Search This Blog
April Reviews Link-Up
May Reviews Link-Up
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (1)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia (1)
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Monday, May 27, 2013
Why, Google, Why?
12:09 PM
Ever since I heard the announcement about Google taking away Google Reader, I've been a *little* upset. Reader's probably my favorite Google product of all. It's a simple, always-functioning way to keep up on all the blogs I follow. So, of course, the Google gods are taking it away from me. Waaahhhh! I've been in denial since I heard the sad news, hoping Google would announce some kind of retraction. It doesn't appear that that's going to happen, so ... I'm transferring my loyalties to Bloglovin'. I'm still not even sure how the program works, but I'm trying to "claim" my blog and entice all of my wonderful followers to follow my blog via Bloglovin'. What exactly that means, I don't even know ... darn you anyway, Google!
Is anyone else using Bloglovin' as an alternative to Reader? What do you think? Will I ever get used to this new program? I hate change!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Is anyone else using Bloglovin' as an alternative to Reader? What do you think? Will I ever get used to this new program? I hate change!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Labels:Bloglovin' | 7
bookworm(s) said...
Congrats, Tiger Baby, You're a Mommy. Now What?
9:47 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When Amy Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, came out in 2011, it incensed mothers everywhere. Including this one. The book (which I reviewed here) chronicles Chua's experience using traditional Chinese parenting tactics to bully her kids into becoming not just straight A students, but also world-class musicians. While Chua's oldest daughter did exactly that, her youngest put up some resistance. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is the story of that daughter's rebellion (she was 13 at the time) and how it forced Chua to examine her unyielding parenting practices against the obvious unhappiness it was producing in her child. While this may lead you to expect a grand epiphany about motherhood, the drawbacks of stiff, too-strict parenting, and the importance of letting children be children, that's not exactly what happens. Instead, as I noted in my review: "There's no self-deprecating humor here, no humble admittance of mistakes, just a half-hearted acknowledgment that Chua's dictatorial parenting style might not work for every child."
So, yeah, the book definitely caused a stir. And, even though Chua now insists the memoir is "mostly self-parody," it's difficult to see anything funny in it. The backlash against Chua's parenting, in my opinion at least, was very well-deserved. Naturally, then, Kim Wong Keltner's new book—a rebuttal to Chua's called Tiger Babies Strike Back—caught my attention. I definitely wanted to hear what a real-life "Tiger Baby" had to say.
Keltner is a Chinese-American who was raised in San Francisco by an uncompromising Tiger Mother and an equally strict father. Between them and a host of Chinese relatives who lived in the area, Keltner grew up under a hailstorm of constant criticism, intense academic pressure, and the absolute belief that she would never—ever—be successful enough to please her family. When Keltner brings her own daughter into the world, she vows to give the child a very different kind of upbringing, one filled with praise, affection and encouragement. She wants to keep her daughter safe from the clutches of all Tiger Mothers, including her own. But what if that means moving away from the only home she's ever known, alienating herself from her family and starting over in some white-washed place where Keltner and her daughter are the only Asians? How does she give her child a healthy, balanced view of who she is without exposing her to her Chinese side, however self-deflating it might be for the little girl? That's what Keltner has to figure out as she battles her own Tiger Mother tendencies in order to give her daughter the happy, nurturing childhood she never got to enjoy.
While Keltner's memoir is not nearly as impassioned or provocative as Chua's, it's still an interesting examination of life under a Tiger Mother's rule. Keltner's honest and funny, sarcastic and fierce. Her insights into what it means to be a modern Chinese-American woman and mother are likewise so. Still, her story's disjointed as well as just a bit over-the-top. Plus, she whines a lot for being a stay-at-home mom of only one child. Overall, though, I appreciated Keltner's point-of-view. It adds another dimension to the whole Chinese-style vs. American-style parenting debate, which is, in itself, quite thought-provoking. Not to mention infuriating.
(Readalikes: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua; also reminded me of The Joy-Luck Club and other books by Amy Tan)
Grade: B-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (one F-bomb as well as a couple of others that are abbreviated, instead of spelled-out, plus milder invectives) and mild sexual innuendo/content)
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Tiger Babies Strike Back from the generous folks at Harper Collins via those at TLC Book Tours. Thank you!
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR | 202420 minutes ago
-
-
-
Daily Prompt 18 March monday5 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Harris, Robert "Fatherland"18 hours ago
-
Breath as Prayer19 hours ago
-
-
The Magic All Around By Jennifer Moorman23 hours ago
-
-
Books from the Backlog #81 day ago
-
-
Don’t Foget Me by Rea Frey1 day ago
-
-
-
-
Sunday Post3 days ago
-
-
Timeline by Michael Crichton3 days ago
-
33. Ferris4 days ago
-
-
Persistence: A Review of Ghost Coach4 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Witch Hat Atelier: Kitchen, Volume 11 week ago
-
Catching up1 week ago
-
Review: Dating Dr. Dil1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?5 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra8 months ago
-
-
-
Sundays with Sam – The Sunday Post11 months ago
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ▼ 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)