Harlan Cohen introduced his tough love approach to love. | Photo by Sam Galanis.

New York Times bestselling author Harlan Cohen was still in college when he began his dating advice column. When Cohen graduated, his column graduated with him—to the New York Daily News. Cohen took his 17 years of dating advice experience to BU this past Monday night. A crowd of BU students made up of predominantly Greek brothers and sisters packed into Metcalf Hall to hear Cohen’s romantic wisdom. What Cohen provided was nothing short of helpful—and hysterical.

Cohen is best known for his book The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run into in College. His latest book, to be released this April, is entitled Getting Naked: Five Steps to Finding the Love of Your Life (While Fully Clothed and Totally Sober). While it’s a universal dating advice book, the ideas it touts are catered to the college set. At the event on Monday night, Harlan gave the crowd the meat-and-potatoes of his book’s approach to love.

Cohen told the audience that, as students at a major university in a college city, we’re uniquely blessed with many options. There are plenty of young people all around us, and most of them single at that. He said that women need to grow “big ovaries” and approach men more often. The process of approaching women is more intimidating than ladies give guys credit for. Students should follow their passions and get involved, thus increasing their chances of meeting others who enjoy similar activities. Students can’t let fear of rejection thwart their quest for love in college, and what’s more, rejection is something we should get used to. When you truly put yourself out there, you can expect some rejection every now and then—but that’s okay. Often times, the reasons someone doesn’t want to date you are beyond you. As a society, we’re sort of conditioned to hate people who don’t like us in the same way we like them, but there’s no reason for that, Cohen asserted. There are tons of fish in the sea.

Cohen listed this fear of rejection among other commonly held beliefs that complicate the college dating scene. “Men are assholes, women are bitches, and couples in love suck,” is what Cohen described as the mantra of many single people. It’s a belief that we need to shake. He also said we tend to hang on far too long to relationships that are failing, for fear we may never be fortunate enough to fall into one again. If someone’s treating you poorly, Cohen said, there’s no excuse to stay in that relationship when there are plenty of options all around you who would treat you better.

In order to remedy our wounded dating lives, Cohen prescribed a five-step fix. As part of his advice, Cohen used the analogy of a thong. “Put on a thong,” he said, “and stand in front of a mirror.” Assess yourself in that thong. If there’s stuff hanging out that you can fix in a healthy way, then change it. If you can’t fix what’s hanging out, learn to accept and embrace it. Cohen didn’t mean dieting down a few pounds to obliterate your muffin top. What he was prescribing was a general life tune-up. We all have three different ‘thongs’—an emotional, physical, and spiritual. Our emotional thongs have to do with our life experiences and the way we handle what’s thrown at us, our physical thongs have to do with our self-confidence as related to our appearance, and our spiritual thong can be filled with meaningful hobbies and passions. When our thongs are all filled out healthfully, we’re ready to date.

Cohen rounded out the evening with “the Chlamydia Song,” an homage to STDs and college. The comedic love authority’s full take on romance goes live April 24 when Getting Naked hits stores.

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Photo courtesy of sirihustvedt.net.

With the feminist-sounding title and the bright yellow cover that screams “beach read,” it is easy to write off The Summer Without Men at first glance as the literary version of a chick-flick.  As I opened the cover to read the synopsis, I was expecting an introduction to a Carrie Bradshaw-esque protagonist on the hunt for love.  Instead, I read about Mia Fredrickson, a woman in crisis after her husband of thirty years asked to “pause” their relationship.  Maybe I was surprised that author Siri Hustvedt’s novel deviated from the typical plot that I was expecting, or maybe I find guilty pleasure in stories centered around middle-aged women restarting their lives after a nasty breakup (e.g. Under the Tuscan Sun or Eat, Pray, Love), but either way, I was intrigued.

True to my track record with middle-aged rom-com stories, I found great enjoyment in reading The Summer Without Men.  Hustvedt employs a unique style of storytelling in this novel: the novel is written as if written by Mia herself.  She even goes so far as to explain why she chooses to recount stories in certain ways, reflecting on the occasional uselessness of chronology.  The book’s style is also unorthodox as the author heavily weaves poetry into prose, including poetry authored both by Mia and famous poets.  It would be easy for the transition between prose and poetry to read awkwardly, but I think Hustvedt does a great job of combining the two forms of writing.  In fact, the poetry serves to enrich the story, eliminating any chance of the novel being as superficial as I first thought it might be.

