Milk, Money, and Madness by Naomi Baumslag and Dia L. Michels
Mother’s Milk by Bernice Hausman
I’m researching an essay on breastfeeding practices and ended up reading these two dense and serious tomes that delve into America’s abysmally low breastfeeding rates. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least a year, and the [...]
Popularity: 16% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
An exploration of how parenting styles around the world bring into question our definition of normal infant behavior.
Review:
I was familiar already with a lot of the content of Our Babies, Ourselves, because Meredith Small’s findings crop up in a lot of literature on attachment parenting. However, it was still well worth reading because she [...]
Popularity: 16% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
An overview of the craze for consumption that has overtaken American parents.
Review:
I would’ve read Parenting, Inc even if I didn’t have a baby, because I find spenders (and hoarders, too) to be endlessly fascinating. I’ve also been interested in child development since I was in high school, and of course as a new mother [...]
Popularity: 16% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
A collection of short stories by a preeminent contributor to “The Twilight Zone.”
Review:
Button, Button is an uneven bit of business, purporting to highlight the very best of Richard Matheson’s “Uncanny Stories.” Some are good, one is spectacular, but others have not aged well.
First, the good:
“Button, Button” exhibits a flawless “Twilight Zone” concept and execution. [...]
Popularity: 28% [?]
Tags: American Literature
From Learning All the Time:
There are two diametrically opposite ways of opening to children the world of books. One was is to start them with the names and sounds of individual letters, then with small words, then with small groups of these words joined to make small sentences, then with small reading books, and [...]
Popularity: 17% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
Accused of murder, a troubled young woman tries to piece together the odd facets of her life, starting with her supposed immaculate conception.
Review:
The chapters in Madapple alternate between a teasingly opaque courtroom case, and defendant Aslaug’s reminiscences about life with her disturbed mother and eventual reunion with her long lost aunt and cousins. Nothing [...]
Popularity: 28% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
An author’s memoir of the writing life.
Review:
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of having my work ripped to shreds at a workshop led by Bret Lott. I say “pleasure” because (a) he was right, and (b) he made it fun. I knew from reading Before We Get Started that I’d respect his opinion, but [...]
Popularity: 14% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
A mother’s love is tested when she gives birth in 1943 to a daughter who is, in the lingua franca, is a “Mongolian Idiot.”
Review:
I picked up Jewel because I’m going to be participating in a writing workshop on Thursday led by Bret Lott. I figured I would read Jewel because it was the book [...]
Popularity: 20% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
A spirited young woman takes on the all-male secret society at her boarding school, and not just because her boyfriend’s one of the leaders.
Review:
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks reminded me a lot of Rushmore, and that’s a good thing. It’s quirky and offbeat, combining intelligence and heart within a clever, original plot. [...]
Popularity: 17% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
An exploration of the meaning of chastity in the 21st century.
Review:
Real Sex is an excellent companion piece to Anna Broadway’s Sexless in the City. Winner offers a larger cultural and historical context for Broadway’s desire to live chastely, and has some ideas about why Broadway expresses some disappointment in the way she has been [...]
Popularity: 20% [?]
Tags: American Literature
