Synopsis: When Pete discovers his mother is living in a filthy hoard, he tries to get her help–not realizing that her problems may have a supernatural origin. Review: I loved the idea of marrying a zombie story to a hoarder story, but I did feel like The Hoard petered out and ended on an unsatisfactory note. But up until the last few pages, I really couldn’t put it down and even got pretty freaked out–not to mention grossed out. Many thanks to DarkFuse for the…
Synopsis: Subtitled: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life. Review: The Hoarder in You is a self help book for people who struggle with clutter and hoarding. I’m a very very organized person and find hoarding fascinating, and Dr. Zasio is one of my favorite experts on A&E’s Hoarders. I actually got some good counseling tips that will help in my volunteer work!
Synopsis: Subtitled “Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance.” Review: In Superfreakonomics, economist Levitt and journalist Dubner use principles of economics to understand the vagaries of human behavior. As they put it, human beings respond to incentives, and through looking at some very fascinating studies they show over and over again that this is the case, in bizarrely complex ways.
Synopsis: The story of Squanto, the Native American who helped the pilgrims and journeyed to England. Review: I read Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims, aloud to my almost 5-year-old, and I have to say I’m a little obsessed. First of all, I was prepared to stop if it veered into anything offensive, like a noble savage stereotype, and that never happened. All I felt like I needed to explain was that we don’t say “Indian” anymore, we say “Native American.” Bulla does give Squanto a…
Synopsis: After a popular parish council member drops dead from an aneurysm, the bucolic English town of Pagford comes undone over fears about how a new council member might upset the balance of power with the encroachment of council flats from the next town over. Review: The Casual Vacancy isn’t quite as high concept as JK Rowling’s more familiar works, but most good novels defy my particular brand of glib summarization. I always enjoy a complicated soap opera and I appreciated how deftly Rowling wove…