No surprise--I loved The Library by Susan Orlean. But it is not a typical narrative non-fiction like Orlean’s earlier books. The book’s chapters are only loosely connected around the history of the Los Angeles Public Library, and the fire that destroyed the flagship Central Library building in ... [Continue Reading]
Save Me the Plums, My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl
I hate to cook, but I would gladly have worked at Gourmet magazine under the editorial leadership of Ruth Reichl. It sounds like such fun—the exotic travel, the best restaurants, the top-notch writers, and of course, the test kitchen that was always turning out something yummy. Even the gossipy, ... [Continue Reading]
Educated by Tara Westover
Educated, a Memoir by Tara Westover Despite the title of the book, “educated” is not a word that describes the young Tara Westover. Of public schools, her father declares, “I may as well surrender my kids to the devil himself.” An extreme Mormon and a passionate, paranoid survivalist, Dad isn’t ... [Continue Reading]
The Woman’s Hour by Elaine Weiss
The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss It’s not often that we get to brag about Tennessee’s progressive history, but in 1920 the state cast the deciding vote for the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution granting all women the right to ... [Continue Reading]
Timing IS Everything!
How many times in response to a decision, competition, or conversation have you said, “Timing is everything?” A zillion, right? But good timing always seemed more serendipity than science. Not so says Daniel H. Pink, author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Based on research in ... [Continue Reading]
Red Notice by Bill Browder
Red Notice, A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder Bill Browder, a mild-mannered financier working in Russia, gets on the wrong side of the Putin government, and soon he and his plucky team are in a race for their lives in a virtually lawless ... [Continue Reading]
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson What a ghastly title! Only for you dear readers would I read this one since I know many of you are managing the downsizing of a relative’s home or your own. The ... [Continue Reading]
Killers ofthe Flower Moon by David Grann
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann Of all the famous gangsters of the 1920s, the men behind the murders of more than two dozen Osage Indians in Oklahoma are certainly the least well known, although arguably the most despicable. In his new book, ... [Continue Reading]
NCN Book Club Reading List 2018
NCN Book Club Reading List 2018 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (F) The World’s Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne (M) Red Notice by Bill Browder (NF) The Ninth House by Alice McDermott (F) The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (F) Killers of the Flower Moon by ... [Continue Reading]
Grant by Ron Chernow
Grant by Ron Chernow I raced through this book rather like um, Sherman through Georgia! At a daunting 900 plus pages, the biggest challenge is picking it up! Prior to reading Chernow’s tome, I knew zero about Grant the general or Grant the president. This is due to my lack of interest in the ... [Continue Reading]