What I also loved about this book is that it is a feminist text—not in a man-hating, female-superiority kind of way, but because of the way that Mia analyzes relationships between women and men, relationships between women and women, and how both of these relationships are influenced by women’s socially-determined roles.  Mia observes females of every age group: her wild three-year-old neighbor Flora, her twelve- and thirteen-year old poetry students, her twenty-something mother-of-two neighbor, her middle-aged self, and her elderly mother and mother’s friends who reside in the local nursing home.  This focus on females at every age is subtle, but it shows the mental, physical, and sexual transformations females undergo as they grow up and the various struggles that come with each phase of life.

In less than two hundred pages, this novel deals with many, if not all, issues that every female faces, but it is relayed in a way that doesn’t seem cliché.  The reader grasps the importance of each struggle Mia undergoes or observes without the cheesiness that often goes along with these stories of self-discovery.  I think this book would be enlightening for both men and women to read in order to better understand the universal experiences of love and loss.

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Posters created by the Beehive Collective of Vermont. | Photo by Ali Carter

Visitors got an alternative education last weekend at the 2011 Boston Anarchist Bookfair, sponsored by the Progressive Librarians Guild at Simmons College. The bookfair, held from November 11 to 13, featured radical literature and art from 35 organizations throughout New England, New York, Pennsylvania, California and Oregon–10 from Boston alone–and drew over 300 people.

“The anarchist bookfair facilitates the dissemination of books, art and other forms of media to people who are just learning about it,” said Dave Whelpley, a UMass Boston undergrad and member of a Cambridge co-op. “Most tables have a free aspect to them, so you can come in and get free literature and talk to people and get to know what anarchism means.”

“So much can be learned from some of the books here that aren’t in the mainstream discourse and really only printed media can provide,” added Jeff Reinhart, who also participates in the Cambridge co-op.

The Lucy Parsons Center based in Jamaica Plain. | Photo by Ali Carter

Other aspects of the bookfair included a kick-off show with local bands at the Democracy Center in Cambridge, as well as workshops and film screenings on political, economic, social, cultural and environmental issues.

“Even though it’s called the Boston Anarchist Bookfair, I think it’s about a lot more than that,” said Elisa Gill, a Boston University undergrad and member of the Boston Anarchist Bookfair collective that organized the event.

“For example, we had some people speaking who do not even identify as anarchists,” she added. “It’s all about learning from other people and being open to alternative ideas.”

One of these people, Tamer Mehanna, presented the workshop “Political Prisoners and Government Repression”. His brother Tarek is on trial in Boston on terrorism charges, which he said were fabricated by the FBI after Tarek refused to be an informant.

Since his brother’s arrest in 2009, Tamer and the activist group the Free Tarek Mehanna Support Committee have rallied thousands in support of Tarek and other Muslims in the United States who combat FBI repression of their political rights and unjust imprisonment.

“The most important thing is that people are dedicated to radical social change–social change that gets to the root of problems,” said Gill.

According to Gill, the bookfair sought to not only educate visitors about anarchism but also provide an opportunity to network and get involved in activists groups. “I’ve made so many connections with activists I’ve never met before who are working on struggles that I hadn’t been involved with previously,” she said.

But stigmas continue about who anarchists are, how they operate and what anarchy means. According to Reinhart, there’s a big misconception that all anarchists are “white punks” who use “black bloc” tactics like wearing face-concealing black clothing, rioting and vandalism in demonstrations.

“There are lots of people from all different backgrounds that are involved,” said Reinhart. “A lot of the best, most effective anarchists are community organizers.”

In the panel discussion “Stand Up Fight Back!: Stories of Radical Resistance & Boston’s Part in the Global Struggle”, representatives from different local activist groups discussed issues affecting their communities, including Whole Foods reappropriating the Hi-Lo Market in Jamaica Plain, banks foreclosing on people’s homes without due process and Boston University opening a potentially life-threatening biolab in Roxbury. While these representatives may not have been anarchists themselves, a number of anarchists are involved in their causes.

Representatives engaging in the "Stand Up Fight Back!" panel discussion. | Photo by Ali Carter

“I’d never really known what an anarchist was. People explained that they were very rowdy and they’d tear things up, but I think they’ve done an excellent job,” said Klare Allen, head of STOP the BU Bio-Terror Lab Coalition. According to Allen, anarchists have supported their campaign for about four years now. “It’s been a great relationship,” she said.

