Tag: NonFiction

Book Review: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Posted on by kaitsbookshelf in Memoirs, NonFiction

Anne FrankI am so glad that I was able to fit in my book bucket list pick for June. I have wanted to read The Diary of a Young Girl for years. I didn’t get the chance to read it in high school like so many others did. I’m not sure why we didn’t read it other than maybe because Schindler’s List had released and become a huge success. We watched that film, an excellent film by the way, instead of reading Anne Frank’s diary. I don’t think one story is better than the other. They are both true and both equally moving. I do think that The Diary of a Young Girl should continue to be taught in schools because it is told in such a pure voice and really puts the reader right in the middle of the war. We can study World War II all we want, but we’ll never hear a more authentic voice than that of a young Jewish girl in hiding. Anne’s story is something that touched my soul profoundly and something I will never forget. No review I write will ever be able to do this book justice, but I will try my best to summarize why it was such a moving read for me.

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New Book Smell

Posted on by kaitsbookshelf in Books and Life

book-heart2

Let me start this post by assuring you that I am not a doctor and not qualified to give any kind of medical or lifestyle advice. What I am about to share with you are simply a few ways in which I think books play a positive and healthy role in my life in the hopes that they may do the same in yours.

Keep on Reading!

Book Review: Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice by Maureen McCormick

Posted on by kaitsbookshelf in Memoirs, NonFiction

heres-the-storyHere’s the Story, of a Lovely Lady…

…and her name is Maureen.  Now if we happened to pass Maureen on the street, we would probably light up with recognition, wave or say hello, maybe say something like, “It’s Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” (because we’re all really original like that), and go home to tell our friends that we passed Marcia Brady on the street today. Except we didn’t pass Marcia, we passed Maureen.

I’ve long been a fan of celebrity memoirs as I find it fascinating to learn about what really went on behind the scenes on TV shows and movie sets. While The Brady Bunch was before my time, I, like millions out there, caught the re-runs over the years and am very familiar with Mike and Carol Brady and their merged family. The Bradys’ lives were simple, and every episode featured a problem that could be solved in less than 30 minutes. Marcia was the eldest daughter, and the American Dream Girl.

I thought her story sounded interesting, and it turns out that that is putting it mildly! Maureen didn’t have Mike and Carol Brady as parents. She didn’t have three brothers, two sisters, a housekeeper named Alice, and a dog named Tiger.  Maureen’s problems couldn’t be solved in thirty minutes. Maureen had parents, but they were far from the picturesque couple Mike and Carol Brady made. Maureen had dark, hidden family secrets she was held captive to much of her life. Maureen was a far cry from her alter-ego, Marcia. Marcia was perfect. Maureen was human. Keep on Reading!