Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (When Everything Changed) 『Excellent presentation. Easy to read and a great reminder of how far we have come in such a short time. All women need to read this.』
(When Everything Changed) 『I found this book very helpful in presenting the history of the changing women's role. I have lived through it as have my daughters and it was very interesting to see how other things happening in history impacted the changing role of women. I found the book very well documented and I am now sharing it with others.』
(Share with your daughters and nieces) 『If you lived through these changes yourself, you can share the experience by reading this book and as you go adding margin notes. This way you can pass on to your daughters or nieces what your personal reactions were to the events Collins describes. I found myself adding notes on my mother's experiences as well. I didn't see mention in the book--and sort of wondered why--of the period in the 70s when suddenly the men's ivy-leagues and other all-male colleges decided they might be able to accept "co-eds." And the discrimination those co-eds faced.』
(A Must-Read!) 『 Gail Collins books is a must-read for any woman who was there, who marched in the marches and sang the songs. In high school we wanted to be prim and proper like Jackie Kennedy and just a few years later we were swimming naked at Woodstock. We got the pill. Steinem said "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle," and thousands of us dumped our husbands and went off in search of careers and orgasms. Women wanted equal everything - especially pay (okay, we're still waiting for that one)! But the list of changes society went through are truely amazing. We made history! I am wooooo-man, hear me roar! Yay!』
(And the winner is......) 『Yes, I remember all too well when and how everything changed. I lived through its'infancy in a hotbed of liberalism. Never much of a mainstreamer, I watched it unfold from the sidelines and couldn't help but feel a twinge of dread. It just seemed like too much all at once. I cringed as the wealthy wives of suburbia burbled about really seeing their vaginas for the very first time as they all sat in a circle at their latest consciousness-raising meeting, mirrors and flashlights in hand, panty girdles having been burned in a backyard ritual. Think I'm joking? The foolishness that becomes the hallmark of every great ground-breaking cultural movement did not pass this one by. Yes, feminism has traveled the spectrum from the sublime to the ridiculous, but nearly half a century later we are beginning to see just how it shakes out long term. Historical facts do not exist. There are only opinions and perceptions. So as Collins lays out the advances of feminism, it only fair to bring in the devil's advocate -that's where I come in. I have the lumps on my head to prove it. Deep breath; here I go. Define "advances" as it applies to a materialistic technology-crazed culture run amok. Is it the two large incomes that are now required for any reasonable, and in some locales, attainable standard of living? Is it $500,000 three bedroom tract homes? Is it empty-nester baby boomers rolling down the road in houses on wheels towing SUV's sporting stickers bragging about how they are spending their children's inheritance? Having come from a childhood where homes had only one breadwinner and one vehicle and Mom still baked cookies, I have to ask myself just how all this liberation has really improved the quality of life of the average American-all Americans. It's easy to put the icons of feminism on a pedestal and celebrate their obvious accomplishments. But how about the contrast between these relatively few icons (usually already wealthy and privileged) and the ever increasing groundswell of their impoverished sisters struggling to do it all and never quite making it? Bummer. That doesn't make for very entertaining storytelling. But it's closer to the reality of the situation. There are more poor and homeless PEOPLE (the fallout of all this liberation has hit BOTH genders hard) than ever before. Hard work and a frugal lifestyle used to allow most of us to live modestly but comfortably. Then the job market began to open up for women. "You know, with both of us bringing home a paycheck, we could really get ahead of the game." Indeed, the predominant tangible symptom of feminism was the stampede of haus fraus into the workplace. Enter polarization - either join the ranks of the "haves" or get left behind in the ghetto of shrinking economic opportunities and escalating expenses. I've watched it happen first hand to people that I know. One particular couple married as dirt-poor farmers. She was one of the first to enter the ranks of women with three jobs - wage-earner, housewife and mother. They saved and invested. Now a wealthy widow sitting on millions while her grandchildren sweat their rent and job security, she can't figure out why they just can't seem to get with the program. I would have liked to have seen Collins take a more balanced approach to "the Great Cause" (I need a break from feminism, even from its' name). The Cause has been really hard on men, and that includes our own children. I remember my own son's embarrassment and confusion when a liberated woman with an armload of groceries growled, "I'm not helpless" and nearly knocked him over as he stepped up to open the door for her. He was only trying to be the helpful human being he was taught to be. That same son, now in his thirties, tells me that the women of his generation are a horror. The men of his generation huddle in groups for protection from them and generally avoid them out of fear. Sounds like lots of lonely people to me. My own generation isn't much different. The little old couples that took care of each other to the end no longer exist. As we enter the winter of our lives, record numbers of us are alone. As we succumb to the ravages of old age, societal resources will be stretched to the limit. As far as pushing for more changes, more so-called reforms, maybe it's time both genders and all ages took a break from all this endless pushing and shoving and just spent some time together achieving a balance-a kinder, gentler man and woman. Turn off the machines - take a walk, play a game, go play at the beach. The enthusiasm of many of the staunch proponents of feminism is admirable, but perhaps it is time to slow down and turn down the volume on the whole gender issue and remember that ultimately we're still the same species.』 『Gail Collins,New York Timescolumnist and bestselling author, recounts the astounding revolution in women's lives over the past 50 years, with her usual "sly wit and unfussy style" (People).
When Everything Changedbegins in 1960, when most American women had to get their husbands' permission to apply for a credit card. It ends in 2008 with Hillary Clinton's historic presidential campaign. This was a time of cataclysmic change, when, after four hundred years, expectations about the lives of American women were smashed in just a generation.
