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August 28, 2006
"Your Money and Your Man" by Michelle Singletary
Despite the glowing reviews this book got when it came out, my basic feeling is that it should be put in the "only if there's nothing else available" reading pile. Singletary has lots of experience in financial circles, but the straightforward nuggets of information are so diluted by relationship advice and religious standpoints that I had a hard time finishing the book. It is possible that I was just expecting something different. If you are interested in romantic relationships and how money affects them, this would probably worth a read. However, if you're looking for economic education and planning advice, this is not the book for you.
ISBN: 1400063787
Jennifer, reference
Posted by jnardine at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2006
"Body Outlaws" by Ophira Edut (Ed.)
I can't say it any better than "Booklist," so here it is:
Women who have wrestled with the discomfort of not conforming to standard ideas of beauty and social mores express their opinions in this collection of essays that celebrates the empowerment of those who resist the status quo and ultimately reach self-acceptance. Topics range widely from weight to ethnicity to gender to sexual preference, and the writers come from a rainbow of cultural backgrounds. Latina Marisa Navarro writes about the suppression of sexuality necessary to be the good daughter in her family; Lisa Jervis discusses the underlying politics of nose jobs; Nomy Lamm demands acceptance for being "a freak . . . anarchist dyke . . and a total hottie." Other writers confront anorexia, sex changes, and dieting, and one celebrates sexual abstinence. Twenty-eight thought-provoking essays. Denise Wilms. Copyright © American Library Association.
ISBN: 1580051081
Jennifer, reference
Posted by jnardine at 09:43 AM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2006
"Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction" by Jonathan Culler
What do Marxists, Freudians, Structuralists, New Critics, Post-Colonialists, Feminists, and Deconstructionists have in common? “I don’t know” is not a correct response—but “I can’t understand them” is. The other right answer is that they all apply unique analytical frameworks to the study of literature in an effort to understand “what it means”. But most of us would say “I don’t know.”
Part of the confusion comes from all those different schools of criticism—I couldn’t keep them straight as a graduate student, either. Culler solves this problem by approaching the subject through the common underlying questions that any critic is trying to answer. The book fits eight chapter and an appendix into 133 pages, with each question getting a chapter; Culler only addresses various schools in the appendix. This makes it very easy to follow his clear, concise discussion of the philosophical issues that inspire both literature and the ways of studying it.
Literary Theory is part of an Oxford series that runs from Ancient Philosophy through Empire, Engles, and Ethics to Molecules, Music, Nietzsche and The Twentieth Century: there were about 150 titles in 2000. Each is written by an acknowledged expert on the subject (Culler teaches at Cornell and has published several books). They are designed to provide “stimulating ways in to new subjects,” or a high-level over-view. They are ideal for getting the “big picture” before starting a distributive requirement class because they will help you understand, quickly, both why it is important and how interesting it really it—to someone.
ISBN: 019285383X
Everett, reference
Posted by jnardine at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2006
"Thinner Than Thou" by Kit Reed
As the selector for women's studies and issues of body image, I was eager to read this book when I spotted it on the shelf. It's a not-too-distant future depiction of what the world would be like if our current devotion to fitness and appearance were taken to the next level and turned into a religion. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting through the book. It just didn't engage me. There are several parallel plot lines that run through the entire novel - a girl gets taken by nuns of a new, food-related order so they can "reform" her; her twins and ex-boyfriend travel the country trying to rescue her; their mother sets out on her own trek to find them all; and a completely unrelated man pays a fortune to attend the main headquarters of the religion and be "purified." The various stories twine in and out, but the fabric they create is only sufficient and not the engaging work I was hoping for. Still, if you've ever wondered what life might be like if fitness and youth became and actual religion rather than a de facto one, this is certainly one possible view of that future.
ISBN: 0-765-30762-6
Jennifer, reference
Posted by jnardine at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)