Julia
Seriously, fuck Catherine MacKinnon. McElroy, a former president of Feminists for Free Expression, does a fantastic job picking apart the messy and ultimately failing argument that pornography is bad for women. Censorship and attempts to externally regulate (through governmental regulation or morality campaigns) sexuality is what is bad for women. This would be an easy book to navigate even if you're not familiar with the tensions in feminism regarding what to “do” about pornography, and even though I am familiar with the old debates, McElroy does an excellent job bringing a historical perspective that really draws out her point that when feminists and religious conservatives make friends, it's never a happy ending. My one dislike is that the book is now over 10 years old, and so doesn't cover internet porn. I wish she'd do a re-write.
While not the hottest collection of erotica ever, I give Aqua four stars for a good effort. There are some traditionally steamy stories, but also some interesting, if not entirely successful, departures from that formula. So: if you're looking for pure smut, look elsewhere, but if you wouldn't mind a little less kink for better fiction, read away. Plus, waterproof books are cool.
A solid advice book. Not as fun as “The Big Bang,” but I'd recommend this for people self-conscious about buying anything in the “sexuality” section of the bookstore.
A beach read, for sure. I'm normally a big fan of chick lit, but [spoiler alert...although it wouldn't totally ruin a reading] the protagonist's anorexia is handled a little sloppily for my taste. Maxted has the symptoms of anorexia down to a tee, which is exactly my problem. I think the fewer “how to” manuals we give young women about disordered eating (someone with a problem could gloss over Natalie's protein-deficiency-induced hair loss and start imitating her workout regimen), the better. I'd be curious to see if other books by her were better, because that was my only (albeit major) problem.
Eh. Jake made endless fun of me for reading this, and I can't say I blame him. Picked it up at the yoga studio one day...although it's pretty interesting to hear her claims about the “instantaneous healings” she's done (also–tests the limits of plausibility), it's totally maddening to hear someone assert that breast cancer is most often caused by women who are excellent caretakers but unable to care for themselves. Really? That's it? Eu-fucking-reka. However, I am totally on board with the idea that how people perceive their health (and/or illness) greatly affects medical outcomes. Anyway...interesting if you're ever feeling a little woo-woo.
This is another book I read at my restaurant. I'd like to think I'm able to distinguish between chick lit that is also relatively good “reg lit,” and the chick lit that's the epitome of the whole genre. This is just plain chick lit. Although I was entertained during several late nights when the bar was slow, and finished recovering from the intensity of “The Kindness of Strangers,” I don't really have much to recommend. Bloom's protagonist does this weird internal dialogue in a different typeface than the rest of the novel, which I HATE aesthetically, and find sloppy in the literary sense as well, and then there's the total prudish approach to sex. At least in romance novels they don't beat around the bush (hah–n.p.i.). Finally, her attempts to make the heroine sympathetic sometimes just fall flat. Like a particularly weird scene involving a Lilith Fair-and-ectasy-induced epiphany. Lilith Fair, whatev. It's chick lit. Ecstasy? Really?? Weirddddddd.
Best. Art. Coffee. Table. Book. Ever.
My dear dear dear friend Meredith gave me this book as a Christmas present, and I've been savoring it bit by bit since then. I wish desperately I could have seen the exhibit the book is based upon at the Brooklyn Museum. As a former art history minor, I was always frustrated on how you can get a really good background in art before 1990, but learning about truly contemporary art (let alone contemporary feminist art!) is rarely done through coursework. This book did wonders to fill that void in my understanding.
Linda Nochlin and Maura Reilly both wrote totally hot intros about the necessity of the plurality of feminisms–at a time when it feels like most older feminists are complaining about the younger Obama-supporting ingrates, it's especially refreshing to hear Nochlin reflect on her changing understanding of feminism(s). The global part is addressed comprehensively: seven different women from seven different regions of the world were invited to discuss the work of female artists their localities have produced, and how feminism has interacted with cultural values and historical events in those parts of the world. REALLY interesting stuff, and many gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous color plates to complete the book.
My one minor complaint (hence, four stars, not five) is while I generally really enjoyed what the individual essayists had to say, a few of them (I won't mention names) slipped into what I like to call Butlerism–the belief that you can write like Judith Butler. Only Butler can write like Butler, and god bless her for it, but if you attempt it, you'll probably sound like a bit of an asshole, and would have been more effective getting your point across in less complicated sentences.
Nonetheless, overall, tra la la for women artists!
Let me be clear, ya'll: I am reviewing this so that you will use it when you COME VISIT ME IN SALT LAKE CITY. PLEASE. And because they called my neighborhood in SLC (Sugarhouse) up-and-coming and hip. La la la.
