tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59349203085674210252024-02-07T23:54:09.658+11:00Julia Blogs BooksA blog following my adventures with booksJuliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-30892973643373947622016-09-26T17:53:00.000+11:002016-09-26T18:29:28.762+11:00Recent reads - spring 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdN9Z1h8EU91gKY60zeik2WUlWWGV3tNy63VqLY0hrLDtI9ZAWbrOJNVfgs2O-HzyecUJfo9WiwdPCMwrQ6MY-ycbuZ_xmyDFol-evY3psvatyZGBiexvREs3fCVCjvzh_u2QWeuly47V/s1600/gloria+steinem+dumbo+feather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdN9Z1h8EU91gKY60zeik2WUlWWGV3tNy63VqLY0hrLDtI9ZAWbrOJNVfgs2O-HzyecUJfo9WiwdPCMwrQ6MY-ycbuZ_xmyDFol-evY3psvatyZGBiexvREs3fCVCjvzh_u2QWeuly47V/s320/gloria+steinem+dumbo+feather.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
Have I mentioned how amazing holidays are because I finally get to read the books I've been meaning to for so long? I'm particularly thrilled because now I'm a third of the way through my holiday reading list, having finished: 2/6 holiday reads! 🎉📚✔️✔️<br />
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The current issue of Dumbo Feather magazine is particularly brilliant. All interviewees are change-makers of some sort, including feminist icon Gloria Steinem, who's mission is to make invisible injustices visible ✊; Indigenous advocate and opera singer Deborah Cheetham, who urges Australians to continue actively learning from Indigenous Australians as we are only denying our own richness of lives and understanding of the world by shutting out that part of our histories 🎙; and environmental activist Laurie David, who most famously produced Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' 🌿. Her quote from this film - "Between denial and despair there is action" - really resonated with me, leading me to feel incredibly inspired and empowered to continue pursuing the social justice issues I feel strongly about ✊🎙🌿👊.<br />
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I have to admit (in case you've had similar thoughts) that it took me a while to enjoy reading Dumbo Feather 😱. The interviews are presented differently to others, and I found the layout a bit off-putting to begin with (very narrow margins, varying text sizes - don't ask 🙄). But if you're interested, I urge you to persevere, because now I'm loving its conversational style and the fact that it does present all interviewees as ordinary people who have courageously pursued what drives and inspires them. Not to mention what I now consider to be the gorgeous layout of the magazine itself - there's something so satisfyingly indulgent and pleasing with it 😍!<br />
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Cate Kennedy's 'Dark Roots' made me re-appreciate the beauty of short stories. For a while now I've avoided reading fictional novels because I haven't felt like I had the time to properly immerse myself in the world of novel-length stories. So instead I've read various collections of non-fiction articles, which I've felt are more achievable but can at times feel burdensome. Short stories could be the antidote to this dilemma, and Kennedy's collection was particularly immersive. <br />
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Set in Australia 🇦🇺 , the stories focus on various tipping points in the mostly ordinary lives of everyday people. Kennedy unpacks the seemingly insignificant moments that lead to potentially life-changing outcomes; from a woman queueing at Australian customs who is attempting to smuggle heroin into the country 🛬, to a woman who's lover becomes comatose after asking her to buy black sesame seeds from the shops 🏨. Not all stories are heavily burdensome; with others more lightheartedly exploring the coincidences that sprout up in life 🔮. But there's certainly a sense of unease that permeates the collection, leaving you contemplating these significant moments and causing you to reexamine similar turning points in your own life. As someone who can go through life wondering 'what if...', these stories particularly resonated me as many of them centred around this very question. And if you're someone who tends to wonder about life's choices in the same way, you'll probably find these stories equally immersive and satisfying.<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-29861276277216446062016-07-18T17:55:00.000+11:002016-07-18T18:01:05.587+11:00I'm back!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>In short: Thanks to Annabel Crabb, Leigh Sales and Lena Dunham for reigniting my wish to blog again.</i></div>
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Wowzas. It's been 12 whole months since I last posted here. How time flies when you're finishing your teaching degree, applying for jobs, travelling around South America and starting your first year of teaching. Humble brags aside, it has been an incredibly busy 12 months, where I sadly haven't been able to read as much as I'd like to. Subsequently I haven't felt like I've had the time to properly reflect on the few books I have read either.<br />
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And if I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, I was feeling quite uninspired and overwhelmed by the prospect of writing more blogs for a while. Am I even supposed to admit that? Is that like a parent admitting that sometimes they really can't stand their children? Well, I've said it. And while the reasons for feeling this way are varied and will become more apparent shortly, I've decided to share some of the thoughts I've had over the past 12 months so that you can get a better idea of where I'm at. If you don't really care, then this process will still be beneficial for me as it will remind me that blogging is a perfectly legitimate way to be spending my free time.<br />
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So, without further ado, here are some of my thoughts from the past few months:<br />
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5. Recently I've read lots of books that have blown my mind in awesomeness.</h4>
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So much so that I've been bursting to share their awesomeness with anyone I can. Some of these gems include Phoebe Gloeckner's <i>The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures</i>, Michael Cunningham's <i>The Hours</i> and Virginia Woolf's <i>Mrs Dalloway</i><i>.</i> Stay tuned for reviews of these, and many more, over the next few weeks.</div>
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4. I love that I get to relive the pleasures of books I read when I'm reviewing them.</h4>
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That's part of the reason why I don't write about books I dislike - there's no need to re-live the disappointment or frustration again. Not to mention that I rarely finish books I don't enjoy to begin with anyway. Though that's beside the point.<br />
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The point is, when I'm writing about books I've enjoyed reading, I get to emotionally reconnect with the said books and - to borrow an idea from Amy Poehler's memoir <i>Yes Please </i>- 'time travel' back to when I was reading it and re-live the pleasures I experienced. Who wouldn't want to go through that fun journey again and again?<br />
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This brings me nicely to my next point, which is...</div>
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3. I'm forced to reconsider the issues/themes/conundrums the books raise in more detail than I would if I was just reading them without a third-party outlet.</h4>
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Now, don't get me wrong. Sometimes it is nice to just read something for pleasure's sake without having to dissect and analyse the bigger picture meaning of the characters/symbols/themes in the books.<br />
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BUT, part of the pleasure I find with books is exploring how they compliment and/or contradict the way we as readers make sense of our world. This is a pleasure I've been attempting to communicate with my English students, who despite being an apathetic audience at times, have reignited the enjoyment of reading for me.<br />
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This realisation is also partly due to my discovery of Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales' podcast <i><a href="http://www.chat10looks3.com/" target="_blank">Chat 10 Looks 3</a></i>, which entertainingly explores the books, movies, TV shows and articles that Crabb and Sales consume. Their enthusiastic and critically insightful reviews have heavily influenced me wanting to get back in the game of reviewing too. So, if either Crabb or Sales happen to be reading this blog, thank you very much!</div>
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2. I've decided to put less pressure on myself.</h4>
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This may surprise you depending on how highly you rate this blog. But honestly, I'm not one who likes to produce things that are sub-standard. I'm one of those people who during a job interview will genuinely say that my weaknesses include my debilitating tendency to be a perfectionist.<br />
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Yet still, I've published posts on this blog that I'm not 110% happy with. And instead of moving on and working on my next hit post, I've previously felt completely debilitated by producing writing that I'm 110% satisfied with. It sounds ridiculous, I know. But yet I found myself at the point where I decided to stop writing altogether as I was too frustrated with publishing 'sub-standard' posts.<br />
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This is an attitude I'm not particularly proud of, especially as I try and discourage my students from adopting similar behaviours when they are frustrated with their work. So, in light of not being a hypocrite, and inspired by events in episode 10 of the fifth season of <i><a href="http://www.hbo.com/girls/index.html" target="_blank">Girls</a> </i>(where the protagonist Hannah Horvath decides that she's ready to recommence writing after a two-year hiatus), I decided that I would take my own advice and improve my writing in one of the best ways I can - by writing more and being open to advice on the areas I know aren't working.</div>
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1. What about the books I read in the past 12 months that I didn't make enough notes about to write reviews on... </h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">...Won't they get upset if I ignore them altogether? </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Perhaps. So to make it up to them, I've made a collage of some of the books I did read so they can get some recognition. </span>It's also an opportunity for me to show off my newly learned skill of collage making...voila!<br />
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Phew! I'm exhausted now! So much so that perhaps it'll be another 12 months before I write anything else...<br />
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Just kidding (wait, were you just breathing a sigh of relief?). Anyway, I will stop, let you celebrate the fact that this blog hasn't gone away forever, and reassure you that it won't be too long before the next post is up.</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-36555206544916356292015-07-06T22:20:00.004+11:002016-07-01T12:50:10.007+11:00Things I like reading when I need a break from books<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As much as it pains me to say it, sometimes I need a break from reading books. </span></span><span style="color: #444444;">I wish I had more stamina to read as many books as I'd like to all of the time, but alas this is not the case. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">For instance when I'm in the middle of a uni semester I feel much less inclined to commit to an entire novel-sized book given that most of my time is spent reading textbooks and articles. Otherwise I'll feel like my brain will explode if I engage in much more new information. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But do not fear because I have good news. In my pursuit to quench my thirst for reading I've come across the following publications that </span>fulfil<span style="font-family: inherit;"> this goal because they are stimulating and somewhat literary without being too onerous, namely because they can be chewed off in small bites. I can also attest that I have successfully read them during my uni semester without my brain exploding. So </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">in no particular order, I present them to you here.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Kill Your Darlings</span></b><br />
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<i><a href="http://www.killyourdarlingsjournal.com/" target="_blank">Kill Your Darlings</a></i> is a quarterly released journal with a number of authors contributing to each issue. The contributions are in the forms of mini-essays covering a variety of topics from the declining relationship between Australia and Indonesia to a critique of how bisexuality was portrayed in the TV show <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>. Each issue features a commentary section that covers topical issues of the day, a short story fiction section, an interview with an author, and reviews on films and books. It's been one of my favourite non-book discoveries of recent times and each issue is a genuinely fantastic read. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. The Canary Press</span></b><br />
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<i><a href="http://thecanarypress.com/" target="_blank">The Canary Press</a></i> mainly publishes fiction stories, some of which are more abstract than others. The contributions range in length from super short poems to stories that are a few pages long, so you can knock off stories reasonably quickly. The artwork accompanying the stories in <i>The Canary Press</i> is terrific and a treat in itself as well. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If you're a fan of quirky, short stories, then this is the magazine for you. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. Quarterly Essays</span></b></div>
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If you're after a publication that does explore topics more in-depth, then the <i><a href="https://www.quarterlyessay.com/" target="_blank">Quarterly Essay</a> </i>might just be what you're after. Published on a quarterly basis, each issue features a long-form essay (about 25,000 words) exploring a particular topic from some of Australia's most prominent thinkers and authors. Past issues include Anna Krien's essay on the importance of animals, Waleed Ali's essay on the future of conservatism in Australia, Noel Pearson's essay on race and recognition in Australia and David Malouf's essay of the search for contentment in the modern world. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. New Philosopher</span></b><br />
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<i>The New Philospher</i> is an independent, ad-free quarterly magazine. Each issue focuses on a particular theme, ranging from <i>Narcissism</i> to <i>Progress</i> to <i>Online Identity</i> to <i>Travel</i>. A variety of writers contribute to the magazine, so it's a fantastic publication to gain different perspectives about the themes in focus. As it's a magazine it's also a very visual publication, so it includes artwork, photographs and comic strips relating to the theme being explored. <i>The New Philospher</i> also has an excellent website with links and further articles to follow up on if you haven't got enough from the magazine - check it out <a href="http://www.newphilosopher.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">5. Womankind</span></b><br />
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<i>Womankind</i> is a beautifully compiled magazine predominantly aimed at women. However unlike many women's magazines, <i>Womankind</i> is ad-free, and instead of focusing on subjects such as fashion, beauty and gossip, it offers refreshing and thoughtful articles, stories and submissions by women on a variety of topics. Similarly to <i>The New Philosopher </i>(the two magazines are related), each issue focuses on a particular theme, but in <i>Womankind</i> the theme is much looser with not all contributions centring around it. The <i>Womankind</i> website also has links to some terrific resources which you can view <a href="http://www.womankindmag.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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What are some of your go-to publications when you need a break from reading books?<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-77913725760441759242015-06-23T11:29:00.002+11:002016-06-28T11:50:03.975+11:00Review: The Wife Drought, by Annabel Crabb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As a young woman with high career aspirations, I've often wondered why there are still so few females in senior leadership positions in Australia. This is particularly perplexing for me given that there's been more than forty years of increased workforce opportunities for women. Subsequently I've wondered why men still dominate most senior leadership positions. I've also questioned what it means to be a wife in 21st century Australia and whether it's even a necessary role in current times when women are supposedly experiencing more rights and opportunities than ever before. Annabel Crabb's playfully titled book, <i>The Wife Drought: Why women need wives and men need lives, </i>is a terrific exploration of these very issues and how they relate to each other.<br />
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I'll begin by sharing some provocative facts from <i>The Wife Drought</i> with you:<br />
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1. <i>Australia ranks 28th in the world for pay equality</i>. Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland currently lead these rankings. In Australia, the higher women progress in professions such as law and corporate business, the more likely they are to be paid less than men on no other grounds than because they are women.<br />
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2. <i>While workplace opportunities have expanded for women in recent decades, so too have their domestic expectations</i>. Yes more women are working full time, but they're still likely to do more than twice as much housework as their full-time working husbands. In fact, the birth of a first child increases a woman's household chores by half. It increases again with the birth of a second child. Strangely women will continue to take on more domestic duties compared to their spouses the higher up the career ladder they climb. Conversely the birth of first child has negligible effects on males. Another child decreases this again.</div>
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3. <i>If women's participation in the workforce became more like men's</i>, it would add 11 per cent to Australia's gross domestic produce.<br />
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What Crabb also discovers is that as much as Australians might like to think of themselves as living in a modern, progressive country, the 1950s nuclear family unit is still the most dominant domestic structure for families. 60% of families have a female 'wife'* compared with only 6% of families having a male 'wife'. Men still do more of the paid work and women more of the unpaid.<br />
