by Dan Wakefield, 1984, 1985, 1988 Learned about this book from the New York Times Morning Report (I think) talking about Dan Wakefield and his books on the day he died in March 2024 at age 91. He was born in Indianapolis in 1932 and grew up an only child, to unhappily married parents. His […]
Category: Memoir
Surrender: 40 songs, one story
by Bono, 2022 Loved this book by Bono, the lead singer of U2. I tagged just about every page of the book, so Wayne bought me the book. I had a wrong impression of U2 when I was a young adult. I thought they were evil. But it turns out, they are a rock band […]
An Italian Education
The Further Adventures of an Expatriate in Verona by Tim Parks, 1995 Delightful foray into the day-to-day life of an expatriate in Verona, Italy. This book was recommended by The Economist, in an article books about Italy. At the start of the book, he and his Italian wife, Rita, have a little boy, Michele, and […]
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing
by Matthew Perry, 2022 Update, 10/28/23, Matthew Perry died at age 54, found drowned in his hot tub. On 12/15/23, the New York Times states: “Matthew Perry, the “Friends” actor who publicly struggled with drinking and drug use for decades, died from the “acute effects” of ketamine, an anesthetic with psychedelic properties, the Los Angeles […]
The Little Book of Bob
by James Bowen, 2018 A sweet little book about lessons he learned from Bob, his Ginger Tom cat that he loves so much. It is an easy-read and has darling illustrations. Here are some of the lessons: “We are all stronger together than we are apart.” He needs to go one step further and admit […]
A Gift from Bob
by James Bowen, 2014 This is the true story of James and his beloved cat, Bob, and their Christmas together in London 2010. It is when James finally had a beautiful Christmas and learned that it is better to give than to receive. They start out freezing cold with the electricity and gas in their […]
A Street Cat Named Bob
And How He Saved My Life, by James Bowen and Garry Jenkins, 2012 True story about a heroin addict in London, James Bowen, adopting this street cat (a “Ginger Tom”) in 2007, who ends up saving his life. What a wonderful gift this cat is from God to him. Because he had to care for […]
Love Warrior
by Glennon Doyle Melton, 2016 Memoir by a woman who was bulimic starting at age 10, then an alcoholic. She finds out she is pregnant for the 2nd time and decides to have this baby. She marries her boyfriend, they try to make a go of it, having 3 children, moving to Naples, Florida. She […]
Federer and Me: A Story of Obsession
by William Skidelsky, 2015 This book is written by a huge Roger Federer fan, and it’s about life as a Federer fan: the joy of his victories, the agony of his defeats, and despising Rafael Nadal. Being a Roger Federer fan brought him through a dark period of his life. I wonder how he feels […]
Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It
by Geoff Dyer, 2003 What a writer! I learned about him from Christie, who sent me info on his newest book, The Last Days of Roger Federer. It wasn’t yet available at our library so I checked out this book by him. I enjoyed it immensely. He’s funny and it took me all over the […]
Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park
by Conor Knighton, 2020 Really fun, and funny, memoir by Conor Knighton on the year he took to visit all 59 National Parks. He started on January 1 in Acadia to watch the sun rise, and he ended at Point Reyes National Seashore to watch the sun set on December 31, 2016. He is trying […]
I Am Malala
by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick, Young Readers Edition, 2014 We thought about getting this book for Isabel, but after reading it, decided against it. Malala is brave and her story is amazing, but the book makes one despise Muslims because of the ignorance and evil of the Taliban. There is no doubt that God’s […]
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, 2015 This is the true story of a young boy, William Kamkwamba, who was born in 1987 in a tiny village near Wimbe, Malawi. He is enthralled with science and just wants to go to school and learn about science. He is the only boy with 6 sisters. His […]
jewel-never broken: songs are only half the story
by Jewel, 2015 Danette asked me to look for this as a used book. I checked Bizarre Bazaar but no luck. However, our library had it, so I checked it out and read it. It’s very interesting. I had no idea Jewel was like this! I thought that her name was a made-up name but […]
Cider with Rosie
by Laurie Lee, 1959 First of all, Laurie Lee is a male! This is his story of growing up in a Cotswold village in the 1920s. He transports you there. You can feel the summer heat, the icy winter, the mud, the grass, the trees, the cottage he grew up in with his 6 siblings […]
Born a Crime
by Trevor Noah, 2016 Fantastic book! Remarkable man! Amazing Mom! This was one of our book selections for the Old Town Library Book Club, 2021-2022 season. Trevor Noah, a famous comedian now, was born under Apartheid in South Africa, to a Xhosa mother and a Swiss father. She never asked to marry his Swiss father […]
The Bogey Man: A Month on the PGA Tour
by George Plimpton, 1968 A wonderfully funny book recommended by the Book-A-Day calendar from Christie. George Plimpton spends a month on the PGA tour at three courses in California, and writes about it. It is just delightful! He is a very good writer, especially when it comes to conversations. He gets you into the game […]
The Next Everest
by Jim Davidson, 2021 Excellent memoir by a mountain climber who lives in Fort Collins. The Library recommended this book on their monthly “Biographies” e-mail. It was about his two trips to Nepal to climb Mount Everest; the first in 2015 when the deadly 7.8 Gorkha earthquake struck Nepal and caused an avalanche on Mount […]
Disappointment River:
Finding and losing the Northwest Passage by Brian Castner, 2018 Well-written book. I almost gave up on it because of the many French and Indian words and names I couldn’t pronounce, but I’m glad I stuck with it. He takes you on the Mackenzie River (the Deh Cho River) through Canada to the Arctic Ocean; […]
The Book of Eels
by Patrick Svensson, 2019, translated from the Swedish by Agnes Broome 2020 Surprising that a book about eels would be so interesting, but it was! Every other chapter is his personal experience fishing for eels with his Dad in Sweden. I liked those chapters the best. He loved fishing for eels with his Dad. What […]