Tag: 2025

Catapult

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Paul, Jim. Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon. Avon, 1991.

Reason read: In October there is a festival where people fling pumpkins. Read in honor of gourds flying.

Jim Paul first got the idea to build a siege weapon when he was traveling back from Utah a decade or so before 9/11. He had been in the desert writing a piece about Dinosaur National Monument when he found a sizable piece of quartz. Toting this quartz through security at the airport he said, “It’s not a weapon. It’s just a rock” but the more he thought about it the more he envisioned the quartz flying through the air like some kind of Monty Python gag. Recruiting his first-name-only friend, Harry, Paul goes about finding funding to build a catapult as an art installment. What transpires is a humorous look at history, science, physics and friendship.
As an aside, Jim Paul was not the only person to be fascinated with flinging things. Ozzy Osbourne wanted to fling chicken livers into the audience during his early shows.

Jim Paul was also very funny. Here are two quotes that made me laugh, “Her scream made my eardrums rattle like bad speakers” and he confessed to a “therapeutic measure of irresponsibility” (p 10).

As an aside, when Paul mentioned a woman named Veronica worked on the movie Star Wars I had to wonder if she was in the series ILM. I think Harry worked at ILM, too. Can you tell I am watching the ILM series right now?

Author fact: In addition to being a writer for the Washing Post Jim Paul was also a poet.

Book trivia: The illustrations are pretty cool.

Music: Frank Sinatra’s “Young at Heart” and Guns ‘n Roses.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Living Your Dream” (p 156).

Bee Season

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Goldberg, Myla. Bee Season. Doubleday, 2000.

Reason read: I have a category called “Special Child Month” and this book falls in it.

Poor eleven year old Eliza Naumann just wants to be noticed by her family. Every member of her family has their own preoccupation. Older brother Aaron, once destined to becomes a rabbi, is on a quest to discover the right religion for him. Slowly he becomes absorbed into the Harre Krishna culture and dreams of becoming a pujari speaking Sanskrit. Mother Miriam has a fixation on stealing things. She stole a random shoe from a mall department store sale rack. She didn’t even want the shoe, useless without its mate, after all. She ended up throwing it away. Each theft begs the question why Each family member slips further into the background while Eliza becomes obsessed with words. When she discovers she is good at spelling her father becomes her champion and urges her to “remove herself entirely from daily life, to brush against the limitless” (p 98). There is an open-ended conclusion to this fractured family.

Lines I liked, “Besides, he can always masturbate to his memories” (p 48) and “It is late enough that the grass is filled with tomorrow’s dew” (p 196).

Author fact: Bee Season was Goldberg’s first book and the only one I am reading for the Challenge.

Book trivia: the front and back covers of Bee Season mimic a dictionary. The novel was made into a movie in 2005.

Music: Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Flock of Seagulls, Pachelbel canon, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” the Eagles, and “Oh Susanna.”

BookLust Twist: first, in Book Lust in the chapter called “Jewish American Experience” (p 132), and then again in More Book Lust in the chapter called “Child Prodigies” (p 43).

Piano Tuner

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Mason Daniel. The Piano Tuner. Vintage Books, 2002.

Reason read: In November Aung San Suu Kyi was released from a Burmese prison.

Edgar Drake, a reserved piano tuner from London, has been given a curious assignment by the British government. He has been hand picked to repair an ancient grand piano belonging to Surgeon-Major Anthony Carroll. Carroll, stationed in the jungles of Burma, refuses to work without the ancient piano in working order. As Edgar journeys to the Surgeon-Major he learns the man is polarizing. In some circles Carroll is a legend and is toasted as a hero; almost a god. While in other places Edgar Drake has been warned not to talk about the Surgeon-Major at all. Not one word. Everywhere Drake goes everyone knows Anthony Carroll for better or worse. [As an aside, there is a such a build-up in The Piano Tuner to meeting the man himself; it is 165 pages before Drake even arrives in Carroll’s Mae Lwin village.]
The jungles of Burma are a far cry from the damp and stodgy London Drake is used to. Before he arrives in Mae Lwin to meet Carrol, he is taken on a tiger hunt. He sees the cruelty of the culture first hand. It was interesting to witness the personal transformation of this quiet Londoner. By the time he reaches Mae Lwin he has fallen in love. His quest doesn’t seem to be about a piano anymore.
[As another aside, I loved the character of Khin Myo, especially when she said “One learns a lot if others assume you are deaf to their tongue” (p 123).]

