The Price by Alexandra Sokoloff

On Reading May 30, 2008 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Plagued by nightmares and hallucinations, a mayoral hopeful thinks he can trust a hospital counselor, but when his cancer-stricken daughter has a miraculous recovery, he starts to question his very sanity. Review: My only beef with The Price is that I wish it were longer! I devoured this slim, suspenseful volume over the course of a trip to Brooklyn and back with Superfast Baby asleep in the mei tai. Yummy, yummy, yummy. Like with Alex Sokoloff’s The Harrowing, you think you know where this…

Chicks With Sticks Guide to Crochet by Nancy Queen and Mary Ellen O’Connell

American Literature May 28, 2008 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A full color introduction to the craft of crochet, with 30 patterns. Review: I am a dedicated knitter and have never really understood the appeal of crochet–until I started thumbing through the Chicks With Sticks: Guide to Crochet. The patterns are gorgeous and I found at least four things I want to make immediately. I’m particularly drawn to the flower-shaped washcloths, which would be perfect for using some cotton yarn in my stash. The illustrations make the stitches very easy to understand. The patterns…

The Shaming of the Strong by Sarah Williams

Canadian Literature May 27, 2008 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: Told their unborn child has birth defects that will likely lead to stillbirth, a couple decide to see the pregnancy through to term. Review: I am a sucker for stories like those found in The Shaming of the Strong. When I was pregnant with Superfast Baby I thought a lot about what I would do if I found out that something was wrong, and I hoped that I would be strong enough to make the choice that Sarah Williams made, however painful it might…

Sexless in the City by Anna Broadway

American Literature May 26, 2008 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: The misadventures of a hapless twenty-something woman whose greatest fear is that she will die a virgin, and whose second greatest fear is that she’ll have sex before marriage. Review: I’ll let you know up front that there’s no way that I can be objective about Sexless in the City, because Anna Broadway met the woman who bought her book in my very living room. (Yes, I am Blogyenta, formerly known as Girlfriend #6.) Reading Anna’s book was like sitting down to have a…

Books vs. Movies (Booking Through Thursday)

On Reading May 22, 2008 Superfast Reader 8 Comments

Yay–my question got picked!! If you’re coming here from Booking Through Thursday, please note that my url is superfastreader.com, with no “wordpress.” I’d be ever so grateful if you update this if you are linking to me. And thanks for the link love! Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, whatâ€™s the difference between a book and a movie? So many great…

How to Raise Your Parents by Sarah O’Leary Burningham

American Literature May 18, 2008 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: A cute, sassy “manual” for teen girls on how to make the most of their teen years without making Mom and Dad crazy. Review: How to Raise Your Parents definitely has the big sister tone down pat, and, for the most part, it doesn’t court too much controvery. I can see parents buying this book for their daughters, but I’m not sure I can see girls buying it for themselves, not because the advice isn’t good but because it’s a little preachy at times.…

Manola Dargis Doesn’t Do Her Homework

On Reading May 16, 2008 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

In her review of Prince Caspian in today’s New York Times, Manola Dargis writes: The Pevensie children can withdraw to London between episodes, but moviegoers are unlikely, and also perhaps unwilling, to escape from Narnia and the other increasingly numerous, and therefore increasingly mundane, places like it. A lovely sentiment, were it not for the fact that the Pevensies DIE to our world in one of the books. Not to mention that several of the books don’t feature the Pevensie children at all. I don’t…

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

American Literature, Russian Literature May 15, 2008 Superfast Reader 14 Comments

Synopsis: A boy marked for termination and organ harvesting escapes into a world where he has no legal right to live. Review: I heard about Unwind from the Queens Library, in an email newsletter talking up good new young adult books. I’m so glad that I did, because it’s a dystopian thrill ride in the same vein as Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies trilogy, only with the same intellectual depth and emotional heart that you find in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Here’s the deal with unwinding. Anyone…

Charanavi by Masahiro Tsuromoto

Japanese Literature May 14, 2008 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: How your birthday tells you who you are. Review: Charanavi is a Japanese book in translation and offers a fortune-telling system that relates your birthday to a type of animal. Based on my birthday, 11/4/1973, I am a “potential tanuki.” A tanuki is a sort of raccoon indigenous to Japan. Being a potential tanuki means that I am “genial and rather passive in nature, with a warm and gentle personality that is loved by everyone.” Um, anyone who knows me in real life is…

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On Reading May 13, 2008 Superfast Reader

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Monthly Archives: May 2008