Best Kindle Singles: Parenting & Relationships
But when her second child is born with albinism, a rare genetic condition whose most striking characteristics are white blonde hair, pale skin and impaired vision, she discovers that the very definition of normal is up for grabs.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I enjoy learning new stuff and Hana did a great job presenting in an enjoyable easy to read format."
"Good book."
"This book is a mother's story of adapting to her daughter's diagnosis of albinism."
"Wish it were longer because it's so good."
"This was different kind of book."
"great book only one first couple of pages."
"The download shows every other page (odd number pages)."
Leaving Home brings together three, previously published short pieces, each dealing with a variation on the theme of leaving home. -- Shirley Hong Author Jodi Picoult has published 17 novels to date, including #1 New York Times bestsellers House Rules, My Sister’s Keeper, Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart and Handle with Care.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The last story is about a mother who had to take time off."
"I love the Kindle Single idea, and this is the first one I'll be reviewing. I look forward to reading more of them as I'm a big fan of short stories, novellas, and opinion pieces. I love the simple beauty of that line in a piece that begins and ends with her remembering him as a baby. Overall, this was a good start to my Kindle singles experience, but I feel like it was maybe one essay or piece short of fully embracing then theme, or at least not quite strong enough in what was there for my to fully love it. In anthologies, often the 5 way controller can be used to move to the next story or go to the last one and in novels, the 5 way often allows you to go between chapters -- I love that. This is just one of my favorite Kindle features and a nice way to navigate, and I especially like it when there are separate pieces."
"The 2nd "story" is especially poignant: a true life "love letter" to her son as he departs for college."
"The third piece is about a mother who "takes a vacation from her family". Picoult's writing certainly tells the frustration of stay at home moms who feel as if they don't exist and are missing out on something bigger. The reaction of her family rings true as to just how much a family depends on whoever is the primary caretaker of children and a household."
These are the uncomfortable questions that Rachel Shukert managed to avoid for years, buffered from the gnawing anxiety of her patched-together freelance living by the comfortable salary of her loving and successful husband. Hilarious, painful, and searingly honest, CRAZY STUPID MONEY tells the hard truth about all the things that married people (not to mention not-quite-successful creative freelancers) never talk about but desperately wish someone would. She is the author of five books, including the memoir EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE GREAT and the Kindle Single LET ME BE YOUR STAR.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I found the book extremely well written but it was mostly about anxiety, rage, emotional violence, persecution, desperation and a destruction of well being wrapped up in a humorous style of writing."
"(Except this single definitely is, but, you know-- Abba). Longtime fan of Rachel's writing (granted, I'm her target demo to the point of practically being a mirror), and am really taken with how her voice has maintained its consistent zing while grappling with more complex (read: "grown up") issues."
"I've known Rachel for a long time; this is the most emotionally raw writing I've ever seen her do."
"It put into perspective what possibly many relationships go though when they have money problems and gave different ideas on how to better understand your partner."
"A must read for anyone who ever thought they could have it all with the freelance life."
"hilarious, honest, and perfectly seared like a $28 tuna entree that you can't afford."
"Witty and true: an examination of money, power, and love in a relationship."
"I got this book because I thought it had either good tips about personal finance or told a helpful story about money in general."
Best Kindle Singles: Science & Math
He meets “rig pigs” and “cement heads” hoping to make a quick fortune laboring in the oilfields; casino operators and strippers eager to relieve workers of their high wages; farmers and Native Americans who fear the pipeline’s impact on land, water, and climate; and Keystone cowboys who tout the economic benefits of the oil-rush in progress on the Plains. Tony Horwitz is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who spent a decade as a foreign correspondent, mainly covering wars and conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe for the Wall Street Journal. "Boom is the very model of dauntless reporting, lucent prose, memorable portraits of a range of characters, all in a story driven by a moral dilemma with stakes that couldn't possibly be higher.”—San Francisco Chronicle.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Who would have thought that a book that describes a tour of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline could be so enjoyable? The author takes us through his marathon drive that begins in Fort McMurray, Alberta and then goes through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. We learn about the lives of the predominantly male workers in the oil sand fields of Alberta. Switch to the satellite view and move north of the city to see the vast areas consumed by the oil sand extraction."
"I thought this book was particularly good explaining how the self-righteousness of some of the environmentalists opposing the Keystone XL pipeline undercuts their effectiveness, as well as the nuances of reactions to the pipeline in some of the reddest states in the country."
"This is an excellent explanation of the Keystone XL, the awful environmental devastation it poses, and those whose greed blinds them to the real issues."
"After Friday's State Department finding about the environmental impact of the Keystone XL Pipeline, I became more fascinated with the reality of what this pipeline really means for the US and the world."
"The author follows the existing and proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska, interviewing folks on both sides of the issue on the present and future effects of the project."
"If Horwitz has a strong opinion either way on the long festering XL Pipeline debate he keeps it, mostly, deep under wraps and just . So, we not only get both sides of the debate through the mouths of diverse and colorful characters, we get the people out on the fringes - in every sense of the word."
"Longer than a magazine article, but shorter than a book, this is a great example of how and why digital publishing makes sense, despite the author's complaints in the Op-Ed pages of the NY Times. He does do a good job of presenting the unvarnished opinions of people on both sides of the controversy--yes, the pipeline creates jobs, and yes, we need the oil to keep our economy going, but also, yes, it makes a hideous mess, even if it works exactly as intended with no leaks, and yes, it may be hastening climate change, which might make our other problems all pale by comparison."