Author fact: while Mason has written other books The Piano Tuner is the only book I am reading for the Challenge.

Book trivia: The Piano Tuner is Daniel Mason’s first novel and was adapted for an opera in 2004. The audio version is read by Richard Matthews.

Music: Vivaldi, “God Save the Queen,” “God Bless the Queen,” “The Woodcutter’s Daughter,” Liszt, Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C Sharp, and Chopin.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Burmese Days” (p 45).

Snow Fleas and Chickadees

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Quesnel, Eve. Snow Fleas and Chickadees: Everyday Observations in the Sierras. Illustrated by Anne Chadwick. University of Nevada Press, 2025.

Call it a small nature guide or a short literary companion. Either way Quesnel is motivated to share her observations about nature while living in the Sierra Nevada. What started as a column in a local paper has turned into a cute little book. Quesnel can tell you where to go to find a stand of Quaking Aspen to witness their splendor when the leaves turn golden. She solved a long standing curiosity I had (but was too lazy to research) about the “eyes” of birch trees. I am a fan of foraging for food so pulling fir needles of the trees for a snack made me hungry. But you won’t learn just about trees. Animals and birds and insects each have a chapter. How different spiders make their webs was pretty fascinating. Swallow tail butterflies can lose their tails and live. Who knew?
Much like other (short) ebooks, Snow Fleas does not start until page 30 of the 192 page book. I wished it was longer!

I won’t find a sooty grouse or a pica in my neck of the woods.

author fact: I liked how humble Quesnel is, saying “I am not an “ist” of any kind (preface, page 8).

Book trivia: Snow Fleas started as a newspaper column. I said that already. the illustrations by Anne Chadwick are fantastic.

Stroke of Luck

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Aithal. A Stroke of Luck: My Journey Through a Traumatic Brain Injury. 2025.

Although Stroke of Luck meanders sometimes I truly enjoyed Aithal’s courageous memoir. Aithal is coming up on the 23rd anniversary of his stroke so it is fitting for him to look back at his long road to recovery. I appreciated his honesty, vulnerability, and determination. Every chapter of Aithal’s story was eye opening for me. Before reading Stroke of Luck I did not think about every element of life that has to be rebuilt beyond speech and other motor skills after a traumatic brain injury. Appropriate emotional reactions or driving a car, for example. As an aside, I practically cheered when Aithal got his license back. Stroke of Luck is proof positive that you can regain a full life after a traumatic brain injury with the right supports around you. My father did not survive his stroke at fifty-five years of age.
I wish my friend could have read this book. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and his biggest downfall was something Aithal cautioned against doing. He said do not compare your current abilities to what you could do before the stroke. As a drummer with decreased ability my friend sunk into a depression he could not fight. I wish Aithal could have convinced him it does not matter what you used to be able to do. Instead, concentrate on how far you have come since the stroke changed your life. Your life matters.

Author fact: Aithal has a blog here.

Book trivia: Aithal included sources if you want to learn more about the treatments he described. He also shared culturally detailed from his homeland in India.

Anything for a Quiet Life

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Hawkins, Jack and Andrew Hawkins. Anything For a Quiet Life.

Reason read: as part of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing I get to review really interesting books. This is one such book.

