Katie at Doing Dewey is our Nonfiction November host this week, and here's our prompt: Week 2: (November 8-12) – Book Pairing with Katie at Doing Dewey: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you... Continue Reading →
Frighteningly Good Reads: Unbelievable and Zodiac
Are you joining up with Molly @ Silver Button Books for Frighteningly Good Reads? There's still one week until Halloween! I managed to surprise myself by reading not only the book I'd specifically set aside for Molly's very fun challenge, but another that had been on my shelves for awhile and is, arguably, the spookier... Continue Reading →
Spooky Nonfiction for Frighteningly Good Reads 2021 @ Silver Button Books
October is upon us! (But we're almost hitting 80 degrees in New York City this weekend, so it does feel a bit...less than autumnal.) Still, that means it's time for the annual celebration of all reads spooky and scary from Molly @ Silver Button Books: Frighteningly Good Reads! I'm not much for reading challenges because... Continue Reading →
Nonfiction Centered in Germany: Tunneling the Wall, Reading Stasi Files, and the Enigmatic Chancellor
In preparation for (a little Vorfreude - something like the joy in anticipating something) and during my time in Germany this summer, I was reading more German nonfiction than usual, two of which are new/upcoming releases and absolutely stellar. Los geht's! Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall, by... Continue Reading →
Recent Current Events Nonfiction: Pandemic, Plague, and the Dying Days of Trump
I'm still slowly trying to get back into the writing-about-books swing of things! Did I mention we moved New York apartments the month before moving German apartments? Yeah, I'm still fucking exhausted. And I've been reading a lot more slowly but still reading, and although I have no brainpower for full reviews, here are some... Continue Reading →
Financial Crime in Russia and the Heartbreaking Story of the Magnitsky Act
Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice, by Bill Browderpublished 2015 by Simon & Schuster - Used or new @ SecondSale.com The American-born, now British financier Bill Browder got in on the nascent world of free-market Eastern Europe at the beginning, when, during his work for the... Continue Reading →
Two Mysteries: What Happened to Paula and Atlantis Black
What Happened to Paula: On the Death of an American Girl, by Katherine Dykstra Katherine Dykstra's mother-in-law roped her into the story of Paula Oberbroeckling, an 18-year-old from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who disappeared one summer night in 1970. Her remains were found a few months later but a cause of death was never determined. Instead,... Continue Reading →
13 New Nonfiction Titles Still to Come in 2021
With the year half over, let's see what new and wondrous upcoming nonfiction we have to look forward to in the coming months! Here's what I'm excited for: The Icepick Surgeon : Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science, by Sam Kean (July 13) - Beginning "with Cleopatra’s... Continue Reading →
Sherry Shriner, Reptilians, and Orgone Warriors: A Journalist Investigates An Internet Cult
Dragged Into the Light: Truthers, Reptilians, Super Soldiers, and Death Inside an Online Cult, by Tony Russo (Used or new @ SecondSale.com) When a person lives their entire life in denial about the world around them, the world can start to fade away. In a world of monsters, resurrections, and orgone wars, a world where... Continue Reading →
Two Crimey New Releases: Death on Ocean Boulevard and Don’t Call it a Cult
Death On Ocean Boulevard: Inside the Coronado Mansion Case, by Caitlin Rother. Published April 27 by Citadel The story of what happened to Rebecca Zahau and her boyfriend Jonah Shacknai's son, Max, is both a mesmerizingly compelling puzzle and deeply sad. No matter how you puzzle over its innumerable oddities and curious details, and the... Continue Reading →
Conning Culture: Hype in the Social Media Age
Hype: How Scammers, Grifters, and Con Artists Are Taking Over the Internet―and Why We're Following The story of the Fyre Festival, which saw Instagram influencers tricked into promoting a music festival on a private Bahamian island with luxury accommodations, gourmet dining and a picturesque setting, only to turn out to be a few rain-soaked tents... Continue Reading →
Recent Release Minis: Nobody’s Normal, Made in China, You’ll Never Believe What happened to Lacey
Psychiatry, prison-camp manufactured Chinese goods, and racist tales from Nebraska. What a grab bag today. Let's dive in! Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness, by Roy Richard Grinkerpublished January 26, 2021 by W.W. Norton Only recently did mental illnesses brand the whole person, not just his or her behavior, with what['s...]... Continue Reading →