Books for baby
At the end of October I gave birth to a handsome baby boy named Joe, which means I am typing this one-handed while the little guy sleeps against my chest. When we were leaving the hospital one of the techs came in and gave me two books, a paperback picture book and a board book. … Continue reading
Through the eyes of a child
One of the reasons Ender’s Game is my favorite book is because you see how the adults are manipulating Ender, the main character who is six when the novel begins, and how he reacts to the new world they force upon him. Ender is smart. He adapts quickly and understands most of the manipulation going … Continue reading
Preparing for Potter
I’ve never read Harry Potter. Working in a bookstore with loads of diehard Potter fans, my usual excuse often fell short. I tried telling people that I was simply too old when the books came out. The first book was published in the fall of 1998 in the U.S. and I was in eighth grade. … Continue reading
Mad childhood
When you think “Mad Men,” you most likely think of Don Draper all pressed and neat, dark secrets lining his smartly tailored jackets, beautiful lies lingering on his lips. You might think of Betty, the picture of grace (or Grace Kelly) quietly suffering her domestic incarceration behind the mask of perfect pink lips and expertly lined eyes. Or maybe you can’t get Joan out of your head. The way she walks down the hallway of the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce offices you can’t help but imagine the symphony that accompanies her cool sashay and impossibly girdled buoyancy. But what about the little guys? Those little guys with reason to be mad who are hardly men or women? What do we make of the kids on the show? They certainly don’t seem “alright.”
