Oscar Wars is very long and detailed-500 pages of actual text and another 100 of sources. The strongest bit was the first 1/3 or so when he writes about the Academy’s early days and “Old Hollywood”. Then he strays from the long-established pattern of talking about the literal making of the movies and the stars … Continue reading
I was a little disappointed by Mott Street. It’s a fascinating history and family story but I felt like the author veered too far into the speculative at times. Sometimes she would start anecdotes with phrases like “I wonder if this is what it was like”, “Maybe she felt like this” which is fine and … Continue reading
Honestly, I was a little disappointed by Unraveled. I almost didn’t request it because I had her confused with the odious Peggy Noonan and thought what a waste of a good idea on her! Then I realized my mistake and waited weeks to get it. I thought this would be a real book highlight of … Continue reading
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
I agreed with the title, they should not be friends but not for the reasons the author seems to think. Maxey is an interesting, accepting, loving larger-than-life character. I enjoyed reading about his interesting and passionate life quite a bit. However, I never got a great feel for the author at all. What did he … Continue reading
I was so excited to read Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus that I stopped what I was doing to read the second I got the notification from Netgalley that I got the galley. I had been looking forward to this book since I first saw her tweet about the deal. Continue reading
I was so excited to read this book. It sounded tailor made for me and I’ve followed the author online for a long time. I love the history of objects and reading about our personal connections to them. I just didn’t really enjoy it. I wish she had decided to write a memoir about her … Continue reading
Vanishing Fleece was fairly interesting but I can’t get over that she built a career of writing about yarn but never, until this book, knew much about how it was made? I still don’t know how much she knows, a lot of the details are a little glossed over—she talks about things like ply, staple … Continue reading
I enjoyed Weaving Rag Rugs, I think it was her PhD thesis, but I never felt like she answered why rag rug weaving has/had such a stronghold in this particular county in Maryland. Or if it’s not more popular there than in other areas, why chose to focus here? I did get a feel of … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 