reading

Rifling Paradise, Jem Poster

Poster, Jem (2009). Rifling Paradise. New York: Overlook Press This novel takes Victorian themes of repression and stifling structure and applies contemporary psychological interpretations to them. It also offers a post-colonial interpretation of exploration and British cultural influence. Still, the Victorian setting heightens the exotic feel and the social constraints of the era add drama to

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Unpretentious Cookbook that is Healthy and Elegant

Valenti, Tom (with Friedman, Andrew). (2009). You Don’t Have to Be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook: 250 Amazing Dishes for People With Diabetes and Their Families. New York: Workman Publishing. ISBN: 9780761155508 New York chef Tom Valenti gives us food that is appealing, healthful, unpretentious and easy to prepare. The book opens with 16 pages

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Writer’s Crush: Charlotte Perkins Gillman

“It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide–plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions. The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely

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Changing Words: read most informative and fun etymology book yet

Steinmetz, Sol. (2008). Semantic antics: how and why words change meaning. New York: Random House Reference. A great book on the shift of word meanings over time in the English language. In addition to the generous glossary of stories of specific words, the “Introduction,” (pp. vii- xiii) is an excellent, succinct summary of the subject.

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Fresh, Stunning Novel by Mark Budman: My Life At First Try

Budman, Mark, (2008).  My Life at First Try: a Novel. Washington: Counterpoint. At first it was the structure that stood out to me. Short sections that break the story up into trim, well-crafted sections. Virtually any of the sections could be enjoyed as a stand-alone work. This is Mark Budman’s best achievement here: muscular sentences

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Alphabet Juice: The Stand-up Linguist Comedian

Blount, R., (2008). Alphabet Juice: the energies, gists, and spirits of letters, words, and combinations thereof; their roots, bones, innards,piths, pips, and secret parts, … with examples of their usage foul and savory.New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Blount is certainly knowledgeable about the English language. I can say I learned a great deal from

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