Best Kindle Singles: Religion & Spirituality
For any caregiver who ever needed to feel renewed, Kathryn Leigh Scott offers a compassionate acknowledgment of the love, patience, and determination it takes to do the right thing for yourself and for those you love. Kathryn Leigh Scott is an author, actress, and volunteer spokesperson for the national CurePSP foundation.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The book is well written without any extra."
"Luckily there had been a LTC in effect, which I had a slight ordeal in getting it to kick in, and with that we’d gotten a 24/7 home attendant to take care of the “patient.” Even so, I had to keep my eyes open to see if everything was being done right, leaving little or no time for me to do my writing and read/review books, and the other things I love doing, as I had no one else to look to for assistance. My dear became able to ambulate using a rollator, and do everything else without any assistance whatsoever so the extend we no longer had need of the home attendant we had."
"cancer free my mom found a jobe working in her church, and i finally got a job with working with salvation army i felt a sense of hope of being able to work and make friends and knowing through hope and my faith in god that things would go on and we would be ok what can i say kathryn's books are informative but most of all and inspiration for those who feel lonely and depressed but hope as well so i five star for you deserve so well deserved."
"It was a very quick read and tell about a wife that caregives for her husband newly diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease."
Best Kindle Singles: Travel
John Baxter was born in Australia, but has lived in Paris for 25 years, most of that time in the building which Sylvia Beach made her home while running the famous Shakespeare and Company bookshop.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In short, this Kindle Single is a wondrous and practical evocation of Hemingway's Paris."
"If you can't make your way to Paris, read one of John's books ; and if you are going to Paris, read his books anyway, and take them with you - they are the best guides in addition to being fine literature."
"His knowledge and enthusiasm for the topic are a joy to behold and his "Hemingway's Paris: A User's Guide" is a must not only for Hemingway fans like me but for anyone who wants to know more about life in Paris during that magical time period."
"This Single is a great addition to other books about Paris by Baxter, notably Golden Moments: The Paris of the 1920s and also The French Riviera and Its Artists; Art, Literature and Life on the Cote'D'Azur."
"It took me years of walking Paris to locate these places."
"If you love Paris and Hemingway you must read this guide."
"Fabulous."
"If your were looking for a quick read , and easy understanding of where and why Hemingway located himself in Paris .....this is perfect."
Best Kindle Singles: Politics & Social Sciences
She shines a light not only on blatant discrimination, but also the more insidious, institutional behaviors that marginalize women around the world, in order to help readers of all walks of life better understand the often masked realities of sexual politics. Adichie, celebrated author of the acclaimed Americanah (Knopf, 2013), offers a more inclusive definition of feminism, one that strives to highlight and embrace a wide range of people and experiences. Her focus on women of color is also an aspect of the movement that hasn't always been given its due, and Adichie works in her own experience and life as a feminist within a more conservative Nigerian culture in an organic and eye-opening way.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"She has made people deaf to anything but stereotypes about feminism sit up and pay attention and realize, "Wow this is mostly common sense" and "I see that all the time and I never thought about how that affects" us/them."
"Why was there no warning that it would be tiny?"
"I assumed the book would expand a bit on the things she discussed in her talk, but the book felt word for word her lecture."
"I think this relates more to other cultures than the US, where we experience many of the same issues but it does not address many other factors we see in modern American culture."
"It's short and simple, so it definitely is a good start for whoever feels curious about this topic and wants to understand more."
"This is a very short book, but it is excellent."
"Excellent talk about gender, roles and expectations."
"Excellent speech by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie."
Best Kindle Singles:Sports & Outdoors
After nearly twenty years of chasing oblivion, a fight in a bar reveals to a newly sober Mishka Shubaly that he is able to run long distances. The charms of Shubaly's writing are many: his adoring metaphors for drinking reveal it as his true unrequited love; his self-examination has Thoreau-like depth; and his exposition transforms the pedestrian into the sublime. What's more, Shubaly is earnestly obstinate, yet capable of change; a nihilist, and yet he seeks meaning; a walking contradiction and a joy to spend time with on paper.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good perspective on the power of running."
"In most cases such as Mishka's, life itself becomes un underdeveloped experience leaving a 32 year old young man, functioning at a much younger age level if at all. Food, sugar, smoking, shopping, sex, you name it, ...whatever ones addicition, Mishka has shared an amazing personal experience that truly should be applauded with extreme admiration and used as a model proving the power of the mind."
"The first half felt a lot like A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I read A Million Little Pieces just before the whole 'debacle' between James Frey and Oprah Winfrey erupted. I firmly believe that exercise (any form, doesn't have to be running) is extremely good for you, both mentally and physically."
"It is a triumph that is real, viable and believable and gives us hope that there is a light at the end of whatever tunnel we might be in."
"This book was a quick read."
"But I am almost hesitant sometimes to pick up a novel or even a decent sized book these days for fear that I wont be able to finish. That a once, almost hopeless, addict could rise and up and publish such high quality work, is a testament to how our world is changing."
"But it also does not give any hint, tips, l life lesson, or teach you how to get away from alcoholic. I am amazed and truly respect how he remains positive and his sense of humour most of the time. Sometimes it may seems that he doesn't really care much about his well-being concerning alcoholic, but somewhere along the story, there is pain in those jokes."