Bitchin' Blog Posts
: Feminism
February 21, 2011 | Monday | 79 Comments
Hi, sorry, sorry. This semester is kicking my ass, and all my classes are things I actually give a rat’s ass about (I’m taking law in the Ancient World, and it’s the best ever), so there’s a lot less procrastination on my plate this semester than last semester. This is also the first book I’m reviewing from my brand new Kindle, which I adore more than is reasonable. I got it for school (really) and also so people can’t judge me for the covers of what I read. Yay for eink! This book is so deliciously fucked up, you guys. …
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February 07, 2011 | Monday | 53 Comments
Seriously, my inbox asplode. Let’s get started with the a-to-the-href, shall we? First: hear that sound? That’s the sound of champagne vendors wailing at the news that Nora Roberts will not be attending the RWA National Conference in New York this year, as I learned this morning. I’m a little bummed about this info, as her Q&A is awesome and who doesn’t love bumping into Nora Roberts in the bar? Alas, not this year. Maybe next year, I hope. * Benjamin Alsup in Esquire takes a look at sex in fiction, saying: Writing about sex is hard. Some writers claim…
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November 11, 2010 | Thursday | 140 Comments
Well. That was…unpleasant. I’m done with the 1970s-early 1980s OG Old School. That was one of the most unpleasant reading experiences I’ve ever had, and I read The Phantom of Manhattan. I finished it because I was kind of interested in where this story would end (and how much shit can be heaped upon the head of the heroine), and I have a finely developed case of trainwreck syndrome. (Also, my copy didn’t stink, so that helped.) I’m having a really hard time coming up with a Letter Grade, because I’ve read worse, and I’ve read better. I had a…
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March 07, 2009 | Saturday | 28 Comments
All hail the wondrous things about Wisconsin. There are many. And not just the Packers and cheese. Evidence: The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Library Nurse Romance Cover of the Week collection. Like nurse romance cover illustrations, with absurdly long, lithe, and monochromatic legs? This is your Mecca. I’m particularly fond of catwalking Luxury Nurse and the unnaturally-pigmented Redheaded nurse. [Thanks to Mary for the link.] Speaking of libraries, this Smithsonian magazine article about library special collections, which mentions the above Love Nurse Collection, is fascinating. (Also, I think “Tobacciana” would be a great name for a heroine set in a…
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October 26, 2008 | Sunday | 2 Comments
If you’re a fan of the PBS stations like I am, perhaps you know about WorldFocus, a news show that debuted recently that delivers world news to an American audience. Because American news media is almost entirely focused on domestic news, WorldFocus “partners with international news organizations” to bring news from outside the US borders into the US for American audiences. It’s rather fascinating, really. I’m hooked - which is not a good thing. I don’t have that much time. Of course, their decision to place their broadcasts online? Freaking BRILLIANT. OMG. Thank you. Here’s one story that you might…
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May 02, 2008 | Friday | 14 Comments
Need a dose of “Romance and its Readers Rule?” Got it right here: relationship books published in Islamic northern sections of Nigeria are a huge hit among local women who crave reading about relationships based on mutual feelings: The books are mostly written in the local language of Hausa. They extoll the values of true love based on feelings, rather than family or other social pressures. Some also carry anti-drug messages. Several volumes instruct women on how to send loving text messages to their intended mate’s mobile phones: “Knowing I can love U with the distance between our hearts makes…
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May 01, 2008 | Thursday | 86 Comments
Yes, we know it’s a bit late to weigh in on the Open Source Boob Project. If you don’t know what it’s about, John Scalzi has a very concise summary and a more measured take on things than most anyone else I’ve read, and you can read the posts by the originator of the idea here, though you’ll need to scroll past a bunch of confusing apologies first. The idea in and of itself, while ill-advised in some ways, didn’t strike me as especially controversial at first—hey, if somebody wants to opt-in for some boob groping at a science fiction…
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April 15, 2008 | Tuesday | 50 Comments
New York Magazine, which is never afraid to wrap up the lowbrow and sell it as art and vice versa (not that this article applies to that synopsis), has a long, but very thought-provoking article by Amanda Fortini about whether Clinton’s candidacy in the US represents, or has uncovered, the fourth wave of feminism. I haven’t written much about the presidential campaign here, since this is a site about romance novels and there are few things less romantic in my opinion than the current election campaigns, but since we often deal with women’s issues, and the changing and difficult-to-pin-down definition…
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