nonfiction

Kim Barker details the behind-the-bylines reality of war-zone reporting in her memoir, The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The book was released to little fanfare in 2011, but reached the bestseller list this year as Tina Fey …

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that …

Why: A long time friend was actually on the launch team for this book and sent me a copy even as I was anxiously awaiting my turn at the library! The tagline was really what attracted me to the book …

Why: This reference book was actually a gift from Literary Quicksand founder, Joli. I was just starting to get back into knitting seriously after teaching myself in high school (with little success), and Joli surprised me with this in a …

“Do you know where you are?” So begins Beth Dooley’s newest book, In Winter’s Kitchen, and her attempt to answer this question after she leaves New Jersey and makes a new home in Minnesota. Dooley explores this question by using …

Why: The reason I chose this book was simple and uninteresting: it was on my Amazon reading list. I had actually tried to read this last summer, but ended up returning it – gasp – unread to the library. The …

Welcome to our very first LQ Chat post, where several of us will weigh in! We hope these happen often 😊 There is no shortage of literature in this world, and certainly not enough time to consume it all, no matter …

This book is non-fiction, a travelogue written by Rosecrans Baldwin about his experiences as an American ex-pat in Paris. He’s a self-described Francophile, and jumps at the chance to work in Paris as a writer in an advertising agency. There …

This is two-for-one review for two books I read simultaneously: How Do I Begin? A Hmong American Literary Anthology, as well as the short educational essay, Hmong in Minnesota. How do I begin my song? Where do I enter the …

Carl Safina is well-known for his research and work in seabird and ocean ecology and conservation. In his own words, “…what drives my work is a devotion to conservation. And what drives that devotion is my deep love and wonder …