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All in Nonfiction
Rating: 4/5 | I read Endure as part of The Next Big Idea Club with Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Daniel Pink, and Susan Cain. It was very, very interesting, and one of those books that I may not have otherwise picked up but am glad I did. Alex Hutchinson presents a thorough view of the different theories and research about human endurance (is it physical or mental?), weaving stories about real athletes into each chapter to keep you engaged and intrigued.(Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Hunger is a raw, real, scorching work. Roxane Gay is a masterful writer, and she invites readers into the depths of her soul with grace—angry, honest, welcoming grace. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.5/5 | Oh. my goodness. If you love words and language, you have to read this book (literally). Actually, I recommend that you listen to it as an audiobook, as I did. McWhorter is delightful and witty and very funny. Plus, a lot of his points depend on the pronunciation of words and inflection, so I think you'll get a lot more out of it that way. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4/5 | The Checklist Manifesto was a delightful little book. It didn't necessarily teach me anything profound about checklists or how to make them, but it did take a bunch of things I already knew or understood and rearranged them in a way I hadn't considered before. The writing was great; it used good storytelling to feature many exciting examples, so I stayed attentive and intrigued. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4/5 | This was a great book! Schaefer is compelling, entertaining, and moving. I've read a lot of nonfiction books, and they can often move slowly, even if they are saying important things. Not so with Text Me When You Get Home; I zipped through this one in just two days and truly enjoyed every second of it. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Reading Poor Your Soul was a beautiful, heartbreaking, moving experience. I found myself almost hypnotized by Mira Pitacin's masterful use of language and perspective. One evening, after I'd read a particularly emotional section of the book, I actually crawled into bed next to my husband and said, out loud, "I feel sad. Sad in the best way." (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 3/5 | Where to begin? There were things I liked about this book, and there were things that sat awkwardly on my conscience. It was quick and ultra-digestible, and it made me feel inspired to action and hopeful about my professional future, but there were some truth bombs in there that speak to many of the things that are wrong with society today. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4/5 | Ariel Levy's memoir is a punching account of her roller coaster of a life. I listened to her narrate the audiobook, which is far and away my favorite way to do memoirs, and she speaks as eloquently as she writes. She yanked my heart around and dropped truths that feel like guilty secrets to each of us, but that each of us understands all the same. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | If you’re looking to be inspired, learn something, and maybe also kind of sob like a baby, please read this book (or listen to Joe read it himself as an audiobook, like I did). I loved Joe Biden before this book, but now that gut feeling has been affirmed. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4/5 | What Happened is an honest, straightforward, passionate retelling of Hillary Rodham Clinton's experiences leading up to the 2016 election. She tells us why she always loved working in public service, how and why she decided to run for President, the way it felt to have Donald Trump "loom" over her onstage, and her frustration when the media focused on one thing—emails—rather than any of the policy-related things she said or believed. I am glad that I listened to the audiobook version, as she read it herself. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Wow. This is the book I didn't know I was waiting for. In this book, Ellen tells the story of how she was repeatedly promised the world and given the gutter at the behemoth venture capital firm where she worked. Then, she spent hundreds of thousands—if not a million—dollars of her own money to challenge the firm in court. She was eventually out-gunned by the firm's greater financial and legal resources, and she lost, but it was close. She had many, many opportunities to settle the case for a significant sum, but chose to surrender her money in order to be able to write this book and tell her story. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I am always looking for ways to learn new things, especially as it helps me get closer to accomplishing my professional goals. As a result, I've read a lot of books in this "self-help-for-business" genre. At this point, I sometimes feel like I've read all the advice before. This book pleasantly surprised me; all of it was engaging and entertaining as well as educational and thought-provoking. I learned something new and related the lessons back to my experiences with every turn of the page. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 3/5 | This book was not my favorite, but it was enlightening. As someone who works in digital marketing, Martinez' insights into the actual day-to-day of Silicon Valley, and especially Facebook, were fascinating. As someone who recently finished business school and conducted a job search, they were even more so. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 3/5 | Some self-help books are amazing. This one wasn't bad, but it didn't necessarily open my eyes to anything revolutionary.Arianna Huffington is an impressive woman, and she writes well. She also has a lot of interesting stories and snippets of knowledge that keep this book engaging. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I didn't study English or literature in college, but I wish I had taken at least one or two classes. I love to read, and I'm sure there are deeper meanings I'm missing. I did some poking around online to figure out the best way to get started, and I found my way to this book. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I recommend that you do too. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 3/5 | I do not consider myself an artist or someone who is regularly creative, but I still got a lot of good information out of this book. I actually listened to it as an audiobook, which I love to do with memoirs and similar books because they are usually read by the author themself. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I picked this book up shortly after it was released, knowing that Michael Eric Dyson is a well-known, well-liked author who does a good job of framing social justice issues. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This book seems like it is the original from which all other leadership books have been born. Dale Carnegie's advice is simple, straightforward, and timeless. Nothing is revolutionary, but it is all framed in a way that makes it easy to remember and apply in your daily life. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | You don't have to love grammar and language to enjoy this book, but if you do love words, it's positively delightful. Mary Norris writes exactly as well as you'd expect her to, and she's just as lovely as The New Yorker itself. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | What an absolutely beautiful book by an absolutely beautiful person. I often find memoirs interesting, but it is rare that I find them so moving. Paul is not only a brilliant doctor with a unique story to tell but also a fantastic writer. (Click the post to read more.)
