The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women (2004) by Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels gave me a lot to work with for my essays and papers last semester. I focused my research on the professionalization of motherhood through blogging. This meant reading a lot of mom blogs,... Continue Reading →
I decided to read Still Missing (1981) by Beth Gutcheon because of this bookmark. It’s a bookmark from Persephone Books. They send me one each time they send out their catalog. Persephone books is based in London and is reprinting forgotten female novels. I love their goals and I love their books. So, when it... Continue Reading →
My two-year-old daughter will not go to sleep without her books. Not only does she want a few of them read to her before the lights go out, but she wants them all piled onto her bed. It’s her routine. The routine begins with bath time. If Daddy’s in charge, the bath is long, luxurious,... Continue Reading →
My seven-year-old daughter has pictures of Betty Friedan taped to her bedroom walls. The pictures are on leftover handouts from the college English course I teach. My daughter hung them after I explained to her Betty Friedan’s importance. (In 1963, Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique, largely considered to be the start of second-wave feminism.) Before... Continue Reading →
At the end of one of my English 1010 classes, a student wrote a magnificent paper. I don’t remember the exact theme or her argument, but I do remember that she had used Mary Pipher’s Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (1994) as a source. Now, this student was no ordinary student. She... Continue Reading →
Some of you may remember me mentioning that my daughter wanted a hamster. She has been saving her money and working hard to earn it for the past three months. She held a cupcake and lemonade sale, she cleaned bathrooms, she dusted blinds, and helped regularly with dishes and cleaning up toys. She earned $80,... Continue Reading →
My mother threatened to make me walk thirty miles to a piano competition unless I played the piece she liked. For clarity’s sake, my mother did not play the piano at all. She could not read music nor did she play any other instrument. She dabbled in singing as a college student and that was... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago we noticed a robin in its nest outside our family room window. As we sat on the couch to read or watch television, the robin would sit in its nest. During my husband’s Saturday yard routine, he sneaked a peek into the nest and saw four bright blue eggs. We hoped... Continue Reading →
I made an effort to pick up my house today. I do regular cleaning projects, like mopping, dusting, vacuuming, and laundry. But it seems like it’s never clean due to toys, toys, and more toys. Each time I find myself surrounded by a pile of these toys, I have one book run through my head:... Continue Reading →
My seven-year-old daughter and I have recently finished reading four books. Somehow we ended up reading all of them at the same time. We started reading a chapter of each one every night, making bedtime extra long and completely enjoyable. Here are the four books. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 