This was an interesting exercise last year, so I thought I’d do it again. Obviously, 2016 is widely considered to have been a pretty terrible year for the world, and it was also a challenging year for me, personally, and for many people I know and love. There will no doubt be a lot ofContinue reading “My year in books: 2016”
Tag Archives: american
In which I enthusiastically recommend an advice book from the 1930s
In troubled times, sometimes the best thing you can do is open a book and pretend you live somewhere else. In these particular troubled times, I have a feeling almost anywhere else would do—even Mordor. Now feels like a really good time to climb into a long fantasy series and never climb out. But forContinue reading “In which I enthusiastically recommend an advice book from the 1930s”
Books, lately: 2016 so far
At the beginning of every new year, I think about what I want to read in the next twelve months. I usually decide that I want to read “better” books. (Yes, I set reading goals, I’m a dork.) And then I spend weeks devouring some YA fantasy series. This year is no different so far!Continue reading “Books, lately: 2016 so far”
My year in books
Here are some random thoughts about a few things I read this year. Best book I read: I’m going to give this one to A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, which is a modern(ish) retelling of King Lear set on a farm in Iowa. It works way better than that sentence suggests. Smiley masterfully creates layer uponContinue reading “My year in books”
Two books about diseases and public health
I’ve mentioned a few times that my research focus during my MA was disease (specifically rabies) and the Victorian novel. I’m still very interested in diseases in general, especially how we construct narratives of disease and how these narratives—often deeply ingrained—influence our ideas about public health. Old (research) habits die hard: whenever I see a newContinue reading “Two books about diseases and public health”
A Whole Shelf of Dating Books, or the Beginning of My Charlotte Lucas Year
I turned twenty-seven last week. I’m also single. Fans of Jane Austen will know that this puts me firmly in Charlotte Lucas territory. In Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte is the best friend of Elizabeth Bennet, our protagonist. Charlotte is described as around twenty-seven, plain, but sensible and practical. Charlotte is really more notable for what she isn’t;Continue reading “A Whole Shelf of Dating Books, or the Beginning of My Charlotte Lucas Year”
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
When I first heard that HarperCollins was releasing what people were calling a “sequel” of sorts to Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird, I was skeptical. Who wasn’t? On the one hand you have a reclusive, aging author who has avoided the public eye her entire life and doesn’t seem interested in publishing anythingContinue reading “Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee”
Kathleen Keenan 