By: Powell's Staff,
on 9/11/2013
In an age when everyone and their niece has written a tell-all book, when even fictional characters like Ron Burgundy are penning the stories of their lives, how does a memoir stand out among its peers? What qualities make it like nothing we've seen before? Sometimes truly extraordinary experiences can launch a memoir into uncharted [...]
By: Cindy P.,
on 9/9/2013
It would be reductive to say this is a weight-loss memoir (excuse the pun). Sure, Wendy McClure joins Weight Watchers and starts a diet blog called Poundy, but the memoir is about her life in a broader sense and is extraordinarily entertaining. Bonus: she reproduces lurid photos from 1970s Weight Watchers cookbooks. Books mentioned in [...]
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By: Caroline Starr Rose,
on 2/13/2012
For those of you who've followed here a while (and even for those who are rather new), you might have caught that I'm a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan. My book, MAY B., was partially inspired by my desire to create my own strong pioneer girl who would feel, in the spirit of Laura Ingalls, both familiar and brave.
Wendy's book covers a lot -- the television series fans vs. the book fans (some of us are both, but lean more one way or the other), the way Laura's books are more fictitious than many realize (For example, LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS actually covers the time before and after LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE; the Ingalls, like many pioneers, had to backtrack before being able to move west again), and the expectation -- and disappointment -- a fan might experience while visiting, as Wendy calls it, Laura World. How much of the books comes from true events? How much of our memories of the Ingalls were partially formed by our own childhood impressions? Where is a fan left in the midst of it all? And why did TV Pa solve so many problems by throwing punches?
By: Erik Brooks,
on 5/9/2011
That sounds amazing. I loved Laura, but I was never quite the die-hard fan that my little sister was... I think I know what she'll get for her birthday. :)
And, really, I just want to know the answer to this question: "And why did TV Pa solve so many problems by throwing punches?" :)
Yes, Faith, I do, too!! When I read Wendy's observation about TV Pa, I laughed out loud! The show was meant to be wholesome, but there was a whole lot of fightin' going on.
I still have my calico Laura Ingalls Wilder dress, apron and bonnet. My girls have been her for Halloween and for school days where they have to dress as their favorite literary character.
Um, changing gears here--but one child actually came as Hannah Montana (?).
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Hannah Montana as a literary figure??
I read this book and wished I hadn't. I felt like my (rosy) view of the Ingalls had been tainted. Too much information! But I can see its appeal for others and appreciated the author's intentions.
I understand what you mean, Irene. Maybe because I'd read some of the Ingalls experiences elsewhere, this didn't happen for me. Have you read Cynthia Rylant's Burr Oak Laura book?
Awesome! I loved Little House on the Prairie as a child. And your book fits right with that!
I'm a Wilder fan too! I will check out this book with trepidation!
It really is wonderful. I promise.