Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 147 pages, 2004 Rating: 7/10 Reason for Reading: It was featured in Time Magazine, and since the author is from Toronto, I thought it might be worth checking out. Synopsis: A collection of seven short stories that trace the formative years of Mark Berman (and his family), who […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 274 pages, 2001 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: A Cook’s Tour has to be the worst show on television for a vegetarian to get addicted to, but I can’t resist Bourdain’s bad-ass, snarky, damn-the-man attitude. Synopsis: Lacking inspiration as well as experience with international cooking styles, Bourdain takes […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 343 pages, 2003 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: A buzz book. Synopsis: In Reading Lolita, Nafisi chronicles her life in Iran as a university professor during a time of war and repression. In order to have a chance to speak more freely about English literature, she starts up […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 279 pages, 2000 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: A recommendation from Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust. Synopsis: Gladwell takes a fascinating look at the people who start trends and epidemics, and the little things that can push something from locally hot to internationally cool. Why did crime drop suddenly […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 336 pages (incl. 44 pages of notes, index and bibliography), 2004 Rating: 7/10 Reason for Reading: The spectacular, attention-grabbing cover. Synopsis: Kingston investigates the role that women take on when they become a wife, as influenced by things like marketing blitzes from the bridal industry, feminism, the recent […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 256 pages, 2004 Rating: 7/10 Reason for Reading: I think the tv show is hilarious. Synopsis: Television’s Fab Five continue their quest to improve straight men, this time in book form. Each expert focuses on their area of expertise in an individual section: food and wine (Ted); grooming […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 278 pages, 2002 Rating: 7/10 Reason for Reading: Loved The Corrections and happened to walk by How to be Alone at the library. Synopsis: In this collection of thirteen essays, Franzen gives his opinion on a variety of aspects of modern life that lead to a more isolated […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 249 pages, 2003 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: I liked Stupid White Men, as well as Moore’s documentary, “Bowling for Columbine.” Synopsis: Moore explores post-September 11, 2001 America, and how the event has been exploited and lied about for political gain, including trying to justify the war in […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 224 pages (incl. 80 pages of appendix and index), 2003 Rating: 7/10 Reason for Reading: It sounded interesting. Synopsis: Through a series of surveys conducted in 1992, 1996, and 2000, Adams explores how Canadians and Americans stack up against each other, values-wise, and argues that the two countries […]