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This archaic structure isn't surprising once you start delving deeper into why it has persisted despite decades of workplace reforms encouraging women to participate in the workforce. This is where the strength of Crabb's thesis lies for me, because she cleverly explores this dilemma from a refreshingly original perspective: that of questioning what's changed on the home-front for women and men in all this time.<br />
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According to Crabb, this is where the biggest issues lie. For, while more doors have opened for women in the workplace, none have been closed off for them domestically. Consequently many women who have children end up doing most of the domestic work while men are able to focus on their careers. Thus, Crabb comes to the conclusion that women are in need of their own wives to look after all of the traditionally 'wifey' responsibilities so that the women who want to can get back into the workforce easier and progress with their careers with the support that will help them to do so.<br />
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I'll take a step back for a moment though. When men and women start out in the workforce, they are on a reasonably even playing-field. They tend to earn similar salaries, are generally given the same opportunities for promotion and share household duties equally. It's when women start having babies that things change.<br />
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When women have babies, they take leave from work. Subsequently, because Australia does not have an equitable paid parental leave scheme, women have a lesser income while they stay home to look after their child. When and if women decide to return to work, it's usually on a part-time basis. Therefore they are less likely to be considered for promotions because they simply do not spend enough time in the office to prove themselves to their employers. This is in contrast to men who, aided by the help of their wives who take care of the domestic duties, are able to steam-roll ahead with their careers.<br />
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That's if women decide to go back to work in the first place of course. Many decide not to, on the grounds that paying for childcare barely covers the wages that they will be earning.<br />
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This in itself is a flawed argument for a number of reasons disputed by Crabb. Firstly, why is only the woman's wage considered when making these calculations? Shouldn't some of the man's wage be also considered when weighing up how costly child care will be? Secondly, while in the short term the additional wages may only just be covering the cost of childcare, the long term benefits should surely outweigh them. After all, the woman will get the chance to re-establish herself as a valued member of her workplace so that she can be considered for future promotions and subsequently earn greater wages. So really, the sooner the wife can get back to work, the better. Unfortunately these considerations are not always made when weighing up whether or not a woman with children should return to work.<br />
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At any rate I digress and will return to the main discussion. What can we do to better support women returning to the workforce? This is where Crabb's discussion gets particularly interesting. While she returns to rethinking the domestic expectations placed on women and men, she interestingly extends her argument by focusing on how men can be better supported to contribute more on the home-front and level the playing-field for women. <br />
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Since the most drastic changes within a man and woman's relationship result from a first child being born, new interventions need to be introduced at this critical time. While women obviously need time off work to have the child and bond with their baby, men need more encouragement to take paternity leave so that they can be just as involved in the child's formative months and consequently get as much practice at being a parent as possible, which women already currently get. After all, women are not born with an innate gift to look after their children and households - they simply get more practice at it. So men need the same opportunities to practice their parental and domestic skills.<br />
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How can this happen? A number of years ago countries such as Norway introduced policies where a portion of paid parental leave would only be paid if fathers took time off work. This has proved to be extremely effective because statistically Norwegian men now spend more time helping with domestic work than what they were forty-odd years ago when the forced paternity leave policies were first introduced.<br />
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So, we need better systems in place to get men out of the workplace and back into homes. After all, a study published in 2012 showed that 79% of young fathers would prefer a compressed work week. This means that workplaces need to become just as flexible and supportive of men's parenthood as it is for women, which is unfortunately not the case currently. Therefore we need to get better at asking for what we want, especially when this contradicts social expectations. Crabb acknowledges that this won't be easy, particularly when research shows that people tend to be treated worse at work if they do not conform to traditional expectations of them. But this shouldn't stop us from demanding fairer rights so that we can be better spouses and family members. We need to do this so that men can be more involved with their family life and women more involved in the workforce without being judged negatively.<br />
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I've only scratched the surface of what Crabb discusses in her book, which is far more comprehensively explored and articulated than what's been discussed in this post. Overall <i>The Wife Drought </i>is a witty, well-researched, historical and contemporary account of Australian women's involvement in the workforce. Crabb recognises that changing the current structures and expectations of men and women domestically and in the workforce won't be easy, particularly with the existing policies and services (such as childcare) in place. Nevertheless Crabb offers refreshing and innovative perspectives of how women can be better supported to return to work so that they can achieve their full career potential, while also encouraging men to be more involved in the domestic sphere so that they too can lead better balanced lives.<br />
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Watch Annabel Crabb discuss <i>The Wife Drought</i> with George Megalogenis below:</h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*What Crabb means by the term 'wife' isn't the traditional 'woman married to a man' definition. Rather Crabb is referring to any woman, whether married or not, who finds herself in a partnership doing many of the jobs traditionally expected of a wife - such as looking after the house and children while her partner works. Crabb is aware that this might limit her discussion to heterosexual couples which is somewhat problematic, but argues that many couples in homosexual relationships have better balanced relationships compared with heterosexual couples as they tend to reject the traditional roles that individuals in heterosexual couples usually succumb to.</span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-13656488670419663812015-06-10T12:12:00.001+11:002015-06-10T12:12:36.838+11:00Review: The Year of Living Danishly, by Helen Russell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Denmark is a country I have a big crush on. Home of the Danish pastry, the Little Mermaid, stylish furniture, Crown Princess Mary and progressive political and social policies, it's a country that has a lot going for it. Not to mention that it's been classified as the world's happiest country. So it's unsurprising that I had to read this book when I found out about it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i>The Year of Living Danishly</i> follows the real-life story of Helen Russell, a Brit whose husband gets transferred to Denmark to work for none other than the biggest toy producer in the world, Lego.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">While researching about Denmark prior to their move, Russell learns that Danish people are some of the happiest people in the world. So donning her journalist hat on, Russell sets herself the project of finding out how truthful this title is and, if it is true, how the Danes have accomplished this feat.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I won't give away all of Russell's findings because then you wouldn't need to read the book, which I'm sure Russell wouldn't be too pleased about. But I will share some of the things I learnt about Denmark that made me want to pack my bags and move there right now.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">Things I learnt about Denmark</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">:</span><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Inspiring surroundings and innovative design are very important; not only for looks but for people's happiness and wellbeing.</i> This is something the Danish government recognised when the country was recovering from an economic slump in the 1920's. The government saw the potential of innovatively designed objects (such as household items like the egg chair) in improving people's morale, so agreed to fund and support designers in their work. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>High taxes are ok if it means your country is looking after the health and wellbeing of its citizens.</i> Education is free. Child care is highly subsidised. If someone wants to change jobs, the government will fund 80-90% of their wages for up to two years after quitting their jobs. Yes this means that people pay more taxes (high income earners can pay up to 50% of their wages in taxes), but it also means that people are more likely to be happy and feel fulfilled because they know their government will support them at critical points in life (e.g. if they want a career change).</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A healthy work/life balance is possible</i>. In Denmark, there is no need to constantly work overtime because it's expected that you'll be productive while at work and will finish what's required in that time. And there's no need to brag about how much work you need to do/have done because Danes are not fans of bragging either. On a Friday most people will finish by 3pm. If parents (either male or female) need to take or collect their children from child care, they can get to work later and finish earlier if required. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Denmark would be a great country to raise a family in. </i>Both new mothers <i>and </i>fathers are expected to take paid parental leave upon the birth of a newborn. A family allowance is paid to mothers with children below the age of 18 regardless of earnings. Every baby is guaranteed a place in day care from age 6 months to when they commence primary school. I'll mention again that child care is heavily subsidised. Most children will go to a state-funded public school, which, similarly to the school systems in other Scandinavian countries, are of a very high calibre.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Danes love potatoes and pastry. </i>Enough said.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I realise that Denmark is not the world's perfect country and that the actual reality of living there can be vastly different to one's ideals of what it's like to live there. Russell touches on these challenges she faces herself, particularly how difficult it is to adjust to a new way of life. Neither does Russell shy away from sharing some of Denmark's flaws. For example, there is a lot of pressure on new mother's to return to work, where not doing so has a very strong social stigma attached to it. And the Danes are heavy drinkers (though many countries would compete for that reputation). But still, these flaws can be somewhat excused when you consider how progressive Denmark is politically and socially. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Russell summarises this well in the following quote:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">'Yes, it's expensive here. But it's Denmark - it's worth it. I don't mind paying more for a coffee here because I know that it means the person serving me doesn't a) hate me or b) have a crappy life. Everyone is paid a decent wage, everyone is looked after, and everyone pays their taxes, just as I pay mine. And if we all have marginally less money to buy more <i>stuff</i> that we don't really need anyway as a result, well I'm starting to think it's a deal worth making.'</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">With all that being said, you may be surprised to hear that I wasn't necessarily a fan of Russell's style of writing throughout her book - at times and I found it a bit too self-indulgent for my liking. Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Denmark and hence reading <i>what</i> was written. I just didn't always enjoy <i>how</i> it was written. But I'd say that just comes down to personal preference, rather than poor writing. So if you're curious about Denmark, this is still a great read to learn more about this great country. <i>Nyde</i>!</span></span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-80290150772505857282015-03-25T09:21:00.000+11:002016-07-18T18:27:56.981+11:00Reading women in 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This post has been trickier than I thought writing it would be. It's been on my 'must finish' list for quite some time now, but I've struggled to string together the words I've wanted to to express my thoughts. However, the time has come for me to bite the bullet and just finish off what I've started, because it's a topic I'm very passionate about and frankly, as </span><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/author-talk-elizabeth-gilbert.html" target="_blank">Elizabeth Gilbert</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> once said, done is better than spending an eternity perfecting something that you never get to share with anyone. So here I go. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2014/jan/20/read-women-2014-change-sexist-reading-habits" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIjh0vbu4bmpZzL6Cm-_HIUaGkFnSj1zFNivu2hFwP3BwqlqHWbPA1RGf8u2aboU_HvLJ_SR2unfjeb3JRFLcjVPdTyefrNirbCDsYc331r-pmIC3SiDNxauDdOKkdlHsCzqtsm5HOlMvl/s1600/The-year-of-reading-women-012.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2014/jan/20/read-women-2014-change-sexist-reading-habits" target="_blank">Artwork by Joanna Walsh</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Last year I took on my first official reading challenge: the Australian Women Writers Challenge. The premise was to read and blog about as many Australian women writers in 2014. And in case you're wondering, <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/p/reading-challenges_2.html" target="_blank">yes I achieved my goals</a> - huzzah!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">My motivation stemmed from reading <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/22/year-of-reading-women-2014-bias-male-writers" target="_blank">this article</a>, which posed the question of why we don't read more books written by women. It was an idea that really resonated with me because it wasn't until reading it that I realised I could be reading more books by women. And it really troubled me that I wasn't, considering that I'm an Australian woman myself. So why wasn't I?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">For starters, prior to the challenge I simply paid more attention to books by men. Why this was the case I'm not entirely sure - I suppose the fact that they're talked about publicly more is one reason (i</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">n fact, it was only last month that I received an email from a large Australian book-seller who didn't mention any Australian women in their recommended reading list, only mentioning Australia). As David Pritchard, who is the editor of an American journal which dedicated its 2014 reviews to women and writers of colour,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> says, "Women writers and writers of colour are underserved and undervalued by the contemporary community." So why is this the case?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The Cherchez la Femme podcast on '<a href="http://mskarenpickering.com.au/podcastdownloads/CLF-Feminism-and-Girls-November-2012.mp3" target="_blank">Feminism and Girls</a>' sheds some light on this. In it, Emily Maguire mentions that young children, particularly boys, are not expected to read stories with female protagonists in them (I'll discount fairy tales here, which young boys will be familiar with, because their portrayal of female protagonists is often problematic. By this I mean that the females in them are usually naive, helpless damsels who get themselves into trouble and can only be saved by men). Instead, books with female protagonists are considered 'girly' books, and reading them is somehow emasculating. This in turn silences the values and concerns of females. And yet in contrast, it is expected that young girls will read stories with either male or female protagonists unproblematically, meaning that they are exposed to the values and ideas of both genders more. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">How does this relate to devaluing female authors?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Well, I'd argue that this pattern towards not reading stories with female protagonists continues into adulthood, particularly among men. For some reason, it's still thought that reading books by and about women is only relevant for women, where such books are considered 'girly' and 'fluffy' and not worthy of anyone's serious time. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Jodie Picoult agrees, having </span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11253940/Jodi-Picoult-Its-really-hard-to-love-America-sometimes.html" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">commented on the sexist nature of the publishing/bookselling industry</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> regarding this very issue.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> Picoult's books, which deal with heavy topics ranging from the Holocaust to assisted dying, are rarely taken seriously. "I write women's fiction," Picoult says, "And women's fiction doesn't mean that's your audience. Unfortunately it means you have lady parts." Subsequently it means that women's writing is often devalued.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">And yet, infuriatingly, Picoult points out that men authors, such as Nicholas Sparkes and Jeffrey Eugenides, get praise for writing what are mostly romance books. A genre that, when women contribute to it, gets written off as trashy 'chick lit' fiction. These double standards are part of the reason why reading more books by women is so important - so that we can hear and appreciate the value of stories by women in a world that often drowns their voices out.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Now, I'm not saying that all books by women should be read by both men and women, because frankly, as with any book, not all stories will be of interest to everyone. And to me, that wasn't the point of the reading women challenge. For me, its purpose was to broaden readers', as well as my own, horizons of the sorts of books they would consider worthy of reading, and to notice female authors more. This meant that I didn't solely read books by women last year, because for me, cutting out books by men entirely isn't the solution to this issue either: completely cutting out one group to make room for another is something I find problematic. Instead, strategies need to be put in place to ensure that those who might normally get unnoticed and drowned out don't; strategies similar to introducing workplace quotas to ensure that women aren't ignored when being considered for particular roles. This challenge was a type of quota exercise - I set the number of books authored by Australian women I wanted to read, and I achieved it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So in the end my take home message is this: if you haven't done so already, challenge yourself to read more books by women, especially Australian women for all those Australians reading this. And set yourself a specific goal to make sure you actually do it. Because women's voices have been underrepresented for too long and they need to be given the value, support and recognition that they deserve. After all, they've got bloody good stories to tell.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><u>Australian women's books I read in 2014</u></b></span></span><br />
