Rating: 
Summary: Not Very Deep.
Review: I'm not sure what I was expecting, something that would teach me or affect me, I suppose. Every time I thought the writer was going to say something profound, there she was, off riding her bicycle again. As I was reading I checked the cover more than once to see if the book was subtitled 'The Joy of Bicycling', or something like that, that I'd overlooked when I bought it. She's certainly more athletic than I am, and although I am dimly aware there's joy in using the body, overall it reads like a list of skills, none of which have anything to do with me. Perhaps the book left me unmoved because I just couldn't find much common ground with it, and the parts where I could, I've either read elsewhere, or discovered for myself. It's pleasant enough to read, but I found nothing that left a lasting impression. Except for those cussed bicycles.
Rating: 
Summary: deep disappointment
Review: I've enjoyed Ackerman's other books, but this one failed to engage me. It did seem like she stitched a bunch of diary pages together and sent it to her publisher. She's a beautiful poet, but this time her thoughts seemed scattered with only the most lackaidasical attempt on her part to synthesize them. Usually, I enjoy her style, but I was especially distracted this time trying to keep the relationship between her personal anecdotes and the deep play theory straight. I have to admit, though, the paperback version has one of the most gorgeous covers I've ever seen. It's sad when more effort appears to have gone into a book's design than its content, though.
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