Rebecca Reads

With the advent of digital cameras, any person can take a photograph. Now we must ask, What makes that person a photographer? In Masterclass in Photography, we find some guidance as to the essential elements in a photograph and how to produce an appealing photograph. As a very amateur photographer myself, I find Michael and [...]

After reading the biography of Henry Kissinger a few months ago, I wanted to read more about the Nixon presidency. I turned to All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward for a closer look at the downfall of the crooked White House of Nixon.
Unfortunately, I found Bernstein’s and Woodward’s book to be [...]

We found out two weeks ago that we’re moving back to the USA (from Australia) next month. I began the process of searching online for an apartment we might want to rent. Our former home was one bedroom: we are now a family of three. That won’t work.
Lo and behold, I found that buying a [...]

Depression is one of the most common social and emotional problems around the world. One in five people will experience major depression at some point in their lives. Women are especially susceptible (especially after childbirth), but everyone can and does succumb to periods of discouragement for any number of reasons.
Because depression is such a part [...]

Madeleine L’Engle’s first memoir, A Circle of Quiet, is a different kind of book. The back cover of my copy calls it “Spirituality/Autobiography,” but this isn’t your typical spiritual tome or autobiography. For me, it was a subtle encouragement to write, because I can and I want to.

What I Learned from the CIA
As I mentioned when I read Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking, I’ve also been reading one of his other books about food, The Making of a Chef. This book is Ruhlman’s behind-the-scenes look at what a “culinary education” entails, particularly what it takes to earn a certificate or degree [...]

Real Politics
Recently, I’ve been watching The West Wing, which aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006. We’re currently watching season 5 of 7. This television show follows the eight White House years of Democratic President Jed Bartlet and his staff. Of course, being a television drama, President Bartlet has an incredibly interesting presidency (the details [...]

The Chef’s Craft in Every Kitchen?
I have mixed feelings about Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen.
The Elements of Cooking is one-part opinionated essays about cooking (pages 1-50) and one-part alphabetic encyclopedia of opinionated “essential” elements to cooking. There are things I liked about both parts and other [...]

What is Wealth?
At my mother’s suggestion, I listened to the abridged version (144 minutes) of The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William D. Danko (published 1998) rather than the 18-hour version. In some ways, it still was too long. You get the main idea from the beginning.
Since, like most people, I wouldn’t mind [...]

The Mind of a Genius
Even at his death, Albert Einstein was regarded as someone with an incredible brain: the pathologist performing the autopsy decided, without asking permission, to embalm Einstein’s brain. For years, he kept the brain and drove around the United States touring with it. A few studies were done on the brain to [...]