Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

On the aftermath of her mother’s death and a divorce, Cheryl Strayed hiked a large portion of the Pacific Crest Trail, the west coast cousin to the Appalachian Trail that cuts through blazing desert and snow-logged mountains alike.  The trail at first began as a sort of escape, and Cheryl thought initially that she’d prepared properly, [...]

The Great Northern Express by Howard Frank Mosher

The author, in his 60s and recovering from cancer, takes to the road on a book tour with mixed results.  In Mosher’s mind, his trip is a tribute of sorts to Reg Bennett, his honorary uncle, whose life observations greatly inspired him.  In fact, he and Reg fully intended to make such a trip together, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Still, his uncle and [...]

Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh

The Romany, more commonly called Gypsies, have been a marginalized ethnic group in Europe for hundreds of years.  As such, they have been the subjects of stereotypes and suspicion, and their customs are generally little-known, as they tend to be distrustful of society outside their scattered communities.  This is the first autobiography I have read from a Romany. Gypsy [...]

An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service and an Authentic Life, by Mary Johnson

One of my joys in reading is that I can vicariously experience lifestyles different from my own.  This memoir by a former nun in the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa, made me feel as if I were sharing her lifestyle. As a high school student, Mary Johnson read a Time magazine [...]

I Have Fun Wherever I Go by Mike Edison

Self-described college dropout Edison takes the reader on a bombastic joy ride through his tenures writing for (how shall we say it?  alternative magazines) High Times and Screw magazines, observing and sometimes participating in the culture of wrestling,  and traveling the world playing in punk and experimental rock bands.  To say this is a memoir of outrage is an understatement.  For [...]

Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

Okay - a title such as Blood, Bones & Butter is not enough in itself to inspire one to a nirvanic eating binge.  Reading the book will, or at least in places.  The author writes an unbridled memoir of her unconventional childhood and her troubled early adulthood, where food and the preparation thereof is an all-consuming motif.  Her French mother ran a [...]

The Lost Art of Reading by David L. Ulin

Is reading dead?  Are novels and short stories history in our current world of the Internet and Twitter?  The Lost Art of Reading explores how the digital age has disconnected us from the immersion of narrative and argues for the need for reading and literature. This book could have been a dry pondering of the evils of technology, [...]

River House by Sarahlee Lawrence

River House is many things – a memoir of a young but rich life, a study of the enigmas that parents can sometimes be, and above all, a search for the meaning of home.  Home for Sarahlee Lawrence was originally a ranch in the dry reaches of central Oregon, although as the book begins, you would never think it, as she is following her [...]

Just Kids by Patti Smith

My recollections of Patti Smith consist of listening to my sister’s Easter album from the late 1970s  and remembering the stories about Smith’s erratic stage presence.  My knowledge of Robert Mapplethorpe was limited to  reading about the furor he raised in the 1980s with his graphic photographic art.  I had no clue that these two were part of the art scene in New York [...]

The Language God Talks by Herman Wouk

How does one reconcile religion and science, or are they forever exclusive of each other?  Author Wouk, known best for The Winds of War and The Caine Mutiny, makes a valiant attempt to do so, sharing his sincere appreciation for the world of science while maintaining his solid Judaic faith.  The result is a sort of mini-memoir that encapsulates [...]