Book Reviews

4.8

Homebody is Joanna Gaines's comprehensive interior design guide, structured room by room to help readers identify their personal style, solve common decorating problems, and create homes that feel genuinely their own — an instant #1 New York Times bestseller upon its November release from Harper Design.

Sunday Suppers: Recipes + Gatherings: A Cookbook by Karen Mordechai

4.7

Sunday Suppers: Recipes + Gatherings is a cookbook by Karen Mordechai, published by Clarkson Potter in 2014, that translates her acclaimed Brooklyn-based dinner series into 100 seasonally driven recipes designed to bring friends and strangers together around a communal table. This review assesses the book's content, organisation, and published reception — not a kitchen test.

Inside the Criminal Mind by Stanton Samenow

4.6

Stanton E. Samenow's Inside the Criminal Mind is a landmark work in criminal psychology that dismantles decades of social-deterministic explanations for crime, arguing instead that criminal behavior originates in flawed thinking patterns within the individual — a thesis that has made it essential, and controversial, reading in its field across multiple editions.

From Here to the Great Unknown: Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir by Lisa-Marie Presley, Riley Keough

4.6

From Here to the Great Unknown is a posthumously completed memoir co-authored by Lisa Marie Presley and her daughter Riley Keough, published by Random House on October 8, 2024. Lisa Marie began recording audio tapes for the book in 2022 shortly before her death in January 2023; Keough transcribed and completed those recordings into the memoir readers hold today. The result is a dual-voiced account covering Lisa Marie's childhood at Graceland alongside Elvis Presley, her marriages to Danny Keough and Michael Jackson, her battles with addiction, and the grief that threaded her entire life. A national bestseller, a New York Times bestseller, and an Oprah's Book Club pick, the memoir drew praise from The New York Times and The Washington Post for the unflinching depth with which it confronts its hardest material.

Wander: A Memoir of Letting go by Ryan Benz

4.6

Ryan Benz's Wander: A Memoir of Letting Go is a B.R.A.G. Medallion Award-winning memoir in which Benz chronicles his decision to abandon a hollow but outwardly successful life and walk over two thousand miles along the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. It is a searching account of physical endurance and self-discovery, written for readers who feel the pull of a different, more deliberate way of living.

The Cat Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, by Sam Stall, Dr. David Brunner

4.5

Published by Quirk Books in 2004, The Cat Owner's Manual pairs the clinical authority of Dr. David Brunner — a veterinarian with 25 years of experience and operator of Indianapolis's Broad Ripple Animal Clinic — with the popular writing of Sam Stall to deliver a humour-forward yet genuinely informative reference guide for cat owners new and experienced alike. Framed as a product manual for feline "technology," it tackles hundreds of common questions through step-by-step instructions and schematic diagrams, courtesy of Philadelphia-based illustrators Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum of Headcase Design.

Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Matt Parker

4.5

Humble Pi is a #1 international bestseller in which standup mathematician Matt Parker tours the real-world wreckage left behind by mathematical errors — from a misplaced decimal point that rattles the stock market to a unit-conversion blunder that brings down a plane — making a quietly serious case that math is everywhere, and that getting it wrong carries genuine consequences.

The Girls Left Behind by Emily Gunnis

4.4

Emily Gunnis's The Girls Left Behind is a mystery thriller that weaves triple timelines — World War Two, the 1970s/80s, and the 2000s — around the disappearance of girls from a notorious children's home called Morgate House, anchored by the determined Superintendent Jo Hamilton as she races to uncover decades of buried wrongs before her retirement.

Dangerous Games: A Novel by Danielle Steel

4.3

Dangerous Games is a 2017 political-thriller romance novel from Danielle Steel, published by Delacorte Press, that follows fearless television correspondent Alix Phillips as she investigates corruption linked to the U.S. Vice president — an international chase that pulls her from American streets to Tehran to New Delhi, and draws her into an unlikely romance with her ex-Navy SEAL cameraman, Ben Chapman. The novel peaked at No. 2 on the New York Times Best Sellers List and earned praise from the Lancashire Post as a page-turning blend of political intrigue and passion.

Warren Buffett Biography: Investing in the Values of Life by Shaina Loerzel

Warren Buffett Biography: Investing in the Values of Life by Shaina Loerzel is an independently published biography examining the life, principles, and investing philosophy of one of the world's most studied financial figures. Published in February 2025, it offers readers a portrait of Buffett organized around the values that shaped his approach to both business and life.

Lighting Design Basics by Mark Karlen, Christina Spangler

Now in its fourth edition, Lighting Design Basics by Mark Karlen and Christina Spangler remains a foundational textbook for architecture, interior design, and engineering students who need a rigorous, visually driven introduction to professional lighting design — balancing technical instruction with real-world application across a wide range of spatial settings.

The Spoon Theory Survival Guide: A Comprehensive Daily Planning System for Chronic Illness Energy Management by Dr. Elena Resilience

The Spoon Theory Survival Guide: A Comprehensive Daily Planning System for Chronic Illness Energy Management by Dr. Elena Resilience applies the widely recognized spoon theory metaphor to a structured daily planning framework designed for people living with chronic illness, disability, or fluctuating energy levels. The guide is built around the core premise that energy — represented as "spoons" — is finite for those with chronic conditions, and that intentional planning is essential to navigating daily life. While the verified record about this specific title is limited, the book's stated purpose and subject matter address a genuine and underserved need in the chronic illness community.