Beautiful Boy, by David Sheff, and Tweak, by Nic Sheff

I read each of these books in a day (that’s two days for the both of them, if math’s not your strong point). I think I may have mentioned before that I have a weakness for memoirs about addiction and recovery, but this father-and-son set of books were, in their way, even more compelling [...]

The Film Club, by David Gilmour

I picked this one up in a bookstore awhile ago and was fascinated with the concept, though not enough to lay down actual money for it — I waited till it came to my library.  It’s a memoir about how writer and film critic David Gilmour allowed his teenaged son Jesse to drop out of school [...]

Bright Shiny Morning, by James Frey

Oh dear. What can I say?
You all remember James Frey, right? He wrote a hugely successful memoir about his experiences with addiction and recovery which I, along with millions of other people, devoured and found fascinating. I reviewed and commented upon it on my old blog, but strangely, it wasn’t till this woman named Oprah [...]

The Senator’s Wife, by Sue Miller

Sue Miller is one of those writers you can trust.  I’m hard-pressed to think of any author, except Anne Tyler, with whom I can feel more confident that when I pick up a novel I am going to get a good, well-written story with some thoughtful insight into character. 
The Senator’s Wife alternates between the perspective [...]

Dirt Music, by Tim Winton

So after I read The Turning, I said I wanted to read a novel by Tim Winton. I picked Dirt Music mainly because it was such a great title.  It’s a story set in Western Australia, about an unlikely liason between two people who are both at the end of their rope in one way [...]

Jesus for President, by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw

Shane Claiborne’s first book, The Irresistible Revolution, was one of the most influential and thought-provoking books I read last year. I wasn’t sure if I would like Jesus for President as much, since from the title and opening pages it seemed very much addressed to a U.S. readership. But Shane’s writing is so [...]