Books I Want to Write About

Books I Want To Write About: Orange is the New Black

January 1, 2015December 26, 2014 by Norma

oitnb01 I just finished Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman and I’m officially putting it on my imaginary list of books that really make me think.

I am a fan of the Netflix show and of course I binge watched both seasons as soon as they arrived in the queue. (I also once accosted Dascha Polanco on the street to beg for more episodes.) The thing I really like about the show is the way it tells the personal stories of the inmates and how they ended up behind bars. It’s also well-written and the actors are some of the best in the industry. However, the book filled in some gaps for me that I haven’t grasped from watching the TV show.

Books I Want to Write About: The Children’s Blizzard

January 1, 2015September 8, 2014 by Norma

childrensblizzard This book is the story of the January 12, 1888, blizzard that led to the deaths of hundreds of people—many of them children who had gone off to school for the day and then tried to get home after the storm began. It is harrowing in its deadly detail, but also a fascinating look at the early days of meteorology and the personal stories of immigrants to the Great Plains.

Books I Want to Write About: Wild

January 1, 2015January 20, 2014 by Norma

wild I didn’t expect to like Wild, mostly because when I read the description I thought it sounded a bit ridiculous. But one day I had a moment of boredom and decided to check it out. Turns out, it’s really good!

I thought it was going to be a girl version of AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, west coast style. It was, but it wasn’t. On the one hand, it was every way of NOT preparing to hike the Pacific Coast Trail alone, but on the other, it was all about digging in deep and not giving up. That idea really rang true for me, both as a female and as a fledgling ultrarunner.