competitivenonfiction

competitivenonfiction's Reviews:

And with a mystery about a crazy socialite, that’s cannonball!

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little

December 30, 2014 by competitivenonfiction 6 Comments

This is a very strange novel to finish the cannonball on. I feel like after 4 years of attempting the cannonball, I should have finished on something deep and meaningful. Instead I picked up the good, but not exactly deep, Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little, the story of a young woman named Janie Jenkins who was convicted of killing her socialite mother ten years ago. Released on a technicality, many still believe she did it and Janie herself isn’t sure what happened that night, but she is determined to find out. Working off of a long shot lead, she leaves prison with […]

12/30/2014 competitivenonfiction's CBR6 Review No:52 |

Beautiful and one of the saddest books I’ve read this year

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

December 30, 2014 by competitivenonfiction Leave a Comment

I read Still Alice based on a recommendation from a few friends. An incredibly powerful and moving novel, it impacted me immediately and has stuck with me since. Still Alice is the story of a Harvard psychology professor who finds that she is losing pieces of herself. It’s a sad and moving portrayal of a woman losing the things that defined her. When Alice can’t find her way home on a run through Harvard Square, she knows something is very wrong. Initially, she wonders if it’s menopause or depression, but her neurologist quickly rules out those possibilities and settles on the terrifying diagnosis […]

12/30/2014 competitivenonfiction's CBR6 Review No:51 |

Absolutely Stunning

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

December 30, 2014 by competitivenonfiction Leave a Comment

Immediately after reading Wild, I posted on facebook, tagging all the women I know who hike, who camp, who have mothers, who are imperfectly trying to make their way through the world, who have made mistakes, who have thrown themselves into life, and who are absolutely fucking magnificent. This was an incredibly and beautifully powerful book, earning every bit of praise it has been given. I say this knowing full well that there are people out there who vehemently disagree with me.I have read a few reviews where Strayed is criticized for not giving back enough, for being selfish, for being unprepared […]

12/30/2014 competitivenonfiction's CBR6 Review No:50 |

A resounding meh

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

December 30, 2014 by competitivenonfiction Leave a Comment

I enjoyed Me Before You, even with it’s faults, and wanted something light after The Art of Baking Blind and the Book of Fate, so I decided to pick up Jojo Moyes’s latest, One Plus One. I wound up liking this less than Me Before You, but for entirely different reasons. The plot was similar in that it was about a woman who was somewhat down on her luck being saved by a rich man who was down on his luck in other ways. However, I found that this book had fewer cloying cliches about how we’re all supposed to dance while no one […]

12/30/2014 competitivenonfiction's CBR6 Review No:49 |

Prepare to eat way too many pastries

The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan

December 30, 2014 by competitivenonfiction Leave a Comment

Wow. This was far better than I expected it to be. Sarah Vaughan could have taken this particular plot in many different directions. She could have gotten bogged down with the different plot lines, or taken the cooking contest too far. She could have made the stories trite or silly. She could have made the solutions and consequences simple, or easy. Instead, she created 5 different and compelling storylines that tied together, not completely, not perfectly, but satisfyingly. The Art of Baking Blind managed to make me hungry for baked goods while pulling me into a compelling and interesting collection of plots. […]

12/30/2014 competitivenonfiction's CBR6 Review No:48 |

I’m embarrassed that I even read this.

Chloe Sparrow by Lesley Crewe

December 30, 2014 by competitivenonfiction Leave a Comment

*Upon posting this review I learned that this book isn’t available on amazon.com, only amazon.ca. However if any Americans are out there thinking “hey, I’d love to try a Canadian author and this one isn’t even available in the States, how cool is that?” just stop, give yourself a shake and get something from any of the millions of other amazing authors that Canada has to offer. I’ll have to check the manual but I may have to give myself ten lashes for turning people away from a Canadian author.* This is quite possibly the most forgettable book I read in […]

12/30/2014 competitivenonfiction's CBR6 Review No:47 |

Everyone’s favourite Lorelei

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

December 30, 2014 by competitivenonfiction Leave a Comment

As a dedicated Gilmore Girls and Parenthood fan, when I heard that Lauren Graham wrote a book I obviously had to read it. In Someday, Someday, Maybe, Graham tells the story of a young actress ready to find her break in 1995 New York. It’s easy to speculate that at least some of the book is based on the real life experiences of a young Lauren Graham trying to make it as an actress in the big city, but this is a not a biography. It is, however, a thoroughly enjoyable story about a young woman following her dreams even when she has difficulty explaining them. Read More…

12/30/2014 competitivenonfiction's CBR6 Review No:46 |

More Poehler Please

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

December 30, 2014 by competitivenonfiction Leave a Comment

Amy Poehler, comedienne, best friend of Tina Fey, SNL alumni, genius behind Parks and Recreation, brains behind Smart Girls at the Party, and all around general ass-kicker, wrote a book. And it’s good. In fact it’s great. I’ll avoid comparisons to Bossypants, Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me?, and the other recent biographies written by the various funny women we’re so lucky to have in our lives, except to say that I’m so so glad to live in a time when women like Poehler, Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling and their contemporaries are doing the amazing, intelligent work that they are doing. We still have a […]

12/30/2014 competitivenonfiction's CBR6 Review No:45 |

Meg on A Tidy Little MysteryHugh Fraser played the part of Colonel Hastings in the BBC Poirot series. He's my favorite narrator.
teresaelectro on I just wanted to do my job.This book is on my TBR list, but sounds like a library situation and not an instabuy. Thanks for the review!
narfna on A Tidy Little MysteryYou're welcome!
Ellesfena on A Tidy Little MysteryYes, I think it may have been abridged as well. Thanks for the narrator recs, I’ll look for them on the next one!
narfna on I know it means he’s not working on Winds of WinterFun trivia: https://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/140682-confirmed-brienne-confirmed-descendant-of-dunk/