Born Standing Up
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin Narrated by Steve Martin I know this is probably incredible for a person who, like, reads all the time and writes stupid book reviews, but I think this was … Continue reading
Category Archives: Nonfiction
Dreams of Trespass (Morocco)
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi If you’re like me, the word “harem” is inherently fascinating. But if you’re like me, you’re thinking about some kind of sex palace with … Continue reading
Waiting for the Nastiness
This post by John Heath, whatever it might say above Taking a look at the bestselling lists from 2007 and 2008, I have not been surprised that they generally look a lot like those from … Continue reading
The 2007 annual bestseller lists are here!
Okay, they’ve been here, it turns out, for almost a month. But Publisher’s Weekly has this sneaky way of burying each year’s numbers in its voluminous archives, hiding their presence even from its own search … Continue reading
Eatin’, prayin’, lovin’
Never has a woman embodied that old saying “when a door closes, another one opens” quite like Elizabeth Gilbert. There she was, married and nesting, trying to get preggers, when she realized that women who … Continue reading
Bestsellers that Count
This post is by John Heath. Yes, he deigned to write a blog post. Whatta guy. Unlike my chatty colleague in crime, it’s been several months since I spent focused time with bestsellers. Let’s call … Continue reading
Eat This Not That
Holy crap, what a dumb name for a book. I know it’s been on the bestseller charts for a while, but I’ve been ignoring it because 1) it’s a diet book, yawn and 2) its … Continue reading
Three Cups of Whoop-ass
You’d better think twice before slapping a fatwa on Greg Mortenson. Try to deny this dude his dream of educating Pakistani children and he will be all over your sorry terrorist-abiding ass. Oh sure, he’ll … Continue reading
Help! I can’t finish anything
Don’t you hate it when you’re reading a bunch of books but none of them really do it for you? That’s been my problem over the past couple of weeks. If only the books I’m … Continue reading
Wait, Avoid, Ignore
Okay, so should I read Eat, Pray, Love? I know it’s #1 on the USA Today list right now. I know it’s been a bestseller for 50 weeks, and it’s surely going to be on … Continue reading
Money for Nothing
In Why We Read What We Read, John and I discuss how many of the business/finance books of the 90s contain a spiritual element, a conviction that material success could (and should) be linked to … Continue reading
A Brief History of My Copy of A Brief History of Time
Last month I ended up reading a lot of relationship-oriented books: the Nora Roberts, of course, but also Opting Out? and The Five Love Languages. Love is good and all, but I needed a break. … Continue reading
Malcolm—and Sourcebooks—in the middle
“Author hopes to elevate level of political discourse by illuminating legal issues surrounding hot-button topics,” claims this article in one of our local papers, The Almanac. The subject is Palo Alto resident Malcolm Friedberg, who’s … Continue reading
Opting Out?
When I was at the library getting something else I came across Opting Out?: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home by Pamela Stone. It’s not a bestseller (are sociological studies ever?), but I … Continue reading
Hey baby, do you speak my love language?
Hooray! At last, a bestselling relationship-mending book I can get behind. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman hasn’t yet made an annual list, but it’s been kicking around the USA Today top-150 for the … Continue reading
One Secret Too Many
by John Heath Let’s get this right out in the open—with all the hoopla surrounding The Secret, one of us had to read it. Lisa is still a bit annoyed that she had to read … Continue reading
Don Miguel Ruiz at the altar
So we went to a wedding this past weekend, and I think it’s fair to say we had never been so thrilled to be at any wedding in our lives. Never mind that we had … Continue reading