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I read because I must. It's like breathing to me. And I love talking about books. But I'm also an Arsenal fan, a wine drinker, a music lover and weirdly obsessed with pop culture. I mostly blog about books, but sometimes about things I'm thinking or doing. When I'm not on the blog, I'm scoping deals for a professional services company, hanging out with friends, or seeing some live theater.

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Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement

Posted on 16 Jan 2011 In: Reading

“How on earth am I going to write a fair review of this book?” is what I kept thinking as I read Kathryn Joyce’s look inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement.  Rarely does a book evoke a visceral reaction in me as I’m reading it. But I found myself incredulous, angry and frustrated as I read.

First, some background. How did I even come across this book? After seeing a few episodes of TLC’s show about the Duggar family, with their 19 kids so far, and reading this piece at Salon, I decided to learn more. I wanted to see if the movement is being portrayed accurately and fairly.

For those that don’t know, the Quiverfull movement is based on Psalm 127, “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They shall not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”

Followers of the Quiverfull movement are also patently anti-feminist, believing in wifely submission to the husband; practicing no birth control, taking any and all children as a blessing and a gift from God; reliance on the church and family community; homeschooling; and no real need, for men and women, in post secondary education. They believe that the bible is the literal and infallible word of God, and this interpretation of the bible forms the platform on which the movement is built. It has been hard to separate my feelings about the patriarchal philosophy from critical thinking about the book.

I found the book fascinating.  Families embracing the Quiverfull movement exist at least in the tens of thousands, if not more.  Joyce profiles the leaders and teachings of the patriarch philosophy. She presents excerpts of meetings and presentations and blog posts from the movement.  I went to several of the sites and blogs mentioned in the book to see them in the context that they present to the public, to see if Joyce had chosen soundbites or taken any of the teachings out of context. Joyce portrayed the edicts of the Vision Forum and the Proverbs 31 ministry quite accurately and fairly.  She recounts the stories of some Quiverfull women, some who have left that world and others who are perfectly happy in it.

Joyce’s language is not evocative or inciting, but I still found myself reacting viscerally to the book because what I believe is almost completely opposite to the tenets of the patriarchal platform.  It was hard to read that nearly everything about the way I live my life is seen as sinful and damnable and anti-feminine and wrong by people in this movement. And that’s why it was hard for me to write this post. I wanted to be fair to the book and not make this a criticism of the movement.

Based on the additional research I’ve done, I think Joyce presents fairly the beliefs, motivations, and goals of the Patriarchy movement.  I think she presents fairly the stories of the women who feel victimized by the movement, as well as the women who are fulfilled by it. After reading the book, I feel like I have a better understanding of why some people find such comfort in this way of life.

The New TheBookFetish Blog

Posted on 15 Jan 2011 In: Doing

Thanks for checking out the new TheBookFetishBlog.  I’m excited to launch the new site and Facebook page.

The only thing I can take credit for on this site, though, is the content of each post. Marian Schembari critiqued the original site and offered me invaluable feedback on ways to transform the site.  If you have any questions about how to better utilize anything in social media, I highly recommend Marian. You can see her site and examples of her work here

After working with Marian, I chose Lucid Dream Designs to design the site, choosing the layout, creating the communications links, etc. They are great folks and I highly recommend them, too. Find them here and you won’t be disappointed.

This new site has been a few months of work- not because it couldn’t have been done a lot more quickly, but because it was so new to me and I had a lot to learn. Thanks to Marian and Jeffrey and Desirai for their incredible patience working with me, and thank you so much for the new site. I love it.

The Wedding Girl

Posted on 3 Jan 2011 In: Reading

The Wedding Girl

Madeleine Wickham
The first book of 2011 is also my first book for the Chick Lit Plus Reading challenge. 
In The Wedding Girl, Milly Havill is set to marry Simon Pinnacle.  Just days before the wedding an event from Milly’s past comes back to haunt her.  A chance encounter leads to the revelation of secrets from Milly’s past. As Milly deals with the repercussions, her friends and family are each forced to confront their own secrets and lives to discover the truth of who they are.
I first read Madeleine Wickham a few years ago. I like Brit Chick Lit, and came across one of her books that I enjoyed.  I was surprised to learn Madeleine Wickham is actually Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic series of books.
Frankly, I much prefer the books written under the Wickham nom de plume to the books she writes as Kinsella.  I find myself more easily able to identify with the heroines and their situations.  The plot lines are more complex, the situations more relatable.
There were a lot of surprises in The Wedding Girl.  I love that most characters are not quite who they seem to be.   Everyone has some kind of secret, wears some kind of mask, plays a role.  Everyone has to consider who they really are, what will really make them happy.  And that is a risk, because sometimes the people we care about the most can’t see past our facade to really know the truth of who we are.
The Wedding Girl was a quick, fun read that I enjoyed the whole way through. 