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<b>Read and reviewed</b><br />
<i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/review-bewitched-bedevilled-women-write.html">Bewitched and Bedevilled: Women Write the Gillard Years</a></i> edited by Samantha Trenoweth<br />
<i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/review-night-games-by-anna-krien.html">Night Games</a> </i>by Anna Krien<br />
<i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/review-misogyny-factor-by-anne-summers.html">The Misogyny Factor</a></i> by Anne Summers<br />
<i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/review-destroying-joint-edited-by-jane.html">Destroying the Joint: Why Women Have to Change the World</a> </i>edited<i> </i>by Jane Caro<br />
<i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/review-ducks-on-pond-by-anne-summers.html">Ducks on the Pond </a></i>by Anne Summers<br />
<i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/review-only-animals-by-ceridwen-dovey.html" target="_blank">Only the Animals</a></i> by Ceridwen Dovey<br />
<i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/what-i-read-this-summer.html" target="_blank">Class Act</a> </i>by Maxine McKew<br />
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<b>Read only</b><br />
<i>By the Book: A Reader's Guide to Life </i>by Ramona Koval<br />
<i>Unpolished Gem</i> by Alice Pung<br />
<i>The Silver Donkey </i>by Sonya Hartnett<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-38506286727761465802015-03-04T21:54:00.000+11:002015-03-04T21:54:56.129+11:00Review: The Rosie Effect, by Graeme Simsion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnshl-mV0vJneFKlH3dGCeNfS6AQzQakMEiiFFH4WT8WyFXTmARvYDQDi-2E9wL3MFJC8B4VKo4xoWFrbLs2sbxYn5oozqsNdAYdGlcV6xA5h3fJ7yqpbqBGmUAa-q3uSYliaRf5jhlt1/s1600/the+rosie+effect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnshl-mV0vJneFKlH3dGCeNfS6AQzQakMEiiFFH4WT8WyFXTmARvYDQDi-2E9wL3MFJC8B4VKo4xoWFrbLs2sbxYn5oozqsNdAYdGlcV6xA5h3fJ7yqpbqBGmUAa-q3uSYliaRf5jhlt1/s1600/the+rosie+effect.jpg" height="320" style="cursor: move;" width="209" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Before I get stuck into my review of <i>The Rosie Effect</i>, I very quickly want to comment on its predecessor, <i>The Rosie Project</i>. Because if I'm going to be honest, I have to admit that I didn't totally love it. While I thought Don was an excellent narrator and loved the perspective he provided to me as a reader, I did think the story itself was too predictable. And overly predictable stories are a pet-hate of mine. But perhaps that's what was needed in order to make Don's story more accessible to people reading it? Who knows?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Despite these minor grumbles I did like <i>The Rosie Project</i> enough to read it's sequel, <i>The Rosie Effect</i>. And this was anything but predictable. At a whopping 411 pages long, <i>The Rosie Effect</i> takes you on a whirlwind adventure as Don and Rosie are unexpectedly expecting their first baby in their first year of marriage. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Most of the craziness that results is ironically due to Don trying to be more empathetic and considerate of others, which we as readers can certainly empathise with. After all, how many times have you done something because you think it's for the right reason, when really it has the opposite effect? Well, this is a phenomenon that Don becomes increasingly familiar with and fortunately as the reader you get to laugh and cringe at Don as he fumbles along trying to do the right thing by those he cares for</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">It's this growth in Don - where he is more considerate and caring of how his actions effect those closest to him - that I really enjoyed in <i>The Rosie Effect</i>. After all, Don is the most unlikely person to start a men's support group, learn the ins and outs of fatherhood and bring together broken families. And yet he gets himself into all of these scenarios without realising the (unintentionally) positive effects he is having on others. As the fortunate reader you get to go on this journey with Don, who despite helping others, still finds much human behaviour utterly confusing and unpredictable. And thus Don reminds us that this is a wonderfully fundamental part of being human, making it easier for us as readers to connect with him and see the world from his perspective.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">But </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">it's not all happy-go-lucky for Don and Rosie, who face their own relationship challenges as they both adjust to the realisation of becoming parents. Simsion's portrayal of the daunting prospect of becoming parents is both touching and unnerving, particularly due to Don and Rosie's different approaches to coping with the upcoming changes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Overall <i>The Rosie Effect </i>is a great read and a great sequel to what was such a hit of a first book. It's very funny and very entertaining and has a lot of heart.</span></span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-27409689015185864852015-02-10T07:32:00.000+11:002015-02-10T07:35:56.781+11:00Reviews: What I read this summer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I love summer. I love the (mostly) warm weather with blue-sky days. I love that I get to go on holidays. I love that the days are longer. And I love that I get to wear summer dresses. But mostly I love the fact that I get more time to do one of my favourite things in the whole entire world. Which, you probably won't be surprised to know, is reading lots.<br>
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This summer I read everything from confirmed and unconfirmed autobiographies, to books about relationships, education and Australian politics. So here are my thoughts on the books I read over summer. What did you read?<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4cTqfxN6Yw-MByW_KfVtsB17XLFl0qd3jIhrNzH04r0A00PljHr40kZMyU9Fbdn384TVRC3BGnkRaLyo2ROeLEqsCagyh1Q_sWx0Da1fo1-oz_Adkt9-znymt2WcQWR8QcV_5aMhl6KY/s1600/yes+please.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4cTqfxN6Yw-MByW_KfVtsB17XLFl0qd3jIhrNzH04r0A00PljHr40kZMyU9Fbdn384TVRC3BGnkRaLyo2ROeLEqsCagyh1Q_sWx0Da1fo1-oz_Adkt9-znymt2WcQWR8QcV_5aMhl6KY/s1600/yes+please.jpg" height="320" width="212"></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Yes Please, by Amy Poehler</span></b><br>
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There's no other way for me to start this other than to say that Amy Poehler is a complete babe. She's just so sassy and so self-assured, yet she also gives you the impression that she wears her heart on her sleeve. Who wouldn't warm to that sort of person?<br>
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In <i>Yes Please,</i> Poehler discusses how she got to where she is in her career today (she worked really hard); talks about being a single mother (it can be really hard); and comments lots on the process of writing a memoir (it's really hard). Yet even though she has worked very hard, what becomes evident is that she does not shy away from challenges - in fact, she embraces them.<br>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Unlike with other memoirs, it's sometimes hard to tell whether Poehler is being truthful or tongue-in-cheek. Which I kind of like, because it keeps you guessing about who the 'real' Amy Poehler is. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">However the flipside of this is that you end up feeling like you might not actually know Poehler any better after reading her memoir; as if everything in the book is calculated to present a certain image of herself. Which no doubt all memoirs are in some way - it's just that it was a bit more obvious for me in this one than others have been. </span><br>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Nevertheless Poehler's</span> can-do, let's-say-yes-and-get-down-and-dirty approach to everything is so inspiring that it makes you want to fist-pump the air and say, 'Yeah, I can do whatever I set my mind to too!' after reading it.<br>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">My favourite quotes?</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">'</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Nobody looks stupid when they are having fun.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">'</span></blockquote>
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'C<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">hange is inevitable, get used to it, so just ride the wave.</span>' </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">'It takes years as a woman to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for. It takes years to find your voice and seize your real estate.'</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white;">Poehler has certainly seized her real estate and her memoir is clear evidence of this, despite me being hungry for more.</span></span></span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAt_KdOlijZHdJ2u2rYF5mcyq4nL0X9hXFFC3gJbRSSNrCLYLytqtolnKlC3eveVFwMd6bknBC6T27nDIGnWH6l4ZxWsPX5vWa_a4moVCzyhOJhdZlboDzusQ-d0q-UbvXLt3-L69prCa/s1600/class-act.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAt_KdOlijZHdJ2u2rYF5mcyq4nL0X9hXFFC3gJbRSSNrCLYLytqtolnKlC3eveVFwMd6bknBC6T27nDIGnWH6l4ZxWsPX5vWa_a4moVCzyhOJhdZlboDzusQ-d0q-UbvXLt3-L69prCa/s1600/class-act.jpg" height="320" width="201"></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Class Act, by Maxine McKew</span></b></span></span><br>
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<i>Class Act </i>is an insightful look at how some of Australia's leading schools have achieved being the best schools our country can offer our students. It's a celebration of their achievements, focusing on a handful of schools from all over the country and their leaders who have taken a stand to create positive change.<br>
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As someone who is studying teaching it was a really engaging read, exploring many key ideas discussed in my course, such as: how well are we preparing students to cope in a world that increasingly requires them to adapt and use their initiative; the importance of lifting the bar of what's expected and accepted of students at school; and the importance of giving all students access to a rich variety of subjects and resources - not just those who can afford it.<br>
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It's always refreshing to see how some of these concepts, which are usually discussed in theory, have been successfully implemented by key change-makers at the schools included in <i>Class Act. </i>What's even more refreshing to read is how many of these schools have beaten the odds in some way to achieve more than what the community thought they and their students were capable of.<br>
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My favourite quote?<br>
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'If we don't do everything we can to develop the full potential of these children, then the loss to our society it criminal' - <i>interview with John Farrell, Principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School, Sydney, who has embraced high expectations for all of his students, many of who are Indigenous.</i></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqA5klYCSnOh0HWXZAf6RznisExerGux__xvGQZetJoG2QvfJE4f-GYPlVykUzW15FUbaYuFd67o20UCCt0aK4B1NxZGFRaSGFMZKYXaHF18_tse69nfNLnddmkVXniBXTNh9xde_vwxw3/s1600/us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqA5klYCSnOh0HWXZAf6RznisExerGux__xvGQZetJoG2QvfJE4f-GYPlVykUzW15FUbaYuFd67o20UCCt0aK4B1NxZGFRaSGFMZKYXaHF18_tse69nfNLnddmkVXniBXTNh9xde_vwxw3/s1600/us.jpg" height="320" width="209"></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Us, by David Nicholls</b></span><br>
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This is the story of Douglas and Connie, a couple who have been married for twenty-odd years. Their only son, Albie, is about to go to college, and Connie has come to the realisation that she no longer wants to be married to Douglas. This comes as a shock to Douglas, though as the narrative unfolds it becomes more and more evident that there were signs of cracks in their relationship for some time.<br>
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Nevertheless Douglas and Connie decide to go on one last trip to Europe together with Albie, who is unsurprisingly reluctant to be dragged along with his clearly unhappy parents. And so the narrative largely focuses on this family's trip in Europe and David's misguided attempts to keep his family together. It also flashes back to when Douglas and Connie first met and what initially drew them together, which I particularly enjoyed reading (I'm a big fan of flashbacks!). <br>
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Though all of this might sound cliched and dull (which is what I would have thought had I not seen Nicholls authored it), it's a touching account of a marriage on the decline and what happens when you grow apart from the person you fell in love with and married. So often relationship stories end with the protagonist securing his/her true love, where you're simply left to assume that they'll live happily ever after. <i>Us</i> offers a different narrative.<br>
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At times wickedly funny, at others dispiritingly unsettling, Nicholls has created a memorable story with vivid characters that you'll both love and want to strangle.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPQZE8thmLd-LV13eoIfIybPB0Yu7oPK4FQFRQaDSURm_eQCDSQHXdvEohfbAW1hdtjFAWcNBQXf2NaUJhzSuIi8DR96SjQ8Jp30amHmioiq7OoYQTc9yRiRM5r4eYUv_CTDjdrIFVL36/s1600/My-Story-Julia-Gillard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPQZE8thmLd-LV13eoIfIybPB0Yu7oPK4FQFRQaDSURm_eQCDSQHXdvEohfbAW1hdtjFAWcNBQXf2NaUJhzSuIi8DR96SjQ8Jp30amHmioiq7OoYQTc9yRiRM5r4eYUv_CTDjdrIFVL36/s1600/My-Story-Julia-Gillard.jpg" height="320" width="209"></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">My Story, by Julia Gillard </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was really looking forward to this one. Ever since Gillard was horribly mistreated as Prime Minister, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've wanted to know more about this woman who put up with so much disrespect yet didn't let it stop her from achieving so much in her short term as PM. <i>My Story</i> is a thorough account of these achievements, detailing the reasons for many of the policies Gillard's government introduced. It's unfortunate that politicians don't get more of an opportunity to explain their positions while in office, and Gillard's book certainly highlights how petty and embarrassing the reporting of politics is in Australia given how many important changes were actually happening throughout her leadership.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's unsurprising that Gillard's book also touches on her professional relationship with Kevin Rudd and it's eventual demise, though she does so tactfully and respectfully. She's also happy to admit her flaws, particularly the lack of effectively communicating the Labor leadership change and carbon price to the Australian people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gillard also delves into her mistreatment as Australia's first female Prime Minister. This was the part of the book I was most interested in, as it was Gillard's mistreatment as Prime Minister which initially re-ignited my interest in feminism. While Gillard doesn't convey that she is bitter about what happened, she rightly still questions why more people, particularly men of influence outside of politics, didn't stand up for her and call out more people on their sexism to send the public a message that such disgusting behaviours would not be tolerated. And when she documents just how highly she was scrutinised as a woman Prime Minister - everything from what she wore to her relationship with her partner (subjects that are irrelevant for male politicians) - it's truly alarming that this was happening only a year and a bit ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While at times Gillard does let her guard down (for example providing humorous anecdotes about her partner Tim), for the most part her book felt quite reserved and lacked a sense of getting to know Gillard better personally, which is what I was (perhaps erroneously) expecting. But </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've not read another politician's biography before so perhaps this is the norm? Or perhaps that was the intention? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The following line, which is the last one from Gillard's memoir, sums up the book perfectly:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">'I hope [this book has]...helped you see not only the world I lived in as prime minster but the vision of our nation I was working towards. Stronger and fairer.' </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>My Story</i> certainly had this outcome for me, despite my disappointments with the book. But it is Gillard's story after all, a woman who has had her fair share of being told how she should behave and communicate.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZkA-OCWMjI7Wx3FVX-Q9N-__YZEujJzFJ-Igd_Gcmtqfi-iPdASsgbOGirkYuAszcVlDNLFpjniRS8F93RQkHoNTa-hR3n7ZYTrv5n5xo-Afpe2yJZGEQf5VXqQixIRMKJxqapEVlFNO/s1600/Go-Ask-Alice.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZkA-OCWMjI7Wx3FVX-Q9N-__YZEujJzFJ-Igd_Gcmtqfi-iPdASsgbOGirkYuAszcVlDNLFpjniRS8F93RQkHoNTa-hR3n7ZYTrv5n5xo-Afpe2yJZGEQf5VXqQixIRMKJxqapEVlFNO/s1600/Go-Ask-Alice.jpeg" height="320" width="183"></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Go Ask Alice, Anonymous</span></b><br>
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This was a book a friend recommended I read. In fact, she leant me her copy, which had previously been her mother's, which made it an extra special reading experience. It's so fun reading books that are owned by others and thinking about what other adventures and walks of life they've been on, especially when the books themselves are as influential as <i>Go Ask Alice </i>is.<br>
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Published in 1971, <i>Go Ask Alice</i> is the story of an anonymous protagonist who inadvertently becomes involved with and subsequently addicted to drugs. The origins and authenticity of this book are still unclear, which adds to its mystery and allure.<br>
