August “Gustl” Kubizek
The Young Hitler I Knew is by far the most engrossing book I have ever read about Hitler. Gustl Kubizek was a man in a position no one else had ever been – he was Hitler’s best friend from age 15-19. In all likelihood, he was also …
Michael Gates Gill
Michael Gates Gill is a man who would make a prime case study for U-Turn, Green with Envy and House Lust. Gill, the son of a wealthy “New Yorker” writer, grew up with anything and everything he could want. His family lived in a brownstone …
Beth Lisick
When I cracked open Helping Me Help Myself my first thought was “Oh, this is EXACTLY the same as Jennifer Niesslein’s Practically Perfect in Every Way.” While the premise is identical – woman decides to get her act together via self-help books and write a book about …
Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein
Schein and Bernstein were both aware that they had been adopted at birth. Both had some interest in finding out who their birth parents were. Finally both found and contacted the adoption agency where their adoptions took place. Instead of finding their birth parents, the …
Carolyn Jessop
This true and grimly gripping biography pulls you in and grabs your imagination. To the average, educated midwesterner this story of polygamy, abuse and life in a totally insular religious community sounds like soap opera madness. But Jessop both lived it and survived it. As her community slid …
Michael Palin – Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years
A thick 600+ page book, Palin’s Diaries start slowly but become increasingly engrossing. Covering the very first year Python starts making shows until the release of Life of Brian, Palin describes Python’s ever-increasing popularity. Palin writes with a witty, kind and …
Logan Ward
We saw Ward speak at the WI Book Festival and he as was equally as amusing as AJ Jacobs, though a bit more low-key. Having thoroughly burnt out on the hectic lifestyle of New York, Ward and his wife decide to drop out for a year and …
A.J. Jacobs
We had the great pleasure of hearing Jacobs speak a few weeks ago at the Wisconsin Books Festival about his new book A Year of Living Biblically. I am greatly looking forward to getting my mitts on this book. A mere 100 other patrons and then it …
Jennifer Niesslein
In high school I had a friend who decided to try some experiments out on himself that he had read about. He simultaneously ate only brown bread and apple juice and slept 2 hours at night and another hour in the afternoon. According to his science journal, this …
Melissa – “Melicious” Joulwan
Melicious’ book is a a must read for any derby fans or aspiring derby girls. Covering the early days of the Texas Roller Girls (the modern mothers of derby) Joulwan talks about her discovery of derby, addiction, the politics of the early team, dissolution of the …
Dan Savage
The Commitment is a continuation of Savage’s life post The Kid. Interwoven with Savage’s story of he and his boyfriend Terry’s indecision over getting married is the story of Savage’s family, gay marriage history and plenty of hilarious anecdotes. However, change the sex of one of the …
Björn Töroque
We saw the transcendent movie Air Guitar Nation at this year’s Madison film festival. Despite the International Air Guitar Championships existing for over a decade, an American had never competed. The makers of Air Guitar Nation follow the first two American contenders – C-diddy (the Asian fury) and …
Richard Sonnenfeldt
This is by far the most immensely engrossing book I have read in months. Without a pause, Sonnenfeldt leaps into a description of how he, a young army grunt, was pulled from the innards of a jeep he was repairing and whisked off to Nuremberg to become the …
Molly Bruce Jacobs
Secret Girl is a combined autobiography and biography of Jacobs and her sister Anne. As she and her sister become teenagers, Jacobs’ father tells them that they have another sister, Anne, who was born with water on the brain. The baby, twin to Jacob’s sister Laura, was …
John Berendt
In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the reader has a strong feeling of time. The story covers years and you can clearly feel Capote’s desire to tell the story to the end, but at the same time strongly fearing and wishing for a conclusion. In Berendt’s books, …
Iain Levison
Less lighthearted than halliday’s book is A Working Stiff’s Manifesto. While there are definitely some priceless moments (the ceramic donkey), I was more than a bit disturbed by this book. Levison first joined the military to get training in electrical engineering. While he did receive training it …
