This guest review is from Danielle Fritz. Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project. … Continue reading The Divorce Colony by April White →
The Library Book by Susan Orlean is a gripping piece of nonfiction. Using the 1986 Los Angeles Library Fire as a framing device, Orlean explores the mystery of how and by whom the fire was started as well as the history of the Los Angeles Public Library and how libraries today are changing to meet modern needs. Orlean goes into detail about the fire itself, which makes for agonizing, informative, and emotionally gripping reading. The … Continue reading The Library Book by Susan Orlean →
It’s Links time already! Yesterday, I had my bi-weekly therapy session via phone. Have I discussed how weird it is to do therapy over the phone? So far, that’s the strangest change to my personal routine. Yes, there is a cam option but no one wants to see my quarantine fashion right now. Links today are mostly book recommendations and links, plus a couple good videos to keep you busy. … If you’re having trouble … Continue reading Links: Free Reads and YouTube Vids →
We’ve got some Lightning Reviews for ya today! The three mini reviews below contain a short story collection within the sci-fi genre, a work of historical fiction from a series, and nonfiction about getting shit done. Enjoy!
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs was getting a lot of love on Twitter and Instagram, and I can understand why. This paleontological history is told with warmth and humor; it’s eminently readable, never dry, and full of fascinating information. Brusatte, a paleontologist, answers questions like: how did sauropods get so big?; what kind of parents were dinosaurs?; and how smart was a T Rex? This is the type of book that works well … Continue reading The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Stephen Brusatte →
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World is a nonfiction book without a single boring moment in it. It’s a great portrait of the two women and of a world experiencing change at a dizzying rate. In 1873, Jules Verne published Around the World in Eighty Days. In this novel, Phileas Fogg and his servant Passpartout make a bet that they can go all the way around the world in … Continue reading Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman →
Trigger warnings for the explicit and implied deaths of children and animals, torture, PTSD, and sexual assault. The Unwomanly Face of War is an oral history of women who fought for the Soviets in WWII. These women filled an incredible variety of roles. In addition to the famous Night Witches, the women who gave interviews for this book were sappers, partisans, underground resistance fighters, nurses, surgeons, antiaircraft gunners, front line soldiers, tankmen, telephone and radio … Continue reading The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich →
I’m a semi-regular listener to the Happier podcast, hosted by Gretchen Rubin and her sister, Elizabeth Craft, so I’ve known for awhile this book was coming. I also, over this past summer, read Better Than Before , Rubin’s previous book which introduced the Four Tendencies. That book focused on habit building and reasons why it’s sometimes easy to stick to new habits, and other times so difficult to keep or restart a habit. The Four Tendencies … Continue reading The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin →
NB: We have another guest review that will be right up the Bitchery’s alley, as it combines romance and historical research. Aw, yeah! This review is from Katherine M. Katherine M. is a postdoctoral researcher of Victorian literature. She researches plots about awkward adolescents and their friend groups (some of which lends itself to interesting romance). … Do you love the sexy stranger…or the boy next door? Thalia Schaffer’s Romance’s Rivals: Familiar Marriage in Victorian … Continue reading Guest Review: Romance’s Rivals by Talia Schaffer →
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo is a biography that is packed with adventure and drama and a smidgen of romance. It tells the story of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the father of Alexandre Dumas. History buffs, you won’t want to miss reading this book. Here’s a bare bones description of the life of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas: Thomas-Alexandre was born in Saint-Domingue (which later became Haiti) in 1762. At the time, this … Continue reading The Black Count by Tom Reiss →
You’ll Grow Out of It is a series of autobiographical essays by professional funny person Jessi Klein. I picked it up on pub day entirely because of things I’d been hearing about it, celebrities I love talking about it on Twitter, and several great reviews from sources I trust (i.e. the A.V. Club and Sloane Crosley at the New York Times). For a time, Klein was a writer on Saturday Night Live and she’s now a … Continue reading You’ll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein →
