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jill_reads's reviews
58 reviews
Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again: Women and Desire in the Age of Consent by Katherine Angel
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
<i>"Relationality and responsivity characterize all human interactions whether we admit it or not ... how we understand sex is inextricable from how we understand what it is to be a person - we cannot deny that we are flexible, social creatures, constantly ingesting, incorporating, and reformulating what we take in."</i>
I can already tell this is a book I am going to want to come back to repeatedly and will directly inform my discussions with friends, my work, my sense of self in the world, and my navigation of relational dynamics. This book slowly built up momentum, with so many different quotes and ideas and references, but all of this worked together to create a really comprehensive look at sex that seems more critical, more aware, and more grounded than any I have ever read. It feels very exciting to be reading something that genuinely feels progressive, in that it builds on the ideas from the past both long ago and very recently and genuinely seems to take the ideas to new places, and care about a push into a radical and emancipatory look at sex, gender, power, excitement, curiosity, openness and vulnerability. It also felt like a book that leaves the reader to continue progressing on their own and not to stay static in its revelations and insights, but to keep exploring. As Angel says, <i>"we don't simply work out what we want and then act on that knowledge, working out what we want is a life's work and it has to be done over and over and over... the joy may lie in it never being done."</i> I love, love, loved it. <b>Should be essential reading for anyone, but especially anyone interested in the study of sex and gender and feminism.</b>
I can already tell this is a book I am going to want to come back to repeatedly and will directly inform my discussions with friends, my work, my sense of self in the world, and my navigation of relational dynamics. This book slowly built up momentum, with so many different quotes and ideas and references, but all of this worked together to create a really comprehensive look at sex that seems more critical, more aware, and more grounded than any I have ever read. It feels very exciting to be reading something that genuinely feels progressive, in that it builds on the ideas from the past both long ago and very recently and genuinely seems to take the ideas to new places, and care about a push into a radical and emancipatory look at sex, gender, power, excitement, curiosity, openness and vulnerability. It also felt like a book that leaves the reader to continue progressing on their own and not to stay static in its revelations and insights, but to keep exploring. As Angel says, <i>"we don't simply work out what we want and then act on that knowledge, working out what we want is a life's work and it has to be done over and over and over... the joy may lie in it never being done."</i> I love, love, loved it. <b>Should be essential reading for anyone, but especially anyone interested in the study of sex and gender and feminism.</b>
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book has really transformative advice, but also necessitates a transformation in the self and one’s motives to properly use, I think. Hard to say which would come first, the usage of this language and approach to social interactions, or the changing of the self and one’s motives for those interactions. I would hope both could facilitate each other. But this book is definitely not an easy or quick fix to conflict or unhappiness.
Nevertheless, I appreciate the author’s myriad examples of reframing and rethinking communication to fully illustrate the way that focusing on our needs and the needs of others, and finding ways to hear and express those needs can really radically affect how we exist in and with community. It is a beautiful, well-explained approach to seeing the world and interacting with it, that I think every person would benefit from learning about and practicing.
Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution by Laurie Penny
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is a really searing and yet grounding approach to feminism that is so succinct in its points and easy to both understand and be challenged by that it’s hard to think anyone would finish this book unaffected, uninspired, or unequipped. I have spent over a decade intentionally consuming feminist perspectives, insights, and theory and still found new and re-invigorating ideas in this text.
I love that Penny does not sugar coat things, does not hesitate to note the ways in which “progress” has failed to lead to tangible liberation for so many women, how neoliberalism remains the ever-imposing despot to that goal of liberation, and even how women themselves can hold each other back back when they fail to make room and consideration for queer, lower class, and racially marginalized individuals. I also love Penny’s insistence that we have the means, the technology and the knowledge to DO and BE better in society and that it is inexcusable that we are still massively controlling, oppressing, traumatizing, policing, and limiting such a huge swath of the population. I also love that men are included in this discussion, not only for their gender specific issues but with a call to be a part of a liberation project that will lead to a better future for them as well (as sometimes feminism can be seen as something done FOR women rather than a project that brings a whole society into a richer, more colourful and healthy future).
My main two hitches with this book were that I flinched a little every time she used the term “transsexual” (maybe was still in popular use at the time of this writing?) and the lack of much attention being given to the influence of race and culture in her perspectives on women’s struggles. That being said, what I think is a real strength in this book IS the way that it doesn’t necessarily delve into individual nuance or subclass and takes a very broad and overarching approach to the issues themselves rather than those impacted by the issues. Easy for me to say that a white western woman writes relatably “for everyone” as a white western woman, though, so… take it with a grain of salt.
I love that Penny does not sugar coat things, does not hesitate to note the ways in which “progress” has failed to lead to tangible liberation for so many women, how neoliberalism remains the ever-imposing despot to that goal of liberation, and even how women themselves can hold each other back back when they fail to make room and consideration for queer, lower class, and racially marginalized individuals. I also love Penny’s insistence that we have the means, the technology and the knowledge to DO and BE better in society and that it is inexcusable that we are still massively controlling, oppressing, traumatizing, policing, and limiting such a huge swath of the population. I also love that men are included in this discussion, not only for their gender specific issues but with a call to be a part of a liberation project that will lead to a better future for them as well (as sometimes feminism can be seen as something done FOR women rather than a project that brings a whole society into a richer, more colourful and healthy future).
My main two hitches with this book were that I flinched a little every time she used the term “transsexual” (maybe was still in popular use at the time of this writing?) and the lack of much attention being given to the influence of race and culture in her perspectives on women’s struggles. That being said, what I think is a real strength in this book IS the way that it doesn’t necessarily delve into individual nuance or subclass and takes a very broad and overarching approach to the issues themselves rather than those impacted by the issues. Easy for me to say that a white western woman writes relatably “for everyone” as a white western woman, though, so… take it with a grain of salt.
We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib
informative
fast-paced
3.5
I read the majority of this book in one sitting and I can never tell if reading a book that fast is just because it’s written well and interesting, or if it’s because it doesn’t have too much to make me stop, think, and process. The story of Samra’s life is full of impactful and tender moments, and I actually really appreciated the perspective of someone who is able to navigate and hold close both their queerness and their faith, but at the same time I don’t necessarily feel as though I come away from this book with much. Not many insights or reflections that will stick with me long term.
It was just a nice window into her life, which has - to be sure - been rich in self-discovery and acceptance and perseverance. Is it selfish of me to want more than that? It just felt somewhat superficial still, even when talking about very intimate things, like they were kind of held at a distance, or presented in a way to be easily digestible and take in.
It was just a nice window into her life, which has - to be sure - been rich in self-discovery and acceptance and perseverance. Is it selfish of me to want more than that? It just felt somewhat superficial still, even when talking about very intimate things, like they were kind of held at a distance, or presented in a way to be easily digestible and take in.
French Exit by Patrick deWitt
funny
medium-paced
4.0
Witty, clever prose. A delight to read, albeit a bit slow to start to get into.
The Fever by Wallace Shawn
5.0
Absolutely stunning and thought provoking. A monologue that makes you challenge everything and truly compels you to live a better and more compassionate life. Incredible.