I read Can’t Hurt Me as part of the 12 Months of Reading Goodness challenge. February is the month to let a loved one pick a book for you to read and so I asked my husband to do that. When you ask a self-help book junkie to pick your next read, chances are you’ll be reading a self-help book, which is what happened to me. I designed the challenge to help people get out of their reading comfort zone, and this is certainly something I wouldn’t have chosen for myself, so it worked in that respect. Continue reading →

This is a book that lived up to its hype. Educated has graced numerous bestseller lists, was a finalist for several awards, and made the rounds through endless book clubs and it’s easy to see why. Tara Westover’s memoir about her childhood as a Mormon survivalist would probably be gripping enough as its own story. But the second chapter of her life, in which the self-educated author attends both Cambridge and Harvard, is equally astounding. Continue reading →

“The Woman Who Smashed Codes” is the true story of how a brilliant female cryptologist, Elizebeth Friedman, helped write the rules for modern cryptology and used her skills like a hammer to smash enemy codes during both world wars. Continue reading →

What would motivate a man to abandon society to live alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years? Author Michael Finkel does his best to answer this and many other questions in this study of Christopher Knight, “the last true hermit.” Continue reading →

I’m doing something a little different this week. In lieu of a book review, I’m shamelessly plugging my good friend and former college roommate’s new book, “Rewrite Man: The Life and Career of Screenwriter Warren Skaaren”. Continue reading →

In Lab Girl, author and scientist Hope Jahren mixes science and biography to tell a fascinating story about her life, her work and the very special relationship she has with her lab partner, Bill. Continue reading →