First, "What do Women Want?" by Erica Jong. Jenni borrowed this from me ages ago and said it wasn't much good. She'd be right. I thought it was going to be quite feminist, but rather wasn't. The title page maybe should have had me guessing that-four pics, bread, roses, sex, power. Now, I suspect I'm in a minority of people who even get the bread and roses references, cause none of the people I pointed it out to had heard of it. You can learn more on Wikipedia. Then, the sex is illustrated by a condom. Something that men use. Hmmmmm. And power by a high-heeled shoe. Uh huh.
So, I wasn't loving it. The best bit for me was the end where she writes about trips to Italy, cause I love Italy and want to retire there to a villa and drink too much red wine. There were some chapters about literature and porn and she wrote a lot about Lolita, which I really should get around to reading.
"Every life decision I have made - from changing jobs to changing partners to changing homes - has been taken with trepidation. I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as a part of life, specifically the fear of change, of the unknown."
This is my life! I changed all three back in April and it was certainly very scary. It has totally paid off, though. I have a tendancy to think that if something scares me, it is probably the thing I should go and do. Generally this line of thinking has paid off, with that one big, messy notable exception. But then, life is messy. If it isn't, you probably aren't living it.
"We love people, ultimately, for their humanity; not because of their perfection but in spite of their imperfections."
Something to remember when dealing with the ex. His imperfections were once why I loved him, not the annoyances I find them today. Breathe. Forgive. Understand.
"I forget how she died. I'm sure I deliberately blank out her story because I loathe stories about young women who die at tender ages. I would rather see monuments to women who survived their first loves and went on to have several more."
I like this idea very, very much.
"What I require of a book is that it kidnap me into its world. Its world must make the so-called real world seem flimsy. Its world must trigger the nostalgia to return. When I close the book, I should feel bereft.
How rare this is, and how grateful I am to find it. The utter trust that exists between reader and author is like the trust between lovers. If I feel betrayed by the author, I will never surrender again. I must believe in the author's honesty in order to be swept away."
I love it!
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Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. My love of British chick lit is my dirty little secret.
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