Vampire Reading

I just finished the fourth book in the Stephenie Meyer vampire series. The first book (Twilight) had me intrigued by all the hype. The second (New Moon) had me hooked. The third (Eclipse) made me angry because two of the male characters were rather abusive in my eyes. The fourth has me hungry for more. The problems I had with the third book were resolved in the fourth by character development (maturation). Plus, Meyer shifted her narrative voice in the fourth which allowed more of a sympathetic attachment to one of the players. I just couldn't put it down and fought with the urge to read the last chapter right away to know the resolution. In the wee hours of the morning, I was not disappointed by the closure. There's plenty of room for more. The book also presented interesting twists on vampire mythology, genetics, power structures, and conflict resolution. I hope Meyer is sitting at her computer 24/7.

Creepy Reading !

Jack Gantos is way over the top in the “creepy” category with his book The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs. Part Ed Gein-revisited, part Hitler-esque eugenics, part overly-zealous familial bonding, this book gave me nightmares, and I don’t scare that easily. It was the casual style of narration and characterization about the darkest sides of the nature vs. nurture debate that freaked me out. But then, that is what made the book so good and unique. It pushed my boundaries and challenged me in my thinking. I wouldn’t hand it over to anyone younger than high school frosh or sophomores.

Women's History LibraryThing BookPile

In an earlier post, I noted that I love LibraryThing. Now I'm hooked on the bookpile contests. Here's my latest photo entry for the Women's History pile. This one was a bit frustrating to do because I only had room to use a fraction of my books. I would have to take a photo of my whole library to get all of the women's stuff in. I wish I had better photography skills.

Here's the Title Key:

Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women’s Liberation Movement

A History of Women: From Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints

A History of Women: Silences of the Middle Ages

A History of Women: Renaissance and Enlightenment Paradoxes

A History of Women: Emerging Feminism from Revolution to World War

A History of Women: Toward a Cultural Identity in the Twentieth Century

Born for Liberty: A History of Women in America

The Women’s History of the World

Everyone Was Brave: A History of Feminism in America

Herstory: Women Who Changed the World

Feminist Theorists: Three Centuries of Key Women Theorists

The Female Experience: An American Documentary

A Century of Struggle: The Women’s Rights Movement in the United States

A Heritage of Her Own: Toward a New Social History of American Women

The Feminist Memoir Project: Voices from Women’s Liberation

Root of Bitterness: Documents of the Social History of American Women

Judith, Sexual Warrior: Women and Power in Western Culture

The Feminist Papers

Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future

Our Bodies, Ourselves

America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines

Suffragettes to She-Devils

100 Women Writers and Journalists

Uppity women of the Renaissance

Uppity Women of Ancient Times

Uppity Women of the New World

100 Women Artists

100 Women Healers and Scientists

Norton Anthology of Literature by Women

Titles to Write Home About

I just reread Pearl Cleage's What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day. I've read this title at least 5 times, but it never ceases to make me laugh, cry, and think about my life views. I don't read a lot of happy books. I never seem to get the humor in them. This one, however, is a great comfort read that does cheer the soul. I need to use it more as a central text in my literature classes.



The second book I read yesterday, however, had very little cheer in it. In fact, it has been a very long time since I have read something that made me so angry. I made the mistake of forcing myself to finish it before I turned in for the night. It brought on a lot of tossing and turning. Patricia McCormick's Sold, a young adult novel about Himalayan poverty and a young girl's imprisonment within a brutal prostitution system, will certainly make you question your sense of cultural and economic entitlement, your views of male ethics (yes, male), and your views of women who support sexual slavery. Its lyrical, hard-hitting vignettes will keep you riveted to the narrative voice until the final page is turned. And then, you will want to learn more and take action. You will wonder at how resilient the human spirit can be. The story will haunt you.