Category Archives: Nonfiction

July in Review

Posted on August 1, 2020 by

July brought a few baby steps toward normalcy. I started using my library’s no-contact curbside service, which works really well. And my church started having outdoor services last week, with masks, social distancing, and reservations required. (The reservations are to … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Mysteries/Crime, Nonfiction | 4 Comments

June in Review

Posted on July 3, 2020 by

Now that I’m into the third month of the pandemic, my new at-home life just feels like normal life. Virginia is opening up a bit more, but I expect to be working at home indefinitely, and it will be a … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Fiction, Mysteries/Crime, Nonfiction | 8 Comments

In the Dream House

Posted on January 25, 2020 by

Bluebeard’s greatest lie was that there was only one rule: the newest wife could do anything she wanted—anything—as long as she didn’t do that (single, ordinary) thing; didn’t stick that tiny, inconsequential key into that tiny, inconsequential lock. But was … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Nonfiction | Leave a comment

What I Read This Summer: August Readings

Posted on November 30, 2019 by

Continuing my record of books I read while on blogging break. If you want to chat about any of these, please comment! Stranger in the House by Julie Summers: A really informative book about how reuniting families in Great Britain coped … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, History, Nonfiction | 6 Comments

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

Posted on May 14, 2019 by

Like many people, I was shocked and saddened at the recent death of Rachel Held Evans, the author and blogger who helped so many people see that Christianity is a faith of love and acceptance, even when so many of … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction, Religion | 2 Comments

Killers of the Flower Moon

Posted on April 21, 2019 by

In the 1920s, a series of mysterious deaths took place among the Osage of Oklahoma. There were shootings, a bombing, and poisonings, many of them within a single family, that of Mollie Burkhart. Mollie, like many of the Osage, had … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction | 4 Comments

Dopesick

Posted on March 8, 2019 by

The opioid crisis has made many headlines, but I hadn’t wrapped my head around how serious the problem is until reading this excellent book by Beth Macy. Macy has been a reporter in Roanoke, Virginia, for decades. (In fact, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction | 2 Comments

Twelve Years a Slave

Posted on February 17, 2019 by

Solomon Northup was a free black man who lived his whole life in New York until, in 1841, he took a job as a traveling musician. This job landed him in Washington, DC, where, despite possessing papers showing he was … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Memoir, Nonfiction | 4 Comments

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk

Posted on January 22, 2019 by

Every once in a while, I like to introduce a little bookish chaos into my life, and one fun way to do so is by ordering a Bas Bleu surprise package. So many of the books in their catalog look … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Nonfiction, Travel/ Exploration | 5 Comments

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Posted on December 16, 2018 by

Theranos was founded by 19-year-old Stanford dropout Elizabeth Holmes in 2003. The company’s big idea was to do blood tests using only a tiny drop of blood—a simple finger-prick. The blood-testing machines could even live in people’s home, with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction | Leave a comment