A comprehensive mix of oral history and Gail Collins's keen research--covering politics, fashion, popular culture, economics, sex, families, and work--When Everything Changedis the definitive book on five crucial decades of progress. The enormous strides made since 1960 include the advent of the birth control pill, the end of "Help Wanted--Male" and "Help Wanted--Female" ads, and the lifting of quotas for women in admission to medical and law schools. Gail Collins describes what has happened in every realm of women's lives, partly through the testimonies of both those who made history and those who simply made their way.
Picking up where her highly lauded bookAmerica's Womenleft off,When Everything Changedis a dynamic story, told with the down-to-earth, amusing, and agenda-free tone for which this belovedNew York Timescolumnist is known. Older readers, men and women alike, will be startled as they are reminded of what their lives once were--"Father Knows Best" and "My Little Margie" on TV; daily weigh-ins for stewardesses; few female professors; no women in the Boston marathon, in combat zones, or in the police department. Younger readers will see their history in a rich new way. It has been an era packed with drama and dreams--some dashed and others realized beyond anyone's imagining.』
price：$19.99
Adamant Media Corporation
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (the title says it all) 『The Beautiful and Damned is Fitzgerald's second novel and the title says it all.Anthony Patch and Gloria Gilbert are two self asorbed people who desire romantic love and they fall in love with each other. They have no desire for productive work and they desire lives of luxury. They receive allowances from their parents and Anthonys grandfather gives a little as well but Anthony has no desire to wotk and Gloria is obsessed with being an actress which irritates Anthony. Both are alcoholics which adds fuel to their self destructive situation. In the end ,Anthony becomes wealthy winning 30 million dollars by challenging hsi grandfathers will he is stricken from it despite being the only direct descendant but the money makes neither he or his wife happy. Their narcissism combines to damn them to misery despite their exterior beauty of which their wealth is a large part of.At times the book rambles into clever phrases that have no point and it is too loose at times but it is still a book worth reading though not quite as good as This Side of Paradise』
(My favorite of his novels.) 『Some readers discover Fitzgerald by accident, by reputation or, perhaps in school. My exposure came via the first possibility through a worn paperback copy of 'The Crack Up' soon afterward I read a paperback semi-bio called 'Crazy Sundays, F Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood'. This was in the early Seventies and at that time I couldn't find anything in print and only found his books at yard sales and used book stores. I read Gatsby, Tender is the Night and even a collection of short stories reprinted from Fitzgerald's magazine writing. Now, over thirty years later I have re-read many of those books and I find his short stories mildly enjoyable and his novels, flowery and antique. Sure, you might say, they are old books however, I re-read my other favorites from my Seventies bookshelf: Sinclair Lewis and Mark Twain and find that their styles have aged very well by comparison (and of the two, only Lewis can be considered a contemporary, Twain is even older). What does this have to do this novel? It holds-up the best in the ways that his work generally has not held-up. Perhaps it's the themes or the biographical elements but either way, this book deserves a look if you have already read his other novels and are giving up on him!』
(read it only on a rainy day and if there's nothing else) 『the great gatsby is a better novel. fitzgerald's writing is elegant, but manages to be accessible, but i just couldn't get into the characters. there was nothing about them that made me want to keep reading. i am way more patience with books than most, some people read a paragraph or chapter before deciding if they want to stick with a story...i gave this 200 pages before i put it down...life is too short to read books that are boring....』
(Hard read) 『Store line is good but F. Scott is hard to read due to his run on sentences.』
(Outstanding) 『Semi-autobiographical story that captures the essence of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and flamboyance. The characters care most about having a good time, no expense spared, even when it means living seriously above their means. The real story of Scott and Zelda, especially during their early marriage, is eerily similar in some ways, with Scott eventually dying of alocholism and Zelda ending up in an asylum. The novel is truly captivating, especially if you want to know more about the glitter of New York City in the 1920's (the "CITY") and America life during that period in general.』 『This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1922 edition by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.』
price：$7.99
St. Martin's Paperbacks
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (highly recommend!!) 『One of my favorite books of all time. Great writing style and humor.』
(An unremarkable book) 『Augusten Burroughs has gotten a lot of mileage out of this book, but I'm not wild about it. There are many ways to react to a terrible childhood, and learning to laugh at oneself and at the insanity of one's relatives is a valid reaction. But this book is so determinedly focused on the laughable elements of a harrowing childhood that it feels very forced. As we plod through humorous vignette after humorous vignette, the wackiness wears quite thin. It gets repetitive. Also, it feels dishonest because I doubt the younger Augusten felt so consistently and safely glib about his very difficult experiences. What was it REALLY like, I wonder, to cope with all this at such a tender age? The author rarely lets his guard down, preferring the whimsical to the deep or introspective. Of course, you could say that a book that focused on the terrible aspects of a terrible childhood portrayed darkly would not sell. And that might be true... but it feels like the book is simply mining a terrible childhood for commercial gain. That's a sad conclusion to reach, and a darker feeling I would get from a really honest and open examination of the feelings this kid actually had.』
(BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND YET HORRIBLY SHOCKING) 『If you think you have had a messed up childhood, after reading this book, yours would be so easy in comparison. Augusten Burroughs, in his memoir, tells us about his twisted nightmare of an upbringing, by his mother, her psychiatrist, and the doctor's weird family.This story would leave anyone else grabbing their knees, bending over at times and feeling sick!!! Burroughs manages to tell the story with wit and humour, and honesty. We all have childhood memories we like to keep hidden, but I give Burroughs a lot of credit for exposing his abused childhood so candidly. It's amazing that his life turned out so well after such an abused upbringing. There are graphic homosexual scenes in this story of a very young teen and his lover who is 33 years old.
