Life Studies: An Analytic Reader 7th

by David Cavitch

This classic thematic reader helps students move from personal to analytical writing by engaging them with essays and fiction relevant to their lives.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old textbook I picked up at a discount sale. I've read this several times, mostly for the short stories, but this time around, was committed to reading everything from the essays to poetry, cover to cover. I read most of it, but some things, like reading transcripts of round-table discussions, I just couldn't do.

I would say I enjoyed 80% of the writing, but admit to finding that other 20% dull, dry, and steeped in self-important blowhardiness. One piece I particularly hated I actually read twice, "Speak, so I May See," an essay by an upper class academic, showing his obvious hatred for the middle class and pity for the lower class.

Other little gems of discovery were stories by Maya Angelou on her 8th grade graduation, a piece written by a journalist on his failure as a paperboy leading him to his life as a writer, the heartbreaking story of a teen dealing with his father's mental breakdown, and a delicious poem by Margaret Atwood on Sirens.