Literature Week – Guest Recommendations

To conclude Literature Week, I asked the guests who’ve been on my show what is a book that they would recommend. I sure hope you found a book or two you’d like to read and, if so, please let me know which and what you thought of it.

‘Till next time!

1. My first guest was Dr. Travis Helms, psychologist extraordinaire. He wanted to recommend his book but it’s not yet published. I will definitely announce when it’s ready. In the meantime, he recommends Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini (although he’d like me to mention that he has a chapter that is similar in topic and is much better).

2. My next guest was Nellie Tork, poet. She recommends To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.

3. My next guest was Jennifer Carpenter. She strongly recommends The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I’ve heard of this one; I might check it out myself.

4. Katarina Ivanov said that reading is for “boring people” but if there was a TV show that described her best it would be Sex and the City. She made sure to say that Samantha was her idol but that she carried herself like Carrie. Not sure what that means.

5. Eden Rowley recommends Venus and Furs by Von Sacher-Masoch. Interesting title and interesting book cover. I wonder what it’s about…?

To view all episodes of my show in order, please visit here.

Literature Week – Biography, Autobiography

I’m not a big fan of biographies or autobiographies per se, but of what I’ve read, I’ve loved. I focused this area on the media, even though my mother thinks it is evil, but because my background is communications and I love the media, I wanted to give it some space. I may have cheated a little with Tom Brokaw’s book but will argue that it’s a biography of an era from a personal perspective instead of an individual person so, therefore, it still counts. Hope you enjoy my recommendations!

‘Till next time!

1. Lynn Sherr Outside the Box – I remember Lynn Sherr when she was on 20/20, although I’d have to wait until my parents went to sleep to sneak out of my room and watch it on TV with the volume very low which meant I was sitting right in front of it.  I also prayed my nosy brother wouldn’t catch me, which he did, and I had to do his chores for two weeks so he wouldn’t tell.  He still told on me. Anyway, I found much inspiration in Lynn Sherr’s book especially as a woman in a field dominated by men. I heard she’s very nice too.

2. Barbara Walters Audition – This book is filled not with just inspiration for overcoming stereotypes and hardships both professionally and privately, but the book is filled with fantastic historical facts and stories.

3. Tom Brokaw Boom! Voices of the Sixties – This book gives such insight into the era. My parents won’t really talk about that time period (calling it evil and filled with sex, drugs, and rock n roll music that destroyed youth’s minds), so I found it enlightening to read about it, not to mention slightly devious while reading it and somewhat of a liar for hiding it.

4. Mindy Kaling Is Everyone Hanging Out with Me (And Other Concerns) – I just finished reading this and really liked it. Kaling’s writing style is so fun and, while I blushed through some of it, she feels like a best friend with whom you can be open and honest about anything. She reached, and continues to reach, for her dreams. A true inspiration indeed!

3 Days to Halloween – Scary Reading

While watching movies can scare you silly, there’s nothing that compares to your imagination. It can conjure up more eery visions than what you see on screen, so if you’re a fan of scary stories, here’s a list of books designed to make you jump. Or, at least, shift around your seat uncomfortably.

‘Till next time!

1) The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

2) Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier.

3) Miss Pergrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. (Although targeted for young adults, this novel had enough creepy vibes to provide just as many chills.)

4) Like with the movie, The Shining by Stephen King wins in the book department.

5) Also like The Shining, Misery wins for being just as scary.

6) The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin.

7) Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress.

8) Hannibal by Thomas Harris.

9) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. (Also targeted for young adults but kept me on the edge of my seat.)

10) The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale. (This is a True Crime book and keeps you on your toes!)