Wednesday, January 29, 2020

What We Keep - Nonfiction Review

Goodreads:  What We Keep: 150 People Share the One Object that Brings Them Joy, Magic, and Meaning by Bill Shapiro

Rating: Good
Source: Library

Description:  With contributions from Cheryl Strayed, Mark Cuban, Ta-Nahesi Coates, Melinda Gates, Joss Whedon, James Patterson, and many more--this fascinating collection gives us a peek into 150 personal treasures and the secret histories behind them.
All of us have that one object that holds deep meaning--something that speaks to our past, that carries a remarkable story. Bestselling author Bill Shapiro collected this sweeping range of stories--he talked to everyone from renowned writers to Shark Tank hosts, from blackjack dealers to teachers, truckers, and nuns, even a reformed counterfeiter--to reveal the often hidden, always surprising lives of objects.

Genre: Nonfiction

Why I Picked This Book:  It looked interesting and it was on the end cap at the library so I figured I'd give it a try.

My Impression:  This was an interesting book.  Each page was devoted to a photo and a short essay both about one random object that for whatever reason was important to the essay writer.  There are some celebrities mentioned but there are also lots of regular people from a college student to a nurse practitioner to a voluntarily homeless man to a corporate attorney.  And the items featured have as big of a range.  There's a straw hat,  some nails, toys, beautiful antiques, and an old computer.  Each piece has its story.  Some are sweet, some are sad, some are pretentious, and some are just completely random.  Like most books of this type this isn't one you're going to pick up and dive into for hours at a time.  This is a book you leave out and pick up and read an essay or two and then in a few days you pick it up again.  And everyone around you picks it up and reads an essay or two!


Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  I would though it probably be one I'd rush out and buy.  I did enjoy this collection and how it was curated.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you're looking for a good coffee table or guest room book this would be a perfect choice.  I think just about everyone would find it intriguing.

4 comments:

  1. I'm a bit of a hoarder so I still have a lot of gifts from my younger years that I'm not yet ready to part with!

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  2. I think I'd find this quite fascinating but it would be difficult for me to pick out one item, I'd need to think and explore for quite a while first.

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  3. Not typically a non fiction reader but this sounds interesting. I have a lot of things that I hold on to for sentimental reasons.

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  4. I would love this. I'll have to see if Hoopla has it. 👍✨

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