What happens when the review is a better read than the book?
The wonderful folks at Powells.com send me a link to a book review on a daily basis.
I don't read all of the reviews, and I certainly don't read them in a timely manner, but if nothing else, it means that every day I get at least one e-mail message I actually *want* to receive.
One of today's projects has been to sort through the backlog of book reviews stored in my e-mail program, and I came across Sandra Tsing Loh's review of Mommy Wars: Stay-at-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families for The Atlantic Monthly. It is insightful, thoughtful, and thought provoking. It is, in fact, so comprehensive and well-written that I have absolutely no desire to read the book. Not only has she done the work of reading it for me, she has done all of the thinking and responding as well.
I don't think that I was in much danger of reading the book in the first place because the topic of career versus stay-at-home--especially among wealthy women who pursue a career for self-fulfillment and/or something to do rather than for such mundane, pedestrian reasons as putting food on the table and paying the electric bill--doesn't hold much interest for me, so I am having trouble deciding whether Ms. Loh did me a favor or a disservice. I suppose to know for sure, I would have to actually read the book. Hmmmm.
I do know for sure that such certain knowledge will not be soon in coming because I am much more interested in reading Dead Beat by Jim Butcher, which is now available in paperback.
I don't read all of the reviews, and I certainly don't read them in a timely manner, but if nothing else, it means that every day I get at least one e-mail message I actually *want* to receive.
One of today's projects has been to sort through the backlog of book reviews stored in my e-mail program, and I came across Sandra Tsing Loh's review of Mommy Wars: Stay-at-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families for The Atlantic Monthly. It is insightful, thoughtful, and thought provoking. It is, in fact, so comprehensive and well-written that I have absolutely no desire to read the book. Not only has she done the work of reading it for me, she has done all of the thinking and responding as well.
I don't think that I was in much danger of reading the book in the first place because the topic of career versus stay-at-home--especially among wealthy women who pursue a career for self-fulfillment and/or something to do rather than for such mundane, pedestrian reasons as putting food on the table and paying the electric bill--doesn't hold much interest for me, so I am having trouble deciding whether Ms. Loh did me a favor or a disservice. I suppose to know for sure, I would have to actually read the book. Hmmmm.
I do know for sure that such certain knowledge will not be soon in coming because I am much more interested in reading Dead Beat by Jim Butcher, which is now available in paperback.
posted by minervasowl at 3:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home