I don't watch TV (except when others have it on) I even tend to hang at the two bars in SF that do not have a TV (there are only two as far as I know) except when the 9ers are on - everyone has a weakness.
But I do read, a lot. I have my favorite chair, in my favorite corner with my best reading light ever, and I curl up with my afghan, some tea or coco, and read away. So I was interested in putting up some reading lists to see what others might be reading, and what they have to say about it.
So......................
Little Women - I could (and have) written huge papers on this, my favorite book of all time. I'm in love with Jo March. I would want to be Jo March out of all the characters in fiction. I read it every year or so (and have since I was in sixth grade). I'm up to forming a separate Little Women topic post just to discuss this book, perhaps the most important women's book ever written.
The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls by Joan Jacobs Brumberg. Examines, largely through diary entries, the change in American girls from the Victorian Age's emphasis on character (good deeds and a pure heart) to modern obsession with appearance that has girls as young as eight or nine worried about their weight and body image.
The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank.
A modern take on the familiar 'coming of age' novel. Looking at sex, love and the workplace its very funny and sensitive at the same time. A book by girls, for girls.
The TG Book Club
Moderators: KimberlyS, CathyAnn
-
Tekla
- Permanently Banned
- Posts: 243
- Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2007 4:21 pm
- Location: San Fran Bay Area
-
Terri(SO)
- Miss Platinum Goddess
- Posts: 373
- Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2004 7:35 am
- Location: San Francisco
- Contact:
I think CJ may have the longest contribution but for me...
My singele most favorite book for the last several years that I've read maybe 5 times:
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Also by Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
I'll read and reread almost anything by Dickens.
I have not been reading as much as I used to. I used to read for a while every night in the bathtub. But now that I own my house and have to pay the water bill myself, I take few baths and other activities always seem to take up the time till bedtime.
I just realized none of the books I've read recently really would qualify as TG.
My singele most favorite book for the last several years that I've read maybe 5 times:
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Also by Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
I'll read and reread almost anything by Dickens.
I have not been reading as much as I used to. I used to read for a while every night in the bathtub. But now that I own my house and have to pay the water bill myself, I take few baths and other activities always seem to take up the time till bedtime.
I just realized none of the books I've read recently really would qualify as TG.
Love is a verb. It's a doing thing. No action, no love! - Terri
-
Tekla
- Permanently Banned
- Posts: 243
- Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2007 4:21 pm
- Location: San Fran Bay Area
Yes, but why do you like those books? What moves you about them? What moves you back to them time and again? So for me at least, Little Women is more girl than any bit of clothing or makeup, it is very the soul of the American girl.
To me, Josephine March is the model for all that good about American Women, and American women will rule the world someday soon too, so its important to understand them. Jo is a prototype - if not THE - "Progressive Era Feminist" in so many ways. Jo, of course, was based on Louisa herself, independent, sometimes brash, and often tempestuous. Got to love her.
Ph.D. and all I still read this book every year or so. It is such a wonderful insight into girl culture, not just for the family itself and the relationships between the sisters, but also for the fact that in America, girl culture has required the reading of this book for over 100 years. Not bad in a nation that has nostalgia for breakfast at times and thinks of five minutes ago as ‘history.’ There is no real item of comparison in boy culture. There is no 150 year old book that all boys read the way most girls in the USA read Little Women. I like this book, and I like it a lot, and its because I think I saw more of myself in Jo as a child than in any other character in literature, and I so bad wanted to be Jo, but then again, so did legions of young girls all over America, and all through the century. I was the only boy in my school (up to graduate school) who liked reading this book, and I was also The BOY who did better then any of the girls on both the test and the book report – my love affair with Jo cost me being voted Miss Popularity that year.
