The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan Most of you have probably read The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan. If you haven’t, then you’ve most likely seen the movie adaptation directed by Wayne Wang and produced by Oliver Stone. This was my second time reading the book, and it was ironically prompted by my high…
Life Sentences Laura Lippman This was certainly one of those unexpected jewels. I read the book jacket and expected something completely different from what I got. I’m glad, because I am not much of a murder/mystery reader, and although the synopysis might lead you to believe this is what the book has in store, I…
The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison Wow! My first read of Toni Morrison, and it did not disappoint. It was powerful and weighted–normally I’d brace myself for a read like this before jumping in. So, ignorance is bliss, and I jumped, committing to finishing the book in three days. Subjects addressed in The Bluest Eye…race, class,…
The Mighty Miss Malone Christopher Paul Curtis The Mighty Miss Malone, Bud Not Buddy, The Watsons Go To Birmingham. What do these books have in common, besides a great children’s literature author? They have history, social studies, suspense, humor and heartwarmingly hopeful stories. At a time when children’s literature is inundated with fearful characters and…
It’s been a while since I read a book that I really, truly enjoyed. Angela’s Ashes, by Irish-American writer Frank McCourt, was considered an outstanding example of its genre immediately upon publication. Indeed, it was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 1996, a fact that makes me wonder if I ought to read…
Angela’s Ashes Frank McCourt This was my hour of power summer—meaning I packed my summer full of an hour each day (sometimes more) of powerful 20th century and modern day classics—and I’m proud of myself. I’ve not only read more than a handful of wonderful novels, I’ve viewed their movies or listened to them performed,…
Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston I have a reading list a mile long, so the choice of my next book has lately been influenced by what’s been written about the book before I open it. This was the case with Their Eyes Were Watching God. The talk surrounding this book weighed heavily…
Still Writing Dani Shapiro Dani, your words were like those from the sister I’d always imagined. They gave encouragement, testified about my trials and forgave me my trespasses while lighting a fire under my behind with enough heat to deliver me from evil. Most importantly your words seemed to speak of the difficult mother/daughter relationship…
The Known World Edward P. Jones Why you have to read this book… Brilliant.…So utterly original that it makes most everything previously written about slavery seem outdated and pedestrian. It belongs on the shelf with other classics of slavery, like Toni Morrison’s Beloved and William Styron’s The Confessions of Nat Turner. -Atlanta Journal-Constitution One of…
*One of the first things any image consultant will ask is: Who are you? This is a loaded question if you consider it with the gravity it deserves. Ideally you’ll reply with an abundance of virtues and adjectives that paint a picture of a fantastically together “you.” Then there are folks that will be a bit more critical…
Simply Forgotten 