TITLE: Cunt: A Declaration of Independence
AUTHOR: Inga Muscio
I know it took me forever to finish this book, but that wasn't because it was bad -- it was because it is such a great book to digest in little tiny bits. I enjoyed stretching it out over many days, treating myself to a tidbit here & there. I'd love to give this book to every woman I know. It's a joyful, celebratory, gleeful smile of a book that just cherishes & embraces the fact of woman's existence.I am disappointed that I won't get a chance to discuss the book with the next meeting of the Code Pink Book Club, though, because that is the same evening I'm doing the Prison Book Program. So I guess I will say here a few (probably not nearly all) things that I was thinking about as I read the book:
I did not like that she presumes that every single reader of her book is unfamiliar with the gorgeous & haunting & ethereal (really, I couldn't choose from the 3 descriptive words; they all fit so well) work of Remedios Varo -- granted, I had to read one of my favorite books (Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49) before my interest was piqued about that name, and granted that was only a few years ago, but still. We're not all as in the dark as she seems to think (I know she was making a point, but still it upset me for some odd reason). Hmpf.
I did, however, totally relish her idea of consuming only art created by women for a full year. While I am not certain I want to commit to a full year, what I decided to do was at least make a start in that vein. I've made a list of some of the books that I currently own & want to read, all written by women, and I fully intend (we'll see how well I stick to it) to read 10 of those as my next 10 books (alongside any book club books I might need to get done, although those are generally usually women authors, as well). These are definitely not in the order I plan to consume them. Here, then, is my list of what I have to choose from:
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)Swerve (Aisha Tyler)Emma & Me (Elizabeth Flock)- Fashion Victim (Michelle Lee)
We Don't Need Another Wave (Melody Berger)More Now Again (Elizabeth Wurtzel)- No Logo (Naomi Klein)
Are Men Necessary? (Maureen Dowd)Same As It Never Was (Claire LaZebnik)- Bel Canto (Ann Pratchett)
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)- Pure (Rebecca Ray)
Odd Girl Out (Rachel Simmons)Best Friends (Martha Moody)Tales of a Female Nomad (Rita Golden Gelman)Daughter of Fortune (Isabelle Allende)The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil (Inga Muscio)
Granted, those 10 books could very well take me the whole of a year, so I'm not entirely dismissing the concept. I just need to approach it in my own way! :)
I will also place the list in my sidebar, under the header "Goal: 10 Female Authors", so that we can all keep track of my progress. (Or yell at me if I'm digressing terribly! Although hopefully it won't be at all difficult to stick to.)
I've already started on Gone With the Wind, partially because I want to read the book before seeing the movie (I have this weird need to do that, often), partially because it's one of those Great Novels that I've always wanted to read, and partially because my mom said she remembers reading it, and sometimes (well, often) I just like to be like my mom. :)
Speaking of awesome parents, my father is also so fantastic: he offered to buy the yarn I'll need for the cardigan I want to knit! Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the pricing for it yet, and I'm not even sure if I want to take him up on that, but I think it was such a sweet offer. (Thanks, Dad!)
And in one more note of good news, I got invited back to the closed beta of Lord of the Rings Online! I hope they've fixed some of the lag problems that were happening during the stress test (which is exactly a stress test's purpose in the first place). I still don't think I can talk about it yet, but when I can, I'll be sure to dish!
All right, everyone, have a fantastic weekend! xoxo
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