As an author once said; "Little Women is a warm, lovely book. It still compels me, an adult reader looking back at my childhood influences. But I'd urge the skeptical new reader to dismiss all its sentimental and foolish moralizing as mere conventions of the time -- just historical baggage, like the unwieldy feminine fashions of the day -- because Alcott's characterization, wit, lively dialogue and vigorous writing transcend those failings. One loves the book mostly for Josephine March, not for the moral lessons the little women learn. It is Jo who carries the book. Jo is a bookworm who uses slang, whistles and wants to go to war. Jo hides in her garret, eating apples and reading a book, with a pet rat called Scrabble. (I loved the word "garret.") Jo declares, "I like good strong words, that mean something." She's always saying, "Christopher Columbus!" or "Fiddlesticks!" Jo is vivacious and likes to dance -- "Jo, being full of swing and spring." She writes plays for her sisters to perform: Roderigo in his russet boots and red cloak, strumming a guitar. A hundred thirty years later, young girls are still idolizing guys with guitars. Louisa May Alcott had her finger on the pulse."
The more you read this book, the more you can talk to girls like you were one of the girls because in so many ways, to so many girls, at so many times, it has DEFINED what it is to be a girl and what it is to think like a woman at the critical point in the girls life as they move from between being a big girl into being Little Women.
It can be found online at: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/ALCOTT/lwtext.html
To me, Josephine March is the model for all that good about American Women, and American women will rule the world someday soon too, so its important to understand them. Jo is a prototype - if not THE - "Progressive Era Feminist" in so many ways. Jo, of course, was based on Louisa herself, independent, sometimes brash, and often tempestuous. Got to love her.
Ph.D. and all I still read this book every year or so. It is such a wonderful insight into girl culture, not just for the family itself and the relationships between the sisters, but also for the fact that in America, girl culture has required the reading of this book for over 100 years. Not bad in a nation that has nostalgia for breakfast at times and thinks of five minutes ago as ‘history.’ There is no real item of comparison in boy culture. There is no 150 year old book that all boys read the way most girls in the USA read Little Women. I like this book, and I like it a lot, and its because I think I saw more of myself in Jo as a child than in any other character in literature, and I so bad wanted to be Jo, but then again, so did legions of young girls all over America, and all through the century. I was the only boy in my school (up to graduate school) who liked reading this book, and I was also The BOY who did better then any of the girls on both the test and the book report – my love affair with Jo cost me being voted Miss Popularity that year.
As an author once said; "Little Women is a warm, lovely book. It still compels me, an adult reader looking back at my childhood influences. But I'd urge the skeptical new reader to dismiss all its sentimental and foolish moralizing as mere conventions of the time -- just historical baggage, like the unwieldy feminine fashions of the day -- because Alcott's characterization, wit, lively dialogue and vigorous writing transcend those failings. One loves the book mostly for Josephine March, not for the moral lessons the little women learn. It is Jo who carries the book. Jo is a bookworm who uses slang, whistles and wants to go to war. Jo hides in her garret, eating apples and reading a book, with a pet rat called Scrabble. (I loved the word "garret.") Jo declares, "I like good strong words, that mean something." She's always saying, "Christopher Columbus!" or "Fiddlesticks!" Jo is vivacious and likes to dance -- "Jo, being full of swing and spring." She writes plays for her sisters to perform: Roderigo in his russet boots and red cloak, strumming a guitar. A hundred thirty years later, young girls are still idolizing guys with guitars. Louisa May Alcott had her finger on the pulse."
The more you read this book, the more you can talk to girls like you were one of the girls because in so many ways, to so many girls, at so many times, it has DEFINED what it is to be a girl and what it is to think like a woman at the critical point in the girls life as they move from between being a big girl into being Little Women.
It can be found online at: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/ALCOTT/lwtext.html
-
Absaroka
- Miss Diamond Goddess
- Posts: 3344
- Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2005 8:30 am
There was a thread like this a couple of years ago. I don't remember which section however. I remember posting about Linda Greenlaw who wrote of her experiences in The Hungry Ocean which by the way I thought was a great book. I'm currently reading Loving Women by Pete Hamill, which is a sort of coming of age/join the army(no combat) falling in love story. So far I am finding it to be a real good read. Set in the early 50's, it has a young man from Brooklyn stationed near Pensacola (yes there is a lot about race in it) hearing the memories of a number of servicemen who served in WW2, including one man who was on the Indianapolis when it sank. He manges to address a great many subjects with a real economy of style.
