The F-word discussion
What are you currently reading?
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This is one of my favorite stories, though it's been a long while since I read it last. I am always in awe of the book when I read it, considering how freaking young Shelley was when she wrote it, and the amount of detail she included. There hasn't been a movie version (to my knowledge) that is remotely close to the real story which I find really interesting and it probably says a lot about Hollywood and what Hollywood perceives the audiences want.
My only complaint with Frankenstein is there are no real female characters. The only one is Victor Frankenstein's cousin-love, but we only see her peripherally through letters and Dr. Frankenstein's perspective.
Imagine if Dr. Frankenstein had been a woman!
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I read most of it around college (on my own, not as an assignment), but my mom was reading it at the same time. She disliked it and commented on aspects of the book I hadn't considered yet, which then turned me off from wanting to finish it. I'm finally (almost 20 years later) getting back to it.
And I totally see many of her original issues with it.
But I can also see how this would have been a powerful book at the time, especially considering it was written by a woman.
ATM...I just picked up Andrea Vernon and the Corporation for UltraHuman Protection. I don't know what to expect. It looks like a fairly light-hearted fun read. I'm finishing The All You Can Dream Buffet by Barbara O'Neal which is women's fiction. About an older woman who is dying and wants to ensure the future of her organic farm so she invites 3 female blogger friends to visit in the hopes that one of them will take over the farm and keep it from her greedy nephews.
It's pretty good.
And I started We Should All Be Feminists last night. I have a few pages left to read and I'll get to it after I've done a little Sunday housework.
I've been struggling lately. Seems there aren't many books that really interest me. I read across a range of genres. Everything from Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance to Mysteries, Contemporary Romance and Historical Romance. I'll even read M/M, F/F and Erotic Fiction. You'd think I could find something worth reading quite easily...you'd be wrong.
Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "Artemis by Andy Weir."I've just written my brief review of this, most of it being:
"I felt repeatedly irritated by the author pointlessly sexualising his female protagonist. Frequent references to the likes of condoms, blow jobs and wet T-shirt competitions left me feeling that the author was abusing his own main character. Andy Weir sadly came across as a creepy sleazebag."
And that doesn't feel harsh to me. Anyone else read this?
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If I feel the need to read something else that will get me riled up, I might move Artemis up on my reading list. But otherwise, I'll probably steer clear.
I just picked up Touched (The Marnie Baranuik Files) which seems to be UF and is perhaps a little darker than I generally read. We'll see. I'm also reading Deadly Summer by Denise Grover Swank. I like her books. She writes cozy mysteries. But every now and then I get frustrated. Some of her male heroes are complete asshats.
I also picked up the ARC for Shadow Hunt by Melissa F. Olson. More UF. Sometimes I struggle with her but the main character has a pet demon hound so if nothing else that should be fun.
Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction by Timothy Gowers."I have a friend who is a physicist...initially doing the whole applying for grants and doing research thing but he gave that up to take a job lecturing because it gave his family more stability.
I was talking to him about the difference between school and university and he mentioned how frustrating he finds it that students who have done advanced math in school don't have some very basic mathematical concepts down. He said the first year of a science degree is the most difficult for him because he basically has to get students up to an adequate level of math for the course.
Just last night I finished reading a memoir A Life Less Ordinary by Baby Halder. She was married young and had three kids with an abusive husband, and finally managed to break free and set up on her own with her two youngest. Eventually she found domestic work in a house where her employer appreciated her, and encouraged her to read and write about her life. The book is the result. It was a quick but moving read, with some harrowing passages. Her strong spirit and determination runs through each page.I think my next read will be Red Rosa: a graphic biography of Rosa Luxemburg by Kate Evans, which arrived today.
This group is going to be dangerous for me! I just added at least six books to my "want to read" shelf from the comments above! :)I read We Should All Be Feminists yesterday and today am reading Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems (appropriate on a cold snowy day).
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I need to learn how to embed links to the books, but I read We Sho..."
We like contributing to the ever-growing mountains of To-Be-Read mountains beside each of our beds. :)
Above the comment box is a link that says 'add book/author'. You type the book or author there, and it will embed the link to your comment. I'm not sure if this is still possible on the mobile version or not... I generally only access GR on my laptop or (shh) work computer.
I'm so glad we read We Should All be Feminists last month. The essay may have been lacking in some ways, but the title alone is worth discussion.
Above the comment box is a link that says 'add book/author'. You type the book or author there, and it will embed the link to your comment. I'm not sure if this is still possible on the mobile version or not...Thanks. I've been mostly using Goodreads on my phone and iPad (because it's handy to update my progress from those) . . . but have discovered there are many things missing from the mobile app that are only available when I'm at the website on my computer . . . Looks like adding links is one of those things. I'll figure it out eventually :)
Reading right now The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
; sad that she died so young, great author.
El - ooh looks good, thanks for bringing that to my attention. I actually detoured from Red Rosa (but still on my desk to remind me) and am reading Emmeline Pankhurst's My Story, spurred on by the 100 (and 90) year anniversary of women's suffrage this year. About two thirds of the way through so far and it's a good read. It was first written in 1914 and is a detailed account of the campaign at that time. Have my copy of Toni Morrison too for this month's group reading. Happy new year!
Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "Artemis by Andy Weir."I've just written my brief review of this, most of it being:
"I felt repeatedly irritated by the author pointlessly sexualising hi..."
Hi Natasha: I read "Artemis." I, too, found the main character problematic but had what, I suppose, is a more analytical response. I just felt that Weir's main character didn't work. The main character's voice seemed male to me, period.
