Reviews

I have been a fan of Augusten's for quite some time. I have read all of his books and enjoyed almost all of those books. This latest memoir was a disappointment. I looked for the humor and the heartbreak that his previous memoirs had, but this one fell short. I found myself not wanting to continue, but I had to (because I am a librarian after all).

Grab your tissues, ‘cause this one’s a tear jerker. In place of his senior year of high school, Zach is in rehab. He doesn’t remember why he’s there, so we learn about his circumstances as he works through remembering in group sessions, talking with his roommates and his counselor. What makes this book so powerful is that Zach, despite his addiction, sadness, and loneliness still manages to be a neat kid. You really want to see him succeed.

Peony is a lovesick maiden in China during the 1600s. Meaning, she read a play called The Peony Pavilion and then, like the main character in the play, starved herself to death for want of love. The first half of the book details Peony’s life until her death. The second half details Peony’s journey to becoming an ancestor after her death.

Livability is a collection of nine short stories written by Jonathan Raymond. These stories all take place in Oregon. Many of the stories involve drifters, failed relationships, and missed opportunities in life. They are both touching and sad. Two of the stories Old Joy and Train Choir were adapted into indie films.

Unbeknownst to my colleagues, I am basically a sentimental sap and I absolutely loved this movie. Julie Powell is a food and recipe blogger and, of course, we all know who Julia Child is. In this fun movie, Julie decides that she will cook all of the recipes in Julia Child’s first book….one a day for 365 days….and she will post her results on her blog.

Back in the days when Led Zeppelin was still a going concern, my friends all seemed to worship guitarist Jimmy Page. And indeed, the man could play guitar; terrestrial radio (and now its satellite competitor, XM Sirius) still vibrates to the mighty riffs Page laid down for songs such as "Whole Lotta Love" and the notorious "Stairway To Heaven."

Back in 1998, while doing research for an article, the author discovered some medical studies that revealed that the outcomes for people in the United States with schizophrenia have worsened over the past 25 years.

I started reading The Passage by Cronin and the City of Thieves simultaneously.  I stopped reading the  The Passage on about page 40 because of the mounting tension and the prospect of vampires.  But somehow I could continue reading the fictionalized account of the  devastation inflicted on th

This biography of Lincoln the covers the start of his quest for the presidency until his assassination, chronicles his relationship with the men who made up his Cabinet. Most of these politicians ran against him during the 1960 Republican Convention.

Anna Pigeon is back for a somewhat different tale of adventure and suspense. She’s not in a National Park this time, but visiting a friend in New Orleans for some R and R after her more recent traumas. Anna becomes caught up in the dark and ugly world of child trafficking.