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Posted on 28 Dec 2010 In: Thinking

Tonight is the girls night dinner.  Part of our eat the world adventure, we’re going for Persian. And I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve been indulging quite a bit these last few days. The Holidays are only to blame in part.  You see, I’ve also just been diagnosed as Insulin Resistant and pre-diabetic.  Thankfully, it appears to be a mild case of insulin resistance, and my doctor is of the mindset that we treat without medicine if possible. So once the holidays, and all their associated obligations, are over I’m starting a carefully regimented diet and exercise program for three months.  Our hope is that this gets the insulin resistance under control and is something that I can adopt going forward, that we avoid drugs to treat.

I’m in favor of this.  Most of the eating will not be difficult. I already follow many of the guidelines when I’m in my normal routine.

But. There’s always a but.  I HATE to exercise. Well, that’s not completely accurate.  I like the actual exercise, and I like how I feel when I’m done. But when I’m faced with a choice of doing nearly anything else and exercising, well, nearly anything else nearly always wins. For a number of reasons. Some of them are even GOOD reasons.   Come next week, that is going to have to change.

When I write “Gym” on my calendar (yes, I’m old school like that. I like paper calendars. I track everything on paper and electronically. That’s another post) I’m going to have to treat it like it is a client meeting. Something I actually must show up for and deliver.  And although I’ll be dragged into it kicking and screaming, I know I’ll be very grateful, if in the end, it keeps me from being dependent on medicine for the rest of my life.

So, here’s to hoping I find some exercise I adore doing.  And that I can balance eating my healthy meals with lunches out with the guys in the office.  Everything in balance, yes?

Best of 2010, Part 1

Posted on 28 Dec 2010 In: Thinking
I decided to do a Best Of list for 2010.  Cliche? Perhaps. But this captures some of the many, many highlights of my 2010.  I reserve the right to add to this list as new things occur to me (hence the Part 1).  This was originally posted on my Facebook, so names of people not on Twitter or in the blogosphere have been removed to respect their privacy.
Best New Music: Mumford & Sons.  I adore their Sigh No More CD.
Best Book about an animal: Homer’s Odyssey- Don’t ask me why this little cat sucked me in so, but he did.
Best Decision:  There’s a three way tie: First, working with Carrie Tallman. We worked through some of my crazy stuff, and I made a new friend in the process. Second, Working with Suellen Germani, and Third, checking out Atlanta HP.   I’ve met some wonderful new friends through Atlanta HP, and I look forward to any chance to get my geek on. 
Best New Experience: Dragon*Con- y’all, I had so much fun.  Tickets for next year are already acquired.
Best Celebrity Encounter: Yes, there was more than one.   But this stands out the most. Meeting Emily Giffin at a launch party for Heart of the Matter.  Such a class act. Such a great author.  One of my faves.
Best Weekend:  Florida girls weekend – I don’t care how old we are. We had a blast at Universal Studios Theme Park in Orlando. No drama, just lots of fun.  I can’t wait to plan our next trip.
Best Charity Event: For The Kid Toy Party earlier in December.  So much fun and so many toys for needy kids.
Best Girls Night Out Plan:  Eating the World with my GNO dinner crew.  We were inspired by Jen Lancaster’s “Jenaissance”
Best Concert: There were a lot of concerts in 2010. Hands down, the best was Green Day! Such a fun show.  I’ll see them any time.
Best Blog/Community- And here we have our second tie.  First, is Bitches on A Budget. Consistently interactive on the blog and on FB, with a passionate community. Rosalyn Hoffman cares about her work, and takes time to read and respond to comments.  
Second is my SAMCRO Community on Twitter. I’ve never seen so many people excited by a Television show, and taking a personal interest and investment in other friends.
Third is The Belle Beat.  Bunny Belle also blogs about books, but she and I follow each other on Twitter and she’s fun to read.
Best Techie Discovery: Twitter.  Y’all. I love my Twitter.  It’s kind of my crack.
Best Movie: I saw some good ones. But I’m a fan girl. You know this. So in 2010, it has to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Although Inside Job was really good, and I am now in LOVE with Fight Club since I (finally) saw it.
Best Bullshit Detection Moment:  Any weekend spent with my college roommate. Enough said.
Best Bachelorette Party:  There was dancing.  With a pole. And it was fun. 
Stay tuned. There will be more.