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Lets face it, we all have a list of books we think our friends should read. This is where my friends and I share our picks for what should be on your book shelf.
archives
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Blogroll me or use the image below to link back to this area of my site.
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What website wouldn't have a links page? Come see a few of my favorite places to kill time. Serious linkage ahead.
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3/2/2004 1:56:44 PM
Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs
title: Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs
author: Cheryl Peck
i picked up fat girls and lawn chairs at coliseum books, an independent book store, near my office. which means (significant pause) that i actually went and paid full-price for a book. which i read. and enjoyed. and it was worth every penny.
fat girls and lawn chairs is a collection of somewhat autobiographical essays by author cheryl peck. the essays are short, entertaining, often laugh out loud funny, and touching all at the same time. her obvious love and affection for her parents, sisters, babycakes her cat, and her beloved shine through in all her words. a self-described large gay woman living in the mid-west, her stories are easily relatable to by all. her sense of humor is wry and her wit is dry and self-confident. there's no self-effacement here. instead, her book exudes confidence in herself and she has a strong writing voice.
two thumbs up on this one.
link | comments on "Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs"
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1/20/2004 3:16:27 PM
class
title: Class: A Guide Through the American Status System
author: Paul Fussell
yes, virginia, class exists in the united states, although many people would like to believe it doesn't. class affects how you get treated everywhere -- from the hospital, to the jeweler, to the green grocer. class is immediately perceived by those around you, whom will pigeonhole you according to how you dress and speak. all of which are "facts" of which i have been aware since i was a little girl. my family was as class-conscious as they come and i still have a lot of those traits and mannerisms that show exactly where i came from (e.g. inability to make direct eye contact when speaking to people perceived as superior to me, etc.).
in class, paul fussell goes about dispelling the myth of the united states being a classless society. biting and sardonic, the author exposes the caste system of the u.s. -- caste because you are born into your class and can't get out, according to him. breaking down the system past the usual upper, middle and lower, fussell introduces a more complex system consisting of nine subdivisions, the ultimate desire for those but the very richest being to become upper middle class.
the author then goes about defining what makes each class what it its -- from shopping habits to the way they decorate their homes to their manner of speaking. a lot of time is spent on outlining differences, often in a somewhat harsh and pointed manner, but the book is a generally good sociological study. there are, though, a few instances (e.g. the chapter on education) where the authors seems to contradict himself and has to bend over backwards to keep his "theme" together.
the only other unfortuate thing about this book is that its outdated. it was written in the early eighties, so many of the examples given reflect that particular era and way of being. looking around me, i can see that things have changed since then, and this book would fare better if it were updated to reflect modern times.
link | comments on "class"
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1/13/2004 2:24:32 PM
fat land
title: Fat Land : How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World
author: Greg Critser
i'm fat. i was a fat baby, a fat child, an overweight teenager. i have been an obese adult. right now, i'd say i'm "zaftig," with about 20 lbs or so to lose. (the boy doesn't mind the weight...) growing up, my parents never pushed me to be thin, per se. oh, they made pointed and sometimes painful (to me) jokes, but they never said "stop eating that or you'll turn into a fat cow." i was, however, driven to be thin. the push came from teasing classmates, comments from strangers and other family, and the ever present television set. i often marveled at how those teeny models could eat a big mac and still be thin. after all, i was counting calories at age ten.
i've been obsessed with how much mass and space my body takes up for most of my existence. that being the case, i'm pretty well read on such topics as nutrition, exercise, diet, etc. so when fat land came across my radar, i picked it up, hoping to glean something new.
fat land is a well-researched book (about 1/8 of it is appendices and supporting materials) that takes a serious look at the american obesity epidemic, which according to critser disproportianately affects minorities and the poor -- in other words, the u.s.' disenfranchised. a history of the united states funding and protection of the food industry is given to set the scene. the book then moves on to note other mitigating factors: the decline in health education / physical fitness courses, the introduction of fast food in the schools, the absence of playgrounds. the book's socio-political viewpoint can be summed up as, "those who can (afford it), eat well, go to the doctor and exercise. those who can't, get fat. and fatter."
i enjoyed the book in general although my only criticicm is that critser only addresses helping our obese youth. if you're an obese adult, you're shit out of luck in his book, despite the fact that he lists how horrible being obese is for you. a little bit more evenhandedness seems to be called for in this situation, regardless of the politics and policies at apparent work.
link | comments on "fat land"
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