Today my son and I took our usual Texas vacay pass through the Half Price Bookstores in Austin. We made some choice discoveries considering that we had visited them less than three months ago. My son found some One Piece manga he was looking for, as well as some Weird Al Yankovic CDs (because he's into parody songs now). Best of all, he found some Spanish-language editions of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which I was more than happy to buy for him.

For myself, my biggest find was a two-volume set of Page Smith's biography of John Adams, which I have been searching for lately. I also picked up a copy of the third volume of Skidelsky's Keynes biography, which I already own but was for sale for too low a price to pass up.

The most interesting find, though, was when I saw these on a turnstyle:

Until I saw these volumes, I wasn't even aware that this series existed. The volumes look extremely intriguing, especially for better understanding some of the people I cover in class. I purchased the one on Edwards, and if the prices in these are indicative I will probably add a few more to my collection before I'm done.

Eckhart has a gift for bringing the senses alive. Her stories are soulful looks at life and love through less than perfect eyes. Secrets is a puzzle where nothing actually fits. Diana and Jed thought they'd weathered their stormy pasts until an accidental starts to unravel it all. A powerful look at what love truly means and the danger that lives within the unknown.

I feel like I know this story by heart. The Awakening haunts you like a melody. Laura and Andy are caught up in a whirlwind of heartache, deceit and power. There are moments when your mind wants to step away, but your heart won't let you. Moran digs deep and delivers every emotion with a purity that touches the soul. Reading Eckhart is often times like forgetting to tell your heart to breath. It's an automatic reflex.

The Forgotten Child is made up of heartache and tears. The first time I read Brad and Emily's story I kept a tissue box close at hand. The second time, I felt tingles in my heart. The third time I listened to it in audio and my soul may never recover. Eckhart and Moran bring three powerful characters to life. Brad and Emily are caught in the middle of an emotional love affair, but it's the bond between Emily and Brad's autistic son, Trevor that steals the breath from your lungs. In the face of beauty, ugliness tries to find it's way in, but there is nothing more powerful than a mother's love. Whether by blood or from the heart. That bond is not easily broken. WOW!

Caitlin Moran is funny. I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the book that were memoir and some of the parts that purported to be (all encompassing) objective notes on what women struggle with/care about/find most important did resonate with me, although many more were contrary to my personal experiences. If I were to have read the book simply as an amusing memoir I would have given it more than three stars.

However it was marketed as a feminist text, and perhaps if white feminism is your thing and Lady Gaga is your idol then this might be a plausible entry point for considering feminism. At seventeen I might have gotten more from it, and I did pass it onto my daughter for her thoughts. For me it failed as a feminist text - it includes casual racism, transphobic slurs, ableism and generalises on ideas that I do not believe are generally held or experienced.

There were times when I thought she made intelligent points contrary to popular wisdom and argued them well. Far too often though sweeping statements were disguised beneath comedy and this is where the more offensive arguments and language often came to light. I didn't hate it, if I did I wouldn't have shared it with my daughter. I found parts of it refreshing and fun. But I probably disagreed with 50% of what she said and found 10% actually quite offensive and upsetting. In short - great memoir, crap politics.