In my planning for this autumn’s high school literature class, I read some great books. I just read Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wien), Internment (Samira Ahmed) and The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas). While there are external similarities (all three are books about young women resisters), there are some significant differences I’d like to highlight.…… Continue reading The Hate U Give (Thomas) and Code Name Verity (Wein)
Welcome! I love Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit, a way to post short reviews of my recent reads. Be sure to check out the link up at her site for more recommendations. You know I love a good mystery, but it turns out I’m pickier than I thought. Also, the categories publishers use don’t quite…… Continue reading Quick Lit July 2019
Naledi Smith is a modern New York orphan who has graduated out of the foster care system and worked her way into graduate school by grit, smarts and determination. She isn’t going to be taken in by some email scam claiming she’s a lost aristocrat from a sub-Saharan kingdom. It’s a great set-up, and Naledi…… Continue reading A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
Amy Poehler’s book Yes, Please is much as you would expect: funny, thoughtful, occasionally crass. There were more drugs involved than I expected, and more truth about how hurtful thoughtless comments can be after a divorce. It’s not a book I will require my kids to read for school. Her writing about her parents and sons…… Continue reading Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
Quick Lit is a collection of short reviews of some of the books I’ve read recently. Modern Mrs. Darcy always has great reviews and a monthly link-up of similar posts, so be sure you go there next. One Small Step Can Change Your Life: the Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer Kaizen is a Japanese word…… Continue reading Quick Lit: June 2019
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job: erase the collective past by burning the books that record it. His wife Mildred is numbed to the world by the TV she spends all day watching. They could have continued like this forever. On an ordinary day at work, Guy is enjoying burning a house when the…… Continue reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Listening to Anne Lamott read Small Victories was like hearing a recording of my own snarkiest thoughts, edited for clarity, honesty and beauty. Don’t get me wrong: I marvel at her extended metaphors and am not a genius. Instead, I claim identification with Lamott’s deep humanity, which is on full display here. The chapters on…… Continue reading Small Victories by Anne Lamott
