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Special Feature: Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime by H.R.F. Keating
Is there really any argument when it comes to who the first lady of crime is? No, no there is not. Agatha Christie is the queen of crime and mystery novels. She has written many a beloved series and I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t read at least one Christie novel or at least seen a film or two based on one of her books. I know that I have enjoyed her books as well as some of the films and tv series based on her books, and while I have enjoyed the films and such, nothing beats her actual books. I think one…
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Review: Horror Stories by Liz Phair
I don’t read a ton of non fiction, especially memoirs. It’s just not a genre that really appeals to me, but on occasion reading biographies or memoirs about Princess Diana, Kate Middleton, or other famous modern women cross my mind frequently. But as I said, it’s usually a genre that I pass on—though I rarely get pitched a memoir, I almost always skip it. However, I have a mega girl crush on Liz Phair and when I was pitched this book, I may or may not have fan girled hard. Her music was the soundtrack of my youth/high school years and when I saw this book was coming out, I…
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Review: Becoming by Michelle Obama (Audiobook Version, Narrated by Michelle Obama)
The amount of times I ugly cried during this book was obscene. Let’s just get that out of the way right off the bat. Have tissues ready. When I saw this book was coming out, I wasn’t waiting with baited breaths like everyone I knew, mostly because I’m not really into biographies and I am not all that into politics. However, when the reviews started pouring in on this book, my interest grew more. I ended up deciding to try Audible and with my free book credit, I snagged this book and for one reason—it’s narrated by the author.
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Review: Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox
If you are like me, you probably only think of Sherlock Holmes when you hear the name Arthur Conan Doyle. I had no idea that he was like a real life Sherlock as well! When this book came across my desk for review I was immediately intrigued because the more I thought about it, I knew basically nothing about the man who created the world most famous detective. It actually makes sense that Conan Doyle was a real life detective, he obviously wrote with such authority on the subject that it’s embarrassing that I didn’t put it together before. This book caught my eye and I immediately wanted to learn…
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Special Feature and Q&A: Coming of Age: The Sexual Awakening of Margaret Mead by Deborah Beatriz Blum
Though I have a Master’s in American History, I rarely read biographies. I don’t know if that’s because I’ve spent so much of my academic career reading history books and researching topics….but when I sit down to read I like reading fiction….preferably with history. Now that said, I do on occasion read biographies or nonfiction if the subject sounds interesting etc. I was so sad that I couldn’t fit this book into my review schedule this summer because it sounds like one of those books that would be right up my alley! So instead I decided to do a special feature complete with a Q & A from the author…
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Spotlight Feature: WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT by Kim Barker
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT, the upcoming movie starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton and Alfred Molina, is based on Kim Barker’s memoir of her time reporting in Afghanistan and Pakistan (book originally published as The Taliban Shuffle). To check out the trailer for this hot upcoming new film, click here. Kim uses her sharp wit and humor to describe her dangerous and exciting time in these troubled countries in her book, WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT (Anchor; February 23, 2016). Kim first arrived in Kabul in 2002, with nothing more than a passport and a dire need for a translator. Despite the dangers and the shaky circumstances, Kim’s love for…
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Review: Wilkie Collins: A Brief Life by Peter Ackroyd
Biographies and non fiction are always such an interesting genre for me. It must be such a challenge trying to research a person or subject so famous or well known and still be able to bring something ‘new’ to the table. Not to mention write a book that doesn’t read like a boring history timeline with a bunch of dates and milestones in a person’s life. So I am always intrigued when non fiction and/or biographies come across my nightstand for review, if the person or subject interests me I usually give it a go. Wilkie Collins has been a very interesting literary figure for me since I read Drood by…
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Announcement: Winner BLACK DIAMONDS by Catherine Bailey
And the winner of BLACK DIAMONDS by Catherine Bailey is….. Anne (commented on blog post) The winner will be notified via email. Thank you to everyone who entered and a huge thank you to the publisher for making this giveaway possible!
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Giveaway: BLACK DIAMONDS by Catherine Bailey
Are you going through Downton Abbey withdrawals? I don’t know about you but I know I am! If you are longing for more history and mystery from this exciting era in English history this book is going to be exactly what you are looking for! Thanks to the publisher, I am ecstatic to be able to offer a copy of Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey for your enjoyment! Giveaway runs 2/19/15 to 2/26/15 Winners will be announced 2/27/15. (how to enter) On this blog you must leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway. Your comment MUST include your email so I can contact you….if you do not enter an email in the…
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Review: Black Diamonds: The Downfall of an Aristocratic Dynasty and the Fifty Years That Changed England by Catherine Bailey
Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Catherine Bailey chronicles the rise and fall of the Fitzwilliam coal mining dynasty in Yorkshire England. The Fitzwilliam family was at one time, one of the wealthiest families in all of England. So how does this extensive fortune and massive house end up on the real estate market in 2014 in need of mass repairs? Well that’s what Bailey decides to find out. What follows is this outstanding narrative about the rise and fall of this aristocratic family, a fortune worth 3 billion pounds by today’s standards, and a family full of salacious scandal, family feuds, and dark secrets. This book was scandalous and…