Absaroka
Absaroka
everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon
-
CJ
- Miss Diamond Goddess
- Posts: 3562
- Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2003 11:12 pm
- Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Hi all,
Books, ah books! Such a sweet addiction!
I always carry at least two books as well as one or two periodicals in my backpack as I go about my day. I grab my reading time on the bus and subway between appointments, while eating lunch, while waiting for late clients, and during the evening, at home, while Rina watches television.
I usually pack one non-fiction book (these days, What IS Philosophy?, a collection of recent papers on the current geography of international philosophical thinking), one fiction (currently, Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver), and one or two magazines (right now, Urbania, a local urban culture and design glossy, focusing on Montreal--the cover portrays Rina's boss, crucified on the Mount-Royal cross--as well as the latest copy of the Official XBox Magazine, reviewing Halo 3). I do this in order to have reading material on hand that suits my mood of the moment. But none of this is TG.
Right now, I have three books on my desk waiting to be read: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. These are on my list because one of my friends, a high school teacher, wants to focus this year on the portrayal of madness in literature across time and across cultures; she wants me to "guest teach" in a few of her classes in order to explain the current thinking on, and approaches to, mental illness and how it may relate to the characters in these books. I'm excited about this. But none of this is TG.
What I want to read next (and this is TG-related): Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. As usual, I'll wait until I find it used somewhere.
One of my favorites: Cherry Single by Valery Gravois. This is a crossdresser's coming-of-age story. Its frank portrayal of the sexual and interpersonal foibles of a young CD rang true for me. I would read it again.
Love,
CJ
Books, ah books! Such a sweet addiction!
I always carry at least two books as well as one or two periodicals in my backpack as I go about my day. I grab my reading time on the bus and subway between appointments, while eating lunch, while waiting for late clients, and during the evening, at home, while Rina watches television.
I usually pack one non-fiction book (these days, What IS Philosophy?, a collection of recent papers on the current geography of international philosophical thinking), one fiction (currently, Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver), and one or two magazines (right now, Urbania, a local urban culture and design glossy, focusing on Montreal--the cover portrays Rina's boss, crucified on the Mount-Royal cross--as well as the latest copy of the Official XBox Magazine, reviewing Halo 3). I do this in order to have reading material on hand that suits my mood of the moment. But none of this is TG.
Right now, I have three books on my desk waiting to be read: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. These are on my list because one of my friends, a high school teacher, wants to focus this year on the portrayal of madness in literature across time and across cultures; she wants me to "guest teach" in a few of her classes in order to explain the current thinking on, and approaches to, mental illness and how it may relate to the characters in these books. I'm excited about this. But none of this is TG.
What I want to read next (and this is TG-related): Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. As usual, I'll wait until I find it used somewhere.
One of my favorites: Cherry Single by Valery Gravois. This is a crossdresser's coming-of-age story. Its frank portrayal of the sexual and interpersonal foibles of a young CD rang true for me. I would read it again.
Love,
CJ
-
Anita
- Miss Diamond Goddess
- Posts: 3068
- Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:55 pm
- Location: Burlingame, CA (San Francisco Bay area)
Hi All--
It's interesting to hear about Little Women. I did not care for the movie, although I still remember the shot that ends it. (I won't describe it--could be a plot spoiler.) I don't doubt that girls identify with it, and yet I never heard any of my sisters nor my girlfriends ever talk about the book. They were all literary people, so it's a bit of a puzzle. Maybe they thought I wouldn't be interested, but I used to overhear all kinds of conversations from my sisters.
In passing, I would say that Tom Sawyer and/or Huckleberry Finn are the 19th century classics that boys can still read and recognize themselves.
I finally got around to reading True Selves, because a TG friend wanted me to read it. It was well-written, and served its purpose, which was to help families and friends of transitioning people. As a "More than a crossdresser, less than a Transitioner" member of this forum, I find that full transition books don't have much to say to me at this point. I am still interested in stories of people who transition, but not the How-to aspects.
