Although memoirs seem to have exploded in numbers over the last decade, and may be becoming tiresome as a genre, I personally enjoy them for the simple fact that they allow me to walk in somebody else’s shoes. I find ways to be empathetic and understanding and more educated on other political views, cultural customs,... Continue Reading →
I picked up Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War (2011) by Leymah Gbowee because an acquaintance of mine recommended it. The title was enough to intrigue me, and as I started reading, it reminded me of two other books, I Am Malala (which I reviewed here) and... Continue Reading →
Much of my research centers on women in the workplace, whether that be the home or a traditional office, and I look at women historically and in the current workplace. So when Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (2013) was released last year, I was intrigued. I got my... Continue Reading →
As most of you know, education is important to me. I wouldn’t be pursuing a Ph.D. if it weren’t. Not only do I believe in education, but I believe in education for girls, and some of the most moving books I’ve read are about this subject. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943) by Betty Smith... Continue Reading →
I still remember the day in June 2002 when our local news reported the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart. We live in a suburb north of Salt Lake City, where Elizabeth lived, and the state community immediately rallied around her family and searched frantically for her. She had been kidnapped at knife-point from her Salt Lake... Continue Reading →
I picked up Andrew Solomon’s book Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity (2012) at the end of last summer. I read about 100 pages into this 702 page tome (that’s not including almost 300 pages of notes at the end), before my semester started and I had to read Foucault... Continue Reading →
One of my favorite books, that happens to be about grief, is The Year of Magical Thinking (2005) by Joan Didion. I found this book at the thrift store, and when I finally took it off my shelf in the basement to move it upstairs to my nightstand, I ended up cracking it open just... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago, I walked into the copy/mail room of the English department at my university and saw a box full of books advertised as "free." Of course, I couldn't resist pawing through them, and even though my backpack was plenty full of textbooks, I ended up hauling seven of them home. Here they... Continue Reading →
“It is the declaration of every thinking woman at some point in her life, a manifesto that crosses all boundaries of class or color or whatever arbitrary thing we try to pretend separates us. It starts out as a girlish whisper, grows louder with each passing year, until that faint promise we traced in the... Continue Reading →
I first remember hearing about Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) from my friend Valerie. She mentioned it during a book club that we both belonged to, and I was intrigued by it. However, it took me a few years to get to it. I ended up reading Atwood’s The Blind Assassin (2000) first. That’s... Continue Reading →
