When my friend A and I started up our writing group last semester (which sadly no longer exists in its brick-and-mortar form, as A has moved to another state. Thank goodness for Skype), she got me this book as an inspiration. I’ve been trying to tap into my creativity and try my hand at creative writing after a since-early-college hiatus, as well as develop better discipline with my academic writing. I had tried and rejected Eat, Pray, Love after 40 pages, so I was nervous […]
Ending a religious series on a so-so note.
I’ve finally finished reading The Conflict of the Ages series. I’m ready to get back to reading the Bible itself for my evening devotion. While I am glad to have read a keystone series from our most prolific founding member in the Adventist faith, I’ve discovered that there’s nothing like the original source of faith itself to cement your faith. The Great Controversy is an odd mishmash of Reformation History, the Millerite movement and subsequent founding of the Adventist Church, and exegesis of the Book […]
Throwing some shade on Jonathan Franzen: with a special guest star.
I have this thing about White Male Authors. Sometimes their white male existential angst bothers me, and sometimes it’s not present enough in the writing to be noticed. It’s sort of like playing Russian Roulette, though. You never know when some weird sexual encounter, an act of bizarre masturbation, or mansplaining is going to arise. So, to help me work through some incredible shade I need to throw, I’ve recruited a guest star who knows how to throw incredible shade, whether it’s brushing off that […]
Reading a high school fixture for the first time
I’ve heard A Separate Peace batted around many English education-oriented classes and in high school classrooms, but I’d never read it. I didn’t teach it to high school students, because my semester of student teaching focused on freshmen and sophomores (and To Kill a Mockingbird is always the favorite in that part of the curriculum), but I found a discounted copy at a book sale. And now, many years later, I got around to reading it. Spoiler alert from the full review: I wasn’t an […]
9/11 Revisited.
The Terror Dream by Susan Faludi It’s been something like, oh, I don’t know, 5 or 6 weeks since I posted any reviews here. I’m 30 reviews behind and TOTALLY NOT PANICKING AT ALL. I taught a summer class, and then I added another part-time teaching gig on top of the primary and online gigs that I have, so exhaustion is high and time is low. I’m going to try to catch up over the weekend, but if you really want real-time updates, follow me […]
Mary Doria Russell Always Makes Me THINK
I read The Sparrow last year and was absolutely gutted by the story of Father Emilio Sandoz and the crew of the first mission to Rakhat. Having decided to work my way through Mary Doria Russell’s works, I knew that I would eventually read its sequel, Children of God. However, I knew very little about it, other than that it continued Emilio’s story. Bonnie also read The Sparrow for Cannonball Read 7, and we had talked about reading Children of Men together this year. In […]
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