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theresidentbookworm's reviews
1765 reviews
The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding Of Facebook by Ben Mezrich
5.0
Poor Mark Zuckerberg! First, his former best friend and three old classmates sue him. Then said best friend helps with the research of a book that turns him into a jackass. THEN that book gets made into a Academy Award nominated movie that makes him really look like a jackass. I'm not even sure what really happened because I've never heard Zuckerberg's side anywhere. All I know is that The Social Network was amazing and the reason I finally got a Facebook. The Accidental Billionaires, something I read after seeing the movie, was equally enjoyable if not nearly as scandalous. Recommended!
Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
3.0
I wish I could say I thoroughly enjoyed this biography, but I can't. Ms. Heiligman tells the story of Charles and Emma excellently. It's more like reading a novel than a biography, actually. For once, I felt like Charles Darwin was a real person and not a name in my textbook. It's no flaw of hers that I can't enjoy this book. It's just my complete lack of interest in any science relate subject. Others might find this more enjoyable than I.
Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller
3.0
Let me start by saying that I love Ayn Rand's work. I love her novels, particularly We the Living. I usually try to ignore the crazy philosophy aspect and concentrate on the story and the characters. Rand was a truly great wonder, and there's a lot to be found in her work, but her whole Philosophy is crazy. She's basically an extreme Republican, which I can understand coming from Soviet Union, but still. I still can't believe that so many people flocked to her and basically turned over their lives to her. I felt so bad for Frank. His wife overshadowed him, and yet he still tried to love her and live a peaceful life. I hated her view on religion since I'm a strong Catholic. In Ayn Rand's world, you should work for what you want and screw everyone else. People who try to do things for someone are selfish. Seriously? Society could never realistically function like that. Hate to burst any bubbles, but it's true.
Still, a very interesting insight into Ayn Rand. It's definitely a good read.
Still, a very interesting insight into Ayn Rand. It's definitely a good read.
Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson
5.0
I've been a Louisa May Alcott fan since middle school, but I never considered myself a super big fan. I read Little Women in the second grade in attempt to earn more points in our reading program and accidentally fell in love. I got my own copy two years later for Christmas, and I liked it even more after my reread. Then I borrowed (and never returned) Eight Cousins from a teacher and found another great read. Still, I only bought this biography because I was at this giant book sale, and I do love a good biography. It sat on my bookshelf for two years before I decided I needed a good history read before I graduated high school. I actually finished this the night before I graduated.
John Matteson clearly earned his Pulitzer Prize for Biography. I didn't even know that there were Pulitzer awards for Biography, but if it hadn't existed before I would have demanded it for Matteson. He has meticulously researched this biography, but more than that he breathed life back into his subjects. I felt like I was peering in the Alcott family's window and casually observing their lives. Sometimes it did drag a bit, but I kept going because I was always genuinely interested. Matteson did not just state facts and names. He connects you to these events and people. He makes you care about the Alcotts and be invested in the father-daughter relationship his biography focuses on. It's rare that I feel this much emotion reading a biography. It is an excellent, human, and sympathetic portrait of a father and daughter. The fact they both have fame to their names as writers makes it even more fascinating.
Eden's Outcast is the best biography I have read this year and possibly ever. I highly recommend for Alcott fans and just casual history buffs.
John Matteson clearly earned his Pulitzer Prize for Biography. I didn't even know that there were Pulitzer awards for Biography, but if it hadn't existed before I would have demanded it for Matteson. He has meticulously researched this biography, but more than that he breathed life back into his subjects. I felt like I was peering in the Alcott family's window and casually observing their lives. Sometimes it did drag a bit, but I kept going because I was always genuinely interested. Matteson did not just state facts and names. He connects you to these events and people. He makes you care about the Alcotts and be invested in the father-daughter relationship his biography focuses on. It's rare that I feel this much emotion reading a biography. It is an excellent, human, and sympathetic portrait of a father and daughter. The fact they both have fame to their names as writers makes it even more fascinating.
Eden's Outcast is the best biography I have read this year and possibly ever. I highly recommend for Alcott fans and just casual history buffs.
Charlotte Bronte: The Self Conceived by Helene Moglen
3.0
Very interesting, but a little over my head. It probably would've made more sense if I had read all of Charlotte Bronte's works beforehand. This is definitely something I'll have to refer back to when I finish the rest of her novels.
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak
5.0
Here's my dirty little secret: I was never into Nancy Drew mysteries. I was ten or eleven by the time I read the first one, and I was already beyond that reading level. I've never been one for mysteries, and after the first four I figured out the formula to the books. Needless to say, I didn't finish the series. Still, when I spotted this at Bargain Books for a ridiculously low price, I had to get it. Regardless of my opinion of her, Nancy Drew is a part of literary history.
I was more enthralled with the history of Nancy Drew than I ever was with her mysteries. Melanie Rehak takes you from the late 1800s when Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of the Startemeyer Syndicate, was born to 2002 when Mildred Wirt Benson, original ghostwriter of Nancy Drew, dies. This is not just a history of Nancy Drew and the women who created her as the title proclaims. It is a history of the women in America: their struggle to earn the vote, their adventures in the '20s, their emergence in the workforce during World War II, and their renewed interest in women's rights in the 1960s. It is also a history of juvenile fiction publishing, how the market worked, and how the Startmeyer Syndicate operated. I found all of this extremely fascinating. I knew Nancy Drew was written by various authors, but I didn't know much else. Two women are key to Nancy: Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Startemyer Adams. Of the two, I preferred Mildred. She was spunky, hardworking, and unwilling to compromise Nancy's independent spirit. I was interested in hearing about the University of Iowa's journalism bachelor degree and how it got started. As a writer, I felt frustration along with Mildred when she didn't get the credit due to her. I liked Mildred so much I was mad when I read that her second husband died. I thought to myself, "How many times can a kickass woman like that be widowed?" Still, Harriet did play a crucial rule in Nancy Drew's history, and I have to give her props for running a company at a time where it was taboo for a married mother to work. She guarded her father's work and his company fiercely, which is admirable no matter what you think of her management skills.
I enjoyed Girl Sleuth much more than I thought I would. I definitely recommend, and I just might have to go back to the original 1930s Nancy Drews for a reread. Maybe I'll see her differently now.
I was more enthralled with the history of Nancy Drew than I ever was with her mysteries. Melanie Rehak takes you from the late 1800s when Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of the Startemeyer Syndicate, was born to 2002 when Mildred Wirt Benson, original ghostwriter of Nancy Drew, dies. This is not just a history of Nancy Drew and the women who created her as the title proclaims. It is a history of the women in America: their struggle to earn the vote, their adventures in the '20s, their emergence in the workforce during World War II, and their renewed interest in women's rights in the 1960s. It is also a history of juvenile fiction publishing, how the market worked, and how the Startmeyer Syndicate operated. I found all of this extremely fascinating. I knew Nancy Drew was written by various authors, but I didn't know much else. Two women are key to Nancy: Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Startemyer Adams. Of the two, I preferred Mildred. She was spunky, hardworking, and unwilling to compromise Nancy's independent spirit. I was interested in hearing about the University of Iowa's journalism bachelor degree and how it got started. As a writer, I felt frustration along with Mildred when she didn't get the credit due to her. I liked Mildred so much I was mad when I read that her second husband died. I thought to myself, "How many times can a kickass woman like that be widowed?" Still, Harriet did play a crucial rule in Nancy Drew's history, and I have to give her props for running a company at a time where it was taboo for a married mother to work. She guarded her father's work and his company fiercely, which is admirable no matter what you think of her management skills.
I enjoyed Girl Sleuth much more than I thought I would. I definitely recommend, and I just might have to go back to the original 1930s Nancy Drews for a reread. Maybe I'll see her differently now.
Shakespeare's Tremor and Orwell's Cough: The Medical Lives of Famous Writers by John J. Ross
2.0
Long story short, this book is well-written and researched by someone who clearly knows what they are talking about, but it holds absolutely no interest for me. It's more of something I'd like to read in a quick newspaper article than a 300 page book. I did learn some interesting tidbits though. I'll share some with you.
1. Franklin Pierce, our 14th president, was good friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne. In fact, he was with him on a trip when Hawthorne died.
2. Hawthorne and Herman Meville were also friends for a time.
3. Many writers from the 19th and 20th century would probably be diagnosed with some kind of mental illness, social phobia, or Asperger's syndrome.
4. TB probably killed all the Brontes.
5. Ezra Pound had some kind of really weird three way relationship with his wife and mistress and was also a huge Fascist.
1. Franklin Pierce, our 14th president, was good friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne. In fact, he was with him on a trip when Hawthorne died.
2. Hawthorne and Herman Meville were also friends for a time.
3. Many writers from the 19th and 20th century would probably be diagnosed with some kind of mental illness, social phobia, or Asperger's syndrome.
4. TB probably killed all the Brontes.
5. Ezra Pound had some kind of really weird three way relationship with his wife and mistress and was also a huge Fascist.
Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer
3.0
Stolen from my dad's library, I discovered two things. 1). Joe DiMaggio was kind of a greedy bastard. 2). He really did love Marilyn Monroe. Of course, Marilyn Monroe was what initially drew my attention to this biography. The Marilyn chapters were my favorite. I really did think they loved each other, but it just didn't work out. I loved the fact he put roses on her grave every week until he died. Now that's devotion. That and his phenomenal baseball playing might just redeem him from his greediness and cold disregard of most people. It didn't make you hate DiMaggio, which could've been easier. I don't know if Marilyn and Joe were really going to get remarried when she died, but I'd like to believe it just because I like happy endings.
I'd recommend if you were a sports buff, particularly baseball, but it's not for everybody.
I'd recommend if you were a sports buff, particularly baseball, but it's not for everybody.
Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich by Mark Kriegel
4.0
Yet another sports biography I stole from my dad. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, however. I really couldn't believe some of the techniques Press used to train Pete. As a girl who's been a coach's kid, I can sympathize. Still, Pistol Pete was a great basketball player, and I can never trash good basketball playing. Definitely recommended for basketball buffs!
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis
4.0
Honestly, you don't need me to tell you to read this. The Blind Side was an unbelievably amazing movie, and this is simply the movie extended and actually true to the facts. The only reason it didn't get a five is that some of the football talk here is way over my head. My dad constantly drags me to high school football games (my school doesn't have a team), and I still can't figure out what they're trying to do at there. Despite this, I would recommend The Blind Side simply for the story of Michael Oher America fell in love with onscreen.