1 comments about The Diaries of Dawn Powell: 1931-1965.

1. Thank you, Steerforth & Tim Page (and Gore Vidal) for making the work of Dawn Powell available. Of all her books, I like the diaries the best--so candid, such a grown-up view of the world; her comments on writing, the New York literary world, and the gritty beauty and ugliness of New York are always acute. Her grasp of the complexity of relationships is amazing-her comments about her husband Joe, her sweetheart, and her child are poignant reminders that life need not be perfect to be rich. Here is the voice of a remarkable woman, one of the most clear-eyed American writers of the twentieth-century. She captures a particular New York moment as does no other writer, and that's saying something.

   I am somehow reminded of another great writer, another unsentimental woman: Natalia Ginzburg. An Italian, her work and Powell's are very different, yet they share a rare candor and stoicism.

5 comments about The Violet Shyness of Their Eyes: Notes from Nepal, Revised Edition.

1. I have read many trips to the Himilayas written from a man's point of view, but this was certainly unique. The typical story of racing down narrow, dangerous roads on a bus is totally different when paying attention to nauseous women and where do the women have to go to the bathroom. When she wrote of climbing mountains, she mentioned the wildflowers. That is something the men rushing up mountains at the very edge of their skills never mention.



2. I really enjoyed this book. Barbara Scot does seem like a woman it would be interesting to know. I appreciated her heartfelt, thoughtful, introspective approach to her teaching experience in Nepal. As someone with a strong family connection to Nepal, I really appreciated the respect and humility she communicates through her writing.
   
   I was especially interested in her reservations about the wisdom of the effort to teach English to Nepali children. It seems so many western efforts to "help" in Nepal and elsewhere go awry. I hope accounts such as this one will encourage more mindful involvement.
   
   Ms. Scot has written with an eloquent, touching, respectful voice about a country that an acquaintance recently described as "beguiling". If you have been to Nepal and have been beguiled, or are dreaming of going for whatever reason, or even just curious about a western perspective on an enchanting and very different culture you would probably enjoy this book.



3. I've been around the world a few times and lived and worked overseas (mostly in Asia) for about 12 years. I have run into many versions of the author, most of whom hold an almost pious, self-righteous attitude about their short term experiences - who almost unfailingly dress in what my fellow ex-pats termed "Asian travelers'disease" style - for example, a Cambodian peasant shirt paired with Japanese farmer pants and an upcountry tribal hat from Chang Mai. These are generally the types of people who in normal life back home wear purple, brown and blue as if it's part of their religion.
   
   The problem is that it's not a bad book, and it is very well written - it just could have been so much better had the author:
   
   1. Had even a modicum of humor
   2. Wasn't afraid to criticize a culture because of looking "culturally insensitive".
   3. Realized that Nepalis are people just like anyone else, not to be put on a pedestal, with a somewhat different mentality, history and geography. In other words, they're not that hard to understand -
   
   Treating a foreign country as if its inhabitants are some sort of exotic butterfly that will go extinct if you disturb it is really out of date. Mass media has made many more inroads and changed more countries from the inside out than have scores of Peace Corps workers, and it's not going to stop anytime soon.
   
   One almost feels as if everyone the author runs into is so holy as to be destined for sainthood. This is an unbalanced point of view, but unfortunately, it's become very popular in the PC States of America. Frankly, I feel more at home with books like "Holidays in Hell".



4. Like too many Americans, Scot approaches Nepal as a mysterious secret land. Her book is full of wonderful theories and ideas to help this backward nation, but her notions are little more than jabs at the West and progress. In a country where only 45% of the population is literate I don't think any nation with resources should sit by and let them "figure it out for themselves." I have spent a few years living in differing regions of Nepal and did not come away with this mystical notion of a people that Scot so dearly clings to her heart. Perhaps she should have scrutinized a little more and wore the rose coloured glasses a little less. I don't recommend this book.



5. I was really surprised by the quality of this book. Many people who have lived or worked abroad try to write about their experiences, but few actually have the talent to create something worthwhile and lasting. Barbara Scot, however, has managed to capture some moments of incredible poignancy and beauty. A few passages even approach the level of poetry.

   The book is a bit uneven in places, but nevertheless I consider it an excellent effort for a first-time author. You come away with a deep respect for both Nepal and her people, and for Barbara, who as an adventurous woman in her late 40s, will be a an inspiration for many. She's the kind of woman you'd like to know.

   On another note--When I saw this book came from a feminist publishing house I was afraid I might be subjected to preachy diatribes about the evils patriarchy, but mercifully that was not the case. Scot does have a special concern for the women of Nepal, but she doesn't preach about it. In fact a sense of evenhandedness is one of the many virtues of the book. She poses many good questions without claiming to have the answers.