Anything for a Quiet Life was first published posthumously fifty-two years ago. Famed British actor Jack Hawkins had died of a complication with an artificial voice box implanted after throat cancer. Anything for a Quiet Life was Jack’s memoir about being an actor and going through cancer. From reading about his life one can tell he was a humble family man with four children who loved his second wife, Dee. It was one of his sons, Andrew, who wanted to bring his dad’s autobiography to the electronic age. If the purpose of republishing the book was to bring Jack’s legacy back, it worked. An unexpected interest in Jack’s career grew after I read Anything for a Quiet Life. I was four years old when he passed and until recently, had no interest in military movies as an adult. Now I plan to find Jack’s catalog and watch them all. My partner will be thrilled.

As an aside, I thought it was interesting that Jack thought he used his voice more strenuously than most people “except perhaps school teachers.” What about professional singers?

As an aside, did you know that the Thames River is a great place to find discarded furniture? You could outfit a whole flat on unwanted treasures.

Book trivia: the afterword was written by Jack’s wife, Dee.

Music: Chopin, and “Thora.”

Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners

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Eden Nora. Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners: a 21-Day Reset with Easy 5-iIngredient Recipes, 20 Minute Meals, Weekly Plans, and Grocery Lists to Soothe Inflammation, Restore Health and Boost Energy. KnowHowLeaf Publishing, 2025.

Reason read: this is a pick from the Early Review Program by LibraryThing.

There are three phases to the three week anti-inflammatory journey: calming the fire, heal the gut, and boost energy.
Things to know:

  • There are twenty-four pages of what I call revving the engine before you actually get to put the book in gear.
  • There are another forty-one pages of coasting before the reset plan is really explained.
  • The pages are padded with a great deal of repetition which I find to be typical in books that are shorter than two hundred and fifty pages. For example, kale is mentioned thirty-nine times: what belongs on your plate, what can go in a smoothie, menu swaps, fridge essentials, freezer essentials, what to prioritize, shopping list for week one, listed in the menus, shopping list for week two, hero food, week three shopping list, the recipes, and the shopping lists for all three weeks. A mention about the shopping list: there is no big list for all three weeks. If you wanted to get all of your shopping done for the entire program you are going to have to combine the week one, two and three lists.
  • You are encouraged to keep a diary while going through the process.
  • The e-book comes with free video bonuses which I did not bother with because, admittedly, I was confused by the promise of inspiration and monetization.

Book trivia: while the author thanks healthcare professionals and nutrition experts, it is hard to tell how much they were consulted during the writing of this book.

As an aside, I was not a fan of having to give my email address in order to download the book. Full confessional: I gave them a fake.

One last confessional – I am going to try this three-week diet to see if it makes a difference. Hopefully, I will remember to update this review with the results.
UPDATE: I have decided NOT to do this diet because even the shopping lists are too complicated. For starters, there are two versions of the week 1 shopping list (The shopping list on page 52 does not have the same ingredients as the one on page 167 and vice versa, for example). There are twenty differences between the two lists. Then I couldn’t find the recipe for the very first meal (Cinnamon Chia Pudding). There is a chia seed with coconut recipe and one for chia seeds with blueberries. Neither recipe calls for cinnamon as a main ingredient.

Kansal Clunker

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Kansal, Neil and Ruchin Kansal. Kansal Clunker: the Car That Rebuilt Us. Koehler Books, 2025.

Reason read: Being a member of the Early Review Program with LibraryThing I get to review cool books. This is one such book.

Prepare to be thoroughly entertained by Neil Kansal and his father, Ruchin. Sharing perspectives on a singular adventure, they have written a charming book about driving across the country in what they call the Kansal Clunker, a rebuilt 1998 Acura Integra with 159,068 miles. What started as a desire to learn how to drive a car with a manual transmission in 2020 turned into an epic road trip. Stopping at interesting sights along the way filled out an adventure of a lifetime. From Connecticut to Colorado, this was a chance for sixteen year old Neil to get to know his father as a person and vise versa.
I thought the maps, memories, photographs, and family comments were a nice touch.

