Category Archives for Books
Book Review: Down the Rabbit Hole
Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny, is not so much Holly Madison’s memoir as it is her PR stunt.
I decided to give this (audio)book a try after virtually *every* vlogger I follow had read and liked it. I never religiously watched The Girls Next Door (a reality show Holly Madison starred in during the early 2000s, as one of three of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends at the time), but I did watch it for about a year in university. I would be up very late each night working on projects for school, and I liked to have something on tv in the background for company while I worked. At that time, reruns of this show were on every night around 2 or 3 am. I found it mindlessly entertaining, and Holly, Bridget, and Kendra likeable personalities. (more…)
Book Review: Not That Kind of Girl
Perhaps it is because I read this book after reading Alan Cumming’s excellent memoir, Not My Father’s Son, that Lena Dunham’s memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, appears in such harsh contrast to me.
I was eager to pick up this book upon its release and started reading it soon after. It was not a quick read, not because it was excessively long, but because it felt excessively long for what it was. If you’re a reader, you know the feeling of forcing yourself through a book though it feels like wading through molasses. Anyway, for the sake of writing a fair review, I did it. (more…)
Book Review: The Maze Runner
I’m no stranger to fiction. I know it requires a suspension of disbelief. However, I think The Maze Runner asks its readers for more suspension than is really fair to expect of anyone. (more…)
Book Review: One Day
If I had to sum up One Day in a single sentence, I’d tell you that it’s a story about two people with terrible timing.
Timing matters. I believe that stories need to reach you at precisely the right time – the moment you’re ready to receive them. While many books, films, and shows have come to me at the right moment in my life, this one didn’t. At least not initially. (more…)
Book Review: The Rosie Project
I have to be honest: I was prepared to dislike The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion. While I love romantic comedies on film, I very rarely read or enjoy them on the page.
It didn’t help that the glowing recommendation on the cover promised I’d fall madly in love with The Rosie Project. This only made me more determined to prove them wrong. (more…)
Book Review: Dark Places
Gillian Flynn is one hell of a writer. I plunged back into the world of fiction after a brief holiday in memoir-land, and let me start by saying: the title doesn’t lie. Dark Places is dark. Really, really dark.
Let me paint you a picture. (more…)
Book Review: Not My Father’s Son
I’m not one for celebrity memoirs. They tend to be self-indulgent money grabs which aren’t even written by the celebrity 99.9999% of the time – they’re ghost written.
Alan Cumming’s memoir, Not My Father’s Son, is the complete opposite. It’s raw, beautiful, brave, and honest. I really can’t say enough good things about it. (more…)
Book Review: The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules
I fell in love with the idea of this book more than I fell in love with the book itself. The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules, by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg, has an absolutely delightful premise. (more…)
Book Review: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings reads like a work of fiction. It’s vivid, engaging, and tells a fascinating story. But given the traumatic events and circumstances described within it, I wish it were just fiction instead. (more…)
Book Review: Looking for Alaska
Though I read and liked The Fault in Our Stars, I wasn’t sure I was going to foray back into the world of John Green.
Having now read two of his books, it seems as though his style is to write about death and teenagers who aren’t quite teenagers. But I’m getting ahead of myself again. (more…)
Indigo Bookstore Haul
My favourite bookstore, Indigo, was having a sale. This conveniently coincided with my serious craving for excellent new books to devour. (more…)
Book Review: What Would Audrey Do? by Pamela Keogh
Audrey Hepburn is one of my biggest inspirations, so I thought this book would be right up my alley. I admire her kindness, generosity, grace, and sense of style (particularly in the fifties and early sixties).
Unfortunately, What Would Audrey Do? wasn’t quite what I hoped it would be. (more…)
Book Review: Sense and Sensibility
I’m going to say something blasphemous here. The movie was better than the book. (more…)
Book Review: Gone Girl
This book messed me up.
Not emotionally or psychologically (though it certainly does put your mind through its paces and casually and continually flips you on your head) – it messed up my schedule. Quite severely. (more…)
Book Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes)
If you follow me on Twitter, or know me in real life, you know how deep my obsession with the BBC’s Sherlock runs. It’s my absolute favorite show of the moment. (more…)