Welcome!
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading at least one book. I devour them, make time for them, hunt for bargains, and love to talk with other readers like you.
When I was trying to sum up my favorite 2016 reads, I realized I read mostly in three categories: books I learn from, books I use to relax, and books that are about resisting patriarchy, racism, and the status quo. So, that’s how I’m organizing my blog posts here. (I hope you’ll check out my favorite 2017 reads also.)
I’m also the author of the Amazon best-selling Kick Pain in the Kitchen, about how to find holistic pain relief.
Find me at Goodreads and on the Litsy app as BarbaraTheBibliophage!
Book Review: We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl®, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement by Andi Zeisler
fIn We Were Feminists Once, Andi Zeisler deconstructs recent incarnations of feminism, especially as it connects to pop culture and advertising. She mixes acerbic wit and interviews with both fellow journalists and researchers. But the crux of her work is her specific...
Book Review: The X-Files: Cold Cases by Joe Harris
I’ve loved the X-Files since Scully was first assigned to debunk Mulder’s work on all things supernatural and paranormal. It started the year before I met Mr. Bibliophage, and we both remember talking about it together fairly early in our relationship. Watching...
Book Review: Slade House by David Mitchell
David Mitchell creates a “head scratcher” of a horror story in Slade House. It’s not a long book, but it’s got plenty of story depth and oddities. Reading Slade House is like watching a horror movie. In both cases, you just want to scream to the kind, innocent...
Book Review: Cancerland: A Medical Memoir by David Scadden, M.D.
David Scadden, M.D. titled his book Cancerland: A Medical Memoir. Truthfully, it’s more of a scientific history book. There’s very little in it that constitutes memoir, in the sense of personal experiences. He does tell a bit of his mother’s cancer story, and some...
Graphic Novel Review: Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 by M.K. Czerwiec
Taking Turns is a memoir in graphic novel format from MK Czerwiec. She was one of the nurses caring for HIV / AIDS patients at Chicago’s Illinois Masonic Medical Center in the 1980s and 1990s. I found this book on Hoopla after reading The Great Believers. Rebecca...
Book Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book from Neil Gaiman is a charming, middle-grade, coming-of-age story. I listened to the full-cast audiobook, and followed along via ebook.Nobody Owens (called Bod by his friends) is a human, orphaned boy who just happens to live in a graveyard. His...
It’s My Birthday Giveaway!
It’s my birthday, and to celebrate I’m doing a Giveaway on Litsy and here, at TheBibliophage.com. I love reviewing books for my readers, so it’s fitting to have a party starting today. Winners will be chosen on November 8, 2018. You have until Midnight (Eastern time)...
Book Review: Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer
Hope Never Dies from Andrew Shaffer was my antidote to last week’s fear and tragedy. It’s both mystery and humor, featuring fictional versions of Joe Biden and Barack Obama. If you like all the memes that feature the imagined tomfoolery of those two, you’ll enjoy this...
Book Review: The Soul of America by Jon Meacham
Jon Meacham is an author, historian, professor, and commentator. He has the long view on the politics of today’s world. And he explains what that means in his latest book, The Soul of America. His premise is that our country has had many previous bouts of unrest, with...
Book Review: Living an Orgasmic Life by Xanet Pailet
Xanet Pailet is a woman with a cause. She wants everyone to begin Living an Orgasmic Life, and her book offers plenty of ideas and information. Her subtitle, Heal Yourself and Awaken Your Pleasure also gives you some clues about where she’s going with this....
Book Review: Typhoid Mary by Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain enters the world of history with his short book, Typhoid Mary. While he’s best known for his memoirs, this is an exposé and social commentary. With typical Tony snark he tells the story of Mary Mallon, christened Typhoid Mary by the press. Mary was an...
Book Review: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
The Broken Girls from Simone St. James is part mystery, part ghost story, with a little historical fiction thrown into the mix. It’s creepy but not terrifying. And it’s got enough twists to surprise you a time or three. Fiona Sheridan is a sympathetic main character,...
Book Review: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Rebecca Makkai tells two intertwined stories in The Great Believers. One starts in 1980s Chicago, the other in 2015 Paris. Held within are the lives of two friends, Yale and Fiona, along with many others. In the mid-1980s, the world was just beginning to understand...
Book Review: From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
Beck Dorey-Stein is a charming and funny young woman, as is her book, From the Corner of the Oval. The day after I finished her book, I met Beck at the Harrisburg Book Festival. She joined former speechwriter and fellow author David Litt on the stage, while they...
Book Review: Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister
Let me tell you how I started reading Good and Mad from Rebecca Traister. I was watching Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. I was also on Twitter, because I wanted to experience this momentous hearing with other people, even...
I Feel Bad About Abandoning a Classic
I just abandoned a classic book. I listened for 10 of its 19 hours, and it wasn’t growing on me. In truth, part of this was the narrator. She voiced the main character with a breathy voice I found annoying. But it’s much more than that. Why do we expect a book written...
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I will definitely recommend Kick Pain in the Kitchen to my patients: Those who are looking to avoid pharmaceutical treatment and those who want to combine western medicine with alternative therapies.
Jane A. Swartz
ARNP, MSN, Rheumatology Nurse Practitioner
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