Non-Fiction Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Alexia's Books and Such

Review & Giveaway: The Day the World Ends (Closed)

The Day the World Ends by Ethan Coen Ethan Coen’s screenplays have surprised and delighted international audiences with their hilarious vision and bizarrely profound understanding of human nature. This eccentric genius is revealed again in The Day the World Ends, a remarkable range of poems that are as funny, ribald, provocative, raw, and often touching as the brilliant films that have made the Coen brothers cult legends. My Thoughts: This book was pitched to me …

Book Review: Cruising Attitude

by alexia5610

Cruising Attitude by Heather Poole Real-life flight attendant Heather Poole has written a charming and funny insider’s account of life and work in the not-always-friendly skies. Cruising Attitude is a Coffee, Tea, or Me? for the 21st century, as the author parlays her fifteen years of flight experience into a delightful account of crazy airline passengers and crew drama, of overcrowded crashpads in “Crew Gardens” Queens and finding love at 35,000 feet. My Thoughts: While …

Review: Loose Diamonds

by alexia5610

Loose Diamonds by Amy Ephron Source: Review copy received from publisher, via Shelf Awareness Rating: 3/5 In Loose Diamonds, an engaging collection of essays and observations, Amy Ephron, the acclaimed, award-winning author of the One Sunday Morning and A Cup of Tea, paints a rich, vivid, and comic portrait of modern living from a modern woman’s perspective. Fans of the writings of Amy Sedaris and Joan Didion’s Slouching Toward Bethlehem will enjoy Ephron’s funny, incisive …

Mini-Review: Eat That Frog

by alexia5610

Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy Source: Public Library Rating: 2/5 With the pace of life increasing at a record rate, performing at peak levels while avoiding overload is more crucial than ever. In Eat That Frog! Brian Tracy offers his most successful strategies for focusing on important tasks. The philosophy of eating a frog doing a distasteful job or activity is the basis of the book. (Goodreads) My Thoughts:This book just didn’t work for …

Review: I Remember Nothing

by alexia5614

I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron Source: Personal Library Rating: 3/5 Nora Ephron returns with her first book since the astounding success of I Feel Bad About My Neck, taking a cool, hard, hilarious look at the past, the present, and the future, bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life, and recalling with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn’t (yet) forgotten. (Goodreads synopsis) My Thoughts:Nora Ephron is a very talented, witty, clever writer. I …

Book Review: How’s Your Dad? Living in the Shadow of a Rock Star Parent

by alexia5612

How’s Your Dad? by Zoe Street Howe Source: Review copy provided by the publisher Rating: 3/5 In this frank and funny book, Zoe Street Howe breaks the glitzy surface of a media obsession and seeks the reality from the horses’ mouths. Whether you rejoice or seethe at the mention of Peaches, Jade or Jack or if you are born of rock heritage yourself and are considering changing your name and moving to Mongolia, this book …

Review: Gerry Tales by Gerry Boylan

by alexia5614

Gerry Tales by Gerry Boylan Source: ARC provided by Phenix & Phenix Litarary Publicists Rating: 4/5 In this collection of personal essays, Gerry Boylan recounts a lifetime of adventures and misadventures. His stories are sweet, loopy, and hilarious, ranging from hitchhiking experiences gone awry to the birth of his first child (sans painkillers or doctors, but with pinochle-playing buddies and malted milkshakes). Whether he’s fleeing in terror from a marauding bat or causing a thousand-bicycle …

Book Review: Admit One: My Life in Film by Emmett James

by alexia5619

Hardcover: 216 pages Publisher: FizzyPop (February 1, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 0984258108 ISBN-13: 978-0984258109 Rating: 4/5Source: Review copy provided by Online Publicist Book Blurb: Set in Croydon, South London, in the 1980s, Admit One details how self-deprecating writer Emmett James escaped from the pains of adolescence by going to the cinema. Through wry wit and observation, the writer reflects, obsesses, and rages about film and its correlation to our pasts. Life soon imitates art, and …

Book Review: The Power of Half by Kevin Salwen & Hannah Salwen

by alexia5617

Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (February 10, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 0547248067 ISBN-13: 978-0547248066 Rating: 3/5Source: Review copy provided by FSB Associates Book Blurb: It all started when 14-year old Hannah Salwen, idealistic but troubled by a growing sense of injustice in the world, had a eureka moment when a homeless man in her neighborhood was juxtaposed against a glistening Mercedes coupe. “You know, Dad,” she said, pointing, “If that man had a …

Current Read: Now What?: 90 Days to a New Life Direction

by alexia5615

Just started reading Now What?: 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Berman Fortgang. I received a review copy from FSB Associates, and decided that this would be a great way to start the Fall season. While I don’t usually read non-fiction, this book sounded interesting and worthwhile. I mean, who wouldn’t want help in plotting a new life direction? The book is full of exercises to help determine your new life direction, …

Book Review: Chemo KateLynn by Andrea Lynn Katz

by alexia5611

Paperback: 102 pagesPublisher: Bascom Hill BooksLanguage: EnglishISBN-10: 1935456024ISBN-13: 978-1935456025 Book Blurb: Andrea Lynn Katz is a graduate of the “C” School (as in cancer) with a C.C.S. degree (as in Certified Cancer Survivor). Chemo KateLynn: Humorous Perspectives on Life Before Cancer and After Diagnosis is a witty and cleverly illustrated testament to her conviction that laughter is the best medicine and, with cancer as part of her everyday live, she proves there is still plenty …