non-fiction Archives

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

A Look at Animal intelligence and the Science That's Trying to Understand It Author: Frans De Wall I picked up Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? from an Audible deal. I usually immerse myself in fiction, but I also have an intense passion for all things animal related, including animal welfare and understanding the complex emotions and intelligence that anyone close to animals can easily observe. I was excited to start this book, to hear science backup what animal lovers have known for a long time. I was also looking forward to the deep dive stories [...]

Frances Carden2022-09-19T16:48:26-07:00September 19th, 2022|Tags: animals, book review, non-fiction, read, reading, science|

Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson

Behind the Scenes of the Sensational Trial Author: Jeffrey Toobin One of my earliest memories is of my parents watching the police chase O.J. Simpson in his white Bronco on TV and thinking, “what a weird chase, it’s so slow.” But that was pretty much it, until years later the case was brought up again with OJ’s proposition to publish his supposedly hypothetical confession in the form of a book named If I Did It. I was older by that time and more than a little shocked that a man nearly convicted of murder would return to the scene, as it [...]

Frances Carden2022-08-17T18:23:11-07:00August 17th, 2022|Tags: book review, non-fiction, read, reading, true crime|

Egg and I, The

Memoirs of a Chicken Farmer's Wife Author: Betty MacDonald Following in the footsteps of her mother, Betty MacDonald marries and allows her new mate to lead the way. His passions are her orders, his desires, her daily chores. This leads Betty far away from her former, comfortable town life into the wilderness of Washington State where the daily toils of chicken farming, eccentric neighbors, and the occasional cougar keep life interesting. Betty’s famous memoir, The Egg and I, starts with the sarcastic explanation of Betty’s path from city woman to chicken farmer, helpmate, and general woman of the wild. Betty’s new [...]

Frances Carden2022-08-09T16:10:54-07:00August 9th, 2022|Tags: Comedy, memoir, non-fiction|