Class Matters is a terrific book for homeschoolers or for UU folks looking for a non-fiction book discussion. We spend a lot of time talking about feminism or racial prejudice or homophobia but we avoid discussions of class like the plague. Class Matters makes good solid points as to why we need to stop doing this. And it gives a lot of good tips for people who want to take part in classism discussions or movements.
Fabulous book, I’m going to buy it.
I’ve finally figured out what the problem is with Katherine Forrest’s Kate Delafield mysteries, the problem is Kate herself. Her personality varies almost completely from one book to another so it doesn’t even seem like she’s the same person. Kate Delafield has a personality disorder and I wish Katherine Forrest would help her fix that – and fix it so we always see the Kate Delafield who was in Liberty Square (and Sleeping Bones) and not the Kate Delafield who was in Hancock Park.
The entire Vietnam veterans storyline often feels tired and over done but in Liberty Square I never found myself annoyed with the characters for rehashing the problems with Vietnam the way I have with other books. I liked every single one of the characters. I liked the way Forrest covered the problem with being gay in the military, now and then. Even the sappy ending with everyone visiting The Wall felt like it fit and wasn’t forced.
Finally, a reason to like Detective Delafield (and her g/f) again.
The Problem with Kate Delafield Read More »
I am a Courtney Love fan. There, I said it. My children aren’t thrilled about it, (they are in the “it’s all her fault Kurt is dead” camp and while they’ve all outgrown that a bit, part of them still believes it and part of them still blames her.)
I was really looking forward to Dirty Blonde and it didn’t disappoint me at all. I’m not interested in some traditional auto-biography, tell-all thing from Love. That would be out of character and a waste of everyone’s time. Let’s leave the tell-all stuff to Frances, when she’s grown up and ready. That would be the only Love/Cobain tell-all worth reading.
Dirty Blonde feels like Courtney Love – at least the Courtney Love that I know.
I finally read The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. I was beginning to think I was never going to get to read it. Thank goodness I made the time, it was terrific. Sad and frustrating, but really good.
I think the only troubling bit was the timing seemed a little too convenient in places. Death and accidents – the timing, just too nifty and nicely managed in order to create the proper ending. Other than that, I have no complaints at all. Good characters, nice solid plot, not too rambling and not too short. Just about perfect.
Technorati Tags: memorykeepersdaughter, downssyndrome, fiction
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter Read More »
Who knew Jeanette Winterson could write such a great young adult fantasy book, and it’s not gay at all! There’s not even any gender confusion. Weird, eh?
Tanglewreck is the story of the Timekeeper. The Timekeeper is important because time is totally screwed up. We never have enough of it, time is always flying, stuff like that. I mean it’s REALLY flying and we REALLY don’t have enough. That’s the problem and the Timekeeper is the solution.
Really a good book, your fantasy loving kids will enjoy it.
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters was one of the oddest books I have ever read. It was also one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It was also one of the LONG-WINDEDEST books I have ever read (Long-windedest is a great word, I know! It should totally be in the dictionary!).
I finished the book last night and I have absolutely no idea how to describe it to you. Or what it all meant. In that way, it reminds me of House of Leaves which holds a special place in our lives, even though we have no idea what it was about, or what it meant. I believe Glass Books/Dream Eaters is going to be that kind of book for us.
I wandered over to Amazon and read the reviews, to see if those would help. They don’t. The one I agree with most can be para-phrased like this “Somewhere in this 750 page, over-written, novel was an amazing 400 page novel.” That is very, very truet. The writing, was dense. The story-telling, just a little convoluted.
The three heroes, wonderful. The bad guys, ummm there were so many. Too many, I think. The premise, the glass books – excellent idea! Really fabulous. The sex, wonderful! The alchemy and religion, very good too.
Sigh. Someone speak to the author please. Don’t let him do this again. Really, a great story is in there and that’s why I’ve plopped it into my “favorites” category. It’s just too bad it was such a struggle, such a painful struggle. If I could have looked into the blue glass, it might have helped clear the fog a bit. But since I couldn’t, sigh… reading should just not be that painful.
Glass Books of the Dream Eaters Read More »
TW was pretty troubled by the idea of her kids reading The Rules of Survival. Not that they’ve read this, they haven’t. It’s just the idea that this book is a young adult book – something RJ might pick up off of the shelf – that idea troubled her. It didn’t trouble me at all.
Some kids do live this way and I think all kids should know this. Life isn’t all peaches and cream and sometimes people who say “I love you” are the ones who are doing their damnedest to hurt you. That. Is. Life. For some kids.
Nicely written book. Good ending, which is often not the case with “problem books”. Possibly triggering for kids who’ve lived with abuse or adults who have survived it.
The Rules of Survival Read More »
Until reading Diary yesterday, I’d never read a book by Chuck Palahniuk. I know, you’re shocked. As much as I read, you’d think… well yea, you would wouldn’t you? I’m not sure why I haven’t read one before. I’ve certainly SEEN Fight Club and I’ve certainly meant to read his books before. I think I went so far as to get Lullaby from the library over the summer but I never managed to read it. (Neither did Michelle, and she’s the one who asked me to get it in the first place!)
Anyway, about Diary. I liked it a lot. Very non-horror Stephen King-like in some ways. Very “Fight Club-like” in other ways. I really liked the art lessons sprinkled into the coma diary. I hope Michelle finds time to read this before it has to go back to the library – or maybe she can borrow it from Jared who is a huge Palahniuk fan. I’d hate for her to miss it – and I think this might make a better movie than Fight Club did.
Sigh. Detective Delafield, you were not at your best in Hancock Park. Are you showing your age? Or is it Katherine Forrest who is showing hers? I can’t decide. All I know is that I don’t like it and I hope we see improvements with the next Kate Delafield mystery.
The good detective is a drinker and should definitely get that under control. I’m all for that. She’s also the kind of dyke who doesn’t wander around the sisterhood with a rainbow bumper sticker attending empowerment seminars and that should not change at all. Leave the woman alone. Let her do her job and go home to a nice g/f at the end of a hard day. Or let her do her job and go home with a screwed up lesbian relationship at the end of the day. But quit beating her up about not being an active participant in the community. That’s BS and Katherine Forrest should really know better, shouldn’t she?
Yes, she should.
Katie blogged about Frangipani and she said the magic words “If you like Precious Ramotswe…” I do, so I reserved one from our library. It is very Precious Ramotswe-like.
Women’s wisdom. Traditional Tahitian values. If Precious’ infant daughter had not died, then this is the type of story Mma Ramotswe would be telling.