• Non-Fiction Of Note,  Reading

    Books About War: Nonfiction Reads About Heroes and The Hell of Battle

    As we near Memorial Day, I was asked what my plans were by a coworker.  My response was, “I’m going to do as little as possible.” He said that’s not a bad plan but “remember why we have this holiday.”  That hit me a little bit as I think most of us know someone that serves in the military and, sadly, we may know someone who has died while serving.  While both are true for me, and the need to remember why we have Memorial Day is of the utmost importance, it got me to thinking about books. There are a flood of books relating to war, military service, and…

  • Non-Fiction Of Note

    Nonfiction of Note-Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain

    This is an account of a woman raised in the Westboro Baptist Church and her relationship with the church and her family.  Lauren’s father seemed to be the driving force behind their moving and joining the church and I think, when it comes to what I perceived to be his misguided actions and shortcomings, Lauren does a good job of just reporting the facts about her dad.  While she also goes into detail about her personal feelings and experiences, she does a great job of explaining how the “church” works. While there are a lot of events that are recounted in this book that make you shake your head in…

  • Non-Fiction Of Note

    Nonfiction of Note: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

    Last year I read more non-fiction and one of those books was I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara.  This was a haunting book that was well researched, fantastically written, and it’s publication was well-timed despite the tragedy surrounded by the author’s death.  However, the book is one that gives a terrible account of a serial killer who was wreaking havoc in California, taking lives, and causing fear among the citizens. This book is an account of a killer who seemed to target couples, would break into their home, incapacitate the man, and rape the woman.  This was a…

  • Non-Fiction Of Note

    Nonfiction of Note-When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

    I listened to this as an audiobook and the reader did a great job, in my opinion, of capturing the author’s story but whether you read or listed to this one, I think it’s a great memoir.  I was really taken aback by the story of Dr. Kalanithi and it was a beautiful and heartbreaking story. *Spoilers ahead*  While studying to be a neurosurgeon, Dr. Kalanithi discovers he has metastatic lung cancer.  While this is a terrible revelation, the book is more than just the discovery of his illness. The beginning of the book is fantastic and details Dr. Kalanithi’s early life, his love of literature and writing, and about…

  • Non-Fiction Of Note

    Nonfiction of Note: Andy and Don by Daniel de Visé

    I am a huge fan of the Andy Griffith Show and when I was growing up, and we could only get one or two channels on the television due to living in the mountains of Western N.C., one of the constants on television was the Andy Griffith Show.  I remember, one of the joys of my television-watching youth was when a relative in town was able to record eight hours of the show when a marathon was on. Since cable didn’t reach my house until I was in Middle School, having limited access to my favorite show was difficult but I was able to get my fill growing up. Now,…

  • Non-Fiction Of Note

    Nonfiction of Note-Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

    I’m a fan of the detail of Walter Isaacson’s work and whether you like him as a biographer or not, he does a great job capturing Steve Jobs.  Speaking of Jobs, he too may be someone you like or don’t but you can’t deny his impact on culture and the computing world. For me, I was on the fence about Jobs and I think the book gives us the facts of Steve’s life without justifying his bad behavior or deifying his good works.   I still use some of Jobs’ products, like the old iPod I take everywhere, but the man was both brilliant in his way and volatile. He…