In addition, the idea that anarchy means “chaos” is a misinterpretation, said Reinhart.

“Anarchy means without rulers, but that doesn’t mean without leaders,” he added. “I think anarchists need leaders in the sense that everyone can be a leader. It pushes the idea of leadership to everyone as opposed to one or two individuals.”

While these stereotypes persist, it’s actually a very exciting time for anarchists. According to Gill, liberals and progressives are now moving more toward anarchist principles like anti-authoritarianism and consensus building.

“I equate anarchism with direct democracy and anti-oppression, which are really relatable goals,” said Gill.

In fact, as this article in The Phoenix highlights, the nationwide ruler-less Occupy movement against Wall Street and economic inequality, which spans political ideologies, is deeply rooted in anarchist traditions and values.

“I think the Occupy movement is the biggest thing to happen in anarchism in a while, certainly in my lifetime,” said Reinhart. “It’s important to recognize that whether or not there are people defining themselves as anarchists, what they are doing in setting up the camps is, in a sense, anarchism.”

Although it’s far from the revolution anarchists strive for, “people using consensus, general assemblies; people providing food, clothes, mutual aid to each other–that’s the groundwork,” said Reinhart.

In many ways, the Occupy movement has become a safety net for other social movements that have been struggling for years. By joining with unions and other activist organizations in protests and marches, Occupy has brought greater attention to their causes.

“It’s not just a philosophy,” said Gill. “It’s about social justice right now.”

Both videos by Ali Carter.

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Photo courtesy of peekingbetweenthepages.com

From the day Amaryllis was born, her mother Seena knew that she was vastly different from her three other daughters. Just by looking at Amaryllis, nicknamed Yllis, anyone can tell that she’s different; she is as dark as her sisters are fair, and her bright blue eyes are unlike those of her family’s. Whereas Seena’s first three daughters’ names all begin with Mary (Mary Grace, Mary Catherine and Mary Tessa) at her religious husband’s request, Amaryllis is named after Seena’s favorite Greek mythological character. Her husband accepted the name only because it still contained the name “Mary.” But the most different thing about Yllis is her deep understanding of the things around her. She has the ability to visualize, taste and hear emotion, giving her an all-knowing quality, and allowing her to piece together the things that go unsaid.  With this power, she realizes after eleven years that she is the product of her mother’s infidelity, an affair. Once Yllis realizes this truth, it tears her family apart.

Amaryllis in Blueberry, by Christina Meldrum, follows the members of the Slepy family during their last summer together. Filled with betrayal, love and loss, this book redefines family drama.

Seena realizes that she possibly never loved her husband, Dick. Where she is imaginative, he is logical, and where she is gentle, he is harsh. They are very much unlike one another, and yet their difficult childhoods and desire for attention push them together. That’s why Yllis is the daughter Seena loves most, because she was truly born from love, unlike her other daughters. Though Seena never voices these feelings, everyone around her knows it’s true. Yllis is the only person who can draw Seena out from the imaginary world she finds in her mythology books, where she hides from the disappointment of missed opportunity caused by her marriage to Dick.

When Yllis and Mary Tessa wander into the woods looking for kindling one day, they meet a Native American man. Yllis’ interaction with this man causes her to suddenly understand her true beginnings. And when she returns home and shares her revelation with her family, all of the suspicions Dick has about his wife and about Yllis’ birth become real. Filled with anger and jealousy, Dick seeks the guidance of his priest, Father Amadi, who recommends Dick offer his services as a doctor in Africa in order to turn his back on sin. With this recommendation, Dick uproots his family and takes them to Africa.

This novel is one of those can’t-put-down novels. The relationships between the various characters are dramatic and yet relatable. Each chapter is told through the eyes of a different character, and the novel follows a non-linear time pattern. This builds a great amount of suspense, leaving the reader hanging until the end. While entertaining, this novel is also thought provoking, making it an enjoyable and quick read.

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Photo courtesy of Tower Books

Fair Play, Thomas Teal’s translation of Tove Jansson’s Swedish novel Rent Spel, is distinct from the average American novel.  It is seemingly about nothing in particular, as it chronicles the day-to-day lives of partners Mari and Jonna.  Mari is a writer and Jonna is an artist, and each women values her craft immensely.

This short novel is actually semi-autobiographical.  Jansson, who was born in 1914 and died in 2001, was raised in a very creative atmosphere.  Both of her parents were artists, and this exposure to creativity at an early age probably contributed to her career as an artist and then a writer.  Jansson is most well-known for her children’s books, particularly those involving the imaginary character Moomintroll, but later in her career she published a few works for adults.

