Why, hello there!
“Hello, Sady,” I imagine you to be saying. “What the heck are you up to? Aren’t you supposed to be writing about books?”
Well, yes! But, first of all, some nice people offered me money to write about something else. So I did it, and now the dog can eat. Mission Accomplished! That mission being: Having an alive dog! Second, I decided that, in order to write about books, I would have to actually, you know… read some. Rather than just vaguely recall things to pass along a thumbs-up about! So that “writing about books” project will now be spread out over the month, in order to better serve the WHIMS OF ERIN, and also give me space to write about other things. Thus far, I’ve read like every book by Colette I own plus some biographies, tried to hack La Batarde again, read Anne Sexton’s letters and some interviews, and generally just farted around looking for books that are Of Interest To The Ladies, or of interest to me specifically, without being, like, feminist textbooks or stuff that is boringly I-Approve-Of-This-Because-Strong-Female-Characters-y. Feel free to leave suggestions in Ye Olde Comments!
HOWEVER, there are some things for you to be alerted to, this Monday. And I will tell you about them now!
- Are you aware that our very own C.L. Minou was named BlogHer’s voice of the week, for her excellent if upsetting exegesis of this 911 call? Yep. (Are you aware that I had to delete 97,000 comments from people who were just like, “but you don’t know how irritating people who call 911 are?” No. But I did! I deleted them! Eat it, 911-caller-haters!)
- Were you similarly aware that I had an interview over at The Daily Femme? Well, I did. They asked me lots of questions I was not qualified to answer, and then I answered them anyway, and then they trimmed my answers down to manageable length and removed most of that weird Germano-Klingon sentence structure I always use when speaking to people whilst nervous, for which: Thanks I, yeah, really, I want to, like, it’s important to thank people, and you specifically maybe, maybe you relate to this that I sometimes, when sometimes thanking people I, sometimes I worry we don’t thank when we could be thanking but thanks I, yeah, thanks Daily Femme.
- Also: Do you like readings? I bet you do! Would you like to see me read? Let’s pretend the answer is not “maybe,” because I will be appearing on Wednesday at the Paper Cone Reading Series! To read! To you! And maybe sign your body, in some compromising way. WHO KNOWS. Delightful information is at the link!
And there you go. This has been a Boring Housekeeping Post, because today: Well, today I am boring. But this week will not be, I am pretty sure!
11 Comments
Have you read Cunt by Inga Muscio? The daisy and title, all bright on the front cover caught my attention despite being on the bottom shelf of the B&N women’s lit. section. I guess I’ll be surprised if you haven’t read it, but I’m curious about your reaction to the book.
DEAR SADY, Please come read on the West Coast. We (I) have big drinks with little umbrellas and at least two cats. MOST SINCERELY, Kate.
If you are interested in perhaps considering some light fiction for your reading list, I would like to suggest The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines. I will give one hint as to the contents: the princess goes on an adventure to rescue the prince, who has, by virtue of accepting a drink from a stranger, gone and gotten himself kidnapped.
I love retold fairy tales.
I know this is kind of juvenile, but I think it would be really awesome if you talked a little about Harry Potter or another fairly popular, fairly innocuous book like it. I’m not getting all THINK OF THE CHILLUNS, but…the chilluns! They read things. Is there anything interesting and, I don’t know, balanced, from a feminist perspective, for them to read?
Read Bow Grip By Ivan E. Coyote.
If you haven’t already, that is. Its a fabulous story that deals with gender issues from an average-male-who-is-a-good-guy-really point-of-view. It is fiction. 🙂
I think I remember you mentioned Vivian Gornick in a post a long ways back? She’s a wonderful and important writer who deserves more attention, and, in light of the recent post, does as good a job as anyone at self-reflection that’s feminist but not dogmatic . . .her memoir, Fierce Attachments, any of her books of essays, the short bio of E. Cady Stanton, which has amazing reflections on what it’s like to plug away as an activist for a lifetime . . .all brilliant and beautiful reads as well.
Some of Sheri S Tepper’s fantasy/sci fi-books are pretty thought provoking and entertaining – at least they got me thinking about feminism and roles and prejudice and stuff. Good shit.
“Is there anything interesting and, I don’t know, balanced, from a feminist perspective, for them to read?”
TAMORA PIERCE! I’ve been reading her new stuff lately, the Beka Cooper and Trickster books, and talk about great adventure stories for teenagers (and also adults who have a thing for YA fiction) that just happen to star really tough, interesting, funny young women and have sex-positive messages at the same time.
Also, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is great.
Forget Harry Potter, if we’re trying to find pro-feminist books for kids there’s so much better out there right now.
I’m sorry to delurk like this, sounding all crazy, but this stuff makes me way too enthusiastic. Can’t wait for the book posts!
I don’t know that she’s unproblematic, but I’m interested in reading Marguerite Duras’ “The Sea Wall” after reading in the NYRB (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2008/jun/26/in-love-with-duras/?page=2) that it’s a less romanticized telling of the same affair that’s central to “The Lover.” I’d want to read them side by side since I haven’t read “The Lover” since high school. But that could send you over your problematic v. positive Frenchy lady quotient.
Oh, but my post-coffee brain is working marginally better, and I think Yvonne Vera’s “The Stone Virgins” would be a fabulous choice so as to exit the (relatively) privileged Western whitey white realm.
If you like retold fairy tales, then pick up Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber. I don’t love her Japanese stories so much, but de gustibus.