Have you read anything spooky scary this month for Molly's Frighteningly Good Reads? My second book for the event this year quickly became one of my favorite frightening reads: Will Storr vs. The Supernatural: One Man's Search For the Truth About Ghosts. British journalist Will Storr begins this undertaking into supernatural research with the idea... Continue Reading →
Food Science Minis: Anxiety Around Eating and Fasting as Medicine
Last year, I read nephrologist Dr. Jason Fung's The Obesity Code, which was eye-opening for me. It made me realize that something I sometimes did naturally or inadvertently -- skipping meals or snacks -- was actually a benefiting weight loss. It clicked for me, because in the periods I'd inadvertently fasted -- either from being... Continue Reading →
Self-Centric Minis
Reading New Yorker staff writer Rachel Aviv's debut, Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us (September 13, 2022, Farrar, Straus and Giroux), I realized I had an unintentional trend this year of reading about selfhood in some form. It started with the first book I read in the year, Will Storr's... Continue Reading →
Science Minis: Snarky Analysis of a Pandemic Year + A Humorous History of Sex
As much as I love reading pop science, for some reason I find these books the hardest to write and discuss. Is it because I'm afraid of summarizing them poorly or inaccurately? I have no idea. Minis it is! In Virus: Vaccinations, the CDC, and the Hijacking of America's Response to the Pandemic, journalist Nina... Continue Reading →
Two Narrative Nonfictions Around Climate Change: The Vortex and The Last Days of the Dinosaurs
Sometimes you learn of some bit of history you've never heard of that's so monumental, it's hard to believe. Incredible how some major events slip by without notice on the world stage of history while others, even more minor, become common knowledge. The Great Bhola Cyclone of 1970 is one such event that I think... Continue Reading →
A Deep Dive Into the Weird World of Flat Earth
Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything, by Kelly Weill - Used or new @ SecondSale.com Conspiracy theories help us feel safe by providing an explanation for things that feel incomprehensible and beyond our control. Daily Beast journalist Kelly Weill takes a deep dive into what I think must... Continue Reading →
Two Collections of Brain Mysteries and Cognitive Curiosities
A Molecule Away from Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain, by Sara Manning Peskin, published February 8, 2022 by W.W. Norton. Used or new @SecondSale.com The new book A Molecule Away From Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain by Dr. Sara Manning Peskin explores the hairline between normal functioning and utter disaster in the brain.... Continue Reading →
10 Upcoming Nonfiction Titles to Look For in 2022
Super late but better late than never when it comes to looking ahead to the year's new nonfiction, right? Right! Here's what's caught my eye in new and recent nonfiction releases: Longshot: The Inside Story of the Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine, by David Heath (January 18) - "Investigative journalist David Heath takes readers inside... Continue Reading →
21 New Release Favorites of 2021
Eking in at the veeeery last minute, I've compiled my new release favorites of 2021. Let's dive in! Unsurprisingly, nothing surpassed Elissa Washuta's White Magic for me. This memoir-in-essays is like nothing I've ever read before, although I've come across a lot of memoirs that attempt similar things less successfully. This uses a blend of... Continue Reading →
17 Favorites from the Backlist
It's the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas stresses are over and it's time for year-end favorites lists! I love dividing up my year's favorite books by new releases and backlist selections because it means I can include more books. Also, since my blogging has deteriorated into a truly awful state, I realized that... Continue Reading →
Minis Roundup: Pop Science and Psychology
Because my blogging has reached new productivity lows, I'm trying to at least gather some thoughts on the past year's reading. Trying! As I mentioned, I continued to read most heavily this year in the area of pop science and psychology. It's time to accept that I'll never get around to full reviews for these.... Continue Reading →
Nonfiction November Week 2: Book Pairings
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 →