Biography | Raging Biblio-holism

Moonglow

January 23, 2017 by Drew

The Short Version: A young man named Michael Chabon sits with his grandfather in the weeks before his death, hearing stories about his life. He takes these stories, in turn, and creates a narrative out of them – but, as he expresses at the beginning, the reader might do well to question how much is true and how much is fiction… The Review: The trickery begins before you’ve even started reading the book. Open it, flip page by page – […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Autofiction, Biography, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, Indiespensable, Literature, Memoir, Metafiction, Michael Chabon, Moonglow, Non-Fiction, Reviews, Space, The Tournament of Books 2017

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

November 4, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Nick Flynn never really knew his father Jonathan – had only met him once or twice – until he showed up at the Boston homeless shelter where Nick was working. This is a biography of both men and the circumstances, somewhat, that led them to that shelter together. The Review: Zoinks – that’s two stinkers in a row. Sorry, I know I shouldn’t be saying anything too outright before my BookClub meets to discuss this book… but it […]

Categories: Non-Fiction • Tags: Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, Autobiography, Biography, Memoir, Narrative Non-Fiction, Nick Flynn, Non-Fiction

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The Education of Henry Adams

March 16, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Henry Adams, in the twilight of his days, reflects on his life through the lens of his ‘education’ – both in schools and in social scenes – as the 19th Century crashed into the 20th. The Review: I really hate to do this. And in this instance, I know I’ll be back. But I just can’t finish this book right now. I got it as a gift from a man I’ve come to look up to like […]

Categories: Non-Fiction • Tags: Autobiography, Biography, Henry Adams, Non-Fiction, The Education of Henry Adams

Free For All: Joe Papp, The Public, and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told

August 27, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: An oral history of Joseph Papp’s life – and, perhaps more accurately, the life of the New York Shakespeare Festival and The Public Theater. The Review: I’ve been working at The Public for eight months now and it’s a little embarrassing that I’m only just now getting to this book. I mean, The Public Theater is the most important theater in the country. Even in a lull – and all theaters have lulls – this theater still holds […]

Categories: Non-Fiction • Tags: Biography, Free For All, Joe Papp, Kenneth Turan, Non-Fiction, Oral History, Plays, The Public Theater, Theater

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Wolf Hall

May 7, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: The story of Thomas Cromwell, real-life figure from the reign of Henry VIII. We get a brief glimpse of his life as a boy and then jump forward to his time with Cardinal Wolsey and his eventual rise to Henry’s chief advisor. Meanwhile, in England, Henry is working to fracture the church, Anne Boleyn is working her way into his heart and bed, and most of the English court is playing a double game while they wait to […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Biography, Fiction, Hilary Mantel, Historical, The Rooster, The Tournament of Books 2010, Thomas Cromwell, Wolf Hall

Just Kids

January 18, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: Patti Smith’s autobiographical look at the defining partnership of her life – the one between her and Robert Mapplethorpe. There’s some detail on their lives before they met but this is, entirely, a book about THEM. The Review: My uncle will kill me, but I don’t really know Patti Smith. I mean, I know who she is – but I don’t know her like I know so many of her contemporaries. Yet here’s a woman who […]

Categories: Non-Fiction • Tags: Autobiography, Biography, January 2011, Just Kids, Life, Non-Fiction, Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes

January 8, 2010 by Drew

This was a short one and one that I didn’t really know what to expect from. I mean, Calvin & Hobbes are actually quite probably my favorite characters ever. Desert Island Books? The Complete Calvin & Hobbes is on that list. This book was an attempt to biographize (yep, made up that word) Bill Watterson, a man who left comics at the end of 1995 and has rarely surfaced anywhere since. He is, as the author puts it, something of […]

Categories: Cannonball Read II, Literary Challenges • Tags: Biography, Book #17, Cannonball Read II, Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, Nevin Martell, Non-Fiction

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American Lion

December 14, 2009 by Drew

The last few weeks of the semester are a bitch. You never have enough time to do what you enjoy (reading, drinking, carousing, relaxing, etc) and there’s always a load of work that seems soul-crushing. Sometimes, though, you luck out with one of the assignments. I had to “read a Presidential biography” for The American Presidency. I love politics, I love the Presidency, but I just had the feeling that any book I read would end up putting me to […]

Categories: Cannonball Read II, Literary Challenges • Tags: American Lion, Biography, Book #9, Cannonball Read II, Jon Meacham, Non-Fiction

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Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Tag: Biography

Moonglow

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

The Education of Henry Adams

Free For All: Joe Papp, The Public, and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told

Wolf Hall

Just Kids

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes

American Lion