The lead singer of Bikini Kill has had a truly fascinating life. She also knows how to tell a story, and this memoir of her journey from middle class The lead singer of Bikini Kill has had a truly fascinating life. She also knows how to tell a story, and this memoir of her journey from middle class kid to punk feminist icon and lighting rod was a real page turner for me.
I always cringe when memoirists start with their childhood stories, but it becomes apparent quickly Hanna knows exactly how to focus the lens on the most crucial elements of an event and keep her tellling short and as powerful as a gut punch.
I had multiple visceral flashbacks reading about her coming of age in the 80's, when open sexism was much more rampant than it is now.
She maintains her ruthless efficiency as she shares the key moments in her artistic development, including how that sexism impacted her creative choices in ways that ulitmately led her down the path to becoming the frontwoman for a punk band at a time when female bands were still considered novelties that weren't commercially viable.
She deftly balances describing both the euphoric joy of finding her literal voice and using her platform to support other women in finding theirs with the shocking amount of open hatred and actual violence she and her band were subject to in those early days.
She handles that extremely delecate material concerning violence, abuse and sexual assault more masterfully than I've ever read before. She doesn't tell stories for shock value, but rather for empowerment, in a way that is difficult to describe. In one section, she tells the story of telling her story in a way that was so much more impactful than shareing the story itself could ever have been.
I love that she was nearing 50 when she wrote this, because she is able to look back and discuss the events of her life with both accountability and wisdom. She admits openly to making a lot of mistakes, but she's also able to claim her legacy with both hands.
The fact that she has found so much joy in her life at this stage, despite the challenges of living with chronic Lyme disease, was also inspiring.
This is my second Graeber book, and like the first, it elegantly changed the way I think about things.
The title stems from an essay he wrote in whichThis is my second Graeber book, and like the first, it elegantly changed the way I think about things.
The title stems from an essay he wrote in which he spoke of people who were being paid to do jobs that were at best inefficient and at worst non-existent.
While the idea of being paid to do essentially nothing may sound good on the surface, Graeber discusses the negative emotional impact these "bullshit" jobs have on those who hold them. In his experience, people want the satisfaction of successfully performing a needed task, but a large percentage of modern jobs are disconnected from any sense of true meaning or accomplishment.
He presents the idea that these kinds of jobs, which should not in theory exist under captialism, in fact thrive under what he refers to as "corporate feudalism." American concepts of work and value in particular drive this to extremes in the US.
While I am still considering whether or not I agree with some of his arguments, this book highlights a critical problem with the nature of modern day work that is in need of solving....more
This narrative history of the ladies in waiting who served the wives of Henry VIII is very interesting in many parts. It provides insight into the usuThis narrative history of the ladies in waiting who served the wives of Henry VIII is very interesting in many parts. It provides insight into the usually overlooked lives of women who were an intregal part of palace life.
Using records, trial transcrips and personal correspondence, the author paints a detailed portrait of both the benefits and challenges of serving a sitting queen, as well as the machinations involved in getting such a position in the first place.
This will likley be fascinating to any fans of Tudor history. While well written, my own interest in the topic is not as deep as this book is detailed, so it did drag for me towards the end - it's rather hard to keep track of all the Catherines, Annes, Janes, Marys and Elizabeths even when they pop back up after a different queen takes the throne.
I would have enjoyed this more if she had spent less time on the women of Henry's court and included details on those who served Elizabeth the 1st. I would be very interested in how the dynamics differed when women were serving a queen ruling in her own right....more
It's very high concept, set in a multiverse in which immortal agents of indeterminate species from warring factions travel thThis is a gorgeous novel.
It's very high concept, set in a multiverse in which immortal agents of indeterminate species from warring factions travel through time threads, tweaking history with the intent of creating downstream effects that will give their side an advantage in the ultimate outcome.
Red, of the Agency, is quite surprised when Blue, of the Garden, leaves her a taunting letter. Thus begins a relationship at first adversarial yet deeply intimate as the two top tier agents seek to enliven their work by challenging each other.
Across the threads of time, they communicate through tree rings and molten lava, hiding their dance from their overseers as they do so.
Their connection grows in unexpected directions, and reading their correspondence is a joy.
While I suppose this is science fiction, it doesn't feel like it. It feels like the beautiful love story that it is....more
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