Madeleine L’Engle, “A Wrinkle in Time”

I remember a teacher recommending Madeleine L’Engle to me, but I don’t remember ever reading this book before, which is strange, because I usually remember the plots of all books I read.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 1994, 182 pp.
Obtained via: Side of the road
Date started: 4.13.07
Date finished: 4.17.07
What I liked: The fact that the protagonist is female and three-dimensional, and the intergalactic dystopia!
What I didn’t like: No complaints.
What I learned: I’ve got to check out the remaining books in the miniseries, and I need to give my 12-year-old self a kick in the butt.
Unresolved question: What will it take to defeat the Dark Thing for once and for all?

Jim Hogshire, “You are going to prison”

I think the title says it all. (This book reminds me of a quote my friend Meranda posted recently: “Read, every day, something no one else is reading.” What better way for a journalist to come up with ideas?)

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 1994, 182 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 4.1.07
Date finished: 4.8.07
What I liked: Mr. Hogshire gives it to you straight up — how you’re probably going to prison no matter what efforts you make to avoid it and tips for making the most of the prison hustle (and how to hustle the outside) as well as how to avoid becoming the bitch of your cell block. I’ve never heard of this publisher, so I can’t really be sure how authoritative all this is, but he claims to have gotten all his info from prisoners and others involved in the corrections process. The book includes an eye-opening chapter about what happens on death row and succeeds in conveying a sense of hopelessness prisoners are likely all too familiar with.
What I didn’t like: Some of the editorializing was superfluous — it’s pretty obvious from page one where this guy stands.
What I learned: A lot about how to survive prison. This is all about men’s prison, though, so I probably don’t have to worry about ever using this knowledge.
Unresolved question: Has he been to prison himself?

Edited 8/25/2008 to add: Most of the hits I get on this blog are people searching for this book. On Amazon, copies of the 1994 edition go for at least $75. I guess it’s in high demand!

Meghan Daum, “The Quality of Life Report”

Meghan Daum is a hero of mine: In addition to having written two wonderful books, she’s a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times and contributor to a number of publications I dream to write for some day. Daum wrote “The Quality of Life Report” after moving from New York to Nebraska. The book’s protagonist, Lucinda Trout, is a New Yorker facing a substantial rent hike who moves to the Midwest for a TV segment and falls for quaint Prairie City’s low rents and high quality of life. After convincing her boss to let her spend a year there, she also falls for an outdoorsman and things get very complicated. This is the first book I’ve read in months that really grabbed me and kept me up all night finishing it.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2004, 336 pp.
Obtained via: Birthday present from Katie
Date started: 3.24.07
Date finished: 3.30.07
What I liked: This book had all the set-up to be standard chick-lit — the spunky, late-20s journalist living in New York, the no-nonsense gal pals, the tyrannical female boss — but Daum’s storytelling style saves it. Her talent for reflection — a great quality in her columns — lets you experience the characters without the OMG dialogue in many novels.
What I didn’t like: Nothing comes to mind.
What I learned: Even the big missteps and mistakes can be worked out.
Unresolved question: Why did the citizens of Prairie City let themselves be exploited for trashy morning television segments?

Nora Ephron, “I Feel Bad About My Neck”

The woman who brought us “When Harry Met Sally” and “You’ve Got Mail” reflects on her life in this collection of essays, some of which were published in magazines or the New York Times previously. She tackles the condundrum of hating purses but needing purses, laments not appreciating her neck before it turned into a sad mass of folds, and dishes out what she’s learned in her 64 years.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2006, 140 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 3.22.07
Date finished: 4.1.07
What I liked: It was an easy read, and at times pretty funny.
What I didn’t like: It definitely was not aimed at my age demographic, so I couldn’t identify with a lot of the topics.
What I learned: I should appreciate my neck more and live in a bikini until I’m 34.
Unresolved question: None — Ms. Ephron knows it all.