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Women who don't fit
Apr. 2nd, 2004 01:57 pmHere are two books about women who don’t fit in with the way society tells them to be – one who rejoices to be different, and one who desperately wants to fit in.
Bitch Goddess by Robert Rodi This book chronicles the career of Hollywood B movie icon Viola Chute. She’s had a long and colorful career, involving not only some gloriously bad acting but numerous scandals. Now (1997) she’s decided that it’s time to write her memoirs. But when she fires her ghostwriter, he decides to probe deeper into her secrets to write an unauthorized tell-all biography. Intriguingly, this book is told only through interview transcripts, articles and emails – no two-sided conversations, no narrative text. It’s as enjoyable, and requires not quite so much suspension of disbelief, as one of those notorious B movies.
For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavita Daswani Anju is dutiful Indian girl, on the Quest for the Perfect Indian Boy. She believes in arranged marriage, and that the boy intended for her has already been born – but how will she find him? Her search takes her from Bombay to New York and even Paris, as chick lit meets traditional Indian culture. One sad note: the best I can say about the audio version is that the narrator was really good at imitating a voice over the phone. Please, just read the book.
And one extra:
How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell I talked about this book earlier on the board, and it’s even better now that I’ve finished it. More than just talking enthusiastically about books, “Madame Esme” gets down and dirty with hundreds of ways to have fun with kids, including the appropriate books. Yeah, they’ll probably gain some reading skills in the process – but the focus is on fun, and lots of it.
Bitch Goddess by Robert Rodi This book chronicles the career of Hollywood B movie icon Viola Chute. She’s had a long and colorful career, involving not only some gloriously bad acting but numerous scandals. Now (1997) she’s decided that it’s time to write her memoirs. But when she fires her ghostwriter, he decides to probe deeper into her secrets to write an unauthorized tell-all biography. Intriguingly, this book is told only through interview transcripts, articles and emails – no two-sided conversations, no narrative text. It’s as enjoyable, and requires not quite so much suspension of disbelief, as one of those notorious B movies.
For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavita Daswani Anju is dutiful Indian girl, on the Quest for the Perfect Indian Boy. She believes in arranged marriage, and that the boy intended for her has already been born – but how will she find him? Her search takes her from Bombay to New York and even Paris, as chick lit meets traditional Indian culture. One sad note: the best I can say about the audio version is that the narrator was really good at imitating a voice over the phone. Please, just read the book.
And one extra:
How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell I talked about this book earlier on the board, and it’s even better now that I’ve finished it. More than just talking enthusiastically about books, “Madame Esme” gets down and dirty with hundreds of ways to have fun with kids, including the appropriate books. Yeah, they’ll probably gain some reading skills in the process – but the focus is on fun, and lots of it.
