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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I was not familiar with Hurley's fiction before reading this collection of essays. However, after reading it, I am interested in checking her fiction out.
This is a collection of essays, pretty much as advertised. There are a number that are perhaps more autobiographical than I might've expected, but that should not be understood as a bad thing. Hurley's essays are clear and her points are well-made.
Several of the essays seem explicitly aimed at women who want to be writers, especially those dealing with Hurley's experiences in the industry. They may be the "target audience" for this collection, but there are absolutely good takeaways for people of all stripes not only in those essays but also in the others.
Most of the essays speak to very broad topics relating to feminism and geek culture. A couple of them feel extremely limited in contrast, as they speak to very specific events rather than larger cultural themes (this is not necessarily a bad thing). Some of the essays do overlap with some of the others: that is probably to be expected in a collection like this, but it did make parts of the text feel a little redundant.
(I also think footnotes would've been a better choice than endnotes.)
On the whole, I think this is a valuable collection of essays. Hurley's perspective(s) and insights on issues facing our broader geek communities are definitely worthwhile, and her own acknowledgments of her past challenges (including, for example, the need for intersectionality) make the text even more compelling. This is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in feminism and geek culture, and I would recommend it as such.
This is a collection of essays, pretty much as advertised. There are a number that are perhaps more autobiographical than I might've expected, but that should not be understood as a bad thing. Hurley's essays are clear and her points are well-made.
Several of the essays seem explicitly aimed at women who want to be writers, especially those dealing with Hurley's experiences in the industry. They may be the "target audience" for this collection, but there are absolutely good takeaways for people of all stripes not only in those essays but also in the others.
Most of the essays speak to very broad topics relating to feminism and geek culture. A couple of them feel extremely limited in contrast, as they speak to very specific events rather than larger cultural themes (this is not necessarily a bad thing). Some of the essays do overlap with some of the others: that is probably to be expected in a collection like this, but it did make parts of the text feel a little redundant.
(I also think footnotes would've been a better choice than endnotes.)
On the whole, I think this is a valuable collection of essays. Hurley's perspective(s) and insights on issues facing our broader geek communities are definitely worthwhile, and her own acknowledgments of her past challenges (including, for example, the need for intersectionality) make the text even more compelling. This is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in feminism and geek culture, and I would recommend it as such.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
The Geek Feminist Revolution is a fantastic collection of inspiring and insightful essays. There is career advice for aspiring or current writers, there is compassion for female geeks, and there is a call to arms within the fandoms to encourage and hone the art of geekdom. Hurley is a masterful writer and there are several points in the book where I have underlined what she said, written in questions and definitions. This is worth the time and read for anyone. Plus each essay is relatvely short so you can read it in quick bursts. It is bound to cause conversation and might make a few people angry, but isn't that the goal of any book?
3.5 stars, a righteously angry set of essays that are mostly great individually but don't always cohere as a whole.
Love this essay collection! Hurley's writing makes me laugh and makes me rage (rightfully so when you think about the sexist, racist, ablist, homophobic world we are trying to change). She writes about being a scifi writer, challenges of writing, feminisms, online discourse & geek cultures. Liked Gay's 'Bad Feminist'? Try this collection, it does not disappoint!!
Wonderful collection of essays. The essays on writing were interesting, but from a somewhat voyeuristic perspective. Those with a (somewhat) intersectional feminist perspective on geek culture were fascinating, and managed to have some ideas new to me. The section of very personal essays told me a lot I didn't know/understand about the USA medical system, and while I appreciate Hurley's honest, I felt uncomfortably voyeuristic about it*. The final section (Revolution) had essays on a number of events that I remember experiencing in real time, and it was quite jarring to realise how much of those I'd forgotten, even while I'd attempted to be well-informed at the time.
* unlike the writing essays, where the voyeuristic feeling was more like having been invited in to observe something not entirely public, these felt like having accidentally found oneself in a private conversation.
* unlike the writing essays, where the voyeuristic feeling was more like having been invited in to observe something not entirely public, these felt like having accidentally found oneself in a private conversation.
For me, this book was a good reminder of things that I had become blind to over time other than in the most extreme cases. It has me looking at geek culture - as well as pop culture - with fresh eyes and insights, and I really enjoyed Hurley's writing style. Although I have not read any of her fiction, I'm definitely interested in checking it out after reading about it in here. I also loved how she owned her ignorance or mistakes at various points in the book. I wish we could all do a lot more of that. Definitely a good read.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This book reminds me why I loved Kameron Hurley's work: it makes me think, it intrigues me, and resonates with my jaded optimism lens.
Some of the essays haven’t aged super well. Fairly repetitive and pretty basic ideas if you’ve been in the feminist space for awhile.