Non-Fiction

Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest etc…

2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

Do not let the fact that it took me more than a week to finish Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States stop you from picking this book up today. I loved it. Maybe because I’m a fan of dishwashing? Or maybe because I’m a fan of fringe jobs, fringe people, fringe lifestyles. Or maybe because it was just fun.

It left me with a longing to start my own 50 state challenge. It left me wondering which Italian restaurant he dished at in Gainesville. It left me disappointed that I had never stumbled across the Dishwasher Zine.

I loved the book and love Dishwasher Pete.

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Fathers and Sons: Autobiography of a Family

2007, Books in Bed, Don't Read This, Non-Fiction, Queer /

OK. Well. I finished Fathers and Sons: Autobiography of a Family. I don’t really recommend it – unless you are a fan of one of the Waughs. I am not. Why I spent more than a week reading this is really beyond me.

I thought it would be interesting. And I guess it was. But it was also tiresome. The Waugh men – ugh. Just, UGH. That’s about all I can say. Some woman in their lives should have just shaken them – or shot them. (I should say that the author of the book I don’t necessarily include in the shaken or shot idea. He seems like a nice enough guy and he survived generations of Waugh fathering. I’ll reserve judgment though until his children write their books.)

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The Wayward Muse

2007, Books in Bed, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Women /

I wanted to love The Wayward Muse but I didn’t. Part fiction, part non-fiction – it just didn’t grab me. I wanted to like Jane Burden but I didn’t. I wanted to like Morris and Rossetti and I didn’t. I didn’t care anything about any of them and that’s disappointing because I really do like all three – the real people, not the people as “characters” in this book.

Disappointing.

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She’s Such a Geek

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Feminism, Non-Fiction, Women /

I’m not a geek, not really. Certainly not the type of geek found in She’s Such a Geek. My lack of geekness doesn’t prevent me from enjoying geeks or books about geeks or stories written by geeks. Thank goodness for that or else I’d have totally missed out on the pleasure derived from reading the stories of people like Analee, Violet Blue, Wendy and all of the other geek girls who shared their stories in this fabulous little book.


Being a BlogHer, I obviously enjoyed Wendy’s story about BlogHerCon vs DefCon. Loved it and am extra sorry that I missed the very first BlogHer Con and am extra grateful not to have missed BlogHerCon 6 and 7! If you’re a BlogHer and you’ve seen that little book ad on the left nav for She’s Such a Geek and wondered if it was worth reading – it totally is. If you have daughters, you should buy it and put it on their bookshelves – even if they aren’t geek girls. It’s not just a “geek positive” books, it’s a “woman positive” book. Read it and share it with everyone. You won’t be sorry.


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Deer Hunting with Jesus

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Daily Dose, Favorites, Health and Wellness, Money Talks, News and Politics, Non-Fiction, Religion /

And to think I almost skipped reading Deer Hunting with Jesus, that would have been a shame particularly since I’ve invoked the “C word” quite a bit over the last few months.

Liberals, (politicians and their supporters), should do themselves (and the country) a favor and read Deer Hunting with Jesus. Then, spend some time figuring out how to talk to the working class poor because the status quo is simply not cutting it. Millions of people in this country are under-educated, over-worked and under-paid and they do not have time, interest or knowledge to sort out the rhetoric and propaganda. They can’t relate to wealthy politicians of any political persuasion but they can relate to the conservative BS that scares them or inspires them and doesn’t make it necessary for them to do any thinking – all they have to do is believe in God, Country and Family … and they do. A little healthy fear of people who aren’t like them gets tossed in for good measure and the republican vote is all locked up.

As an aside, it was a pleasant surprise to skim through the Acknowledgments for the book and see one of my favorite blogs listed: Peacebang… Joe Bageant has great taste in religious bloggers.

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Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – and Doesn’t

2007, Books in Bed, Daily Dose, Non-Fiction, Religion /

Well. Religious Literacy…. was interesting in places. And boring as hell in other places. Pretty much like religion in general, in my never humble opinion.

I would definitely agree with the author, the US is a country full of believers who are ridiculously uninformed or misinformed about the religion they say the belong to. And they know even less about religions they do not belong to.

I would also agree with the author that removing religion, and The Bible in particular, from public education settings was probably not the best idea. The problem is that I don’t think there is any good solution to the problem. Americans are quick to cry foul and no matter what you do someone is definitely going to cry foul.

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The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative

2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative is a book that wound up on my library reserve list but I’m not sure how it got there. It feels like it was recommended on a blog but maybe not. I’m tempted to say TW reserved it from something that she read but it’s very much a “Denise” type of book so – who knows. However it got there, (feel free to jump in and take credit if you’ve blogged about it at some point in the last 2 months), I’m glad.

It is a very “Denise” book – I collect creation stories and there are some creation stories here. There are also some very excellent stories of other types, all about “Indians” or “Native Americans” or just “Natives” if you prefer. I love the way King starts every chapter in exactly the same way and ends each chapter in almost exactly the same way. Brilliant – particularly for a book about stories – and a book about truth.

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Nickie’s Nook: Sharing the Journey

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

I’ve blogged about Nickie before – several times, actually. I first discovered her blog when writing a post for BlogHer about Guide Dogs. I’ve been reading her work ever since and learning something new with just about every single post that she makes.


When she announced she had written a “blook“, I bought it: Nickie’s Nook: Sharing the Journey. Not the digital download, I bought the real thing and I was thrilled when it arrived. I spent my spare time today reading it and while some of it reads like a “blook” most of it reads like a “book” – a real live, honest to goodness book. Many of the essays and entries in it, I’ve read before on her blog. But many of them were new to me – either published on her blog before I was reading it or published when I was swamped and just skimmed. Or maybe they didn’t come from her blog at all, I’m not sure. It doesn’t matter – what does matter is that once again, Nickie taught me stuff – and she got me thinking about things I probably would never have thought about. Nickie is very, very good at that.

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Black Mountain Poets

2007, Books in Bed, Homeschool, Non-Fiction, Poetry /

I reserved Understanding the Black Mountain Poets when we were researching poets for Michelle to study, and hopefully fall in love with. Three problems with this book. First, it’s an inter-library loan and since it’s not easy (and sometimes not possible) to renew these, I always feel “rushed”. This is not a book you can rush through, unless you really know the “big 3” Black Mountain Poets. And there you have problems 2 and 3. This is not a book you can rush through. It’s not a biography. It was dry, dry, dry. It did put me to sleep once, and that never happens. And, I’m not a huge fan of Olsen, Duncan and Creeley. I like some of their work well enough, but I am not a huge fan. And I don’t know the last time I read one of their poems, much less a lot of their poems.

So, this was a tough book. It was interesting. But tough.

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