Read in November

1. Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson
Dark, beautifully told, completely engrossing.

2. Sorcery and Cecelia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Young adult, set in Regency England, epistolary, involves magic. How could you go wrong? Delightful.

3. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women, by Jessica Valenti
Valenti's basic posit, as I understood it, is this: that porn culture and purity culture aren't opposites, but different sides of the same coin, that neither could exist without the other, and that together they define morality and worth for women as having a wholly sexual basis, whether that's expressed through abstinence or objectification. I find her ideas very engaging; I don't love her tone or the way she structures her argument.

4: Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture, by Taylor Clark
Enlightening and entertaining. The author seems kind of quirky, but his voice grew on me. I learned so much: about coffee and espresso, about the conditions and practices that made Starbucks the goliath that it is, about its effects on our culture. Highly recommended if any of those sound interesting to you, or if you suspect you have a sociology nerd somewhere inside you.