by Barbara the Bibliophage | Nov 26, 2020 | LEARN: Everything Else
Reading My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg is like dipping my toe into the world of judges and legal briefs. It’s a marginally vast compilation of lectures, briefs, interviews, and other writings from the Supreme Court Justice. They begin early in life—with a school...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Apr 23, 2020 | RESIST: Social Justice
Tressie McMillan Cottom tells it like it is in Thick: and Other Essays. This one sentence from the titular essay encapsulates her perspective for me. “I do not paint ethereal black worlds where white people can slip into our narratives and leave unscathed by judgment...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Apr 13, 2020 | RESIST: Feminism, RESIST: Politics
Look no further than Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg if you’re hungry for inspiration in difficult times. The authors, Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, pull together stories, photos, drawings, and even text from Supreme Court decisions. The...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 21, 2020 | RELAX: Other Relaxation
In Women Talking by Miriam Toews, a group of women sort life out after experiencing terrible assaults. What makes this unique is that the women are all conservative Mennonites living in the isolated, fictional colony called Molotschna. But this isn’t strictly a work...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 4, 2020 | LEARN: Chronic Illness
Maya Dusenberry compiles and analyzes a boat load of important information in Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick. Now you know her theme—the way women suffer because of misogyny and prejudicial...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jan 3, 2020 | RELAX: Memoir, RESIST: Feminism
Chanel Miller went to a fraternity house party one evening, and woke up in the hospital the following morning. What happened in between is just one reason why she’s written a memoir. During the party, Miller got quite drunk and passed out. Her sister and friend...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Dec 22, 2019 | RELAX: Memoir, RESIST: Feminism
In Flash Count Diary, Darcey Steinke presents her perspective on various aspects of menopause. It’s one woman’s experience, and thus, a memoir. And yet, it’s so much more. There’s science, social commentary, and some thoughts on medical methods. But if you’re looking...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Oct 2, 2019 | RELAX: Other Relaxation
I wanted to love the new Gilead book from Margaret Atwood. I wanted that so much. And it didn’t happen for me. She tells a tale that pales in comparison to both The Handmaid’s Tale book and television series. It’s not gritty, suspenseful, or driven by compelling...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jul 23, 2019 | RELAX: Historical Fiction
I remember just enough of The Kite Runner to know that Khaled Hosseini would break my heart in A Thousand Splendid Suns. And so he did, over and over and over. It’s the story of two women in Afghanistan who each forge a path for themselves, despite and because of the...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 2, 2019 | RESIST: Feminism
Kate Manne is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University. Why am I leading with that in this review? Because knowing that informs everything about her book Down Girl: The Logic Of Misogyny. She’s a brilliant academic thinker and researcher. First and...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Apr 7, 2019 | LEARN: Everything Else
Apparently, I get easily depressed these days. I thought Therese Oneill’s book, Unmentionable, was funny. Until it was just overwhelmingly sad and depressing. Sometimes history can be like that, though. And this book focuses on various parts of women’s lives in the...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Mar 17, 2019 | RESIST: Politics
In the U.S., most potential Presidential candidates write a memoir about their lives prior to declaring their candidacy. Kamala Harris published just such a book in 2018. It’s a rundown of her life until now, with strong emphasis on her personal political philosophy...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 28, 2019 | LEARN: Everything Else, RESIST: Feminism
Naomi Ragen is an acclaimed novelist, who wrote and produced this play set in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family and community. Women’s Minyan is about Chana, a married mother of twelve, who leaves her home and family. Two years after she leaves, the play opens as Chana...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 14, 2019 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, RESIST: Feminism
A biographer, a wise woman, a wife, a daughter, and an explorer form the core of Red Clocks, from author Leni Zumas. They seem to have only one thing in common—being women living in a country where reproductive rights are more and more limited.Susan is a wife and...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Dec 23, 2018 | RESIST: Feminism
Inspired by The Beauty Myth and by its author Naomi Wolf, I went to the gym this morning with a new set of eyes. And no makeup, my hair pulled back in a poof of raggedy curls on my head. Oh wait, that’s how I always go to the gym or the pool for my workouts. But the...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 12, 2018 | LEARN: Everything Else, RESIST: Feminism
In Delusions of Gender, Cordelia Fine, PhD sets out to debunk the prevailing opinions about the male and female genders. The subtitle says it all: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference. She reviews large quantities of studies, articles, and...
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