The F-word discussion
What are you currently reading?
Recently finished:Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (re-read)
Just started:
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Charlotte’s lil one wrote: "I read this in 2017 while inpatient at the hospital. I was in a mental health crisis at the time. The book just happened to be the most interesting looking book sitting in the psych wing so"I have just taken a look at the first couple of pages of the book again. The first thing that irritated me was this:
"when a dog is finished living his lifetimes as a dog, his next incarnation will be as a man."
So, all dogs and all people are male? Really? What an appalling message. And it just gets worse from there on.
Man Made Language by Dale Spender illustrates fantastically how gendered language shapes our experience in ways we are usually not aware of.
I can't guess whether the author was reacting to #metoo. Shame on him if he was.
I was not aware of the Malcolm X dictionary scene. Just watched it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dn9U.... WOW. That was really shocking. The dictionary was indeed written by a white man. ... Women notice sexism; black people notice racism. ... However, even that 2-minute YouTube clip irritated me, because the characters started to refer to 'people' as 'men.' So sad.
Well said!: "Subtly placed hatred is more dangerous than outright hate groups."
Dennis wrote: "Just got this in the mail yesterday.
The Guerilla Girl's Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art.
The book is only just under 100 pages and a mix of pictures and text. It gets good rev..."
That looks really interesting Dennis. Does it highlight any specific female artists?
elizabeth wrote: "If They Come in the Morning by Angela Y. Davis
So much history I was never taught!"
I always have the same sentiment when I read her books, and I love it. Haven't read this one, hope it's good. Would love to hear your thoughts after.
Just started Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson myself.
@anita yes, I felt the same after reading Women, Power, Class. I also just read Freedom is a Constant Struggle but didn't feel the same way about that one. I imagine I would have appreciated it more if I wasn't so ignorant of the topics.What other books by Angela Davis have you read?
elizabeth wrote: "@anita yes, I felt the same after reading Women, Power, Class. I also just read Freedom is a Constant Struggle but didn't feel the same way about that one. I imagine I would have appreciated it mor..."Women, Power, and Class is exactly the book I was referencing, haha. I've also read Freedom is a Constant Struggle, and I just added your book and Are Prisons Obsolete?
I'm re-reading My Life in France. There is an inescapable fascinating quality to this woman and her life.
Chronicles from the Future by Paul Amadeus Dienach
Have been reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, which I'm finding absolutely tedious. And am also sick of reading 'mankind' instead of 'humankind,' 'men' instead of 'people,' etc. Giving it a rest at 59% in. And have just started Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle, which is thrilling from the start.
1. It's Not About the Burqa by Mariam Khan.2. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge.
World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler. Post-apocalyptic fiction in which people are dying of the flu. ...
Stacy HornDamnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York
This book was a kindle unlimited book that I found. Having a background in criminal justice and interest in mental health, I was interested in reading this book on the asylum, workhouse, poverty house and prison on Blackwell island in NYC in the 19th century. This book focuses on poor, the mentally ill, and how women made up double the population on the island during the 1800s. Such an interesting read. It is somewhat mind-boggling that poverty and prostitution paid such an important role during that time. It is squalling important to realize that despite 200 years, we still do not have a main focus for helping rehabilitate women and defendants in 2020. I really enjoyed this book by Stacy Horn.
Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls -- 1914 historical fiction about the Suffragettes, with some "Sapphist" interest thrown in.
Natasha wrote: "Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel--on a list of books 'like Ready Player One.'"That's an interesting connection... I'd love to hear how they are similar when you've finished. Station Eleven is a book I think I need to revisit
Anita wrote: "That's an interesting connection... I'd love to hear how they are similar when you've finished. Station Eleven is a book I think I need to revisit"I think it's more of an 'if you enjoyed Ready Player One, you will probably enjoy this' connection. I have just read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, which was on the same list. Dark Matter is not so similar to Ready Player One, but I did really enjoy it.
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. Got to nearly 30% before any misogynistic cr*p. THIS:Some women, Commander Norton had decided long ago, should not be allowed aboard ship; weightlessness did things to their breasts that were too damn distracting. It was bad enough when they were motionless; but when they started to move, and sympathetic vibrations set in, it was more than any warm-blooded male should be asked to take. He was quite sure that at least one serious space accident had been caused by acute crew distraction, after the transit of a well-upholstered lady officer through the control cabin.
I recently finished The Bridge of Beyond and found it to be an interesting examination of the lives of women in a poor community in Guadeloupe shortly after abolition. The relationships between the men and women were highly complex
Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison--dystopia about overpopulation, written in 1966 and set in 1999.
The Idea Of Perfection by Kate Grenville
A History of Dragons by Marie Brennan - a fictional memoir about a woman in a victorian-esque society pursuing her passion for science and the study of dragons despite the push-back of gender norms.
Murrey wrote: "A History of Dragons by Marie Brennan - a fictional memoir about a woman in a victorian-esque society pursuing her passion for science and the study of dragons despite the push-back of gender norms."I loved this series. Isabella's character growth over the series is some of the best I've read, and the audiobooks are really good as the narrator goes for a Dame Maggie Smith voice.
Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation Into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints by Sam Brower.
Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh
Tabitha wrote: "Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh"Great title!
I'm reading Recursion by Blake Crouch, which I'm really enjoying.
Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
And now onto my second book of the year after the 1,200 pages of Atlas Shrugged! ... Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson.
I am now reading The Complete Works of Jane Austin. I am currently reading Mansfield Park and love this compilation of Jane Austin’s work.
The F-word
Books mentioned in this topic
The Happiest Man on Earth (other topics)Who Owns England?: How We Lost Our Green and Pleasant Land, and How to Take It Back (other topics)
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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A story of emergent feminist behavior in a deeply conservative community,