No comments about Loving Emma: A Story of Reluctant Motherhood.

3 comments about Preacher's Girl: The Life and Crimes of Blanche Taylor Moore.

1. This woman really was a wounded, sick individual and Schutze tells her bone-chilling story with grace and wit.



2. Jim Schutze, the book's author, takes you inside the crimes committed by Taylor-Moore against lovers, husbands, and family members. In horrifying detail, Schutze describes how the poison used, arsenic, destroys the body from the inside, and the pain and torture it creates. At times, the descriptions may seem almost too graphic, particularly if someone leans towards being a "visual" person to begin with. Not for shock value, however. I am convinced that Schutze uses the graphic detail to take the reader into the victim or his (her? as suggested in the death of Isla Taylor) family, allowing the reader to "see" and feel what those around the victim felt and experienced. Horribly real in every way, but it's not easy to put this book down either.



3. I got this book out of my local library after seeing the TV movie starring Elizabeth Montgomery. The TV movie was based on this book. However, the movie did not even begin to scratch the surface of what Blanche Taylor Moore was really like. I was horrified to think that one human being could be this evil, yet appear perfectly normal. Her father was a terrible man, there was no question about that. He forced Blanche to do things that no child should have to endure. That is why Blanche probably turned out the way she did. It does not, however, excuse the terrible things she did to the people she supposedly "loved." It's a fascinating book.

No comments about Rosanna of The Amish: The Restored Text.

3 comments about Breast Cancer? Let Me Check My Schedule!.

1. This book addressed one of the primary issues for me, as a newly diagnosed cancer survivor - how to keep up with my job while still taking the time needed for medical treatments and recuperation. The book focuses on ten fairly high-powered women with executive and professional jobs, but the preface notes that nowadays most mid-life women are working outside the home and have to balance work responsibilities with their personal needs. Many of us are single and self-supporting; employer-provided health insurance is essential to cover the considerable costs of treatment. So this book helped to answer my overwhelming need to know how to communicate with people at work and how to balance my work schedule with the time I needed to deal with the cancer.
   
   Some of the technical information in the book is a little outdated, since the experience of some of the women went back into the 1980s and the book itself came out in 1997. However, I found the book enormously useful in addressing the work-related issues that often are given little attention in other cancer books I've read.



2. This is a concept book, as you might guess from the title. I didn't much care for the concept.Ten busy professional women, all initially diagnosed with Stage I or II breast cancer, were invited by McCarthy Medical Marketing and Innovative Medical Education Consortium, Inc. to form a focus group that would help to foreground the needs of their special category - busy professional women with breast cancer - for the edification of medical personnel and other cancer care providers. The resulting book, put together in-house by MMM and IMEC, "is intended to provide health-care professionals with insight into what makes this group of women 'different' and, in turn, to enhance their relationships with them." And how are these women "different?" The book explains, "For all ten authors, the diagnosis of breast cancer was a major inconvenience because...it interrupted their busy, active, and fulfilled lives." It turns out none of them felt comfortable crying in doctor's offices or losing control. Nor enjoyed the disagreeable task of "comforting distraught well-wishers" such as their friends and extended family. Nor - back to the title - easily found time for treatment and other medical visits. Why, one woman had the unimaginable experience of being put on hold 15 minutes for her lab results! Whew, what a relief that the rest of us don't have any of that to worry about. As the book progresses and this offensive start-off impression recedes into the background, the characters become more sympathetic and their medical and professional fates interesting. So I'm inclined to hope that these 10 authors didn't quite anticipate how the final draft would make them look. Every woman who has breast cancer has a right to our sympathy and concern. That goes for busy professionals too. Will appeal to: Obsessive fact-gatherers trying to assess their options and eager to learn what happened to other people with a similar lifestyle.



3. From the foreword written by Erma Bombeck:

   I do not know nor have I ever met the ten women who authored this book.

   But we share a common bond. All of us were watching our prime-time lives pass by when a voice announced, "We interrupt this life to bring you cancer." We didn't even have time to turn the dial.

   I have read a hundred books on breast cancer - war stories of women who did battle with the most frightening adversary in their lives. But BREAST CANCER? LET ME CHECK MY SCHEDULE! is different. These are personal stories of ten women, all over thirty, who pursue careers outside their homes......the way they accepted their diagnosis, the decision sthey made, their approach to therapy and the way they coped all reflected their experience in the workplace.

