bookgazing (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bookgazing) wrote2010-02-22 09:55 am
bookgazing) wrote2010-02-22 09:55 am
Other People's Words
All my words now seem to be about book buying (look out for future posts) and how a sense of not quite getting the world increases my need for other peoples words (do not look out for posts, mostly look for me running off to find saner sources of chat after I’ve distractedly exposed myself to inflammatory news stories). So I will leave you with some other sources of much better talk while I go away and wonder about the state of mainstream media yet again (or maybe I will think about old English sheepdogs, which remind me of magic carpets).
Now the sources of sensible, awesome talk:
Sarah Ryan’s post ‘I did not expect to be writing an identity-related post tonight’ made me decide I needed the follow up to ‘Empress of the World’, ‘The Rules for Hearts’ right now! The overall message is something like ‘people know who they are better than you do’ which is a very sensible message that amateur psychology encourages us to ignore.
Zetta Elliot guest posted at Justine Larbalestier’s blog about race and reviews. There’s lots to think about regarding who gets to have the final word on cultural authenticity in literature.
There’s been some really interesting discussion about Philip Roth at ‘Incurable Logophilia’ (recently added to my feedreader). Roth’s reported misogyny is why I’ve so far been anxious about approaching his books, in the same way I steer clear of Norman Mailer although I’m repeatedly told he’s a genius. The comments on these posts ask insightful questions about whether Roth is critiquing misogyny and if he’s not, whether his identification with misogynistic arguments unintentionally allows his work to contribute useful lessons about the state of our society.
This weekend’s ’Not the TV Book Group’ discussion was about ‘The Girl with Glass Feet’. I’m not going to review the book, instead I’m going to point you at the comments. I contributed a little at the end and I loved reading everyone’s different reactions to the book. Sometimes it is so fun to read what everyone else is reading so you can discuss alternative opinions on specific bits of a book.
‘Random Thoughts of a Crazy Liberal’ pointed me to a post at ‘Gender Across Borders’ called ‘The Eyes Have It’ about the twisted way society tries to ensure women’s safety. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, a lot recently. Increasingly the pressure of messages bombarding me with the idea that as a woman I need to exist in a state of constant fear and if I don’t I’m not taking the various threats seriously enough makes me want to go an live in a hermits shack. I want to kick out at these messages, because they’re just ridiculous, but in doing so I expose myself to people telling me I’m being reckless (and this concerned counter argument usually comes from other women, which makes me sad). It’s nice to know others are concerned about this issue.
Enjoy!
Now the sources of sensible, awesome talk:
Sarah Ryan’s post ‘I did not expect to be writing an identity-related post tonight’ made me decide I needed the follow up to ‘Empress of the World’, ‘The Rules for Hearts’ right now! The overall message is something like ‘people know who they are better than you do’ which is a very sensible message that amateur psychology encourages us to ignore.
Zetta Elliot guest posted at Justine Larbalestier’s blog about race and reviews. There’s lots to think about regarding who gets to have the final word on cultural authenticity in literature.
There’s been some really interesting discussion about Philip Roth at ‘Incurable Logophilia’ (recently added to my feedreader). Roth’s reported misogyny is why I’ve so far been anxious about approaching his books, in the same way I steer clear of Norman Mailer although I’m repeatedly told he’s a genius. The comments on these posts ask insightful questions about whether Roth is critiquing misogyny and if he’s not, whether his identification with misogynistic arguments unintentionally allows his work to contribute useful lessons about the state of our society.
This weekend’s ’Not the TV Book Group’ discussion was about ‘The Girl with Glass Feet’. I’m not going to review the book, instead I’m going to point you at the comments. I contributed a little at the end and I loved reading everyone’s different reactions to the book. Sometimes it is so fun to read what everyone else is reading so you can discuss alternative opinions on specific bits of a book.
‘Random Thoughts of a Crazy Liberal’ pointed me to a post at ‘Gender Across Borders’ called ‘The Eyes Have It’ about the twisted way society tries to ensure women’s safety. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, a lot recently. Increasingly the pressure of messages bombarding me with the idea that as a woman I need to exist in a state of constant fear and if I don’t I’m not taking the various threats seriously enough makes me want to go an live in a hermits shack. I want to kick out at these messages, because they’re just ridiculous, but in doing so I expose myself to people telling me I’m being reckless (and this concerned counter argument usually comes from other women, which makes me sad). It’s nice to know others are concerned about this issue.
Enjoy!