The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

American Literature September 30, 2011 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: How the cells from the cancerous cervix of an impoverished black woman from Baltimore came to be the foundation for basically all scientific research with cells in the world. Review: I was very excited to learn that my public library was going to begin lending Kindle books. The list was pretty dismal, but I had heard good things about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks so I decided to give it a try. Henrietta Lacks was born and raised and ultimately died in poverty.…

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead by Christiana Miller

American Literature September 22, 2011 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A down-on-her-luck Los Angeles witch comes into an unexpected inheritance, a house with a previous tenant who just won’t leave… even after death. Review: Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead was a tremendous amount of fun to read. Christiana Miller‘s background in the TV industry shows in her confident, imaginative plotting and idiosyncratic characters that leap off the page with the power of their intention within the story. The book is steeped in real witchcraft, of the Los Angeles Wiccan variety, and while the…

The Grace of Guilt by Gareth Young

American Literature September 22, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: In a town dominated by an oppressive, judgmental church, a girl pregnant by rape, a homosexual boy, and an out-of-touch family man become united by a violent act. Review: I think The Grace of Guilt is aiming to be The Shack only with enough plot for at least three books. At first, I thought, “This person really hates Christianity.” The so-called Christian characters were so, so, so awful–prejudiced, hateful, and hypocritical. And then the savior-figure, an enigmatic hermit named Sam, just went around spewing…

The Midwife by Gay Courter

American Literature September 15, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The tale of a Russian midwife who emigrates to America during the pogroms of the early 1900s. Review: The Midwife was a completely satisfying reading experience, not just because the plot and characters were so engaging, but because I loved the author’s perspective on birth. It’s as if Ina May Gaskin were writing historical fiction–it’s so rare to see birth treated like a normal event, not an emergency. I am not a birth junkie but I did have both my kids at home and…

Interview with Gay Courter, Author of Healing Paradise

On Reading September 14, 2011 Superfast Reader

I really enjoyed Healing Paradise by Gay Courter, and am pleased that she agreed to answer a few questions for me about the book. What drew you to set your story in medical school? The readers of my Midwife books kept asking for a sequel. It seemed too farfetched to send her to medical school, but then I thought her son or daughter could go. But neither personality lent to that. Of course, I was a bit narrow-minded because the Midwife is based on my…

Healing Paradise by Gay Courter

American Literature September 14, 2011 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: As WWII encroaches, Rozy braves judgment and trials, both personal and professional, to be one of only 4 women in her class at Cornell Medical School, finding passion for her work and a love that may not survive the rigors of her life as a doctor. Review: In Healing Paradise, Gay Courter has done a great job developing a most fascinating world, that of medical school in the late 1930s/early 1940s. I loved seeing the inner workings of medical school, and the ways in…

Speak Out With Your Geek Out!

On Reading September 12, 2011 Superfast Reader

You don’t start a blog called Reading is my Superpower without have a strong geek contingent in your DNA strands. So I was delighted to see that my dear friend and geek goddess RPG editrix Amanda Valentine was one of the masterminds behind Speak Out With Your Geek Out, an internet confab to celebrate all things uncelebrated except by people who get why dragons make books better. I hid my geek for a long time because I moved in a world where I didn’t know…

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

American Literature September 6, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Now a king in the magical land of Fillory, Quentin still fights with the demons of depression and purposelessness, so he goes on a quest and risks losing Fillory forever. Review: You have to understand what Fillory means to Quentin to truly understand his position at the outset of The Magician King. He has literally gotten everything he has ever wanted–he is a king in the magical country from the books he loved as a kid. It’s as if you grew up loving Narnia,…

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Monthly Archives: September 2011