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audaciaray's reviews
1618 reviews
Between XX and XY: Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes by Gerald N. Callahan
3.0
If you've never thought beyond the concept of "opposite sexes" this is a really great primer. If you're a gender and sexuality nerd like me, you won't learn a whole lot of brand new stuff from this book.
Callahan spends a lot of time debunking the myth of the two sexes - there's slightly more in the book about that than there is about disorders of sexual development or intersex. If you're looking for a really in-depth read that focuses on intersex, this isn't that book. But if you're looking for some more general stuff about the science of the differences between men and women and genetic variations that will tweak your concepts of "men" and "women", this book is very much worth your time.
Callahan was able to write a very readable book that didn't bore me or confuse me at all, even when he writes about chromosomes and karyotypes and stuff. In addition to good content about human sexuality, he devotes a good amount of time to writing about hermaphroditic animals, which is fascinating stuff and will further erode your notions of a two-sex model. The case studies of intersex people included in the book are also engaging, though also pretty heartbreaking.
If you are up for something heavier, more theory-laden and more advanced about the differences among the sexes (see what I did there? implying that there are more than two sexes with grammar?), check out Anne Fausto-Sterling's [b:Myths of Gender: Biological Theories About Women and Men|49432|Myths of Gender Biological Theories About Women and Men|Anne Fausto-Sterling|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170358980s/49432.jpg|1603797]. That book was originally published in 1987, updated in 1992 - so some of the science is a little our of date, but it's a really great and challenging read.
Callahan spends a lot of time debunking the myth of the two sexes - there's slightly more in the book about that than there is about disorders of sexual development or intersex. If you're looking for a really in-depth read that focuses on intersex, this isn't that book. But if you're looking for some more general stuff about the science of the differences between men and women and genetic variations that will tweak your concepts of "men" and "women", this book is very much worth your time.
Callahan was able to write a very readable book that didn't bore me or confuse me at all, even when he writes about chromosomes and karyotypes and stuff. In addition to good content about human sexuality, he devotes a good amount of time to writing about hermaphroditic animals, which is fascinating stuff and will further erode your notions of a two-sex model. The case studies of intersex people included in the book are also engaging, though also pretty heartbreaking.
If you are up for something heavier, more theory-laden and more advanced about the differences among the sexes (see what I did there? implying that there are more than two sexes with grammar?), check out Anne Fausto-Sterling's [b:Myths of Gender: Biological Theories About Women and Men|49432|Myths of Gender Biological Theories About Women and Men|Anne Fausto-Sterling|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170358980s/49432.jpg|1603797]. That book was originally published in 1987, updated in 1992 - so some of the science is a little our of date, but it's a really great and challenging read.
Wetlands by Charlotte Roche
4.0
I heard a lot of hype about Charlotte Roche when I was in Germany a year and change ago, especially about the stir she was making by being both gross and sexual. I read the English translation of the novel just last week while visiting a friend in Amsterdam - and this is pretty much my perfect idea of fast summer reading. Which is to say: it's explicit and often downright gross, but really really funny.
The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade by Thomas Lynch
2.0
Summer reading for grown up goths: a memoir by a poet/undertaker.
I enjoyed reading this book; it was a good read. It won't, however, stick with me much.
The writing is well-crafted and savory, but it doesn't take you anywhere. The first fifty pages were the best, and it really could've been a tightly written essay instead of a 200 page book.
That said, there is a really radiant passage in the beginning of the book about American space and life, with this lovely little thought-provoking paragraph:
"Just about the time we were bringing the making of water and the movement of bowels into the house, we were pushing the birthing and marriage and sickness and dying out. And if the family that prayed together stayed together in accordance with the churchy bromide, the one that shits together rarely sticks together."
That's the crux of the book - and though some of the other characters and townspeople that Lynch introduces throughout the book are somewhat compelling, I just didn't feel like through and through there was much here.
I enjoyed reading this book; it was a good read. It won't, however, stick with me much.
The writing is well-crafted and savory, but it doesn't take you anywhere. The first fifty pages were the best, and it really could've been a tightly written essay instead of a 200 page book.
That said, there is a really radiant passage in the beginning of the book about American space and life, with this lovely little thought-provoking paragraph:
"Just about the time we were bringing the making of water and the movement of bowels into the house, we were pushing the birthing and marriage and sickness and dying out. And if the family that prayed together stayed together in accordance with the churchy bromide, the one that shits together rarely sticks together."
That's the crux of the book - and though some of the other characters and townspeople that Lynch introduces throughout the book are somewhat compelling, I just didn't feel like through and through there was much here.
A Short Life of Trouble: Forty Years in the New York Art World by Marcia Tucker
5.0
I'm not a person who does beach reads. Case in point: the other reading I brought on vacation with me was about female infanticide and sex-selective abortion. Yeah, I know how to party.
So, a book about feminism and the art world from the sixties until the early aughties, told in a punchy way, is about as close as I get to a real beach read. Marcia Tucker's story was well told, lively, and thoroughly engaging. Well worth a read if you're interested in contemporary art, feminism and art, and the New York art scene in the past 40 plus years. Though she does get a little name-droppy, if you don't know the names (I only knew some of them), it doesn't mar the story or make you feel like you're missing out at all.
So, a book about feminism and the art world from the sixties until the early aughties, told in a punchy way, is about as close as I get to a real beach read. Marcia Tucker's story was well told, lively, and thoroughly engaging. Well worth a read if you're interested in contemporary art, feminism and art, and the New York art scene in the past 40 plus years. Though she does get a little name-droppy, if you don't know the names (I only knew some of them), it doesn't mar the story or make you feel like you're missing out at all.
Living the Body: Embodiment, Womanhood and Identity in Contemporary India by Meenakshi Thapan
2.0
Oh academic kool aid, how I refuse to drink you.
The snippets of women's stories are the absolute best part of this book, and the way Thapan teases out class among the women she studies is really interesting. Or, it *would* be really interesting if her writing was more accessible.
I know it's the academic format and all, but a lot of the time I think that books like this would be better if they just presented nice long passages of interviews with the people studied, without commentary. I know I'm an oral history/story junky, but I just think that would be better than the writer as ultimate authority/presenter of information.
There were just too many points in this book in which I felt like Thapan was getting in her own way or using intensely academic language to describe things that are common sense.
The snippets of women's stories are the absolute best part of this book, and the way Thapan teases out class among the women she studies is really interesting. Or, it *would* be really interesting if her writing was more accessible.
I know it's the academic format and all, but a lot of the time I think that books like this would be better if they just presented nice long passages of interviews with the people studied, without commentary. I know I'm an oral history/story junky, but I just think that would be better than the writer as ultimate authority/presenter of information.
There were just too many points in this book in which I felt like Thapan was getting in her own way or using intensely academic language to describe things that are common sense.