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It's a story about teenage angst, about the hopelessness of feeling like you don't quite belong anywhere, and about the need to properly talk about and support those who are showing signs that they are slipping away from us. It's a book that will tug at your heartstrings and make you question just how far we as a society have really come in supporting those who need our help the most. All of these themes make <i>Go Ask Alice</i> such a timeless and powerful read.<br>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-32619655927624999502014-12-31T18:02:00.000+11:002014-12-31T18:18:23.854+11:00Review: Only the Animals, by Ceridwen Dovey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAq1hRjLrg599nEQC3NyyhO_z-Y8Z0eBy6OjkZbhGqgaXwYvltv6GOKYOHqOlThB60Urbf2vJvrqEOWpdZvAiMgEhQ5AeSAZGM5NAqYyHsELSMQuxaoFYcil30KHIjOzHrEmwDfdDOVg4/s1600/only+the+animals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAq1hRjLrg599nEQC3NyyhO_z-Y8Z0eBy6OjkZbhGqgaXwYvltv6GOKYOHqOlThB60Urbf2vJvrqEOWpdZvAiMgEhQ5AeSAZGM5NAqYyHsELSMQuxaoFYcil30KHIjOzHrEmwDfdDOVg4/s1600/only+the+animals.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a>There's a quote by Robin Williams' character in the movie <i>August Rush </i>which is, 'You know what music is? God's little reminder that there's something else besides us in the universe; harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars.' I came across this quote accidentally after reading Dovey's <i>Only the Animals</i>, and when I read it I thought it encapsulated how I felt about the book perfectly: it's a beautiful reminder that there is a connection between all things in this world which should be celebrated more.<br />
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<i>Only the Animals </i>is written from the perspective of animals who have been killed as a result of human conflict throughout the twentieth century; ranging from World Wars I and II to the Cold War to the 2006 bombing of Beirut. The animals, who each have a chapter devoted to them, also pay tribute to writers who wrote about animals in their career; from Leo Tolstoy to Virginia Wolf to Sylvia Plath. The result is an intricately woven collection of stories which are part imaginative mastery and part a timely reminder that humans have much to learn from animals.<br />
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It's this latter point that has pleasantly surprised me the more I read stories centred around animals (Martel's <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-favourite-books-of-2013.html" target="_blank">Life of Pi</a> and <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/beatrice-and-virgil-by-yann-martel.html" target="_blank">Beatrice and Virgil</a> are others). And the reason for this, which Dovey cleverly includes in her own book, is that there is sometimes '<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">no way [for humans] to say what...[should be said]...except by making that animal speak for them.' </span></span><br />
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Thus on a number of occasions while reading this book, I was awed by the sheer power of the perspective an animal provided. And while a human could just as easily have said these words, there's something curious and enigmatic about why they were particularly powerful <i>because </i>they were uttered by an animal. It's these sorts thoughts which <i>Only the Animals </i>spurred for me that I really loved.<br />
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I'll indulge myself now and add in my favourite quote from the book, which, once you've read it, may ironically not resonate with you at all. This quote is spoken by a turtle who grows up living with the Tolstoy family in Russia, is shipped to the UK to live with Viriginia Wolf, and finally ends up involved in the Space Race in the USA. Here the turtle is reflecting on the time he has spent discussing books with Tolstoy's daughter:<br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">'I am aware that one person's insights and epiphanies from unique reading journeys are not always interesting to another, just as other people's tales about their travels mostly inspire boredom. I've wondered why this is for humans, and I've decided it has something to do with the perceived alchemical magic of the discoveries that books (or travel) enable: they are utterly private and idiosyncratic, and, to the person undergoing them, feel ordained, auspicious, designed especially for them at that particular moment in their lives. In a century during which many people have lost the religious framework of fatalism, it seems books have become signs to interpret and follow - this book has come into my life for a reason, the author is speaking to me and to me alone. And this, in a strange way, leads to people becoming evangelical about books. You must read this, they preach, forgetting that it was the way they stumbled serendipitously upon the book - finding it abandoned on the seat of a couch, or dusty in the attic, or neglected in a dark stack in the library - that was partially responsible for its powers.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">'</span></span></blockquote>
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As I've already alluded to, this quote may not resonate with you at all, and I can appreciate the irony of it being used in a book review; after all the latter is a forum used to recommend books to you, which the turtle suggests is meaningless to everyone but the reader. Nevertheless, for me it captures the philosophical nature of the book and how well Dovey writes. And, fortunately for the reader, there's many more such thought-provoking quotes within her book.</div>
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Regardless of how you feel about book reviews, <i>Only the Animals </i>is an absolute treasure of a book to read and it will undoubtedly take you on an incredibly unique and enchanting reading journey.</div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-41303816284054892862014-12-23T07:43:00.001+11:002014-12-23T07:45:53.621+11:00Review: One More Thing, by B.J. Novak<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUlaNciUItqi1QpQ26mU5IakflEoWCKZ7Mg9d23K8NFv4LG5wfkNunZcEJwmLFzLN-LCs1AfvVsQCV8_7B-nkCm80phPrkoT0RsSvgIPR5DtJCbYtcJS_xNcoCCtXfsPEy75zlLbESN4l/s1600/One+More+Thing.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUlaNciUItqi1QpQ26mU5IakflEoWCKZ7Mg9d23K8NFv4LG5wfkNunZcEJwmLFzLN-LCs1AfvVsQCV8_7B-nkCm80phPrkoT0RsSvgIPR5DtJCbYtcJS_xNcoCCtXfsPEy75zlLbESN4l/s1600/One+More+Thing.png" height="320" width="221" /></a>Sometimes I have bizarre dreams. Like the one where a guinea pig came to my workplace and started rollerskating down our corridor (don't worry, he was safe because he wore a helmet and elbow pads). Or the one where I was an astronaut being shot into outer space, though I was so scared during lift off that I passed out for most of the trip and only came to when I returned to Earth, only remembering the part where I got to push the big red 'take-off' button (that bit was thrilling). Or the one where Brad Pitt sat next to me at a show we were both at and when I accidentally bumped his knee I casually said 'excuse me' as if he was just a normal person even though I was totally excited that I was sitting next to Brad Pitt and had just brushed his knee (I played it so cool).<br />
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Well, <i>One More Thing</i> is kind of like these dreams of mine in that their content is quite random and will catch you off-guard, except it'll probably entertain you more. It's a collection of short stories written by B.J. Novak, the<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16.1200008392334px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, author, and director, who is most widely known for writing, co-executive producing and acting in <i>The Office</i>.</span></span> The stories range from the re-telling of well-known tales (such as the story of a re-match between the tortoise and the hare) to original Novak-ian stories.<br />
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If you want to be highly amused and simultaneously have your appropriateness boundaries tested, then this is the perfect book for you. Take, for example, the story of the lady who goes on a date with a warlord. In it, the lady casually asks the warlord what's involved with being a warlord, and the warlord casually discusses how his job entails the occasional rape and murder of innocent civilians. While I'm open to hearing different perspectives of people offered in books, the casual off-handed way these serious topics are handled in this particular story really shocked me. But not in a way that made me want to stop reading the book (though I did consider it); rather I was impressed with Novak's gutsiness at writing about such taboo topics in the ways he does.<br />
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But it's not all 'let's push the boundaries and see how far I can test readers' reading; there are some really heartwarming stories in it too. Like the story of a man who dies and is reunited with his already deceased wife in heaven. The reunited couple fall in love all over again and go on some amazing adventures together, all of which take place in heaven. How lovely is that!? <br />
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<i>One More Thing</i> a great book for that friend who likes weird, twisted things, and/or the friend who likes to be challenged with the types of stories they read. The stories are not only entertaining because of their content, but also because of the way Novak has told them, with plenty of clever wordplay in it too.<br />
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It's bizarre, it's strange, it's very entertaining and it's definitely worth a read if anything I've just mentioned has intrigued you. DO IT.<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-20438363633738066382014-12-17T07:59:00.000+11:002015-01-13T21:46:06.422+11:00My favourite books of 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wow 2014 was big year for reading. It was a year that I intentionally decided to read more books written by women, and a year that I unintentionally read more non-fiction books than I have ever before. It was a year of reading lots of very top-notch books, which made narrowing this list down quite tough (technically I didn't need to narrow it down because there're no rules that say I have to have 5 books on this list; after all, I get to make up the rules. But 5 seems like the right number for this sort of thing, so I'm going to honour that feeling by only listing that number of books). So here's my list, this time in no particular order:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODUnq8DhdKXOY3hnif2SkHDpAv6MejhrJxrun8vISLwL1cWMhk7hsjIOHKCelun_vT8bQxtwcSTp7wqWOOD5QDwtwu9PsWWauI0gvIDE0IhAh6odxDKOxJdauA8ME0jmCGvDLV4rqVbLL/s1600/only+the+animals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODUnq8DhdKXOY3hnif2SkHDpAv6MejhrJxrun8vISLwL1cWMhk7hsjIOHKCelun_vT8bQxtwcSTp7wqWOOD5QDwtwu9PsWWauI0gvIDE0IhAh6odxDKOxJdauA8ME0jmCGvDLV4rqVbLL/s1600/only+the+animals.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/review-only-animals-by-ceridwen-dovey.html" target="_blank">Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey</a></span></h2>
This is a book which I haven't fully reviewed on my blog yet, but I will be in the very near future because it was just so magical (I have since reviewed it <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/review-only-animals-by-ceridwen-dovey.html" target="_blank">here</a>). I liken it to Yann Martel's <i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-favourite-books-of-2013.html" target="_blank">Life of Pi</a> </i>not only because animals feature very heavily in it, but also because it's philosophical, highly imaginative and so beautifully told that it'll just take your breath away. It's a collection of short stories told from the perspective of deceased animals who have had some sort of connection with major historical events in the 20th century. It won the inaugural Readings New Australian Writing award this year and for very good reason. If you think that stories told from animal perspectives aren't for you then think again; this book deserves a chance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8ebmcrrLN2P911Ue-4_8u874MDank8QPw_ZNXmK7EI99HBjoTg-iU_oPuA8qhWsOjum4o8LDT66KEHa4cGG23pj2qtZzmwYc8CpqIhqYcxbImugu-apRovneMeNjY8YQCMcQeqAtRs9a/s1600/Night-Games-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8ebmcrrLN2P911Ue-4_8u874MDank8QPw_ZNXmK7EI99HBjoTg-iU_oPuA8qhWsOjum4o8LDT66KEHa4cGG23pj2qtZzmwYc8CpqIhqYcxbImugu-apRovneMeNjY8YQCMcQeqAtRs9a/s1600/Night-Games-cover.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/07/review-night-games-by-anna-krien.html" target="_blank">Night Games by Anna Krien </a></span></h2>
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Another award winner, this time being the 2014 William Hill Sports Book of the Year award, <i>Night Games </i>carefully and intelligently follows the rape trial of a young AFL footballer and the politics and issues associated and raised with the trial. It provided me with a new insight to football culture, and while it didn't necessarily make me respect the culture of the game any more than I did previously, it helped me gain a broader perspective of the world that people heavily involved in the AFL come from. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the AFL and how women fit (or more often don't fit) into its culture.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-ducks-on-pond-by-anne-summers.html" target="_blank">Ducks on the Pond by Anne Summers</a></span></b></h2>
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While this book's a bit of an oldie, it's definitely a goodie and by far my favourite autobiography I read this year. Reading Summers' autobiography felt like time-travelling to me: back to an Australia that was both full of hope and optimism following the second world war, but one that was also oppressive and sceptical of change. And Summers was right there in the middle of it all, protesting the Vietnam War, opening women's refuges with friends (funds which were raised by selling marijuana mind you - so badass) and fighting for women's rights. It's a captivating Australian story that should be known by many more Australians, so I suggest you go read it now.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM95wp6fBcx6HShyphenhyphenF5NMXaudn4yTSXQAmoslUdN6Mwx54dgHeK0B3_o0tB6HXhbDSfXBGt7TxMitJmAOWlEc8t2U92Y4ot5U-HEwEbaQAVWKVyQpMbZdVu_gbP2Rs6OjskjLLQZwYoDkP/s1600/McBride(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM95wp6fBcx6HShyphenhyphenF5NMXaudn4yTSXQAmoslUdN6Mwx54dgHeK0B3_o0tB6HXhbDSfXBGt7TxMitJmAOWlEc8t2U92Y4ot5U-HEwEbaQAVWKVyQpMbZdVu_gbP2Rs6OjskjLLQZwYoDkP/s1600/McBride(2).jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/07/review-girl-is-half-formed-thing-by.html" target="_blank">A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing </a><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/07/review-girl-is-half-formed-thing-by.html" target="_blank">by Eimar McBride </a></span></h2>
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One of the most powerful and challenging fiction books I've read in a long time, <i>A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing </i>is the compelling story of a sister and brother's relationship and the fractured lives that they lead. Their fractured lives are cleverly reflected in the fragmented and stilted language which McBride uses throughout the story, making it an incredibly unique and remarkable reading experience. This book has won a couple of awards, the inaugural Goldsmiths Prize in 2013 and the 2014 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/01/review-bewitched-bedevilled-women-write.html" target="_blank">Bewitched and Bedevilled edited by Samantha Trenoweth</a></span></h2>
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This collection of essays critiques and reflects on Julia Gillard's term as Australia's first female Prime Minister and her treatment by the public, her colleagues and the media. The contributors range from politicians (Tanya Plibersek) to journalists (Tracy Spicer) to some of Australia's finest writers (Clementine Ford, Emma Maguire). When I went to pick it up just now, I couldn't believe how light it was because it has made such a huge and lasting impression on me, thus I was expecting it to be much heavier than it was. It's a must read for anyone interested in current Australian politics and how feminist issues relate to them.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Special mentions</span></h2>
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Ok I couldn't quite leave this post without mentioning the following books, if only it's just their titles. After all I don't want a repeat of last year where I didn't mention a book and ended up thinking about adding it to <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-favourite-books-of-2013.html" target="_blank">My Favourite Books of 2013</a> post for a whole year. That was exhausting. So even though these books didn't quite make my top 5, they deserve a special mention because they were particularly great:<br />
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<li><i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/06/review-misogyny-factor-by-anne-summers.html" target="_blank">The Misogyny Factor</a> </i>by Anne Summers</li>
<li><i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/11/review-not-that-kind-of-girl-by-lena.html" target="_blank">Not that Kind of Girl</a> </i>by Lena Dunham</li>
<li><i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/11/other-very-funny-memoirs-that-i.html" target="_blank">Let's Pretend this Never Happened</a> </i>by Jenny Lawson</li>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-18975725742012409872014-12-09T07:29:00.000+11:002014-12-09T07:29:44.196+11:00Oh Christmas tree, oh christmas tree: 10 of the best book Christmas trees <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I love Christmas and I love books. So what better way to celebrate the glory of the two than to bring them together to create...wait for it.....book Christmas trees! Who knew they were a thing?<br />
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Here are a few of my favourites that I stumbled across recently - I still can't believe it took me so long to find them!<br />
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<a href="http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/2014/11/vintage-book-stack-christmas-tree.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhGCMfuBPrS05y_z1rOumlGzAv4LecOFqi93-bBc_aKaIxgojH0s9q6AmsCN36nqywEb7_fKFVBJLb1N6y8f_b2N9eIabZ1va-6cu6YsVlVK67qlQFFflA6v3OxwZZypQxck8RIkrpzMC/s1600/book+tree+9.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></a></div>
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Which of these is your favourite? Which of these will you be re-creating at home? Or do you have your own unique version you'll be making?</div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-73576112738313694542014-12-01T22:57:00.000+11:002014-12-01T22:57:02.332+11:00Review: Sweet Poison, by David Gillespie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL78brbEUn9WZHDqJhZEcVqacDKWxyMXw7mVHCRUKS0_lKoad9j4EnaHdPMDUYF8RNpNuCOdQ-NnwvxRHAABwgz-cDim-g9wGmRKh2tWKR2vB4J717UssVhfHhxYft63UdhFu5TGoG8kLM/s1600/sweet+posion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL78brbEUn9WZHDqJhZEcVqacDKWxyMXw7mVHCRUKS0_lKoad9j4EnaHdPMDUYF8RNpNuCOdQ-NnwvxRHAABwgz-cDim-g9wGmRKh2tWKR2vB4J717UssVhfHhxYft63UdhFu5TGoG8kLM/s1600/sweet+posion.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a><i>Sweet Poison: Why Sugar Makes Us Fat </i>is an investigation into why societies in Australia, the USA and the UK have become as unhealthy as they have. After all, our bodies have been designed after millions of years of evolution to control our energy intake so that we can function optimally. Yet, more and more people are becoming and remaining overweight and unhealthy, with their bodies no longer able to function as optimally as they once could. What has caused this obesity epidemic?<br />
