Non-fiction – Page 6 – Carol's Notebook

Mailbox Monday – 9/9

September 9, 2019January 6, 2020 by Carol10 Comments

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. Tell us about your new arrivals by adding your Mailbox Monday post to the linky at mailboxmonday.wordpress.com. Claire North has a new one coming out this November, The Pursuit of William Abbey. I've loved almost everything of hers I've read, so when I saw NetGalley had it, I couldn't resist. I picked up a cheap audiobook on Chirp. And I got this one because we're going to Biltmore in October....

Bread by Scott Cutler Shershow

August 22, 2019August 28, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

The other day I listened to a short book about pepper and today it's a book about bread. And I've gone from a funny, conversational writer/interviewer to a formal, slightly pretentious author. Can you tell which I liked better? My boss recommended I read Bread and handed me his copy. He said it changed that way he looked at bread and would definitely change his next Communion sermon, so I was expecting it to be interesting and at just over 100 pages, a quick read. I was disappointed. While the author clearly loved bread and has a lot to say, it was too philosophical for me. When he ventured into history and social status I found it interesting and even the religion up to a point, most of the time I found myself marveling about just how much this guy could contemplate bread. This counts as 3 pts in the COYER Treasure Hunt (a book with One Word Title)....

It Burns by Marc Fennel

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019 by Carol3 Comments

I am not a fan of hot things. I don't like my salsa above medium, I avoid jalapenos. I am a wuss when it comes to spicy things. But It Burns was one of the free Audible Originals this month and for some reason the app was having trouble downloading the book I actually used a credit on. (I finally got Bleak House downloaded. It's going to take forever to listen to - 45 hours. Anybody out there love it?) Apparently, the pepper business and the whole hot pepper community is crazier and more cutthroat than I would ever have guessed. It's a whole world that I never knew existed. This audiobook is short, under three hours, but full of people hurting themselves and finding themselves through peppers. It's really rather fascinating in a dark, bizarre way. Marc Fennel narrates It Burns, but it's not a traditional book. We get to hear his interviews with growers fanatics, even his mom. His style...

Everything Below the Waist by Jennifer Block

August 1, 2019August 1, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

Everything Below the Waist by Jennifer Block was eye-opening. In the last few years, I've gone out of my way to see women doctors, they make me more comfortable and I feel like they listen better, but to be honest, I hadn't really thought beyond that. Block's focus is on women's reproductive health specifically, but she does talk about how doctors and the medical establishment treat women both now and historically. Female reproductive health covers a range of sub-topics, and Block laid out the facts thoroughly and specifically, citing studies from numerous medical journals. Covered here is routine gynecologic care, hormonal birth control, infertility treatment, abortion, pregnancy, and childbirth. Most women will find something in these pages they can relate to. Maybe in a good way, a birth that went well or having a skilled surgeon. Maybe it's being bullied by a doctor or given unnecessary tests. Maybe it's not being given all the information about whatever the pharmaceutical companies are...

One Summer by Bill Bryson

July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 by Carol2 Comments

I loved One Summer by Bill Bryson. I may have already told my mom she should read it. Unfortunately, I can't just let her borrow mine since a.) I listened to the audio version and b.) I borrowed it from the library. I'm not a history buff or a sports buff. I've only read one of Bryson's books before, Shakespeare, but I was looking for a non-fiction read and One Summer caught my eye. I'm so glad I picked it up. You can tell from the blurb that a lot happened between May and September 1927. People and events I've heard of, and some I haven't. Bryson takes two of the famous men from the era, Charles Lindbergh and Babe Ruth, and tells not only their stories but the story of the time, the inventions, the politics, the deaths, the bad but mostly the good. It's a fun book full of little bits of information. I may have told my family...

Accessory to War by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang

May 28, 2019May 24, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

My non-fiction reading really has little rhyme or reason to it. I pick up books that grab my attention or that I've seen other people love. I have to admit I don't really have a huge interest in space exploration or military history, but Neil deGrasse Tyson is a big name and I've seen a show or two on tv and at a planetarium that he's hosted, which is why I picked up Accessory to War. At times Accessory to War is just fascinating. For me, that was mostly when it was discussing the history of astrophysics and how its beginnings affected armies and explorers and merchants. I also found the parts about how current countries approach space interesting. It's well-written. It doesn't talk down to those of us who don't know much, but it also wasn't over my head. It was conversational and easy to follow. Unfortunately, there were other parts that were dry and boring. Lists of treaties...