tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post5495478042684180459..comments2024-01-17T04:33:08.243-08:00Comments on My Friend Amy: Some Things I'd Like to Talk About (mostly book related)Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02515314638093018928noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-20375228918992891762008-04-16T22:12:00.000-07:002008-04-16T22:12:00.000-07:00bkclubcare...I actually liked Jack London...but I ...bkclubcare...I actually liked Jack London...but I can't think of any female authors that were required reading! Or poets for that matter. I read Jane Eyre as part of an optional project. Oh I just remembered one...Willa Cather's My Antonia. <BR/><BR/>I don't think all that is considered chick lit can be dismissed either--in particular the two authors who had this conversation. Liza Palmer's Seeing Me Naked and Megan Crane's Names my Sisters Call Me might be classified as chick lit but they have nothing to do with shoes!!!! I loved both of them a great deal and they both have a permanent place in my book collection. <BR/><BR/>Jen, I've only read one Jodi Picoult book..The Pact. It definitely consumed my thoughts, but I didn't actually like any of the characters. The whole thing was just so disturbing that I couldn't decide if I actually liked the book. Well-written, thought provoking, but likeable? Having said that, I absolutely want to read more of her books, as soon as I find the time. :)<BR/><BR/>The only book by Candace Bushnell I 've read is Lipstick Jungle and I actually thought it was pretty good. Definitely a book for women about the hardship of being a woman competing in a man's world...probably not the next Jane Austen but nonetheless enjoyable with a sharp social insight.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02515314638093018928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-45290691709604595492008-04-16T19:40:00.000-07:002008-04-16T19:40:00.000-07:00It is hard for me to offer up my opinion on this b...It is hard for me to offer up my opinion on this because I havent't yet read the authors mentioned in the example. That said, I do think there is a difference between so called "chick-lit" and more substantial novels by women authors. Chick-lit is enjoyable fluff(that I will indulge in from time to time because it is a fun escape from life) but it can hardly be compared to a really well-written novel whose story and characters stay with you long after you've finished reading it. Many of the books I'm referring to were written by women. Sue Monk Kidd, Jodi Picoult, Jane Austin, Barbara Kingsolver are just a few authors that come to mind that don't just write about shoe obsessions (not that there's anything wrong with that).Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17999284509345818868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-37303150369773872062008-04-16T16:33:00.000-07:002008-04-16T16:33:00.000-07:00But... as I sit and consider what male authors I r...But... as I sit and consider what male authors I read in HS. I have always disliked Jack London.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-71170703634872170942008-04-16T16:32:00.000-07:002008-04-16T16:32:00.000-07:00I must admit this is a great topic to post on. I...I must admit this is a great topic to post on. If I've ever thought about it, I don't remember! and that means that I will have to really think more before I have anything to offer. But, for counterpoint, does anyone have any boylit to recommend? I read Catch22 on my own. in high school, so I could understand what the heck a Catch 22 was!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303971.post-84727928549777209722008-04-16T15:32:00.000-07:002008-04-16T15:32:00.000-07:00Oh my god, thank you SO much for making that young...Oh my god, thank you SO much for making that young man reflects upon war remark. I swear I was assigned Catch 22 FIVE TIMES in college. FIVE TIMES. Always by male teachers. I mean, I realize war is a tragic, devastating thing and we should read books about it. And I realize that Catch-22 is a good book. But please! Some variety!<BR/><BR/>I also agree with you that books about/by women are often trivialized. In fact, in this book I just finished, Plato and Platypus Walk Into a Bar, they have a joke timeline of the history of philosophy in the back. And for every female writer/philosopher, they have the event listed as "dismissed as chick lit." Mary Shelley is dismissed as chick lit, Simone de Beauvoir is dismissed as "litterature des chicks" and so on. And it's so true. I mean, there is some garbage written about ditzy women whose main interest is buying shoes. But when garbage is written by men, we don't sneer at it and call it boy lit. Sometimes we give it the damn Pulitzer.Deweyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00395712971920800717noreply@blogger.com