Diablo Cody, the very famous screenwriter of the much beloved movie Juno, is by no means a shrinking violet; however, her biting sense of humor and quirky view of the world makes her no ordinary “punk” chick. Her memoir of her year working as a stripper proves that while she is able to do almost anything, she also does almost anything with some semblance of intelligence. She never makes herself out to be a victim and her raw, honest look at the people she sees in her profession makes Candy Girl a far more striking book that I had anticipated it to be.

I’ll start off this review with a huge preface on my view of the world, which will make you understand why I completely loved this book. I like people who aren’t what they seem to be. I like people who “look” like they should be one thing (for example, ditzy) and turn out to be something complete different (a rocket scientist). While I knew that Cody was far from a typical stripper, I was anticipating some childhood trauma (child molestation, beatings, no father figure etc). To my surprise, I didn’t get any of that with Cody. I got a “good girl” who was looking to break that wholesome childhood with a bad wig and a spray tan.

One of the most striking parts in the book is when Cody describe a wet T-shirt contest at the strip joint she was working at. Basically the event consisted of a bunch of men squirting water at girls in T-shirts. The last lines of the chapter particularly stood out to me:

The boys’ faces had been so black, their trigger fingers spasming relentlessly as they stared between the girls’ splayed thighs. I’d seen that face before, on an ex-boyfriend when he played video games. Empty. No one home but the id.

Her candid description of the activities of that night (and many others) paints a picture of a scene in which all sense of what makes people thoughtful, compassionate, and kind all disappear as pleasure becomes the main focus of this circus act.

The other section of the book that stood out to me was Cody’s synopsis on stripping:

The rules of attraction were reversed in strip clubs. Girls that could halt midday traffic at Nicollet Mall were rejected by fat guys wearing Zubaz…the rejected girls, regardless of how loved they were by husbands or paramours or infants at home would feel worthless for an instant, and all because of good ol’ Joe.

I hated the the girl buffet. I deserve better presentation, I thought. We all did.

I’m not a fan of stripping (or porn, or 1-800 numbers, or pretty much anything to do with the sex industry) so I can take what Cody was saying and take it a step further. Candy Girl did not change my view of strip clubs, in fact, it just reinforced everything that I had thought about them. While there are many funny scenes throughout the book that had me laughing out loud, there were many sad ones as well that made me wonder what Cody had gotten herself into and why she kept it up for as long as she did.

Women UnboundWomen Unbound is a book challenge that focuses on women’s studies. The challenge is to read books that focus one way or another on women; the roles that they play in society and how those roles relates to socioeconomic status. The books included in the challenge can be non-fiction or fiction. This meme is an amazing way to concentrate on the roles that women not only play in literature, but also on the roles that women play in cultures around the world.

Book Source: Hennepin Country Library, Eden Prairie, MN

Referred By: Find Your Next Book Here

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Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about images of female beauty that adorn our society and with a new article from Newsweek on Unattainable Beauty, I can’t seem to get away from the subject. For the most part it’s on my mind because I had a serious post-holiday meltdown with my refrigerator. Then I start feeling guilty because for all my preaching on the subject, I can’t seem to find peace with my own figure.

I aspire to look in the mirror and feel good…no matter what the number is on the scale. To help inspire me I turn to a very beautiful woman, Maya Angelou, and her famous poem, “Phenomenal Woman.”

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

FreeVerseFreeVerse is a weekly meme created by Ooh…Books. The idea behind the meme is to celebrate poetry is some way or fashion. Write your own or share a poem that you love. All is welcome with this meme.

Reading this blog? Let me know who you are! I love receiving comments and feedback from others. Books, like opinions, are meant to be shared and discussed. Want to keep up on all the latest goings on at Yule Time Reading? Subscribe to my blog to keep up on all the latest bookish thoughts.

