nomadreader

Why, hello there! Things have been mighty quiet around here this January. I've been having a blast teaching a new information literacy course I designed around documentary film in the inaugural J-term (January term), but cramming a semester's worth of reading, assignments and films into three short weeks has proved as exhausting as it is exhilarating. I've spent my weekends lounging on the couch watching television and grading papers rather than reading blogs and writing reviews. I have been reading a bit thanks to my public transportation commute to work. Plus I still have reviews from books read in 2012 to review, and things should be back to normal around here next week when spring semester begins and my teaching schedule shifts from twenty classroom hours a week back to two. I'm also planning a 'Best of J-term' documentary post for those of you who love documentary films too. In the meantime, I have to tell you about this amazing deal on my favorite read...

The backstory: I discovered These Days Are Ours  when Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review  and said "What differentiates the book from similar fables with young protagonists able to afford endless rounds of drinks in hipster bars is Hailey’s sense of self and her thoughtful inner life; the shopping and club crawls of her privileged life are just a backdrop, not the story." I immediately pre-ordered it for my Kindle, where I foolishly let it languish for nine months before reading it. The basics: These Days Are Ours  follows Hailey, a recent college graduate, in New York City in the spring of 2002. She and her privileged high school friends are in various states of employment, but they're also all still processing 9/11 and expecting another terrorist attack at any time. Hailey searches for a job, a life, a sense of belonging, and a sense of purpose. My thoughts: As I said  the last time I rated a book 6 stars out of 5 , "About once a year, I encounter a...