Tag: autobiography

To Soothe a Ravaged Soul.

Book Review for “Keys to Harmony: Memoir of Depression, Daring, and Creativity” by Margalit Jakob. Summary: "A pianist/therapist loses access to a crucial memory. Neither able to play, nor to relinquish her dream, she finds herself in an agonizing limbo. Filled with piercing insights, this is a thrilling book about overcoming depression and reclaiming one's … Continue reading To Soothe a Ravaged Soul. →

Intimate Essays.

Book Review for “Conversations with My Body: Essays on My Life as a Jewish Woman” by Elana Sztokman. Summary: “Elana Sztokman arrived in Israel in 1993 as a young religious mother wearing a long skirt and a hat covering her hair. Today, nearly 30 years later, after spending years fighting for women’s rights in Orthodoxy, … Continue reading Intimate Essays. →

Snippets of Genius – #ShortStorySunday

Book Review for “Selected Prose of Oscar Wilde” by Robert Ross. Summary: This is a collection of Wilde’s prose that was originally published in 1900. The collection of over 50 short pieces (complete list below) includes essays, excerpts from his plays and novels, prose poems, and even letters from Wilde to his friend and literary … Continue reading Snippets of Genius – #ShortStorySunday →

Fatherhood and its Flaws.

Book Review for “Things My Son Needs to Know about the World” by Fredrik Backman. As a change of pace for Backman, this is not a book of fiction, but rather a type of memoir, which is also something that could be considered an advice book. The publisher calls this a collection of “personal dispatches … Continue reading Fatherhood and its Flaws. →

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 →

What a Trader!

https://commodity.com/blog/straw-millionaire/?off

Book Review of "One Red Paperclip" by Kyle MacDonald. UPDATE: Follow this link to see this amazing infographic about Kyle's amazing journey that he took to get a house! 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 … 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 →

A Fry-ed Life

Book Review of "The Fry Chronicles: an Autobiography" by Stephen Fry This is Stephen Fry's second installment of his autobiography. The meat of this book takes place during his most formative years – those being while he was at Cambridge and the years afterwards as he was making his name in print, radio, television and … Continue reading A Fry-ed Life →

Get Kissed by Kate and her Stories!

Book Review of "Me: Stories of My Life" by Katharine Hepburn. Usually, I don't read non-fiction and biographies are often iffy since you can never tell how much of it is true and how much is rumor or gossip. As for autobiographies, well, most non-writers with interesting lives usually need a ghostwriter, which often produce … Continue reading Get Kissed by Kate and her Stories! →

A Taste for French Gusto

Book Review for "Mastering the Art of French Eating" by Ann Mah. Ann Mah spent three years in France with her diplomat husband. She used that time to find out more about some of their culinary specialties - how they became famous, their history and how they're made. Of course, when it comes to writing … Continue reading A Taste for French Gusto →