E wrote: "The main character's voice seemed male to me, period. "Yep. The outstanding amount of scientific research he put into The Martian and Artemis. Yet absolutely zero into a female voice, apparently. ...
I just finished a fabulous book, Katherena Vermette's The Break, and would recommend! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
I'm in the process of reading a few different books:Bodies by Susie Orbach
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
The Magnolia Story by Chip & Joanna Gaines
A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate by Cynthia Kim
I just started The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood. Loving it so far, wish I'd have read things like this when I was younger (raised very conservative...)
Bloody Jack a YA book and it's pretty good young Mary become a ship boy on a British warship probably around 1800 almost 21,000 reviews and a 4.11 rating not bad not bad at all.
Mod
I loved The Robber Bride when I read it in college. If you haven't already, I would also recommend Cat's Eye. And, if you continue to enjoy The Robber Bride, be sure to check out Stone Mattress: Nine Tales - you'll recognize some of the characters. ;)
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Still a good place to start if one has never read Dillard. But then go on and find the full books/essays to read them the way Dillard intended them to be read. :)
I just read Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions by Amy Stewart which deals with young women being arrested for being "wayward" in 1916. I thought it was worth mentioning here. Miss Kopp tries to restore their freedom.
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Can someone come please take care of my kids and do my job so I can get started on this ever-growing list of Must Reads???
Genghis: Birth of an Empire just finished Lara Harrigan K'atsina which was a really excellent historical fiction read gave it 5 stars
I just finished reading Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga and highly recommend it for those who haven't already read it. It's an excellent coming of age tale, which takes an unflinching look at colonialism, gender, race and class. I think readers in this group would definitely appreciate it.
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I second that. I loved it.
I just started Chinawoman's Chance by James Musgrave. This is a historical mystery that introduces a real woman who was a legal pioneer as the protagonist. Her name was Clara Shortridge Foltz. She was the first woman to be admitted to the bar in California in 1884. She was a speaker for women's suffrage and founded a club to assist women who wanted to be lawyers in San Francisco called the Portia Club. I assume this is why the author calls this the first in the Portia of the Pacific series. In this novel she is defending a Chinese woman accused of murder. So far the book is well-written.
I have just finished Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. This is a story about a family and a tragic fire set by one of the daughters that changes their lives. The place is Shaker Heights, a planned community where everyone fits in. People who don't fit in live in a different part of town. Controversy is not usually found here, and the town has provided for everything so it will be nice and organized. Mrs. Richardson, the woman we meet first in this story, is the essence of Shaker Heights. Her house is perfect and her children live a very comfortable life. Nothing can go wrong, or can it? Everyone's life in that house changes when Mia and her daughter Pearl move to Shaker Heights and rent an apartment in a two family home Mrs. Richardson owns. Pearl becomes friends with the family and her mother, Mia, becomes a part time housekeeper for them. However, all is not organized in Shaker Heights and Mrs. Richardson finds her values challenged during two very important events. The book is written in what is known as close third person so we learn about each character in a very intimate way, though it is not as in first person. But the author has given us a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of each one. I think it gives a perspective to the book as if it were being told from someone who knew this family very well, yet they really weren't a part of it. Since the beginning is really the end of the story, there may not seem to be a climax, but you have to read the book to find out what happens and why the fire was set.
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How is that one, Natasha? I've seen a lot of positive reviews so far.
El wrote: "How is that one, Natasha? I've seen a lot of positive reviews so far."11% in so far, El. And it is excellent.
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Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi."Ah, what a great book that is! Dr. Kendi is a colleague of mine, and marked probably the first time I have read an academic book not out of obligation :)
Kay wrote: "Dr. Kendi is a colleague of mine"Wow :-)
Yes, I'm so interested to read this that I'm not even daunted by the 592 page count!
Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi."Great book! Five star all the way.
I must write a review. It is high on my to read again soon list!! The 592 pages melt away as you read. The writing alone is worth the time.
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Disclaimer: This was written by the son of one of the professors I work with, but I haven't met the author and have no other connection with the book beyond working with his dad.
This book will be published in May. You can read more about it here at Beacon Press.
It's fascinating to me, though a bit more academic than I had hoped. I think readers who enjoyed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will appreciate this book as well. Stern writes in great detail about the "American Plan" of the early 20th century which involved the government putting women in "detention centers" (aka jails) if they were suspected of being prostitutes and/or having a sexually transmitted infection. They were treated brutally with mercury injections (which is, btw, poison) and their lives were otherwise completely destroyed.
Yet another woman forgotten in history, but her story is an important one. The events Stern details in this book have also, I think, been forgotten in history, so it's good to see it resurrected so we can see the depth and length of how long women's bodies have been used against us.
Having just finished the amazing Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi, I've just moved on to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.(From first-class intellect to homophobe, I know ...)
Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "Having just finished the amazing Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi, I've just moved on to Ender's Game by..."Or maybe from the sublime to the ridiculous??
Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "From first-class intellect to homophobe, I know ..."This really made me laugh, Natasha :)
The F-word
Books mentioned in this topic
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The One (other topics)
Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World (other topics)
Side by Side (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Marie Benedict (other topics)Rachel Gold (other topics)
Naomi Alderman, The Power (other topics)
Fartumo Kusow (other topics)
Vivek Shraya (other topics)
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I like prosy writing but even this is a little thick for me. I'm also finding the POV changes jarring. It's taking me a while to get through despite the awesome subject matter.