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This is the question David Gillespie explores in <i>Sweet Poison, </i>which was inspired by his own personal experience of finding himself 40kg overweight despite having tried, and failed, many diets. After much research, Gillespie's answer to this question lies with sugar; specifically fructose which is a component of sugar. Gillespie's conclusion is that we are simply consuming far too much fructose, which is converted to circulating fat, causing many of the cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs) which people are becoming more and more diagnosed with.<br />
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How has this happened? Gillespie explains by saying,<br />
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'[F]ructose bypasses all of our appetite-control systems and jumps a critical step in our metabolism that would ordinarily stop our arteries from filling up with circulating fat. Eating fat still puts fat in our arteries, but we have a built-in control to stop us eating too much fat. No such control exists for fructose.'</blockquote>
Sounds too simple to be true? Well, admittedly I'm not a biology or digestion expert, but Gillespie's preceding chapters detail how fructose molecules end up bypassing the controls which tell our brain that we have had enough to eat.<br />
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The exception to this rule is when fructose is present in forms which contain fibre, such as whole pieces of fruit. Fibre lets our brains know that we are eating food, so you usually don't end up eating the food containing it in excess. Therefore it's important for fruit to be eaten in the forms it comes in, rather than in juiced versions, so that we don't consume it in excess. Otherwise it just ends up bypassing our controls which tell us we are full.<br />
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For example, while most people feel satisfied after eating one apple, they can easily drink one glass of juice (or more) since the latter contains much less fibre than what the former does. One glass of apple juice is the equivalent of four apples, thus containing four times the amount of fructose your body should consume at the one time. The excess fructose ends up being converted to circulating fat, making our blood more sticky and hence our bodies more susceptible to CVDs if such habits are continually repeated over time. So while you may feel healthy by drinking a glass of fruit juice, the reality is that you are probably consuming more fructose than your body needs, making it a less healthy alternative than what you may have originally thought.<br />
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This last point is also important as Gillespie emphasises that your body can't actually tell the difference between fructose that comes from fruit and fructose that comes in other forms (such as food containing table sugar). So, even if you do manage to eat four whole apples in a day, your body won't necessarily benefit from it as that excess sugar will simply be converted to circulating fat anyway. Therefore there really is no such thing as good sugar. Unfortunately there are no requirements for food labels to specify the amount of fructose contained in items of food, making it even more difficult for people to know how much they are consuming to better control their intake. Fortunately Gillespie provides some handy advice to help with this.<br />
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Gillespie also goes into the history of sugar production and the subsequent diet-related diseases that have evolved in the past 60-odd years. He delves into the dangers of consuming artificial sweeteners, many of which may be legal in some countries (like the US) but illegal in others (like the UK). He also points out the irony of governments investing millions of dollars in managing the effects of over-consuming fructose, instead of investing in the causes of the health issues in the first place. As Gillespie mentions, CVD prevention isn't particularly sexy for marketers to get onto the bandwagon of. But hey, if more awareness was able to be made about the dangers of smoking, then maybe there's hope for us yet with fructose.<br />
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Much of this may sound like doom and gloom, but I found it all fascinating. While many of the bio-chemical reactions Gillespie goes through went over my head, his discussion is still engaging and intriguing enough to sustain even the most biology-phobic of people.<br />
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At the same time I think it's important not to consider the messages of this book in isolation from other good nutritional information we are already aware of. Particularly as Gillespie pretty much promises that if you give up fructose then you will be guaranteed to lose weight. In fact, that was one of my biggest criticisms of the book - Gillespie's overemphasis on losing weight, rather than placing more focus on an overall healthy diet so that your body is healthy and so that you can live a good quality of life. Thus Gillespie's denunciation of exercise and lack of emphasis on other healthy eating habits really bothered me.<br />
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Nevertheless, if you take Gillespie's advice as less of a prescriptive diet guaranteed to make you lose weight, and more of an interesting perspective into an area of your diet you may have been neglecting then I think you'll get a lot out of it. Happy healthier eating!<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-45111440489010647032014-11-18T12:36:00.001+11:002014-11-18T13:30:45.343+11:00Very funny memoirs that I recommend you read right now<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Recently there's been an upsurge in memoir writing. Everyone seems to be writing them these days. And as with any upsurge in trends, there're those who criticise them. In the case of memoirs, there's those who think they're pointless, self-indulgent tales of b-grade people adding little value to the lives of those reading them. Subsequently this lessens the quality and legitimacy of the memoir as a literary genre, which tends to irritate book snobs.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">My main response to those views are that if you get irritated by the person whose memoir you've just picked up, then don't read it. It's really that simple. I'm aware that this goes against the title of this post, but I would seriously consider this option at risk of you spending a very angry few days fuming that you're reading a book about a person who gets up your nose. While this option does not guarantee the quality of the memoir you're going to read, it's a step in the right direction.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">This is where I fortunately come in. Because I can almost guarantee that you'll be highly entertained by the below reads, particularly if you enjoy female comedy memoirs. Even if you're not entirely familiar with Kaling, Fey or Lawson's work, that doesn't really matter because all three memoirs are highly entertaining in their own right. But maybe not if any of these people make you want to rip your eyeballs out (refer to paragraph 2). In that case move on to a different post.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5eaL9WF7S7-oe2sWdgiLY3FUkkufwjRYoTQsA96gP-FKprmBNfGF8BiWSih4wSvHZ6cvsWRT_TZ6eP3CPy9Gs9VViFpwJUsCZXFVk4sT284MQgXZpSbuW2xedXAVpZuJxtBbpiJmY35U/s1600/mindy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5eaL9WF7S7-oe2sWdgiLY3FUkkufwjRYoTQsA96gP-FKprmBNfGF8BiWSih4wSvHZ6cvsWRT_TZ6eP3CPy9Gs9VViFpwJUsCZXFVk4sT284MQgXZpSbuW2xedXAVpZuJxtBbpiJmY35U/s1600/mindy1.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a><b>Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns), by Mindy Kaling</b><br />
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This was the first book I completely read on my phone as an e-book. I have a feeling Mindy would admire that, which is why I've included this information. But she would also hate that I'm drawing attention away from her memoir, so I'll respectfully stop talking about the fact that I read 487 pages on a 5cm x 10cm screen and continue with my thoughts on the book.<br />
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This memoir was laugh out loud funny on so many occasions, particularly because of Kaling's ability to squeeze in hilarious comments in the middle of her anecdotes, catching me pleasantly off-guard each and every time. And yes I realise Kaling is a comedian, and therefore you would probably expect this in a memoir that is written by her. But she does it so effortlessly and amusingly that it never got old and made me chuckle almost every time.<br />
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In amongst Kaling's hilarious quips and self-deprecating anecdotes, there's also a clear message that it's OK to be nerdy/quiet/ambitious/awkward. This may sound like a cliche message, but it's one that is so important in the ever-increasing perfection-seeking world we are living in. So kudos to you Kaling.<br />
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I promise Mindy hasn't paid me to write this review.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtgLE8mhyhF3UW5WAExUmOd2P-eXmT4KrezKtTUgNr64bYucyUDgWmNI5UfOHPLLeUU4NRBV60yrrxE4w5xrlFICEOlqedL-BPUpd6uJdvd-Z17TerkaCn0FY3gtJ7Pdse0-jMj37nBEa/s1600/tina+fey+bossypants+book+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtgLE8mhyhF3UW5WAExUmOd2P-eXmT4KrezKtTUgNr64bYucyUDgWmNI5UfOHPLLeUU4NRBV60yrrxE4w5xrlFICEOlqedL-BPUpd6uJdvd-Z17TerkaCn0FY3gtJ7Pdse0-jMj37nBEa/s1600/tina+fey+bossypants+book+cover.jpg" height="320" width="205" /></a><b>Bossypants, by Tina Fey </b><br />
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I have one confession I must get out of the way before going on to discuss this book. And that is that I put off reading it for quite a while because the cover of it scared me. Those arms are just way too big for Tina Fey's face, and I'm still struggling to deal with that. I hate the fact that I feel this way, but I do. I hope I haven't offended anyone with big arms.<br />
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Fortunately when you read a book, you don't need to look at the cover of it all too often. Especially if it's a soft back, like this one was. Therefore I was able to conveniently fold the whole cover over itself so that I didn't have to look at it at all while reading the book. Which made for a much more pleasant reading experience.<br />
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Now that I've got that off my chest, I can continue talking about <i>Bossypants,</i> which was thoroughly entertaining and made me respect Tina Fey so much more than I did before reading it. Fey's memoir captures how all-encompassing working in the television industry is; how much one has to sacrifice if you're going to succeed in that industry; and how resilient you need to be to get through the crap times. But Fey shows us that it is all possible and has been worth it for her.<br />
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The book itself reads as if it's a conversation between Tina and you, except that you don't really get to talk. But if you're like me and you don't enjoy talking to people you don't know, then that suits just fine. My only qualm with <i>Bossypants</i> was that sometimes the passages read a bit awkwardly, but I can forgive Tina for that due to her witty funniness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXAYmOG_3jCfhIT8W09uz5DruSotzi1OIBUwaq20j4vliH2SnD2ByMC29g1v5OFDZX2vt179QRQ3v9kYRRHBQpFGrTGw6OjPi0pIrzX2tffmz2GSG3sQmFXDfVpAvWviDcqKApZFV-uMj/s1600/let's%2Bpretend%2Bthis%2Bnever%2Bhappened.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXAYmOG_3jCfhIT8W09uz5DruSotzi1OIBUwaq20j4vliH2SnD2ByMC29g1v5OFDZX2vt179QRQ3v9kYRRHBQpFGrTGw6OjPi0pIrzX2tffmz2GSG3sQmFXDfVpAvWviDcqKApZFV-uMj/s1600/let's%2Bpretend%2Bthis%2Bnever%2Bhappened.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<b>Let's Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson</b><br />
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Welcome to the crazy-whacky-bonkers world of Jenny Lawson, best known for her award winning and very successful blog <a href="http://thebloggess.com/">The Bloggess</a>.<br />
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This was such a bizarre yet hilarious read, causing me to laugh out loud on many occasions next to strangers on trams who would shuffle uncomfortably when this happened. In fact, I don't think I've ever read a book that was so consistently funny. And what's even better is that most of the anecdotes in it are based on true stories. So the crazy/whacky/bonkers stuff written in it<i> actually happened in real life</i>.<br />
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Sometimes this meant that I had to take a break from the book just to give my brain some time to comprehend (and recover) from everything that it had just read. So reading the book was exhausting at times, but in a good way (kind of like exercise. And yes, if you're wondering whether I'm likening reading this book to doing an exertive workout, the answer is I sure am and you're welcome for this handy tip that is bound to keep you a lot less sweaty than what doing exercise would).<br />
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The best analogy I can come up with for reading this book is that it's like shrinking into a miniature person, crawling inside of Lawson's head, and having a crazy-ass kaleidoscopic party together with all of her fantastically erratic thoughts. Especially because Lawson's writing is so vivid and <i>ebullient </i>(thanks <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/11/review-not-that-kind-of-girl-by-lena.html">Lena Dunham</a>); taking you on many unexpected and ludicrous tangents along the way. For example, it led me to: Googling whether raccoons wash lots (they do if they think it's food); learning about artificial cow insemination; Googling what bobcats look like; considering whether I should get a <a href="http://www.leheartdesign.com/">taxidermied animal</a> as a household decoration; and being almost convinced that a zombie apocalypse could happen.<br />
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Yet subtly woven through Lawson's outrageous story is also the message that no matter how different you or your family are, that's ok, because you don't have to fit in. In fact, being different is fabulously glorified in this book. This, along with everything else I've just mentioned, makes it a <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/5-ways-to-know-i-reading-bloody-good.html">bloody good book</a>.<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-84811787586856622122014-11-11T07:49:00.000+11:002014-11-12T10:37:37.380+11:00Review: Not That Kind of Girl, by Lena Dunham<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafVa4jYAHIIxDIWMvrKLrIUsoRdrlFc7aopKoHRCykyo4-WQdfQh63_0hJIw1y8b1RJXnYBqcOm93TavJXnuZwfJRGz08KgsPxdkX14emRd2qTWacySFMCi2noL3vWVHP5dc-aQ7ehyphenhyphenbk/s1600/not+that+kind+of+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafVa4jYAHIIxDIWMvrKLrIUsoRdrlFc7aopKoHRCykyo4-WQdfQh63_0hJIw1y8b1RJXnYBqcOm93TavJXnuZwfJRGz08KgsPxdkX14emRd2qTWacySFMCi2noL3vWVHP5dc-aQ7ehyphenhyphenbk/s1600/not+that+kind+of+girl.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
I'm feeling a bit conflicted about this book. Because I divulged it in 2.5 days. I devoured it like a kid who really likes cake eats cake, except I’m a young adult and the book was only visually
consumed. I would have read it quicker except that I had other commitments to
attend to, such as work, sleeping and eating. All of this would lead you to think that it's a <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/5-ways-to-know-i-reading-bloody-good.html">bloody good book</a>.<br />
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At the same time I was left slightly underwhelmed by the end of it. This, I want to clarify, had nothing to do with some of the absurd criticisms the book has received in recent weeks which are deliberately inflammatory and have taken Dunham's comments in her book completely out of context*. I read the book before any of them were made. It's just that it didn't completely kick goals for me.<br />
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<i>Not That Kind of Girl </i>is a memoir written by Lena Dunham, the 28 year old writer, director, screenwriter, producer, actress and feminist who has taken the United States by storm. Recently Dunham is most known for writing, directing, producing and acting in the HBO series <i>Girls</i>. Dunham, as well as her work, often polarises people, but I like that about someone - it's generally these people who make you really consider and evaluate where you stand on certain issues due to their lack of conventionality. This book is no exception, as I have alluded to already.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFu6zFRod8U6abtNF4dNqnuGtKIWsWJNWP-e5FoDU6oaS_3fsOjeB-Pcy4aMeOs1QOkSS0bQgBrBsE8XqJW93geeK2ZI3l2BCCbiUcDNl3NXm77j3eBohVTyYg2fBLYRiAg3fUTCO8jLvP/s1600/words+from+lena+dunham's%2Bbook.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFu6zFRod8U6abtNF4dNqnuGtKIWsWJNWP-e5FoDU6oaS_3fsOjeB-Pcy4aMeOs1QOkSS0bQgBrBsE8XqJW93geeK2ZI3l2BCCbiUcDNl3NXm77j3eBohVTyYg2fBLYRiAg3fUTCO8jLvP/s1600/words+from+lena+dunham's%2Bbook.png" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
The personal essays in it range from Dunham's love life, to her rejection of school from a young age, to her transition to college and the harsh (and disappointing) realisation that life doesn't really get that much clearer as you get older. Dunham’s writing is so lively and so addictive that you just feel like you’re having a very entertaining one-way conversation with her. I was also particularly impressed with her use of vocabulary, which may sound strange, but I learnt some very neat new words which I had to Google and have included in the image here >>.<br />
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At times Dunham's reflections did have the sort of depth I was hoping for as well. Like what it's like to publicly share her body (which, on many occasions, is nude) with millions of others; living with high levels of anxiety; and how to 'play along' and be taken seriously in Hollywood without compromising your values. Then there is Dunham's account of being taken advantage of sexually and the awful confusion and disgust that follows. While I'm not an expert on commenting on such horrific experiences, I do think it's brave of Dunham to give a voice to them.<br />
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So then, what more was I after? For me, the book still lacked an element of depth I was hoping to get from it, and perhaps that's due to my own misaligned expectations. Yes, it did reveal lots about Dunham, which you would naturally expect from a memoir. But I think I was hoping for more broader feminist issues to be discussed in more detail in <i>Not That Kind of Girl</i><i>, </i>particularly for someone with the sorts of experiences Dunham has had as a young woman in Hollywood. But maybe it's unfair of me to have put so much pressure on this book. Who knows?<br />
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All in all <i>Not That Kind of Girl </i>is still a book I would recommend fans of Dunham to read, particularly if you enjoy <i>Girls </i>and the character of Hannah Horvath, who Dunham plays in it. It's<i> </i>a funny, unapologetic and perceptive read, and offers a great insight into navigating the confusing world that Dunham's lived in.<br />