But seriously, while I'm not crazy about Fodor's for foreign countries, this certainly does the trick for stateside travel–I've been brushing up on my Mormon knowledge (no, not to BECOME one, just to be better informed), and now that I feel like I'm slightly more knowledgeable than the average bear, I was pleased to learn even more in the section on Mormonism in this guide, and appreciated the writers' light touch and sense of humor. Also, Fodor's does have good restaurant reviews.
COME VISIT ME.
Hmf. I mean, the basics are alright, but I don't need so many goddamn pictures. I'm going to SEE the country, alright? I would rather they expand the “about the region” section and shrink the silly colorful maps. I borrowed this from a friend, and usually get guide books from the library instead of buying, but yeah...either way, I think different companies do a much better job (Lonely Planet is still my reigning fave, although I'm eager to try another Hidden Planet guide after my experience with their Yucatan edition).
So I'm going to have to check out more from Hidden Travel guides...if this book was any example, they're fantastic. Not only did Harris write far and away the best (and one of the few series of) walking tours of the major Mayan ruin sites (like, we're talking good enough that you can skip the tour guides), but he really sought out the unusual in everything from restaurants to beaches. Very, very useful. My one complaint is that the index isn't as extensive as a big brand (Fodor's, Frommer's, etc) index.
When you all (yes, you–my mostly East Coast friends reading this review) come visit me in Utah, and we traipse around the state finding great hikes and tasty restaurants, this is the guide I will likely use. So you might as well buy a copy now. Great state, and great guidebook publishing house. Love the descriptions, love the “hidden recommendations,” love the layout.
Given to me by a dear, dear friend who I now value even more for having opened my eyes to this wonderful resource! Emmons filled her book with amazing & inventive–yet not too complicated–recipes, has a great knowledge of world cuisine, and included tons of interesting sidebars to help illuminate the lesser known spices, veggies, grains, and little extras that make a vegetarian diet fantastic. LOVE it. Thanks, YB #1!
Definitely cute. And some useful tips. But I realllllllly wish it had an index (I know, that's a tall order for a mini coffee table type book), because I have a terrible time remembering what household products to use in what amounts as cleaners (baking soda, vinegar, etc etc etc), and Callard does a good job with that, but now I'll just have to flip back through the damn thing to make a cheat sheet. On recycled paper, natch.
Mmmm, wow. The same wonderful friend who gave me “Autobiography of Red” tipped me off to poet James Galvin's novel-length effort. Although effort is probably the wrong word, as it implies to me that perhaps the effort wasn't successful, where instead, “The Meadow” is partially fictional, fully poetic, and totally wonderful. I read it with Edward Abbey in mind–Galvin chronicles the lives of several generations of farmers on a singular meadow on the Wyoming-Colorado border, and he also earns himself a spot (in my mind, at least), in the handful of writers who really capture this part of the country I now find myself living in. Galvin's pace is slow, and a hasty reader could be fooled into thinking nothing's going on. Instead, I think the real beauty of the book is how reverently Galvin captures the spirit of his friends and neighbors–their strength and willingness to make the best of the everydayness of life.
Second of four in the Alexandria Quartet; review of the Quartet forthcoming. In the meantime, another favorite quote:
“Fact is unstable by its very nature. Narouz once said to me that he loved the desert because there ‘the wind blew out one's footsteps like candle-flames.' So it seems to me does reality. How then can we hunt for the truth?”
This was very first-novel-esque. There were some very lovely moments, and also some sappy moments. In the acknowledgments, Hampton writes that the original was 800+ pages, but a firmer editorial could still have been useful, as I found myself skipping paragraphs towards the end. For similar subject matter with a more masterful treatment, I prefer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni...but every novelist starts somewhere.
I've had a class with Lorna for a semester now, and at least one more to go. I'd give this book five stars, because I think her therapeutic approach is truly a gift, but the IRT book is really just the beginning. You can't simply read the book & magically become a competent IRT therapist; I suspect I'll be working on that one for a few decades. You can, however, read the book for an excellent and seasoned approach to case conceptualization when people present with complicated, entrenched, and emotionally demanding issues.
My love for Lonely Planet guidebooks is undying and true, and this book was a happy reminder why. My one small quibble is that its many truly awesome tips are organized by various themed trips, so making sure you're reading about everything in a given location is a little dizzying. I recommend post-its to assist in the process. But, on a recent trip, this compact & dense guide led Jacob and me to, among other things, an awesome Ethiopian restaurant in LA, a date shake at a date farm in the Coachella Valley, a lovely hidden little restaurant near Joshua Tree NP, and an old-school diner/cafe in Mammoth Lakes that totally hit the spot after a backpacking trip. None of which we would have found otherwise. Rock on, Lonely Planet, rock on.
