Quick review: Rebecca Skloot's 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'

In my last post, I mentioned my recent trip to MLA, the big annual convention for languages & literature academics. It's kind of an overwhelming experience: hundreds of panels, hundreds more nervous interview candidates, converging on a cold city during the worst possible travel week of the year (the week between Christmas and New Year's). I'm reliably informed that this year's MLA was pretty tame due to the poor economy — much smaller and quieter than conventions held even two years ago...