Reviews with TLC

I bought Robert Frost Three Books from a remainders table several years ago. I don't remember when, but I know the reason was two-fold. One, I love Frost's poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening . For those of you who don't recognize the title, I think it's also referred to as the "miles to go before I sleep" poem. Two, I felt driven to study the work of well-known poets. I bought the book without even opening the cover, so imagine my disappointment when I discovered Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening isn't in the book. The book contains three of Frost's books, A Boy's Will , North of Boston , and Mountain  Interval . The poems in this book are divine. I read and reread many of them many times. They take the heart and mind on a journey through nature and human reaction. Wind and Window Flower reminded me of fleeting love and lost opportunity. The Vantage Point reminded me of the inner struggle between the need for solitude and the need ...

I was really excited about reading and reviewing Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community by Karen T. Liftin before I even opened the book, but I don't believe I allowed my excitement for the topic to interfere with my objectivity. Ecovillages addresses several topics I find relevant to the day and to our future. Liftin took an entire year to spend time at ecovillages around the world. She explores what each of these ecovillages are doing to create a better Earth and a more sustainable lifestyle. There is a thread of living simply throughout the book that supports much of my own point of view. She addresses what she refers to as E2C2, shorthand for ecology, economy, community, and consciousness as the components that make up any society. She discusses in detail how each of the ecovillages she visited address each of the components of E2C2. While we may have these images of ecovillages of hippie communes, Litfin points out various ways in which this stereotype is far from th...

Anderson & Roe talking about the music they would play. Anderson & Roe energized LaSells Stewart Center in Corvallis, Oregon Sunday, April 6, 2014, with their piano duo. Their performance vibrated the very souls of those in attendance. When I attend concerts like the one Anderson & Roe performed last night, my soul longs to be musically inclined. I listen and enjoy but don't understand music the way I sometimes wish I did. I rarely recognize tunes from the notes being played. I can never explain to someone else why certain music resonates with me in anything coming close sounding musically talented. I have friends who can compare performances and give you nuanced reasons why something works and something else doesn't. Music like Anderson & Roe's makes my heart ache for such a connection to music. They play with such an effortless ease and energy the listener, the listener can't help but feel inspired.  They introduced the pieces they played and de...

Gender and Global Justice edited by Alison M. Jaggar tackles an interesting, timely, and complex topic. The essays within seek to both ask and answer the questions of how gender affects justice and how justice affects gender. Though some of chapters in Gender and Global Justice feel a bit reminiscent of college papers, they deftly highlight the complexity gender plays in global justice. There are times when the words chosen feel as if they were chosen to impress rather than to better explore or explain the topic at hand, but the content outweighs these word choices. Jaggar compiled a set of essays that tackle the effects of things like migrant work, domestic violence, sex trafficking, tax policy, and family dynamics on gender inequality as well as gender inequality on all of these issues. The essays attempt to look at myriad sides of an issue, but often feel labored as they attempt to explore various sides without sounding like they're excusing injustices wrought by the effect...