Category: Nonfiction

Cover for The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland

Review: The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

May 18, 2023

Trigger Warnings: graphic death; genocide; torture; physical abuse; starvation; PTSD; survivor’s guilt; infanticide; cheating; alcohol use; paranoia; abusive relationship; suicide of a child; cancer;  “Information is necessary, to be sure, but it is never sufficient. Information must also be believed…Only when information is combined with belief does it become knowledge, and only knowledge leads to … More Review: The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

Cover for Your Tarot Toolkit by Ru-Lee Story

ARC Review: Your Tarot Toolkit: Simple Activities for Your Daily Practice by Ru-Lee Story

February 7, 2023

This is an informative and wonderfully written guide to Tarot. This book breaks each card down by giving a general overview of the card, and then providing affirmations, reflections and activities. The activities within this book are perfect because a lot of them are writing based or simple activities that are easier to fit into … More ARC Review: Your Tarot Toolkit: Simple Activities for Your Daily Practice by Ru-Lee Story

Cover for The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris

ARC Review: The Facemaker: One Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris

June 7, 2022

The Facemaker tells the story of pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Delf Gillies, who dedicated his life to reconstructing the faces of injured soldiers in his care during World War I. After reading The Butchering Art, Fizharris’ first book, I knew that I would want to read any future books that she wrote. This book surpassed … More ARC Review: The Facemaker: One Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris

Cover for The Big Book of Tarot Meanings by Sam Magdaleno

ARC Review: The Big Book of Tarot Meanings: The Beginner’s Guide to Reading the Cards by Sam Magdaleno

April 13, 2022

This is a wonderful beginners book to understanding tarot cards. This book breaks down each card into eight categories: beginnings, career, finances, romance, friends & family, health, higher guidance, and outcome. Both upright and reversed meanings are given for each of these as well.  This book uses the Raider-Waite Tarot deck but if you have … More ARC Review: The Big Book of Tarot Meanings: The Beginner’s Guide to Reading the Cards by Sam Magdaleno

Cover for The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

Review: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte

April 1, 2022

This was a fascinating and very comprehensive look at the history of dinosaurs. Brusatte starts from the Early Triassic period, roughly 250 million years ago, all the way to the Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago, when a giant meteor struck the earth.  Like any child of the 90s, I grew up watching Jurassic Park … More Review: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte

Cover for All that Remains by Sue Black

Review: All that Remains: A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes by Sue Black

March 29, 2022

Trigger Warnings: Graphic depictions of death and dissection. Discussions of hate crimes, murder, death of a family members and parents, grief, guilt, dementia, physician-assisted suicide, suicide, terrorist attacks, genocide, death of children, musophobia (fear of rodents), PTSD, pedophilia, child abuse Sue Black is a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology in the UK and confronts … More Review: All that Remains: A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes by Sue Black

Cover for Coal Country by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

Review: Coal Country by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

March 18, 2022

As a West Virginian I remember this disaster and the trial that occurred afterwards. I picked this up because it included interviews with the families BUT the voices you hear are not the actual family members but voice actors.  I have mixed feelings about this audiobook. The interview portions were very emotional and captured the … More Review: Coal Country by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

Cover for Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery

Review: Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery

March 16, 2022

Temple Grandin is a woman who changed the world of livestock industry. She advocated for better conditions for livestock animals and humane ways to kill them. She is also an advocate for autism and shows how autistic people can contribute to society.  I first learned about Temple in college and I remember watching a short … More Review: Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery

Cover for Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

Review: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

March 15, 2022

Trigger Warnings: Discussions of racism, domestic abuse, sexual abuse,  miscarriages, abortions, gun violence, police violence, harassment, fatphobia, eating disorders, food insecurities PTSD, suicide, victim blaming, mental illness, human trafficking, femicide, cultural appropriation, teacher discrimination and bullying.  “One of the biggest issues with mainstream feminist writing has been the way the idea of what constitutes a … More Review: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Cover for Written in Bone by Sue Black

Review: Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black

March 14, 2022

Trigger Warnings: Discussions of pedophilia, murder, serial killers, prostitution, child death and abuse, rape, molestation, survivors guilt, torture, and executions. Graphic descriptions of dead bodies.  Forensic anthropologist Sue Black takes on a journey to show how pieces of our remains can be used to solve crimes. She draws on her own experiences and case work … More Review: Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black

Cover for Jews Don't Count by David Baddiel

Review: Jews Don’t Count: How Identity Politics Failed One Particular Identity by David Baddiel

March 11, 2022

Trigger Warnings: Discussions of antisemitism, racism, blackface, Islamophobia, conspiracy theories, transphobia, J.K. Rowling, cancel culture.  Jews Don’t Count: How Identity Politics Failed One Particular Identity discusses the ignored history of antisemitism and how people don’t count Jews as real minorities, even when they should.  This book was great. David Baddiel talks about a lot of … More Review: Jews Don’t Count: How Identity Politics Failed One Particular Identity by David Baddiel

Cover for The Chick and the Dead by Carla Valentine

Review: The Chick and The Dead: Life Behind Mortuary Doors by Carla Valentine

March 1, 2022

Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage. Grief. Cheating. Depression. Detailed descriptions of animal deaths. Autopsies on babies discussed. Detailed descriptions of autopsies.  Death of family members. Discussion of suicide victims and their bodies. Negative work environment that included jokes against weight, disabilities, and emotions.  Carla Valentine is a pathologist who worked for years doing postmortems, but is now … More Review: The Chick and The Dead: Life Behind Mortuary Doors by Carla Valentine