Since I’ve been blogging about tons of children’s books lately, I thought I’d mix it up a little and tell you what I thought of this lengthy, mostly serious, near-encyclopedic history of science. I’ve read just about every book Bill Bryson has written, but it wasn’t until I listened to this one that I was [...]

I’ve never found a book on etymology or language in general that I haven’t loved at first sight, but this one should appeal to even those among us who aren’t completely obsessed with words.  The Word Snoop includes great explanations of why English is so complicated and unusually arbitrary-appearing in its grammar and spelling and [...]

I picked this one up while touring the fascinating FDR Presidential Library & Museum back in January and was inspired to read it cover to cover after spending a lovely afternoon at  the Washington’s Headquarters Museum in Morristown, New Jersey.   I had been thinking for quite some time that I should really work on learning [...]

THE DAY THE WORLD EXPLODED AUGUST 27, 1883

Looking back I am not really sure why I bought this book except that upon opening it, I saw that it was neatly broken up by regions of New Jersey and then smaller subsections with towns in New Jersey.  I couldn’t help but skim over the “ghostly places” in the towns I know best.  Then [...]

Father’s Day. It’s coming up this Sunday and I know we all wait until the last minute to go shopping, so here I present my suggestion for the impossible-to-shop-for dad. Because so many of us have them – the ones who have no hobbies, or they only have one hobby, for which you’ve already bought [...]

I have read most of Bill Bryson’s works and love his dry sense of humor, originality, and cultural insights.  I also love his delivery (having previously listened to A Walk in the Woods), so I decided to check out from my local library the audio version of his recent memoir.  I have never enjoyed my [...]

If you happen to be a confirmed bibliophile interested in history, world cultures, or art, absorbing the riveting content of Book is a highly recommended activity.  Heavily illustrated in full color, the chapters predictably but fascinatingly discuss the development of hieroglyphics, alphabets, libraries, printing, paper-making, and bookbinding, but also delve into illuminated manuscript and marbling [...]