book reviews
Must-read books for and about women, including thought-provoking novels, business books, memoirs and feminist histories.
Lucia Berlin – A Life
“The first word I spoke was Light” – Lucia Berlin, Welcome Home. Welcome Home by Lucia Berlin will stun you with its optimism and simplicity. The unfinished work by the deceased author is an autobiographical work that sparkles with buoyancy even in the face of hardship, and you’ll be warmed by the sentiment behind it. Consisting of the original unfinished work as well as photographs and letters compiled by her son, Jeff, the work is a fitting capstone tribute to this fascinating short story writer.
By Drew Jaehnig6 years ago in Viva
Book Review: Vanessa Diffenbaugh 'The Language of Flowers'
This Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller novel The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh is a meaningful, insightful, inspirational, and emotional novel that I recommend all teenage girls and grown women to read once in their lifetime.
By Talia Devora6 years ago in Viva
'The Handmaid's Tale' Analysis: Chapters 15-17
CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Ceremony continues. Blink and you’ll miss it, but there’s a clever bit of subtle dramatic metaphor in how the scene is set up. The Commander must knock on the sitting room door to enter, the sitting room being described as “Serena Joy’s territory” in which “he’s supposed to ask permission to enter it.” The Commander enters the room without her permission, foreshadowing what exactly this Ceremony entails. Offred muses over this “protocol,” wondering if it’s because of a domestic spat over dinner.
By CT Idlehouse6 years ago in Viva
Reading Is What? Fundamental!
I’m not even sure where to start with this one! This is, hands down, one of the funniest “self help” books that I have ever read. I’m generally not one for these types of books, but I knew that I had to give this a read. Life advice, hilarious stories, and beautifully captured photographs align to create the perfect reading experience. I think it is important to have diverse representation in all forms of media, and seeing two accomplished drag queens sit down and write a self help book as “modern women” is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of diverse representation.
By Kurt Mason6 years ago in Viva
Books By Influential Women of Today
Books By Influential Women of Today Today’s Ambitious Women Share Their Stories CHANEL MILLER Chanel Miller is a rape survivor. We first learned of her harrowing experience in 2015 while visiting her sister who was a student at Stanford University. Chanel was attacked by fellow student Brock Allen Turner. Chanel was asked to write her victim impact statement to be read at the sentencing hearing. She posted her victim impact statement online and it almost immediately went viral drawing more than 11 million reads in just four days. Her victim impact statement was 50 minutes long. She carefully details her anger, her resentment, her pain, her fear and how this has so negatively changed her and the rest of her life. She points out that her attacker, his attorney and the judge has missed the point. The real point. How we as a society need to change how sexual assaults are treated not just in a court of law but by the media, by the sentencing and all involved. You can read her story in her book:
By Paula C. Henderson6 years ago in Viva
PLEASURE IS WOMAN - THE VOLUME "A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO PLEASURE" IS OUT
A volume that will cause discussion, starting with the commercial partner who supported it. We are talking about LELO, world leader in the design of sex toys, also called "the ultimate hi tech for intimacy".
By Marco Bonomo6 years ago in Viva
Women, War and Power in David Malouf's 'Ransom'
Women in David Malouf’s Ransom are significant in their absence, remaining confined to the historical and social realities of the novel’s setting. While Malouf’s reinterpretation of the world of Homer’s Iliad explores the nature of violence, war and patrimony, these themes are never removed from their traditionally-understood place within the ‘masculine’ sphere of influence, and the author presents a society, in which woman’s importance exists only in her association with the deeds of great men. As a result, the women in Ransom serve only the roles a patriarchal society will permit; those of wives, mothers and handmaidens. Malouf’s choice not to challenge these stereotypes may be read as a result of his authorial loyalty to the source material, or, more-critically, as an exploration of the ways in which cultural narratives surrounding war and violence are presented as almost-entirely masculine affairs.
By Alexander Gates6 years ago in Viva
Inspirational Women in Fiction
Ayla Ayla is the main character in the Earth’s Children series by Jean M. Auel. An earthquake kills her mother and leaves Ayla an orphan. She wanders around aimlessly, ending on a path of a cave lion, which chases her. Ayla hides in a crack in a rock wall. The lion cannot pull her out put scratches her thigh leaving four deep wounds. A group of Neanderthals eventually find her by a river and the Clan's medicine woman, Iza, adopts her. As Ayla grows up, Iza teaches her about medicines and healing.
By R.S. Sillanpaa6 years ago in Viva
Statues of Real Women
A few years ago it came to our attention that female statues of actual, real women who lived (have a name and birth date) were underrepresented compared to the men. The media coverage seem to be focused on New York City. I started researching the entire United States to see how many I could actually find.
By Paula C. Henderson7 years ago in Viva
5 Books All Women Should Read by Their 20s
1. 'The Handmaid’s Tale' This dystopian novel written by Margret Atwood has not only been adapted into a gripping TV series, it is also one of the most reflective novels about feminism and womanhood that a girl could read. Without explaining the whole plot, the book follows the story of Offred: a woman whose sole purpose in society is to provide a fertile reproductive system for a male called Fred. This novel highlights the height of 1970s/80s feminism and captures the cruel truth about how women are perceived in society. 10/10; a book ALL women should read.
By Leigh Hooper7 years ago in Viva
