Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Essential reading
After reading this, i think that every storyteller, every person who reads, writes, publishes etc. should read the first collection of essays.
The Geek Feminist Revolution is a pretty decent starting point for people starting to get into feminist non-fiction. It takes on a more liberal feminist approach, but with points that really encourage you to think about,
After reading this, i think that every storyteller, every person who reads, writes, publishes etc. should read the first collection of essays.
The Geek Feminist Revolution is a pretty decent starting point for people starting to get into feminist non-fiction. It takes on a more liberal feminist approach, but with points that really encourage you to think about,
I'm not giving this zero stars, I'm just not rating it because I don't feel like I read enough of it to do so. I want to shelve it so I know what it was that didn't work for me, personally.
It's just that this book was not any of the things I thought it would be- it felt to be most heavily about being a sci-fi author and writing, and not enough on being a feminist or a geek. (I realize that writing and sci-fi writing at that is a form of geekery, but I was hoping for something a little broader.) I gave it a shot and read several chapters, but none of them really did anything for me.
It's just that this book was not any of the things I thought it would be- it felt to be most heavily about being a sci-fi author and writing, and not enough on being a feminist or a geek. (I realize that writing and sci-fi writing at that is a form of geekery, but I was hoping for something a little broader.) I gave it a shot and read several chapters, but none of them really did anything for me.
Sometimes, you can agree with what someone says but absolutely want to avoid them because they are hectoring and self-aggrandizing. Such was this book. I have not even finished it yet, but I will even though I hate it because I am a completist. I can't help myself. And I only have about 50 pages left.
PLEASE BEWARE: When I bought this a few years back, I knew it was a series of essays and was fine with that. HOWEVER, I thought the essays were all by different people. Nope, just Hurley. And spending time in her company is tiresome at best and loathsome at worst.
I will save you the time: This whole book is a cash grab of blog entries for the most part and boils down to "buy my books."
Check. Please.
PLEASE BEWARE: When I bought this a few years back, I knew it was a series of essays and was fine with that. HOWEVER, I thought the essays were all by different people. Nope, just Hurley. And spending time in her company is tiresome at best and loathsome at worst.
I will save you the time: This whole book is a cash grab of blog entries for the most part and boils down to "buy my books."
Check. Please.
I'll provide a more fully annotated review when I am at a computer and can quote passages more effectively. But the short of it is this is a very timely collection of essays that are worth reading. The two that deal with her experiences with the US health care system pre-ACA are chilling for me as I watch the Senate BCRA bill attempt to stay alive until it is passed.
Her essays regarding Gamergate and representation resonate with me as I see women becoming more visible, and angry men on the Internet and in Congress try to put them back in "their place", which in their mind is quiet in the bedroom and/or kitchen, not out in the world making a name for themselves.
Choice quotes to be inserted later, but until then just go read this collection of essays with an open and inquisitive mind. Please, and thank you.
Her essays regarding Gamergate and representation resonate with me as I see women becoming more visible, and angry men on the Internet and in Congress try to put them back in "their place", which in their mind is quiet in the bedroom and/or kitchen, not out in the world making a name for themselves.
Choice quotes to be inserted later, but until then just go read this collection of essays with an open and inquisitive mind. Please, and thank you.
I thoroughly enjoyed this essay collection. I appreciated Hurley's writing about failure, her focus on the power of storytelling, and the importance of recognizing how much we need each other. Most of all, though, I loved her cultural criticism and her insistence on speaking out loud.
I am both the best and worst audience for this book.
Best, because the issues that concern Hurley -- the intersection of feminist and geek culture, women's place in the SFF community and in the world, the importance of representation -- are all major concerns for me.
And worst, for the exact same reason: I know all of this already. This is what I already think and believe. I have heard all these arguments made before, both more and less effectively. There is nothing new for me here.
I think for someone else, younger or newer to these ideas, this collection could be eye-opening and wonderful. But to me it seemed like stuff I might find posted on Tumblr every day of my life.
Again, I'm glad Hurley's voice is out there -- more strong voices are always good! -- but for me, at least, this wasn't as stirring as it could have been.
Best, because the issues that concern Hurley -- the intersection of feminist and geek culture, women's place in the SFF community and in the world, the importance of representation -- are all major concerns for me.
And worst, for the exact same reason: I know all of this already. This is what I already think and believe. I have heard all these arguments made before, both more and less effectively. There is nothing new for me here.
I think for someone else, younger or newer to these ideas, this collection could be eye-opening and wonderful. But to me it seemed like stuff I might find posted on Tumblr every day of my life.
Again, I'm glad Hurley's voice is out there -- more strong voices are always good! -- but for me, at least, this wasn't as stirring as it could have been.
While I think Hurley did a really good job of not alienating non-geek culture readers, I generally felt that the individual essays were a bit all over the place. She would start with one point but then go on two to three tangents before coming back to her point with one concluding sentence, leaving me a bit confused. Fair warning though, this book is not wholly about feminism in geek culture, as it was advertised as, but has feminism as a central theme that stems from her own personal problems with it - that is to say it is more of a personal recollection of events that have happened to her, with a feminist viewpoint.
However, as mentioned, she did a good job of introducing sexist and racist problems within geek-culture without making it boring for someone not interested in geek culture, and even linking it to programs/movies that I knew!
However, as mentioned, she did a good job of introducing sexist and racist problems within geek-culture without making it boring for someone not interested in geek culture, and even linking it to programs/movies that I knew!
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
This was sort of in between 3 and 4 stars for me. I went with 4 because, ultimately, she is a good writer and made me think. I certainly don't agree with everything she wrote, and I find her tendency to state her opinions as Self Evident Truths grating, but reading things I don't agree with is not a bad thing. It give me a chance to think about my own opinions, perhaps re-calibrate, perhaps re-confirm. I am a fan of Ms. Hurley's, and I follow her on Twitter, so there was nothing too surprising in here. I had already read a couple of the essays.
One of the best books I will ever read, destined to become of my constant rereads.