Her long-term partner Tuulikki Pietilä was an artist, and her relationship with Pietilä closely mirrors Mari and Jonna’s relationship in Fair Play.  The Swedish phrase labora et amare, which translates into “work and love,” was thought to be Jansson’s mantra; she was quoted as saying that the most important aspect of her life was work, then love.  Her tendency to value work more than romance was one of her most distinguishing characteristics.  This idea was also the basis for Fair Play, as the novel, in depicting the mundane, shows how Mari and Jonna balance the two passions.

I can’t help but compare this novel to every chick flick that has ever come to theaters with a storyline something like this: the classic “modern woman” who is on the fast track to achieving success in her career finds the man of her dreams and realizes that love trumps career.  This is a very typical story in American culture.  Career-driven men and women are so often depicted as unhappy – until they fall in love.  Therefore, Jansson’s book suggests an idea that is very un-American.  Fair Play makes the reader consider the possibility that one can find happiness by discovering one’s true-life vocation, not only by finding “the one.”

Another aspect of this novel that is very unconventional is the lesbian relationship that the novel depicts.  In most American novels that involve a lesbian relationship, the book’s main focus is the homosexual nature of the relationship and how the characters struggle to come to terms with it.  Fair Play does not approach the homosexual relationship in this way; in fact, this aspect of the relationship does not attract much of the reader’s attention and does not act as the story’s conflict.  This depiction of homosexuality is very un-American in that it is easily accepted as normal.  It leads me to believe that the intended audience, that is, the Swedish population, is more comfortable and accepting of gay and lesbian relationships than Americans.

Because it is unlike most novels that I have come across, I felt that Fair Play was a refreshing read.  It does not have a particularly exciting plot, but the novel requires some reading between the lines that leaves the story open to interpretation.

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Going to the grocery store can be a daunting task.  There are a multitude of aisles filled with countless types of food, making it easy to get distracted and overwhelmed.  How is anyone supposed to take these odds and ends and concoct a delicious meal?  How can someone even know where to begin?

That’s where Niki Segnit’s incredible guide to flavors comes in.  The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook spotlights 99 specific flavors, ranging from anise to liver, and combines them in more than 1,000 pairings.  On the inside of the front cover, there is a wheel displaying all 99 flavors and the flavor families they each fall into.  For example, one flavor family is “mustardy,” which includes watercress, caper, and horseradish.  Segnit uses these flavor families as chapters to divide the book.

The inspiration for this book came to her when she realized how reliant she was on cookbooks.  Segnit noticed that many people she knew were able to whip up a delicious meal without referencing a recipe.  How, she wondered, do they know what foods work well together, and which do not without learning it from a recipe?  So to answer that question, she set out to achieve a true understanding of these 99 flavors and how they compliment one another.

Aside from researching the way flavors combine, Segnit also attempts to define flavor itself.  She writes that flavor is not the same as taste, in that taste will indicate whether food is sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or savory.  The way Segnit explains the concept of taste versus flavor to the reader is that taste is something that can be detected even when someone holds his or her nose while eating.  Flavor is related to smell and has an element of subjectivity to it. So what tastes good to Segnit may not satisfy the pallettes of all readers, but her recommendations are well researched and are definitely worth exploring.

Each chapter is subdivided into the specific flavors that make up each flavor family.  The first flavor that is spotlighted in the very first section—“roasted”—is chocolate.  She explores the more common chocolate flavor pairings, such as chocolate and hazelnut, but she also encourages fellow foodies to branch out with pairings such as chocolate and tomatoes.  With each description of the flavor pair, Segnit provides either a story or history about the combination, and  provides an idea about how exactly to combine the flavors together in a dish.  Unlike the typical cookbook, however, she never provides a recipe equipped with specific ingredients and instructions.  The Flavor Thesaurus is meant to act as more of an inspiration than a set of directions for making lip-smacking cuisine.

Any reader who loves experimenting with food could spend hours leafing through this adventurous take on the average cookbook. What’s great about this book is that it has a little something for everyone, no matter your likes, dislikes, allergies or dietary restrictions.  Some of the most interesting entries that I read, and am dying to try, include combinations like onion and orange, egg and vanilla, and avocado with chocolate.  There are countless pairings in this book that I would never have considered combining on my own, which makes it all the more interesting.  This thesaurus would make the perfect present for any daring food lover.

