Non-Fiction Friday is a link-up where you can find all of the awesome non-fiction happenings of the week. Be sure to link-up your non-fiction posts too!
Bookish Blogging Events
LGBT Month – April
I’ve been wanting to read more books with LGBT characters for a while and this event is the perfect time for it. There will be a read-a-long, twitter parties, giveaways, and discussion posts. I plan on reading Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and possibly also Two Boys Kissing, as well as participating in as many of the other activities as I can find time for. Sign-ups are here. Continue reading
Filed under Blogger Events
Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge: Using Social Media
Hello all and welcome to the Bloggiesta Social Media mini-challenge! There are many mini-challenges about the details of how to use specific social media sites, but this isn’t one of them. Today, I’d like to focus on the big picture: what kind of content to share on each type of social media and how to use different social media platforms in a complementary way. Basically, this post is for people who start out like me, more uncertain about what to do with these sites than about how to use them. At the end of the post I’ve got a fun giveaway of a $15 gift card to Amazon or TBD, starting at midnight tonight when Bloggiesta officially begins. All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me one thing you’re going to do to improve your social media presence and/or share something you think people should know about using social media. So, here we go!
Filed under Blogger Events
Where I Want To Be
Title: Where I Want To Be
Author: Cortney Roudebush
Source: from author for review
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review Summary: Although this book seemed like a good fit for me, I didn’t love the writing, the obsessive focus on dating bothered me, and I couldn’t relate to the main character.
Olivia Goldstein has a very successful career in LA, but her timidity generally prevents her from enjoying life. She doesn’t like her career, has few friends, and rarely dates. The only thing she truly enjoys is wine. With some encouragement from her best friend, she makes one of her first spontaneous decisions and enrolls in a wine class in Napa Valley. Once there, she begins to make friends who teach her about wine and talk her into being more courageous about dating. Although she starts her trip certain that she’d like to return to LA, by the end of the summer she’s not so sure. Continue reading
Me, Myself, and Why
Title: Me, Myself, and Why
Author: Jennifer Ouellette
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: I love the author’s sense of humor and the unique fun facts she shared, but was bothered by some oversimplifications and inaccuracies in her coverage of the material I already knew.
“As diverse as people appear to be, all of our genes and brains are nearly identical. In Me, Myself, and Why, Jennifer Ouellette dives into the miniscule ranges of variation to understand just what sets us apart. She draws on cutting-edge research in genetics, neuroscience, and psychology—enlivened as always with her signature sense of humor—to explore the mysteries of human identity and behavior. Readers follow her own surprising journey of self-discovery as she has her genome sequenced, her brain mapped, her personality typed, and even samples a popular hallucinogen. Bringing together everything from Mendel’s famous pea plant experiments and mutations in The X-Men to our taste for cilantro and our relationships with virtual avatars, Ouellette takes us on an endlessly thrilling and illuminating trip into the science of ourselves.” (description from goodreads) Continue reading
Filed under non-fiction, Science
Non-Fiction Friday
Non-Fiction Friday is a link-up where you can find all of the awesome non-fiction happenings of the week. Be sure to link-up your non-fiction posts too!
Filed under non-fiction
Mister Owita’s Guide to Gardening
Title: Mister Owita’s Guide to Gardening
Author: Carol Wall
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: Although the author deals with big issues, she does so in a relatable and optimistic way which made this book a very easy and enjoyable read.
Since a tragic event in her childhood, Carol has been a bit afraid of gardening. Following a cancer scare, she became more timid about life as well. A chance encounter with her neighbor’s gardener, Mister Giles Owita, leads to a deep and surprising friendship. As they get to know each other, Mister Owita ends up “transforming not only Carol’s yard, but her life.” (quote from goodreads)
Continue reading
Filed under Memoir, non-fiction
