Tag Archives: 21st Century

Healthy Child, Healthy World by Christopher Gavigan

American Literature, On Reading

Synopsis: A practical how-to guide for greening your home. Review: I could have done without the celebrity endorsements in Healthy Child, Healthy World. I really don’t care what kind of diapers Brooke Shields uses or that Noah Wyle’s kids are vegetarians. I guess these are good selling points, but to me these sidebars were just a lot of clutter. I did like the suggestions and recipes for green cleaning, which is something I’ve been working towards for some time, not just for the health of…

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Misconceptions by Naomi Wolf

American Literature

Synopsis: The personal is political, as feminist thinker Naomi Wolf uses her c-section as a springboard for the way in which the maternity care system in America infantilizes women. Review: There’s nothing in Misconceptions that hasn’t appeared in any number of other exposes of the state of maternal care in the US, such as Jennifer Block’s Pushed, which I reviewed a few months ago. However, it’s the way in which Wolf presents the information that makes this a must read, even if you’ve read it…

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

American Literature

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…

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The Shaming of the Strong by Sarah Williams

Canadian Literature 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…

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Sexless in the City by Anna Broadway

American Literature 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…

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How to Raise Your Parents by Sarah O’Leary Burningham

American Literature 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.…

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Unwind by Neal Shusterman

American Literature, Russian Literature 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…

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Charanavi by Masahiro Tsuromoto

Japanese Literature 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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World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler

American Literature 13 Comments

Synopsis: The world has moved on, thanks to climate change, a worldwide oil shortage, and population devastation from superbugs, and in one small corner of New York State, the world is being rebuilt by hand. Review: Anyone who spends much time with me will eventually learn that I am obsessed with The Long Emergency, one of World Made By Hand author James Kunstler’s non-fiction treatises. I have always been drawn to the apocalyptic, and now that I am a mother I can worry about the…

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2 New Photography Books

American Literature

This is a total PSA for 2 new photography books from Watson-Guptill. They publish great books on knitting & crafting that I adore reviewing, and they also send me review copies of photography books that my husband says are really awesome. I am not equipped to comment so this is just a shameless plug in the hopes that you’ll click through to buy the from Amazon. Mastering HDR Photography by Michael Freeman Use HDR technology to create dramatic images that meld photography and art High…

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