Natalie connection: the family relocated to Newtown, Connecticut. Natalie has performed in support of Ben’s Lighthouse a few times now. I will be attending the benefit this November.

Playlist: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “Happy Birthday,” Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Kane Brown, and “Itsy-bitsy Spider.”

Author facts: Ruchin design Cinemark theaters and Neil was a principal cellist of the University Orchestra.

Book trivia: you can learn more about the Kansal adventure via their website and Instagram site.

Feast of Snakes

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Crews, Harry. Feast of Snakes. Atheneum, 1976.

Reason read: October is scary month and this one takes the cake.

Feast of Snakes is not for the fainthearted. There is every kind of excessive abuse one can think of within its pages. Rape, domestic violence, corruption, animal cruelty, racism, adultery, elder abuse, alcoholism, gambling, murder, and even castration.
Joe Lon Mackey exists as your typical down and out alcoholic twenty-something year old. His high school glory days as a football star have long faded, “Then one day football was gone and it took everything with it” (p 102). Saddled with a mealy wife and two small squalling kids, trapped in a small town with no future, Joe Lon forever lives in the past. His sister is mentally unstable after coming home to find mom murdered by dad. Dad spends his time getting dogs to fight to the death. Old flame Bernadette is still as beautiful as ever, but committed to someone else. It pains Joe Lon that she has moved on and doesn’t seem to remember the good old days, but he’ll force her to think of them one way or another. The memories of what Joe Lon Mackey had but lost have made him brutally mean to everyone around him. His innermost thoughts lead one to believe that deep down inside he has a tiny smidgen of good that is trying to find a way out. Like mean Mr. Grinch, one had to have faith Joe Lon would crawl out of the anger that ensnares his soul. Unfortunately, the entire town seems to be full of brutally mean men and deeply sad women. It’s only a matter of time before the community explodes with rage.

As an aside, there is a rattlesnake round up that happens every year in Claxton, Georgia.

Line that summed up the entire book, “He always got mean when he got nervous” (p 141).

Author fact: Crews has written a bunch of stuff but I am only reading Feast of Snakes for the Challenge.

Book trivia: the dedication is pretty cool, “I have never raised a glass with a better friend.”

Music: Merle Haggard

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Grit Lit” (p 106).

Love at Second Sight

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Leverson, Ada. The Little Ottleys: Love at Second Sight.

Reason read: to finish the series started in August.

When we catch up to the lovely Edith she is now the mother of a ten year old and still married to the horrible Bruce. It has been three solid years since Bruce was so taken with Mavis Argles that he tried to run away and elope in France. It didn’t work out and Edith, faithful to a fault took him back. Home again, Bruce continues to point out Edith’s shortcomings like they are earth-shattering catastrophes, “…as a matter of fact, a curl by the right ear was only one-tenth of an inch further on the cheek than it was intended to be” (p 348), but Edith just shrugs him off more than ever. Despite her steadfast loyalty to Bruce, Edith hasn’t completely forgotten Aylmer Ross. Alymer, home with a war injury, is still madly in love with Edith, but she stubbornly is determined to make her marriage work.
The new element of Love at Second Sight is that Edith and Bruce are housing a widow who shows no signs of leaving. We have no idea where she came from or why she is there but, Madam Frabelle charms her way into every person’s heart and influences every mind. She determines the outcome of Love at Second Sight.

As an aside, Bruce and Madame Frabelle’s little journey confused me a little. First they are on a train, then a boat, then they frequent a hotel for lunch. Then they pop over to Hampton Court and then back to the river where Bruce shows off his rowing skills and then back to the Belle of the Rover and to the train. What a day!

Music: Mozart, Handel, Debussy, Ravel, Faure, “Drink To Me Only with Thine Eyes,” and “I’ll Sing Thee Songs of Araby.”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Viragos” (p 227).

