Katelyn’s Comments (group member since Jan 07, 2016)

Katelyn’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Emily wrote: "I'm very familiar with bell hooks and her work, but from afar. There were many courses I took in college that used hooks as a jumping off point in discussions, but I've never read one of her works ..."

This pretty well sums up my experience with her work also!

Stephanie wrote: "Is this our March book? Very excited, never even heard of this before."

Yup! Emma just posted the announcement a couple of hours ago: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

MeerderWörter wrote: "I'll definitely read them as well. I'll finish My Life on the Road today (it's already March 2 in Austria) today and then I'll buy/order these recommended books. Btw, when will the book for March b..."

It has been: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

;)

Like I did last month, I thought I'd kick off some discussion by finding out who is familiar with bell hooks's body of work and/or with this book in particular?

Ashley wrote: "Really looking forward to this new book. I love that each of the 3 are ones I never would have picked up and I have thoroughly enjoyed the first 2. I am expanding my reading and learning through th..."

Excellent, thank you for featuring us! The more the merrier :) Hopefully more people are bringing OSS to their local communities, via libraries or otherwise!

Elisa wrote: "Too bad it isn't available as audio book. I'd love to read this!! But due to illness I can't read long texts and can only 'read' my books in audio format. I send an e-mail to Audible with a request..."

This is not something that would have occurred to me personally, and I don't want to speak for anyone else on the team, but I'll bring this up and add it to the list of things we should keep in mind in the future as far as accommodating members. Thanks for letting us know!

Moved to Intersectionality folder

Hope that's okay. I think it has a better fit there, and perhaps will draw more people's attention to the other posts that are there :)

Thanks so much! This looks excellent. Assuming I can make time, I will be signing up for sure.

Check out this related topic:

Take OSS to Your Local Library!!
And for Spanish speakers:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Amanda wrote: "I'm not sure how wanting to continue the conversations on the previous two books prevents the announcement of the third. The My Life on the Road discussion continues to be lively even though we've ..."

Definitely not what I meant at all. My point is that people need not be worried about missing out on conversations if they do not have the month's book in their hands on the first of the month. With a global club of this size, procuring books is going to be a challenge to some extent for many members, whether it be library access, affordability, translations, etc.. This is another thing that we are working on behind the scenes.

We understand everyone's frustration, but I can assure you that the delay in announcing the next title has nothing to do with Emma or the rest of the team's level of interest in the club. Emma is working hard to find books that add productively to the discussion, while also looking for ways to supplement the discussion, for example, the interview from last week.

Our goal is to make sure discussion is continuous and fruitful, regardless of which book is currently up on the roster. Keep in mind that the club is only two months old and has grown exponentially in that time. We are doing our best to provide a positive experience for members and we hope that you stay with us while we work to improve the logistics.

Goodreads itself has pages dedicated to individual books that include synopses and member reviews. A member with concerns about content need only click the book's page and read a bit to make an informed decision about the book's content.

Feminism has to work with some adult and sensitive material in order to fully represent the issues at stake. I think members should be aware that some books are going to have content that reflects this. It is easy enough to read a quick synopsis.

Not to mention, as Emma wrote when she announced The Color Purple for February, she is choosing books that she has not yet read, so it would be unfair for her or the Mods to make content warnings for material she or we have not yet read ourselves. That is probably the biggest reason that I'd recommend to a member with concerns about this to do some quick research themselves. With Goodreads as the host for the club, it makes it even easier to do this.

The intention, partially, is not to abandon book discussions when the month is up. With that in mind, there is not really as much of a rush to get the next month's book. We're planning to continue discussion of My Life On The Road (especially with the interview video just having been posted and a transcription on the way), and the intention is to continue discussing The Color Purple as well. Furthermore, it is Emma's hope to have similar events related to the books and their authors in the future, but given busy schedules and whatnot, they may not always happen in proximity to the month when the book was chosen to be read. Therefore, the approach to book discussions is meant to be loose and fluid, without a strict timeline one when to begin and conclude. Members are free to continue discussions and create new topics as they see fit, regardless of what month it is.

Expect it soon! Not sure on an exact day/time, but shouldn't be too long now.

Until the next book is announced, The Color Purple should remain on the "Currently Reading" shelf. It will move to the "Read" shelf when it is replaced by the March pick.

Hmmm, someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe PMS is classified as a medical condition typically, at least not in the sense that it's diagnosable. From what I understand, it refers to the symptoms resulting from the hormonal cycle, which are noticeable in some women and not in others.

A medical condition that is diagnosable, however, is pre-mentrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which is a treatable disorder. I'm sensitive about the difference between PMS and PMDD because I was recently diagnosed with PMDD myself, and I've come to notice the differences in my own body and mood since developing PMDD.

Anyway, regarding the use of "PMS" as an excuse, I think it depends on the people with whom one is interacting. If a random man, or a co-worker, or someone I don't know very well, blames my bad mood or anger on PMS, that is complete nonsense and incredibly disrespectful. But my partner earnestly asking me which part of my cycle I'm currently in is understandable, because he has come to recognize the differences. In fact, he helped me realize that something wasn't right with my extreme mood swings and complaints of pain, and that led me to see a doctor and get treatment.

Hey Ashwin, absolutely. Always on the lookout to make sure these convos are respectful and productive :)

I think the Valentine's cards is an interesting example. I wonder about how the implications of "Girl Power" and "Boy Power" differ. My immediate thought goes to "Black Lives Matter" and "All Lives Matter." I guess I would just argue that systemic oppression of certain groups creates a problem for the group holding the power to express pride about their demographic... I wouldn't call that a bias against them though, but moreso an acknowledgement that oppressed groups benefit from pride movements in a way that is unnecessary for those who hold positions of power.

I'm going to take the implicit bias test later. Thanks for the link!

Tara wrote: "For anyone interested in why Black Feminism matters, as well as Womanism (although they are different fields), Kelly Brown Douglas, Katie Cannon, and Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes are brilliant author..."

Thanks, Tara! Definitely add them to the Book Suggestions bookshelf if you haven't already!

Locking and archiving

Lauren wrote: "I first noticed purple when Celie went shopping with Katie. It was then that she asked for purple cloth because it made her think of Shug. But the store was out of purple cloth. This was establishe..."

Wow, your analysis actually brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for that. I had completely forgotten about that moment earlier in the book when the cloth was not available. Your observations are very astute, and I think you've grasped something I'd be willing to bet was very deliberately place in the story bvut most people probably don't notice (myself included!).

Alexandria wrote: "I finished it yesterday and I was actually surprised by how much I loved it. If I'm being honest, I wasn't sure I'd like it when I started reading. But I liked the epistolary format; I think someti..."

Missionaries is one of the topics being discussed in this post (although the title is quite vague and the result is a thread about a bunch of things. Worth a read though, for sure!!): https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...