Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay

 

I've had the signed paperback edition of Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay ever since attending the Bay Area Book Festival in 2017 where I heard Roxane Gay speak at an in person event. 

Despite the fact that I've been wanting to read Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay for years, I've kept putting it off until this year when I finally listened to the audio version! One of the reasons I've put off reading Bad Feminist is because I don't normally gravitate towards nonfiction essays despite the fact that I enjoy Roxane Gay's writing. However, nonfiction essays worked in my favor while listening to Bad Feminist this month. Each nonfiction essay was relatively short in length. I was able to enjoy each essay as it was presented and then come back for more when I was ready for the next essay as time permitted with my busier schedule this month.

I liked this collection of nonfiction essays by Roxane Gay. I don't think there was a bad essay in the bunch. Although, of course, there were some essays I enjoyed more than others. The essays seemed to run a diverse range of topics, which I enjoyed. I actually learned a lot about Roxane Gay... Like the fun factoids that Roxane Gay is a competitive Scrabble player, loved the Sweet Valley High series as a youngster, and her favorite color is pink.

Below is a summary for Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay from Chirp's website:

A collection of essays spanning politics, criticism, and feminism from one of the most-watched cultural observers of her generation

In these funny and insightful essays, Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of color (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown). The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.

Bad Feminist is a sharp, funny, and spot-on look at the ways in which the culture we consume becomes who we are, and an inspiring call-to-arms of all the ways we still need to do better, coming from one of our most interesting and important cultural critics.

I am giving Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit and narrated by Luci Christian Bell.

Listening time for Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit is 2 hours, 47 minutes.

After hearing all the hype regarding Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit, I finally gave it a shot. I didn't enjoy this short read of essays as much as I thought I would. 

First off, I thought the entire book would be one long essay about men explaining things to the author, but it wasn't. There were several essays about different topics all pertaining to feminism in some way. The essay about 'Men Explaining Things to Me' was even different than expected, but still good. The rest of the essays gave food for thought, although a couple of them reiterated things I'd already learned in the past. This collection of essays was decent, just not as good as I'd hoped they'd be.

Below is the publisher's summary for Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit from Amazon:

In Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit takes on the conversations between men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don't. The ultimate problem, she shows in her comic, scathing essay, is female self-doubt and the silencing of women. Writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit is the author of 14 books about civil society, popular power, uprisings, art, environment, place, pleasure, politics, hope, and memory, most recently The Faraway Nearby, a book on empathy and storytelling. She is a Harper's Magazine contributing editor.

I am giving Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next time, happy reading!

Even the Stars Look Lonesome by Maya Angelou

I have been a huge fan of Maya Angelou's writing for decades now. In fact, I've even had the honor of seeing Ms. Angelou speak live in person twice in my lifetime and both experiences are ones that I will forever cherish.

I acquired the hardback edition of Even the Stars Look Lonesome by Maya Angelou in 1997 when it was first published. I can't remember now if I purchased the book for myself or if it was given to me as a gift. I do know, however, that I did read this book of biographical essays soon after it came into my possession... But for the life of me, I can't remember what I thought of this book at the time. So, I decided to reread this book once again.

Some of the biographical essays written by Maya Angelou were phenomenal in Even the Stars Look Lonesome... Some I thought weren't that enjoyable... And some were mediocre in my opinion. 

Maybe this is the reason why Even the Stars Look Lonesome by Maya Angelou didn't leave a lasting impact on me the first go around. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading this essay collection. I just didn't love the entire essay collection as much as I hoped I would.

My favorite quote from Even the Stars Look Lonesome by Maya Angelou comes from her essay titled 'Art For The Sake Of The Soul' on page 132 as follows:

We must replace fear and chauvinism, hate, timidity and apathy, which flow in our national spinal column, with courage, sensitivity, perseverance and, I even dare say, "love." And by "love" I mean that condition in the human spirit so profound it encourages us to develop courage. It is said that courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue with consistency. 

Below is the summary for Even the Stars Look Lonesome by Maya Angelou from Goodreads:

This wise book is the wonderful continuation of the bestselling Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now.

Even the Stars Look Lonesome is Maya Angelou talking of the things she cares about most. In her unique, spellbinding way, she re-creates intimate personal experiences and gives us her wisdom on a wide variety of subjects. She tells us how a house can both hurt its occupants and heal them. She talks about Africa. She gives us a profile of Oprah. She enlightens us about age and sexuality. She confesses to the problems fame brings and shares with us the indelible lessons she has learned about rage and violence. And she sings the praises of sensuality.

Even the Stars Look Lonesome imparts the lessons of a lifetime.

I am giving Even the Stars Look Lonesome by Maya Angelou a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on The Decision Not To Have Kids by Meghan Daum (Editor)

There was a time in my life that I had assumed that I would marry and have children of my own when I became an adult. However, by the time I was about 16 years old, my decision to have children in the future quickly fell by the wayside and I wanted to be childless forever. There were several reasons for this decision that I won't get into here.

As a side note, it's always been amazing to me that people assume that you will have children once you've become an adult, have finished college, started a career, and are finally married... In fact, you no sooner start a serious relationship as an adult and people start peppering you with questions as to when you'll get married... Then no sooner are you married, the questions start coming from well meaning family members and friends as to when you'll both be having children!! And, it seems to me like the woman in the relationship is always asked these types of questions about when children will be coming along, etc. and RARELY is the man ever asked these types of questions. 

Additionally, I've received some strange comments in the past from people that I barely know when I said that I wasn't having children. Mind you, these comments were made after I had been asked when my husband and I were having children. Hence, I was never simply volunteering my decision not to have children. Most people have been polite and respectful with my decision not to have children, especially close family members. 

It's just weird that a few people have had a problem (or have made the odd comment) with my decision not to start a family when it was never their decision to make in the first place.

So when I came across Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on The Decision Not To Have Kids by Meghan Daum, I looked forward to reading these essays. Thirteen of the essays were written by women and three of the essays were written by men. The essays are diverse and varied. I enjoyed most of the essays with the exception of two of them.

The following is a summary for Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on The Decision Not To Have Kids by Meghan Daum from Goodreads:

Sixteen Literary Luminaries On The Controversial Subject Of Being Childless By Choice, Collected In One Fascinating Anthology.

One of the main topics of cultural conversation during the last decade was the supposed "fertility crisis," and whether modern women could figure out a way to way to have it all--a successful, demanding career and the required 2.3 children--before their biological clock stopped ticking. Now, however, conversation has turned to whether it's necessary to have it all or, perhaps more controversial, whether children are really a requirement for a fulfilling life. The idea that some women and men prefer not to have children is often met with sharp criticism and incredulity by the public and mainstream media.

In this provocative and controversial collection of essays, curated by writer Meghan Daum, sixteen acclaimed writers explain why they have chosen to eschew parenthood. Contributors Lionel Shriver, Sigrid Nunez, Kate Christiensen, Elliott Holt, Geoff Dyer, and Tim Kreider, among others, offer a unique perspective on the overwhelming cultural pressure of parenthood.

Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed makes a thoughtful and passionate case for why parenthood is not the only path in life, taking our parent-centric, kid-fixated, baby-bump-patrolling culture to task in the process. What emerges is a more nuanced, diverse view of what it means to live a full, satisfying life.

I am giving Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on The Decision Not To Have Kids by Meghan Daum a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!