Beautifully written and yet horribly shocking and disgusting at times. It is a difficult book to listen to, but one you will find yourself racing through to the finish line. 』
(Running with Scissors) 『What a piece of trash! It might be somewhat humorous if it was fiction but the fact that it's true makes it just plain sick. Save your time and money.』
(True-to-life Childhood) 『Augusten Burroughs pulls no punches in this honest look at life as he knew it as a pre-teen and teenage boy. His life takes a turn for the crazy when he and his mother become heavily involved with the Finch Family, but he doesn't blame them for ruining his life. Rather, he merely states his various relationships with the family as matter-of-fact. The author writes simply and the book is easy to read. I really enjoyed it.』 『
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year-round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull, an electroshock therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing, and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances…
Running with Scissors Acknowledgments Gratitude doesn’t begin to describe it: Jennifer Enderlin, Christopher Schelling, John Murphy, Gregg Sullivan, Kim Cardascia, Michael Storrings, and everyone at St. Martin’s Press. Thank you: Lawrence David, Suzanne Finnamore, Robert Rodi, Bret Easton Ellis, Jon Pepoon, Lee Lodes, Jeff Soares, Kevin Weidenbacher, Lynda Pearson, Lona Walburn, Lori Greenburg, John DePretis, and Sheila Cobb. I would also like to express my appreciation to my mother and father for, no matter how inadvertently, giving me such a memorable childhood. Additionally, I would like to thank the real-life members of the family portrayed in this book for taking me into their home and accepting me as one of their own. I recognize that their memories of the events described in this book are different than my own. They are each fine, decent, and hard-working people. The book was not intended to hurt the family. Both my publisher and I regret any unintentional harm resulting from the publishing and marketing of Running with Scissors. Most of all, I would like to thank my brother for demonstrating, by example, the importance of being wholly unique.
』 『There is a passage early in Augusten Burroughs's harrowing and highly entertaining memoir,Running with Scissors, that speaks volumes about the author. While going to the garbage dump with his father, young Augusten spots a chipped, glass-top coffee table that he longs to bring home. "I knew I could hide the chip by fanning a display of magazines on the surface, like in a doctor's office," he writes, "And it certainly wouldn't be dirty after I polished it with Windex for three hours." There were certainly numerous chips in the childhood Burroughs describes: an alcoholic father, an unstable mother who gives him up for adoption to her therapist, and an adolescence spent as part of the therapist's eccentric extended family, gobbling prescription meds and fooling around with both an old electroshock machine and a pedophile who lives in a shed out back. But just as he dreamed of doing with that old table, Burroughs employs a vigorous program of decoration and fervent polishing to a life that many would have simply thrown in a landfill. Despite her abandonment, he never gives up on his increasingly unbalanced mother. And rather than despair about his lot, he glamorizes it: planning a "beauty empire" and performing an a capella version of "You Light Up My Life" at a local mental ward. Burroughs's perspective achieves a crucial balance for a memoir: emotional but not self-involved, observant but not clinical, funny but not deliberately comic. And it's ultimately a feel-good story: as he steers through a challenging childhood, there's always a sense that Burroughs's survivor mentality will guide him through and that the coffee table will be salvaged after all.--John Moe』
price：$9.16
Riverhead Hardcover
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Slow to start, but great ending.) 『This story starts off slow. Almost to the point where I found myself wondering when I'd get to the "good stuff". I understand that the author was trying to build the characters and show the true relationship between them all. However, I think that she could have omitted a few of the beginning chapters without any deteriation of the story line. Now, having said that.. it was about half way through the book when I finally became invested and interested in what was going to happen next. I choose this book for the suspence and I was finally getting it. I must say that ultimatly the book redeemed itself with the last half. Waters has a great ability to keep you on the edge of your seat without using obvious scare tactics. The ending was also a shocker and really left me thinking. It never clearly tells you who, what, or why but the fact that the author leaves it up to your own imagination makes it all the more compelling. In the end I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a compelling, interesting and non-traditional "ghost" story.』
(Little Stranger does not deliver) 『Every Halloween season I choose a few darker tales to get myself in the mood. I choose "The Little Stranger" because of the many good reviews I read both on Amazon and in other media. I found myself a good three quarters of the way through with absolutely no investment on my part. It was not that the book was poorly written; rather, it just did not deliver on the ghost story I had anticipated. It ended up to be a dreary read that was not even the slightest bit suspenseful. The majority of the reviews for this work have been good. I must have missed something.』
(really didn't deliver on the ghost story) 『while I enjoyed this book to some degree I found myself getting a little bored at times with the attempts at suspense. For me, the ghost story part didn't really deliver. I enjoyed the characters and the descriptions of the house. But ultimately it was only an ok read』
(Thrilling and Entertaining) 『The Little Stranger, a new novel by well-known British author Sarah Waters, examines the great social upheaval in England during the years immediately following World War II through the perspective of a once-grand family as that perspective is narrated by the family's local doctor, Dr. Faraday. Mrs. Ayers and her two adult, unmarried children, Caroline and Roderick, are the last remnants of the Ayres family living in crumbling Hundreds Hall on an unkempt estate in rural England. Dr. Faraday, who comes from humble origins, befriends the family after a house call to treat an ailing servant. It's a friendship that never would have formed in the pre-war era of strict social hierarchies, and Dr. Faraday takes great pride in his association with the high-class Ayers.
Beginning with an inexplicable dog attack, a number of strange occurrences in the Hall suggest a supernatural presence. Though the occurrences become ever more violent, it remains unclear whether the ghostly presence is real or merely a figment of the family's over-stressed imagination. Things become increasingly desperate, and the Ayers family, one by one, succumbs to the force--whether supernatural, socioeconomic, or imagined--that seems determined to break them. Through it all, Dr. Faraday is the steady voice of rationality, at first a welcome respite but becoming more and more ominous over time.
