Insomniac City, by Bill Hayes
Insomniac City made me cry – but in a nice way. I am an incurable romantic and Hayes’s revealing memoirContinue Reading
Project Type: Reviews of Autobiographies, Biographies and Memoirs
Insomniac City, by Bill Hayes
Insomniac City made me cry – but in a nice way. I am an incurable romantic and Hayes’s revealing memoirContinue Reading
Furiously Happy, by Jenny Lawson
“Let’s Pretend This Never Happened” was the first friendly, funny introduction to a dark subject. Lawson gently pulled us into her world, and allowed us to talk and laugh about it. In “Furiously Happy”, she pulls us into her world again, but this time with little claws and a grin like a crazy raccoon.
The Noise of Time, by Julian Barnes; The Only Story, by Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes is a writer who does not waste words. While his subjects are often difficult and his novels contain references to specialized subjects, his writing is accessible to all readers through his clear ideas, deep understanding, and well-considered use of language.
3,096 Days, by Natascha Kampusch
Many people reeled with horror when then news broke about an Austrian woman who escaped after being held in anContinue Reading
Bongo Bongo Bongo I Don’t Wanna Leave the Congo, by Veronica Cecil
So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don’t want to leave the Congo / Oh no no no no no / Bingle, bangle, bungle, I’m so happy in the jungle / I refuse to go.
Britney, the Unauthorized Biography, by Sean Smith
When this book was published, practically every week there were pictures of Britney Spears in the tabloids, either in meltdownContinue Reading
Coco Chanel – A Biography, by Axel Madsen
It seems that Coco Chanel was not the sweet little ingénue she was made out to be in the 2009Continue Reading
Foreskin’s Lament – A Memoir, by Shalom Auslander
“Foreskin’s Lament” should carry a warning: “Only read with an open mind.”
I Met the Walrus, by Jerry Levitan
This is one of those books that you can reread and delve into again and again, since it is mostContinue Reading
Life Beyond Measure – Letters to My Great-Granddaughter, by Sidney Poitier
While I was reading Sidney Poitier’s memoir, it was as if he were talking to me in his velvety voiceContinue Reading
Parky – My Autobiography, by Michael Parkinson
If you have seen suave, funny and charming Michael Parkinson on TV, and you expect his autobiography to be likeContinue Reading
My Life, My Way, by Cliff Richard
Until I read this autobiography, I though Cliff Richard was naff (meaning, uncool, tacky, unfashionable). It turns out he isContinue Reading
That’s Another Story, by Julie Walters
Movie-goers know Julie Walters as Mother Weasley in the Harry Potter films, as well as Educating Rita (1983), Calendar GirlsContinue Reading
The Orange Trees of Baghdad, by Leilah Nadir
Leilah Nadir, a Canadian of mixed English/Iraqi birth, wanted, like most people do at certain times in their lives, toContinue Reading
Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams, by M.J. Simpson
Stephen Fry, in his autobiography The Fry Chronicles, writes of being friends with Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s GuideContinue Reading
Welcome Home – Travels in Small-town Canada, by Stuart McLean
Stuart McLean steps outside his alter-ego of “Dave” of the Vinyl Cafe stories and here writes as himself, an authorContinue Reading
The Hare with Amber Eyes – A Hidden Inheritance, by Edmund de Waal
This is one of those rare things – an author’s first book that does not read like a first book.Continue Reading
Medium Raw – A Bloody Valentine to the Word of Food and the People Who Cook, by Anthony Bourdain
Ever since I first saw Anthony Bourdain on TV, skidding to a halt in his spiky-tipped boots in the introContinue Reading
People of the Deer & Eastern Passage, by Farley Mowat
Grand old man of Canadian literature dies May 7, 2014 – Farley Mowat has died, just five days before his 93rd birthday.Continue Reading
The Fry Chronicles, by Stephen Fry
People who know (of) Stephen Fry will want to read this despite, or because of, the fact that he’s aContinue Reading
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, by Chris Hadfield
Chris Hadfield is a retired Canadian astronaut who was the first Canadian to walk in space. Hadfield flew two space shuttle missions and served as commander of the International Space Station. Then he retired and wrote this book. This is real science, real space flights and real man’s stuff.
Names for the Sea – Strangers in Iceland, by Sarah Moss
I grabbed this book because it is set in Reykjavik, and I’ve always been fascinated by Iceland and Reykjavik, evenContinue Reading
Nothing To Be Frightened Of, by Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes slices the subject of death open as cleanly and as deeply as a professional forensic pathologist. Not oneContinue Reading
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson
I laughed ’til I cried when I read this book. I really did. I had to read it with aContinue Reading
A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey
Someone left this novel in the kitchen of our office before the December break. So I took it home toContinue Reading
Report from the interior, by Paul Auster
It was Auster’s stated intention to describe the “human condition”, the state of everyman, as small and young humans in thisContinue Reading
Your Don’t Look Your Age…And Other Fairy Tales, by Sheila Nevins
With reference to the title of her new biography, Sheila Nevins does not look her age, which is 78 years.Continue Reading
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES 