I haven't done a book review post in a while, so I thought I'd catch up on all the reading I did on vacation in Florida. My books in Coral Springs were sort of in a "introspective women's literature" genre. My books in Tallhassee, with the exception of the Atlantic Monthly, were all purely fun reads.
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood, by Koren Zailckas. A well-written novel by a young author who spent most of her teenage and college years in a drunken stupor. It narrates what is, sadly, not a unique experience among young women. A little drawn-out in part, much like some other autobiographical pieces I've read about addictions of this sort, but raw and honest.
Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities, by Alexandra Robbins. An covert inside looks at sororities. Again, not a whole here was surprising. Davidson doesn't have sororities, so the whole idea of pledging and the Greek life was a little foreign to me, but all the book really portrays is life among college women. Sororities do seem to be havens for some of the worst vices, but a lot of women have had favorable experiences in them, which the author notes. One thing I didn't realize is how big a role sororities play in the south, where legacies are strong and women identify with their letters well past graduation. I would be curious to know what a alum sister thinks of this book (HP?).
Lucky, by Alice Sebold (of Lonely Bones fame). Alice Sebold's account of her rape during her freshman year at Syracuse University. She tells the honest truth about what happened, the psychological and social impact of being a rape victim, and the how she helped get her rapist behind bars. Certainly not an upbeat tale, but one of pushing on and coping.
Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood, by Jennifer Traig. A very funny book about a girl with a Catholic mother and Jewish father, raised Jewish, and her battle with a religous form of OCD -- scrupulosity. It's very humorous, self-depracating, and overall a great book.
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, by Alexander McCall Smith (the sixth in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series). A good addition to the series though maybe not as strong as the precursors. There's a new one out, but it's still in hardback so I'll just have to wait.
Slightly Engaged, by who knows. Needless to say, this was a fun but forgettable read -- perfect for the beach. I found it on my sister's coffee table and, having exhausted the materials I'd taken with me to Florida, I picked it up to read on the drive to the gulf. I finished the 300 or so pages in a few hours and enjoyed the book, though the whole "will he or won't he propose" and "I really want him to but I'm happy anyway" conflicts got a little old towards the end.
from The Atlantic Monthly. A great article on drug reps and their interaction with physicians. I already knew a lot of it, but the article was well-written and really pressed home the issue of how gifts from drug reps influence doctor's scripts. My favorite is that, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, doctor's insist that their integrity cannot be impugned by accepting gifts from these sales reps. I've no doubt that some people accept the gifts and then write whatever scripts they want, but it's hard not to fall prey to the lures of advertising and bribes.
In other exciting news, I found out that the church down the block that I've attended a few times has a women's book club once a month. Naturally they meet at night, which is when I work, but if I can make it, I think it'd be really fun. Their book for May is Reading Lolita in Tehran, which I read while I was in Africa and loved. It would be a great book to discuss with a group of women, especially if some of them had read the books talked about in this novel.
So, anyone read anything recently they'd recommend?
2 comments:
I'd have to read the book to comment fully, but I can say that because a sorority is a defined group critics can say, "Look at how terrible those girls are." Critics can't point to the random woman on campus and label her the same way. Greek organizations have their problems, but they are also convenient targets for naysayers.
As for alumnae involvement-When you make that oath, it is for life. I participate now because of the help I got from the sorority. I would like to give these young women the same help that I received by giving them a safe, comfortable house.
I agree that they are convenient targets. Most groups of college women will exhibit some of these same behaviors portrayed in the book -- cliquishness, binge drinking, random hook-ups, etc. And there are undoubtedly sororities that actively work to minimize some of these behaviors (they're just not as interesting to write about!) This is just a formalized group with statistics, which makes it easier to study.
Post a Comment