The gradual mental and financial collapse of the Ayers family parallels the disintegration of the British class system, and this interplay results in a rich story with many layers of meaning. The supernatural elements avoid cliché by their ambiguity. Is Dr. Faraday correct that there's a rational explanation for everything? Or is Roderick right that an unseen malevolent force is threatening the family? Waters masterfully maintains this delicate ambiguity to the chilling and dramatic end. The Little Stranger is a quick-paced psychological thriller nested within an insightful social commentary. The combination is thrilling and intelligent.』
(Hundreds Hall. Haunted or not? Ghost, poltergeist, or murderer?) 『This was my first Sarah Waters book, and I must say I do enjoy her writing style.
Hundreds Hall, once a grand estate, has fallen into decline with the decline of its family's fortune. The narrator, Dr. Faraday, first knew of the house as a small child when his mother was a maid there. After a 30 year absence, he is called back to the house because of a maid's illness and is taken aback by the condition of the house and the family.
Over time he becomes sort of a family friend to Mrs. Ayres and her adult children Roderick and Caroline, though perhaps the friendship is more on his side than theirs due to class differences. All the while, strange happenings are afoot. Strange burn marks, footsteps in empty rooms and the like are witnessed by each occupant. The story is cleverly told, and the ending is left for the reader to decide. I'm one who actually likes this type of ending because I end up thinking about all the possibilities for days! The mood of the book was sufficiently creepy without being gory and was an excellent choice for Fall reading.
The Little Stranger was shortlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize.』 『A chilling and vividly rendered ghost story set in postwar Britain, by the bestselling and award-winning author ofThe Night WatchandFingersmith.
Sarah Waters's trilogy of Victorian novelsTipping the Velvet,Affinity, andFingersmithearned her legions of fans around the world, a number of awards, and a reputation as one of today's most gifted historical novelists. With her most recent book,The Night Watch, Waters turned to the 1940s and delivered a tender and intricate novel of relationships that brought her the greatest success she has achieved so far. WithThe Little Stranger, Waters revisits the fertile setting of Britain in the 1940s-and gives us a sinister tale of a haunted house, brimming with the rich atmosphere and psychological complexity that have become hallmarks of Waters's work.
The Little Strangerfollows the strange adventures of Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor. One dusty postwar summer in his home of rural Warwickshire, he is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline-its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his.
Abundantly atmospheric and elegantly told,The Little Strangeris Sarah Waters's most thrilling and ambitious novel yet.』
price：$5.42
Bold Strokes Books
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Old Friends and a Delicious Newcomer) 『While in Provincetown, it is a special pleasure to read any of the books in Rad's Provincetown Tales series. I was lucky enough to devour Returning Tides while listening to the sounds of Provincetown harbor. In this, the 6th book in the series, we get more of our favorite characters including Tory and Reese, Bri and Carre, Rica and Carter, Allie, and we meet a delicious new character. There's intrigue and romance and of course, with the combination of ocean/water and all those hot women, you get steam...lots of steam! 』
(Returning Tides) 『For those who love the Provincetown Tales this book is like visiting old friends. Hot and sexy like you expect from Rad, and full of strong women who love one another with tender fierceness. A couple of surprises are thrown in. I'm waiting impatiently for book 7.』 『Insurance investigator Ashley Walker faces more than a dangerous opponent when she returns to the town, and the woman, she left behind.
In the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster, Reese Conlon and Tory King deal with the challenges of a community in turmoil while insurance investigator Ashley Walker faces more than a dangerous opponent when she returns to the town, and the woman, she left behind.
The sixth in the Lambda Award winning Provincetown Tales.』
price：$8.82
Hudson Street Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (The Meaning of Matthew) 『A must read for anyone who feels that tolerance is a term that has been forgotten in our world today.』
(The meaning of a life) 『This story was one I hesitated to read. Having lived through the nightmare of it's reality years before, and knowing this is the fear every parent has, I had to think about it before I bought it. As hard as it was to read in many places, you will be glad you did. Judy sets the facts straight and brings you into the story of Matthew and those who knew him best. It is beautifully written and particularly a "must read" for those of us who have a child who happens to be gay.』
(Amazing Find!) 『This book is so touching and amazing, You see Matthew's life through his mothers eyes.
Its a sad thing it happened.. But through this book we find not to hate people who are different, not to judge them or treat them badly because everyone has a story.』
(fill in the blanks) 『This left me and our book club perplexed as to who Judy was writing this for? Why aren't there pictures of the family and the murderers?
There seem to be a lot of details left out about the family that left us wondering. If you are going to do this type of book you have to really go there.
The book unfortunately left us with a less positive image of Matthew Shepard than we had prior to reading it.』
(A meaningful look at Matthew) 『The book "The Meaning of Matthew" is about the life of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay teen in Wyoming. His life and brutal death at the hands of two antisocial youths gave new meaning to the term "hate crime." Left for dead after a horrific attack, he then impossibly held on to life for five days in a hospital in ICU after being discovered on the ground (with his hands still tied to a fence rail). His terrible death started a unusual response from strangers around the world reacting to this hate crime, many candlelight vigils and memorial services were held, and Matthew Shepard's name became synonymous with the recognition of hate crimes towards gays.
Ms. Shepard covers the story well, as she and her family lived the tale. Judy Shepard, Matthew's Mother, covers Matthew's birth, and early life. She also discusses his homosexuality and how it did not affect her family's love for Matthew. After Matthew's death, she discusses the trial in depth, and her feelings about the two offenders who killed Matthew, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. The trial of the two, and the depiction of what the two did with their lives up until the murder is riveting. The untold story of the girlfriends of the Russell and Aaron, who knew their boyfriends did something horrible, but DID NOTHING and lied to the police to protect them at first, is morally hard to swallow. The writing is plain yet not simple-Ms. Shepard deals with not only the love that Matthew's life and death lead to from strangers and from family, but the hate from the separatist Baptist church Westboro Baptist Church-who protested outside of Matthew's memorial service given by the family and the trial too. Ms. Shepard covers all angles of a moving yet disturbing tale.
I found myself praying for all the members of this family immediately after I read this book. Parts of this book, such as when Matthew calls his Mother to confess that he was gay, moved me to tears. The only thing that could have made this book better was if pictures of Matthew had been available in the middle of the book as some publishers decide to do in true accounts. I would have loved to have seen pictures of Matthew growing up, and of some of the people who were really important in Matthew's life, such as his friend Romaine (who created the group Angel Action to encircle the Westboro Baptist protestors).
At least things have been learned from this horrible tragedy, one that should never befall a family. No one should outlive their children. Ms. Shepard and her husband founded the Matthew Shepard foundation immediately after his death, which is committed to the causes of social injustice, diversity awareness and education; and equality for all gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual people. I hope this organization thrives and makes an impact on our society.』 『The mother of Matthew Shepard shares her story about her son's death and the choice she made to become an international gay rights activist
Today, the name Matthew Shepard is synonymous with gay rights, but before his grisly murder in 1998, Matthew was simply Judy Shepard's son. For the first time in book form, Judy Shepard speaks about her loss, sharing memories of Matthew, their life as a typical American family, and the pivotal event in the small college town that changed everything.
The Meaning of Matthewfollows the Shepard family in the days immediately after the crime, when Judy and her husband traveled to see their incapacitated son, kept alive by life support machines; how the Shepards learned of the incredible response from strangers all across America who held candlelit vigils and memorial services for their child; and finally, how they struggled to navigate the legal system as Matthew's murderers were on trial. Heart-wrenchingly honest, Judy Shepard confides with readers about how she handled the crippling loss of her child, why she became a gay rights activist, and the challenges and rewards of raising a gay child in America today.
The Meaning of Matthewnot only captures the historical significance and complicated civil rights issues surrounding one young man's life and death, but it also chronicles one ordinary woman's struggle to cope with the unthinkable.』
price：$5.10
Cleis Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Better than many) 『This is pretty good "bedtime" reading! A lot of erotic fiction is disappointing- either too romance-novel-y or too penthouse-letters-y. This strikes a nice balance, with some steamy raunchy stuff, but decent writing and story lines also. The stories are short, so if you want a long plot and characters you should look elsewhere. I like that some of the subject matter veers pretty far into unusual territory. It's a cheap, no risk way to explore some fetishes that I never considered before, but a couple of the stories may be a little extreme for some folks.』
(A good collection.) 『I've been reading these collections for quite some time now, and was glad to receive and read the 2009 version. It's quite good, with some of the best stories I've read. I was glad to see new names added to the list just to mix it up a little. I also liked that the stories didn't meander around and really lived up to the hype. A good collection if you like erotic anthologies, such as Sex Scenes: Erotica Excerpts from the Novels of Kim Corum, which is also good, too.』
(Eh-) 『This book was ok, I didn't like it that much. The stories weren't that well written.』
(Best Women's Erotica 2009) 『This diverse and fairly well-written collection of erotica is quite entertaining. I suspect that there is something in here for every taste.』
(Oh yessss. Very satisfying) 『I found this a most pleasurable book to read, indeed as are all of Violet Blue's books. A collection of well balanced and varied erotica with something that will appeal to everyone. In particular I liked `Fly', a fairy tale which I think everyone will recognise, with a very erotic flavour which put me in mind of Ms. Madore. What I liked most about this story is how Wendy is depicted, as a demure but very alluring innocent, and I must admit she reminded me of someone who was very dear to me many years ago.
`Live Bed Show', is another story of note that has a genuine warmth about it that made me think that this story is possibly autobiographical. A very English girl in the very beautiful city of Amsterdam getting a dream job of demonstrating luxury beds in a shop window. Very erotic, with an old fashioned happy ending.
A great book, as are all the `Best Women's Erotica' series and long may they continue. One of my notable favourites wasBest Women's Erotica 2007.Two other books of note are Rachel Kramer Bussel's Dirty Girls: Erotica for Womenand Suzie Van Aartman's 100 Percent Erotica well worth adding to your collection. 』 『
Best Women’s Erotica 2009is erotica by women, for women— contemporary, realistic, and explicit. Editor and best-selling author Violet Blue knows what women are looking for in an erotic anthology, and she delivers it here, with an amorous abundance of risky, romantic, heart-pounding thrills. Joyful, daring, and authentic, these steamy stories revel inerotic adventure, from the sparks between strangers to the knowing caresses of long-time lovers. Filled with strong characters and clever narratives that show how sexual experience is different for every woman, this seductive anthology is a glorious celebration of the finest and friskiest female erotic fiction today.
