An interesting brief article came to my notice this week about the figure or “archetype” of the “Susan” in juvenile fiction– The Susan: Story of an Archetype, and Why We Need Her by Alice Nuttall. It’s sparked a brilliant conversation online and I’m brimming over with thoughts that want to organize themselves into something more […]
Archive | books
Chronological Snobbery about the Middle Ages
We’ve been reading Men, Microscopes and Living Things, which is a sort of history of biology for children. On the whole I really like the book. It’s well written and engaging. But the chapters on medieval herbalists and medieval bestiaries both raised my eyebrows a bit and sparked some interesting discussions as I questioned […]
Reading Notes October 2018
Finished in October 1. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson I originally read this book ages ago. Maybe when I was in high school or college? I don’t think I liked it very much. So for years whenever anyone recommends it or it comes up in conversation I’ve remembered that I didn’t like it but thought: […]
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
*Spoiler Warning* I’m not spoiling a lot, but I’m not going out of my way to avoid discussing later plot points. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson I originally read Snow Crash ages ago. Maybe when I was in high school or college? I didn’t like it very much, though I also didn’t remember much about […]
Reading Notes September 2018
We were on the road for almost two full weeks in September. And the first week was getting ready to go and the final week was recovering from the trip. I didn’t get much reading done at all. Finished in September: 1. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik A fantasy novel that’s not so much a […]
Reading Notes August 2018
Finished in August 1. Endless Water Starless Sky by Rosamund Hodge The sequel to Hodge’s Bright Smoke Cold Fire. This duology (I hate that term, but there’s not a great word for a pair of books) is a sort of postapocalyptic adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. The world is broken, and has been for a […]
Reading Notes July 2018
Green Dolphin Street
Warning: Spoilers. An acquaintance who was halfway through the book wasn’t liking it much and asked what it was that I liked about it. This isn’t exactly what I told her, but this is what I found I had to write out before I knew what to say to her about the book. I’m not […]
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
**Spoilers** Just so you know, I don’t avoid giving away plot points. If you haven’t read the book and don’t like having things ruined, come back later. “The real story isn’t half as pretty as the one you’ve heard. The real story is, the miller’s daughter with her long golden hair wants to catch a […]
Child Sized Dangers Part Two: Better Drowned Than Duffers
Arthur Ransome’s juvenile novel Swallows and Amazons opens with the receipt of a telegram. Roger and the other Walker children have been waiting eagerly for the response from their father to their letters begging that they be allowed go go and camp on the island in the lake where they are vacationing. Their mother can’t […]