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

Katelyn’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Hi all,

In future, this folder should be reserved for lists of books, contributed by members, based on genre, subject matter, etc.

For example, you might start another topic "Provocative Books by Women" that includes particularly provocative books, rather than a specific list linked on another website.

Otherwise, this thread just becomes another long list of general book suggestions for the club, which we are trying to avoid. That's what the Book Suggestions bookshelf is for!

Feel free to add any of these titles to the Book Suggestions bookshelf! Follow the instructions here: How to Suggest a Book

Thanks, hope this helps!

Locking and archiving.

Y'all should make a separate post about marriage and feminism, I think it's a really interesting topic and it would get a bunch of people talking, I bet.

I like Sascha's list a lot. Particularly listen and use your power to change the status quo.

Heather Acosta wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Naming, as feminists know, is a huge issue as women throughout the centuries have had to fight for identity & acknowledgement both public and personal."

The moment when Squeak finall..."

I thought this as well! It's a great juxtaposition that she demands that she be called by her given name while Celie denies men the power that comes with being addressed by a name at all. It's interesting, as well, that Celie continues to refer to her as Squeak for awhile and has to consciously remind herself to call her by her given name. It is a small example of internalized misogyny, and how patriarchy interferes with women's ability to show one another outward respect.

It's really interesting to hear how the dialect is handled when translated to other languages. I imagine that was a complicated issue for the editors!

Salome, I think I said in a post above, I've had to do similar exercises to make sure I was understanding the true meaning of the words Celie writes. Including reading sentences out loud (which becomes a bit of a problem when I'm commuting to work haha). It's particularly confusing when her spelling of one word is actually the correct spelling of another word.

This is great news! Members have been reporting long waits at the library, as well.

Perhaps if people were to tell their local bookstores about OSS, they might be inclined to stock up on the books for each month once they're revealed, especially if multiple people express interest and let them know they're participating.

I have a Kindle and I really like it, especially because it tends to be cheaper and that's the great decider for me right now. I read My Life On The Road on Kindle for that reason. Managed to get a copy of The Color Purple from the library, though!

This quote is from pg. 106 in my copy. Shug has just brought Grady to meet Celie and Mr.___.
"Mr.___ feelings hurt, I say. I don't mention mine.
Aw, she say. That old stuff finally over with. You and Albert feel just like family now. Anyhow, once you told me he beat you, and won't work, I felt different about him. If you was my wife, she say, I'd cover you up with kisses stead of licks, and work hard for you too."

Shug's loyalty to Celie, and how she expresses it in this moment, is so beautiful. That last sentence made me cry.

Just a reminder to check the discussion board for the subject you are interested in posting about before creating a new thread.

helen2u Wrote: well I checked and the other thread didn't post the videos, so made a separate one, sorry! I will check because this is burning me that's how curious I am about it."

In the future, please contribute relevant links to discussions that have already been started rather than starting a new thread on the same topic. You can go ahead and add those links to the other thread on this subject.

We're a big group, so it's important that everyone make an effort to keep things organized, and that includes checking for duplicate threads before posting your own. Otherwise the Mods have to go about locking and archiving the duplicate threads.

In the interest of organization, I'm going to lock and archive this thread, as the other one was created first and has a longer string of comments.

As a native English speaker, the dialect (and the way it is written out) is challenging for me as well. I've also had to read out loud or just really pay attention to the sounds of the words in my head in order to understand some of the harder parts. After a few pages, I mostly had the hang of it but some parts are still confusing. I'm majorly impressed by those who are reading in English who are non-native speakers.

Agnes - It's interesting how the way the dialect is written in Polish is related to an old accent that is recognizable. I wonder if there are similar instances in other language translations of the book?

Simon wrote: "Katelyn wrote: "I have a couple of questions and discussion points regrading the use of dialect in the book.

1. How is the dialect represented in languages other than English? (Let us know what la..."

Simon, that's awesome! I'd love to hear more when you've gotten your English copy. I'm impressed by your effort!

Follow the directions listed here: How to Suggest a Book

Melle wrote: "It was an interesting read, as an atheist. I never really read her "Dear God" as being in any way religious, especially later in the book when she talks about how little she relates to the concept...."

I feel similarly. There are those who lose faith when bad things happen and those who cling to it more fiercely as a result. Neither approach is better than the other. People's ways of coping with tragedy and trauma are as varied as people themselves.

I also want to echo Eolith's comment above: Given the time and place, Celie's belief in God is probably automatic, and not the kind of thing it would occur to her to question.

I think religion is important to the book, but it's also interesting to consider the content of the letters versus the fact that they are addressed to God. There aren't many points where the letters must necessarily be addressed to God, they could be addressed to anyone. I kind of just see them as diary entries that anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, might write. But Celie feels so alone when these letters start that addressing them to God may make her feel as though she's connected with a higher power or a greater purpose, rather than just writing to an inanimate object à la "Dear Diary"

I have a couple of questions and discussion points regrading the use of dialect in The Color Purple.

1. How is the dialect represented in languages other than English? (Let us know what language you're reading in!)

2. If you are reading the book in English, but English is not your first language, how does the dialect affect your reading?

3. I've seen a few people state that they've read the book in their first language and in English (or are planning to do one or the other for their second read through). How does the experience differ? Is anything lost in translation? How do the version compare?

Kikki. If you can't handle me at my Strider, then you sure as Helms Deep don't deserve my Aragorn wrote: "To be completely and totally honest, I don't really understand why being called a p**** or vagina. I mean, that part of a females body is pretty strong, if you think about it. I mean it is able to ..."

