B&N Standouts

My husband has been trying to get me to read "Review", B&N's e-zine but to me it's like opening a Sunday newspaper. It's so massive and filled with so much information that I get overwhelmed just thinking about where to start. There are so many different features to it that I become the proverbial deer in the headlights and end up putting it aside "for another day" that never really arrives.

But lately I've been allowing myself a few minutes here and there to wander through it and determine which parts are worth my time and which I just don't have any interest in, just as I would do with a newspaper. Remove the classifieds, the political section, real estate and sports. Read the lifestyle, culture and comics. Sounds good to me.

So with this in mind I'd like to start a weekly feature here in Educating Petunia where I share with my readers what looks interesting to me in all that Review has to offer. I'm aim for Wednesdays as B&N Standouts days and see what happens.

So, without further ado, I bring you B&N Standouts.


Five Books - African-American Voices in honor of Black History Month

1. Letters from Black America by by Pamela Newkirk
2. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
3. The Chaneysville Incident by David Bradley
4. The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
5. A Slave No More by David Blight

If I had to choose just one I would probably pick up A Slave No More. It contains two memoirs from slaves that self emancipated along with an analysis of their works by the author. While I'm certainly a fiction lover I do appreciate good source material when I come across it.




Interview - Tom Stoppard
A very interesting look at what goes into creating an original play as opposed to that of a "translated" one.




The Long List - 50 books, CDs, and DVDs featured weekly
Of the 50, these piqued my interest the most:

• The Fire Gospel by Michael Faber
• Sing Them Home Stephanie Kallos
• The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill
• Banquet at Delmonico's by Barry Werth
• What have You Changed Your Mind About? by John Brockman