Blogcritics Category: Books: Nonfiction

Book Review: Knitting For Good! A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change Stitch by Stitch by Betsy Greer

Alyse Wax — Fri, 9 Jan 2009 02:29:05 EST

A guide to creating personal, social, and political change, stitch by stitch.
Betsy Greer believes that positive change can take place via the smallest gesture – including crafting. She has written Knitting for Good! to be “a guide to creating personal, social, and political change, stitch by stitch.” Her book is divided into three sections: knitting for yourself, knitting for your community, and knitting...

Book Review: The Nation Guide to the Nation

Barbara Barnett — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 19:06:54 EST

The Editors of The Nation have compiled this guide to the 21st-century American Left.
The past eight years seemed an eternity. And now with Barack Obama about to become President of the United States, liberal is no longer a label to be uttered in hushed tones. It’s OK to be a card-carrying liberal again! As it has been since it first began publication in 1865, The Nation is the about as close as you can get to being the...

Book Review: The Flat Belly Diet by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass

Robin Kavanagh — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 09:22:33 EST

This skeptic is swayed by a diet that makes sense and is flexible enough for even the most time-crunched life.
Diets are not my thing. I'm a picky eater with some dietary restrictions, and most diets out there are heavy with foods that I either can't stomach or don't like. This makes sticking to these diets hard. Add to that my own concerns about the healthfulness of restricting certain foods and eating more of others, and you've got a recipe for a Grade-A...

Book Review: French Girl Knits by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes

Alyse Wax — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 06:49:33 EST

A beautiful collection of delicate, feminine knitting patterns.
French Girl Knits by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes is the latest knitting book loaded with gorgeous patterns from the people at Interweave Press. The nearly 20 patterns within were all inspired by different aspects of French life and history. “Satine” is an airy fan-lace tunic with scalloped edges. “Sophia” is a dense lace...

Book Review: African Diaries: Sketches & Observations by David G. Derrick Jr.

Fitz — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 06:36:45 EST

Experience Africa through the eyes of an artist.
With two young daughters deeply enjoying art at home and in school, I find myself in the new position of having to look for books that combine art with education. Sometimes these books document the lives of famous artists while showing some of their more well known works. Sometimes I stumble on books that combine travel, education, and art in a...

Aught-Eight Oughts: Favorite Books of the Year (and One Aught-Eight Naught)

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 09:54:25 EST

Featuring Machiavelli, Clarence Darrow, screechy monkeys, D.W. Griffith, a "very special" Golden Girls, Emperor Akbar's court, "man you shoulda seen them kickin' Edgar Allan Poe..."
Although my pick for Best Fiction is of a colorful and considerably multi-layered literary heft, fiction overall for me was put on the back burner in 2008 (bad choice of words perhaps - this isn’t Banned Books Week, is it?). I really found myself, then, pursuing and reading non-fiction titles more, specifically social history, an interest...

Book Review: Buyology - Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom

Alyse Wax — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 05:15:36 EST

Lindstrom presents an interesting theory, one that definitely deserves some study, but I didn't quite buy it with this book.
Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom is an interesting concept with a poor execution. Lindstrom is a marketing and branding expert who has worked for some of the world’s biggest companies, helping them figure out how to market their products.Buyology is the culmination of a three year scientific study into how...

Book Review: Ways Of Escape by Graham Greene

Philip Spires — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 23:42:05 EST

Graham Greene�s development as a writer is described in this, his autobiography. While he denies his genius, Greene constantly if disarmingly reaffirms it.
Ways Of Escape is one of the most rewarding and, surprisingly, surprising reads one might encounter. On the face of it, the book is Graham Greene’s artistic, literary autobiography. A second half and companion volume for A Sort Of Life, Ways Of Escape deals chronologically with Graham Greene’s works, his inspiration and his development...

Book Review: Blog Blazers by Stephane Grenier

Mel Odom — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 17:34:17 EST

A great and compact book on blogs, blogging, and bloggers for anyone interested in starting or improving a blog.
Blogs occupy a large chunk of many people’s days. They start off in the morning reading the latest posts of several blogs they keep track of. Often, these blogs are read for information, entertainment, and new ideas. Millions of people are now blogging, reaching out to unheard-of audiences, and acquiring numbers that television executives...

Interview with Baby Boomer Maggie Rose Crane, Author of Amazing Grays

Dorothy Thompson — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 05:23:02 EST

"By redirecting our focus from our packaging to our essence we are better able to embrace the ongoing circle of life."
Maggie Rose Crane is represented by the interviewer's Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion. Prior to publishing her book, Amazing Grays: A Woman’s Guide to Making the Next 50 the BEST 50 (Regardless of your hair color!), Maggie Rose Crane spent a decade crisscrossing the...