Agreed. I think the answer to your question is simply that a vagina connotes woman, and women are weak. That's as far as thought goes when making a cliché old joke like this.

Samantha, good for you! I'm sorry that you're receiving so much internet hate, but you should wear it like a badge of honor. Ya did good!

Thanks for sharing the interview, Marc! It's been so exciting seeing everyone posting their pictures and whatnot.

There's already a thread compiling blogs and blog posts about the book club and the book here.

Feel free to add to that thread with your own links!

In the interest of organization, I'll lock and archive this thread.

Mary wrote: "Great comments, Martyn. I didn't mean to imply that this trend is sexist, but rather that it is telling and worthy of discussion, which is precisely what you demonstrate with your examples.

Also, ..."

Mary, YES. Okay. Now I'm like in full on geek mode.

(view spoiler)[I was so devastated by the way the show depicted Daenerys and Drogo's wedding night. I thought the book was so interesting. It was a point when I thought while reading "This series is going somewhere unexpected." The show's depiction was, frankly, sexist AND racist. Just awful.

I think, regarding deaths of women, that it's a symptom of the larger sexism of the world Martin has created. A lot of the time, I think women are left alive because it is assumed that they do not have power or influence. I think a character like Catelyn must die because she has defied this assumption. So does Ygritte. Lysa's station is her power, thus she must be removed from it. Shae was just plain old vindictiveness on Tyrion's part.

I also think it belies Martin's endgame. Obviously I don't know what will happen, but I've spent an embarasing number of hours reading analyses and stuff... I think it's pretty clear even to the casual observer that Martin is systematically ripping the power from the hands of the powerful and bestowing it on those that lack it: women, dwarves, bastards, etc. Most of our heroes defy the traditional white male hero stereotype. The question remains: will this result in peace, or does the cycle just continue with a new set of powerful actors?

I agree that Daenerys is pretty much knocked off her high horse in the last book. I'm excited to see what happens next with her. I think she has her heart in the right place, but she is not physically in the right place to accomplish the things she thinks are right. If she returns to Westeros with the same social justice agenda, I think there will be better results. Here's hoping!

Arianne Martell's absence from the show is yet another transparent sexist decision from these showrunners. Not just because an impressive woman is missing from the story, but because it is evident that they value the "masculine" traits of the sandsnakes over the "feminine" traits of characters like Arianne.

This also relates to my personal annoyance with people who are like "Yay Arya! Book Sansa!" >___> I like them both, but Arya is getting out of control, so I think it would be wise to raise a bit of skepticism since she's like officially murdering people now. But it seems like another case of she-can-do-no-wrong so people will just think it's badass and call it a day. (hide spoiler)]

PHEW! Okay sorry, that was long. But the gender dynamics in GoT are just SO fascinating. I could go on and on. As you can see.

Jenna wrote: "Cinder wrote: "Does anyone know any books that centre around an asexual protagonist? I am having difficulty finding a book with ace or are representation, and I would really like to find one."

sec..."

I bet if you start a topic in the "Book Suggestions" folder asking for ace recs, someone's bound to come out of the woodwork with some titles for ya ;)

Aglaea wrote: "Personally, I'm under construction in regards to sexuality, and it may or may not involve some kind of reveal to friends later in life. Or not. Anyway, reading along happily. "

I love this sentiment. I'm in a similar place right now.

Catrice - Just regarding your last point about posts that equate feminism with man-hating. A lot of listicles I've seen about "gifts for feminists" that include things like male tears and stuff like that, have been satirical. And products like that are, in general, meant to be funny. I think it's important that we acknowledge this. Comedy has historically been used by marginalized communities as a coping mechanism and as a form of radical thought production. Further, comical and satirical material has been misconstrued by others as evidence for further marginalization. So I just like to point out that feminists can be funny, too. Men may not like the kinds of jokes we make at their expense, but they've been making acceptable jokes about us for long enough. That makes the man-hating feminist jokes funny on a couple of different levels: making fun of men and also making fun of feminist stereotypes.

Btw, I'm not intending to explain satire to anyone as if it's a new concept and I'm some kind of expert. I know this is stuff we all already know. But I think it's relevant and interesting.

Following her apology, I am inclined to forgive Gloria Steinem for what was hopefully a very unfortunate off-hand comment. I watched the entire interview and, Bill Maher being the provocative mansplaining interrupting kinda guy he is (aka a old white male comedian), I think the situation just kind of being unwieldy for her, although overall, she held her own. Based on her comments earlier in the interview, I don't think she meant what she said. Fact is, however, she said them, and everything she says holds significant weight. Her apology was okay, but it would be nice to have a bit more clarification... I agree she was probably misunderstood, but that doesn't actually tell us what it is she actually meant. So I'd like to know more about where she was going with that comment and I'm hoping that Emma will bring it up in their interview.

That being said, I cannot conceive of a way anyone can excuse the comments from Albright. That apology she gave was so smug and obnoxious. Completely unacceptable. Even a genuine apology would be garbage from her at this point. I'm so incredibly disappointed.

helen2U wrote: "Tim wrote: "Fuck! Who told you I was Rowan Atkinson? Was it you, Katelyn?! I swear, she's lying. You have no proof!"

oh, so f words are allowed but not a [psi] book description on a what your favo..."

The description to which you are referring was from a repeat spammer who had been warned previously. Posts repeated on multiple threads are considered spam and are against the rules here.

Profanity, used respectfully, is permitted here on Our Shared Shelf.