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book report
Feb. 16th, 2016 12:32 pmTime stuck in airports means lots of time to read.
And I apologize for again giving so many grades of "B". I'm stingy at giving out "A"s, and oftentimes a book that'd be a "C" or below I just don't finish reading.
Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik - This was a fun, colorful biography of the supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I applaud the authors for making the topic of the law and the grueling struggle for women’s legal rights readable and accessible. I only admire Ginsburg more after reading this. Grade: B
Find Me Unafraid by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner – I listened to this on audio and enjoyed it a lot. We hear from the authors each of their intertwined stories. Kennedy grows up in a slum in Kenya, rife with poverty, abuse, and corruption. Jessica – a middle class American - travels to Kenya to assist the organization Kennedy has created to empower the slum’s residents. Together they work to take the group to even greater heights. I was hooked the entire time. Grade: B
The Colour by Rose Tremain – A solid work of historical fiction. Joseph is a deeply flawed Englishman, and he sets out with his wife and mother to make his fortune in New Zealand. We hear the intertwined stories of many of the characters. The author skillfully kept the plot moving and kept me interested in the people. Grade: B
Grassroots by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards – This was a re-read. I recently posted about my all-time favorite top 10 books, and this one was on there, so I decided to re-read it. There are a million books that tell you what’s wrong with the world but few propose any solutions. This one was written to explain how to be an activist. I love practical books, and love that this is not just another “the world sucks” book. Upon my second read-through of it, however, I was just a bit let down. I wanted more ideas and more tips. The authors basically tell stories of activism in their lives and others’ lives, but their suggestions really boil down to: start or join a group at your school, get active on the job, do “small” things such as leaving feminist magazines at the dentist’s, take a relative with an opposing viewpoint to see a documentary, write letters to the editor, donate, talk to the gym about stocking towels that fit larger bodies, etc. There’s a long section on activism in art that seemed too long – like why give artists more attentions than people who practice other professions or callings? I still love this book but my second time through, I really wanted more. I even kinda think that it doesn’t belong on my all-time top 10 list anymore...though I still love the idea of the book since it’s so original. Grade: B
SuperBetter by Jane McGonigal – This was quite an intriguing and unusual book. I mean, there are plenty of self-help books but this one was different. The author found herself depressed and anxious when she suffered a concussion, took a long time to heal, and during the healing process could barely function in any way. She decided this was either going to kill her or she would make a game out of it. So then her book is all about how you can make games and quests to tackle whatever challenge is facing you. She had a ton of great ideas and really made this seem fun. I did some quests myself but I never came up with a particular problem or issue I wanted to take on, so I didn’t take this any further. But it definitely seems useful and engaging. Grade: B+
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution by Rachel Moran – I should begin this by saying that there was absolutely nothing wrong with this book and I liked it a lot. It’s just that I’d read 200 of its 300 pages and felt I’d gotten the gist of it while also feeling like the subject matter was too overwhelming and depressing for me to continue on. In this book, the author describes her experience working as a prostitute and makes a case as to why it should never be legalized. She argues that someone cannot consent to working as a prostitute because it’s impossible to understand beforehand what you will be consenting to. Her voice was a very fresh and needed one, because sometimes I feel that even when I’m reading feminist perspectives, there can be a “rah rah” attitude towards sex work, porn, etc. I won’t get into my conflicted views on porn, and putting that aside, it’s good to get a solid reminder that prostitution is the buying and selling of women’s bodies and to remind ourselves to question what sort of a culture we are if we allow that.
And I apologize for again giving so many grades of "B". I'm stingy at giving out "A"s, and oftentimes a book that'd be a "C" or below I just don't finish reading.
Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik - This was a fun, colorful biography of the supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I applaud the authors for making the topic of the law and the grueling struggle for women’s legal rights readable and accessible. I only admire Ginsburg more after reading this. Grade: B
Find Me Unafraid by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner – I listened to this on audio and enjoyed it a lot. We hear from the authors each of their intertwined stories. Kennedy grows up in a slum in Kenya, rife with poverty, abuse, and corruption. Jessica – a middle class American - travels to Kenya to assist the organization Kennedy has created to empower the slum’s residents. Together they work to take the group to even greater heights. I was hooked the entire time. Grade: B
The Colour by Rose Tremain – A solid work of historical fiction. Joseph is a deeply flawed Englishman, and he sets out with his wife and mother to make his fortune in New Zealand. We hear the intertwined stories of many of the characters. The author skillfully kept the plot moving and kept me interested in the people. Grade: B
Grassroots by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards – This was a re-read. I recently posted about my all-time favorite top 10 books, and this one was on there, so I decided to re-read it. There are a million books that tell you what’s wrong with the world but few propose any solutions. This one was written to explain how to be an activist. I love practical books, and love that this is not just another “the world sucks” book. Upon my second read-through of it, however, I was just a bit let down. I wanted more ideas and more tips. The authors basically tell stories of activism in their lives and others’ lives, but their suggestions really boil down to: start or join a group at your school, get active on the job, do “small” things such as leaving feminist magazines at the dentist’s, take a relative with an opposing viewpoint to see a documentary, write letters to the editor, donate, talk to the gym about stocking towels that fit larger bodies, etc. There’s a long section on activism in art that seemed too long – like why give artists more attentions than people who practice other professions or callings? I still love this book but my second time through, I really wanted more. I even kinda think that it doesn’t belong on my all-time top 10 list anymore...though I still love the idea of the book since it’s so original. Grade: B
SuperBetter by Jane McGonigal – This was quite an intriguing and unusual book. I mean, there are plenty of self-help books but this one was different. The author found herself depressed and anxious when she suffered a concussion, took a long time to heal, and during the healing process could barely function in any way. She decided this was either going to kill her or she would make a game out of it. So then her book is all about how you can make games and quests to tackle whatever challenge is facing you. She had a ton of great ideas and really made this seem fun. I did some quests myself but I never came up with a particular problem or issue I wanted to take on, so I didn’t take this any further. But it definitely seems useful and engaging. Grade: B+
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution by Rachel Moran – I should begin this by saying that there was absolutely nothing wrong with this book and I liked it a lot. It’s just that I’d read 200 of its 300 pages and felt I’d gotten the gist of it while also feeling like the subject matter was too overwhelming and depressing for me to continue on. In this book, the author describes her experience working as a prostitute and makes a case as to why it should never be legalized. She argues that someone cannot consent to working as a prostitute because it’s impossible to understand beforehand what you will be consenting to. Her voice was a very fresh and needed one, because sometimes I feel that even when I’m reading feminist perspectives, there can be a “rah rah” attitude towards sex work, porn, etc. I won’t get into my conflicted views on porn, and putting that aside, it’s good to get a solid reminder that prostitution is the buying and selling of women’s bodies and to remind ourselves to question what sort of a culture we are if we allow that.
