Category: autobiography

My Top 5 Favorite Books of 2018

  2018: The year of “only by a whisker” books. Yes, the time has come once again for me to give you all my roundup of my favorite books published over this past year. I have to warn you however, I’m going to cheat a tiny bit with my non-fiction book this year. See, although … Continue reading My Top 5 Favorite Books of 2018 →

Continuing to be

Book review of "I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death" by Maggie O’Farrell Goodreads calls this book a “memoire with a difference - the unputdownable story of an extraordinary woman's life in near-death experiences.” They also say it is “Shocking, electric, unforgettable,” and comment that “It is a book to make you question … Continue reading Continuing to be →

Guest Author Post by Roz Morris: Out of sight, but not out of mind

As noted in my recent review of Roz Morris' travel diary book Not Quite Lost: Travels without a Sense of Direction, Roz's afterward for that darling travel diary truly fascinated and more importantly, intrigued me. So I requested she write a post for this blog based on some of the things she mentioned there. Without … Continue reading Guest Author Post by Roz Morris: Out of sight, but not out of mind →

The Guestbook Spy

Book Review of "Not Quite Lost: Travels without a Sense of Direction" by Roz Morris It isn't often that I read non-fiction, but when I do, I often find travel books to be the most pleasurable way to remain within the realm of reality. However, sometimes these can be filled with long, drawn-out descriptions of … Continue reading The Guestbook Spy →

Now You’re an Immigrant!

Book Review of "Chutzpah & High Heels: The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land" by Jessica Fishman. In this memoir, Jessica Fishman details the trials and tribulations of making what we call "Aliyah" - literally meaning to "go up" to Israel. This reminds me of an old, old joke, which goes something … Continue reading Now You’re an Immigrant! →

Travels for the Mind or for the Body?

Book Review of "On Trying to Keep Still" by Jenny Diski. I was saddened to hear that Jenny Diski was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and even more saddened when she passed away. Interestingly enough, the first thought that went through my head was "why haven't I read more of her works?" I knew that I … Continue reading Travels for the Mind or for the Body? →

What a Trader!

Book Review of "One Red Paperclip" by Kyle MacDonald. Trading something seemingly worthless until you get something of real value might be a cheap trick, especially if it starts out with something as insignificant as a paperclip and ends up with a house. It may also seem like an impossible feat. However, that's exactly what … Continue reading What a Trader! →

Facing Three Hours

Review of "The Face: A Time Code" by Ruth Ozeki. In this short non-fiction piece, Ozeki takes on the Zen exercise of staring at her face for three hours. The book starts with her time clock set at 00:00:00, which ticks off the seconds and minutes as she writes whatever comes into her head while … Continue reading Facing Three Hours →

Finding a Fictional Role Model

Book Review of "How to Be a Heroine: or What I've Learned from Reading Too Much" by Samantha Ellis. Calling all women who read fiction: tell me, can you point to one female character from any book or story you've ever read and say, "Yes, that's me" or even "Yes, that's who I want to … Continue reading Finding a Fictional Role Model →

Everything old is new again!

Book Review of "84, Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff. It is a rare instance when non-fiction reads like fiction, and Helene Hanff’s book is exactly one of those exceptions. Long before the age of the Internet and on-line book sellers like Amazon, New York writer Hanff saw an ad in the Saturday Review of … Continue reading Everything old is new again! →