Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres This memoir falls squarely into the “my childhood was worse than your childhood” category. And you know what? She wins. (Not that this is a category that anyone really wants to win.) The sadness of the Scheeres’ childhood hit me harder than any other memoir of childhood I’ve read. Even …
Tag: memoir
May 01
Book Review: Blood, Bones, and Butter
“Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton Memoirs I’ve read fall into one of four categories. There’s the “My childhood is worse than your childhood” memoir, the “I am or hang out with famous people” memoir, the chef/restaurateur” memoir, and the “traveled the world and met quaint people” …
Mar 14
Book Review: Happens Every Day
Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story by Isabel Gillies I got this as an audiobook from audible, read by the author. This is a sub-genre that I haven’t read much, a sub-genre one of my teachers called “Adirondacks chair books” because they usually have an Adirondacks chair on the cover, symbolizing a woman who has …
Mar 05
Book Review: Disaster Preparedness
Disaster Preparedness: A Memoir by Heather Havrilesky I’ve really enjoyed Havrilesky’s advice column “Ask Polly” where she gently and empathically and sympathetically tells people in the nicest possible way exactly why they are full of crap and how all of their problems are their own fault. I love her voice, and figured I would like …
Jan 04
Book Review: It’s Kind of a Funny Story
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini This is a great little story of redemption and hope. Craig, an over-achieving boy who just got into a prestigious high school, is in over his head. After spending a year studying for the test to get into his school, Craig finds that the school’s rigorous …