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Julia and Valentina are frighteningly similar. As mirror-image twins, they are perfectly symmetrical to one another. Valentina’s heart is even located on the opposite side of her chest, causing her to be exceedingly delicate in contrast to her strong-willed twin. Despite these minor differences, the two girls’ identities are so closely intertwined it’s as if one cannot exist without the other.

When their Aunt Elspeth dies of cancer at the young age of 44, Julia and Valentina’s unhealthily co-dependent relationship is threatened. Elspeth leaves everything to her nieces, yet insists that they live in her flat in England for a year before they can inherit anything. Once in England, the two sisters begin to realize the limitations of their close relationship and subsequently start to drift apart.

This novel, Her Fearful Symmetry by author Audrey Niffenegger, also has an unexpected supernatural element. Elspeth’s spirit remains trapped in her flat, haunting the twins more and more as time goes on. Valentina becomes unnaturally obsessed with the presence of her aunt’s spirit and begins to lose herself in her paranormal fixation. This frightens and alienates Julia, who fails to share her sister’s interest in communicating with their aunt.

The way in which the twins respond to the presence of their aunt starkly highlights the contrast between life and death in Her Fearful Symmetry. Elspeth’s flat borders Highgate Cemetery, allowing Niffenegger to literally place life and death side-by-side. The twins themselves embody life and death through the comparison of Valentina’s diminishment and Julia’s accentuated liveliness.

Though the idea of ghosts may seem unrealistic to some, this novel points out how fixating on the past causes one to lose grip on the present. Through the characters of Valentina, Elspeth’s lover Robert, and even Elspeth herself, the reader can see that the refusal to let go is an enormous hindrance to happiness. Niffenegger does a great job of balancing the supernatural with reality, making this the perfect book with which to finish out the month of October.

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Definitely judge this book by its cover. | Photo by Courtney Federico

When I picked up Swamplandia! for the first time, I was confused. Depicted on the cover in cartoon-style artistry is a little girl, braids blowing in the breeze, sitting atop a man’s shoulders while both girl and man gaze into the open jaws of an alligator. From the looks of it, I had just picked up a 316 page children’s book. I was intrigued.

As I began reading, I found that the element of fantasy conveyed by the book jacket is initially the most prominent feature of author Karen Russell’s novel. Her protagonist, Ava Bigtree, and her family are every bit as whimsical as the book’s appearance, dwelling on an island off the coast of the continental United States and, as a family, running Swamplandia!, an alligator-themed amusement park that draws tourists from all around.

Told from the point of view of thirteen-year-old Ava, the reader is made to see the world that Russell creates as happily whimsical. Ava’s childhood is so deeply intertwined with her involvement in the success of Swamplandia! that the two are almost indistinguishable, giving her childhood a blissful appearance.  This only makes the death of her mother and idol Hilola all the more tragic.  The author creates a stark contrast between the fancifulness of Swamplandia! and the reality of her mother’s battle with cancer and the subsequent toll that her death takes on the Bigtree family.

I couldn’t help but see the similarities between Russell’s novel and the typical children’s book as I made my way through the novel. Like a children’s book, the story’s imaginative aspect immediately strikes the reader, reeling them in. Yet, as one continues, he or she will be surprised to find the tale’s deeper meaning, as portrayed through the struggles of the characters. Also, the innocence the thirteen-year-old narrator brings to the story only adds to Swamplandia!’s children’s book feel. That being said, Russell’s impressive ability to seamlessly combine fantasy with real issues makes this book expressive without being overly emotional.

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Boston Book Festival. | Photo by Amalie Steidley.

The BBF is a non-profit organization that shares its name with its most popular event. Founded in 2009 by Deborah Porter, the festival is a completely free, one-day event that combines a literary street festival with an astonishing array of panels featuring all sorts of literary dignitaries, as well as workshops for the public. This year was the third year that the BBF came to Copley Square. Events took place in the buildings surrounding the Square, including the Old South Church and the Boston Public Library.

This year, the BBF hosted over thirty different panels, featuring well-known authors as well as local celebrities and focusing on fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. There were also offerings for children and young adults. The panel topics ranged from music legends to environmental concerns to graphic novels and much more.  The panels brought artists together with the people who read their works, and allowed those people to ask questions not only about the topic, but also about the craft of writing and the importance of creativity and imagination.

