"Through the Reading Glass explores the practices and protocols that surrounded women's reading in eighteenth-century France. Looking at texts as various as fairy tales, memoirs, historical romances, short stories, love letters, novels, and the pages of the new female periodical press. Suellen Diaconoff shows how a reading culture, one in which books, sex, and acts of reading were richly and evocatively intertwined, was constructed for and by women. Diaconoff proposes that the underlying discourse of virture found in womens's work was both an empowering strategy, intended to create new kinds of responsible and not merely responsive readers, and an integral part of the conviction that domestic reading does not have to be trivial.

Why a hiking book for Boomers? Because Boomers are a savvy lot and they know that one size does not fit all. While they may be up for adventure and eager to challenge themselves, they wisely want to know what they are getting into before taking the leap. That's exactly what you'll get in this lively and informative hiking book, appropriate for both novice and experienced hiker. Organized into five "Boomer Rating" categories according to the level of challenge, the 75 hikes of this book begin with an honest assessment of the physical demands (and pleasures) of a hike, then give you all the advance trail "intel" necessary to make your day in the woods memorable. Drawing upon first-hand experience, the authors-who didn't start hiking until into their fifth and sixth decades-are eager to encourage others in the upper-age bracket to enjoy the great benefits of hiking. To entice you out, they include a full spectrum of hikes from easy rambles to dozens of peaks, giving you a wealth of helpful and practical advice about the trails, along with entertaining and informative anecdotes about wildlife, trail lore, Maine history, and tips for dealing with creaky joints and cranky knees.