In the last month, I've written six book reviews (OK, technically five, but one was a double review) and one music review. Of those, only one was really meh. An unusual thing, actually, considering that the ratio for my comprehensive exam reading lists sits at around 50-50 (hit/miss) at the moment. Here are some deets:
Mariko Tamaki's Fake I.D. (Toronto: Women's Press, 2005) So, so, so, SO good. 14 vignettes that keep the funny but melancholy / cheeky yet insightful tone of her other writings, yet it feels oh so brand-new. Uses rich narratives to sketch a broader social, cultural and political sweep of the politics of the everyday. Buy it. Read it. Share it. Love it.
Andrea Martinez & Meryn Stuart, Eds. Out of the Ivory Tower: Feminist Research for Social Change (Toronto: Sumach Press, 2003) An unusual collection of essays that brings together and to the fore “a constellation of issues and concerns” relevant to women’s political, social and personal lives. Individually the pieces are strong and interesting - together they illustrate the wide-reaching nature of feminist thought in a broad range of disciplines.
Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Righteous Babe Records (2005) So my new favourite record of the moment! Pretty, dreamy, melancholy and punchy - and all perfectly packaged with a gorgeously illustrated CD insert. Bird was totally new to me, and I feel like I've been missing out on something wonderful.
Maureen Sullivan, The Family of Woman: Lesbian Mothers, Their Children, & the Undoing of Gender (University of California Press, 2004) Meh. Interesting and timely topic, weak execution. While the book features amazing ethnographies, what it leaves out - anyone non-white and from a particularly priviledged socio-economic status - is disturbing. Also, since when are lesbian parents a "new" phenomena? The author should have read Katherine Arnup's historical work before embarking on her own.
Sherrie Inness, Ed. Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture (NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) Renny Christopher's chapter on Farscape - locating sci fi and outer space as the only locales for real genderpowerplay in media at the moment - on its own makes this collection worth picking up. Moving from the changing representations of female action heroes to "new images of toughness," this anthology is a pretty solid one for the pre-Battlestar Galactica era.
Emily Pohl-Weary, Ed. Girls Who Bite Back: Witches, Mutants, Slayers and Freaks (Toronto: Sumach Press, 2004) After reading, this collection hit the top of my "good Bday / Xmas / Hanukkah gifts" list. A must-have for anyone who voraciously watched the action-adventures of Buffy, Dark Angel or any of that ilk, or indulges in them with the "guilty pleasure" disclaimer firmly attached. Smart and witty, personal and critical, with some cool comix thrown in for good measure.
come to think of it, Action Chicks and Girls Who Bite Back would make an excellent combo gift for any heady pop culture junkie. books are SO the best present!
Gail Currie and Celia Rothenberg, Eds. Feminist (Re)Visions of the Subject: Landscapes, Ethnoscapes and Theoryscapes (NY: Lexington Books, 2001) The turn of the millennium gave a lot of scholars the opportunity to rethink and challenge much of their own field, to turn the gaze inwards and to take stock of things. I approached this book like many of its ilk, and then realized quickly that it was not as broad in its scope (and thankfully, not as nostalgic) as the others. Instead, it incites dialogue around the themes of space and place that have emerged in recent feminist theorizing and imagines praxis in invigorating ways. Thumbs up on this one.
I *heart* that reviews are considered work!
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