Lines for panels were sometimes long, but went quickly. | Photo by Amalie Steidley

One of the most anticipated panels discussed the function of time in literature and featured Jennifer Egan, who recently won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel A Visit from the Goon Squad. Egan and her fellow panelists, Peter Mountford and Lawrence Douglas, talked about the nature of time in a novel, and the challenges that a writer faces when trying to work outside the linear frame of time. Mountford spoke about the challenges he faced while writing his book A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism. He ultimately reconciled a fictional character with the very real history of Bolivia. He talked about how Bolivia’s history had been dominated by colonial powers and how it seemed to move in cycles. “It’s a beautiful country with a wonderful culture, but it’s also deeply sad, because it also acknowledges the unforward progression of their history.”

Egan talked about the danger of having preconceived notions about how time should work in a novel and the difficulty of escaping linear time in a format that is linear by nature. “After all,” she said, “in a book, one word follows another.” When asked how she found herself at the festival, she said, ”I always love coming to Boston. It’s such a reader town.”

The audience seemed well-satisfied with the panel—Kathryn Dechamps, an Emerson graduate student, said, “I thought it was excellent. I was so excited they really went into depth about the craft.”

The BBF is not just about books – it is also about community.  The community of Boston was well represented in the literary street festival that took place that day. Inside white tents lining the square, local book sellers and publishers laughed and chatted with meandering festival attendees carrying old favorites they hoped to get signed by visiting dignitaries or poking through shelves to find a new favorite.

Crowds at the festival. | Photo by Amalie Steidley.

Kelly Link runs Small Beer Press, an independent publishing company centered in Easthampton, Massachusetts, with her husband, Gavin J. Grant. She was happy with the book festival: “Boston is such a writerly town. I think the festival is essential in a town where you don’t have as many book stores as you would think.” Link and Grant also took part in a panel earlier that day.  Other exhibitors included Boston Magazine, the Brattle and Raven bookstores, and 826 Boston, a local non-profit dedicated to “supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.”

For those tired from walking along the tent-lined square and rushing from panel to panel, a stage was set up in the center of the square featuring Berklee musicians Ada Pasternak, the Yesberger Band, the Caili O’Doherty Trio, and others.

Each year, the BBF creates a space right smack dab in the center of urban Boston where people can talk, think and focus on creation, innovation, and community—things that are easy to forget in the hustle and bustle of city life. It is one of the greatest gifts the city has to offer.

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• Saving Sudan, One Book at a Time

A map of Sudan. | Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Spesh531.

The book follows characters from different villages across Darfur, a region in southern Sudan, who are eventually connected by the tragedy that they experience.  Though the characters are numerous, Tinsley subtly develops each one so that they are clearly distinct from one another, yet relatable.  Each chapter focuses on either a different character or a different time period, which can occasionally be confusing. However, this element of Tinsley’s work is what makes it so captivating; it allows the reader to see the same issue from multiple perspectives.  The absence of linear time in this book is one of its particular points of strength, in my opinion, as it adds dimension to the story.  How the conflict between the Arabs and the Fur people of Sudan grows over time, eventually leading to the genocide, becomes clear to the reader.

When the Stars Fall to Earth is based on hundreds of interviews conducted with refugees from Darfur, which brings an element of credibility to this fictional story.  The realization that atrocities like the ones Tinsley describes are based in reality is what makes this story emotional and unforgettable. At the end of the book, Tinsley includes a section instructing readers about how to get involved with relief efforts for Sudanese refugees, proving that this book is truly a work of literature with a cause.

Rebecca Tinsley will be coming to BU on Wednesday, October 12 to talk about the human rights work that she has done in Darfur, Rwanda, and Uganda.  The event, which is called “Why Genocide Keeps Happening in Africa,” will take place at the Hillel House at 5pm.  For more information about the event, please click here.

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A user's home page reflects their Hogwarts House. | Photo by Leah Mackstutis

Many have suffered from serious withdrawal since July 15. It was an emotional day; for some, it felt like childhood’s end as the final installment of the Harry Potter film series came to theaters. While I’m sure many have recovered and moved on with their (perhaps more mature) lives, I won’t be so quick to close the book just yet. This summer may have meant the end of the series’ eight-movie run, but it also marked the beginning of J. K. Rowling’s newest project: Pottermore, an online extension of her seven-book series.

The site becomes open to the public at the end of October, when users can register and set up their accounts, but not all will be given immediate access. E-mails will be sent out to new users in waves to ensure that the site does not receive too much traffic, as this can cause technical glitches.