Absolute Truths

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Howatch, Susan. Absolute Truths. Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.

Reason read: to continue the series started in April in honor of Good Friday and Easter (the theme being religion).

Even though Absolute Truths is part of the Starbridge series, each story is self-contained and can be read on its own. It should be noted that each book is connected to the others through characters and plots. This has been said before, but never is it more true than in Absolute Truths. We come back to the character of Charles Ashworth. If you remember from the very first Starbridge novel, Glittering Images, Charles was sent to make sure there was nothing sinister happening in the Jardine household where a young woman (Lyle Christie) was serving as companion to Mrs. Jardine. Charles became obsessed with Lyle and eventually married her. When we catch up to Charles in Absolute Truths, Lyle running the perfect household. When Charles loses Lyle he has to figure out his absolute truth. I have to admit, I was disappointed to return to a character who already had the spotlight in 1937. It would have been more fun to explore the life of a younger character and move beyond the 1960s.
As with every other installment in the Starbridge series, the main character is plagued by sexual impulses and the threat of excessive alcoholic stupors. Charles Ashworth is no different. He is wracked by guilt over things he barely understands. As always, ghosts circle and demons threaten. Jon Darrow leads the charge back to sanity, asking the question: is love the absolute truth?

Quote to quote, “No degree of impatience can excuse vulgarity” (p 43).

Author fact: Wheel of Fortune is Howatch’s most notable novel.

Book trivia: Absolute Truths is the sixth and final book in the Starbridge series. Book Lust To Go only lists three of the books while More Book Lust mentions seven. Pearl is in error when she lists Wonder Worker as part of the Starbridge series.

Music: Jack Buchanan, “Tennessee Waltz,” David Rose’s “The Stripper,” “Zadok the Priest,” and “Thine Be the Glory.”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: the Family of the Clergy” (p 86) and again in Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Entering England” (p 76). As an aside, Pearl mentions Wonder Worker as the last Starbridge book in the series. Even though Wonder Worker does have some of the same Starbridge characters Howatch does not consider it part of the series.

Arabian Sands

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Thesiger, Wilfred. Arabian Sands. E.P. Dutton and Company, 1959.

Reason read: September is back to school month and a good time to learn about a strange region of the world.

Wilfred Thesiger was driven to go where others had not. He had a strong desire to test his limits and, where others shied away from them, unique challenges excited him. Nothing motivated him more than to say, “I know that no European had ever been here before me.” He sailed to Bahrain in a dhow simply because he wanted to have the same experience as an Arab sailor. He remembered his childhood as an explanation for his wanderlust spirit for his mother loved Africa.
In Arabian Sands Thesiger reported the Arabia he traveled in 1959 was unrecognizable from his earlier expeditions. He talked of long treks into the desert where “now” (in 1959) there were marring roads instead of endless stretches of dusty sand. [As an aside, what would he think of the region today? I am sure it has changed even more so since 1959.]
As a locust officer on behalf of the Locust Research Centre at the Natural History Museum, Thesiger was free to travel across the Empty Quarter. Although he showed no fear of danger wherever he went he had to hide behind a Syrian façade because of his Christianity. He absorbed the strange and fascinating culture of harsh people in a violent landscape. For example – the Islam faith. It regulated one’s religious observance, a man’s interactions with society and even the detailed routines of his daily life. Thesiger described the confusion of trying to identify various tribes by their saddles. It was important to know friend or foe to protect the camels from constant theft. [Speaking of camels, I found it remarkable that camels could be identified by the shape of their toes in the sand.] Thesiger became friends with Hamdu Uga who admitted he had just murdered three men. Thesiger casually reported that a mere two days later the young chief was murdered as well.

Quote to quote, “No, it is not the goal but the way there that matters, and the harder the way, the more worth the journey” (p 260).

Author fact: Thesiger was an avid hunter. He reported shooting seventy lions in the five years he was in the Sudan.

Book trivia: Maps were drawn by K.C. Jordan. Speaking of maps, there is a huge, fold-out map of the Empty Quarter at the back of Arabian Sands.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Armchair Travel” (p 24). Again, in Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Arabia Deserta” (p 23).

Cooking as Therapy

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Borden, Debra. Cooking As Therapy: How to Improve Your Mental Health Through Cooking. Alcove Press, 2025.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing I often review interesting books.

Before reading a single sentence, my first thought about Cooking as Therapy was actually a question. Is this going to be cheesy? Pun fully intended. It is cheesy…to a certain degree. When you use metaphors and puns that come across like bad dad jokes, you are going to illicit a few groans here and there. (Case in point, the trademarked term of sous therapist.) The trick is finding a cooking metaphor that matches an emotion: boiling, baking, etc. My favorite analogy was washing your hands signifies cleaning out the negativity. As an aside, the use alliteration was abundant.
My second thought was another question. Can this book deliver on everything it promises: a possible fix for finding calm, banishing self-doubt, increasing self-esteem and confidence, adding positivity to my life, exploring change, improving communication, creating balance, strengthening spirit, and alleviating overall feelings of sadness?
The world is inundated with experiential therapies using activities like horseback riding, surfing, yoga, yoga with baby goats, forest walking, beach sand play, baby animal cuddling, corn mazes, nature exploring, art classes, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, EMDR, gestalt, CBT, and SFBT. Cooking is a natural fit. I have always heard that cooking is a show of love; cooking is the fastest way to a man’s heart, yadayadayada. Why not a path to the healing heart as well?
Cooking As Therapy is organized in a logical format. Part I is all about methods of cooking and Part II is all about the act of cooking (sessions). It takes nearly 160 pages before you get to the chapter called “How to Use This Book” so like watching water come to a boil, have patience. Cooking as Therapy includes a bibliography for further reading. This book is not just for tackling mental illness. Stroke* and addiction rehabilitation patients can benefit from it as well. Borden gives you the terminology to create your own therapy sessions. Verbs translate into metaphors for mindful and healing observations.
My only suggestion? Encourage people to read through the recipes several times over before beginning. It is a lot to follow the recipe and perform the associated mindfulness tasks. Not every pun or metaphor is obvious.

*How would have Gregory responded to such a therapy? The guy barely ate anything as it was.

Bonus care: Borden pointed out the index in print does not match the electronic version.
Headscratcher moment: Borden says to put away your phone. I’m reading this on my phone.

As an aside, my two degrees of separation from Borden: she mentioned the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. While I have never been there myself. I knew a yoga instructor and a massage therapist who worked there.

Music: Train’s “Bruises.”

Author fact: Borden dedicated her book to her brothers. Borden has her own website here.

Behind Closed Doors

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Silversmith, E.S. Behind Closed Doors: Memoirs of an American Call Girl. BCD Memoir, 2025.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing, I get to read interesting books. This is one of them.

Every so often I review a book that has me in a dilemma. Does Silversmith want me to cheer her on as a call girl or does she want me to grimace and shudder alongside her in shamed sympathy? Can I shrug off her story with indifference and say that the lifestyle was one hundred percent her choice? Silversmith’s stories are mostly about dangerous, dirty, and unhealthy situations she had put herself in for the sake of making a more than decent living. There are a sea of contradictions within the pages of Behind Closed Doors. I didn’t get the sense she was backed into a corner of desperation where the only dark hope of escape was being a call girl other than by the urgings of a domineering boyfriend. Yet, at another time when she is completely alone and unsure how to pay her rent she resorts to prostitution. It is true sex workers of any ilk run the dangerous risk of being infected with an STD or life threatening disease. Pregnancy or sterilization can occur if one is not careful. Beyond the threat of violence or death there is the unspoken reality of the erosion of mental health. Even worse, it is a known fact that serial killers target sex workers. The perception is these women are all alone, despite having husbands, boyfriends, and even children. Silversmith is aware of the statistics and although she calls her services “high end” she spends a fair amount of time in rundown, sketchy trailers and motels. Maybe that is why there was a fair amount of sighing, frowning, shuddering and mace and taser gripping in her stories. Luckily for her, as she says, she has a “flexible moral compass.” She is able to peel back the curtain and resolve some logistical curiosities like rules of engagement, payment options, and prescribed duration of service.

