NON-FICTION – Page 13 – Looking For a Good Book

December 20, 2018

THE ESSENTIAL ELLEN WILLIS

I knew nothing about Ellen Willis before venturing into this book but I enjoy reading essays (yes, I’m that guy) and I was drawn to Willis’ profile and record. I’m not sure how to describe Willis, based on her writing. Any label I give her would only box her in to a confine too small… Continue reading

MEMOIR, NON-FICTION

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, essays, non-fiction, Reviews

December 18, 2018

PAINTING WITH BOB ROSS – Walter Foster Creative Team

You would have to be very young or have lived a very sheltered life to not know who Bob Ross was. Even if you’ve never seen his painting show (live or a rerun) the good-natured parodies are still occasionally aired. I grew up expecting to make a career for myself in art – mostly fine… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION

Art, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews

December 6, 2018

SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE – Laura Bates

Dr. Laura Bates had been told that maximum-security prisoner are beyond rehabilitation and Bates, an English professor and believer in the power of Shakespeare’s plays, took that as a challenge. Bates holds classes in Shakespeare’s plays with prisoners who sign up to take the classes. She begins regular meetings in a detention ward with maximum… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

December 4, 2018

THE VIKINGS – Martyn Whittock & Hannah Whittock

Although this book is subtitled “From Odin to Christ” and is ostensibly a book about the ‘Christianizing’ of Scandinavia, the truth is that this is a really phenomenal, brief history of the ‘Vikings.’ I put a quote around ‘Vikings’ because, as the Whittocks explain, ‘Viking’ is something you did (you went viking) and not something… Continue reading

MYTHOLOGY, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, History, Mythology/Legend, non-fiction, Reviews

December 3, 2018

EARTHRISE – James Gladstone & Christy Lundy

If I still had children of picture-book age, this is most definitely a book I would have and that I would read to them as often as I could. In thirty-two keenly illustrated pages, author James Gladstone and illustrator Christy Lundy manage to not only tell the story of Apollo 8 and the famous, iconic… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, non-fiction, Picture books, Reviews

November 14, 2018

WRITING TO WAKE THE SOUL – Karen Hering

As someone who has done some writing myself, I often find writing to be a cathartic, even spiritual ritual. Writing can be a great way to purge a day’s frustrations. So when I saw this title, Writing to Wake the Soul: Opening the Sacred Conversation Within, I was expecting a book that would help a… Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, Reviews

October 30, 2018

WALKING HOME GROUND – Robert Root

I was drawn to this book on a couple of different levels. First was the three authors listed … John Muir is a name I know from my interest in our National Parks and my time spent in Muir Woods and Yosemite National Park; Aldo Leopold, whose Sand County Almanac is still an environmentalists bible;… Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, essays, Literature, Nature, non-fiction, Reviews

October 22, 2018

DARLINGS OF DRESS – Norma Shephard

This is not what I would consider a ‘typical’ book for me (though I’m not sure I have such a thing as a ‘typical’ book), but there was a reason that I was interested enough to request this book … theatre. Because I write and direct for the theatre I do sometimes look for books… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, History, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

October 19, 2018

BOURBON JUSTICE – Brian F. Haara

Although I’ve been drinking bourbon for a few decades (as the primary alcohol in my Manhattans) I admit to knowing very little about it other than I prefer bourbon to most other whiskeys. Brian F. Haara’s Bourbon Justice shares not just a little history of bourbon, but shows us how this distinctly American alcohol laid… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Entertainment, History, non-fiction, Reviews

October 10, 2018

THE SPECTACULAR SISTERHOOD OF SUPERWOMEN – Hope Nicholson

GRAPHIC NOVEL WEEK Of course this isn’t, technically speaking, a graphic novel, so why should I include a review during my Graphic Novel Week? As the subtitle boasts: “Awesome female characters from comic book history.” Every character mentioned here comes from comics, whether strips or books, print or digital, and comics of course, are the… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, comic book superheroes, Entertainment, Graphic Novels, History, non-fiction, Reviews, superheroes

August 20, 2018

THE RIVERS RAN BACKWARD – Christopher Phillips

Christopher Phillips’ nearly 500 page exploration of the American Civil War and the effect it had on the people and communities of the states in the middle of the conflict is an exhausting, but informative read. Phillips has done a remarkable amount of research (note that nearly one-third of the book is made of ‘Notes’… Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, History, Reviews

July 20, 2018

LIVE TO WRITE ANOTHER DAY – Dean Orion

There is no shortage of books about ‘how to write’. What sets this particular book apart from many of the others is that it’s … well … not really a ‘how to’ book at all. This is much more of a memoir of a writer. Because his life has primarily been about writing it’s not… Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, Reviews