Honestly, I read Congratulations! The Best is Over as soon as I was offered the galley because I was baffled that a man who said he grew up in Baltimore could get so much wrong about the city and state of Maryland in his last book. In this one he admits he has no sense … Continue reading
I always love her memoirs and writing in general and this one filled in some gaps in her life’s story. I love how she writes about her biological mother and how fraught that relationship is. She writes very honestly about her father and how he has changed into a very different man with her children … Continue reading
Honestly, this was kind of a disaster of a book. It felt like it was cobbled together at the last minute and was written largely by people who didn’t seem to know what the theme was or care about it at all. One or two essays were okay but largely they were a bunch of … Continue reading
I joined a virtual book tour for Letter to a Stranger because the concept was so fun! I spent a lot of time pre-pandemic eavesdropping and wondering about the people I encountered in my every day life so a book of essays about the strangers that drift in and out of all our lives. This … Continue reading
Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen was a true disappointment. The idea is great and I like the women they chose to focus on but the writing is poor and convoluted. It reminded me a lot of the work I’ve read by high school students. Lots of sources, mostly … Continue reading
What a mess All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft turned out to be. I was ready to be dazzled but I was mostly left thrilled that I don’t know this woman. I think she thinks she is being charming and self-deprecating but she really comes across as smug and … Continue reading
I have to admit that a good bit of the reason I wanted to read this book is that I had read fellow (now former for her) food blogger, Ahern’s earlier memoir/self-help book, Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back…And How You Can Too ten years ago and in it, she hints … Continue reading
Apparently, I’ll Have What She’s Having is based on a series of articles Rebbeca Harrington wrote in New York Magazine. That explains the choppiness and length of the chapters; they must have just compiled them and bound them. The premise of the book is cute, she tries various celebrity diets and reports back. Unfortunately, the … Continue reading
Some of the essays in Selfish were really good. Geoff Dryer’s essay was hilarious. Others were sort of sad. Lots of divorces and bad childhoods. I can’t say I related to a lot of them but it was interesting to read the reasons people had for making the same decision I made not to have … Continue reading
I had mixed feelings about Agorafabulous!. On one hand, it was fascinating to read about agoraphobia, on the other I felt like she was trying too hard to be funny at times and occasionally was slightly offensive. For example, she’d refer to people’s race, sexuality or ethnicity all the time even when it didn’t matter. It … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 