Nonfiction

A Day with a Book
Book Stats: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, published in the year 1866. Today I had some free time on hand, so I decided to return the previously borrowed book from the library as the date of return was closing by. Cycling to the library while enjoying the cool breeze and silent street, it was still early in the day. The library only had the librarian who was sorting out the books. Returning the book I asked for a recommendation on a deep moralistic novel, the librarian gave me a smile and pushed a book towards me. Taking it I sat by the window in the library and started reading. It is Russian language, though I am not proficient in this language, I know enough to get by. So I started reading it took me quiet sometime but here's my opinion on it.
By Staringale2 years ago in BookClub
A Tapestry of Stardust
In the quiet town of Celestia, nestled beneath a sky adorned with a myriad of stars, lived a young girl named Luna. Luna was not an ordinary child; she possessed a rare gift—the ability to see the magic within the stars and the stories they whispered to those who dared to listen.
By Client Ngobeni2 years ago in BookClub
The Song of the Wind. Content Warning.
In the coastal town of Seabreeze, where the salty breeze danced through cobblestone streets, lived a young woman named Clara. She had always been captivated by the rhythmic melody of the wind that whispered through the town's ancient willow trees. Little did she know that this wind carried more than just a tune—it held the secrets of connection and renewal.
By Client Ngobeni2 years ago in BookClub
The Mirror's Reflection: A Gateway to the Other Side
Mirrors have fascinated humanity for centuries, serving as more than just reflective surfaces. The notion that mirrors could act as gateways to another realm or reveal hidden truths has permeated cultures and generations. In this exploration of "The Mirror's Reflection: A Gateway to the Other Side," we'll journey through history, psychology, folklore, and the modern world to unravel the mystique surrounding mirrors.
By info4article2 years ago in BookClub
"My Friend Anna" by Rachel DeLoache Williams. Content Warning.
Vanity Fair photo editor Rachel DeLoache Williams's new friend Anna Delvey, a self-proclaimed German heiress, was worldly and ambitious. She was also generous--picking up the tab for lavish dinners at Le Coucou, infrared sauna sessions at HigherDOSE, drinks at the 11 Howard Library bar, and regular workout sessions with a celebrity personal trainer. When Anna proposed an all-expenses-paid trip to Marrakech at the five-star La Mamounia hotel, Rachel jumped at the chance. But when Anna's credit cards mysteriously stopped working, the dream vacation quickly took a dark turn. Anna asked Rachel to begin fronting costs--first for flights, then meals and shopping, and, finally, for their $7,500-per-night private villa. Before Rachel knew it, more than $62,000 had been charged to her credit cards. Anna swore she would reimburse Rachel the moment they returned to New York. Back in Manhattan, the repayment never materialized, and a shocking pattern of deception emerged. Rachel learned that Anna had left a trail of deceit--and unpaid bills--wherever she'd been. Mortified, Rachel contacted the district attorney, and in a stunning turn of events, found herself helping to bring down one of the city's most notorious con artists. With breathless pacing and in-depth reporting from the person who experienced it firsthand, My Friend Anna is an unforgettable true story of money, power, greed, and female friendship.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
The Incredible Adventures of Sam and Beauregard
Within the literature domain, certain narratives can engross our emotions and convey us to unexplored regions of our minds. An enchanting tale such as "The Incredible Adventures of Sam and Beauregard" by Dominic Albano captivates readers of all ages with its narrative that skillfully interweaves mystery, fortitude, and unseen adventures. We cordially invite you to accompany us on an enthralling expedition, during which Sam and his devoted companion, Beauregard, undertake a perilous quest that surpasses apprehension and establishes unforeseen alliances.
By Lilly Zayla2 years ago in BookClub
"The Entrepreneur's Gamble". Content Warning.
In the bustling city of Metropolis, where dreams soared as high as skyscrapers, lived a determined young entrepreneur named Alex Turner. Armed with a vision and an unwavering spirit, Alex embarked on a journey to establish a business empire from the ground up.
By Sumit and anu2 years ago in BookClub
"American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century" by Maureen Callahan. Content Warning.
Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Jeffrey Dahmer. The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-known; they echo in the news and in public consciousness. But most people have never heard of Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history. The FBI considered his behavior unprecedented. Described by a prosecutor as "a force of pure evil," Keyes was a predator who struck all over the United States. He buried "kill kits"--cash, weapons, and body-disposal tools--in remote locations across the country. Over the course of fourteen years, Keyes would fly to a city, rent a car, and drive thousands of miles in order to use his kits. He would break into a stranger's house, abduct his victims in broad daylight, and kill and dispose of them in mere hours. And then he would return home to Alaska, resuming life as a quiet, reliable construction worker devoted to his only daughter.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"Roll Red Roll: Rape, Power, and Football in the American Heartland" by Nancy Schwartzman & Nora Zelevansky. Content Warning.
In football-obsessed Steubenville, Ohio, on a summer night in 2012, an incapacitated sixteen-year-old girl was repeatedly assaulted by members of the “Big Red” high school football team. They took turns documenting the crime and sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The victim, Jane Doe, learned the details via social media at a time when teens didn’t yet understand the lasting trail of their digital breadcrumbs. Crime blogger Alexandria Goddard, along with hacker collective Anonymous, exposed the photos, Tweets, and videos, making this the first rape case ever to go viral and catapulting Steubenville onto the national stage. Filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman spent four years embedded in the town, documenting the case and its reverberations. Ten years after the assault, Roll Red Roll is the culmination of that research, weaving in new interviews and personal reflections to take readers beyond Steubenville to examine rape culture in everything from sports to teen dynamics. Roll Red Roll explores the factors that normalize sexual assault in our communities. Through interviews with sportswriter David Zirin, victim’s rights attorney Gloria Allred and more, Schwartzman untangles the societal norms in which we too often sacrifice our daughters to protect our sons. With the Steubenville case as a flashpoint that helped spark the #MeToo movement, a decade later, Roll Red Roll focuses on the perpetrators and asks, can our society truly change?
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society" by Judy Christie & Lisa Wingate. Content Warning.
From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children's Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents--hiding the fact that many weren't orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died. The publication of Lisa Wingate's novel “Before We Were Yours” brought new awareness of Tann's lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the stories of fifteen adoptees in this book, many determined Tann survivors set out to trace their roots and find their birth families. “Before and After” includes moving and sometimes shocking accounts of the ways in which adoptees were separated from their first families. Often raised as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. In “Before and After”, Wingate and Christie tell of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace better-late-than-never brothers, sisters, and cousins. In a poignant culmination of art meeting life, long-silent victims of the tragically corrupt system return to Memphis with Wingate and Christie to reclaim their stories at a Tennessee Children's Home Society reunion . . . with extraordinary results.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"Burn Boston Burn" by Wayne Miller. Content Warning.
A conspiracy of 9 men, including 3 Boston cops and a Boston firefighter, burned Boston and surrounding communities in the early 1980s due to tax-cutting measures that caused layoffs of hundreds of police and firefighters. Over 2 years, these fire buffs turned arsonists, torched 264 buildings, causing millions of dollars in damages and hundreds of injuries. The city was ablaze with nightly fires, sirens wailing through the streets and people too afraid to sleep. This book interweaves the activities of the arsonists with those of the investigators, the firefighters and the citizens of the area. Readers will shake their heads in disbelief at the brazen and wanton actions of these political terrorists.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"A Stolen Life" by Jaycee Dugard. Content Warning.
On 10 June 1991, eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in Tahoe, California. It was the last her family and friends saw of her for over eighteen years. On 26 August 2009, Dugard, her daughters, and Phillip Craig Garrido appeared in the office of her kidnapper's parole officer in California. Their unusual behavior sparked an investigation that led to the positive identification of Jaycee Lee Dugard, living in a tent behind Garrido's home. During her time in captivity, at fourteen and seventeen, she gave birth to two daughters, both fathered by Garrido. Dugard's memoir is written by the 30-year-old herself and covers the period from the time of her abduction in 1991 until now. In her stark, utterly honest, and unflinching narrative, Jaycee opens up about what she experienced, including how she feels a year after being found. Garrido and his wife Nancy have since pleaded guilty to their crimes.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub