A Light in the Dark was in no way a light read. It was quite graphic about not only what happened to her but other victims of Ted Bundy. She felt compelled to write the book after 40+ years of fawning over Ted Bundy to set the record straight–he was not a smart, attractive man … Continue reading
Tag Archives: nonfiction
Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can’t Quit American Girl by Mary Mahoney and Allison Horrocks
I wanted to love Dolls of our Lives! I am a little older than the women who wrote this and didn’t know anyone who could afford these incredibly expensive dolls growing up but we all read the books so I was pretty familiar with the dolls. The catalogue was something I rushed to the mailbox … Continue reading
Birdie & Harlow: Life, Loss, and Loving My Dog So Much I Didn’t Want Kids (…Until I Did) by Taylor Wolfe
I had no idea who this woman was until I read Birdie and Harlow (I came across this book in the “coming soon” section of the library’s website) but apparently she had a popular blog for a long time that seems to be defunct now. I thought it might be fun to read a light … Continue reading
Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career by Kristi Coulter
I don’t even think I realized Exit Interview was about Amazon until I checked it out of the library, it was a “coming soon” title and the author seemed familiar so I put it on hold. The cover should have been a little clue but I think I thought it was just about office work. … Continue reading
The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays by Irena Smith
The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays by Irena Smith was the rare book that really surprises me with it’s content. In retrospect I can see how the title can be read both ways–her life written in the style of college admissions essays or her life in college admissions essays. It is a … Continue reading
Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture by Sara Petersen
I have had a string of books lately by women talking about topics I’m interested in but who I can’t relate to at all because of their lack of self and love of conformity even when it goes against their best interests . First is was This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch, I’m … Continue reading
50 Pies, 50 States: An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the United States Through Pie by Stacey Mei Yan Fong
The book is cute and has a ton of novelty pie recipes in it if that is your thing. The essays about her life growing up were the strongest most cohesive parts of the book. However big takeaway for me was how many references to beer and drinking there were. Nearly every story about a … Continue reading
Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Michael Schulman
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
Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecomingby Ava Chin
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
Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein
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