Bossypants by Tina Fey Frequently, books by comedians tend to be singularly un-funny and even depressing, because they’re lacking the voice and delivery of the author’s voice. Because I got this as an audiobook, and it’s read by Tina Fey herself, that sidestepped the first. It is funny. At times I laughed out loud, like …
Tag: memoir
Feb 07
Book Review: Hillbilly Elegy
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance I can see why this book hit the bestseller list. It really hits the zeitgeist of this tumultuous past few years we’ve had, especially with regards to the questions of middle America and how to achieve the “American Dream.” It also …
May 17
Book Review: H is for Hawk
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald It seems like the memoirs that really appeal to me, especially recently, are ones like this: brilliant, well-read women who do interesting things. Helen Macdonald is a falconer, but she’s also an academic with a taste for literature. When Macdonald’s father dies, she sees the book Goshawk by …
Apr 22
Book Review: Lab Girl
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren This is a memoir of a woman who, like me, wanted to be a scientist when she grew up. Unlike me, she actually made it happen. Jahren gives an insider’s view of the life of a scientist that I’d never seen. I never had any idea, for example, how much …
Mar 28
Book Review: Wild
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed This book hit me much differently than other memoirs I’ve read. I’ve read other books about mountaineers and felt no desire whatsoever to replicate any part of their experience, not even a fleeting pang of envy for their adventure. But this book …