From Ellen Druda
Author: David Browne
Fire and Rain: the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor and the lost story of 1970
1970 was a pivotal year for me too, so I was really looking forward to enjoying this behind –the-scenes look at some of my favorite musicians from that time. Browne does a good job of interweaving the groups’ careers and personal lives, how they intersected and splintered, and rose and fell. Despite my affection for the subject matter and time period, I found the writing a bit dry. Not much fire and rain, but an interesting read if you remember the year.
Category Archives: Nonfiction
The rewards of simplicity : a practical and spiritual approach
From Virginia Pisciotta
Author: Pam & Chuck D. Pierce
The rewards of simplicity : a practical and spiritual approach
Given the popularity of the Hoarder’s TV show, there is no shortage of books dealing with handling clutter. This book goes beyond (but does include) the usual helpful suggestions for getting rid of excess stuff, taking a broader and deeper view of the things (not always material) that clutter and complicate our lives. The book is written from a spiritual point of view and the authors (both ministers) use both Scripture and their own experiences to teach others how to simplify all aspects of their lives and free themselves from the anxiety that often comes with cluttered and complicated lives. The last paragraph in the postscript sums the book up nicely, “Simplification is not about making life easier. It is about clearing away the cobwebs that obscure our vision. It is about choosing that ”good part” and discarding the rest. It is about being free from the distractions that keep us from truly knowing and fellowshipping with our families, our friends and our God.”
Give me everything you have : on being stalked
From Andrea Kalinowski
Author: James Lasdun
Give me everything you have : on being stalked
I just finished reading a suspenseful, frighteningly true story. Give me everything you have : on being stalked by James Lasdun is an English professor’s memoir, of sorts. He was attempting to mentor a potential author who misread his laudatory comments and assumed, incorrectly, that he was romantically interested in her. Being a published writer himself, the student attacked his honorability with accusations of plagiarism and sexual misconduct. She avowed that the professor stole her work and with the help of unknown persons, published it to acclaim. With the advent of social media, it was quite easy for the student to further persecute her professor. She managed to hijack different forums where the professor was a presence and subvert his postings. This hijacking of the professor’s postings, in addition to causing stress, managed to tinge his professional dealings with a hint of shadiness. A scary read since it is all too easy to imagine this scenario being played out endlessly all over the world, sometimes with dire consequences. Stalking is a very serious issue on both sides of the coin, the stalker’s and the victim’s.
Dying on the job : murder and mayhem in the American workplace
From Margaret Mezzacapo
Author: Ronald D. Brown
Dying on the job : murder and mayhem in the American workplace
This is the worst book ever. The premise is interesting, but this book makes watching paint dry and grass grow seem scintillating. It’s written in the style of a sociology term paper, complete with footnotes every other word. The author also has the strange habit of repeating anecdotes. You’ll read one account and two pages later it’s repeated, sometimes almost word for word, and they weren’t always that great the first time.
I do not recommend this book, unless you’re the kind who thinks, “ It’s got to get better” as you read along. Trust me – it doesn’t.
Petulant French Sculptor, His Quest for Immortality and the Real Story of the Statue of Liberty
From Rosemarie Jerome
Author: Elizabeth Mitchell
Petulant French Sculptor, His Quest for Immortality and the Real Story of the Statue of Liberty
Mitchell portrays French sculptor, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, in an unfavorable light. She depicts him as man obsessed with finding a venue for his colossal statue because it would be a way to immortalize him. Under the guise of a gift to the United States, he struggled for years to collect funds for the project. He travelled across America and expressed his disdain for the people, food, culture and the land. He said his statue would be “Liberty enlightening the World,” but according to Mitchell’s opinion, it sounds like the sculptor could have used some enlightenment. This exclusive Kindle eBook is available on our circulating Paperwhite Kindle.
Brain on Fire: my Month of Madness
From Margaret Mezzacapo
Author: Susannah Cahalan
Brain on Fire: my Month of Madness
Brain on Fire is the story of a 20-something who contracts a rare type of encephalitis. Due to the rarity of her physical illness, the symptoms are initially chalked up to mental illness. This is an interesting story, with one feature I found a little bumpy in the telling. She will, in several places, give a little anatomical/physiological/pathological explanation, which can be somewhat educational, but doesn’t seem, IMHO, to transition smoothly with the rest of the text.
Scary note: If someone living in New York City, and being hospitalized in a prestigious place like NYU Langone, must seemingly wait ages to be properly diagnosed, what might happen to someone with the same disease who does not have access to these resources?
All Gone: a Memoir of My Mother’s Dementia. With Refreshments
From Margaret Mezzacapo
Author: Alex Witchel
All Gone: a Memoir of My Mother’s Dementia. With Refreshments
This book chronicles the author’s mother’s journey through stages of Alzheimer’s, from an active, vibrant, educated woman to a completely different and debilitated person. This journey impacts not only the patient, but many others as well. Witchel uses food as an illustrative device to chronicle her younger years as well as the present, and includes recipes for the dishes that serve to illustrate her life.
I enjoyed this book and its style. Before starting any Alzheimer’s support group, I’d recommend reading this book. It shows that those who are mourned are not necessarily deceased.
My Stroke of Insight
From: Margaret Mezzacapo
Author: Jill Bolte Taylor
I had read Ms. Taylor’s book several years ago from my viewpoint at the time as an EMT and member of the Fire Department, which I still am. But reading it now from the viewpoint of having had a stroke myself at a relatively young age, it takes on a whole new meaning and perspective. There were times when this book was almost uncomfortably close to home. Ms. Taylor chronicles everything spot-on. I’d recommend this to all audiences.
Picking Up
From: Margaret Mezzacapo
Picking Up
Author: Robin Nagle
Having always had an interest in how things work, I had a feeling I’d like this one, and I was right. Ms. Nagle, an anthropologist, became a New York City sanitation person in order to immerse herself in the culture of garbage, which is a lot more entertaining than it sounds. She dwells a little lengthily on the history of trash, but still I was very entertained and learned a lot.
Dying on the Job: murder and mayhem in the American workplace
From Andrea Kalinowski
Author: Ronald D. Brown
Dying on the Job: murder and mayhem in the American workplace
Dying on the Job is not a read for the faint of heart. It discusses the rise in workplace violence and explores some of the possible reasons for this increase. The spike is attributed, in part, to the economic downturn, the scarcity of employment opportunities, the threat of losing the employment, etc. Due to the scarcity of employment and the increase in debt, debtors’ prisons are being revived in some states. The author, in addition, investigates the difference that gender plays in how much force and how quickly that force is deployed against coworkers and employers. Women, it turns out, are much quicker on the trigger but they carry less weaponry into the workplace. Men, if they decide upon an act of violence in the workplace, come armed to the teeth. They usually bear several arms, some knives and extra ammunition. This book was an eye-opener. As a somewhat informed person, I was aware of workplace violence but somehow only on the periphery. Reading this tome made me more cognizant of the fact that violence can occur anywhere and at any time.
