Tag Archives: gender studies

The Painted Veil, by William Somerset Maugham

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Thistle

I’m reviewing this book together with my good friend Karen of Books and Chocolate. Amanda: Hi Karen! Thanks for buddy-reviewing with me! I think I want to start out by talking about William Somerset Maugham. I first read one of … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Readathon: Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Thistle

Alek, son of the assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, is on the run for his life as war stirs in Europe. Along with his tutor and fencing master, 15-yr-old Alek treks across Europe in a steam-powered Stormwalker in an attempt to reach … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Time of My Life, by Allison Winn Scotch

Posted on September 6, 2009 by Thistle

Spoilers. Jillian has the seemingly perfect suburban life with a supportive husband and a cute toddler that she gets to stay home with. But underneath the facade, she’s dying. Slowly withering away trying to keep up the perfect-wife-and-mother act. She … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Embroideries, by Marjane Satrapi

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Thistle

So what happens when a group of close women get together for an afternoon of tea and talk? Embroideries takes us through an afternoon of frank talk by women in their own little circle. The more I read of Satrapi’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Visual | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Thistle

A Room of One’s Own is adapted from a series of lectures Virginia Woolf gave on the topic of “Women and Fiction.” In them, she concludes that in order for a woman to write, she must have money and a … Continue reading →

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Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Thistle

I hardly know what to say about this book. I’m not even going to try to describe the plot. A plot description really doesn’t tell you anything. Each moment of this book illuminated nothing but the moment before it, nothing … Continue reading →

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Beneath My Mother’s Feet, by Amjed Qamar

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Thistle

Nazia lives in working class Karachi, Pakistan. Her family is not rich, but she and her siblings are still able to go to school, and her mother does not have to work outside the home. However, when Nazia’s father is … Continue reading →

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Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Thistle

Margaret (age 11) has just moved from NYC to New Jersey, and is trying to cope with the change and to fit in at her new school. Already she’s different: Her parents do not have any religion and so Margaret … Continue reading →

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Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Thistle

Melinda has become selectively mute. Because she called the cops on the end-of-summer party right before her freshman year, no one wants anything to do with her. Her old friends abandon her, and it becomes impossible to make new friends. … Continue reading →

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The Meaning of Consuelo, by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Thistle

Set in the 1950s in rapidly-modernizing Puerto Rico, this is a coming of age story similar to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Consuelo Signe is growing up in a four-person home, with parents who cannot get along and a younger … Continue reading →

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