A review by stringreads
Appropriately Aggressive: Essays About Books, Corgis, and Feminism by Krista D. Ball

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

This is a collection of essays, mostly originating from the subreddit r/fantasy. Most of them are on sexism in the world of books, specifically spec fic. Krista has long been a voice for equality, inclusion, and saying the quiet bits out loud and she has put in many hours and much emotional labor educating readers in that venue. There are more essays that have been added to this book so even if you, like me, have read her forum posts, this book is still worth picking up. Assembled together and outside the context of reddit the essays hit a little differently.

 

The tone of this book, especially the first third or so is pretty reflective of my experience in 2020. Anger and exhaustion have brought me through this year and I know I’m not alone in that. This book isn’t about a pandemic or an election and it wasn’t written in 2020. However this book is a bit like listening to sad songs when you are feeling blue. 2020 has ripped back the curtain for a lot of us and we’re getting a good look at the rage and the exhaustion we carry around all the time. It is cathartic to feel it in a context that doesn’t need a mask or a lot of hand sanitizer.

 

This book has a feeling, it’s a feeling every book pusher I know has felt, the feeling you get when you hear the words “I don’t read books by women” or a variation therof. Everyone I know who does reader’s advisory to the public has heard this theme (in younger circles it usually is phrased “that’s for girls”). Every time you hear the line your soul gets a little heavier. Krista pushes back using numbers and data (you know I love me some data). She picks up the work of Joanna Russ and looks at how the struggle of marginalized authors has barely changed in generations. This is followed up by some useful guides on how to help, which give hope. If you’re really starting to drag, maybe skip up to roughtly 85% and read some of the happy things at the end. An ode to partally elasticated waistbands and some stories of joy, and a list of books that awed their readers, compiled from readers who wanted to share the books that shaped their lives. But either way, keep going, keep reading, and hopefully you will take with you some key ideas and some pointers on dealing with what comes at you when you stop letting the “that’s for girls” comments slide.