Category: Non-fiction
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An Old Friend: The Sixties in Vogue
When I was in my teens I was utterly fascinated and obsessed with the sixties. I loved listening to music and watching films and TV shows from the era. Every time I visited the library I rummaged through the shelves looking for books about the sixties (this was in the days before catalogs were easy…
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Just Kids by Patti Smith
In 1967 Patti Smith left her childhood home in South Jersey and, with very little money, moved to New York City to make it as an artist. On one of her first days there she met Robert Mapplethorpe who would become her friend, lover and artistic booster. In Just Kids the legendary musician recounts the…
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What I Read In March
March was a hugely productive reading month for me. I finished nine books (one of them an audiobook) and mostly enjoyed the things I read, though there really wasn’t that ‘killer’ book that knocked my reading socks off. A bunch of decent reads is much better than a run of stinkers, though, so I’m not…
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The Receptionist: An Education at The New Yorker by Janet Groth
The Receptionist is a book that I’ve wanted to read since it was released a few years ago. Anything set in Manhattan in the sixties always appeals to me and to have it set in the literary world is especially enticing. I was gathering books for a Mad Men display at work and this title…
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Christmas Reading/ White Christmas: The Story of an American Song by Jody Rosen
Every year I try to read something new that is related to Christmas, about Christmas or set during Christmas. This year, I wasn’t tempted by any of the Christmas fiction available at my library so I did a quick search in the catalog for nonfiction Christmas-y books and this title jumped out at me. I…
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The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was the second book my recently formed book club discussed. I thought it would inspire a great discussion on the history of detectives and police work, the psychology of murder and a fascinating peek into the world of a Victorian family and the Victorian press. In June 1860 a small…
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Mini Thoughts on Major Books
The following two books have already received lots of attention, publicity and accolades (or criticism) so I am just going to give my very brief thoughts on each title. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson – Ursula Todd is born in the harsh winter of 1910 and thereafter experiences re-birth and a circular life cycle…
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Mini Thoughts on Recent Reads #2
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – I listened to this blockbuster teen novel on audio and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It is read by Kate Rudd, who does an excellent job of rendering the voice of Hazel, the main character, who is 16 and has had terminal cancer for several years. When…
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Manhattan, When I Was Young by Mary Cantwell
Mary Cantwell’s Manhattan, When I Was Young is her memoir of the early years of her marriage and career in the 50’s and 60’s. I’m really fond of this particular time period and have read quite a few novels this year set during the 50’s (most of them Pym’s and Stewart’s) so was drawn to…
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Mini Book Thoughts
Since I can’t seem to gather enough thoughts together these days to write about books in any lengthy fashion, I am going to give you three brief thoughts on books I’ve finished lately: A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark -Set in 1950’s Kensington, this darkly humorous novel is told in the first…
A Certain Fondness 