Category Archives for Books

November 21st, 2015

Book Review: Down the Rabbit Hole

Book Review: Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison | Sara du Jour

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…)

21. November 2015 by saradujour
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October 30th, 2015

Book Review: Not That Kind of Girl

Book Review: Not That Kind of Girl | Sara du Jour

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…)

30. October 2015 by saradujour
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January 3rd, 2015

Book Review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner Book Review | Sara du Jour
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…)

03. January 2015 by saradujour
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December 16th, 2014

Book Review: One Day

Book Review: One Day, by David Nicholls | Sara du Jour
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…)

16. December 2014 by saradujour
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November 6th, 2014

Book Review: The Rosie Project

Book Review: The Rosie Project | Sara du Jour

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…)

06. November 2014 by saradujour
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October 24th, 2014

Book Review: Dark Places

Book Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn | Sara du Jour
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…)

24. October 2014 by saradujour
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October 14th, 2014

Book Review: Not My Father’s Son

Alan Cumming Not My Father's Son Book Review

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…)

14. October 2014 by saradujour
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September 18th, 2014

Book Review: The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules

Book Review: The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules - Sara du Jour

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…)

18. September 2014 by saradujour
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August 6th, 2014

Book Review: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou

Book Review: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou - Sara du Jour

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…)

06. August 2014 by saradujour
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July 21st, 2014

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Book Review: Looking for Alaska - Sara du Jour

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…)

21. July 2014 by saradujour
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July 7th, 2014

Indigo Bookstore Haul

Sara du Jour: 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…)

07. July 2014 by saradujour
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July 2nd, 2014

Book Review: What Would Audrey Do? by Pamela Keogh

Sara du Jour Book Review: What Would Audrey Do?

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…)

02. July 2014 by saradujour
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June 12th, 2014

Book Review: Sense and Sensibility

Sara du Jour: Sense and Sensibility Book Review

I’m going to say something blasphemous here. The movie was better than the book. (more…)

12. June 2014 by saradujour
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May 23rd, 2014

Book Review: Gone Girl

Gone Girl Book Review

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…)

23. May 2014 by saradujour
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May 6th, 2014

Book Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes)

book review Sherlock Holmes The Hound of the Baskervilles

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…)

06. May 2014 by saradujour
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