Tag Archives: 21st Century

The Handy Answer Book for Kids by Gina Misiroglu

American Literature October 21, 2009 Superfast Reader

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…

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

American Literature October 20, 2009 Superfast Reader 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…

Luxury by Jessica Ruston

British Literature October 16, 2009 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: The drama and tragedy surrounding the friends and family of a wealthy hotel magnate. Review: Since I have read and re-read the novels of Jacqueline Susann about a million times, I’m always on the lookout for the next big, juicy, trashy read. Olivia Goldsmith does it for me; so did The Best of Everything. And now I can add Luxury to my greatest hits list of decadent, over-the-top smutty books that make me feel like I’m taking a vacation in my head. Logan Barnes…

Stretch Marks by Kimberly Stuart

American Literature October 15, 2009 Superfast Reader

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…

The Birthday Present by Barbara Vine

British Literature October 12, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: An MP arranges a kinky, consensual abduction for his mistress, but when a chance car accident takes her life, he chooses to keep silent, with devastating results. Review: Everything is connected–except when it isn’t. In The Birthday Present, Barbara Vine follows a scandal-that-wasn’t over the course of four years to show how a secret poisons everyone it touches, and how unrelated events can become part of a story because they appear to fit. The story is told mostly by Rob, brother-in-law to Ivor Tesham,…

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines

American Literature October 12, 2009 Superfast Reader 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…

Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax MD PhD

American Literature October 8, 2009 Superfast Reader 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…

The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates

American Literature October 2, 2009 Superfast Reader

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…

The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson

American Literature September 28, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Subtitled “A Plot to Kill the Child King–A Nonfiction Thriller,” this book weaves together the discovery of King Tut’s tomb with his reign as Pharaoh in order to show that he may have been murdered. Review: In The Murder of King Tut, James Patterson turns history into potboiler, but I was less than thrilled. The characterizations were cliched and cardboard, and the writing lacked beauty. I was hoping for something along the lines of John Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven, but James Patterson…

The Crow by Alison Croggon (The Third Book of Pellinor)

Australian Literature September 25, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Young Bard-in-training Hem finds himself in the midst of a war, recruited into a vicious army of children enslaved by evil magic. Review: The Crow got off to a very slow start, but once it got going I was enthralled by the uniqueness of the world and the beauty of the writing. I fell in love with Hem, a deep thinker whose life has been marred by tragedy, and his friend Zelika, an impetuous girl who is the last of her family. The war…

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