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And if you're wondering whether Anastacia's 2000 smash hit <i>Not That Kind of Girl </i>got stuck in my head each time I thought of this book, my answer is that yes, yes it did. I've been generous enough to include the song below so that you too can make the same association with it and enjoy the glory of the song while you're thinking of Dunham's book. I hope that neither Lena or Anastacia mind.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*I haven't included the link to the comments because I don't want to bias your reading of the book.</span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-85280361726076389202014-11-04T22:20:00.000+11:002014-11-09T11:37:09.952+11:00It's my birthday and I'll eat book-themed cakes if I want to<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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To celebrate the fact that <i>Julia Blogs Books</i> has lasted one whole year, and to help you work out which cake you should make me to celebrate, I've compiled a collection of flippin' awesome book-themed cakes. I've also provided suggestions as to the category the cakes fall into in case that helps you decide which one to choose. You're welcome.</div>
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1. The cute-as-a-button cakes</h4>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">I love these because they combine some of my favourite things into one edible delight - cupcakes shaped like teacups with a book on top. Just to clarify, I don't actually drink tea with cream and miniature books on top - I'm lactose intolerant. Also, actual miniature books would probably break my teeth. So if you select these, I would like the edible variety on top thanks. With lactose-free cream.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/564146290796863008/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LfqgN-r_Ge6QwJhNmQGqw_9n7Q1prHupPWYv6J64_xZLN1dw7iR4rTUAzBGzrW35bU4bMF5Y4lnXGruRkjrvQc2Zjv5bkERxpfJwTTts6TCMrpTJ3bSwSAE0uBrb2tOPU_hz5L0-v6i2/s1600/book+cupcakes.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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2. The I-could-totally-imagine-sitting-down-to-a-fancy-cup-of-tea-with-this-book-themed-cake cake</h4>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">So classy, so chic. As the name suggests, this cake should also be served with tea in a fancy china teacup. As well as lace doilies on the table to complete the picture. Although I will definitely get crumbs (and possibly splashes of fancy tea) over the doilies so I do apologise for the mess in advance. I'm sure you'll understand.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/564146290796863023/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0oXSpcfU8PZ9F60hm73tcSc14WTB6y0lCjeC4ihx6Hb49q2XTG1oY5lIJXwnDhy2jxJC1rwfSoagjnugNfqOLksPPXZyLxADGTuvjKjmODLifcoCE0vljp_TMLywwNakgfn15snbyeMVc/s1600/emma.jpg" height="320" width="286" /></a></div>
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3. The book-themed cakes for indecisive people</h4>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Remember how I've said that <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/5-ways-to-know-i-reading-bloody-good.html">some books are so good that I just want to eat them</a>? Well, it looks like this is the perfect alternative, especially for an indecisive person like me. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/564146290796863005/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvaN_KMxQ7-yxSYkq0Df_FpIguVpvGx-l0pgvSQARRkcwMlcrUo2zHRrSFJ863_pLpRyyKEQiMgqXeZiBEzEBFpaXLXEHHIABGFxAQ3Ca2zsfh3z1nw-KsopnV0BXJy4wDEyp7yyYmLSx/s1600/more+cupcakes.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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4. The prankster cake</h4>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">If this cake was given to me I would walk right up to it and to try pick up the book I was most interested in - probably Jane Eyre because I still haven't read it. I know, I can't believe I just admitted I haven't read Jane Eyre yet either, but it's true. Please stop judging me. Anyway, after attempting to pick up the faux book, I would end up with cake all over my hands and you would be angry with me because I'd have just ruined all of your hard work and there'd be a big chunk of cake missing and I probably won't have washed my hands so no one else would want to eat it. So perhaps this isn't the book-themed cake you should organise for me. Though I'd still be grateful if you did.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/564146290796863007/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlzijDp5aUnVTyRwz6X8BIDMu6Yf79NLkaZVSxbFtO1CQqb9hzkHG02CTSHVpv75bSrKUkkXiRClhUVEgh4kLOYvx_JB569Z3udIS55Li4GYqF7XOqvSdVsPyc7PdGV8vXjkAPnCtCga-/s1600/book+cake+1.jpg" height="320" width="196" /></a></div>
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5. The nostalgic cake</h4>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">This cake just makes me so happy.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/564146290796863018/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dnEhAwu_DlQh6hbD9FmEa9YTSSzBHVwfjLfyDzh79D7_VkbTExJC1mRWYiKQcz64m9V65t8F0L-raAgQ8yp1cKm5RlZ7ObhLK0qg_igvsB7aTfFCLZ8KPw7hqJ-AARSf9pA_UXd1r6yo/s1600/oh+the+places+you'll%2Bgo.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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6. The how-do-people-even-come-up-with-these-ideas cake</h4>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">This is pretty freakin cool. Especially if the desk and lamps are edible too - shotgun those.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/564146290796863000/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSR_O10ycm65LUKPxCAP2dcbmQLe_GoYKPj7nX6I2vIHR2jLUg366EPFbXpY-iFkyTvRl7YZFwv0jc7ZPSCRgOZNRK77OtGDwq3xlA3bZkBOEO9QOfhTZnuE4grMCSNRGhkd34DhlQs-N/s1600/library+cake.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></a></div>
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7. The ok-I-get-it-you-can-make-a-really-fancy-cake cake</h4>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">The creme de la creme of book-themed cakes - it's ridiculously impressive, right? I'd be so chuffed if you thought I was worthy of receiving this cake that I'd feel eternally indebted to you. But that's not a feeling I'm entirely comfortable with, so perhaps we could avoid it altogether by you just choosing a less fancy cake to begin with you show off.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/564146290796863014/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIpiCgGsAIpQFuI_ZHs9U4Fa3tP_EN-FCnIbm6tJO9fuws6atRWo3bjqNgdhKzyNwxDwSmUHSSSEahEPkxJ9kCTDi0TxAeJBpDeECcyRN7QTRTgeIf5u2u_lGmY6zK3Rj0wNaH6orOObub/s1600/alice+in+wonderland+cake.jpg" height="640" width="249" /></a></div>
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8. The failed attempt</h4>
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Ok but I didn't mean for you to get me a cake so unimpressive that it's the laughing stock of all book-themed cakes. That's not very nice. But I give you points for trying. Only just. </div>
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9. The I'm-pretty-sure-this-isn't-book-themed-but-maybe-it-is-so-I'll-give-it-the-benefit-of-the-doubt cake</h4>
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<span style="text-align: center;">This image came up when I was searching for book-themed cakes. I really want to work out what relevance it has to book-themed cakes because there has to have been one for it to show up in the search. Especially because no other cooked turkey pictures came up. All I've got at the moment is that perhaps it's based on a book about a turkey. A turkey who tries to escape his impending death by rounding up all the other farm animals and sabotaging their slaughter but isn't successful and ends up on his ranch's family dinner table that night - kind of like <i>Babe </i>but with a bad ending. What a depressing book; what sicko would want to immortalise that through cake? Nevertheless if that is the story it is commemorating, I feel conflicted about whether or not I would eat it since I am vegetarian, but if it was actually cake inside then I think I would. On the other hand, if it would just be a ploy to trick me into eating meat then I would be very unhappy and disappointed with you, you sick sick person.</span></div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-38817987707705778282014-10-28T12:45:00.000+11:002014-10-28T12:45:10.328+11:00Review: Rudd, Gillard and Beyond, by Troy Bramston<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNw7fggxzU3HMdk5Cfin8nRZTrkeeCruCMJJnmSYMRYCX-s6WNcfuZfioplmp5550BaHf0QANVH3oLFai7xTucU6aHmu0WPun_7xGY_GFzhzxX_DwdusPw9OrKE29KA7B24OfuA8VZTWW/s1600/Rudd,+Gillard+and+Beyond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNw7fggxzU3HMdk5Cfin8nRZTrkeeCruCMJJnmSYMRYCX-s6WNcfuZfioplmp5550BaHf0QANVH3oLFai7xTucU6aHmu0WPun_7xGY_GFzhzxX_DwdusPw9OrKE29KA7B24OfuA8VZTWW/s1600/Rudd,+Gillard+and+Beyond.jpg" /></a></div>
I'll be the first to admit that this was a strange choice of book for me. But recently I've become quite interested in the Labor Party; a sentence I never thought I would utter due to my previous lack of interest in politics. In recent years that interest has been sparked, so here I am now writing this review.<br />
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Bramston's book is a short novella focusing on the last few months of the Labor Party prior to its 2013 election loss. As well as analysing the reasons for the ALPs demise, it posits some bigger-picture issues, such as the fact that the Labor Party was once 'the engine room of national renewal, the generators of change, the pioneers of reform.' Thus Bramston asks, what happened to stifle this?<br />
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Bramston outlines some key reasons for Labor's fall from grace, with Rudd and Gillard being the main focus. Bramston's view is that the Rudd-Gillard government was weakened by internal squabbling, little collective approach to decision-making and a failure to communicate a compelling story. Therefore Bramston's view is that the ALP is faced with the current challenges: it is beset with leadership anxiety, an identity crisis, and is no longer representative of the community. These are key points that the current Labor party must focus and improve on if it's to win the trust of voters again.<br />
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Bramston's book also paints Rudd as an uncontrollable egotistic leader. While these qualities of Rudd's have become more widely known since the ALPs 2013 election loss, I was still baffled by how out-of-control his behaviours were. One example Bramston gives is of Rudd changing his mind on policies <i>in the minutes before announcing them to press without any prior consultation from anyone.</i> Bramston includes the account of one campaigner from this time who states that 'people literally looked at each other and said, "What the fuck...?"' in response to Rudd's actions. It's outrageous to think that such erratic behaviour was evident in a political campaign from our prime minister.<br />
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What I disliked about this book is how unfairly scathing Bramston is towards Gillard, particularly on the back of discussing Rudd's aforementioned farcical behaviour. Yes, Gillard wasn't perfect. But Bramston goes so far as to say that Gillard had little to do with the policies Labor implemented during her prime-ministership, which is quite ludicrous when one of her biggest talents was her ability to negotiate deals with other MPs to get 561 bills passed through the parliament - an impressive feat for a minority government.<br />
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Despite this weakness, a strength of the book is the inclusion of interviews with the late Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. Their comments on the Labor Party both past and present provide engaging retrospective insights which for the most part compliment the arguments Bramston posits in his book. Keating summarises the recent troubles Labor has found itself in well when he states, 'Good intentions are simply never enough. Governments must have good intention with the facilitation.' It's the latter that the ALP has been lacking in recent times.<br />
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This book didn't convince me to run out and become a member of the ALP, and I'm fairly confident this was not Bramston's intention. Instead it is a blunt, unapologetic critique of the bizarre events that led up to and shaped the fate of the Labor Party in the 2013 election. While there's a lot of work for the ALP to reinstate itself as the progressive party it once was, Bramston outlines a number of suggestions to combat this, making it a great pocket-sized chronicle for anyone wanting to know more about the current ALP.<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-22877800236616796132014-08-19T09:01:00.001+11:002014-08-19T19:33:50.624+11:00Review: Ducks on the Pond, by Anne Summers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioy3_VhZLnMNDuUixeyX8Vv_TaOjdaoF67IKOipEWgKcDHlw16uzLEWBVo4nesIB-ducVdOBRe6iV_mg1O6XkKUkok9sAYaz4pWn4g9h8UMBTrJ_0sYHKWtrlNEAO-UIS0YwYcbc-33TfE/s1600/ducks+on+the+pond.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioy3_VhZLnMNDuUixeyX8Vv_TaOjdaoF67IKOipEWgKcDHlw16uzLEWBVo4nesIB-ducVdOBRe6iV_mg1O6XkKUkok9sAYaz4pWn4g9h8UMBTrJ_0sYHKWtrlNEAO-UIS0YwYcbc-33TfE/s1600/ducks+on+the+pond.jpeg" height="320" width="205" /></span></a><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I recently read an interview by Eleanor Catton, Booker Prize winning author of </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Luminaries. </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the interview, Catton explains the uniqueness of novels compared to other art-forms, saying that when you read a good novel, your mind and body become so </span>wholeheartedly<span style="font-family: inherit;"> drawn into it that the experience is an all-encompassing one for the reader. Nothing going on around you matters, and you want to do all you can to stay in and continue experiencing the world that's being presented to you by the author.</span></span></div>
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This all-encompassing phenomenon is one <a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/5-ways-to-know-i-reading-bloody-good.html">I'm familiar with</a>. And it's one that I experienced while reading Anne Summers' remarkable autobiography, <i>Ducks on the Pond</i>. For those of you who don't know, Summers is an esteemed Australian writer and journalist, best known for her involvement in feminist writing, editing and publishing; including <i><a href="http://juliablogsbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/review-misogyny-factor-by-anne-summers.html">The Misogyny Factor</a></i>. It was actually after reading <i>The Misogyny Factor </i>that I wanted to learn more about Summers,<i> </i>and this is how I came across <i>Ducks on the Pond</i>. And it didn't disappoint.<i> </i>Set from Summers' birth in 1945 up until 1976, I felt like I was completely transported into her world and living a double life while reading it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Now you may be thinking - 30 years, that's an awfully short span for an interesting autobiography. Right? Wrong. Summers' numerous achievements during that relatively short amount of time is positively astounding. From </span><span style="color: #444444;">becoming heavily involved in the Australian Women's Movement in the 1970s, to </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">opening one of the first women's-only refuges in Australia, to publishing her first book (the controversially titled </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Damned Whores and God's Police</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">),</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> it's hard to believe that Summers achieved all that she did in that little time.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">However, it wasn't an easy journey. Summers' recounts growing up in the oppressively conservative era of the 1950s, where 'there were only three things a woman could do: get married and have kids, become a nun or end up an old spinster' (p.69). She details the disillusion of having to select a pathway based on these rigid archetypes, as well as the various conflicts she faced when she did not meet the expectations of her strongly Catholic family. Summers eventually left home to pursue a more liberating life, facing many challenges along the way in a world which did not support independent women. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">But while Summers did face some tough, and at times distressing, challenges, she also recounts the happier times, such as what it was like growing up during the thrilling 1960s. This was one of my favourite sections of the book, namely because the 1960s</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"> is one of my favourite eras of history, and one which I would have loved to have grown up in myself. Reading Summers' vivid accounts of going to the concerts of Bob Dylan and first discovering the music of The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Jim Morrison and the Doors was riveting - as if I had stepped back in time and was reliving it all with her</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;">. Summers captures the novelty and </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;">excitement</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"> of this era brilliantly, building up to the new ways society would re-think the social roles of men and women in the coming decade, where, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, the times they were a changin'.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Still, Summers doesn't try to gloss over how difficult it was to instigate change during this time. In this way <i>Ducks on the Pond</i> shed a new light on this era for me, by detailing how difficult it was for people to make changes. It can often be easy to get caught up in the excitement of the 1970s and how much change was happening then, while forgetting that there was still plenty of strong resistance against the causes people were fighting for. Nevertheless, reading about the sheer resilience and admirable persistence of Summers and her allies was inspiring and fascinating, making me question just how much effort people are willing to go to nowadays to protest against unjust causes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">
