Ed Yong, I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life (2016) When I was asked to contribute a “book I should have read” to Keeping Up with the Penguins, this one sprang to mind. And spurred by that reminder, I did finally read it! I can now recommend it to […]
Helen Keller, The World I Live In (1908) When I read Helen Keller’s The Story of My Life, I was intrigued by one of the last letters quoted in the book, written to a college professor who found her compositions too derivative and wondered when she would write of her own unique experiences: I have […]
Oliver Sacks, Awakenings (1999/1973) Of course I’ve heard of Oliver Sacks, author of many books with intriguing titles (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, An Anthropologist on Mars, Seeing Voices, etc.). But in spite of hearing that Sacks was a terrific writer about fascinating topics out of his practice as a neurologist, […]
Terrence Real, I Don’t Want To Talk About It (1997) Terrence Real, How Can I Get Through to You? (2003) Terrence Real, The New Rules of Marriage (2007) After going through a major relationship crisis last summer (now thankfully resolved), I was searching for solace in the used-book section of my favorite bookstore and came […]
Paul K. Chappell, The Art of Waging Peace (2013) After reading seven books to understand Trump’s win, I knew there still remained much to understand, but I was also hankering for some ways to enact positive change. I turned to a book that was recommended by a friend soon after the 2016 elections: The Art of […]
Ruminate Magazine is a wonderful publication I’ve recently discovered, which explores the creative and contemplative aspects of life through fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. I’m honored that a book review of mine was accepted as a guest post on the Ruminate Blog! You can check out my review of The Sixth Extinction there today. I […]
Nancy Blanning, Walking with Our Children (2017) Purchase Walking with Our Children from the WECAN bookstore, and you’ll benefit a wonderful organization. The book is also available on Amazon. During the ten years I served as managing editor for the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN), I had the privilege of working with […]
A couple of years ago, when The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo was all the rage, I scoffed at it without having read it, largely because of what I thought was her impossible advice for tidying books (maintain a library of 30 books maximum, and keep them in a closet). However, now […]
This week’s topic for Nonfiction November, hosted by Katie of Doing Dewey, is Nonfiction Favorites: We’ve talked about how you pick nonfiction books in previous years, but this week I’m excited to talk about what makes a book you’ve read one of your favorites. Is the topic pretty much all that matters? Are there particular […]
Nancy Isenberg, White Trash (2016) J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy (2016) This is part 5 in an ongoing series exploring books that address the current political, social, and economic situation in the US. Part 1: The Unwinding Part 2: Dark Money Part 3: Strangers In Their Own Land Part 4: Listen, Liberal Also posted as part of […]