As a side note, I informed another TG friend that the publishers had not credited her for a song that they used--so my friend was able to work out a settlement with them.
I like Deirdre McCloskey's book Crossing: a memoir . It was one of the first books I got after my re-awakening to TG matters. It scared me to death, since Deirdre had considered herself "just a crossdresser," and then went on to full transition. That was pretty heavy reading for a newbie crossdresser, I must say.
A book which also spoke to me was Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. , by Robert Walser. It's a scholarly work by an assustant professor of music at Dartmouth. It didn't go far enough in its gender analysis; transgender isn't mentioned at all.
But it was fascinating to me to see how Dr. Walser analyzed the song structures of metal classics. It is amusing to hear that "...the chords move from a typically metallic Aeolian bVI-bVII motion through a surprise transformation to the tonic major," in "Runnin' with the Devil."
A friend just got her second book published, and it's about her five-year transition. I'm pressed for time, but I'll let you all know where to go and read a few chapters. She's a good writer.
It's interesting to hear about Little Women. I did not care for the movie, although I still remember the shot that ends it. (I won't describe it--could be a plot spoiler.) I don't doubt that girls identify with it, and yet I never heard any of my sisters nor my girlfriends ever talk about the book. They were all literary people, so it's a bit of a puzzle. Maybe they thought I wouldn't be interested, but I used to overhear all kinds of conversations from my sisters.
In passing, I would say that Tom Sawyer and/or Huckleberry Finn are the 19th century classics that boys can still read and recognize themselves.
I finally got around to reading True Selves, because a TG friend wanted me to read it. It was well-written, and served its purpose, which was to help families and friends of transitioning people. As a "More than a crossdresser, less than a Transitioner" member of this forum, I find that full transition books don't have much to say to me at this point. I am still interested in stories of people who transition, but not the How-to aspects.
As a side note, I informed another TG friend that the publishers had not credited her for a song that they used--so my friend was able to work out a settlement with them.
I like Deirdre McCloskey's book Crossing: a memoir . It was one of the first books I got after my re-awakening to TG matters. It scared me to death, since Deirdre had considered herself "just a crossdresser," and then went on to full transition. That was pretty heavy reading for a newbie crossdresser, I must say.
A book which also spoke to me was Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. , by Robert Walser. It's a scholarly work by an assustant professor of music at Dartmouth. It didn't go far enough in its gender analysis; transgender isn't mentioned at all.
But it was fascinating to me to see how Dr. Walser analyzed the song structures of metal classics. It is amusing to hear that "...the chords move from a typically metallic Aeolian bVI-bVII motion through a surprise transformation to the tonic major," in "Runnin' with the Devil."
A friend just got her second book published, and it's about her five-year transition. I'm pressed for time, but I'll let you all know where to go and read a few chapters. She's a good writer.
-
Sylvia H
- Miss Emerald Goddess
- Posts: 201
- Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 4:21 am
- Location: Colorado
Interesting you should mention Little Women. I remember way back in the way back machine my sister reading it. I remember making some comment about it being such a girl book just to tease her and she challenged me to read it saying something to the effect that since I was such a boy I shouldn't have any trouble at all reading it. (we were such smart asses to each other then). Anyway I took the challenge and actually liked it but of course at the time I couldn't say so. Think I will get a copy and read it again. There is a quality of character in it I still see in rural areas from time to time.
I dont read much fiction any more but read Mark Twain till I could recite a good deal of it. Never mind I think it was Tom Sawyer that had its CD moment if anyone recalls. But I think I actually liked Connecticut Yankee (time travel before time travel was cool.) and Pudn Head Wilson were really good. I always wanted to own half a dog after that.
The last fiction I read was Anne Rice which was entertaining but way too intense for my liking.
I have been reading more clinical stuff these days particularly in light of my new found status. Just finished The Riddle of Gender by Deborah Rudacille. A very good overview of the LGBT subject material.
Sylvia
I dont read much fiction any more but read Mark Twain till I could recite a good deal of it. Never mind I think it was Tom Sawyer that had its CD moment if anyone recalls. But I think I actually liked Connecticut Yankee (time travel before time travel was cool.) and Pudn Head Wilson were really good. I always wanted to own half a dog after that.
