Tag: nonfiction

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#BookReview: Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham

Fast and Funny. In this memoir, Graham talks about her life in general and some of her more famous/ long-lasting projects: Gilmore Girls and Parenthood. And she does it in what seems to be her style on the shows – fast and hilarious. The chapters are short, and the book overall is a very quick read. If you’ve ever seen any of her projects at all, this is a very worthy read. And if you haven’t, you’re probably not interested in this book anyway – but if you haven’t seen any of her work and *are* interested, go ahead and pick this up. If nothing else, you will be entertained.

This review of Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham was originally published on October 9, 2018.

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#BookReview: Apollo 8 by Jeffrey Kluger

Kluger does an excellent job with writing the narrative of this distinctively NON-fiction story with the skill of a solid thriller author. While Apollo 11 would eventually overpower 8, and one of 8’s crewmen would become far more famous for Apollo 13, neither of those missions happens without someone being the first to actually get to lunar orbit and make sure their spacecraft can survive the trip. And Kluger does an excellent job of revealing all of the people invovled and putting them in the proper context while showing both the very real perils and how the various people handled those perils. If you’re interested in man leaving the planet at all, this is a must read book.

This review of Apollo 8 by Jeffrey Kluger was originally published on October 7, 2018.

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#BookReview: NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman

Mostly History with a dash of future. I am Autistic, and this look at the history of my people was more fascinating and horrifying than even I already knew. In this book, Silberman shows several people from history that were fairly clearly Autistic, progressing from early accounts to newest and from there into the histories of the two men that “co-discovered” Autism in the 20th century. The vast bulk of the book is spent inside the 20th century, with only the last chapter or two in the 21st, but even then it truly is fascinating and horrifying. Absolutely recommended for all, particularly those with Autistics in their lives.

This review of NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman was originally published on October 5, 2018.

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#BookReview: Facing the Music by Jennifer Knapp

Unapologetic – In all the best ways. In Facing the Music, former contemporary christian music star Jennifer Knapp tells her story, from her earliest memories growing up as a twin in rural Kansas through college into her public years as a turn-of-the-Millenium CCM star to her retreat from that life and its special hell of a rat race and ending with her triumphant yet messy return. And through it all, she maintains her honesty and integrity. Utterly captivating and soulful, just like her music. And in the end in particular, resonating very much with where this reviewer is himself right now. If you like memoirs generally, musician memoirs a bit more specifically, or were around the CCM scene at the turn of the Millenium in any capacity – or even just a generic Christian now- you’ll want to read this book. Knapp has a very powerful message that we all need to hear.

This review of Facing the Music by Jennifer Knapp was originally published on September 30, 2018.

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#BookReview: Granite Mountain by Brendan McDonough

Prepare to Cry. It really is as simple as that. McDonough’s tragic tale is told in a style that has you hanging on to every word, even if you know the ultimate story from following the news 5 yrs ago or from seeing Only the Brave, the movie based on this book, last year. Simply amazing, and heartbreaking. The *only* quibble I have is Page 270, where McDonough calls for a wildfire firefighter union. Other than that, this book is simply a phenomenal combination of McDonough’s own memories combined with clear research into the science and sequence of events of the tragedies – particularly Yarnell.

This review of Granite Mountain by Brendan McDonough was originally published on September 28, 2018.

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#BookReview: The Signal and The Noise by Nate Silver

Solid Application of Statistics. I’m a math geek who has casually followed Silver’s work since he came on the national radar after the 2008 Presidential election. In this book, he uses his own mathematical background and many interviews to show how probabilistic statistics (vs more deterministic statistics) gives us great insight into a wide range of issues, from the mundane yet popular topics of poker and baseball – things he has personal experience with using statistics on – to the seemingly more substantial issues including weather forecasting, political polling, climate change and even terrorism. And overall, he is very careful to stick to his central point: follow the numbers, no matter where they lead – which he calls the “signal”. Very highly recommended for anyone trying to have a genuine discussion on really almost any topic.

This review of The Signal and The Noise by Nate Silver was originally published on September 26, 2018.

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#BookReview: The Sky Is Falling by Peter Biskind

Left-Central Elite Doesn’t Get Movies. I wanted to like this one, I *really* did. The title and description sounded *awesome*. Unfortunately, the book itself was a gold mine – the single *worst* description of a book I’ve ever used. Meaning you have to sift through a LOT of detritus to find even a single good flake, and an actual nugget worth of goodness is even more rare. Biskind looks at movies as old as WWII and as recent as Black Panther, all in service of a central premise that is so fatally flawed as to be laughable. This subject could have been handled very differently and a compelling case could have been made, but Biskind failed to really even make an attempt to make it. That said, his publisher has their stated goal of “sparking conversations”, and in *that* regard, this book may be at least somewhat successful… though maybe in the “any press is better than no press” kind of way.

This review of The Sky Is Falling by Peter Biskind was originally published on September 11, 2018.

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#BookReview: #SecondCivilWar by U. Ray Moran

OMFG! HILARIOUS! This is THE book to read going into the 2018 Midterm Elections. Seriously, this is one of the best current events parodies I’ve seen in any format, and particularly book format. Definitely not for the faint of heart or overly sensitive, but skewers “both” sides of the political aisle fairly evenly. Libertarians or those tired of politics from “both” sides will find this particularly funny, but even those on “either” side of the aisle will find the jokes at the “other” side’s expense funny even while groaning or being upset by the jokes at their side’s expense.

This review of #SecondCivilWar by U. Ray Moran was originally published on July 8, 2018.

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#BookReview: Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt

For what it is, this is a fascinating book using one family’s journey to look at a broader issue currently being discussed anywhere discussions take place. It lacks knowledge, and thus presentation of the pertinant points, that government hurts transgender people as much as it helps them, but that doesn’t overly detract from the overall tale told here. Highly recommended.

This review of Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt was originally published on June 20, 2018.