Sloane Crosley didn’t grow up in a broken home, or a broken neighborhood. She wasn’t abused and didn’t abuse alcohol or drugs. She has two loving parents and one fun sister, and very few truly bad things seemed to have happened to her.
Have you heard about FridayReads? It began on Twitter with the hashtag #fridayreads, and quickly spread to other social networking sites, including Facebook. The idea is delightfully simple: Tell your friends what you are reading each week, whether it’s a book, magazine, newspaper, report–anything!
I’ll admit, I’ve never been good about attending a book group. But I usually follow along, reading each selection in the quiet of my own home. So I’ve never before offered recommendations. If I did, however, I would look for books that have a lot of complexity, so that there will be many angles to approach a discussion about the book. They also have to be memorable–the kind of books you can’t stop thinking about long after you’ve put them down.
I’ve had a subscription to Poets & Writers for a few months, and I highly recommend a subscription for amateur and professional wordsmiths alike. Each issue is devoted to an important part of being a writer: finding a literary agent, choosing an MFA program, establishing a writing community, staying passionate and inspired.
There are some reviewers who have their finger placed perfectly on the pulse of new releases. They know in January what July’s bestseller will be, and they are busy composing their 2012 sneak preview lists right now. I am not one of those reviewers. For a variety of reasons, none of which matter enough to mention, I rarely pay attention to books before they are released. I know, I know; strip my of my reviewing credentials right now. But I believe there […]
Books in This Episode Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat Brainwashing for Beginners (and The Misanthrope’s Guide to Life) by Meghan Rowland and Chris Turner-Neal What Is the What by Dave Eggers War by Sebastian Junger Bookstores in This Episode Kramer Books Politics & Prose In My Mailbox is a way for book bloggers to discuss all […]
This year has been an excellent year in reading for me, and I’m excited to share the list of my favorites with you. I’ll be keeping my eye on all of these authors for future releases. I hope you enjoy my selections; have a happy new year!
Books in This Episode Swamplandia! by Karen Russell Classics for Pleasure by Michael Dirda Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover (I can’t believe I mispronounced his name!) The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander The Founding Fish by John McPhee The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc Frommer’s Maui 2008 by Jeanette Foster Fodor’s Maui 2008 by Amanda Theunissen […]
This week, I’m listing the top ten books I hope Santa brings. Of course, if Santa has already purchased a book for me that’s not on the list, I’m sure I will be no less joyful on Christmas day. 10. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch According to the Boston Globe, “This graceful memoir describes a true love affair with books.” I love memoirs and reading, so what could be better than a book about one reader’s year of grief […]
In My Mailbox is a way for book bloggers to discuss all of the books that they come across each week.
As cold weather descends and shows no sign of budging, my thoughts turn to holidays and family and, far too soon, the end of the year. But before I can even start thinking about 2012, I first need to finish up a few things from 2011.
It may not surprise you to learn that I was a voracious reader as a child. Some of my fondest memories are of curling up in an armchair and polishing off the latest Babysitter’s Club book; exploring the protected forest surrounding our farmhouse with Laura Ingalls Wilder; and acting out the misadventures of Anne Shirley and Trixie Belden with my friends and siblings.
Called the “feminist response to pop culture,” Bitch magazine is an excellent resource for progressive women and men, whether you identify with the “feminist” moniker or not. (But it helps if you do.) I began reading issue #52, the red issue.
This is one of my favorite holidays–between eating all the food, hanging out with family, and, of course, making everyone wish me a belated happy birthday, I love Thanksgiving! This week’s top then theme is “authors I would love to have at my Thanksgiving feast,” so I’m highlighting some awesome cookbooks and foodie memoirs.
I love adding book to my TBR (To Be Read) list. My Goodreads TBR list alone is an impossible 467 books, and I have many more on my wish list. When I know I really want to read a book–and will probably like it quite a bit–I buy a copy, so that it will taunt me from the shelves until I read it. This works, until it doesn’t.
I first became interested in Vanity Fair because of Ned Zeman’s entertaining and creative profile of himself, The Rules of the Tunnel. Zeman is a contributing editor to VF, and his portrayal of characters like Graydon Carter and Sebastian Junger–both bigshots at the magazine–were high points of the memoir.
Melody Schreiber 