Named for the 19th century feminist activist, the project is devoted to preparing an annual list of defiantly “anti-princess” books for girls, from preschool to young adult. Working since 2002, this task force of the American Library Association sifts through hundreds of books each year to single out those that spotlight girls and women who overcome obstacles to defy social expectations.

The topic for today is motherhood. You’d almost think there was nothing left to say or write but if that were the case, Mommy Track’d wouldn’t be here and two recent books wouldn’t be asking to be read.

Heads up, readers. This is a Mommy Track’d scoop. Emma Gilbey Keller’s new book, The Comeback: Seven Stories of Women Who Went from Career to Family and Back Again isn’t due out til September, but you heard about it here first. It’s worth looking out for.

Professional book reviewers watch out: hot on our heels is Sophie Epstein, not quite 8^th grader and savvy proprietor of Mrs Magoo Reads, a blog on which Ms Epstein offers her opinions on books and the occasional movie with appeal for young adults.

In no particular order, here’s some of the stuff I’ve done over the last 48 or so hours when I should have been writing this review of Dee Dee Myers’s new book:

From time to time we’ve alluded on Mommy Track’d to the guilty pleasures of having to travel for work – the quiet time, the unshared bed, the luxury of a nice hotel bathroom, room service.

As Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House may or may not be winding down, let’s consider GRACE FOR PRESIDENT, a charming and instructive book for kids written by Kelly DiPucchio with jazzy pictures by LeUyen Pham.

I read recently that it’s only here in the US that people ask “what do you do?” as an opening conversational gambit. Instead, at gatherings in Rome or Paris, for instance, people are more likely to engage you in conversation about the latest political controversy or art exhibition than to inquire about your work. The end of an evening might arrive without any new acquaintances having the slightest idea of what one “does.” but a lot about what she thinks. How refreshing.

Just in case you’ve been living your complicated lives and haven’t been paying attention to the latest literary scandals, here’s what’s been happening. During the last month, two critically admired memoirs - one the gritty account by young woman detailing her life as a gang member in South Central L.A., the other the tale of a child suckled by wolves as she hid out in a forest after her parents were spirited away by the Nazis - have been exposed as hoaxes. Never happened. Throw into this mix the very real and truly harrowing accounts by a father and son of the boy’s meth addiction and you’ve got a sense of what’s current in memoir land.

If you despair of ever getting the time to read a full length book, even a fluffy one, but if articles about what Katie does to turn Tom on leave you slightly nauseated, consider BRAIN, CHILD: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers.  Here (at last) is a publication aimed at women with children that dares to assume we have minds that have not atrophied, that we are capable of probing deeply into issues of concern to us, our families, and the  families of those around us.

If you’re reading this column, it’s a pretty sure thing that you take reading and books for granted as a familiar part of your life. You buy books for yourself and for your kids. Chances are also pretty good that you read to your kids as a matter of course.

What exactly do you want from a novel? Should it mirror your world, reflect it back to you? Or do you want it to take you somewhere else, to a life you wouldn’t otherwise know?

For me, the best anti-princess books are those that don’t try too hard, that make their point subtly, with the stories and pictures coming first, the “message,” resting underneath. Two recent charmers are Nancy Coffelt’s Fred Stays With Me, with illustrations by Tricia Tusa, and Holly Keller’s Nosy Rosie.

To tell you the truth, I’ve always had a bit of trouble with the name I gave this column: “Viewed and Reviewed.” One doesn’t just “view” a book, after all, in order to “review” it.

You’ve gotta love a book whose funniest sections deal with vasectomies and poop. That’s Amanda Lamb’s hilarious Smotherhood, her comic celebration of the things that drive all working mothers mad.