

I wanted to like this book. I did. I’ve been a fan of Winchester and simply LOVED The Professor and the Madman. Unfortunately, The Men Who United the States suffered from a classic mistake made in nonfiction: the author was too close to the subject. Read More »

Meh. So many problems with this book, which was sad because I have been wanting to read it for some time. The largest problem is that of legitimacy. Quiet tries to pass itself of as a serious psychological work when it is really just another self help book (gag). Read More »

My husband heard about this book on NPR and we’d had a spirited debate about the merits of not allowing children to exclude other children from play. He got me the book for Christmas so we could, no doubt, continue the debate. Read More »

I am not a Civil War buff. I find it interesting, but it isn’t the first thing I gravitate toward when looking for non fiction. I actually married into this book. When my husband was a teenager he picked it up because he enjoys military tactics, but he found it pretty unreadable and never finished it. Having read the whole thing, I can understand why he desisted. This was a long, slow slog of a read. Read More »

I grew up with brothers… who watched football. The kind where people wear pads and you throw the ball about. We lived in a small town without soccer leagues. Despite this, I’ve enjoyed soccer. A soccer match is significantly shorter than a football game, and I imagine that is part of the appeal. I even played on an indoor soccer league once upon a time, and ‘coached’ an intramural team. Thus, my soccer credentials are obviously impeccable. Read More »