August 2015

36.
Title: [Shifting Shadows]
Author: Patricia Briggs
Genre: Urban Fantasy; Short Stories
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: July 9, 2015
Rating: ***

I did not enjoy the short stories as much as I do the novels, but it was great to see the first Alpha/Omega.

37.
Title: [Medievalisms]
Author: Pugh and Weisl
Genre: Cultural Studies
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Coursework
Date Completed: July 10, 2015
Rating: ****

Readable, informative, and interesting, although this is only a survey of ideas and not an in-depth analysis.  It was a great way to start the class, and put us in the right mindset.


38.
Title: [Soranus' Gynecology]
Author: Trans. Owsei Temkin
Genre: Gynecology
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Coursework
Date Completed: August 2015
Rating: *****

I'm not joking when I say that this may be my new favorite book.  From the introduction I wrote for my coursework: "The introduction to Owsei Temkin’s  English translation of Soranus’ Gynecology names the second century Greek author as “one of the most learned, critical, and lucid authors of antiquity,” and his gynecological text as “the most important” (xxiii), which Temkin claims “represented ancient gynecological and obstetrical practice at its height” (xxv). As a whole, the material seeks to disseminate knowledge of female reproductive health, beginning with a description of the primary and secondary sexual characteristics unique to women, and including advice on breastfeeding, menopause, and even early development of children.  Among the goals of Gynecology is an attempt to clarify superstition and fallacious medical knowledge, such as when Soranus discredits Diocles’ assertion that “there are also what are called suckers, tentacles, and antennae in the cavity of the uterus which are protuberances similar to breasts … in order that the embryo may acquire the habit of sucking the nipples of the breast,” by definitively stating that such observations “are proven wrong by dissection” (13)."

The tone, practices, knowledge and belief all make this a fascinating text, but hilariously comical and outright terrifying.  It is quite literally a page turner for anyone marginally interested in maternity studies, motherhood in general, or ancient culture.  I was thrilled to work with the text in my own research, and continue to do so whenever I am able.

39.
Title: [Inventing the Middle Ages]
Author: Norman F. Cantor
Genre: Cultural Studies
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Coursework
Date Completed: July 2015
Rating: ***

Cantor's text is a bestiary of medievalism, offering synopses of major medievalist texts, and (often salacious) biographies of the scholars themselves.  Cantor misses a great opportunity in the style of his book, as the poignancy of the latter is often glossed over and left to the reader, when it could be much better directed in order to forward the argument of the text. However, the argument that the person matters in the scholarship is well made, and interesting.

40.
Title: [The Shock of Medievalism]
Author: Kathleen Biddick
Genre: Cultural Studies
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Coursework
Date Completed: July 2015
Rating: ****

With chapter titles such as "The Devil's Anal Eye," it's clear that Biddick's Shock of Medivalism is attempting to do just that - shock.  The major impetus of her essay collection is the acknowledgement of what's missing in medievalist studies, and a desire to redress these shortcomings.  Taking a queer lens, Biddick looks to the missing and the othered (such as women and Jews), and demonstrates the value of revisiting old discourses.  Not everyone in the course appreciated Biddick's style, but I found her theses to be intriguing, and am guilty of "shock" in my own work.

41.
Title: [How Soon is Now?]
Author: Carolyn Dinshaw
Genre: Cultural Studies
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Coursework
Date Completed: July 2015
Rating: ****

Dinshaw's text is not unlike Biddick's, in that she is attempting to identifies the holes in medievalist studies, and adopts a queer lens through which to explore them.  Also like Biddick, Dinshaw is interested in the other, which she defines through a unique definition of "amateur" scholarship.  This definition offers some difficulty throughout the text, as the "amateur" cited is often a professional, if not firmly grounded in the academy.  The amateur medievalist is overly romanticized, and a more grounded reading could likely produce even stronger results.  Most interesting for me was Dinshaw's reading of the anxiety of origins - where we come from, and how we come to find our place in scholarship.


I have never before taken a class in which we are asked to read whole scholarly texts.  I greatly appreciated the experience, even for texts of which I am less fond.

Once upon a time I abandoned Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Mystery series for its heavy-handed criticism of queer figures.  But some time has passed, and I decided to give it another try.  As a whole, many characters and representations remain problematic, but a few raised eyebrows does not interrupt the plot, and is indeed far less problematic than some of the romance novels I've read as of late.

Recognizing that I was no longer hauling around medievlaist texts, my partner asked me what I was reading while we were on the beach.  "A mystery" I answered.
"A cozy mystery?"
"Yes. It's about a midwife who solves murders in nineteenth-century New York." {To be fair, I don't know when I last saw Mrs. Brandt deliver a baby...}
"I'm so happy for you!"

42.
Title: [Murder on Fifth Avenue]
Author: Victoria Thompson
Genre: Mystery
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: August 2015
Rating: ***

43.
Title: [Murder in Chelsea]
Author: Victoria Thompson
Genre: Mystery
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: August 2015
Rating: ***

44.
Title: [Murder in Murray Hill]
Author: Victoria Thompson
Genre: Mystery
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: August 2015
Rating: ***