Brothel for Sorrow, Two for Joy
Nov. 26th, 2005 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maribouBrothel, by Alexa Albert
The author seems to have spent a considerable amount of time at the Mustang Ranch, a brothel in Nevada. Her examination of the various aspects of the prostitutes' lives was thorough and balanced. Still on this sex-worker/Las Vegas kick, apparently, as I remain interested in learning more.
(231/200)
One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, by Clive Woodall
This book should have been good. For one thing, it has a very very very very lovely cover (props to Tim Jessell, the cover illustrator). For another thing, it has an intriguing plot. Magpies decide to wipe out the rest of England's birds, small robin must battle against the odds to fulfill his destiny and save the kingdom. Okay, maybe that's only intriguing if you're as much of a sucker for anthropomorphized epics as I am. Anyway, it should've been a good book. This Is Not A Good Book. It's boring and dull and clunky and poorly written by someone whose vocabulary seems good enough that they could've done better. And really, I think I like interspecies antagonisms better because otherwise one runs the considerable risk of becoming very frustrated with the author's generalizations about an entire freaking species. Magpies are not evil, dammit. They are shiny and curious and enthusiastic.
(232/200)
The author seems to have spent a considerable amount of time at the Mustang Ranch, a brothel in Nevada. Her examination of the various aspects of the prostitutes' lives was thorough and balanced. Still on this sex-worker/Las Vegas kick, apparently, as I remain interested in learning more.
(231/200)
One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, by Clive Woodall
This book should have been good. For one thing, it has a very very very very lovely cover (props to Tim Jessell, the cover illustrator). For another thing, it has an intriguing plot. Magpies decide to wipe out the rest of England's birds, small robin must battle against the odds to fulfill his destiny and save the kingdom. Okay, maybe that's only intriguing if you're as much of a sucker for anthropomorphized epics as I am. Anyway, it should've been a good book. This Is Not A Good Book. It's boring and dull and clunky and poorly written by someone whose vocabulary seems good enough that they could've done better. And really, I think I like interspecies antagonisms better because otherwise one runs the considerable risk of becoming very frustrated with the author's generalizations about an entire freaking species. Magpies are not evil, dammit. They are shiny and curious and enthusiastic.
(232/200)
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*grin*
Date: 2005-11-27 07:37 am (UTC)Re: *grin*
Date: 2005-11-27 02:55 pm (UTC)mwah-HAH!
Date: 2005-11-28 02:54 am (UTC)The link is: here. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/2H76SX8PG3286/104-2197891-5519131)
I made the list in 2002, so it's been a while since I've read some of the books. I really love the Sallie Tisdale book "Talk Dirty to Me." I do reread that periodically. Also, "Real Live Nude Girl" by Carol Queen is great. Those are the two I'd recommend most highly. The Tisdale book is more philosophy, while the Queen book is a collection of essays which does talk about sex work a lot--she used to work at the Lusty Lady in San Francisco, and I know she used to do a lot of work with/for Good Vibrations. I own all the books on that list, although most are in storage (damn student-moving-all-the-time blues).
And I thought I'd give you a little background as to how I got interested in all of this (besides the obvious I suppose!). When I studied in Australia, I took a great class called "Politics of Gender, Politics of Feminism." At the time, it hadn't been long since the demise of my relationship with my first love and first sexual partner. I actually went to Australia in part to run away--not a good idea, but a whole different story. Anyway, I was only 20, and realized I hadn't really THOUGHT about sex. Plus, I was coming to the realization that girls could be pretty damn attractive too. I can not emphasize enough the influence that class had on me. It was wonderful and completely mind-blowing-opening-expanding. I wrote my term paper on the feminist debates about porn (did you know that the "Take Back the Night" marches originated as a pornography protest? Because porn was considered to be inheriently violent against women?). ANYWAY, it's amazing how some of the stuff I studied just 10 years ago isn't nearly as relevant today... while some relevant questions still aren't being asked or answered.
Alas, my library on sexual topics hasn't expanded much recently, so there's nothing really current that I can recommend. I don't have much time to read anything but textbooks!
Re: mwah-HAH!
Date: 2005-11-30 02:34 am (UTC)Anyway, if I did, it was good - but I'm not sure whether it was that one or something with a similar title.
I appreciate the list!
no subject
Date: 2005-11-28 06:57 am (UTC)NOW I AM POSTING AT AL SARRANTONIO'S LIVEJOURNAL TO FINISH THE THIRD BOOK IN THE SERIES
K THX
(posted work-safe, for her pleasure)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 02:28 am (UTC)