Overall <i>Ducks on the Pond</i> is the extraordinary story of how one woman refused to let the cultural and social boundaries of the time dictate what she could achieve. For it was Summers' firm belief in the right for women to be the subjects of their own lives which was the driving force behind so many of her actions. Summers herself realises how fortunate her life has been, largely attributing it to the power of education in freeing her. For, with education Summers says, 'I learned it was possible to have big dreams and bold ambitions. I could make my own life, and I would' (p.143). It's a fascinating, inspiring and powerful account of growing up in mid-century modern Australia, and is an Australian Story that deserves to be more widely read.</span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-75719202665571939762014-07-29T13:14:00.000+11:002014-07-29T13:16:35.764+11:00Review: Destroying the Joint, edited by Jane Caro<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcqSaHBzSCbnHpZKlFklk636QbD0uhDXhxyms-tFEfacZZRfal94KnhTA8NMeH8Y9mVhb9k1WFLwAftpLjbOqZ6yZld75CU5MgpQx9HXl9XhcnDuUN4nZJtXbY-P2E2tlHTG0INrRLO6V/s1600/destroying+the+joint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcqSaHBzSCbnHpZKlFklk636QbD0uhDXhxyms-tFEfacZZRfal94KnhTA8NMeH8Y9mVhb9k1WFLwAftpLjbOqZ6yZld75CU5MgpQx9HXl9XhcnDuUN4nZJtXbY-P2E2tlHTG0INrRLO6V/s1600/destroying+the+joint.jpg" height="320" width="214"></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">The catalyst for the collection of essays that is <i>Destroying the Joint: Why Women Have to Change the World</i> was a comment made in 2012 by a male radio shock jock. I'm not going to mention his name - even though some of you may already know it - but </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">I will tell you about the comment since it did set the context for this book. </span><br>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><br></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The comment was made in relation to the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard's intentions to donate money to women in the Pacific for the development of their leadership skills. This shock jock claimed that women were doing enough damage in the world already - specifically naming ex-Victorian Police Commissioner Christine Nixon and lord mayor of Sydney Clover Moore as examples - so surely we needn't be giving more leadership opportunities to women. In fact, women were doing so much damage in the world that they were 'destroying the joint', thus laying fame to this phrase. </span></span><br>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">A cheeky tweet by Jane Caro in response to this shock jock's comment - '<i>Got time on my hands tonight so thought I'd come up with new ways to destroy the joint, being a woman and all. Ideas welcome.' -</i> led to an unprecedented national response from women who were very much angry/disgusted/exasperated that such comments were (and still are) being made about them publicly in 2012. The women involved decided to unite, and so the Destroy the Joint campaign was born.</span><br>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Thus the essays in <i>Destroying the Joint </i>are in response to this very notion of women 'destroying the joint'. They provide a variety of angles on this idea, such as whether or not women are actually in 'the joint'; whose joint it is that we are/are not destroying; who has a right to say whether or not we are destroying the joint; and, if we accept that we are destroying the joint - as this doesn't have to be a negative thing - whether or not we should take more pride of destroying it.</span><br>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Written from political, social, environmental, creative, educational and disability perspectives, <i>Destroying the Joint</i> provides a variety of lenses through which this issue can be viewed through, as well as how it relates to wider feminist issues. The way the essays are written make it very accessible for those curious to learn more about feminism and it's vast scope. For me, they provided a solid introduction into avenues of feminism I'd like to pursue further.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I guess my next question with a book like this is how to keep the conversation going? And how do we start including people that might not normally pick up a book like this so that they can enter and be part of this conversation? Because I believe that's so important if we do want more action to take place to help feminist messages spread and start having more of an impact on everyday life for women and men. Now, I don't quite know the answer to this question I have posed, but I do know that I want to keep engaging in these issues and conversations so that change can become more of a reality.</span><br>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">I'll finish off by including some cracking quotes from the contributors to </span><i><span style="color: #222222;">Destroying the Joint </span></i><span style="color: #222222;">so that you can get a taste of this fantastic collection of essays. </span></span><br>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Michelle Law:</span><br>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><i>'Being a feminist is not about despising men, or overtaking them...Feminism is about despising an idea. And the idea is that women are unequal to men. It is that they deserve or should expect the kind of sexism, misogyny and mistreatment that they receive. It is that any women who rejects this treatment will be met with aggressive, irrational and sometimes unintelligible scorn. When we are destroying the joint, we are calling out sexism and misogyny.'</i></span></blockquote>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Catherine Deveney:</span><br>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>'The truth is, there is not one feminism, but many feminisms. And just because you are pro woman does not mean you are anti men. I think one of the main reasons I am a feminist is because I love boys and men so much and I have hated the way society has expected them to live, love and be. Feminism is not anti men. It's anti arseholes, misogynists, pricks, creeps, thugs and bigots.'</i></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Senator Penny Wong</span><br>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><i>'We live in the same Australia, we share many values, but our experiences and therefore our perceptions of reality can be so different. If we are to understand across these differences, we have to be capable of more than tolerance. We have to try to imagine another's experience and to do so with imagination, compassion and respect.'</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Overall,</span><i style="color: #222222;"> Destroying the Joint </i><span style="color: #222222;">is very much an </span><span style="color: #222222;">informative, </span><span style="color: #222222;">refreshing and entertaining insight into current Australian feminism and one which I very much recommend.</span><br>
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Want more?</h2>
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Keep engaged in the conversation by following the Destroy the Joint community on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DestroyTheJoint/info">Facebook</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/JointDestroyer">Twitter</a>.</div>
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I've also recently discovered <a href="http://cherchezlafemme.com.au/">Cherchez la Femme</a>, a fantastically entertaining and engaging feminist <a href="http://cherchezlafemme.com.au/podcast/">podcast</a> that I also highly recommend you check out.</div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-2457390150883103102014-07-14T13:11:00.000+11:002014-07-14T13:43:17.489+11:00Review: A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, by Eimear McBride<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsESHXQFZ8NiBnYK5b3YoSjntJi_ss4GzyMO6vNu2SDmw4oeV5uqD04YijZkbQUa3CeD8lh0g_m5iQM5gHV5-H85yENJakjps6DzYS-PY9iVCekDyDHTFbCs19-zVyk8pKZcthVT-OoV-/s1600/McBride(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsESHXQFZ8NiBnYK5b3YoSjntJi_ss4GzyMO6vNu2SDmw4oeV5uqD04YijZkbQUa3CeD8lh0g_m5iQM5gHV5-H85yENJakjps6DzYS-PY9iVCekDyDHTFbCs19-zVyk8pKZcthVT-OoV-/s1600/McBride(2).jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></div>
Wow. I'm stumped. Speechless. Lost for words. Except I want to, need to, write some in this space. So that I can share this unique book with you.<br />
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Adjectives that come to mind are: startling; intense; jagged; brutal; unapologetic; transfixing; haunting; poetic; beautiful; brilliant. I've not read a book that has made me feel so dazed yet so powerfully moved after reading it as <i>A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing </i>has.<br />
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It's the story of a girl, her brother, love, abuse, and everything else that happens along the way. The way that Eimear McBride tells this story is astounding, as she goes beyond conventional language structures to do so. And McBride does so so exquisitely, taking the reader on one hell of a ride. <br />
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That's all I'm going to say. Because that's all that needs to be said.</div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-82617303542558732842014-07-08T15:42:00.000+11:002014-07-08T16:03:59.854+11:00Review: Night Games, by Anna Krien<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDAxqm2oo7WxFV766-kr5IOQmSXcKwZMbUAht7SlmP4FH4aT_On1ERUH7eZ8VC596Kp-WIHup13enf7frVUSdTa0ropScq4QQJdcZTQ0xK3YO7OboriF9wsTpQOc4KxmYaEiKgIOfFlrF/s1600/nightgames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDAxqm2oo7WxFV766-kr5IOQmSXcKwZMbUAht7SlmP4FH4aT_On1ERUH7eZ8VC596Kp-WIHup13enf7frVUSdTa0ropScq4QQJdcZTQ0xK3YO7OboriF9wsTpQOc4KxmYaEiKgIOfFlrF/s1600/nightgames.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I have to admit, football is not my favourite topic to talk about, let alone read about. But in saying that, the particular culture it tends to promote - that being a highly masculine world where players are given an almost god-like status - is still one that I find somewhat fascinating, perplexing and at times disturbing. </span><span style="background-color: white;">So when I discovered Anna Krien's <i>Night Games</i>, I was hoping to get an insight into these issues of sex, power and sport that have intrigued me.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Night Games</i> follows a rape trial involving the Collingwood Football Club in the aftermath of the 2010 Grand Final against St. Kilda. Krien uses this trial as a lens to explore society's attitudes towards rape; gender and power imbalances in male-dominated sports; and how problematic it is that these attitudes remain accepted in everyday culture. </span><span style="background-color: white;">It's like Krien has held up a giant mirror panel through which the trial is originally refelcted in, dropped it so it shatters, and then we the readers are left to pick up the pieces and put it back together again. Though each time we pick up a piece, our own images are reflected in the pieces themselves, reminding us that our own ideas and experiences will always influence how we view particular scenarios. The glass piece itself is never perfectly whole again either - lines from where the pieces join up are still evident so that the original scenario can never be viewed in the same way again; and some of the pieces have gone missing so that we can never truly know the full story. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">That's what reading <i>Night Games</i> is like, with Krien highlighting how fragmentary trials, particularly rape ones, can be, and how many shades of grey are involved with trying to understand the act of rape itself and the actions of the people directly involved. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's what I most enjoyed about reading </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Night Games, </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">with </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">the shades of grey Krien gutsily explores extending to attitudes towards sex and power in sport. It's very risky territory and Krien is very aware of this herself, stating, 'You've got the rapist or the liar...and by trying to seek out a shade of grey I'm protecting one of them' (p.258). She goes on to state:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">'It is as if there's a fear that venturing into a grey area to discuss the complexities of consent and rape will unravel some forty years of feminist spadework, that people will be unnecessarily confused by any such discussion. But surely feminism isn't that fragile. And isn't it obvious that people are already confused? For despite the law being clear on the definition of consent, neither the police nor the public prosecutors seem to have much faith in a jury's ability to convict in certain cases, even if they do satisfy the legal criteria.' (p.259)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus, this very issue of how to delve into these shades of grey is a central theme of <i>Night Games. </i>The issues that unravel are many, including, but not limited to ideas that:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thinking a women is asking for it when drunk can be just as bad as thinking all footballers are badly behaved jocks and potential rapists. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">AFL is one of the few male-only sports codes in the world that boast a large proportion of female supporters. Yet the gender and power imbalances are still so vast. Why? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are football 'groupies' complicit in promoting rape culture? Or are they examples of sexually empowered women?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Boys, as well as women, are used, abused and discarded in football, though obviously in very different ways.</span></li>
</ul>
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Krien is so well read and justifies the positions she offers with such clarity and conviction that as a reader you feel that she is representing the issues in a very fair and honest manner.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Night Games,</i> as Krien states towards the end of the book<i>, </i>is not anti-sport. After all, not all footballers, let alone sportsmen, treat the people they interact with poorly. But what needs to change is the 'men who use sport as power and the people - teammates, fans, coaches clubs, doctors, police, journalists, groupies - who let them do whatever they want.' <i>Night Games </i>is one gripping insight into this complex, multifaceted world, and has allowed me to begin seeing the shades of grey where I once didn't. </span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-61347526148655696482014-06-25T13:16:00.001+11:002014-07-07T15:47:37.117+11:00Review: The Stupid Country: How Australia is Dismantling Public Education, by Chris Bonnor and Jane Caro<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMEOku_Zq_biwVRfPYpvmrWe9cScB6siVdlf7GCbtCq1HL0XeqbEWtJ1jT-4Z5KK9-wbC2d_WeMvm88bamb4Th1BKcmmPqp6zPPLvwvngrtJZe8m77wUY9qmagjduWiMjLcrU02nCPDkJ/s1600/stupid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMEOku_Zq_biwVRfPYpvmrWe9cScB6siVdlf7GCbtCq1HL0XeqbEWtJ1jT-4Z5KK9-wbC2d_WeMvm88bamb4Th1BKcmmPqp6zPPLvwvngrtJZe8m77wUY9qmagjduWiMjLcrU02nCPDkJ/s1600/stupid.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>Why are private schools called 'private' when they
receive substantial government funding? Why are public schools considered the
lesser option out of private and faith-based schools? Which types of schools
deserve government funding the most? What are the consequences if some sectors
receive more government funding than others? These are the sorts of
questions raised in Chris Bonnor and Jano Caro's provocatively titled, T<i>he Stupid Country: How Australia
is Dismantling Public Education</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bonnor and Caro's main concern with Australia's current
education system is that we are perpetuating social and class divisions through
our current arrangement of schools. For, Australia has the highest funded, but
least regulated private school systems in the world. This is placing increased pressures
on the public school sector, which is highly regulated yet is struggling to
keep up with policy demands and the ability to cater to the diverse needs of
students enrolled in them. Bonnor and Caro propose that our system is so
unsustainable that more and more public schools will be forced to close down in
the coming years, meaning that free access to education will become less and
less available. Is this the sort of future we want for our country? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Before unpacking this idea further, Bonnor and Caro
explore how Australia has come to this predicament. They suggest that an
unwarranted hysteria has been created about the quality of Australia's
education system, which actually isn't as bad as it's been made out to be.
However, politicians and the media have incessantly played on the fears and
anxieties of parents, who are made to feel increasingly uneasy about their role
as caregivers and the security of their children's futures. These fears are so
influential that just as 'you can't hear terrorism without thinking war, you
can't hear public schools without thinking they need to be fixed' (p.44). All
the while, the private school and faith-based sectors continue to
flourish. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Federal politicians in particular have been adding fuel
to the fire of debates regarding who most deserves federal school funding,
often defending their financial support of private schools (public schools are
state funded). John Howard's encouragement for schools to be free markets - where parents are entitled to choose where to send their children based on
whether they're willing or able to pay school fees - and the supposed lack of
values prevalent in public schools sewed the seeds for the current generation
of parents concerned about how to ensure the best futures for their children. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But is it really that bad if parents who can afford to
send their children to private schools do? Absolutely, Bonnor and Caro argue.
After all, a successful and prosperous society relies on all citizens having
access to quality learning, as well as learning how to live and work alongside
a diverse range of people. Public schools help this cause as they 'build the
social capital and the social bridging that keeps our society and communities
together, and create a stable and prosperous society' (p.224). As Bonnor and
Caro point out, this is why the public education system was created in the
first place - to ensure that everyone had equal access to quality education, no
matter what their personal circumstances were. <span style="background-color: white;">'[T]hey are the best way we have found to help overcome the inevitable inequalities that are visited upon all of us at birth' (p.168). </span>Unfortunately our governments
don't seem to support these same values.</div>
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Not only is the deterioration of our public education
system bad for the fair and cohesive development of a nation, but Bonnor and
Caro also suggest that it is a poor economic choice for parents to send their
children to private schools. Interestingly, they claim that private schools
don't actually offer students any advantages in terms of achieving high results
compared to if the same student attended a less prestigious school. While
comparisons of end-of-school results may cause people to argue otherwise, the
fact of the matter is that there will always be different trends in results of
private vs. public schools when the former hand-picks students and/or has
students attending the school from (generally) more privileged backgrounds. They also site research which claims that
high-achieving students aren't actually that disadvantaged from being in
classes with lower-achieving students, whereas there are many benefits of the
latter being in environments with the former. The perks of private schools
simply tend to appease the anxieties of parents wanting to send their students
to a school with a particular reputation and a particular demographic of
students, rather than having any definitive benefits for student outcomes.</div>
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The issue with all of this isn't that private and
faith-based schools exist in the first place, because they do and they are
here to stay. The issue is the social divisions they are creating, which is all
funded by the public purse. Neither
private schools, the people that work there, nor the parents who send their
children there are necessarily to blame for our unravelling education system.
