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Book report
Dec. 4th, 2013 11:56 amHere’s a book report. Being on a cruise means I have a lot of time to read. I am going to log into the internet to post this, but forgive me – because internet access here is so pricey, I haven’t read anyone’s LJ entries since Saturday. I do always say when I am out though: please feel free to comment with links to post of yours that you’d like me to read, and I will eagerly do so when I am home!
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan – In this memoir, the author tells us of her struggle with a mysterious illness. She was leading a ‘normal’, productive life when all of a sudden she starts acting mentally ill. Due to the failings of the medical system, she nearly misses a lifesaving diagnosis. Definitely a page-turner. If I am ever unlucky enough to see someone I love in this position, I need to be sure that I am as relentless as Cahalan’s family was in getting the right diagnosis for them; some medical personnel just wanted to give up and institutionalize her. Now she is totally back to normal, thanks to the persistence of her parents and boyfriend. Grade: B
Vagina: A New Biography by Naomi Wolf – I think that maybe Naomi Wolf is a lot like Dan Savage; there’s plenty to disagree upon with the ideas in her books but she does have some flashes of insight. So this book, as you may guess, is all about vaginas and women’s sexual contentment. Wolf takes us through some biology, some history, some literary references, tantric sex, and much more. Her section on porn was very well done; she provided a lot of evidence on how it harms both men’s and women’s sexuality. (I’m not judging anyone for using porn and have used a ton of it during my lifetime, just FYI). Her repeated use of the term “violent rape” (as opposed to….what, nice and romantic rape?) is really problematic and I hate how she creates a dichotomy between “clitoral orgasms” versus “vaginal orgasms” or the never-really-explained “combination orgasms” – I’m in the camp of most researchers that an orgasm is an orgasm is an orgasm, and all orgasms are clitorally-based to some extent since the clit actually covers a lot more space than most people think. I guess I just really dislike her assertion that one way of having orgasms – her way, of course – is better than others. Also, Wolf’s book is focused on heterosexual women only, but that aspect didn’t bother me that much since she defines it from the get-go and indicates that she doesn’t have the bandwidth (or, presumably, the interest) to cover lesbian and bi women. I guess the book is worth a read though; I don’t have to agree with everything an author says in order to gain some wisdom from her. I should try tantric sex one of these days if Doris wants to. Grade: B
More books behind the cut!
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Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan – In this memoir, the author tells us of her struggle with a mysterious illness. She was leading a ‘normal’, productive life when all of a sudden she starts acting mentally ill. Due to the failings of the medical system, she nearly misses a lifesaving diagnosis. Definitely a page-turner. If I am ever unlucky enough to see someone I love in this position, I need to be sure that I am as relentless as Cahalan’s family was in getting the right diagnosis for them; some medical personnel just wanted to give up and institutionalize her. Now she is totally back to normal, thanks to the persistence of her parents and boyfriend. Grade: B
Vagina: A New Biography by Naomi Wolf – I think that maybe Naomi Wolf is a lot like Dan Savage; there’s plenty to disagree upon with the ideas in her books but she does have some flashes of insight. So this book, as you may guess, is all about vaginas and women’s sexual contentment. Wolf takes us through some biology, some history, some literary references, tantric sex, and much more. Her section on porn was very well done; she provided a lot of evidence on how it harms both men’s and women’s sexuality. (I’m not judging anyone for using porn and have used a ton of it during my lifetime, just FYI). Her repeated use of the term “violent rape” (as opposed to….what, nice and romantic rape?) is really problematic and I hate how she creates a dichotomy between “clitoral orgasms” versus “vaginal orgasms” or the never-really-explained “combination orgasms” – I’m in the camp of most researchers that an orgasm is an orgasm is an orgasm, and all orgasms are clitorally-based to some extent since the clit actually covers a lot more space than most people think. I guess I just really dislike her assertion that one way of having orgasms – her way, of course – is better than others. Also, Wolf’s book is focused on heterosexual women only, but that aspect didn’t bother me that much since she defines it from the get-go and indicates that she doesn’t have the bandwidth (or, presumably, the interest) to cover lesbian and bi women. I guess the book is worth a read though; I don’t have to agree with everything an author says in order to gain some wisdom from her. I should try tantric sex one of these days if Doris wants to. Grade: B
More books behind the cut!
( Read more... )