   I wanted to be part of this book mostly because of its title. It fits me to a "T." I too am a working woman complete with a little calendar that tells me when to have a headache. If it isn't penciled in, I don't have one. On April 23, 1992 under "Things to Do Today" I jotted down, "radical mastectomy, noon."

   .........

   As I read this book, I was hoping it would address the one emotion that all cancer patients rarely speak about: the uncertainty of our future. It did. We are a unique group who have been allowed to face our mortality, and oddly enough, it has made us better people for it. There isn't a survivor who doesn't admit she has changed. ........

   I've heard women say, "I can't read cancer books. They're downers. BREAST CANCER? LET ME CHECK MY SCHEDULE is not a downer. How could it be when you enter the lives of these ten women who triumph over an invasion of their bodies. These are women with drive and purpose who aren't ready to give up. Cancer? It's a full week. I'll have my people call your people and set something up.

No comments about Meet Me with Your Black Drawers On: My Life in Music.

5 comments about To Love, to Obey, to Serve: Diary of an Old Guard Slave.

1. As an Old Guard submissive, I was amazed by Vi Johnson's diary. I, too, am expected to keep a journal but the depth of mine does not compare to hers. Expectations differ by Dominant. While my Dominant does not expect me to construct a dungeon in Her home and would absolutely kill me if I were to turn to drugs, She does expect me to change in the ways She considers to be growth. This isn't easy but, after reading this book, I now appreciate how much my Dominant cares. I highly recommend this book to any submissive who thinks there's more to BDSM but doesn't know where to look.



2. I couldn't even get through this book, it is sooooo poorly written...if you care the least about words, grammar, sytax, details, and compelling story, this so is not the book for you...



3. I have many people who go on and on about the "good old days" of SM -- frankly I think their romantic notions need a bit of checking and this diary does it. It is a bit difficult to follow because it is in diary form. You will be shocked, you will be frightened, and you may be turned-off especially if you came into BDSM in the 1990s when SSC because was pretty standard. Because it is a diary, because it attempts to look at Johnson's life, there is little reflection or questioning of the events and people protrayed though there are entries where such analysis does appear it is still from within the mindset of an "old guard slave". For people who "pine for the good old days" this can be a reality check but it may not have been the average reality for every person in the SM lifestyle in the 1970s and 1980s.



4. Overall an adequate book and does describe a woman who is following her dream. A bit difficult to read and follow but, then again, all Diaries (except The Diary of Anne Frank) are difficult to follow unless one was the one who lived that particular life. Could serve as material for another book perhaps? Too many questions arise such as why are there no pictures of the main characters such as Queen Cougar and Mistress Jill Carter? Readers should know shouldn't they especially when there IS a photo of Viola Johnson? Another question arises is why doesn't the author, Viola Johnson, comment more (either pro or con) on the use of drugs in her "family" and why doesn't the author comment on the presence of the production of Pornography that her "family" seems to need to support itself? As an African-American woman, how could she justify to African-Americans and African-American women in particular that she IS a slave? There are more questions that arise that are left unaddressed in this diary -- no Prologue, no appendices, no references, no dedication, etc exist to explain anything. More could have been done to help make the events in this book make much more sense or even to convey appropriate messages to younger generations than what was accomplished here. This book is okay and accurate from the Old Guard perspective, but fails to lift Ms. Johnson to an Icon status where many now place her.



5. ... but it is brutally real.
   If you are looking for fantasy fodder, look elsewhere. This is reality, raw and unpolished.
   Vi is one of the Mothers of the modern BDSM scene. She put her life out there so that others could learn from her mistakes. Anyone who ever thought it would be a good idea to sign their life completely over to someone should be made to read this book before they continue along that path. As the saying goes - Be careful what you wish for.
   This book is an emotional roller coaster. When Mother Vi writes about her mother I was moved to tears. I felt angry for her when she was "forgotten" by her owners. The thing that drove me to turn the page was the realization that this is as real as it gets. This happened.
   If you've been in the scene long enough, some of the players will sound familiar. This just adds to the weight of its truthfulness. And although there are always several versions of the truth, rarely will you ever find someone with the guts to tell their version of it with such frank honesty.
   Mother Vi lays it all on the line so that we may learn and grow. To that I say "Thank You."

5 comments about Risking It All: My Student, My Lover, My Story.

1. Heather Ingram has lots of excuses and rationalizations regarding her decision to have sex with a student. A student who by her own admission, had lots of learning and social difficulities. Heather romantizes her relationship with "Troy" and she struck me as a really immature 29 year old, who never emotionally matured past the age of 15. She talked about Troy being the kind of kid who never would have looked twice at her when she was back in high school. So, this kid, Troy, made her feel young, fun, vibrant and sexy, and she could relive this weird adolescent based fantasy with him. I found the book creepy, she Heather Ingram strikes me as a very selfish and childish person.
   
