About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
Jena Friedman
Positive Booklist Friedman is a genuinely funny writer, whether she’s sharing anecdotes from her time as a segment producer for The Daily Show... or examining the #MeToo movement and cancel culture.
Lynn Cullen
Positive Booklist The Woman with the Cure is a gripping novel, leaving the audience breathlessly awaiting each new discovery. Dr. Horstmann makes for a compelling heroine that readers will root for and grieve with.
Lauren Graham
Rave Booklist [Graham\'s] breezy, stream-of-consciousness style allows her to tell stories as if she’s talking to a friend, and for fans of the actress, it probably feels that way ... Graham keeps a self-deprecating but not overly modest tone, poking fun at the things in her life that deserve poking fun at, and treating serious topics with both humor and pathos. A must-read for Graham fans interested in what she’s been up to since Talking as Fast as I Can (2016), and a good pick for anyone who likes behind-the-scenes Hollywood stories.
Randy Rainbow
Rave Booklist ainbow focuses on the highs but doesn’t shy away from the lows, addressing the controversies that have affected his career and his own brush with cancel culture. Overall, expect the same sunny content that Rainbow is famous for. Filled with the kind of anecdotes that anyone raised on a steady diet of Sex and the City and Broadway musicals will eat up with a spoon, Rainbow’s memoir is pure, indulgent fun. Fans of Rainbow (there are millions, and they include big-name celebs, presidential candidates, and Broadway superstars) will want this book immediately, as will anyone who enjoys a good, dishy celebrity memoir.
Susan Rigetti
Rave Booklist Drawing heavy inspiration from the true story of Anna Delvey, who conned New York’s elite for several years in the mid-2010s, this book will be a must-read for the legions who followed Delvey’s story with bated breath. While Lora’s character at times seems too naive to be believed, readers will love the plot, which twists until the very last page. It’s The Devil Wears Prada meets Gone Girl, and it’s delightful.
Georgia Pritchett
Rave Booklist [Pritchett] looks back at her life in a series of comedy vignettes, detailing everything from her childhood as a worrywort to her experiences raising two neurodivergent boys, in quick, pithy, self-deprecating prose ... She finds plenty of fodder for comedy in her life. But it’s the moments when Pritchett describes her own anxiety that really sing. Pritchett is able to describe the ways she feels...in a manner that is both relatable and meaningful. Readers will find lots to like about this memoir, especially those who may have experience with the emotions Pritchett details.
Maeve Higgins
Rave Booklist ... delves into the bones of America as a country of contrasts, the bad along with the good ... Higgins’ trips aren’t simply voyeurism or made with an intent to mock; she genuinely wants to understand those with different viewpoints than her own, succeeding more with some than others—at the Border Security Expo, for example, she finds it difficult to see past jingoism to any deeper understanding of border security, but the farcical idea of an immigrant hiding in plain sight among the attendees is vastly amusing to her. A must-read for Higgins fans, and a perfect introduction for newcomers. Hand this to readers who like Sarah Vowell’s humorous travelogues or the tart essays of David Sedaris.
Kate Macdougall
Rave Booklist This entertaining and lighthearted look at the life of a woman who took control of her own future is a perfect nonfiction crossover for fans of British chick lit like that of Sophie Kinsella.
Sunny Hostin
Positive Booklist Lovingly rendered characters and beautiful depictions of Oak Bluffs, the exclusive Black community within the exclusive Martha’s Vineyard, make this first book in a planned trilogy a great summer escape, even for readers who don’t know Hostin ... Come for the debut novel from an Emmy-winning cohost of The View, stay for the diverse cast of characters in an aspirational, beachy escape.
Liese O'Halloran Schwarz
Positive Booklist Schwarz reveals all in compelling, \'can’t put it down\' prose while at the same time building masterfully developed characters who each had a part to play in past events.
Michael Ian Black
Positive Booklist It is obvious that this is a deeply personal book for Black ... Black’s essays are addressed directly to his college-bound son, but there’s something for everyone in these pages. Hand this to anyone who loved David Sedaris’ Calypso (2018).
Josie Silver
Rave Booklist As much a meditation on healing after loss as it is a gently developed love story (Lydia eventually comes to care for Jonah, Freddie’s best friend), with excellent characters who all get a chance to experience growth, Silver’s wonderful follow-up to One Day in December (2018) will be sure to appeal to existing fans and draw in new ones with its humor, heart, and excellent prose.
Keah Brown
Rave Booklist ...[an] entertaining, frank, and educational collection of essays ... [Brown] is doing important work by sharing her personal experiences in coming to terms with her disability—and expecting the world to come to terms with it, too. This book would be a great choice for anyone interested in social justice, disability rights, or just interested in learning more about a fun, funny, beautiful woman.
Leah Price
Positive Booklist Price is an avid scholar of books as objects (not just of their texts) and her wit extends to the very format of the book, which carries surprises beyond her observations and research. For fans of Susan Orlean’s The Library Book (2018) and other books about books ... Price gets to her point in under 200 pages.
Rebecca Roanhorse
Rave Booklist Roanhorse deepens our appreciation for the postapocalyptic landscape while enriching our understanding of the indigenous customs and legends that have come alive within it. Maggie Hoskie is as complex a heroine as you could wish for, and everything about this installment sings. A must-read for anyone interested in own-voices or speculative fiction.
Erica Boyce
Positive Booklist With a one-of-a-kind, intriguing premise, this novel features interesting, well-rounded characters and an affecting portrayal of loving someone with a mental illness.
Alyson Richman
Positive Booklist Affecting ... a powerful statement on the effect that teachers and students can have on one another. With lyrical writing and a compelling story, and featuring discussion topics and even recipes, this book is tailor-made for book groups.
Maeve Higgins
Positive Booklist Online \"Prepare to laugh as comedian Maeve Higgins shares tales of an Irish girl in New York. Her essays take us from that Cinderella feeling of finding the perfect dress (and then not being able to afford the rental cost) to finding (or not finding) the perfect man, to more-serious matters— LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, immigration, family life—all with humor and flair ... Maeve Higgins may not be a household name yet, but she certainly has some things to say. \
Elisabeth Cohen
Rave Booklist Part techno-thriller, part techno-satire, Cohen’s debut is a funny, engaging read.
Melissa Dahl
Rave Booklist Online \"Though this is Dahl’s first book, she brings a background in journalism to the world of popular psychology, interspersing her personal anecdotes and experiences with readable, thoughtful analysis of formal studies of embarrassment and self-awareness. The result is a book we can all relate to. As Dahl says, \'The ridiculous in me honors the ridiculousness in you.\'\