In A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage explores the history of six influential beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola (and by extension, Pepsi and other colas.) He examines each drink meticulously, exploring how it was discovered and rose to popularity, and how it influenced… Read more »
September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day, so here’s a list of pirate books to get you in the mood. Cover links take you to Goodreads. (Note: I haven’t read a lot of these, so read at your own risk, me hearties!) For children (of all ages): For older… Read more »
Publisher’s description: “Our lives are so filled with junk from the past-from dried up tubes of glue to old grudges-that it’s a wonder we can get up in the morning,” exclaims motivator, best-selling author, columnist, and life coach Gail Blanke.“If you want to grow, you gotta let go,” is Blanke’s… Read more »
Category: Nonfiction; science Publisher: Little, Brown, & Company (2010) Book Source: Public library (audiobook) The Periodic Table is one of man’s crowning scientific achievements. But it’s also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon,… Read more »
Category: Nonfiction Subject: Writing, creativity, and creative block How I got the book: Public library The Sound of Paper: Starting From Scratch is a series of related chapter or essays on creativity and creative blocks. Author Julia Cameron (The Artist’s Way) begins each essay (or chapter) by musing on some… Read more »
“Top Ten Tuesday” is a weekly blog feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is Top Ten Beach Reads. This is the first time I’ve participated. First a confession: I don’t really like the beach. I don’t like being hot, I sunburn quite easily, and I’m… Read more »
Below Stairs is the memoir which (in part) inspired both Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey. Born in 1907 to an impoverished family, Margaret Powell relinquished a scholarship she couldn’t afford to take up and entered domestic service as a kitchen maid — the lowest of the female servants — at… Read more »