The last fiction I read was Anne Rice which was entertaining but way too intense for my liking.
I have been reading more clinical stuff these days particularly in light of my new found status. Just finished The Riddle of Gender by Deborah Rudacille. A very good overview of the LGBT subject material.
Sylvia
-
Absaroka
- Miss Diamond Goddess
- Posts: 3344
- Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2005 8:30 am
Anita,
Does bVI bVII I mean a progression like Ab minor, Bb Minor, C major with the minors in Aeolian rather than Dorian mode? Or did it mean A minor in Aeolian (flat 6th), B minor Aeolian, C major? Is bVI, bVII, I, just called an Aeolian progression? Theory can get so confusing.....I like reading about it a lot but there comes a point where you want to just say listen to the music and stop babeling.
I liked Diedre McCloskys book a lot and it informs many of the comments I make here, in particular the differences between crossdressing and trans sexualism. Some of the male bashing annoyed me however she did apologize for it in advance and the book is about her experience and feelings, not a tome on the reality she ought all be agreeing upon.
Absaroka
Does bVI bVII I mean a progression like Ab minor, Bb Minor, C major with the minors in Aeolian rather than Dorian mode? Or did it mean A minor in Aeolian (flat 6th), B minor Aeolian, C major? Is bVI, bVII, I, just called an Aeolian progression? Theory can get so confusing.....I like reading about it a lot but there comes a point where you want to just say listen to the music and stop babeling.
I liked Diedre McCloskys book a lot and it informs many of the comments I make here, in particular the differences between crossdressing and trans sexualism. Some of the male bashing annoyed me however she did apologize for it in advance and the book is about her experience and feelings, not a tome on the reality she ought all be agreeing upon.
Absaroka
everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon
-
Jill S
- Miss Emerald Goddess
- Posts: 114
- Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 6:34 pm
- Location: Colorado
-
Anita
- Miss Diamond Goddess
- Posts: 3068
- Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:55 pm
- Location: Burlingame, CA (San Francisco Bay area)
Jill wrote:
Absaroka--that progression is associated with Aeolian mode, as those chords are built on it. But I don't know that you can refer to it as "an Aeolian chord progression."
But we digress...the other book I bought at Border's when TG mania hit was Miss Vera's book for boys who want to be girls, or something like that. It was a 180 degree turnaround from Deirdre McClosky's book, as frivilous as Deirdre's was scary. I enjoyed it at the time, as everything was brand-new, but I don't know how I'd feel about it now.
Those were the only two TG books the Borders folks had on hand at the time, which was late 2000.
I forgot all about that one, Jill. I loved that book! I read it long before my own adventures in Genderland." I will Fear no Evil" by Robert Heinlen. Science Fiction meets Ultimate Trans fantasize.
Absaroka--that progression is associated with Aeolian mode, as those chords are built on it. But I don't know that you can refer to it as "an Aeolian chord progression."
But we digress...the other book I bought at Border's when TG mania hit was Miss Vera's book for boys who want to be girls, or something like that. It was a 180 degree turnaround from Deirdre McClosky's book, as frivilous as Deirdre's was scary. I enjoyed it at the time, as everything was brand-new, but I don't know how I'd feel about it now.
Those were the only two TG books the Borders folks had on hand at the time, which was late 2000.
-
CJ
- Miss Diamond Goddess
- Posts: 3562
- Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2003 11:12 pm
- Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Hi all,
I'd also forgotten about Heinlein's ode to "two-spiritedness." I read this so many years ago now that all I can remember about it is being puzzled by the notion of personality (Eunice) existing without a brain. I'd have to try it again, I guess.
About Huck Finn's turn as a girl, I'll admit that I often think about the "pencil test" when wearing a skirt. Not that I've ever seen a woman spread her legs when she drops a pencil, mind you.
I've never read Little Women. It sits in my library, along with other, must-eventually-read, classics of American literature. I guess I must, ah, eventually read it.