price：$6.18
Turtleback
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Odd Girl Out) 『I was immediately drawn to this book because I am raising a daughter and experiencing the wrath of female aggression again through my daughter's eyes. I never realized it started so young! This book is both enlightening and affirming as it acknowledges the undercurrent of hidden female aggression that lives within our culture. We live in a society where girls are raised to be loving and nice. "Our culture refuses girls open access to open conflict, and forces their aggression into non physical, indirect, and covert forms"(Simmons, 2002,p.3). I believe there are many women in our society that can identify with this statement and find this book helpful. Rachel Simmons provides testimony to this behavior from many perspectives. The girls interviewed are different ages with diverse racial and economic profiles. How many of us remember being excluded, ganged up upon or ridiculed? What is most difficult to understand is that often all we wanted was acceptance. Rachel Simmons wrote this book to helps girls realize they are not alone. It provides helpful advice for teachers and parents to assist girls through these difficult times. The only part that was lacking in this book for me is that I would have liked to have heard from women that continue to experience this aggression into adulthood. This behavior certainly does not end in adolescence. In fact, I don't think this hidden aggression ever ends. Maybe that is an idea for a sequel. Rachel Simmon's book is well written and certainly held my attention. I highly recommend Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons if you are raising girl in today's society. 』
(Read At Least Twice) 『I can empathize with another reviewer's position that this book offered no solutions to the victim. There is some of the typical "honor your feelings (while getting abused)" wording. But I encourage you to read the book a second time. There is a lot to digest and a lot of shock. On a second pass, you will probably glean some ideas. The passages on other, i.e. non-white, cultures which don't follow the code of silence are particularly interesting. There are girls who are capable of getting relational conflict into the open and getting over it. There are girls who have a mandate not to "stay hit". Physical confrontation, which is outright offered as a final solution at the end of the book, may be what is needed. Contrary to the author, I do not believe that relational aggressors are good girls who do bad things. We are defined by our actions. So maybe physical confrontation, or the willingness to partake, is what is needed to stop girls who have decided to be bad. Regardless, give this book a chance. It has information that can be applied - even if indirectly.』
(Well, it certainly has emotional appeal) 『Most girls can identify with some aspect of this book, and many at multiple points in their lives. Sadly, this kind of behavior can continue through adulthood, and this is the most painful thing. At age 27 I was shunned by a group of friends--by being angry at one friend, she dug up things from 5 years ago instead of admitting she was wrong, and the others acted in 1984 fashion by pretending I never existed. This made me wonder why all my life I'd been so big on having female friends. I wanted to underline parts of this book and leave it on the doorstep of former friends.
She does repeat herself many, many times. Several different points are repeated, but mainly "girls are supposed to always be nice" is said in probably each chapter. Maybe girls are supposed to be nice to their friends, but when someone has been determined as having no status, girls have no problem being explicitly rude to the outcast's face. She also wrote a few sentences about how impossible it is to live as a girl with these demands and it was inevitable to collapse. I didn't feel like it was absolutely impossible to live, and frankly I don't think that many people care too much about what females are "supposed" to be like because they recognize that it is sexism to have uniform expectations of one gender.
My major criticism is in her chapter "Resistance", about how urban girls are missing this "be nice" complex. There are good points to this, but she comes off as idealizing some things that are not much better. There are descriptions of quiet or nonviolent people being disrespected, and bullied kids who come home and then get beat by their parents for "letting themselves" be bullied--which is about like punishing a rape victim for "provoking" it. Also, it's not like theses type of girls only act in self defense. I hated them the most in high school b/c they were openly rude and hostile to people for no good reason, and were always getting into fights and cursing people out for no good reason. She describes the "popular" lifestyle as being devoid of personality b/c the girls inside it were so busy maintaining their status, but the "not nice" girls were equally devoid of personality b/c they were so busy showing that no one could "mess with" them. Basically, they were about the same as male bullies. Whatever she says about alternative aggression, overt bullying certainly isn't better.
There are a few exercises where she describes "nice" characteristics and "not nice" characteristics (for instance in the professional setting), of course treating the former as if they were bad and the latter as admirable. But it is not a terrible thing to be "understanding", "open to other views", etc, and although it's human to be selfish or insecure, it's not something to strive for and often isn't a good quality to have in a supervisor. She complains that women don't get as far in the business world b/c of their "nice" complex, which comes back to wanting to preserve relationships. Well, maybe some women place more value on their relationships than their careers--after all, devotion to a corporation is one of the most unrequited loyalties in the world. There are also men who are not close to their wives and barely know their children and have few friends b/c they are so busy with their careers. It is very difficult to fully excel in career and have rewarding relationships, so usually a person is oriented one way or the other.
She rails against alternative aggression, but doesn't really have a solution. She seems to think that people should talk over every minor point of negativity, but there is such a thing as deciding what is important enough to talk about and what annoyances are part of life, part of the friend's personality, etc, and are more trouble than they're worth to talk about--because perfection in relationships is also damaging. Also, most of the time when females have an honest, talk-it-over session with each other, they usually end up resenting each other for what they say, and even more conflict arises. I still have female friends but I now prefer to simply keep them at a healthy distance.
What is the solution? I think that maybe if alternative aggression goes away, something even more covert will take its place. In the olden days, children and adolescents dealt with war and disease and child labor. In earlier generations, it was just bullying and maybe physical punishment from parents. Now the things that upset people are more related to self-actualization and belonging than to physical needs. I think as the really terrible things disappear, people are traumatized by lesser, more subtle things.
』
(Deep Understanding of Girl Bullying) 『This book gives the reader a deep understanding of girl bullying. Sometimes I cried, sometimes I read with shock and rage and at one point, I read and realized that something that happened to me in high school fit the description of girl bullying to a T. Wow, I never put my finger on what had happened or why. Now, I understand. I wish I knew then what I know now. My teen years would have been a bit easier to navigate.』
(found it wanting) 『I decided to read this book because I thought it might help me deal with the issues my daughter is starting to face in elementary school. I saw myself in this book -I distinctly recall when my "best friend" in 4th grade cornered me in the girls bathroom and told me I better stop being a brat otherwise she wouldn't be my friend anymore. I was lost and bewildered, like many of the victims in this book, and I couldn't figure out what I did to earn her wrath. Years later I know I did nothing but the pain from that moment is still there and the pain inflicted through middle and high school by various girls is not far from the surface. Reading this book made me realize why I have trouble making friends and why I just don't "put myself out there". I've been shot down way too many times.
