Category Archives: American Literature

The Handy Answer Book for Kids by Gina Misiroglu

American Literature

Synopsis: Lots of answers to the kind of questions kids like to ask. Review: The Handy Answer Book for Kids is a great little reference book, filled with pictures and charts and other visual delights. The questions are a lot of fun, ranging from the profound–“Who is God?”–to the trivial–“How does a vacuum cleaner pick up dirt?” Parents will find lots of springboards for great discussions of important ideas and issues. Kids will love all the tidbits of information. There is a good discussion on…

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What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

American Literature 4 Comments

Synopsis: A collection of essays written by Gladwell and published in the New Yorker. Review: Bite-sized is how I like Malcolm Gladwell, and What the Dog Saw contains some of Gladwell’s most memorable essays. His profile of Ron Popeil, creator of the Showtime Rotisserie, stands as one of the finest pieces of writing I’ve ever encountered, and this past spring I assigned it to my writing students, who were suitably enthralled. Gladwell gives you the greatness behind the showman veneer, as well as some of…

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Oath of Gold by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion)

American Literature

Synopsis: In her final adventure, soldier turned coward turned paladin Paksenarrion finds herself on a quest to crown the true king, a quest that will bring her face to face with darkest evil. Review: Oath of Gold concludes the Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy in a most satisfactory manner, no matter how trite my one-liner may seem. (Have I mentioned lately how hard it is to summarize epic fantasy?) I was thoroughly satisfied by the breadth of the journey upon which Elizabeth Moon sets her intrepid…

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Stretch Marks by Kimberly Stuart

American Literature

Synopsis: When a yoga-loving vegetarian gets knocked up by her deadbeat boyfriend, her cruise ship hostess mother moves on in, and hilarity ensues. Review: Stretch Marks was cute enough, but it wasn’t the most original take on the subject I’ve ever read. I liked Mia well enough, but at many points I felt like her struggles were genuine enough. It also bugged me how blind she was to her ex-boyfriend Lars’s shenanigans. It’s not like my expectations were that high, but I was hoping for…

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Girl in the Arena Blog Tour–Day Three

American Literature 2 Comments

It’s the third and last day of the blog tour for Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines, and I’m going to copy from My Own Little Corner of the World and post Lise Haines’s own article about how she came up with the idea for the book. I have to confess that the Gladiator world culture was the least organic element of the book. I really had trouble believing how mainstream it was. I can certainly envision young women being brainwashed into going to…

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Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines

American Literature 6 Comments

Synopsis: After the death of her mother’s seventh husband in the gladiatorial arena, a teenage girl finds herself betrothed to his killer–unless she can fight her way out of it. Review: When I first picked up Girl in the Arena, I was expecting some kind of Hunger Games ripoff. That’s not a bad thing, per se–I love those kinds of books. But my expectations weren’t that high, and so I was more than pleasantly surprised when I discovered how original, complex, and downright literary Girl…

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Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax MD PhD

American Literature 2 Comments

Synopsis: An examination of the science of sex differences. Review: Apart from some outdated and irresponsible advice about breastfeeding (says the LLL leader), I got a lot out of Why Gender Matters, which I listened to on audiobook. Dr. Sax talks about how the neurological differences between men and women, and how that influences how we perceive the world and the choices we make. He applies it to teaching and to childrearing. In short, his argument is that gender blind education is harmful because it…

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Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion, Book 2)

American Literature 1 Comment

Synopsis: A free lance after leaving Duke Phelan’s company, Paksenarrion finds high adventure and faces an evil that changes her irrevocably. Review: Divided Allegiance was much darker than Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, with Elizabeth Moon taking Paksenarrion to some very dark places. Yet Moon never loses her connection with the ideals of goodness, courage, and loyalty that made Paks such an appealing heroine, even as she’s shaking that idealism to its very foundation. I always find middle books in trilogies difficult to discuss. I don’t want to…

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The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates

American Literature

Synopsis: A close look at several generations of a family living in Niagara Falls, begun by a woman widowed by suicide on her wedding day who married one of the men who helped her look for her dead husband’s body. Review: I don’t want to waste much time on a review of The Falls at all, because quite frankly it bored me. The characters were well-drawn, the prose thoughtful, the situations dramatic, but none of it added up to a damn story. I didn’t know…

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Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion)

American Literature 4 Comments

Synopsis: A country girl enlists as a recruit in a band of mercenary soldiers, where she excels–and may be receiving supernatural aid from a saint she doesn’t know about or believe in. Review: Oddly enough, Sheepfarmer’s Daughter reminded me a lot of Battlestar Galactica, with its preoccupations over military honor and what makes for goodness in wartime. And anyone who knows me will let you know that this is a compliment of the highest order. There are no starships or robots in the first book…

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