Observations: I wanted to know the end of the story about the time she couldn’t perform due to an extraordinarily heavy period but she stole the group’s booking fee anyway. Or the time her agency practiced robbery by leaving clients “high and dry” by pulling the fire alarm as a diversion.

As an aside, I envy Silversmith’s keen eyesight. From across the street, in the dark, and through a car window she could see that a client was sporting dandruff.

Music: Misfits, the Ramones, and Bob Marley.

Sexual Politics

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Millett, Kate. Sexual Politics: a Surprising Examination of Society’s Most Arbitrary Folly. Doubleday, 1970.

Reason read: Millett was born in the month of September. Read in her honor.

Millett has a lot to say about male dominance and the history of sexuality. Her book, Sexual Politics, has been called sensational and groundbreaking. Critics gush that she was original in her thought. Sexual Politics has been reviewed as well researched and historically significant. Traditional gender roles persist despite changes in sexual behavior and norms. Sexual identities and behaviors are shaped and controlled by society’s influences. Millett opens Sexual Politics by breaking down works by authors like Henry Miller, Normal Mailer, and D.H. Lawrence. Line by line she interprets intimate scenes to demonstrate a man’s power over women. Erotic moments are no longer playful or sensual. In turn they become acts of dominance, humiliation, and abuse. Women are described as gullible, manipulated, possessed, and compliant. Men are arrogant, controlling, and often times they demonstrate contempt for the women with whom they share intimacy. In the second half of Sexual Politics, Millett goes on to describe the Victorian age when it was common law that a woman ceased to be her own person once she entered marriage. Her wages, possessions, and even children became property of the man of the house. His wife assumed serf status. Millett explores the norms of patriarchy – violence is a “right” of the dominant male. Whole societies (tribal Africa and elsewhere) subscribe to the hierarchy. Women are sometimes idolized or patronized but always exploited. Male dominance has been a universal standard for centuries. Just look at Freud’s clinical work. He was the king of the penis envy theory and had the idea that women were just castrated males (“…maternal desires rest upon the last vestige of penile aspiration” p 185). Women cannot advance knowledge because of their lack of a penis – you cannot put out a fire without “equipment.”
Remember the attitudes towards women in Nazi Germany during World War II…
All in all, Sexual Politics was depressing to read. Consider this: if you are a woman and you work in an occupation that serves others (teacher, nurse, governess), you are a servant or slave. If you are a live-in caretaker you are no better than a prisoner, kept under surveillance. Millet has this way of taking ordinary situations and turning them on their heads.

Confessional: I have never heard of the slang word “gash” for female anatomy.
As an aside, after reading Sexual Politics I started to think about lyrics that illustrate these points (Josh Ritter’s “Eve ate the apple because the apple was sweet” and Natalie Merchant’s “Adam cracked his rib and he let us go”).
As an aside, it is interesting to be reading a memoir written by a modern day call girl along side the work of a sculptor from the 1970s.

Odd quote, “Before the reader is shunted through the relatively unchartered, often even hypothetical territory which lies before him” (emphasis is mine). Why him?
Best quote about functionalism, “When it filters down to practical applications in schools, industry, and popular media, it may simply become a form of cultural policing” (p 221).

Author fact: Millett was an artist.

Book trivia: be prepared for graphic sex scenes from the usual suspects.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar” (p 120).