BUT while this book did shed some light on what happened to me and put into words what girls do to each other I didn't find what I was hoping for; some type of blueprint, some sort of plan for me to help my daughter through this. The author kept saying that we needed to come up with a new language to explain girl bullying but she never came up it. Nor did I find anything to help explain things to my daughter. She did end the book with some words of advice on how to talk to your daughter about what may be happening to her but all this book did was take her countless interviews with girls and women and prove that girls just aren't that nice.』 『When boys act out, get into fights, or become physically aggressive, we can't avoid noticing their bad behavior. But it is easy to miss the subtle signs of aggression in girls--the dirty looks, the taunting notes, or the exclusion from the group-that send girls home crying. InOdd Girl Out, Rachel Simmons focuses on these interactions and provides language for the indirect aggression that runs through the lives and friendships of girls. These exchanges take place within intimate circles--the importance of friends and the fear of losing them is key. Without the cultural consent to express their anger or to resolve their conflicts, girls express their aggression in covert but damaging ways. Every generation of women can tell stories of being bullied, butOdd Girl Outexplores and explains these experiences for the first time.
Journalist Rachel Simmons sheds light on destructive patterns that need our attention. With advice for girls, parents, teachers, and even school administrators,Odd Girl Outis a groundbreaking work that every woman will agree is long overdue. 』 『There is little sugar but lots of spice in journalist Rachel Simmons's brave and brilliant book that skewers the stereotype of girls as the kinder, gentler gender.Odd Girl Outbegins with the premise that girls are socialized to be sweet with a double bind: they must value friendships; but they mustnotexpress the anger that might destroy them. Lacking cultural permission to acknowledge conflict, girls develop what Simmons calls "a hidden culture of silent and indirect aggression."
The author, who visited 30 schools and talked to 300 girls, catalogues chilling and heartbreaking acts of aggression, including the silent treatment, note-passing, glaring, gossiping, ganging up, fashion police, and being nice in private/mean in public. She decodes the vocabulary of these sneak attacks, explaining, for example, three ways to parse the meaning of "I'm fat."
Simmons is a gifted writer who is skilled at describing destructive patterns and prescribing clear-cut strategies for parents, teachers, and girls to resist them. "The heart of resistance is truth telling," advises Simmons. She guides readers to nurture emotional honesty in girls and to discover a language for public discussions of bullying. She offers innovative ideas for changing the dynamics of the classroom, sample dialogues for talking to daughters, and exercises for girls and their friends to explore and resolve messy feelings and conflicts head-on.
One intriguing chapter contrasts truth telling in white middle class, African-American, Latino, and working-class communities.Odd Girl Outis that rare book with the power to touch individual lives and transform the culture that constrains girls--and boys--from speaking the truth.--Barbara Mackoff』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Come on Kindle! Clean it up.) 『Of course Butler's books on gender are breathtaking classics and receive 5 stars from me in their print editions. I assign them all the time in my Gender Studies class. But this Kindle edition is messy. This is the problem I keep finding with the Kindle editions. It's insulting of Amazon to assume that Kindle readers don't care about clean editing and formatting. As a PhD student in Literature I am looking for a better tool for amassing my huge reading list. Students in every field would be ecstatic with a Kindle that actually served our needs. I also think Kindle is underestimating the common reader who also appreciates careful editting and presentation. We need to know more information about the Kindle editions--i.e. who edits and Introduces the volumes and whether they are exact replicas of their print editions. We also need to be able to cite actual page numbers from known editions for quotes, essays, papers and dissertations. I hope Kindle fixes this in the next generation. At the moment I'm making due with the messiness because of the convenience of carrying 300 volumes in one light device. But I'd be out shouting Kindle's praises in the streets (and to the classrooms full of college undergrads I teach) if Kindle would just pay attention to these few details. The search tool can be so helpful as to be heavenly. The dictionary tool should be expanded to include philosophical and theoretical terms also! Come on Kindle!』
(Thick, Yet Important) 『Butler's gender critique has been a helpful resource for me in my own work. In this book Butler challenges varying constructions of gender and how such constructions are constituted. She defends all variations of sexual expression and breaks down patriarchal forms of discourse through the application of a variety of feminist critiques. Her writing is dense, complicated, and sometimes difficult to follow, but the careful reader will find her contribution challenging and worthy of spirited dialogue.』
(Challenging, but Worth It) 『Judith Butler is one of the most prominent feminist theorists of our times, and her work should be read by anyone who seriously wants to grapple with issues of genderism, bi-genderism, trans-genderism, inter-genderism, and post-genderism. Her challenging writing style is necessary to really let you break out of the binaries that are both constructive and obstructive to our thinking. Butler's central thesis - "that, in a way we are all transvestites" - challenges popularly held views of tranvestite-ism, and destabilizes traditional modes of constructing gender identity. Most people think that they're not transvestites because they do not go out wearing the clothing of the opposite sex. These people need to read this book!
The most subversive thing that one can do in a gendered sociality is to redefine themselves, and hence redefine others, by crossing genderly bound, genderly bounded, and genderly constructed mediations. The mediations both keep us from ourselves and keep us from one another, and in becoming other we transgress and transform these mediations in a constant struggle and constant negotiation for self, society, and bi-individuality.
