by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 12, 2022 | RELAX: Other Relaxation
Elsewhere from Alexis Schaitkin is a melancholy, unsettling book. The setting is an imaginary town, high in the mountains. It’s so near the mountaintop that the clouds settle in there during the evenings. And some mornings, the townspeople wake up to a terrible event....
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Mar 27, 2022 | RELAX: Memoir
Valerie Biden Owens offers readers insights into her family, political and otherwise in upcoming her memoir, Growing Up Biden. As the younger (and only) sister of President Joe Biden, she has a unique story to tell. At its heart is a deep trust between family members....
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Sep 7, 2021 | LEARN: Everything Else
Douglas Abrams teams up with Jane Goodall to co-create The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times. It’s a record of their conversations about hope, and focuses primarily on Goodall’s four reasons to be hopeful. Abrams is a skilled interviewer and captures the...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jul 2, 2021 | LEARN: Everything Else
A new book from podcasters The Minimalists is almost here. Called Love People Use Things: Because the Opposite Never Works, it’s about relationships. And about why our relationship with stuff gets in the way of developing meaningful relationships with people. Written...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 6, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
The Maidens from Alex Michaelides is an erudite, binge-worthy mystery. Set in Cambridge, England among ivy-covered buildings many centuries old, it draws from Greek tragedy and mythology. But the murders at the story’s heart are definitely in the here and now. It’s...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 26, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
When the new book from Jean Hanff Korelitz, called The Plot, arrived on my doorstep, I dove right in. Even though it isn’t due to publish until May 2021, I just couldn’t wait. I have a thing for books about authors and the craft of writing. Especially when, like this...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jan 31, 2021 | RELAX: Memoir
Erin French details how she reached success in her upcoming memoir Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch. (Available early April 2021.) It’s not a straight A to Z path, but one that goes backwards, forwards, and even sideways. Of course,...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jan 20, 2021 | RESIST: Politics
John O. Brennan does everything you’d expect in his 2019 memoir Undaunted: My Fight Against America’s Enemies, at Home and Abroad. He lived a CIA life. But this isn’t all clandestine stuff, like watching a season of Homeland. While there are some parallels, Brennan...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jul 2, 2020 | RELAX: Other Relaxation
Only R.L. Maizes would have thought to combine burglary with animal empaths. And she does just that in her sparkling, feel-good novel, Other People’s Pets. (Publishing on 14 July 2020.) I loved her 2019 short story collection, so I’m not surprised I feel the same way...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 26, 2020 | RELAX: Memoir
Musician Mikel Jollett didn’t have an easy childhood. In his upcoming memoir, titled Hollywood Park, he tells his story. It’s a moving exposition of many topics, from cults to chronic depression, addiction, and the power of family to both hurt and heal. Jollett’s...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Dec 5, 2019 | RELAX: Memoir
Good Boy, the latest memoir from Jennifer Finney Boylan, makes me want to go adopt a dog. And it also makes me glad I don’t have one. She tells a plethora of funny and poignant stories about dog ownership. Alternately, she tells about dogs who despise their owners and...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Nov 13, 2019 | LEARN: Everything Else
Kate Murphy is a journalist who makes her living with her listening skills. No skills, no article. For the rest of us it’s not so straightforward. In her new book, You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters, she makes a case that listening is...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Oct 30, 2019 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Alexis Schaitkin unspools a story of that 18-year-old we all know. The one with buckets of confidence and virtually no experience. Who wants to be thought well of, while never giving their parents the time of day. Who rolls her eyes, shows off her body, and keeps...
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