Living Out Loud

Rating:
Summary: what?
Review: If you come from a privileged upbringing, "work" from home on your computer keyboard and consider yourself one of the vanguard of feminists who have changed the world for younger women, are busy having and raising children and are largely focused on the details of their juvenile worlds- except when you are quoting literature (does quoting it put you in those authors' company? not) have had unparalleled opportunities (read great luck) at a successful career and have largely been unbuffeted by the winds of fate, then you will enjoy this book. I was very disappointed after amazon's review. I find Ms Quindlen too smug to digest well. Her writing is often inane. She is neither "living out loud" nor is she speaking for the majority of women of her generation, just a small privileged subset. Her essays on what its like to be a working woman are particularly galling, when she is a woman who has married well and is able to work from home at very little inconvenience to her life and her career. She may write on these topics to convince herself of her need for household help; I remain unconvinced! Save your money and your mind.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Ms Quindlen's commencement speech at Mt Holyoke May 1999 was one of the most to-the-heart speeches I have heard in a long time. Truly, a remarkable speech and one I shall keep for a long time and re-read from time to time. Thank God for her.

Rating:
Summary: The best of the bunch
Review: This is my favorite collection of Anna Quindlen--and I've read them all. I particularly liked the lifestyle pieces, her sensitivity and humanity and found myself saying OUT LOUD, "Yes, Anna! I understand."

You can keep this one with you and pick it up and put it down at will.

I particularly liked the piece, "Pregnant in New York," (a tough place to be pregnant--where ISN'T a tough place to be pregnant?) Also, "The Second Child." There are so many!

A big fan, I recommend all her collections.