Collie's Bestiary

by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deidre English A review of one of my textbooks: a tiny little pamphlet — less than 50 pages! – with a powerful message that's both creepily and effectively illustrated with a few small woodcut reproductions. Operating under the premise that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, the authors [...]

A dog amongst adoring sheep Unfortunately there was one other aspect of this book which I found profoundly irritating, and that was the almost feudal assumptions it made about people and their places in society. The women who appeared in the story were all supposedly intelligent, self-sufficient, and educated — yet ultimately they were all [...]

Originally posted May 2006 For the first time I've gotten a book club book which I found disappointing. I was surprised, since the book was part of a recommended series by a couple of authors who've worked together previously, so you'd think by now they've had gotten it right. However, as I noted already, I [...]

I've finished one of my required readings for class: Rita Gross's fascinating Feminism & Religion. I wish I'd read this book years ago. One of the most critical points the book makes, which was a sort of "aHA!" moment for me when I read it, was that a religion which purports to welcome and offer [...]

It's always entertaining to re-read old college papers, especially when you've learned more since then. In the case of Feminism & the Bible: Examining the Christian Myth of Creation, the handful of later realizations or learnings I had were interesting enough to me that I thought I'd relate them here. For example, most people know [...]

Originally posted April 2004 Thanks to George for making this a better review, as he always does. Books of historical fiction are based, in varying amounts, on the reality of the past. However, the lack of good record keeping, coupled with the problem of information conservation, has left us more often with mysteries than fact. [...]

Book review originally posted June 2004 With thanks to Guthrum, oddly enough, who showed me loving horror didn't mean you were one. ;-) King has actually written two books here. One is a surprisingly candid review of his memories of childhood and young adulthood. The other is about the craft of writing, and it is [...]

Originally written in the late 1990's for a "Popular Culture" Anthropology class. In her book Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature, Janice A. Radway explores the apparent fascination of romantic fiction to many women, and examines the needs this literary genre fulfills for its readers. Our required reading was the Introduction and the [...]

by Mary Jo Putney 20 July 2006 book review by Collie Collier Credits: For my kind-hearted and thoughtful recommender, who I hope will both find this review interesting; and understand that while I didn't care for the books, I was quite touched at her efforts to help me. Also for Lou, who helped me remember [...]