Quick reviews: Phenomenal woman edition

I've been out of commission this weekend with a bout of flu. On Friday, I started to write a few reviews, but they all fell by the wayside of chills and sneezes. I still don't trust my cold-medicine-addled brain enough to craft one review into a good long one. Will you, then, take four short reviews, instead? I promise to try to make them coherent.

(It wasn't until I'd put all the titles together that I realized that my reading fodder lately seems to be books written by women, for women, about women doing extraordinary things. I wonder if their stories are what empowered me to push through and keep doing laundry even in the midst of feverish body aches?)

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks: Colonial-era Bethia Mayfield befriends Caleb, the young son of the chieftan of the Wampanoag tribe. By teaching him English, she starts him on a path of learning that will end with his being the first Native American graduate of Harvard College. This wasn't my favorite of Brooks's novels--the narrative was unbalanced, and some of the plot points were a little convenient. But Bethia's yearning for an education that she can't get because of her sex, her vicarious joy in her friend's triumphs, stuck with me even after I was finished. 3/5 stars.

The Mothers of Reinvention: Reclaim Your Identity, Unleash Your Potential and Love Your Life by Jennifer Pate and Barbara Machen. Jen and Barb, hosts of an award-winning web series, share their tips for how young mothers can find enough time in their busy days to nurture their own interests and passions. The book was a little all over the place, and I cringed over the cheese in a few passages, but there's no denying that the 10-point plan for jump-starting your reinvention and the worksheets, tips, and stories from other moms are useful and inspiring. Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. 3/5 stars.

Bossypants by Tina Fey: I know I'm probably the last person on the planet to read Fey's humorous essays about her life and career, but I'm glad I didn't before, because they were a bright point in an otherwise dull weekend. It's refreshing how down-to-earth Fey has remained despite her great success. Reading about her relationship with her daughter, Alice, and her time playing Sarah Palin on SNL were especial favorites. 5/5 stars.

The Discovery of Jeanne Baret: A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe by Glynis Ridley: I've never read a book quite like this one, which recounts the tale of Jeanne Baret, an 18th century woman who accompanied her lover, the botanist Philibert Commerson, on an expeditionary trip around the globe. Baret collected and classified myriad plants unknown to Western science and dealt with the trials of life at sea all while hiding her identity by posing as a man. Ridley painstakingly reconstructs the story of Baret's life from letters, journals, and a few records, giving enough detail about the era to drive home how remarkable Baret's undertaking was. Ridley obviously feels passionate about her "forgotten heroine," and presents Baret's bravery and accomplishments with a refreshingly unapologetic feminist bent. I gulped it down. Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. 4/5 stars.

...the only thing I've circumnavigated lately is a bowl of Lipton soup. The kind with the skinny noodles. Ha-ha-CHEW!


Don't forget to enter the Belize Tees giveaway for the chance to win an "I Like Big Books" t-shirt by noon tomorrow (EST)!