This book is necessary for anyone living in today's world.』
When I first started studying gender issues, I discovered Judith Butler and she has been a hero of mine ever since. She challenges you with her theories of sex, gender and sexuality. Her book "Gender Trouble" has been deemed a classic by those who follow her theoretical approach. "Gender Trouble" has been very important in shaping modern queer theory with its premise that it is time for us to rethink how we understand gender issues and sexual orientation and preference. Butler gives us a classist approach to understand gender but the problem here seems to be that her study concentrates on modern white upper class academia. Some of her ideas could quite naturally apply to all of us if we throw the class ideas out. To destabilize gender from its binary classification would indeed be a liberating experience but Butler has not challenged all of society or the entire social order. Because writing is engaging in political activity, Butler challenges the existing patriarchy found in many places of the world today. Because of this the book may read as more of an elitist manifesto than a handbook that we all can use. To me it was easy enough to take her ideas and formulate my own theory of how we should look at gender and sexuality and regardless of her elitism, there is a g great deal of valuable information to be found in her book. Butler poses the idea of nature versus nurture as important to the idea of gender and this is challenging in itself. But even more interesting is our approach to labeling. When we look at the labels we use today--male/female, masculine/feminine, man/woman--we see a distinct binary. Looking further at the issue of sexuality, we get sexuality/sexual orientation. There seems to be nothing that falls in between. Butler has truly allowed me to see how I regard the world and how so many others look at society. Gender is not an easy topic to discuss and Butter does so with great agility and knowledge on a very touchy issue. We ask ourselves what we think of when we use the words "heterosexual", "homosexual" and just plain "sexual". What is it about these words that give them permanency and meaning? Better yet, why do these words conceal thought rather reveal it? Gender is "performative" in the words of Michel Foucault, the French existentialist. Is it indeed a role worn on occasion or is it a cultural activity that often repeats itself? Many complain that it is difficult to understand the language that Butter uses. I do not agree. To understand Butler, you must put yourself into the frame of mind that you want to understand what she has to say. She says a lot and to read her is to get a better understanding of what the gender issue is all about. 』
(Fascinating Ideas, Infuriating Writing Style) 『Readers who are willing to tolerate labyrinthine sentences and brain-cramping scholarly vocabulary and who already have a working understanding of Freud, Lacan, Foucault, and deconstruction will find in Butler a challenging, highly stimulating theorist of sex, gender, and sexuality.
Readers looking for a breezy and accessible discussion of gender roles in modern society should definitely look elsewhere.』 『Since its publication in 1990,Gender Troublehas become one of the key works of contemporary feminist theory, and an essential work for anyone interested in the study of gender, queer theory, or the politics of sexuality in culture. As Judith Butler writes in the major essay that stands as preface to the new edition, one point ofGender Troublewas 'not to prescribe a new gendered way of life, but to open of the field of possibility for gender.' Widely taught, and widely debated,Gender Troublecontinues to offer a powerful critique of heteronormativity and of the function of gender in the modern world. Judith Butler's new preface situatesGender Troublewithin the past decade of work on gender, and counters some common misconceptions about the book and its aims.』 『In a new introduction to the 10th-anniversary edition ofGender Trouble--among the two or three most influential books (and by far the most popular) in the field of gender studies--Judith Butler explains the complicated critical response to her groundbreaking arguments and the ways her ideas have evolved as a result. Nevertheless, she has resisted the urge to revise what has become a feminist classic (as well as an elegant defense of drag, given Butler's emphasis on the performative nature of gender). The book was produced, according to Butler, "as part of the cultural life of a collective struggle that has had, and will continue to have, some success in increasing the possibilities for a livable life for those who live, or try to live, on the sexual margins." An attack on the essentialism of French feminist theory and its basis in structuralist anthropology,Gender Troubleexpands to address the cultural prejudices at play in genetic studies of sex determination, as well as the uses of gender parody, and also provides a critical genealogy of the naturalization of sex. A primer in gender studies--and sexy reading for college cafés.--Regina Marler』
price：$4.20
Strebor Books
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (It was alright) 『some stories are good some are boring some are totally unrealistic, but it's a good book to kill time』
(Nothing Atypical with Eroticnoirs.) 『Sure different authors had a chance to showcase their talents but after a few, I got bored. Not a great blend of plots and eroticism in several of stories. I gave it away 1/3 of the way through.』
(Waste of Time) 『NOT A TYPICAL ZANE BOOK. OK I read this book for an online book club and every single person in the group strongly disliked this book. The stories did nothing for me, OK I take it back, only one did. The writers are people I have never heard of and hopefully I will never have to torment my eyes to read something they have ever written again. I should have looked closely and paid more attention when the book said EDITED BY ZANE not WRITTEN BY ZANE...big difference, very big difference』
(Purple Panties by Zane) 『I ordered this book on May 28, 2009 but never received it. This made me very unhappy and I have now ordered it from another company. A refund is being processed.』
(This Book Makes me Tingle ;)) 『This book is definetly and MUST HAVE!! i just recently purchased the book two days ago and i cant put it down!..Im already on page 154..This book features short stories which i love by different authors..Each authors expresses their way of love making...There are some stories filled with passion and there are those stories that are rough...So it has stories for everyone..I recommend this book to anyone..』 『
Zane, theNew York Timesbestselling author and Queen of Erotic Fiction, brings a new collection of lesbian erotica that will blow the sheets off beds everywhere.
What happens when "The Finest Man" you have ever laid eyes on is a woman? What happens when a woman comes home to her man after a hard day's work with "Lipstick on Her Collar?" What happens when a married woman runs across the love of her life -- another woman -- who insists that "It's All or Nothing?" Is there such a thing as playing too "Hard to Get?" What happens when "Mom's Night Out" turns into group sex? What happens when you discover your true sexuality "At Last?" All of these questions and more are answered within the pages ofPurple Panties.
Written by women from all over the world, here is a new level of lesbian erotica, compiled by Zane, that promises the most exciting and steamy reading experience possible. These stories move beyond race, age, and all walks of life, including long-hidden passions, secret rendezvous with strangers, and May-December romances.
With Zane's ever-growing popularity, and the need for increasingly quality erotica,Purple Pantieswill satisfy a long-standing demand for African-American lesbian literature.
In the tradition of such successful erotica anthologies asChocolate FlavaandCaramel Flava, Purple Pantiesuncovers a new world of evocative risk-taking that has never been explored before from a lesbian perspective. The adventures in these stories are beyond everyone's wildest imaginations.』
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