Author Archives: danielshankcruz

Thinking About The Mezzanine and Participating in Capitalism

I was re-reading Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine this afternoon because I am teaching it in my American Literature After 1945 class tomorrow, and I was struck by a passage that I hadn’t thought about much before (which is the beautiful thing about the novel: basically every paragraph is thought-provoking if it hits one in theContinue reading “Thinking About The Mezzanine and Participating in Capitalism”

Books Acquired Recently

Bornstein, Kate. Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us. 1994. New York: Vintage, 1995. Bornstein, Kate, and S. Bear Bergman, eds. Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation. Berkeley: Seal, 2010. I’ve read bits and pieces of Bornstein’s work over the years and enjoyed it, and a colleague recently told me that she usesContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Books Acquired Recently

Deer Cloud, Susan. The Last Ceremony. Kanona: FootHills, 2007. I bought this book today after Deer Cloud’s poetry reading at Utica College. It is always fascinating to hear poets read their work, and it is especially delightful when they read it well and when it is actually worth reading, which was the case in thisContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Book Acquired Recently: Shirley Hershey Showalter’s Blush

Showalter, Shirley Hershey. Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World. Harrisonburg: Herald, 2013. Showalter was the president of my alma mater, Goshen College, when I was a student there, and we have since become friends, in part because we are both interested in Mennonite literature. Her new memoir, Blush, is sure to be anContinue reading “Book Acquired Recently: Shirley Hershey Showalter’s Blush”

Does Facebook Make Us Unhappy?

This fascinating New Yorker article by Maria Konnikova surveys a number of recent studies about how Facebook affects users’ mood. Most of the studies argue that surfing Facebook tends to worsen our mood because it is a passive activity that often leads to jealousy regarding others’ lives. We are happy during the brief moments whenContinue reading “Does Facebook Make Us Unhappy?”

Books Acquired Recently

Doyle, Arthur Conan. A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four. 1888 and 1890. Mineola: Dover, 2003. Frederic, Harold. The Damnation of Theron Ware. 1896. Mineola: Dover, 2012. I just recently heard of Harold Frederic (Utica College’s student literary society is named after him), who was from my new town of Utica, New York,Continue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

The New Header Photograph

I decided to update the header photograph of my blog to celebrate my recent transition to Utica, New York. I never feel truly at home in a new place until all of my books are displayed on their shelves, so the new photograph symbolizes my new identity as a Utican. Also, the previous header photographContinue reading “The New Header Photograph”

Books Acquired Recently

Ayala, César J., and Rafael Bernabe. Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History Since 1898. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2007. I have been wanting to learn more about Puerto Rico’s history for a while as a way to help me better understand my Puerto Rican roots. This book looks like itContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Pro Wrestling as Narrative

There’s an excellent interview with WWE executive Triple H on grantland.com that explains how WWE storylines get generated, and how they play out during live events. I loved to watch wrestling as a kid, and while I no longer watch it, I still enjoy reading about it. This may sound odd, but reading about itContinue reading “Pro Wrestling as Narrative”