Annie Choi is a funny lady. This is her second collection of essays, Shut Up, You’re Welcome, and was even funnier than the first (Happy Birthday or Whatever). Annie capitalizes on her humorous family and gently pokes fun at them as well as at herself in a way that is never nasty, but full of love. Annie’s loony mother stands front and center in most of Annie’s stories — criticizing her underwear, her dating life and her career choices. Her foul-mouthed brother vacillates from being on […]
Several depressing true stories in French.
For one thing, this book is in French. There’s no translation in English, and it would probably also be hard to do, since parts are in transliterated Moroccan Arabic, although not much. This is a collection of stories of women, children, and of whole families in Morocco in the 1980s. Aïcha Ech-Chenna is often regarded as a hero in Morocco. She was a pioneer in the field of social work, and completely changed the way that most Moroccans see marginalized people in their society. Ech-Chenna […]
Anotterchaos #2: Dollars to Duchesses
Supposedly the book that inspired Julian Fellowes to create the character of Cora, Countess of Grantham, this book explores the late 19th/early 20th century phenomenon of American women taking their fortunes to England to husband-hunt. An interesting, if not riveting, read.
Badkittyuno’s Review #3: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
“She’s the most important person in the world and her family living in poverty. If our mother is so important to science, why can’t we get health insurance?” Y’all, this is a good book. I read a lot of non-fiction, and this book moves faster and stays interesting in a way where a lot of non-fiction falls short. Rebecca Skloot is a talented writer and researcher, and I can’t wait to see what she tackles next. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about a […]
The Servant Problem at Historic House Museums
In an attempt to get back to the full cannonball this year, I am including books I read for work. With that, I bring you Interpreting Servants’ Lives at Historic House Museums by Jennifer Pustz. This book grew out of Ms. Pustz’s dissertation and seeks to understand when, why and how domestic staff and servants are being interpreted in the Historic House museum field, and how museum professionals can expand their current offerings to offer a wider, and hopefully more accurate, view of the lives […]
Put on a Happy Face!…You’ll Live Longer
A lot can be learned from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813), one of which is why it is important to smile: Mr. Bingley, who puts on a more agreeable face, is received well by the people of Netherfield Park whereas Mr. Darcy, who doesn’t, is spurned. The science behind why Mr. Bingley experiences more social success than Mr. Darcy is explained in Marianne LaFrance’s Why Smile? The Science Behind Facial Expressions (2011). LaFrance draws on the work of latest research in biology, psychology, sociology […]