For my first two years of grad school, I pretty much resisted putting assigned readings on goodreads. That wasn't too hard; much of my reading involves journal articles, not books. But, fuck it. I realized that, particularly with regard to clinical work, chronicling what I read for posterity may be interesting and/or useful for me later (I doubt it's interesting for anyone else).
So, with that said, this book is the pretty much the bible of Axis II. If you work in mental health, and you've ever felt overwhelmed by the implications of an “Axis II flavor” in one of your clients, or irritated at the high comorbidity and fuzzy diagnostic labels in the DSM, or you're at all fascinated by interpersonal processes, this book will be nothing short of a miracle.
I'm taking Lorna's class in Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy in the inpatient unit of a neuropsychiatric hospital this year, and even without experiencing her exceptional mind in person, I'd recommend this book, without hesitation or reservation, to anyone who does clinical work. Lorna's theory of disordered personalities is cohesive, eloquent, parsimonious, and, moreover, when put into practice, it works on the clients for whom no one thinks anything will work. I'm working with men who have committed child sex offenses this year, and have already repeatedly reconsulted chapters, and always found a nugget of wisdom I pray I'm going to be able to render clinically useful.
YES. Just YES.
I've been really grateful for the experience to work in eating disorder (of all sorts) treatment, and it's raised my awareness about the absolute necessity of fat activism a significant amount. Here's the thing: feeling bad about your body, for whatever reason, has never helped anyone be healthier. Research is great–I am, after all, a social scientist–but it is less great when politics and hysteria play integral roles in how research is conducted, interpreted, and disseminated to the general public. Campos is a lawyer, not an obesity researcher himself, which I think really allows him to bring a critical eye and an appropriate sense of moral outrage to this issue. Even if obesity isn't of personal or professional relevance to you, this is a fascinating read. Tore through it on two plane rides, and would recommend it to anyone.
Borrowed this from my clinical supervisor. For both clinicians and people struggling with binge eating, the most relevant thing to note is that this book was published in 1995. While some things are still usable (e.g., his general plan for understanding and working on your own binge eating), other things are just wrong (e.g., we know now exactly how harmful yo-yo dieting and associated yo-yo weight loss/gain is–very). I'd strongly recommend Intuitive Eating instead.
There are many, many things I loved about this–mainly that Gaesser takes a completely empirical approach to examining the fat phobia currently afflicting most of America (health professionals included). The data is, in fact, quite damning of this panicked and moralistic view of “excess” weight (Have your doubts? See this peer-reviewed summary of the main points: http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/1/55.full). I also really like his completely sane and actually achievable recommendations regarding physical activity, which can be boiled down to the idea that activity in the broadest sense, even at low levels and broken into short spurts throughout the week, is what is beneficial (not sweat-drenched workouts that take place at a fancy gym under the watchful eye of a personal trainer). But...BUT...despite the fact that Gaesser is eminently reasonable about so many things, he ends his book by making recommendations (albeit reasonable) about a relatively low-fat approach to food. And that's my problem. It's a diet in sheep's clothing. My bias is that I think that someone who works to become a reasonably effective intuitive eater can and will learn to eat food that averages out to be healthy enough over time, but as a result of having and listening to their actual appetitive urges as opposed to top-down self-regulation. My bias is also that that's the most compassionate way to achieve long-term goals, for those who choose to make them for themselves. Despite the “BUT,” this was still well-worth reading.
I like Rollo May, I think. I know, damning with faint praise. Credit where credit is admirably due, however, for parsing good from bad with regard to Freud's legacy, and making an impassioned (and excellent) argument against indiscriminate use of medication (“It is the failure of therapy, rather than its success, when it drugs the daimonic, tranquilizes it, or in other ways fails to confront it head on.”). But, at the end of the day, he's just not my favorite existentialist. It took me a long time to drag my way through this, despite fits and piques of interest, and in the end, two of my three favorite quotes are from people other than May:
” ‘Apathy is a curious state,' remarks Harry Stack Sullivan; ‘It is a way used to survive defeat without material damage, although if it endures too long one is damaged by the passage of time. Apathy seems to me to be a miracle of protection by which a personality in utter fiasco rests until it can do something else'.”
“The moral problem is the relentless endeavor to find one's own convictions and at the same time to admit that there will always be in them an element of self-aggrandizement and distortion. Here is where Socrates' principle of humility is essentially, for psychotherapists and for any moral citizen.”
Finally:
” ‘If my devils are to leave me, I am afraid my angels will take flight as well.' –Rilke”