Book Review: Handling the Truth
I enjoyed this book and found it gives a good introduction to writing in the genre of memoir. The author has written several memoirs and is a professor of the subject at
non-fiction
Book Review: Wild
This book is about a troubled young lady who hiked 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail by herself. I found it to be a compelling read, although like her feet, it rubbed raw in places.
Book Review: Out of Our Minds
I listened to this audio book because I was intrigued by the two videos I include at the bottom of this post. My basic review of this book is to watch those and skip the book, which was lots to wade through, unnecessarily complete with a systematic review of technology, history and business. Alternatively, you … Read more
Book Review: Steal Like an Artist
I originally saw this little volume during my recent visit to the MOMA, and I was pleased to be able to check it out from my library. I loved it! Below are some snapshots I took from it as teasers to encourage you to buy a copy. Here are some other quotes than the ones … Read more
Gifts of Nonfiction We Received
Two years ago for the first time, the only books our family received as Christmas gifts were non-fiction. Some of those books became favorites. This year…
Book Review: Imagine- How Creativity Works
After reading this book on the latest science regarding creativity, it is no miracle that I’m creative. I daydream, meditate, and make connections between disparate fields.
Lost and Found Testimony
I do a lot with the inter-library loan system both for myself and my homeschooling kids. It’s great! I can “shop” for books from my home and they come in from all over to my Bethel library two blocks away. Right when I read reviews online, I can ask for the book without even getting … Read more
Book Review: If I Live To Be 100
I enjoyed this encouraging book of lessons from centenarians, and give it five stars. Written by Neenah Ellis about her interviews for her NPR series, it is more than the sum of its parts, as she examines her own life and responses in the process. I found her digression about “limbic response” fascinating, for example, … Read more
Book Review: Abstract and Colour Techniques in Painting
I checked this book out so many times from the library, I finally bought it with one of my amazon credit card coupons. I’m so glad I did! I find this book very inspirational. Claire Harrigan’s paintings I think are stellar but her advise is just as good. You can see in the sneak preview … Read more
Book Review: There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem
When I bought this book in 2001, I read the preface describing his “spiritual healing” during medical intervention, and I put the book down. Now, years later, I picked it up and persevered past language about “energy” that was not phrased as I would say it, to embrace the true universal meaning the author was … Read more
Book Review: It’s a Fine Line
I got this book at that recent library sale and have really been enjoying it. His pictures have wit and commentary while still being endearing. I took the liberty of sharing a few pages below, but check out his work for yourself on his website here. Apparently there is a $150 collector’s edition of this … Read more
Book Review: Outliers
I liked this book by Malcolm Gladwell and give it five stars. He debunks the theory that success is based on talent and instead shows how it is mostly the result of opportunities and hard work. “Outliers” are people that represent a phenomenon outside of everyday experience, but Gladwell shows that these exceptional people are … Read more
Book Review: 1000 Artist Journal Pages
I have really enjoyed this book by Dawn De Vries Sokol and even give it five stars. I bought it in the fall and have savored it slowly and incrementally at bedtime, studying each page thoroughly and carefully before going on to the next. I disciplined myself not to flip forward, and didn’t allow myself … Read more
Book Review: Journal of a Solitude
I loved this book and give it five stars. I heard a retrospective on NPR of their best interviews with writers, and that is where I first heard of May Sarton. I liked what she said in the interview, so I looked her up. She is the author of 48 books of poetry, fiction and … Read more
Book Review: Beyond Belief
A review of this book in the Christian Science Monitor said, “This remarkable book will stir and provoke thought. It offers rewards to any reader concerned with the promise and power of faith, and the hunger for spiritual discovery.” It lived up to this description and much more. Pagels makes clear how choosing the gospel … Read more
Two Book Reviews
The above two books are the best (non-spiritual) non-fiction I have read since the Omnivore’s Dilemma a few years ago. Now that I have to return them to the library after hogging them for months, I thought I’d review them together since I wrote extensively on the topic of their content in former posts: (see … Read more
Book Review: Mondrian by John Milner
In this book about Mondrian by John Milner, I learned a lot about this artist, who made such a remarkable evolution in his painting style throughout his life. What I didn’t know was that he was equally a philosopher. He was influenced both by Dutch Calvinism and theosophy, and although outgrew both due to … Read more