Karen Thompson Walker’s The Age of Miracles starts with a very simple premise: what if the rotation of the Earth slowed slightly so that the days and nights gradually became longer and longer? Walker tells the story through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl, Julia, …
Read MoreWhat I’m Reading: Paper Towns
As I take a brief hiatus from my Prydain recaps, reading John Green’s “Paper Towns” seemed like a no-brainer, given my love for “The Fault in Our Stars,” plus the recent media coverage of the movie adaptation that drew me in with its high-school-road-trip-themed trailer. …
Read MoreWhy I Love YA
As those of you familiar with my blog already know, for someone with a master’s degree in English, I’ve read appallingly few of what the world considers important books, or Great Books. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is simply: I …
Read More10 books that had an impact on me
These are not necessarily my “favorite” books, but 10 that have a special place in my life for various reasons. Presented roughly in the order in which I encountered them: The Outsiders. The book that made me believe I could write a novel, since S.E. …
Read MoreWhat I’m Reading: Why We Broke Up
Daniel Handler’s “Why We Broke Up,” a birthday gift from my brother, took me two months to finish — not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because it’s so dense, with pages-long stream-of-consciousness passages consisting of carefully chosen phrases that would be a shame to …
Read MoreBody image isn’t always about size
I’ve been reading some of the media coverage of “Lammily,” the crowdfunded alternative to Barbie that has “average proportions.” Despite her weird name (I think it sounds like mammary), a lot of people seem to like the idea of a doll that has a more …
Read More