Rather, it's our governments and politicians who have a lot to answer for, as
they have continued with this unsustainable model. For, as Bonnor and Caro
point out, 'Governments should be making sure that public schools are so well
resourced that there is no need for parents to feel they must sacrifice their
time, energy or standard of living to access decent education' (pp.116-117). Unfortunately this hasn't been the case.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Therefore the purpose of this book is not to pit each
system of schooling against each other. Instead it unpacks the myths and sheds
light on the issues which have become highly politicised by the media, so that
Australians can start an informed dialogue regarding how we can improve our
education system. Given that the most successful education systems in the world
are cooperative, rather than competitive in nature, these are the models we
should look for inspiration. For, the latter is proving to be detrimental for
the success of our students and nation as a whole.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Overall, <i>The Stupid Country</i> is a highly insightful
exploration of how Australia's education system has become what it is today and
the consequences of these decisions. I've only just scratched the surface of
the many compelling issues raised in the book, which itself is only an introduction to
them. Thus <i>The Stupid Country
</i>is a very important read if we are to understand what changes should be made to
better our education system, so that Australia does not become the stupid
country.</div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-77556030627814567972014-06-04T14:13:00.000+11:002014-07-07T15:48:02.249+11:00Review: The Misogyny Factor, by Anne Summers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAxUsebffE3JcMTcWWRb40ExWqaKWecafbgBxm-ZASLuREl9OrlBRtsGH_nxIh2v5GlJtNL_4Cw_fZAOfFRca6wSau80SxD6bGuxBN1b8eOfgJH4y_jcXyDIIjtCo4VtVfL6WtKlQlxl9/s1600/misogyny+factor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAxUsebffE3JcMTcWWRb40ExWqaKWecafbgBxm-ZASLuREl9OrlBRtsGH_nxIh2v5GlJtNL_4Cw_fZAOfFRca6wSau80SxD6bGuxBN1b8eOfgJH4y_jcXyDIIjtCo4VtVfL6WtKlQlxl9/s1600/misogyny+factor.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">The 1970s were an extraordinary time for women. Finally, they were speaking out and taking action for matters that were specific and important to women; letting society know that how they were being treated was not ok. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Fast-forward forty years later to 2012. Australia has its first female Prime Minister, a female Governor General, as well as a number of female MPs. While this progress is something to be proud of to some extent, how far has Australia really succeeded in terms of women's issues since the 1970s? That's the question Summers explores in <i>The Misogyny Factor</i>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Summers begins with the matter-of-fact statement that despite the aforementioned 'achievements' of women, the state of women's affairs in Australia is little to gloat about. Sure, more women are in positions of leadership than ever before, but to what extent does that reflect society's acceptance and support of women in these positions? Just how inclusive is Australian society of women, particularly in terms of workplace involvement?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Not very, argues Summers. After all women's w</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">orkforce participation, disparities in pay, the little number of women in senior company positions (which in Australia happen to be some of the lowest in the developed world for ASX listed companies), and domestic violence are all still issues affecting women despite four decades of attempts for change. In other words, the misogyny factor, which is the 'set of attitudes and entrenched practices that are embedded in most of our major institutions...that stand in the way of women being included, treated equally and accorded equally,' needs to be overcome. Importantly Summers notes that the misogyny factor is not only perpetuated by men, but by women as well. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">For example, Australia's childcare system isn't particularly accommodating to women, who tend to be the main carers for their children. In fact, it's as good as disapproving of working mothers. Why else is there no alignment between work, family and schools, not to mention a lack of affordability and accessibility, for families needing to send their children to child care? Unlike in countries like France, whose child care services are state regulated and tend to be close to schools where siblings might attend so that mothers don't have to drive across suburbs to pick up their children from various locations.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">In terms of equal pay, the lifetime earning prospects of women who have spent years at university is still significantly less than men who have spent the same amount of years at university. This was one of the most shockingly pertinent points for me as a young woman, particularly when Summers states that, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">'simply being a women is the major contributing factor to the [pay] gap in Australia, accounting for 60 per cent of the difference between women's and men's earnings.' To put those percentages into direct monetary figures, NSW male law graduates earned $70,300 in 2009, as opposed to the significantly lower figure of $63,500 that female law graduates earned with the same qualifications. How is this still happening in 21st-century Australia?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Summers discusses a myriad of other ways that women are excluded from full and equal participation in Australian economic and public life: if women do poorly in their job, the whole sex shares the blame; if women on Boards decide to make changes they are disliked; and if women are in positions of leadership, they are likely to have gotten there by behaving like men (which is hardly the point). Summers asks why can't the army - an organisation that orders to kill - order to not sexually attack its female members? And then there's Summers' discussion of Julia Gillard's prime ministership, and the many ways she was subject to sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying. All of these points, and many more, make for an incredibly engaging read. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">If the economic potential of women was properly unlocked by appropriate support from local, state and national levels, it would have substantially positive effects on Australia's economy. If this also happened globally, then the effects on the global economy would be astronomical. In fact, 'the Economist points out that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">the increase in the employment of women in developed countries during the past decade has added more to global growth than China has, and that's a lot.'</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/0jbLUHIveIQ">Hillary Clinton mentioned this at the 2011 APEC Women and the Economy Summit</a> - facts that you can't feel anything but baffled by. And yet, for some reason, little is being done to continue unlocking the economic potential of women. Why on earth is this the case?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Summers doesn't necessarily offer any clear-cut solutions to these issues, for they are understandably too complex to be discussed within the 160-odd pages of this book. What Summers does do is offer a rational, intellectual discussion of where things have gone wrong, where proposed changes should start, and why it is so important for these changes to happen. This frank, unapologetic book is a must read for anybody curious about </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">the issues facing women in contemporary Australian society, and it'll surely leave you wanting to know more, as it has for me.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Want More?</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Wheeler Centre recently held a session called 'Women at Work' - another insightful discussion about women's opportunities in the workforce. Listen to it <a href="http://wheelercentre.com/events/event/women-at-work/">here</a>.</span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-41233166515431746032014-04-30T13:40:00.000+11:002014-07-07T15:48:30.285+11:005 ways I know I'm reading a bloody* good book<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #222222;">Working out the difference between an 'I-don't-regret-the-time-I-spent-reading-that' type of book and an 'oh-my-gosh-wow-I'm-going-to-treasure-that-forever' type can be difficult. Or, more accurately, books that fall closer to the latter's end of the spectrum - and which therefore could be classified as bloody good - can be tricky to confidently ascertain. For, how can you be really sure that a book deserves such an esteemed reputation? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">After much research and consideration, I have compiled a foolproof checklist to use when determining whether a book truly belongs on the OMGWIGTTTF scale. I hope it'll be of as much assistance to you as it'll be for me. Here we go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><b>5. I'll want to hold it lots.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px;">Just like some children take a beloved toy with them everywhere they go, I'll do the same with a bloody good book. It's partly because I'm trying to absorb the book's bloody goodness as much as possible. And partly because I want to show it off. It's more than that too, I just can't articulate it all in this small space. All I know is that if I can't be reading it, holding it is enough to keep me happy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><b>4. I'll become a little bit obsessed about it.</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">If you see me using a computer or spending lots of time on my iPhone while I'm reading a bloody good book, then you can be pretty certain I'm finding out whatever I can about it. I'll </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">want to know when the book came out, what people thought of it, whether any films have been made about it, and what different cover designs exist for it. That's only the beginning. Sadly I don't have a particularly good ability to remember much of the facts I do learn, but I really enjoy them at the time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><b>3. I'll read during any spare minute I've got.</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">That's right. I'll read while I'm walking to walk. I'll read instead of watching a TV show I really enjoy. I'll even read in the shower (that's not true, but if it were possible I would). The only way to tear myself away from the bloody good book is during non-negotiable parts of my day, such as work or eating dinner. Otherwise my eyes are glued to the book.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><b>2. I'll read past my bedtime.</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Now I know what you're thinking: all avid readers will read past their bedtimes. Right? Wrong! There's nothing more I like than getting a good night's sleep; and often a book won't even keep me from achieving this. But if it's a bloody good book, I will most definitely read past my bed time. I'll even look forward to doing so, convincing myself that the grumps which will manifest themselves in me come morning-time will be highly worth it. Now that's a bloody good book.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><b>1. I'll eat the book.</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">I won't. But if I could I probably would. That's how highly I admire a bloody good book. Isn't that what happens when people really really like something - they just want to devour it? Like that saying, 'it looks good enough to eat'? Well, with bloody good books, I feel like they're good enough to eat. And I would if I ate books. Which I don't. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">* I was hesitant to use the word 'bloody' initially - it can sound quite vulgar. However, after much thought and deliberation (you could even say too much thought and deliberation), and when used in the passionate, Australian sense that I wanted to use it in, it was actually the only word that properly captured the essence of what I'm describing. </span></span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934920308567421025.post-80308275803513786492014-03-26T13:44:00.000+11:002014-07-07T15:48:47.289+11:00Review: The Smartest Kids in the World, by Amanda Ripley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was very much looking forward to reading Amanda Ripley's <i>The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way</i>. My eagerness </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">stemmed from the fact that I'm currently studying my Masters of Teaching. One of my main areas of interest has been the comparison of different education systems from around the world in order to understand how the Australian education system can be adjusted for the better. </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The Smartest Kids in the World</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> concerns itself with just this issue, though given that Ripley is an American investigative journalist, her main focus is on how the education system in the United States compares to other international education systems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">Ripley selected Finland, South Korea and Poland as her main case studies in the book. Finland and South Korea were chosen as students in both countries are some of the best performing ones in the world, based on the international PISA tests which examine the skills and knowledge of 15 year olds from around the world. Yet, both countries have diametrically opposing approaches to education. Finland is renowned for its </span><span style="color: #222222;">prestigious</span><span style="color: #222222;">, select-entry teacher training colleges, and students are generally not expected to complete homework. Conversely, South Korean students are renowned for spending the majority of their school life cramming in study, spending up to 16 hours a day doing so. Interestingly, the students in both of these countries were not in such a privileged position twenty-odd years ago. How have they come so far? This is the question at the heart of Ripley's book. Hence, Poland makes for an interesting inclusion as it mirrors the positions that Finland and South Korea were in prior to their educational dominance, showing the potential to reach similar positions.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A graph representing how various countries have fared internationally in education. Similarly to the US, Australia has improved relatively little in the past 50 years. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">In order to contextualise her research, Ripely follows the stories of three United States exchange students to these respective countries. Such an approach provides an intimate and honest insight into what it's like to learn in these countries firsthand. While for the most part this was effective, at times I did feel that Ripley's own voice took over from the students' ones, causing me to question the genuineness of the position she was attempting to portray as theirs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Regardless of this, Ripley's findings are quite surprising and incredibly fascinating. So much so that my own copy of the book is riddled with post-it notes from all of the points I wanted to return to at a later stage. Now do not fear, because I won't pummel you with all of the points of interest I came across right now. Instead, I've decided to focus on a select few to capture how expansive this topic is:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers' (p.63). </i>The</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> success of the Finland's education system in particular can be attributed to the extensive teacher training that occurs prior to becoming a qualified teacher. Entry to teacher training colleges in Finland is so highly selective that it is akin to how difficult Medicine or Law school courses are in Australia. Such an approach reflects how seriously Finnish society considers education, by ensuring that the teachers who will influence future generations of students are only the best of the best. This reality provides students, parents and even policy makers with the confidence that these teachers have been thoroughly trained and deserve the utmost respect for this. Again, think of how revered Doctors and Lawyers are in Australian. In turn, thorough professional training (which continues throughout their career) equips teachers with the skills to cope with adversity in the classroom. It's really a win win situation.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Educational success requires rigour. </i>Achieving</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> good results is hard. It requires a lot of effort. But students who do well are rigorous with their studies. Rigour is not only an important element of education, but of life itself. It teaches perseverance, particularly in times of failure. Yet in the current educational climates of Australia and the United States, it's almost impossible for students to fail. Instead, we cotton-ball them and teach them that there aren't really any consequences if they chose not to put the required effort into things. Such an approach is not benefiting anybody. </span> </blockquote>
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<i>When the going gets tough, it's only education that matters.</i> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ripley attributes the severe economic crises that Finland, South Korea and Poland have all faced for their educational successes. For, these countries appreciate how important education is in empowering nations, and how this can positively impact on a nation's economy. Unfortunately this realisation hasn't occurred in countries like the United States (or arguably Australia), who haven't experienced economic crises and/or high levels of illiteracy to the extent that the aforementioned countries have. Hence, there's been no real reason for education to be overhauled and reformed in countries like Australia and the United States. The consequence of this is that students have become used to getting away with not doing what's expected of them, because there'll often be ways out for those not willing to put in the effort (such as going on the dole). This links in with my previous point regarding rigour, and Ripley puts it well when she states, 'Wealth has made rigour optional in America' (p.192). </span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Students need to be set high expectations. </i>If<i> </i>students</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> are set these, then they are more likely to aspire to them and achieve high results. Unfortunately the opposite is true if teachers set unchallenging tasks, as this suggests they have low expectations of students, and thus students will not strive for high results. There is an abundance of research that affirms this. Part of the challenge that Ripley attributes to this is the lack of trust adults seem to have for students in countries like the United States, which effects the mutual levels of respect each party has for the other. But if we can learn to trust our younger generations, such as the Fins do, and firmly believe they are capable of achieving high results, as the South Koreans do, then positive outcomes will develop. </span></blockquote>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">'When looking for a world-class education, remember that people always matter more than props' </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(p.215). </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Of the four focus countries in this book, the United States spends the most amount of money per student. Yet, as Ripley discovers, this expenditure is having little effects on how well students are performing in schools. If anything, it is unnecessarily distracting all those involved in the education system. For, Finland, South Korea and Poland have all managed to become successful while also maintaining relatively traditional, no-frills approaches to schooling. This was probably one of the points that challenged me the most out of the book, particularly as much of the emphasis in my Masters of Teaching has been on steering away from such formal approaches to teaching.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i> </i>But it's also reassuring in that it suggests schools don't need fancy gadgets or state-of-the-art resources for students to do well.<i> </i></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Overall </span></span><i style="color: #222222;">The Smartest Kids in the World</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> was a fantastically informative and enlightening introduction into various education systems from around the world. There is a clear message that if nations want their education systems to improve, a dramatic shift in how education is understood and valued by society as a whole is required. At the same time I didn't agree with everything Ripley proposed. My main gripe was that the book focused too</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> heavily</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> on the idea that educational success is based on how well students fair in traditional, old-fashioned tests, where in fact this is only one of many ways to measure student learning and potential. While tests like PISA are incredibly comprehensive, they can only measure so much, and its limits do need to be considered when praising the successes of particular nations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Nevertheless, </span></span><i style="color: #222222;">The Smartest Kids in the World</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> provided some incredibly powerful and significance points to reflect on in terms of the Australian education system, and how we can think differently about the ways we can achieve educational success. Reading it has been particularly poignant given that I'm currently undertaking my Masters of Teaching, and has left me hungry to learn more about this area. I highly recommend it to anyone who has works within, or has an interest in, the education system.</span></span><br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08202109907679635872noreply@blogger.com0