   It was bad enough that she slept with one of her students, but she ended up having sex with another teenager, Troy's best friend "because she was lonely" ohhh wah. What a disgusting woman.



2. Heather Ingram is an eloquent writer. She explains how she had an affair with one of her students very well. However, she downplays the seriousness of her choices: "I'm just a girl who wants to dance with her boyfriend". She also makes the reader uncomfortable with the way she sees her student as a grown man who is ready for a relationship with her. "He does not appear to be shamed by his suspension; (for doing drugs)he looks as if he is beyond high school, beyond trivial rules and punishment." Her writing continues in this fashion, putting a Danielle Steel style spin on a damaging, selfish, irresponsible decision. Ingram's sweet spin becomes quite taxed as she sleeps with a friend of Troy's while he is away. Ditto when Troy is arrested for sexual assault, assault and dealing drugs. She writes about her punishment and probation, seeming to indicate that she does not feel she should be punished at all. "I sit in front of Sue (her house arrest supervisor) my emotions raging and raw but my face impassive". In the end, she seems angry at the society that punished her for having a affair with a student. "Part of me is angry. Why would I want to go back into society - a society I now see as created and perpetuated by people who are predominantly unhappy...?" She also cannot say that she would not do it again, "I would like to say that I would not do it all again if I could relive the past, but given my emotional state at the time I cannot be sure." Heather has recently has Troy's baby, Troy has been charged with possession of cocaine. They are not together anymore. Maybe now her Danielle Steel view of the world has finally matured to accepting her mistakes.



3. I read this book in two days, found myself drawn to turn each page and it was definitely a good read, but Ms. Ingram is very sad, despite occasional mentions of her mistakes, she seems to have no remorse. I think it would almost have been buyable as a true love outside age had she not gone and slept (one night stand yet) with another student and friend of the original lover ! Agggh. Keep her away from the kids!



4. I think this was an absolutely fantastic book. We, the people, not the accusers finally get an insight of what someone is thinking while commiting a crime over a time period. I loved this book, it was the best one i have read since Lovely Bones.



5. I have to say I finished this in 1 day. Could not stay away from it. Story is soooo absorbing,
   the woman its about is weak, and looking to be accepted but no weaker than a NORMAL woman is about a man (In this cause I use this loosely), but again most normal women have relationshiops with MEN age suitable. Great story, heartbeaking in its truth.
   Hat goes off to author for reveiling heartfelt emotoin at the risk os sounding like a fool chasing your own youth. Makes you want them to STILL be together.

4 comments about Education of a Woman: The Life of Gloria Steinem.

1. I read this book nonstop while on a lengthy car trip. I found it to be incredibly interesting, informative, well-researched, and enjoyable to read. If you've ever wondered how Gloria Steinem got to be the icon that she is, this book explains it all. Whether you are researching Steinem or just looking for an interesting non-fiction, this book is for you!!



2. A sympathetic biography of one of the most famous leaders in the women's movement. According to Heilbrun, Steinem's beauty and ability to remain constantly in the public eye have been a constant source of irritation to other feminists. She presents Steinmen as a slightly naive, well-intentioned and empathetic individual who never intended to lead the feminist movement and indeed would have preferred remaining in the shadows as a reporter and writer.



3. Growing up in the early 80's, I had a vauge idea who Gloria Steinem was and what she did. I was delighted to pick up this book and read the first (and probaly most accurate)book on such a revolutionary leader.

   Denounced by the extreme right and extreme left, Steinem's life has taken her from Ohio to Massachusetts to India, Washington DC and NY. Having cofounded Ms. the National Women's Political Caucus, the Women's Action Alliance and Voters for Choice, Steinem is truly an example of a good role model.

   Heilbrum's superb prose takes us into the infamous resentment born by Betty Friedan and Kathie Sarahchild. Although both of these women are famous in their own right, their inexcusable and childish tantrums undid their own feminist reputation without any help from Steinem. Also deserving of their repuation is Betty Harris who's paranoid delusions and lax work ethic jepordaized the working environment at the early MS. Steinem is a saint for having dealt with these crazies and still keeping cool.




4. I have admired Gloria Steinem since I came to this country in the 70's to go to college. She has had to make some tough choices in her life and I respect her greatly for the path she took. I particularly liked to read about her early years, her childhood and family, prior to the more public New York life of the sophisticated writer and feminist persona she became. After reading this book, I feel that I understand much better where her strong motivation came from. The author deserves much praise for this biography.