Hush, Hush by Becca FitzpatrickFallen angels and stalker attacks are at the center of Becca Fitzpatricks’ book, Hush, Hush. Nora Grey is feeling a bit vulnerable these days. Her father recently passed away and everyone at school doesn’t treats her differently. Her mother is rarely at home because of her new job. Then there’s this mysterious new boy at school, Patch, who gets to her like no one else can. To top it all off, she has recently become the center of some weird attacks. Her vulnerability makes her the perfect victim, but for who?

Five Things That I Loved

1.  Angels instead of vampires. Change is always nice.

2.  The romantic tension between Nora and Patch. Hating a guy seems an excellent way to start a relationship.

3.  Nora’s mysterious attacker is really creepy. The damage the attacker reeks always repairs itself after Nora decides to tell what happens.

4.  Quick and easy entertainment. Pure candy.

5.  The cover.

Five Things that I Disliked

1.  Nora is confused about what’s going on for way too long. It isn’t until almost three-fourths of the way through that she actually “gets” what Patch is.

2.  Emotional manipulation as a super-power isn’t all that interesting or fair.

3.  Nora doubts what she “sees” way too much and I was starting to get annoyed with it.

4.  The tension between Nora and Patch goes on for way too long.

5.  The jerky guy is…well…really kind of a jerk.

Hush, Hush was a very easy and delectable read, but like many young adult books don’t expect deep thought, symbolism, or feminism to steal this book. The only real complaint that I have is that it takes way too long for Nora to figure out what’s going on. She seems smart in the beginning, but her inability to grasp what is going on around her starts to make her look kind of dumb. On the other side, I loved the romantic tension between Patch and Nora. Patch is the typical “bad boy” and Nora is the “good girl.” If you can get over the cliches and take Hush, Hush for what it is, you’ll enjoy it.

Book Source: Hennepin Country Library, Eden Prairie, MN

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I read Come Closer by Sara Gran in one day. Besides children’s books, I haven’t read a book in one day since high school. Come Closer was so completely petrifying that if I didn’t read the book in one day, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. I had to know how this book ended so I could at least comfort myself with the thought that I didn’t have to go back to it the next day.

Come Closer is about a newlywed, Amanda, with an amazing job. She’s living the jet-set life in the city with a great job and a new apartment. Everything is wonderful! However (and this is a big however), Amanda and her husband start to hear noises in their beautiful new apartment. One day, the noises disappear, but the thing making those noises hasn’t; it simply found a new home.

I think what was so petrifying about this book is that the haunting moves slowly. Amanda seems like a regular person who is having these odd things happen to her. Granted, these odd things climax into really big things, which you would think would make a normal person do a little more than what Amanda did. Amanda’s voice is so clear in this book that I found myself completely entrenched in what she was going through.

Another aspect of this book that makes it so scary is that the violence and the horror that occurs is never fully described. Gran leaves the reader to imagine what may or may not have happened during one of Amanda’s many blackouts. This technique draws the reader in and, thus, closer to the haunting in the book.

I’ve read a lot of horror in my day and nothing scared me more than a demon/ghost story. I can deal with cell phones that turns you into a zombie killing machine, a deadly virus that turns you a vampire, or even a guy who likes to murder little girls, but a demon that takes over a grown woman and the woman kind of doesn’t mind? Come Closer is a bit much for me to take; I’m still scared and I read this book a month ago.

Referrer: things mean a lot

Book Source: Hennepin Country Library, Eden Prairie, MN

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The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice–
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do–
determined to save
the only life you could save.

by Mary Oliver

FreeVerseFreeVerse is a weekly meme created by Ooh…Books. The idea behind the meme is to celebrate poetry is some way or fashion. Write your own or share a poem that you love. All is welcome with this meme.

Reading this blog? Let me know who you are! I love receiving comments and feedback from others. Books, like opinions, are meant to be shared and discussed. Want to keep up on all the latest goings on at Yule Time Reading? Subscribe to my blog to keep up on all the latest bookish thoughts.