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Reading Update #42
Sep. 3rd, 2007 09:35 amPosting the reading update a little early, as it is time to update the catalog and clear out some of the stuff I'm not going to read. I was going to save it for pre-PCS, but a) space would be good and b) I'm sure I'll need to do it again then anyway.
And because, Surprise! We bought books while we were at Dragon*Con.
So...
Life and Manners in the Frontier Army by Oliver Knight is a good look at the frontier army's social history, as based on the novels of Charles King (which were largely dressed-up versions of stuff he lived through with bad romance plots tossed in). Pretty good, although a little heavy on authorial sexism (not surprising, considering the time frame, but still mildly annoying).
The Colonel's Lady on The Western Frontier: The Correspondance of Alice Kirk Grierson, edited by Shirley Leckie, was very good. Not as good as the Gibson book, because she was not writing with a view to publication. Leckie has done an excellent job of paring down the letters to the fascinating parts and giving you the background for what you need to know. Has biographical sketch to start the book, so you have a sense of the woman whose letters you are reading.
Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment by Eleanor Clift is a good, condensed version of the struggle for women's suffrage. I knew the general outlines, and that there was a struggle, and some of the leaders, but not all the ins and outs. This presents them nicely, not super in-depth, but enough to have a sense of who you are reading about.
We picked up two of the Childcraft books (#5, About Animals and #14, About Me, 1988 version) for the entertainment value.
The Fire This Time, edited by Vivian Labaton and Dawn Martin, is a collection of essays about how young (Third Wave) feminists see some of the issues. More of the essays were interesting than not, so it stays. However, if you're not interested in the subject already, probably not an enjoyable read.
Also got through one Nancy Drew and one Hardy Boys.
Trying to decide when to read the new Stirling, today or the weekend. I wonder, because I know once I start, I won't want to stop.
DV
And because, Surprise! We bought books while we were at Dragon*Con.
So...
Life and Manners in the Frontier Army by Oliver Knight is a good look at the frontier army's social history, as based on the novels of Charles King (which were largely dressed-up versions of stuff he lived through with bad romance plots tossed in). Pretty good, although a little heavy on authorial sexism (not surprising, considering the time frame, but still mildly annoying).
The Colonel's Lady on The Western Frontier: The Correspondance of Alice Kirk Grierson, edited by Shirley Leckie, was very good. Not as good as the Gibson book, because she was not writing with a view to publication. Leckie has done an excellent job of paring down the letters to the fascinating parts and giving you the background for what you need to know. Has biographical sketch to start the book, so you have a sense of the woman whose letters you are reading.
Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment by Eleanor Clift is a good, condensed version of the struggle for women's suffrage. I knew the general outlines, and that there was a struggle, and some of the leaders, but not all the ins and outs. This presents them nicely, not super in-depth, but enough to have a sense of who you are reading about.
We picked up two of the Childcraft books (#5, About Animals and #14, About Me, 1988 version) for the entertainment value.
The Fire This Time, edited by Vivian Labaton and Dawn Martin, is a collection of essays about how young (Third Wave) feminists see some of the issues. More of the essays were interesting than not, so it stays. However, if you're not interested in the subject already, probably not an enjoyable read.
Also got through one Nancy Drew and one Hardy Boys.
Trying to decide when to read the new Stirling, today or the weekend. I wonder, because I know once I start, I won't want to stop.
DV
