Wednesday, May 02, 2007

I owe Katie Hnida an apology.

Because I originally criticized her book here after having gotten only a few pages into it. And then today, I came home for a late lunch and was looking around for something to read while eating, and I saw her book still sitting, unread, on my shelf. So I picked it up.

And I read it pretty steadily through for the rest of the afternoon and evening until I finished it a little while ago.

No, it's not perfectly written, and in many ways, I can't relate at all to Hnida (and her lists of her own accomplishments early on in the book are kind of a turn off - there's really no good way to do that without it sounding like bragging). But hers is a compelling story, and I did find myself not only unable to put the book down, but also cheering for her along the way.

And it turns out that she wrote the book herself, so I'm willing to overlook the little things. If you have a chance, check it out.

1 comment:

Trinity said...

"(and her lists of her own accomplishments early on in the book are kind of a turn off - there's really no good way to do that without it sounding like bragging)"

that sort of thing actually REALLY put me off bell hooks originally. I had to carefully think about why I was reacting the way I was and see her points. I remember seeing her reference herself over and over and thinking "so why'd you write THIS book then?" Once I taught myself to ignore that and, well, own my annoyance, I realized she's got some great things to say.