A number of fans gained early access to the site in its BETA period this summer, and I was lucky enough to have an obsessed Potter fan as a cousin to help me get in. After months of waiting for my welcome e-mail, I was finally allowed official access to the site just a few weeks ago, and I can say that Rowling has created not just an extension of her series, but an entire interactive world in her site. So far, Pottermore users can only explore the first installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but the rest of the series will be available eventually.

The site itself, just like the books, has a certain magical feel to it. Starting at the beginning of Stone, users can navigate through each of the seventeen chapters following a storybook-like trail. The chapters are then broken down into two to three scenes. Each scene contains vivid illustrations, collectable objects and coins (Galleons, as Potter fans will know), and exclusive content from J. K. Rowling about places, objects, and characters from the series.

The aspects of the site which I find most appealing are the interactive opportunities. Not only does this site contain lots of information; it’s a vivid experience of the Harry Potter world. Users can go through the same course that Harry did, starting at Number 4 Private Drive and ending with the end-of-the-year feast. They can buy their required school supplies, get sorted into Houses, and even take on Voldemort himself in the final chapter.

By far, the highlight of the site (at least for the first book) is the Sorting Ceremony. There must be a countless number of online quizzes to determine “Your Harry Potter House” with questions as simple as this: How would you describe yourself? A) Brave B) Smart C) Cunning or D) Loyal. Seriously? Who would check anything but A? Everyone wants Gryffindor because it’s Harry Potter’s House. No one would go anywhere near option D and risk getting placed in (dare I say it?) Hufflepuff.  The Pottermore quiz, however, was created by J.K. Rowling herself, so it is 100% accurate. No arguing and no cheating. Once users are sorted into their Houses, they have access to their common room and can begin earning House Points.

Some areas of Pottermore definitely still require improvement. My biggest complaint regards the glaring lack of sound and music, since these would greatly increase the experience quality. The site also experiences frequent technical issues (which are to be expected in the BETA period), but hopefully this doesn’t indicate what will happen when the site finally goes public at the end of October.

All in all, however, the site runs smoothly. There is, no doubt, room for expansion and improvement, but this will happen once the site is publicly launched and the remaining books are added. For now, however, fans can enjoy Pottermore for what it is: a fun, interactive way to help those still suffering from post-Potter depression.

For more information about the site and registration visit www.pottermore.com

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Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum's latest book. | Photo by Courtney Federico.

The economy is in shambles, the government is divided on every important issue and there is yet another disappointment to add to the list: the country has fallen behind. “In what?” one might ask. In everything, according to Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum in their new book, That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented and How We Can Come Back.

This book is the product of the collaboration between a New York Times columnist (Friedman) and a professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (Mandelbaum).  Though both men have made careers out of their interest with international affairs, the domestic issues that have arisen in the last decade and their subsequent effects on America’s international reputation have compelled Friedman and Mandelbaum to change focus.

Split into five parts, Friedman and Mandelbaum’s book describes the various ways that America is losing its title as “head honcho” to other up-and-coming nations in categories ranging from technology to education. Part I, titled “The Diagnosis,” begins with the discussion of China and the advancements it has made that have allowed it to surpass America in technological innovation and efficiency. While I find that any talk of China becoming the next world superpower as trite, no matter how true it may be, Friedman and Mandelbaum succeed in portraying China and the strides they have made over the last few decades as an inspiration to America. One of America’s biggest problems, the authors explain, is that innovation in America has died, and all citizens need is to look to China to see just how crucial innovation is.

Though the first four parts of the book can leave the reader feeling depressed about the future of America, by the time I reached the end, it was clear that causing us to fear the fate of our nation was not the authors’ intention in writing this book. In fact, the final part, titled “Rediscovering America,” proves just the opposite. Holding true to their self-determined description as “frustrated optimists,” Friedman and Mandelbaum use an entire 59 pages to suggest solutions to the problems laid out in the first 13 chapters. This part of the book may have been the best, as it was made up of personal accounts of interactions with amazing Americans who are challenging the nation’s willingness to take the backseat in areas that it used to excel at.

For anyone on the verge of entering the workforce who is trying to determine what role to play in the country or the world (ahem, college students), this book is everything one needs to get both direction and inspiration. Friedman and Mandelbaum outline what this country needs in order to reach its full potential; now it is up to Americans to execute those changes.

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