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POPSBarack Obama is Mr Darcy --Maureen Dowd Dowd reports that some women won't vote for Obama because he's skinny, some because he seems haughty. That's no sillier than voting for him because he resembles Jane Austen's most popular hero, Mr Darcy. I'm not wild about the train of thought that says women vote based on fictional heroes. However, it may be an uncomfortable truth, and not only about women. Much of voter opinion is based on looks, style, and media hype--not content. I do give Dowd credit for making an unusual analogy. The "Pride & Prejudice" title fits the current politics in some ways, and Dowd correctly points out that the success of the Austen novel rests of changing the views of *both* sides.
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POPSBooks like Harry Potter There's a longer list on the website. The NY Times says 3/4 of young Harry Potter readers are "interested in reading other books." Great--let's make sure they find some good ones!
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POPSAuthors Behaving Badly: Chick lit vs Lit fic Now I've read all 3 books, I agree with Sittenfeld's review of Bank's book (The Wonder Spot). Sittenfeld's and Weiner's books are much, much better. So I don't get why Weiner attacked Sittenfeld that way. I first assumed it was because Sittenfeld criticized chick lit. But a lot of Weiner's attack was about Sittenfeld herself. In the end, I guess I have to chalk it up to personalities.
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POPSHarry Potter doesn't increase kids' reading -NYTimes Jul 2007 Kids read if their parents read. And most adults don't read. I found some horrifying statistics on how little people read--and how reading dwindles as people age. Adults actually read less than kids do. Great example, huh? http://www.readforpleasure.com/2007/01/how-much-do-we-read.html
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