Already a fan of science-fiction, I find this genre appealing for, amongst other things, its almost limitless horizon regarding the exploration of our notions of gender. The genre's classic work, for me, will always be Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness. It's the closest I've ever come to seeing, through another's imagination, what a world with fluid genders could like like. "Kemmer" is a wild and intriguing notion; that the Gethenians can become gendered (choosing either gender) for two days out of every month while being relatively androgynous during their "non-kemmer" days is a surprisingly satisfying plot device. What's fun about this is that it explores the malleable nature of both gender identity as well as sexual orientation. Is Genly Ai's relationship with Estraven tinged with heterosexuality? homosexuality? bisexuality? Who knows? Genly Ai himself certainly doesn't (if I recall correctly, he remains celibate throughout his journey).
Works by Samuel Delany, John Varley, and many others also explore sex and gender from a "What if?" point of view. I recommend them.
And, of course, there's always the "God-how-I-wish-I-could-wear-a-pair-of-pants-for-one-day" feminist-panned dystopian transvestite tale, A Regiment of Women, by Thomas Berger. Imagine: poor Charlie is a man who, like all men in this fictional culture, must wear skirts and heels to work (he works as a secretary), make sure his makeup is properly applied and his nails dutifully filed and polished, his bra well fitted (this is a world of mandatory breast augmentation for males), and never to miss his mandatory appointments with his, uh, "well-equipped," female therapist. Charlie's just sick of having to shave his legs, make sure his stocking seams are straight, and his eyebrows well plucked and arched. Poor guy! I feel for him.
Feminists criticized the novel for its not having, uh, the balls, to question gender stereotypes instead of merely exchanging (as they argue it does) one set of social shackles for another. It's a fun "What if?" read anyway, in my opinion.
Love,
CJ
I'd also forgotten about Heinlein's ode to "two-spiritedness." I read this so many years ago now that all I can remember about it is being puzzled by the notion of personality (Eunice) existing without a brain. I'd have to try it again, I guess.
About Huck Finn's turn as a girl, I'll admit that I often think about the "pencil test" when wearing a skirt. Not that I've ever seen a woman spread her legs when she drops a pencil, mind you.
I've never read Little Women. It sits in my library, along with other, must-eventually-read, classics of American literature. I guess I must, ah, eventually read it.
Already a fan of science-fiction, I find this genre appealing for, amongst other things, its almost limitless horizon regarding the exploration of our notions of gender. The genre's classic work, for me, will always be Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness. It's the closest I've ever come to seeing, through another's imagination, what a world with fluid genders could like like. "Kemmer" is a wild and intriguing notion; that the Gethenians can become gendered (choosing either gender) for two days out of every month while being relatively androgynous during their "non-kemmer" days is a surprisingly satisfying plot device. What's fun about this is that it explores the malleable nature of both gender identity as well as sexual orientation. Is Genly Ai's relationship with Estraven tinged with heterosexuality? homosexuality? bisexuality? Who knows? Genly Ai himself certainly doesn't (if I recall correctly, he remains celibate throughout his journey).
Works by Samuel Delany, John Varley, and many others also explore sex and gender from a "What if?" point of view. I recommend them.
And, of course, there's always the "God-how-I-wish-I-could-wear-a-pair-of-pants-for-one-day" feminist-panned dystopian transvestite tale, A Regiment of Women, by Thomas Berger. Imagine: poor Charlie is a man who, like all men in this fictional culture, must wear skirts and heels to work (he works as a secretary), make sure his makeup is properly applied and his nails dutifully filed and polished, his bra well fitted (this is a world of mandatory breast augmentation for males), and never to miss his mandatory appointments with his, uh, "well-equipped," female therapist. Charlie's just sick of having to shave his legs, make sure his stocking seams are straight, and his eyebrows well plucked and arched. Poor guy! I feel for him.
Feminists criticized the novel for its not having, uh, the balls, to question gender stereotypes instead of merely exchanging (as they argue it does) one set of social shackles for another. It's a fun "What if?" read anyway, in my opinion.Love,
CJ