Category: Non-fiction
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A Flat Place by Noreen Masud
I finished a book! It feels like quite an accomplishment these days. And it was a very good book, too. A Flat Place is on the shortlist for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction. I hadn’t intended to read any of the books on the list, but this one seemed different with an interesting premise…
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My New Year, New Reads Recommendations
As I mentioned in my previous post, last Saturday was my bi-annual book buzz program at the library where I work. After reading about 15 books for the program I narrowed down my picks to the following titles. I do try to choose a variety of books, but I also want them to be a…
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Sunday Bulletin – December 23
I’ve been struggling to find a way to post here regularly because I want to post, I intend to post, but by the time I get home from work in the evenings I have no motivation to post. I rarely turn my computer on at home and am usually too tired and busy to think…
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Fabulous Fall Reads
Last Saturday, my friend and colleague Melissa and I gave our “Fabulous Fall Reads” presentation at my library. We talked about the books we think people would love to read over the next three months. We had another great turnout, similar to our Sizzlin’ Summer Reads attendance, and plan to do it again for spring…
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Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman
I’ve tried several times to read biographies of the Brontë family, but they’ve always seemed so dull, morose and really didn’t hold my attention. When I got a pre-pub copy of Claire Harman’s new biography of Charlotte Brontë I didn’t have very high expectations of it and had plans to merely flip through and skim. But…
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My History by Antonia Fraser
I’m not a particular fan of Antonia Fraser (I’ve only ever read The Wives of Henry VIII by her) but I couldn’t resist this memoir about her pre-war/wartime childhood and post-war teen years and the experiences that turned her into a historian. Both of Fraser’s parents were politicians and very well-connected so she had a…
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What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan
This delightful book is written by a Jane Austen expert, but it is in no way dry or academic. It examines twenty ‘puzzles’ or themes or curiosities that run through all of Austen’s novels, things such as ‘Is there sex in Jane Austen?’ and ‘Why is it risky to go to the seaside?’ The chapters…
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Book Club: Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott
Last week my book club gathered to discuss Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy, a nonfiction title about four women who participated in espionage activities during the Civil War. This was the fourth nonfiction book that we’ve read this year (the others are The Knife Man, When Paris Went Dark and The Plantagenets) and it wasn’t a…
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Cover Collection: Testament of Youth
1. Virago Press // 2. Virago // 3. Weidenfeld & Nicholson // 4. Penguin Classics // 5. Phoenix //6. Penguin Books Ltd. I’m in the midst of a small reading slump – I just haven’t found anything lately that ticks all of my boxes or even makes my heart race with pleasure. Thank goodness I…
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The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery by Wendy Moore
I am one of the most squeamish people in the world when it comes to reading about medical procedures or gory scenes of surgery so I was not exactly thrilled when my book club chose this book to read for our January meeting. I started it with reluctance and a smidge of dread yet quickly…
A Certain Fondness 